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Once Upon A Kiss by Carina Rose

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Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance

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When Lacey Winters escapes her stressful New York City life for a relaxing winter vacation in the Caribbean, she's ready to get some sun and enjoy a little time to herself. But her plans for peace and tranquility are shattered when she finds that her ex-boyfriend is already at the same resort - and with the same woman Lacey found him cheating with. 

Reeling from the shock and determined to prove she's moved on, Lacey impulsively kisses a handsome stranger she spotted on the beach and does it in front of her ex.

As for the stranger in question, Drew Mitchell was just looking for a fun getaway from his busy life in Chicago. He's surprised, but pleased at this unexpected turn of events and agrees to pose as Lacey's new boyfriend.

As they explore their tropical surroundings as a couple, Drew finds himself drawn toward Lacey. Now, all he has to do is convince her their romance is real and strong enough to flourish once their vacation is over, while Lacey must decide if she's ready to take the leap and fall in love.

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Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover Book Review!

"Love is a lot like water. It can be calm. Raging. Threatening. Soothing. Water will be many things, but even in all its forms, it will always be water. You will always be water. I think I might be yours, too." - Colleen Hoover, Heart Bones

I chose the quote above specifically because the quote alone would remind me of this book, years from now, after I've forgotten smaller details of the story. The reminder of the water/ocean will always make me think of Samson and Beyah from now on. They may be fictional characters, but their stories will be stuck with me for the long haul. 

Below is the blurb from this book to give you an idea of what to expect: 

Life and a dismal last name are the only two things Beyah Grim's parents ever gave her. After carving her path all on her own, Beyah is well on her way to bigger and better things, thanks to no one but herself. With only two short months separating her from the future she's built and the past she desperately wants to leave behind, an unexpected death leaves Beyah with no place to go during the interim. Forced to reach out to her last resort, Beyah has to spend the remainder of her summer on a peninsula in Texas with a father she barely knows. Beyah's plan is to keep her head down and let the summer slip by seamlessly, but her new neighbor Samson throws a wrench in that plan. Samson and Beyah have nothing in common on the surface. She comes from a life of poverty and neglect; he comes from a family of wealth and privilege. But one thing they do have in common is that they're both drawn to sad things. Which means they're drawn to each other. With an almost immediate connection too intesne for them to continue denying, Beyah and Samson agree to stay in the shallow end of a summer fling. What Beyah doesn't realize is that a rip current is coming, and it's about to drag her heart out to sea. 

Now tell me you aren't curious!! 

Colleen Hoover is such a genius at reeling you in to the worlds she creates. To be honest, I've now read most of Colleen's books and at this point, I don't even read the blurb before I buy her book. I just get it. Because I know I won't be disappointed. Her ability to truly make you feel like you are a part of this book, a part of this world, that she creates is incredible. I always find myself enamored with her characters. There's always something relatable in every one of her characters, even if they lead a completely different life than I do. Heart Bones is no exception. She's done it again, tearing my heart apart and making me cheer for love more than I have in a book in a long while. I love everything about this story. Usually, my reviews come with at least one thing I wasn't crazy about- I wish the book was longer, there wasn't enough character depth, I didn't feel the connection between the main characters. Nope. Nada. Nothing. There is nothing I would change about this book. It made my heart hurt for these characters. It made me think about others who this is more close to their true reality and my heart hurts for them and feels compassionate about finding ways that maybe I could help relieve a little of that sadness. But this book is so good, written just how it is, I can't imagine anything being any different. 

Beyah is a badass. Plain and simple. She has had to take care of  herself for a really long time and it has created this fiercely independent person who takes crap from no one and allows her to always say what is on her mind. I am so freaking proud of her by the end of this book because she allows herself to be vulnerable, to open up, to be willing to accept help when it's needed, and man, when she lets herself love. Ahh, chills.

Samson is gorgeous, kind, loving, and mysterious. Throughout the book, you are constantly wondering what he's really thinking, what he's feeling, and what he's not saying. It's rare that you have a character, or person really, like Samson that just puts up boundaries on what they are and are not willing to talk about and discuss. I feel like most of the time, you either answer a question how you truly feel or people lie to make themselves or others more comfortable. For the most part, that's not really the case here. I don't want to get on a tangent about this because I want this review to stay spoiler free, but you'll know when you know what I'm referring to. Regardless, Samson's character just has this energy about him and this force where you just feel...pulled to him for whatever reason. 

