The Bride Goes Rogue by Joanna Shupe

​

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I loved the set up of this book. Our heroine is told by her father that she is betrothed to the son of his former business partner. She is on board and with her notebook of lists plans to be the best wife to give her future husband a great life. But when she goes to his office to hash out the wedding details it turns out he’s not on board with any of that. So she picks herself up dusts herself off and (metaphorically) says to hell with this and to hell with you, I’ll live my own best life and she sets out with grand plans and meaningful goals and also to have a bit of fun. On this journey of self discovery they’re brought back together in the funnest steamiest way I for one can think of and find that maybe they are well suited after all. They have a journey they must travel together though to find their happy ending. Loved the book. High steam, open door. Trigger warnings - death of a parent after an illness. Marriage of a parent after death of the other parent. 

You won’t want to miss this one. 5/5

A Daring Pursuit The Ruthless Rivals by Kate Bateman

​

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I genuinely loved this book. It gave me serious Darcy and Elizabeth - Pride and Prejudice vibes. I loved that Carys has this crazy menagerie of animals she’s rescued. I loved how uptight but then wickedly not uptight Tristan was once he let himself. Carys predicament got me right in the feels. All of the periphery characters were warm and amazing. These two big families are just lovely with their epic feud - enemies to lovers shenanigans. 

Trigger warnings - kind of rape (not from hero) she says ok but isn’t really into it. It does not appear to be traumatic for her but she has to hide that it happened. Blackmail. 

High steam.

Fantastic read! Check this one out asap. 

5/5

Starry-Eyed Love by Helena Hunting Narrated by Jason Clarke; Stella Bloom

​

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in Helena Huntings series about the Spark sisters. Three ladies who are running their family owned boutique event hotel in Colorado. 

This is Londons story which picks up right on the heels of big sister Avery’s story in the previous book. I would recommend reading that book first. In this one we do also see several characters from Helena Huntings Shacking Up series on the periphery. Now I need to go back and read these.

There were a couple moments with our self made billionaire hero where I felt like - ya big dummy what did you think was going to happen 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️. But he was overall likable and the plot crisis did not last overlong. London I was happy to see reach a point of self actualization that was much deserved. I look forward to seeing Harley and hopefully Trent’s stories either together or separately in the future. 

Open door lower steam. Trigger warnings - dead parents in the past - car accident and cancer. Stress of working professionally with family. Anxiety with compulsive origami fixation. 

I always love Helena Huntings narrators. Great voices for her characters. Alternating points of view though we spend most of our time with London. 

5/5

The Bodyguard A Novel by Katherine Center Narrated by Patti Murin

​

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by this author and if they are all like this I have been missing out. I laughed out loud, I smiled and I even gained some life philosophies that I’m sure I’ll be thinking about for a while. 

This story is irreverently and pragmatically told to the reader by the heroine. Here we have a female bodyguard/fake girlfriend scenario semi-on par with Miss Congeniality which also takes place primarily in Texas. There’s the thread of what’s real and what’s not while we’re pretending, with the stakes raised by the fact that the hero is a top tier movie star heart throb. I appreciated that the author did not go overboard on this concept though by dwelling on it overmuch as can sometimes happen with this trope. Hannah was so “real” and admirably practical if awkward through everything in a way that I at least found endearing and relatable. 

There is not a lot of steam. Closed door. Only some making out with no petting and one F word that I can recall and honestly I’m a non-curser but I felt the situation made it entirely reasonable. The relationship building and cast of characters were fascinating and there was just enough action. Great book. 

5/5

The Pout-Pout Fish and the Worry-Worry Whale by Deborah Diesen Narrated by Fred Berman

I received a copy of the audiobook for this picture book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I imagine that the audio would be accompanied by the picture book. The time length comes in at about 6 minutes.

This is such a great topic for children. Addressing emotional regulation is so important and can be difficult to address as a parent. Having a book to use with examples is an excellent tool. The situations were very relatable and the advice practical and useful but not overwhelming. 

5/5

Ada Twist and the Disappearing Dogs by Andrea Beaty Narrated by Bahni Turpin

​

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Being the mom of two science loving elementary aged kids I knew I had to check this out. 

This is a great stem related chapter book. Representation matters and there is a lot of representation happening. The circle of friends include girls and boys. One boy is dyslexic but loves to draw. All of their names and interests rhyme. Ada and her Aunt are ladies of color as is the narrator. 

Ada goes through the scientific method thoroughly and puts it into practice in a way relatable to children. There are moments of humor. There are a lot of educational and interesting facts discussed. There is female empowerment. There is guidance about the wisdom of not jumping to conclusions or making assumptions without investigating thoroughly and what kind of negative situations can happen if one does share opinions with no basis in reality. It’s clearly explained that science is about facts and not feelings.

The audiobook comes in just under and hour and a half and acting was spectacular especially considering there were a lot of characters and animals involved. Sound quality was good.

5/5

A Haunted Road Atlas Sinister Stops, Dangerous Destinations, and True Crime Tales by Christine Schiefer; Em Schulz Narrated by Christine Schiefer; Em Schulz

​

I received a digital copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I had not listened to the authors podcast before but being an occasional strange true crime/ ghost history enthusiast I was eager to listen to this one. They did a solid job of addressing one true crime and one haunting in a variety of locations across the country interwoven with their own experiences with these cities and places. Fans of their podcast will get the most out of this book and audiobook but even though I’m not one of their previous listeners I didn’t find it inaccessible. 

Very enjoyable, fascinating info and good sound quality. 5/5