Tag: women’s fiction

This Chick Read: Getting Clean With Stevie Green by Swan Huntley

Stevie Green has spent the last 20 years moving around the country, moving from one bar to another, having one night stands and running from her past. When her mother calls and asks for her help packing up her house and moving, Stevie heads home. She reinvents herself and starts a decluttering business and with her sisters help pursues being number one. As she declutters others lives she faces a few facts about her life, sexuality, and that horrible item from her past that she’s spent the last 20 years not forgetting.

For all of you who like to know about triggers, this one has a bunch of them. Be warned there is alcoholism, suicide, sex, and a quirky family. OK, maybe the quirky family isn’t a trigger for everyone, but it is for me! 🙂 Stevie is a 37 year old who does not have her act together at all, but she’s great at faking it, until, well, she doesn’t anymore.

Despite all the things distracting Stevie in this novel, or maybe because of all the things that were distracting in this novel, it was a quick read. I found Stevie to be sad, funny, and desperate to have a normal life and have someone normal to love her. That last is what makes her so identifiable. I am nothing like Stevie Green and yet before I found it, I yearned for that special someone. In Stevie’s case she wasn’t sure if that someone was a man or a woman.

This was a very fast moving novel about a woman who was facing her past while at the same time facing who she was in the present. I thought it was a really different style of book than my normal read and realized that sometimes it’s good to read outside that box. Getting Clean with Stevie Green was quirky, funny, and moving and I thought it was pretty darned good! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Getting Clean With Stevie Green

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

This novel is on a TON of must read lists and after reading it I can totally see why. Katrina and Nathan wrote a best selling romance together three years ago but haven’t talked since. They are contracted to write one more book together, something that Nathan really needs since his solo novel isn’t doing well. Katrina had retired from writing but agrees to write this last novel. Through flashbacks we learn what happened three years ago at the same time as they are working on their current book and the reader can’t help but root for these two best friends who had lost their way and may (or may not) find the path back to each other.

Normally flashbacks drive me crazy. I’m a person who likes to be in the hear and now and I like the same thing from the stories I read. However, the use of the flashbacks parallel where the characters are in the story and help drive both the characters and readers feelings back and forth. It was deftly done, and being manipulated has never felt so good. I honestly wasn’t sure if Katrina and Nathan would ever have anything but another great book written by the two of them.

One of the things I liked the most about this novel was the back and forth between tension filled scenes in current time, then a flashback to explain where the two characters were in their relationship during the writing of their last book. I also loved how despite the tension, they were awed equally by each others talent, and they read each other’s moves and reactions so well. It was fascinating to see their love story being written…twice.

I’m a big fan of this writing duo and am glad that they’re branching out into the adult genre. Their talent is in giving their characters thought-provoking feelings and then acting on them, sometimes to the detriment of themselves. Something we all do in real life. Kat and Nathan were no different than you and I in how they’ve made mistakes and either ignored or fixed them. This relatability is a big reason why the story works so well. There is something in both of them that I can see in myself, and I don’t think I’ll be the only reader to think this. Don’t let 2022 go by without reading The Roughest Draft, I have a feeling that it will land on my best of 2022 list, and it’s only January.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* The Roughest Draft

Copyright 2022 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Love for Beginners (Wildstone #7) by Jill Shalvis

Emma Harris wakes up from a coma and learns that her best friend and her fiancé are now a couple, she broken most of the bones in her body, and her insurance bills are adding up. The doctors told her that she’d never walk again but with the help of her physical therapist she is finally able to move out of her apartment that she shares with her ex-BFF and into her own place. No one will hire her because she hasn’t had a job in a year when the pet store that she trains dogs in goes up for sale. Unable to get a loan she ends up with an unlikely partner. Her frenemy from high school, and Simon’s cousin, Ali Pratt. Love for Beginners is a tale about perseverance, falling in love, and making new friends.