The side characters in this book are great as usual. I love Sara. I was so happy to watch the relationship with Beyah's dad grow and develop. And the ocean. Oh, the ocean. It is a supporting actor in this story to me as well and bravo to it's role. I love you, you big, beautiful, scary, calming blue sea. 

As we come to the end of the review, I want to leave you with another quote that just sums up this book for me and the love between our characters. 

"You can fill your life with nice things, but nice things don't fill the holes in your soul."

"What fills the holes in your soul?"

Samson's eyes scroll over my face for a few seconds. "Pieces of someone else's soul."

Heart Bones Amazon Link

P.S.- It's free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription!! 

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher Book Review!

"But I know that as humans we want to be heard, and so when someone does the hearing, we feel a connection to them." - Tarryn Fisher, The Wives

Y'all, I don't even know where to start with this book. I have started and stopped writing this review multiple times because my brain is just mush after reading this one. 

The Wives is different than a lot of books I have been reading and reviewing lately. It is a psychological thriller and will keep your mind thinking the entire time you are reading this book. You are constantly looking for something, some clue, some new piece of this very twisted puzzle. 

Below is the blurb of the book:

Thursday's husband, Seth, has two other wives. She's never met them, and she doesn't know anything about them. She agreed to this unusual arrangement because she's so crazy about him.

But one day, she finds something. Something that tells a very different- and horrifying- story about the man she married. 

What follows is one of the most twisted, shocking thrillers you'll ever read. 

You'll have to grab a copy to find out why. 

The book is written from Thursday's point of view, so you are constantly in Thursday's mind, which can be a confusing, exciting, scary place to be. There are so many things that Thursday thinks and does that is similar to how I would feel in the situation she is in, but there is a lot that I would do differently too (one would hope at least). I would hope that I would never find myself in the situation she's in to begin with, but it doesn't surprise me that things get a little sideways. How would you handle being married to a man who was married to two additional women? That you know nothing about? Is it better or worse that you don't know anything about the others? I don't know, and I don't think Thursday did either until she found herself in a situation she couldn't get herself out of. 

So much of me feels so bad for Thursday. There are SO many different theories and thoughts to this book from readers who've finished reading it. I will be anxious to hear from anyone else who reads it what their thoughts are. Due to the nature of the book, I don't want to go into any more detail on this story because you NEED to go in with a completely open mind and I want you to decide what you think and how you feel about all of the characters, but especially Thursday. 

What I will leave you with though? That ending. I can't. I don't even know... how to finish this sentence. The ending is crazy. It's just...crazy. If you're game for a psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes and you'll speed read to get to the end, you have to check this one out. 

Here's the Amazon link below.

Amazon

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover Book Review!

"If you only shine light on your flaws, all your perfects will dim." - Colleen Hoover, All Your Perfects

Y'all, this book got me! How I let a Colleen Hoover book slide by me is a shock to begin with, but to let this book go unread since it was published July of 2018... I'm beside myself. Thankfully, I have since rectified that situation and devoured this book within 24 hours.

Due to the nature of this book, this review is going to have SPOILERS!! 

I will try to keep it mostly spoil free, but there is something I feel the need to point out before any potential reader dives in, as I was made aware of it ahead of time and am so glad I knew. 

STOP HERE IF YOU'RE ANTI SPOILERS!!

Before I get too deep into this review, I want to say that there is a potential trigger warning for anyone struggling with infertility. If you are in the throes of how heartbreaking an infertility struggle can be (and I say that with empathy as I have struggled with it myself), this book may be a hard read for you. It is the main theme of the couple the book centers around so I just want to give warning that it can be an incredibly sensitive topic to read about, especially if you are or have struggled with infertility. 

The nature of this book and the emotions the couple face as they go through it are what I love and hate about it. I hate how heartbreaking it is. As I mentioned, I know the feelings well and I could see myself in Quinn's shoes every time she took a pregnancy test and saw negative, or felt like crying every time someone asked her when she was having a baby, or started to resent sex because ultimately it became a means to an end to an ending she may never be able to have. I loved this book though because it detailed her feelings so well and the feelings of so many others who have had this struggle. This is a book of fiction, but there are so many parts of it that I personally have thought or experienced or just felt. The struggle in their marriage. Her struggle with herself as a woman. Her mixed feelings for her husband.

