Tag: book reviews

This Chick Read: The Break-Up Pact by Emma Lord

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers but drifted apart and haven’t talked for 10 years. After they both have devastating break-ups that spread like wildfire over Tiktok, Levi is back home determined to finish the book he started writing and to make up with his ex-best friend. When a photo of the two of them goes viral #RevengeEx goes into effect and they pretend to be dating each other- he wants to make his ex jealous and June wants the publicity for her failing tea shop. They can fake date without getting their feelings involved, right?

This adult contemporary romance by Emma Lord feels exactly like one of her young adult novels, but with slightly more adult content. I could tell immediately who had written the book because her easy reading style was the same, and her characters were likable, dramatic, funny, and totally relatable.

June is keeping her sister Annie’s dream alive by running her tea shop Tea Tides, and using her newfound TikTok fame to help pay the rent. When Levi re-enters the picture she is faced with not only dealing with why they haven’t talked in ten years but also dealing with the feelings from her sister’s death. This novel has tons of layers taking the reader on a journey as June navigates her future. So when you pick this book up be prepared to laugh, but to also connect with your own feelings. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Break-Up Pact

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne moved to Waning Bay, Michigan, without knowing anyone but her fiancé Peter and when he leaves her for his best friend Petra the week before their wedding she is left only with her dream job as a children’s librarian and a new roommate, Petra’s ex-boyfriend Miles. Miles is the exact opposite of buttoned up Daphne and for the most part they ignore each other. Until one night after they’ve both had a bit to drink they decide to post a picture that makes it look like they are together. That moment becomes the start of a blossoming friendship where Miles shows Daphne the charms of Waning Bay, Michigan and she posts a few photos of their adventures.

Every year I look forward to the summer because I know Emily Henry has a new book release. I relish the fact I’m going to have a few laughs, shed a couple tears, and emotionally involve myself with the main characters in her books. Funny Story was certainly all that. Along with those tension filled moments with Miles were side stories about Daphne making friends with her fellow librarians, Miles’s younger sister coming for a visit and taking Waning Bay by storm, as well as a visit from Daphne’s absentee dad. All things that helped move the story forward, providing insight into our two main characters and enabling us to become wrapped up in the storytelling and drama. This time one of these subplots struck kind of close to home, which made the story more impactful and at times kind of hard to read. Despite this I loved the story and these characters and didn’t find it hard to root for them at all.

This might be Daphne and Miles’s story but I loved all of these side characters just as much as our two protagonists. Ashley was a great budding best friend, teaching Daphne all sorts of lessons about friendship that totally resonated, her Dad whom everyone loved and loved everyone but made Daphne feel second best, and Miles’s sister who loved her big brother more than anyone in the world and just wanted to stand by and support him. These side plots added so much depth to the story , not all of it was rainbows and sunshine but there were funny moments to lighten the mood. Just what I expect from a novel by this author. I do have one request though- maybe just a tiny bit more happy moments? Our protagonists were put through the wringer!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Funny Story

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Audio Review: Sanctuary (Roman’s Chronicles #1) by Ilona Andrews

When a wounded boy stumbles into his yard and requests sanctuary, Roman takes him in despite knowing he was bringing trouble to his door. As the Black Volvh to Chernobog, the God of Destruction, Darkness and Death, Roman was looking forward to his three days off drinking egg nog and cookies. Now he has mercenaries surrounding his home and combat mages dousing his house with fire.

Roman is a character in the Kate Daniel’s universe and if you’re a fan of that series, like I am, you are saying to yourself “FINALLY” Roman gets his own story! Roman is a particular favorite because despite his serving Chernobog, he is a man who acts with kindness and has always stood at Kate and Curran’s side in a crisis. In fact, they asked the Black Volvh to marry them! In this book more of Roman’s back story was revealed. How he was called to his position from a small child, how that calling affected his family, and how it shaped him into the man he is today. All while kicking mercenary butt and teaching this young man Finn how to survive his own call of duty. It was a special tale, and it is not down being told. Yay!