Emma, as the main protagonist, was completely likable and easy to root for. Out jogging when hit by a car seems like pretty bad luck but it brought the delicious physical therapist, Simon into her life and it changed her from a person who may have let people walk on her to learning to have a backbone and to stand up for herself. Something she probably should have done a long time ago. I loved her inner voice that always reminded her that she wasn’t the old Emma but the new Emma 2.0. Her budding romance with Simon while lacking heat (at least for me) did help Emma grow as a character. I looked at it as part of her healing process. Sex with hot PT- check! Of course, there were feelings involved but their romance wasn’t really what this novel was about. It was about Emma’s challenges and how she was facing them.

Ali’s story was secondary but I found it just as interesting. She too needed to grow but it was in the reverse of Emma. From an early age Ali has put a wall up, not letting anyone get close. She always considered Emma a rival. Probably because from the outside Emma’s life seemed charmed but just like what you see on Facebook, nothing is as it seems on the surface. Their partnership allowed them both to see the other side of each other. I thought Jill Shalvis did a good job of showing the growth of a female friendship!

I’m a big fan of Jill Shalvis’ novels. She always writes great secondary character and/or groups of friends that you always want to get to know. Love for Beginners was no different. I do wish the romance had brought a little more sizzle to the page but upon reflection it kind of fit. Simon had his own story that made him a little distant too. Luckily, he had Emma and his cousin Ali to help him work through his emotions and give him a kick in the butt.

If you’re in the mood for a good friendship novel I think Love for Beginners is certainly that. If you want a romance, there is some of that too but I really feel like that was secondary to all of the other stories that were being told in this novel. It wasn’t what I expected but I did like it! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Love for Beginners: A Novel (The Wildstone Series Book 7)

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes by Alexa Martin

Jude and Lauren have been best friends since the third grade and despite their differences they are always there to support the other when times get rough. Usually they both don’t hit rock bottom at the same time. After Lauren’s fiancé leaves her and their daughter, Lauren’s confidence takes a hit, but she stays strong for her daughter Adelaide wanting to show her that a strong woman can achieve anything. Jude is also going through some family issues. Since her father died her mom has gone off the deep end and Jude’s been floating her money, not knowing how to deal with this new situation. Needing each other’s strength, Lauren (and Adelaide!) and Jude move in together. Together they start a podcast about being single, raising a daughter, and dating building a brand that strikes a chord with their listeners. They just wish that real life were as funny as their podcast portrays, but despite life’s challenges the strength of their friendship will help pull them through it all.

A novel about friendship, love, and family? Sold! I’m a huge fan Alexa Martin’s NFL romance series, Playbook, and while this novel is not a romance there is plenty of love to be had on its pages. The friendship between Jude and Lauren is the kind of friendship that women dream of and probably rarely ever get. It defies all of life’s changes, marriage, and children. Jude is Lauren’s biggest fan and the feeling is absolutely returned. Of course, there is a lot of conflict in this novel as well, but just as in a romance, these ladies do get their happily ever after.

Who is my favorite character in this novel? Adelaide, of course! This five year old little girl has an old soul and enough sass to fill a swimming pool! Her character was such fun to read and added some much needed humor to the drama. I totally want Adelaide to star in her own young adult, new adult, and adult contemporary novels. She was a hoot!

I love how Alexa Martin shares her perspective through her characters. Her romance novel couples were of mixed race, and this lady friendship is between a white woman and black woman and Jude’s character speaks to the things she’s learned about racial inequality and how her best friend Lauren has been treated in her life. Jude is a mouthy white woman who doesn’t have a problem calling out injustices on behalf of her friend, despite Lauren not wanting to bring attention to them herself. This is a fictional novel but that doesn’t mean that the reader can’t learn by what the characters go through. Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes had many such moments.

If, like me, you are a fan of Alexa Martin’s you’ll probably pick up this novel. If you’ve never heard of Alexa Martin I think you will enjoy reading this story about overcoming obstacles while having a good friend by your side. These characters were easy to identify with, root for and love, plus there’s Adelaide, the star of the book. LOL!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

June Jones is content working as a library’s assistant in her villages local branch when it’s threatened with being shuttered. Although the funds have been dwindling and it’s a bit shabby, this library is the home away from home not just for June but also for other villagers who need a place to gather. Never having left the small boundaries of her village June is distraught on behalf of the village but mostly on behalf of herself, who’s memories of her own mother are tied to the books in this building. The shy June must decide what’s more important, living with her mothers memories, or fighting this shut down and making new memories of her own.