Let's stop right here and address one key piece of this book. Graham. Quinn's husband. Quinn's patient, loving, fiercely fighting for her, husband. His character made me love this book. It was also a good perspective for me, because while I tried to understand how our struggle with infertility effected my husband, I don't think I could really see it from his perspective just because I wasn't in his perspective, you know? Our struggle was/is very similar in that it is me that has the difficulty to conceive, not him. It was interesting getting to hear how he felt some, especially towards the end of the book. Ultimately, Graham made it known that Quinn would always be enough for him, whether they had a child or not. She was enough, and isn't that something that we all long to hear and keep hearing? There is one part of the book where Graham falters from the pedestal, but even with what happened, I couldn't really stay mad at him because of the situation they are in. Thinking about that part of the book reminds me about one of my favorite quotes from it...

"Apologies are good for admitting regret, but they do very little in removing the truth from the actions that caused the regret." 

What a gut punch, right? It's so true, though. And I loved that quote in regards to the aforementioned faltering of Graham's awesomeness, and Quinn's ability to see past it. 

Anyway, the book follows this couple from the day they met through the harrowing struggle of marriage, infertility, and all the other things that come with joining your life with someone else's. It's so good. Colleen Hoover's writing is on par with all of her other books and constantly keeps you captivated and invested in these fictional characters' lives. Like I said, this was a 24 hour read for me and it would've been done even faster if other normal adulthood duties didn't get in the way! One of those distractions would be spending time with my precious 2 year old that I am so grateful we were able to have after a long time struggling to bring her into the world <3 For any who are still reading this and who are going through the struggle, I'm here for you, I'm hoping and praying for you, and sending all the baby dust I can! 

One last thing before I close this review up. I know this has been a different review from what I normally write. There aren't any funny gifs or other random pictures. There's not a typical sequence of the story and a deep dive into the characters. I wanted to write this review about the heart of the book and my heart after reading it. I didn't want fluff for this review because this book doesn't deserve fluff, it deserves grit and heart and truth. I hope that makes you interested in the book. I hope I've enticed you enough to check this book out and see how it ends, because you need to know how it ends! I'm going to leave you with one final quote from it that just speaks so much of their relationship and their love. This quote was said during a time when the couple were strongly considering the future of their marriage and these lines just gutted me!

"And I promise...I swear... that if you choose to end things between us, I will love you more as you're walking out the door than on the day you walked down the aisle. I hope you choose the road that will make you the happiest. Even if it's not a choice I'll love, I will still always love you. Whether I'm a part of your life or not. You deserve happiness more than anyone I know. I love you." 

Okay, one gif.

Twisted Circles by Claire Contreras Book Review!

"When someone tells you who they are, do you believe them?" - Claire Contreras, Twisted Circles

I love that quote and I love how aptly it matches the whole point of this book. 

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review and I am so thankful I was selected! Since having read Half Truths, the first book in this series, I have been so anticipating this story!! 

Twisted Circles did not disappoint in any shape or form. Similarly to the first book in the series, this book focuses on a group of people connected to the prestigious Ellis University (an Ivy League) as well as a secret society on its campus. This book primarily focuses on Eva Guerra who wakes up without memory of what happened over the weekend. What she does find is two mysterious keys in her backpack as well as being questioned by the police, then asked to do something beyond anything you would've ever expected. This starts Eva off on a quest of trying to find out what happened over the weekend, why she can't remember it, and ultimately gaining more questions than answers. 

 This book is a dual POV story. Most of the chapters are from Eva's perspective, but some of them are from Adam, President of The Swords, a secret society on campus that Eva plans to learn more about. There is so much mystery and suspense in this story, it constantly keeps your attention and keeps the pages turning quickly. It's one of those that you may have to finally force yourself to put down at 1 am so that you can pick it back up again as early as possible the next day orrrr just pull an all-nighter because it's that good and you can't put it down! 

I loved this storyline. Like I mentioned above, it provided the same amount of suspense and excitement as the first book in the series. 

I really enjoyed Eva's character. She was adopted at a few months old and grew up with her adoptive mother, Karen. Eva had a difficult childhood growing up and as she grew, often found herself in and out of treatment at a place called The Institute. Dr. Debbie Maslow has treated Eva since she was an infant and Eva regards Dr. Maslow almost in a maternal fashion. To me, this pulled on my spidey senses because I am already sensing some poor boundaries between doctor and patient, and oh how right I was! I won't go in to detail because this is going to be a spoiler free review, but once you read the book, you will definitely see what I mean! 