Chris Brinkley does a solid job as narrator on this novel. I’ll admit that I had a bit of a stumble when I first heard his voice because I’m a big fan of Penny Reid’s Winston Series and he voices all of those Winston brothers. However, this is not a rom-com and Chris Brinkley lived up to the character he was voicing. His slight southern dialect fits the location for the Kate Daniel’s universe, which is in the Atlanta area, and as far as I know (because I’m not Russian) he did a great job with the pronunciation of all of the characters from that countries mythology. Honestly, anyone could voice an Ilona Andrews novel and I’d fall in line and learn to love it, I like them that much.

In an author’s note at the end is a woman’s voice with what sounds like a Russian accent describing Ilona Andrews use of mythology in their stories. This was an interesting addendum to an already great story and provided more insight into this author duo that I love so much. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this audiobook!* Sanctuary

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Scenic Route (Beneath the Wild Sky #1) by Katie Ruggle

Felicity Pax is part owner in a bounty hunting business with her sister’s. When their estranged mother skips bail putting the house they all live in up for collateral Felicity chases after her mother. What she doesn’t count on is to be tailed by PI Bennett Green, who is also looking for her mother and the jewelry she stole from his client. Felicity and her sister’s split up and she heads into the Rockies leading Bennett after her, and hunts down a different skip. When that turns dangerous they team up to take this skip down and maybe also fall a little bit in love.

When I first started started reading this book I thought, wait a second, I know these characters! The Pax sisters have been featured in other novels and I wondered when they’d show back up again. A bounty hunting gang of sisters was too good a premise to pass up and it looks like the Beneath the Wild Sky series will feature the rest of them. Yay! We also return to the small town in the rockies where the Search and Rescue Series takes place and we get to revisit that fun group of ladies and their guys who have all been involved in solving crimes and are eager to involve themselves in Felicity’s investigation. It was fun to be back in the rockies with all of these characters again!

I’m a huge fan of Katie Ruggle’s and am so glad she’s writing back in this romantic suspense/rom-com category. I split between the two because there’s a lot of humor in her writing as well as dangerous elements and plenty of romance. Felicity and Bennett were absolutely adorable. She’s the work out self defense expert among her sisters and despite her young age (22) seems pretty adept at navigating this investigation. Bennett is the grumpy hero with a heart of gold and I loved him for Felicity right from the start of this novel, despite is stalker-esque start. He fell instantly in serious like with this woman and was determined to help her and keep her safe. Their special brand of communication with glances and humorous mini dialog’s kept me reading, and the action-adventure style investigation made me hunger for more. I can’t wait for the next novel in this series to come out!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Scenic Route

Copyright 2024 The Reading Chick All Right Reserved

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

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Fiancé Dilemma by Elena Armas

Josie Moore has a reputation. She’s been engaged four times and didn’t make it to the altar for any of those wedding. So why when faced with her father’s PR manager did she make up another fiancé? Matthew walked up the road covered in mud at the wrong time, or was it the right time? He becomes Josie’s fake fiancé to help her navigate the gossip and give her someone she can count on. As Josie’s sister’s best friend, he knows all about how their father can whip the press into a frenzy. Somehow playing the role of doting fiancé isn’t such a stretch and the two of them fight to control the narrative and while they do start to develop feelings for each other.

I’ve enjoyed a lot of Elena Armas’s novels and know many of the characters in this book. Despite that I had kind of a tough time grasping and believing the connection that was developing between Matthew and Josie. Friends definitely, but the chemistry felt a little forced and the pace of the story a little too quick.