Set in a quiet English village, June seems to be your typical quiet librarian. More at peace with books than with people. As this novel moves forward the reader see’s June as the villagers see her, the tie that binds her villagers together. I was pleasantly surprised by how moved I was by this novel. I thought I knew what I would be reading but as June dared to live outside the quiet comforts she knew the pages filled with color and emotion.

If this novel were only about June it may have been a typical story about a girl who likes to escape through a good book. Instead it was about June’s relationships with the people in her village and how her kindness helped them through their own trials throughout the years. Giving book advice, tutoring a high school student, teaching an older man to read, there were many facets of June that we don’t initially see. Each new light shone through a different character that was introduced and I have to admit there were some pretty outstanding characters that helped June shine so bright.

The Last Chance Library’s pace started off slow but as I got immersed in the story it quickly quickened. I found that sleepy English villages can be pretty exciting, or at least they can when the villagers decide to rise up. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Last Chance Library

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

Alex and Poppy met in college and struck up a unique friendship. Nothing alike, they balanced each other out and became a support system that they each needed. As they grew older and life moved them further apart they kept up the tradition they started in college of taking a summer vacation together. Summer’s that were the bright spot of their year until something happened two years ago and they haven’t spoken since. Until one night when Poppy texted a message, “Hey”.

Last year’s Beach Read was in my Top 5 best books of the year so I had really high expectations for People We Meet on Vacation. While it didn’t touch the right note that Beach Read hit (right time to read, right mood, etc.) it was still an outstandingly good book and will again be placed in my Top 10 at least so far this year. The awkward nerdy-hot Alex, and the retro-dressed outgoing yet insecure Poppy were both from the same home town and although they didn’t know each other growing up immediately clicked on a long drive home for winter break. Their friendship came fast and solid. Alex was non judgmental about her unique family and she jokingly picked and prodded Alex out of his multiple comfort zones. They had different goals in life and supported each others dreams, to the detriment of their own feelings. When their summer vacation went awry two years ago causing a rift the reader see’s through Poppy’s perspective and feels how deeply disturbed she’s been despite not knowing exactly what happened. By the time she typed ‘Hey’ I was all in on their relationship becoming something more secure and felt the desperation Poppy was feeling that kept me on the emotional edge of my seat wishing for their happiness.

The clever use of flashbacks of Poppy and Alex’s vacations means that we knew Alex just as well by the time that fateful text was made. I was caught hook, line, and sinker and there was no way I wasn’t going to finish this story, needing to know where Poppy and Alex stood at the end. As we lived through what might be their last summer vacation together (after all life moves forward despite our relationships and feelings) I teetered between tears and laughter, caught in their emotional drama. Emily Henry really knows how to craft friendship novels fraught with emotional crisis.

People We Meet on Vacation was just as good as last year’s Beach Read so why did I score it a half rating less? I really think it was the fact that in Beach Read the characters lives before their story started together had the drama whereas in this novel the drama was created by these two characters. It’s a very small detail and truthfully it was used very effectively. I just liked how I felt while reading Beach Read much better than I did while reading People We Meet on Vacation. Reading is all about your own perspective being stamped upon the story you are reading. I was a half rating short of being in the perfect mood to read this book. That’s it. No other reason, it was really just as good. In fact, I’ll probably pick it up in audio to live through their relationship again. If my feelings change about the rating, I’ll let you know!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* People We Meet on Vacation

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Falling in Luck by Mary Ann Marlowe

Mallory Pech thinks she’s cursed by bad luck. Her best friend Benji Chance thinks there is no such thing as bad luck, you make your own. When Jean-Luc Chevalier, the very charming and gorgeous son of her company’s CEO comes to New York on a business trip Mallory crushes hard and is determined to catch his eye. Surprisingly this time she does! When he proposes a marriage of convenience Mallory decides to seize the day and joins him back in Paris for a 30 day trial run. The only problem is that she misses her best friend dreadfully, and Jean-Luc’s family is not like she imagined from their picture on Instagram. Could it be that she was never unlucky at love and her hearts desire was in front of her the whole time?