Eva seems to have a hard time finding any confidence in herself. It's no wonder given the circumstances she grew up in and what you find out later in the book has happened to her, but it is amazing to see the evolution of her character and how strong she starts to become. Eva goes through quite a bit in this book- there are highs and lows, and while she has to fight some of the defense mechanisms she's developed most her life, she ultimately is able to fight for what she loves. 

Speaking of love, enter... Adam. 

He was introduced to us briefly in Half Truths. I remember reading the end of that book thinking, man, I hope we get Adam's story, and look at that... we did! While we definitely got to get to know Adam a little more in this book, I will say I wish I could've gotten a little more about him. I wish he would've had a few more chapters from his POV, or maybe talked a little bit more about his life before Eva came in to it. I'm not sure what I felt like is missing, and I don't necessarily mean to use the word missing, I think I just wanted more! He seems like such a standup, respectful, thoughtful, and loving guy, you can't not want more of that, am I right? Even though they may have had a rocky start, Adam is a constant for Eva through all the struggles she endured in this book. He is the type of guy you would want to have by your side, helping you, supporting you, encouraging you, and listening to you. When Eva said she needed space, he gave her space. When she needed help but hadn't even thought to ask, he already had a plan in place on how he could help. And it's not only Adam that brought love into Eva's life, but he brought his friends and family which only extended the amount of people who ended up loving on Eva as well. Overall, I just felt like Adam was a star character, a stand up guy and someone I think makes a great partner in a story like this! We’ll forgive him for his only real flaw- a poor attempt at a psycho analysis 😉

Okay, that’s probably enough raving about the characters. I hope I peaked your interest enough in these two characters to want to dive in to this book. I don’t want to go into too much more detail because I’m afraid I’ll spoil something and I want you to have the complete experience when you read this book! It’s different from most other books out there right now and I don’t know about you, but it’s been so good for me to be able to escape the catastrophe that is 2020 and submerge myself into this suspenseful, exciting fictional book world. 

As always- Happy reading, friends! 

Goodreads

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Current Read!

I am SO excited to have the opportunity to read an ARC of Twisted Circles by Claire Contreras before the book's release date! I have been not-so-patiently awaiting this release and it is finally almost here!! 

Below is the blurb- hope it peaks your interest like it did mine!

When someone tells you who you are, do you believe them?

The first question the cops asked me was if anything out of the ordinary happened to me lately.

 

When I woke up this morning in the room of a mental institution I couldn’t remember a thing – not my name nor how I got there. Not how I left or how I ended up in that interrogation room.

The only thing I knew came from the contents inside my bag. A wallet, a student ID, a key that opened an unknown door, and two notebooks.

They tell me my name. It matches my IDs.

 

They tell me my story. I shut my eyes and try to piece it together, but can’t.

 

They tell me why they picked me up in the first place. They thought I was my sister. My brain stays stuck there. I try to rewind and fast-forward, as if my memories were on a videotape, but it’s no use. I can’t recall having a sister.

They put me back in the car and drop me off in front of a mansion they call The Manor and I discover what the mysterious key in my backpack opens the front door, and just as quickly wish I’d never unlocked it at all.

Hopefully that pulled you in like it did me! 

If it did, here are the ways to get it and read more about it!

Amazon

Amazon Worldwide

Apple Books

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KOBO

GOOGLE

Goodreads

Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward Review!

"We all have light and dark inside us, love. We try to hide the darkness from others because we're afraid it will scare them away. But your dark doesn't scare me, Luca. It only makes me want to hold your hand and be your light until you can find your own again. That's what people do when they're in love. I won't always be able to give you your light back, because sometimes you need to find that within yourself, but I'll stand by your side and hold your hand in the dark so things aren't so scary." Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, Dirty Letters

Image from Google/Amazon

Overall, I enjoyed this book. For some reason, this review has been a little harder for me to write than some of the others I’ve recently written. I think I've struggled in finding the right to words to use and I'm still not 100% I'm explaining my thoughts/feelings well, but I'm going to give it a go anyway! I gave this book a 4 star rating because I did really enjoy it, but there were a couple of parts I think that I didn’t feel connected to and/or felt dragged on a little. This may just be me for whatever reason so I would definitely still encourage you to go read this! I think different people take different things from books so I would love to hear your thoughts! Please consider reading below to see if it is something that  may be the right fit for you! 

I really liked the concept, especially the pen pal part! I love the idea of still writing handwritten letters  during this crazy, tech forward time. 

I love that the letters had humor and passion and honesty and grit. I love that their relationship developed from their letters, where they shared the truest parts of themselves to a total stranger.

 I love that Luca and Griffin were both flawed in real ways, but both were able to accept all of the parts they hid from the rest of the world. 

This is the part where this gets a little heavy. 

If you are concerned about SPOILERS- PLEASE STOP READING and scroll to the bottom to pick up the book or read more about it at Goodreads ;) 

Luca is an interesting character for me. I may be more critical of the book to an extent because Luca can remind me of myself. I have dealt with Generalized Anxiety Disorder for years, with occasional panic attacks. It’s a horrible disease. It makes you feel insane and exhausted just being. Period. Not being...something. I mean, just being. Anxiety has a way of making you feel so drained from all the thoughts going haywire and fearing the worst in your mind constantly that it's too hard to truly describe. It can be crippling and constant. For the most part, mine has been managed well, to the point that I’m now a therapist myself and have helped others with their own mental health needs. I’ve had some more struggles with it recently due to the pandemic and I can only imagine how this would be for Luca. Her character definitely has a more severe case and a huge traumatic event that has made a huge impact on her. There’s are parts of the book where I found myself frustrated with her because I just wanted her to work harder or take a leap of faith for the man she loves (sooner than she’s willing to), but I also think that’s probably more my own stuff wanting to kick myself out of my comfort zone. Overall, I think Luca is strong and none of us have any idea where we’d be if we’d experienced what her character has and for all of us it would look a little different. I guess I was just so sad for her in parts because she has something so good that she can’t help but to self sabotage somewhat.  One of my favorite quotes is listed below and I think it is something that was thoughtful and something that made me stop and reread: 

"If you stay in the present moment and not go where your mind is trying to lead you, then you will always be safe. There is safety in the now. Right now, you are in your bedroom talking to me. And that is all there really is. Your worries stem from past experiences and fear of the future. Neither the past nor the future is real. Only the present exists. If you stick to this mantra, you will be okay in anything you do." 

I can't talk too much about Luca's anxiety without talking a little about Doc. Doc is the character that everyone loves. He's that person though not family by blood, is family by heart. Clearly, I liked Doc quite a bit, though to call their relationship patient/doctor is probably a bit of a stretch. There’s no therapist I know that would cross that many boundaries with a patient, but I would honestly view their relationship as more family/friends. Technically, she doesn't really "pay" him for their sessions so it's more of a gray area, but still. I guess my concern with this part of the book is I wouldn't want readers to read this who are considering getting help and hope to have a relationship like Luca has with Doc with their mental health professional. That will definitely not be the norm. Regardless, I like the relationship they have and I think it’s sweet how much he cares for her, like a father would and Luca needs that love.

And because I love quotes, especially positive encouraging ones, here's another one from the good Doctor:

"Progress takes time, Luca. Don't feel down. You might not be where you want to be, but you're also not where you were yesterday. Each day is a baby step. You just keep looking forward and taking them, and I promise one day you're going to look back and be surprised how far those tiny little steps have taken you." 

Now, on to some other areas of the book! Speaking of the love Luca has, let's get to Griffin. What a dreamboat. 

I don't know why I chose that gif of a Jonas... I guess I was thinking front man of band, but not covered in tats like my dear Adam Levine? Either way, happy accident? ;)

Griffin is the dream. He has worked hard to build a career for himself in the music industry from the ground up. He moves to the US from the UK on a hope and a prayer to start something and ends up making quite the name for himself and his band. He is the one to reach out to Luca after years of not hearing from each other. She makes the next move by going to surprise him which he seems grateful for, even though he basically specifically asked her not to. To be honest, we all know it's 50/50 if Luca hadn't made that move on her own, how long it would take the man to find the right time to expose his secret, if ever. But the book would've ended sadly and we don't want that! So, we're going to focus on the awesome things about Griffin, like he is constantly pursuing Luca, even when he gets shut down. He tries so hard to make accommodations for her, to make her feel loved, to make her feel understood, to make her feel protected, and to make sure she knows she's not a burden by  having some of the struggles she does. Again, dreamboat. Most men probably would've just been done after the amount of times Luca tried to push him away, but he stood his ground. His faith, his love, was strong enough for the both of them. 

"In case I wasn't clear, love is enough for me, Luca. But you have to let me love you." 

You'll have to read the book to see how his pursual goes, and I say persual because I do feel like most of the book he was chasing Luca, loving Luca, and who doesn't love a romance like that?! 

Anyway, I think that's all for now! I hope you'll check this book out! See the links below if you're interested! 

Amazon

Goodreads