I do love a small town romance with quirky characters and fun gossip but the feeding frenzy established by the paps and bloggers kind of left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would but still like this author a lot and look forward to a new setting and new characters to get to know. ❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Fiancé Dilemma

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

Helen Zhang and Grant Shepherd haven’t seen each other since high school. Connected by a tragic accident, each of them has gone on to a career in writing. Helen has written a bestselling young adult series and Grant has moved to LA and flourished as a screenwriter. When Helen’s series gets picked up to be turned into a TV show she is surprised to find Grant on the writing team. Helen is used to pushing down her emotions to move past difficulties in life and thinks she can do the same with working with Grant but the more she gets to know him the more her emotions rise to the surface.

Enemies to lovers romances are my favorite trope so I was ready to absolutely love the journey this author was going to take me on. I loved the setting and thought their being teamed up to re-write her novel for television was an interesting event that could create conflict and drama. There was definitely conflict since both of them felt very deeply about what happened in the past and had a hard time moving on from it. I think it was the approach Helen took that I got stuck on. Helen pushed down her emotions and in her family dynamic was to not cause any undue stress on her parents. A totally real construct and in fact, I could see myself maybe doing something similar but it did make Helen a little cold. It wasn’t until the last third of the book that I felt like she became a warm blooded character and I enjoyed their story a little bit more. Grant’s way of dealing with the past was to put on a charming front, making him great at his job coordinating writers, as well as a likable character. He seemed warm from the start. This is just a really small thing but I think it affected my feelings for the characters and inhibited my rooting for them earlier than I did.

Despite Helen’s cool characteristics, the story was really interesting, Grant was engaging and the other cast of characters were also very enjoyable to read. I totally understand why this is on the bestseller list, I personally just had that one thing that held me back from enjoying the first half of the story as much as I guess everyone else did.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this book!* How to End a Love Story

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

Everyone thought Shiloh and Carey would end up together. Everyone except Shiloh and Carey. In high school they were the best of friends. They spent every moment together and dreamed of their futures. Carey was joining the Navy and Shiloh would go off to college and become and actress. Shiloh did go to college and Carey did join the Navy but it’s been fourteen years since they’ve talked and Shiloh is now divorced with two children. They reconnect at their friends wedding and have to learn how to be friends again.

This was one of those books that started slow but every moment hooked you into that next chapter. You just really wanted to see what was going to happen with Shiloh and Carey next. At the same time it was filled with two different timelines of flashbacks telling the story of what led to their not seeing each other for fourteen years. I usually hate flashbacks and I’ll admit that I was a little impatient with how many this book had, but those chapters were so useful in helping to create depth in these characters. These chapters showed how these young people held onto their hearts and secrets. How communication could have led these characters in a different direction earlier in their lives and maybe made them reflect upon some of their own decisions and the paths they themselves chose. Despite the help in character development it did make the story plod along a little slowly, but I’m a girl that appreciates a slow burn romance and Slow Dance was the penultimate slow burn.

When the time came for our characters to make the journey together in current time I felt so rewarded! I was brought along on this lengthy journey, saw their struggles and insecurities, and felt all the emotions they were each feeling. If my book had not been virtual I would probably have had little tears in the pages from my eagerly advancing the pages and my finger tracing the paths of the words that had meaning. This was a very well done novel, one I’ll re-read to find again those sentences that had meaning and to again feel the depth of emotion these two characters felt for each other. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Slow Dance

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Winter Lost (Mercy Thompson #14) by Patricia Briggs

When Mercy’s brother turns up at her home unable to see or speak she and her husband Adam travel to Montana to investigate the origination of the spell he is under. When they arrive they are trapped in a Lodge in a magical winter storm with the family and guests for a wedding that must happen or the world as they know it will come to an end.

This series is one of my all-time favorite urban fantasy novels. I have read each novel, some multiple times, including listening to the audiobooks and I am truly invested in Mercy, Adam, and the Tri-Cities pack. As Coyote’s daughter, readers have seen Mercy grow from a woman living on her own to a woman connected to a pack, Fae leaders, and her own magic growing at a pace where she is viewed as a threat. She is all of these things but it is her humanity and instinct to protect others that draws me to these books. She is tough, yes, but she is the weakest of all of these “beings” living around her and somehow she, like the being she is related to “Coyote”, she outwits everyone and somehow survives attacks that would kill a normal human. Her heart is her greatest asset and her biggest weakness and each novel showcases that humanity in a way that makes me love her even more.