Despite knowing where this story was going right from the get-go I thought Falling in Luck was a lot of fun. Mallory was funny and sweet, if not a little naivé about a few things, but I over-looked them because I love a good redemption romance and she and Benji were just too cute for words and I wanted their HEA . The only down-side is that Benji spent a lot of the novel on the other side of the pond while Mallory was in over her head in Paris.

It would have been so easy to write this novel so the reader would hate Jean-Luc, but he was French, good looking, and charming and obviously had a soft spot for the terminally klutzy Mallory. I mean I’m surprised this girl didn’t walk in front of a bus in Paris while looking the wrong way! Jean-Luc, while having a lot of his own problems stuck by her and was her savior so I, of course, couldn’t hate him. However, their coupledom was doomed from the start and I’ll admit I was a little antzy to get to the real romance. When was Benji going to come after Mallory? Ultimately he arrived, but I would’ve been a little happier if it had happened sooner.

Ms. Marlowe has always written great characters and I loved Mallory, Benji, and Jean-Luc as well as the other cast of characters in the book. Like I said previously, they were all so easy to like but it was apparent from the start who the hero was going to be in this story despite the two charming men vying for our obtuse, sweet, Mallory. I’m all for self-discovery novels (and boy did Mallory need to find herself) but I was in the mood for romance and there’s no place like Paris for taking that next step towards love. Ah Amour! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this ARC from the author for my honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase!* Falling in Luck

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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It’s Monday, what are you reading? (5/3/21)

I have been on a listening jag lately, finding it hard, again, to pick up a book and lose myself in a plot. I think in part this is because my husband has been traveling and I find listening to an audiobook to be soothing. I’ll admit to putting in my ear buds and falling asleep to some old favorites. It’s a comfort when I’m tired of hearing myself talk to the dog. Does anyone else do this? 🙂 The book I just finished is an oldie but goodie. However, I do have an ARC deadline this week so I have actually started reading the book so I can get a review out on time.

This post originated over on Book Date, so thanks for the idea and letting me continue on the discussion about what books I am reading.

JUST FINISHED

For those of you who have only watched the TV series True Blood, you are truly missing out. I am one of those people who read the books back when they were originally released and couldn’t watch the tv program because it wasn’t anything like the books. This series is narrated by Johanna Parker who does an outstanding job imbuing Sookie with the humor that her narration warrants. That humor was totaling missing from the show which was all glorified sex and blood. I’m so glad I’ve rediscovered this series and I’m slowly using up my Audible credits one book at a time. It’s totally worth it.

JUST STARTED

I met this author many years ago at a book convention. I was just starting out as a book blogger and she gave me her first book to review. Now, years later, I still find myself lucky enough to receive an ARC of all of her releases. I just started this book last night and it comes out on Tuesday. As with her other novels I’m immediately drawn in by the interesting characters. I can’t wait to see where this story takes me!

I hope everyone has a great book on their nightstand that they are looking forward to reading in their downtime. I’d love to hear what book has caught your eye. Please share in the comments below.

Happy Monday and happy reading!

Deb

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This Chick Read: Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Hana Khan works in her mother’s restaurant Three Sisters Biryani Poutine while she pursues her dream of being a broadcaster telling her stories on the radio. When another halal restaurant opens in the Golden Crescent Hana’s eyes are opened to how her mothers restaurant is struggling. Will it survive against the new competition? When her cousin and Aunt coming visiting from India her world expands outward from the comfort of what’s familiar. Family secrets are revealed and the Golden Crescent is threatened by hate crimes both turning Hana’s life upside down.

It was so hard to give a brief synopsis where I didn’t give away any of this novels fabulous secrets, please don’t let my lackluster paragraph above keep you from picking up this novel. Hana’s struggle between who she is as a young Muslim woman and who she wants to be, a broadcaster who tells stories of her world from her own unique perspective, is challenged by radio managers who are trying to tell her story for her. I loved how this part of the story was handled because it really told the struggle that she felt in a way that I a middle aged white woman could feel.

Hana’s love interest is the very handsome young owner of the competitive restaurant. I found it a little hard to identify with him at first but as his story moved forward I understood him more and grew to like him. However this book really revolves around Hana and this romance was not the most important part of the story. It did end up being kind of a sweet one though.

Hana was fascinating. She was the dutiful daughter, the strong independent woman, and a Muslim woman. With Aydin she showed a different character. First as antagonist, then as surly friend, then as young woman in love. There were so many aspects to this character I never got bored. In fact I sped through this novel. Her world was both beautiful and scary. How Hana reacted to all of these changes didn’t change the core person she was and that was the person I was most interested in reading about.

If you are trying to widen your world view pick up this novel. Also pick up this authors previous novel Ayesha at Last, which was also a very good story. Each separate story line in this novel could have stood on its own and together created a really well fleshed out character and novel. I enjoyed this one very much! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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

Click this link to purchase!* Hana Khan Carries On

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

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

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This Chick Read: Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

Ruthie Midona has worked at Providence Retirement Villa for the last six years and her plan is to never leave. When her boss goes on vacation and leaves her in charge she’s got everything handled until the new owner’s decide to rock the boat by dumping Teddy Prescott on the premises. Teddy, is young, tattooed, hot, and charmed. He’s the owner’s son and needs a place to stay for a couple of months while he earns the money to buy into a partnership on his own tattoo shop. To earn that money Ruthie has him interview with the Perloni sisters, two of Providence’s long time residents, and two of the most difficult. Sharing the space beside her own residence she and Teddy build a friendship that may change one of their long term plans.

Second First Impressions was the follow up novel I have been waiting for from Sally Thorne. As author of the critically acclaimed and beloved The Hating Game I was hugely disappointed in her follow up novel 99 Percent Mine. THIS novel, aptly named Second First Impressions, is my own second first impression of this author and the talent she obviously has to write a story that touches our hearts. Ruthie is the struggling awkward heroine that most of us ladies always felt we were and Teddy is that untouchable guy who seems like he has it all together but actually needs that one person to believe in him to help him overcome his own insecurities. They are my new favorite friendship and I definitely want to read this novel again to see what I missed the first time.

You know when you are reading a novel and the pace, setting, and characters just seem to give off that golden, magical glow? That was this novel for me. Ruthie, despite her uncertainty in how to respond to this gorgeous guy had this persona of certainty in how she responded to his attempts at seduction. Keeping him at arms length when she really wants to wrap him in her arms and hold him for as long as she has him. The way these two gave each other strength was magical and I’ll admit to finding myself reaching for that box of tissue quite a few times as they navigated their way through adulting.

Truly great novels also have a cast of characters that add to the story and help round out our protagonists. Melanie, Ruthie’s office assistant is one of those characters that help add definition and depth. She is the third party in Teddy and Ruthie’s budding friendship adding humor and likability to their small gatherings while also giving Ruthie a reason to stretch her wings by signing her up on a dating site to help her meet people outside the retirement community. The other two awesome characters that add some light-hearted humor to the story are the Perloni sisters. As their assistant, Teddy is put through the wringer of what should be embarrassing errands all of which he handles with aplomb and good humor. Those two ladies rounded out the cast of what is a wonderful novel.

I loved the way Second First Impressions made me feel as I read it. It was magical, made me laugh, cry, and generally I just felt good reading this novel. These characters were able to have their own second first impressions with each other but it also enabled me to give this author another glance and another chance. I am so glad I did. Sally Thorne has some serious writing skills and I am again waiting eagerly for her next novel. After I read this one again, and again, and again.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❣️

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

Click this link to purchase this book!* Second First Impressions: A Novel

Copyright 2021 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 Reads1 Comment