Something that made me think...

If you've been a follower of this blog for any length of time, first I'd like to thank you for still following us during out...hiatus (if you will).

I wrote about why I stepped away from the blog 2 years ago, and I posted an update almost 6 months later. Since that update, I still haven't been extremely active in blogging. That's not to say I haven't been reading, because I have, I just haven't been writing many reviews. 

Since my mom died, I just haven't really had words for reviews. I'll have all these feelings while reading but when I sit down to actually type up anything...nothing happens. I've tried sitting at the computer, I've tried writing them on my phone, and writing them by hand. I've even tried taking notes while I read to piece a review together later. But nothing works. Every time I sit down actually write about what I think about a book, nothing comes out. And I'm just not satisfied with "It was good" or "It was awful" as a review, not from me. 

I have posted a few, when the words flowed, but for the most part, it's been a barren wasteland. 

So, if you've read this far, you're probably curious why I'm talking about this. Well, I was scrolling the book of face one evening at work (shhhh! Don't tell!) and came across this: 

I found this to be incredibly accurate for me. My escape in life is music and my books. I love to read. I love to get lost in the worlds my favorite authors create. I love talking books. It's why I got so involved in Goodreads back in the day. It's how I met my bffs/blog partners Nikki and Jenn. (As an aside, I know GR has a bad reputation but back in the day it was awesome. I made a bunch of awesome friends that have the same reading interests as I do. People that were always interested in talking about books, debating them, willing to jump into a book boyfriend fight or a gif war)...

...but after my mom died, I was left floundering. The two things that helped me cope in life were taken away. Every song I listened to made me think of my mom and cry. It didn't matter what the song was, or who the band was. I would cry. The same thing happened with books. I went from reading 3-5 books a week to not reading at all. I could read a line or 2 and then I'd come across a word that made my mind wander to my mom and I'd start crying. My world had crashed down around me and I didn't even have the fictional worlds to escape into because my world invaded them. 

For the most part, I don't have that problem anymore. I'm back to reading, albeit not as many books a week as I used to, but the reviewing part...still hasn't really come back. 

Consequently, I haven't been signing up for ARCs of books. There are many I'd love to read (and review) but I never know when I'll have words and when I won't and I can't do that to an author that's counting on me.

So that's it. That's the update. I'm still here. I'm back to reading. I'm trying to review. But I'm not back to my old "normal". I'm honestly not sure if I'll ever get t that same normal. But I do miss blogging, and I still think of things I'd love to do with the blog. It's just going to take time, and for me to find my new normal here and find some new footing. 

REVIEW: The Man Who Has No Soul by Victoria Quinn

 

The Man Who Has No Soul by Victoria Quinn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

As the Director of Concierge of the Liberty Building in Tribeca, it’s my job to take care of the rich and famous, the billionaire suits, their trophy wives, all the VIPs.

It’s like running a hotel—but for billionaires.

When a penthouse opens up, it’s like the floor of the Stock Exchange. The highest bidder wins.

And this time, the winner is Deacon Hamilton.

He’s young and gorgeous...but a tool. He hardly says two words to me, won’t even look at me when he speaks and treats me like an imbecile.

But the longer I pick up his dry cleaning, deliver his groceries, take care of all the details of his life, the more I realize he’s not what he seems.

He’s just brilliant.

Extremely brilliant.

A noble prize-winning doctor and researcher, Deacon Hamilton is one of the most gifted men on the planet.

But he doesn’t know how to talk to people, doesn’t know how to communicate, doesn’t know how to connect with anyone.

Except me.

REVIEW: Forbidden by Karla Sorensen

 

Forbidden by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

No man has ever rattled Isabel Ward. Until Aiden Hennessy walks in the door of her gym—ownership papers in hand.

The former fighter is a lot of things- a single dad, a widower trying to start over, and a watchful presence that knocks her off her very capable feet.

To make matters worse, Isabel had a crush on him for the entirety of her teenage years. Doodles in her diaries and letters declaring her admiration—while never sent—haunt the absolute crap out of her now that she has to face him every day.

No woman has ever tempted Aiden to move on from the memory of his wife—until Isabel. She’s too young, too fiery, too much of everything he should avoid.

But avoiding is impossible, just like pretending the blistering chemistry between them doesn’t exist.

Now that the unshakeable woman is shaken and the un-temptable man is tempted, Isabel and Aiden have to decide what they’re willing to risk for a taste of the forbidden. 

REVIEW: Dear Love, I Hate You by Eliah Greenwood

 

Dear Love, I Hate You by Eliah Greenwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

It all started with an anonymous letter. 
 
He wasn’t supposed to find it—no one was. And he definitely wasn’t supposed to answer it.
 
We end up talking through letters and sticky notes in a book. One sticky note. Two sticky notes. Ten sticky notes. All baring our darkest, deepest secrets.
 
It’s all fun and games until I find out who my pen pal is...
 
Xavier Emery. King of my basketball-obsessed town, my childhood bully, and the guy I am in grave danger of falling in love with.
 
But the rules were clear: we can never know who we’re talking to, and the confessions can never, ever get out. Seriously. It would destroy lives. 
 
Fine by me. Even if Mr. Popular does find out his confidant is little old me, it’s not like he’d ever love me back…

Right?

REVIEW: The Jake Ryan Complex by Bethany Crandell

 

The Jake Ryan Complex by Bethany Crandell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The title of this one definitely caught my eye. I love the movie Sixteen Candles and Jake Ryan.

I'll admit, I've had a hard time finding books that screaming at me, so the simple fact that this one did earned it 5 stars. Reality is it was more of a 4 star read.

I also have to admit that even though it's been a while since I've seen the movie, I've seen it enough times that the whole time I was reading, I kept comparing the book to the movie. There were definitely a lot of little nods to the movie, maybe even more than there needed to be.

And of course, what's any romance novel without the stereotypical "lets avoid talking about important things so that there's a huge misunderstanding later!" Every time Mac put off telling JT about "Michael" and her family I knew it was going to blow up.

I'll admit, I don't understand why it was such a big deal that Mac was still single at 39. She owned her own home, has a successful career, owns her own medical practice. She has a good life. But that wasn't enough for her mother. I really didn't like her mother.

Anyway, this was a cute book, and if you're a fan of Sixteen Candles, you might enjoy it.

View all my reviews

Update on me

It's been a few hot minutes since this blog has been active, and I apologize for that. 

As the main blogger for this page, I am the one that usually keeps it active. But in September of 2019 my mom suddenly died. The months that followed were hard. And just as things started to even out some, the pandemic hit. 

When I first started working from home during the pandemic, I thought I'll be able to work on the blog and get it back up and running...no problem! and I honestly don't have a good reason for not doing that except to say that I wasn't in the reviewing mindset. 

After my mom died, I wasn't able to read anything for months. I wanted to read, I was always looking at books on Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram and Amazon. But every time I sat down to read, I couldn't concentrate, or I'd get a page in and a word or sentence would hit me and make me start crying. So even though I always had my kindle and phone on me, little to no reading was accomplished. 

Once I was able to start reading again, I wasn't in the mindset to review what I was reading. Now, this wasn't a bad thing. I needed to read for me, read for pure enjoyment. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy reviewing books (because I really do) but I needed to sit down and read, absorbing the joy of what I just read. During this time I fell in love with some new authors, but I've also had a hard time finding books that are holding my attention. A lot of books look awesome and I want to read them but when I start them they're just not right for me at this time. 

One author I absolutely fell in love with was Tijan. I've seen her books around for years, I've seen friends of mine reading them and I just never gave them a chance. I don't have a good reason for that, I just never got around to it. But I found one of her books on my kindle that I randomly purchased a while back and I decided to try it on a lark. Like I said, I was having a hard time finding the perfect books to read. And I started it and never looked back. I absolutely loved it. I started reading her backlist from that moment on. I haven't completely read everything by Tijan yet, mostly because I have to be in the right mind for a series, but she has definitely become an auto-buy author for me. 

It's actually only been recently (extremely recently) that I've started reviewing books. Lol, I say that having only posted 2 reviews. I should wait to say this so I don't jinx myself, but 2 is good. Especially in a short time. Honestly, the most recent review is really reminiscent of my very first review, the one that kicked off the drive to start writing reviews. I read a book that angered me, left me irritated and I had to get it all out. Lol, so I wrote a review. 

During the past year I did try to write reviews. I had a few that came out ok but majority of the time when I sat down, all that came out was The book was good. I liked it. I mean, that's not bad but it also doesn't tell me anything. I always review under the assumption that no one else is going to read my reviews. So I review for myself. Back in the golden days of Goodreads, before it turned toxic and people started leaving, I had friends that did read my reviews. We talked books. We joked about things, had gif wars. Good times. But now, I never know if anyone actually reads them (and that's fine) so I just write them for myself. 

Anyway, if you've made it this far in the post, thank you for reading. If you've followed us for any length of time, thank you for sticking with us! I'm seriously hoping that this is a restart of this blog. A Renaissance if you will. 

REVIEW: Bear in a Bookshop by Zoe Chant

 

Bear in a Bookshop by Zoe Chant
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book Description: 

He's all wrong for her.
So why do his arms feel so right?

When shy bookworm Melody daydreamed about her perfect man, "must love books" topped the list. She never dreamed of someone like Gunnar blowing into her neatly alphabetized and indexed world to turn it upside down. Finding out that her one true mate is an ex-con with a grade school education must be fate's idea of a cruel joke. Never mind that his kisses make her swoon and his touch turns her traitorous knees to jelly ...

Sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, Gunnar is six and a half feet of gruff, dyslexic, tattooed bear shifter ex-con hiding a gentle heart. He knows he could be the man Melody deserves, if only she'll let him unleash the passionate woman hidden underneath her sexy librarian cardigans.

But with danger from both their pasts closing in fast, Gunnar is running out of time to prove to Melody that a good girl and a guy from the wrong side of the tracks just might be able to write their own happy ending.

A sweet and funny paranormal romance building to a thrilling climax, #3 in the Bodyguard Shifters series. All books in the series are standalones with a guaranteed HEA, and can be read in any order.