This story does an amazing job of introducing the reader to new mythology in a way that is interesting and somewhat easy to understand. If you are a reader of the entire series you are used to learning as you read, and dissecting this new information and parsing it into whether what you are reading will hurt or help Mercy. How will she get herself, and in this case her brother, out of this mess, and if Mercy will come out of this investigation whole, or at least in the same shape she was in when she started. In this case Mercy carries a hole in her magic from the previous novel. She starts from a position of weakness. How will she possibly come out of this without being hurt more? It’s worth the read to find out! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Winter Lost

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Business Casual (Lovelight #4) by B.K. Borison

Nova Porter has a lot on her mind. She’s opening a tattoo studio in her hometown of Inglewild and filing paperwork, and setting the studio up to her specifications is taking up all her brain space. Well, almost all of it. Investment Banker Charlie Milford is best friends with her brother and is the brother of one of her best friends and despite his three piece suit wearing ways, she can not get him out of her mind. So she propositions him to one night, no strings in order to kick this attraction to the curb. What they discover is that one night will never be enough.

This is the last book in the Lovelight series but the first of B.K. Borison’s novels I’ve read. That could’ve been disastrous but I was hooked by Nova and Charlie and loved this author’s style of writing. This opposites attract novel was surprisingly great and right up my alley.

Nova was such an interesting character. A grumpy tattoo’d empress of ink, her outside was such a dichotomy to her gooey center. She was driven, but her family was her heart, especially her brother Beckett. Charlie, too, was a contradiction in a suit. He looked like a straight laced gentleman but inside he was kind of an insecure wreck. An overbearing father, a time consuming job in New York, and his attraction to Nova were all competing for his time. Their story was filled with heat, definitely, but even more important they understood each other and were there for each other 100%. I loved how they supported each other with not only words, but actions. Their journey started off with a question mark but ended with an exclamation point.

After reading this novel I wanted to go back and read this series from the beginning. I’m not a B.K. Borison convert and looking forward to exploring all of her other books.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Business Casual

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Audio Review: Who Speaks for the Damned (Sebastian St. Cyr Mysteries #15) By C.S. Harris

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is brought in to investigate the murder of the son of the Earl of Seaford. Long thought dead, after sent off to Botany Bay after being tried for murder, Nicholas Hayes turns up alive in London where he looks up Sebastian’s valet, Jules Calhoun. With Calhoun’s help, Sebastian starts to piece together his last days as well as the days 18 years before when he was accused and found guilty of murder.

Narrated by the estimable Davina Porter, the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries is one of my favorite series when I know I’ll have time to really listen to the details this very talented writer builds into her novels. All of the characters in this world are fully developed and each book releases another mystery about one of our main characters that keeps me coming back.

The mystery in Who Speaks for the Damned centers around a man who had been though dead for years, but when he shows back up in London with a small child Sebastian unearths a handful of villainous characters who may or may not be the murderer. At the heart of the story is the search for the child who is now all alone on the mean streets of 18th century London. A small child can easily come to harm and the way the author created tension through the emotions the females in this novel felt regarding this lost child really helped to amp up the need to find the killer.

As usual, the author really gives a multi-layered view of society during the 18th century in London. From street sweepers to the Prince Regent you can see the different ways each layer of society lived and how privileged the nobility were during this time. That is another reason why I love these books because our hero, despite being a Viscount, believes that every person deserves recognition and their loves should be honored. This is why he investigates their murders. A very noble Noble!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

Click this link to purchase this audiobook!* Who Speaks for the Damned

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.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads