This Chick Read: Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau

As the last unwed daughter out of five, Emily Hung is getting tired of her mother’s attempts at setting her up with the perfect man. Her newest attempt is Mark Chan. When they meet at her sister’s wedding Emily is not impressed with this boring engineer. At her mother’s second attempt at tricking them into a date Emily decides to fight back and convinces Mark to fake date her, but her mother has spies everywhere so they have to step it up. They start going on real fake dates and Emily finally see’s behind Mark’s sweater vest wearing persona. Maybe mother does know best?

This author has a great sense of humor! Emily’s inner dialogue often had me laughing and her characterization of Mark, before she got to know him, was quite spot on. Until she saw behind the sweater and could read his slight facial expressions. This stoic engineer had a sense of humor but found it hard to open up to people. Well, everyone except Emily it seemed. Their cute interactions and made them easy to root for but it was their idiosyncrasies and the way that they supported each other that sold me on the story.

As you got to know these characters the reader was given insights into their characters, making these sweet and funny moments more poignant. Both of them were fighting against insecurities and challenging family dynamics giving the story some much needed conflict so it wasn’t just about a fake dating scheme. As with most of our own lives Emily and Mark’s were balancing acts and throwing “finding love” into the mix caused ripples both good and bad. The author’s spin on this story was fun and cute, but the real-life problems resonated for me and I think it will for other readers as well. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

The first time Lucy met Felix, she was grabbing a bite to eat alone while waiting for her friend to arrive on their island vacation. She spent an amazing night with Felix and the next morning put the pieces together that he was her friends brother, Wolf. Each year when she escapes to the island, she vows to stay away from Felix and every year ends up in his bed. Despite their intense connection, Lucy always kept her heart out of it until the week before her best friends wedding, when Bridget asks her to come out to the island.

Carley Fortune writes wonderfully emotional beach-centric novels. Or lake-centric, but the local always involves sand, water, and great seafood. Those things certainly set that laissez faire mood which I think is required for a great beach read. This Summer Will Be Different felt, well, different, more intense and kind of frustrating.

Lucy, our heroine, is dealing with the trauma of losing her aunt and trying to make a go of the flower store her aunt left her. She is also harboring the secret of a years-long vacation relationship with her best friends brother. Felix, or Wolf, is on the island going about his life but you just know that he’s living for those moments with Lucy that are few and far between. This novel had boat-loads of conflict to work through and despite my impatience to get to that final conclusion, it was done really well and my turbulent feelings were worth the experience. But it was exhausting, truly. I needed a vacation after reading my vacation book!

Every year I look forward to Carley Fortune’s newest book release and this year is no different. There were so many great moments in this book (the chemistry! the great best friend relationship!) but there was something holding me back from an all in five star rating. I liked it a lot, but I’ve liked other books by this author more. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* This Summer Will Be Different

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock #2) by Kelley Armstrong

Finally at home in their new Haven’s Rock, Casey and Eric are sheltering a family from the Witness Protection Program that includes two children, one a ten year old names Max. While on a nature walk through the woods Max spots a bear trailing their group. When he later goes missing they are fearful that they have a predator tracking their group, but is it of the animal variety?

I’m a big fan of Casey Duncan, the main protagonist in this series. A very smart investigator and interesting human, I’ve watched her character grow, fall in love, deal with family issues,find murderers, etc. in both the Rockton series and now this spin-off of Haven’s Rock. In this novel we dig even deeper into Casey’s psyche opening up some of her secret fears to the reader. She was already pretty humanized, but I love these additional glimpses into her person. She and her husband Eric are still together, in love, and now in a new environment. They are no longer sheriff and investigator but they continue to act in that capacity and this mystery is especially intense because it involves a missing child.

We are still getting to know some of the newer characters in Haven’s Rock and not all of them are respectable. The group of miners not too far from Haven’s Rock adds an eerie, dangerous vibe to the story. Their interactions are fraught with tension and the developing drama between them and Haven’s Rock is setting us up for future transgressions. I love it.

If you like somewhat dark relationship novels, I think you’ll love the quirky landscape that is Haven’s Rock. I’d start with the first book in the series, but this one carried on in the mysterious tradition and I know I’ll keep following where this author leads me. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Boy Who Cried Bear

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: Happy Medium by Sarah Adler

Gretchen Acorn’s fake spirit medium business is going well so when her most lucrative customer asks for her help for a friend, she agree’s to go off to the country to “help” vacate a ghost from a farm. What she doesn’t expect is to actually see that ghost, hear why he is haunting the farm, and stick around in the country for a month to try to convince the cute, young, farmer why he can not sell his farm and move to the city.

It’s kind of unconventional to have your heroine be a con-woman. I’ll admit that have a fake medium business is probably on the low end of the con spectrum, but I did have a little trouble buying what she was selling. Of course, so did the young farmer, Charlie. He however because charmed by her good looks and spirit whereas I remained skeptical that a romance between the two of them would ever be believable.

I’ve enjoyed Sarah Adler’s books in the past so I was somewhat surprised I was having so much trouble with Happy Medium. The redeeming character was Everett, the ghost. He was a quirky character but added some much needed humor and was a foil to Gretchen making her seem reliable and “normal”. He was a ghost with questionable morals after all.

Happy Medium, for me, was just an ok story. As I mentioned, I had trouble with the main character and if I can’t love the heroine I’m not going to love the story. I’m sure there will be plenty of other readers who will adore this story, but I have to go with my gut on this one and give it a three rating.

❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book! Happy Medium

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases- May’24

OK, I can’t believe that we are already in the month of May. This year has gone by so fast! My TBR just keeps growing and I know there are not enough hours in a day/month/year that I can tackle all of the books I want to read. Despite that growing list, I’m going to pick the 5 books that I’m most excited to see being released in May. These five will definitely be on my TBR and hopefully I’ll be able to crack open a page.

This is the second outdoor adventure competition romance that I’ve seen coming out in May. They both look cute but this one edged out the other since it’s an adult contemporary. Looks like a fun and easy read and should be put in your carry on for the first beach vacation of the year.

Synopsis: Orie Lennox has spent her entire life prepping for her happily ever after — and now that she’s graduated, she’s low-key wondering, when the heck is it gonna hit. Her love life, her new job, her relationship with her sister: none of it is quite what she envisioned it to be.

One evening, on a whim, she applies for a reality show where she’ll be stranded on an island, with a bunch of strangers, to play a game of human chess for a shot at a million dollars. What better way to force herself to break up with the things that aren’t bringing her joy, than to abandon them all on short notice to live off the grid on a beach in the South Pacific!

Orie’s shocked when she ends up cast in an experimental romantic edition of the show: and even more surprised to find that her old high school crush, Remy, has been cast as well. Orie’s one of ten contestants, set to compete in formidable challenges, while speed dating, in the wilderness: without deodorant, toilets, shaving cream, or showers. (How!?)

She finds herself tied up — literally — in a game of risky alliances as she navigates ever-growing feelings for her one that got away, alongside an exciting array of budding new relationships.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Attached at the Hip

When Nora has one of her romantic suspense releases I want to immediately snatch it up. This one seems to be more sinister than normal. yeah!

Synopsis:

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

Click this link to purchase this book!* Mind Games

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase one of these books through a link on this blog I’ll receive a small stipend.

I have just recently discovered Elle Kennedy’s college hockey series. If you like your romance a bit raunchy and characters with a lot of heart, you need to reach for one of her books. She was recommended to me and I’ve gobbled them all up.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Dixon Rule

Crazy Rich Asians was such a fun novel and the movie was technicolor bliss. I saw this synopsis and thought- I have to read this one!

Synopsis:

Rufus Leung Gresham, future Earl of Greshambury and son of a former Hong Kong supermodel has a problem: the legendary Gresham Trust has been depleted by decades of profligate spending, and behind all the magazine covers and Instagram stories manors and yachts lies nothing more than a gargantuan mountain of debt. The only solution, put forth by Rufus’s scheming mother, is for Rufus to attend his sister’s wedding at a luxury eco-resort, a veritable who’s-who of sultans, barons, and oligarchs, and seduce a woman with money.

Should he marry Solène de Courcy, a French hotel heiress with honey blond tresses and a royal bloodline? Should he pursue Martha Dung, the tattooed venture capital genius who passes out billions like lollipops? Or should he follow his heart, betray his family, squander his legacy, and finally confess his love to the literal girl next door, the humble daughter of a doctor, Eden Tong? When a volcanic eruption burns through the nuptials and a hot mic exposes a secret tryst, the Gresham family plans—and their reputation—go up in flames.

Can the once-great dukedom rise from the ashes? Or will a secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, reveal a shocking twist?

In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.

Click this link to purchase this book! Lies and Weddings

Since this author duo moved on from New Adult fiction I’ve completely enjoyed virtually all of their novels. They immediately hit my TBR and if I don’t read it, I listen to the audiobook!

Synopsis:

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Paradise Problem

There were so many books to choose from and these are the ones that I chose for my own pleasure reading. What did I miss? Let me know in the comments!

This Chick Read: Speculations in Sin (Below Stairs #7) by Jennifer Ashley

Kat Holloway is distressed to learn that Samuel Millburn, husband of the woman who looks after her daughter, has been accused of embezzling funds from the bank where he works as a clerk. The accusation is absurd, and Samuel’s wife fears that her husband will not only lose his post but be imprisoned. Kat vows to uncover the truth.

When she discovers the bank is involved in shockingly murky business dealings, Kat realizes she’s treading in dangerous waters. She turns to her confidante and handsome suitor, Daniel McAdam, for help. To exonerate Samuel, Kat and Daniel may have to expose the unseemly financial dealings of prominent aristocrats and government officials, and even those working to bring down the royal family. Kat will risk everything to protect the man who has sacrificed so much for her daughter, even if it means endangering herself and the friends she has come to love.

When it comes to solving mysteries, Kat Holloway has the skill but in Speculations in Sin Kat has skin in the game and works hard to find the embezzler/killer. Sam Millburn and his wife, Kat’s dearest friend, have been essentially raising her daughter since she must work as a Head Cook. This mystery takes the reader beyond the London peerage, where her mysteries usually lie, into the murky world of finance. Something that Kat doesn’t have a lot of knowledge about, but what she does have is the experience at reading human interactions and situations. In that way the bank is kind of like a household and in this case that old adage of “follow the money” really does solve the mystery.

I’ve enjoyed reading this series and like Kat’s strength of character in this age that doesn’t give women a lot of room for error or growth. She’s done well cooking for a society household, has made friends from many ranks in society, and is managing a slow moving romance with Daniel McAdam. I’d like to see that third thing move along a little quicker because I think being with Daniel, who is also an investigator of sorts, would open doors for Kat that could prove interesting in helping to solve future cases. I also do love a good romance. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Speculations in Sin

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: At First Spite (Harlot’s Bay #1) by Olivia Dade

Athena Greydon’s fiancé ends their engagement one month before their wedding but after she has quit her job, sold all of her furniture because she was moving in with him, and purchased him the house next door as a wedding gift. Having no job and no place to live, Athena does the unthinkable and moves in next door to her ex-fiancé and across the alley from his brother Matthew Vine the Third. The man who convinced his brother to break their engagement. What’s a girl to do but torture the man with loud erotica audio book’s, scary Halloween decorations, and bad housekeeping. What she doesn’t figure on is liking what she thought was an unlikeable, rigid man, who turns out to be not that unlikeable at all.

When Olivia Dade writes well, she really hits it out of the park. At First Spite was funny, sad, sweet, and quite salty. I really didn’t know what Athena was going to serve up next to poor Matthew but I knew that I would enjoy whatever it was and that he would tolerate it because he feels awful for how his decision to break up his brother’s relationship ruined Athena’s life.

The Spite House was appropriately named because it’s 10 feet wide and butt’s up against the original house and takes in all the light from it’s many windows. It’s on a very old historical alley and faces the house across from it which is only 40 feet away. This close proximity means Matthew and Athena are literally in each others faces when they are in their homes. A great set-up to a love story and many opportunities for comedic scenes.

I really enjoyed this novel. It has my favorite enemies to lovers trope and provided a lot of humor, but it wasn’t all fun and games. There were some quite serious issues like depression which were dealt with in an appropriate and realistic manner. These plot points only made me enjoy the light moments even more. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* At First Spite

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: Rift in the Soul (Soulwood #6) by Faith Hunter

Nell Ingram draws her powers from deep in the earth, and uses them to help Psy-LED, the Psychometric Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. When a local vampire calls to report a dead body on her compound, Nell knows she and her team have to be ready for anything.

But the dead body is just the beginning of a mystery that involves supernaturals of all kinds, including some of the most powerful vampires in the country. As Nell gets closer to the truth, she begins to understand that the perpetrator is tracking her too—and that there is something personal about this crime. Something with roots that go almost as deep as those in Soulwood.

By book six I am totally invested in Nell and the Psy-LED crew. The mystery is always so interesting and the romance between she and Occam, so, so sweet! Does it matter that Nell comes from a line that has an affinity with plants and the Earth? A kind of brownie or sprite, which sounds kind of cute and sweet, but her powers are tied to her land which can be hungry. I find the personification of her “Vampire tree” as a Green Knight who will protect she and her family very interesting. Especially since that Knight seems to be evolving, now able to communicate in a very humanistic way. I’m curious to see where Faith Hunter is taking that character and if it/he can evolve into reality. In fact, when you look at Nell and the Green Knight’s evolution, it seems like it’s Nell that is becoming more plant-like and the Knight more human. Like I said, interesting!

When the Angel in the latest Jane Yellowrock book gave the Vampire’s their soul’s back, a kind gesture I’m sure, but causing all sorts of havoc in the vamp community. They now have “feelings” which are damned inconvenient for a bunch of bloodsuckers. When an ancient vampire from the Spanish Inquisition comes to town his intentions seem to be connected to Soulwood and Nell’s family, so as expected, Nell goes all twigs and twines in defending her territory. Sweet and salty Nell is now coming into her own as a threat and I love that evolution!

Amidst all the doom, gloom, and interspecies fighting, Nell and Occam are planning their wedding. These brief moments are such a contrast to all the darkness in the story and really create that impact of blinding love conquering all that makes their union so wonderful. I really enjoy this plant woman and her cat man. They are a fun couple to root for! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Rift in the Soul

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: Christa Comes Out of her Shell by Abbi Waxman

After a tumultuous childhood, Christa Liddle has hidden away, both figuratively and literally. Happily studying sea snails in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Christa finds her tranquil existence thrown into chaos when her once-famous father—long thought dead after a plane crash—turns out to be alive, well, and ready to make amends. The world goes wild, fascinated by this real-life saga, pinning Christa and her family under the spotlight. As if that weren’t enough, her reunion with an old childhood friend reveals an intense physical attraction neither was expecting and both want to act on . . . if they can just keep a lid on it. When her father’s story starts to develop cracks, Christa fears she will lose herself, her potential relationship, and—most importantly—any chance of making it back to her snails before they forget her completely.

Ever since I read Abbi Waxman’s Garden of Small Beginnings I have been a huge fan. Christa Comes Out of her Shell captures that same quirky real life effervescence that the first novel had. Right from the moment Christa is introduced while viewing her sea snails I fell in love and as the story moved along each moment had its own reveal about Christa’s character. She wasn’t perfect, but she was perfectly awkward and fun to read about. The story itself about a long lost father who appears out of nowhere after twenty-five years was a bit unrealistic but I’ve never let realism get in the way of great storytelling. This family who was angry but at the same time overjoyed to see their father had moments that rang true. Conflicting emotions, long held convictions, but overall a love for each other who saw and would see each other through difficult times. It was such an easy story to read.

When it comes to romance, I’m not sure it’s Abbi Waxman’s focus. She’s such a great storyteller that sometimes the romantic angle kind of feels like an add-on. I’ll admit that for me that was the case with the romance between Christa and Nate but I also loved how that romance was an escape from the press of responsibility for Christa. She didn’t know how to feel about her father but that instant connection with Nate was easy to figure out and explore. It made sense while at the same time felt like it wasn’t needed. See, I was conflicted too!

Needless to say, I’ve liked all of Abbi Waxman’s story’s and this one was no different. In fact, it’s my second favorite that she’s written. Cute, light, and an escape from reality.

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

This Chick Read: Girl Abroad by Elle Kennedy

Abby Bly is off to study abroad in London. It’s her first time away from her retired rock star dad and she’s excited to meet her roommates and start making some memories instead of living vicariously through her dad’s. When she gets to London she finds that her roommates are all male and she knows she’ll have to hide that and all of her adventures from her overprotective dad or she’ll get pulled out of London and find herself back in Nashville. What she doesn’t count on is for a student project to get her invited to an event with royalty or for her to fall for two different guys. Abby is definitely living her life to the fullest!

I have recently discovered Elle Kennedy and fell in love with all of her hockey romance novels. When I read the synopsis for Girl Abroad it definitely sounded like this author was going to take me on a different journey. This story carried the heat of this author’s other romances, but there was also a kind of naiveté in Abby that gave this story a new adult feel. I also loved the mystery Abby was researching for her school project and the new avenue’s that research opened up. The story took me in all sorts of unexpected directions and I totally enjoyed the surprises.

Abby’s relationship with two different guys was a little bit of a surprise, but when I thought about the whole scenario, girl abroad in a foreign country with her first bout of independence, I thought why not? Why should there be limitations on our heroine? I actually really liked how those two relationships gave Abby the journey of self discovery that she needed. It sounded like her dad was way too involved with every element of her life and she needed to live a little!

If you like Elle Kennedy, I think you’ll like this novel. Her writing style is very consistent with what I’ve read previously it’s the change in setting that makes it feel so fresh and new.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Girl Abroad

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate – if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.