Book Review: The Writing on the Wall

When I tell you that I haven't felt well and have slept through most of this week, that's no joke. Doing something like eating breakfast was exhausting, so I'd take a nap well into the afternoon and barely make it until my bedtime, which is normally 10. Then I'd sleep all the way through the night like I've never slept before. I feel generally run down and crappy, so I don't know if my body is fighting something off or I have something else going on. Regardless, it is annoying and I am so behind in everything. 

The Writing on the Wall - Marilyn Howard

This timely and entertaining memoir about a woman entrepreneur explores existing challenges and her winning strategies to conquer and succeed in the 1970s and today. The author portrays her youthful travel adventures, harrowing legal battles and romantic surprises. Her route winds around a semester in Italy, breaking through a glass ceiling as art director at an advertising agency, skiing in Aspen, wandering through Mexico, working in Hawaii and enjoying group houses in the Hamptons before beginning her startup and family. New territory was charted in 1970 with the founding of Creative Freelancers Inc., the first central agency for freelance commercial artists and writers. It operated in Manhattan for over 25 years and in 1997 it was the first agency on the web. A late marriage to an older, sophisticated New York man made her a mother to two of her own children and three surprise stepdaughters. Finding herself with a family needing support and great business potential, she was pressured to make the business grow. Events converge and uncanny predictions come true.

A fascinating look at how the author became an entrepreneur and all of the successes (and failures) since the very beginning. I'm not sure if its sad or reassuring that things have been remarkably the same but also very different. Yay for consistency? 

One thing I could really relate to was her journey into motherhood while maintaining a career. A man is never asked if he plans to stay home with the baby, its just assumed a woman would give up her career once the baby is born. For this reason alone this book is such an encouraging read for any new mother, whether she stays home or not, because it is so easy to lose your identity to motherhood and we are so much more than that. Just because we become a mother doesn't mean we give up all of our interests and ambitions, we just have to adjust and make room for all of it. I could relate to the struggles of a baby who was a lot, both my first and third baby were a lot. A lot, a lot, and I remember crying many times because I just didn't know how to take care of them. I really felt like I was failing. I was good at so much but why can't I be good at this? Needless to say, I wish I had a Vi. (Vi is a nanny of sorts, a woman of many talents.) I loved her description of the different stages of parenting, and I feel like I'm in all of them at once right now! She offers helpful advice and a new perspective on parenting I hadn't yet considered. 

Highly motivating, this is a positive and encouraging book for women, and teach you how to say no and when to say yes. It's great for career focused women, parenting/family focused women, and the women who are going to do it all. No matter which path you take, Marilyn Howard assures you that its the best path for you and that you've got this. 

Thank you to WOW! Women on Writing and author Marilyn Howard for having me on this tour and providing a copy for review! All opinions are my own. 

Book Review: Ride or Die

 I can't believe I didn't post at all in August. We did go on our second road trip of the summer and then the back to school prep kind of took me out. I'm back now and with one of the best memoirs I've read in awhile, a husband's journey through grief. It isn't very long but oh so impactful. 

Ride or Die - Jarie Bolander

Modern society has a warped sense of the partner-caregiver role, especially for men. Too often, men are ill equipped to handle switching from provider to caregiver, and the “just suck it up” advice so many offer up falls as flat as the Kansas prairie in the face of the reality of life and death.

Ride or Die takes its audience through the intimate conversations and thoughts of a Gen-X latchkey-generation husband—a man who has always had to fend for himself and believed that it’s up to him to solve his own problems—as and after his wife, Jane, succumbs to a terminal disease.

Jarie Bolander wrote this raw, heartfelt tribute to Jane and her handling of her illness to help men and the people who love them through the experience of loss and grief. A frank chronicle of how an intimate relationship can change and grow—even when the people involved feel there is nothing left to give— Ride or Die offers a detailed exploration of the male experience of grief, in the hopes that others suffering through it will not feel so alone.

Right off the bat, this reminded me of Matt and I. Sure, I don't have cancer and I am not dead, but it just struck me that this could have been Matt. And though I am not dealing with cancer, after having Lucy I haven't been anywhere near the same. I'm left with a multitude of ailments and illnesses and complications that are here for the rest of my days and that's meant that Matt had to change, too. Where I was once overachieving working and PTO mom, volunteering us left and right and going out of my way to help everyone while maintaining a perfect home and cooked meals everyday, I am now that absolute opposite. It is hard to get out of bed, I'm not volunteering anywhere, I'm not working, I had to quit the PTO, my house is a mess and I can't cook to save my life. But, like the author mentions, "the sickness and health" seems like an abstract thought until you're hip deep into it. 

In Ride or Die, we follow Jarie at the unexpected start of a cancer battle with his wife, Jane. We know she doesn't survive so its a real arc and you feel like you're on this journey with them. I absolutely loved this book and read it in one sitting because I couldn't stop. Jane reminded me so much of myself and Jarie reminded me of Matt, except I don't know that Matt would have even offered to keep my business afloat! 

Me, fresh out of the ICU, and Matt- August 2016

I really loved the circle of friends Jane and Jarie had and how in their own way, each one rallied to support them even in the darker days. Jane was the strongest woman battling leukemia and I'd like to think I can understand what her frustrations were maybe like having been an everything to everyone woman myself and knowing I can't do it, but I want to, that need never shuts off in your brain. You still have those expectations of yourself despite being unable to do it, which makes you feel bad and guilty. So for her to battle that, and leukemia, at the same time is just remarkable. I'd like to think she'd be proud of her husband for everything he did for and around her. 

I highly recommend this one, it's powerful and just heartbreaking, but a true testament to love. Big thank you to SparkPoint Press for inviting me on this book tour, all thoughts are my own. 

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Book Review: The Wolf and the Wildflower

 You know how I always say I forget that I love historical romance until I'm reading it? Yeah, I'm no longer saying that. I keep reaching for historical romance and I'm not hating it. This one was such a fun, and unique, read. 

The Wolf and the Wildflower - Stacy Reid

London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he’s been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen…or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.

Promising psychologist Jules Southby knows a lot about disguises. She’s secretly been living as a boy since birth, enjoying the freedoms of men and knowing little about how to behave like a woman. When she meets the alluring duke, she’s unprepared for his raw, masculine beauty and icy intelligence…or that he can see through her darkest secret.

Jules has very little time to transform the duke into a true semblance of an English gentleman. Yet his very presence seems to unravel her in every way. Their attraction is stark and achingly real—and forbidden. But loving the lost duke would mean losing every sacrifice she’s made to earn her freedom…

Let me just get into this, James was lost in the wilderness for ten years so when he makes his miraculous return, its imperative that he find a duchess. In his family's preparation of his return to the haute ton, the Duchess of Wulverton (his mother) hires a psychologist and his son Jules to come in and evaluate James' abilites. Is he crazy? Is he feral? Is he able to look and act normally?

The psychologist's son, Jules, is a promising student who is hopefully following his father's footsteps to someday take over his promise. Jules is immediately taken with the duke and the duke can seemingly sniff out Jules' secret. Jules isn't a man after all, she's a woman in a manly disguise who is fooling her father and hopefully, society. How does a dad not know his son is a daughter? That's a great question answered immediately in the book. 

The love affair between James and Jules is quite adorable and promising. I really loved the romance, and I loved the duke's frankness. The story ultimately requires both James and Jules to decide, are they willing to drop all pretenses and the life they know to hang onto their love, or is the life they've made and what comes with it more important? Even though I knew exactly what the climax was going to be, I was only partially right and for that I am grateful. I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for sending me a copy for review, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Stacy Reid does it again, I can't wait to read what she does next! 

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Book Review: Shattered Dreams

 Hello friends! I'm still reading like crazy and one of my recent books is the last in the Beautiful Nightmare series from Abbie Roads and I want more. 

Shattered Dreams - Abbie Roads

A crooked cop. Corruption. A woman convicted of murder. A man determined to prove her innocence.

When Helena Grayse is released from prison, all she wants is to say a final goodbye to her old life. But when a man finds her trespassing on his property, instead of turning her in, he takes her in. Accepts her. Loves her.

But someone decides to serve Helena with a death sentence.

Shattered Dreams is the third book in Abbie Roads’ Beautiful Nightmare Series of dark romantic thrillers. It features a felon heroine who never thought she deserved love. If you devour true crime and romance novels then you’ll love a series that combines both in a roller-coaster ride of danger, mind games, and swoon worthy love.

I'm going to try to talk about this without giving anything away and ruin it. To be fair, I didn't read the synopsis when I started it so I went into this kind of blind. We have Thomas, who after a tumultous childhood with a harrowing, violent event, lost the ability to see color. Until Helena, who after an unbelievable awful stint in prison for a crime she didn't commit. With Helena near him, he can see color and that's alarming to him. She isn't mute, she's selectively quiet so Thomas finds it difficult to communicate with her but he's still able to. 

After a chance encounter in the woods, Thomas sees this as fate, but Helena is still terrified and doesn't know why Thomas is being kind to her and she doesn't trust it. They quickly learn that Helena is in grave danger, and it is connected to the danger finds Thomas finds himself in and it's a larger problem than either can imagine. Helena's dreams may have the key to unlock all of the questions. 

I loved the romance, I loved the interesting connection between the two and the connection to the larger stories. I loved Abbie's writing, she makes every story a fast read. I loved the romance angle, and I loved the connection to the legend the totem pole the books are written around. (I understand that sounds bizarre, just go with it.)

Overall I really liked this and this series. I need to read the first one because I'd like to see how the series started, but the second one was just as good as this one. Each couple has strange challenges and I liked the creativity. I can't say that I've read anything quite like that and I'm here for it. 

Thank you to Xpresso Tours and Abbie Roads for having me on this tour and providing a copy for review! A package from Abbie is a bright spot in any kind of day, I can't wait to read what she does next! 

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Book Review: Everything's Fine

Hi lambs! I've been on a reading frenzy and gearing up for our first roadtrip in two yars, which is why I've been quiet around here. I hope your summer is going well and that you have some fun things planned. I'll keep you updated after our roadtrip about the highs and the lows and any shenanigans we come into. 

Everything's Fine - Cecilia Rabess

When Jess lands a job as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, she’s less than thrilled to learn she’ll be on the same team as Josh, her preppy, white, conservative sparring partner from college. Josh loves playing the devil’s advocate and is just…the worst.

But when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, it’s Josh who shows up for her in surprising—if imperfect—ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship—one tinged with undeniable chemistry—forms between the two. A friendship that gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both.

Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forwards, and Jess begins to question whether it’s more important to be happy than right. But then it’s 2016, and the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them. And Jess, who is just beginning to discover who she is and who she has the right to be, is forced to ask herself what she’s willing to compromise for love and whether, in fact, everything’s fine.

A stunning debut that introduces Cecilia Rabess as a blazing new talent, Everything’s Fine is a painfully funny, poignant, heartfelt novel that doesn’t just ask will they, but…should they?

Everything's Fine is one of my most anticipated books of 2023 and I couldn't wait to get into it... unfortunately it wasn't a hit for me. It's your traditional enemies to lovers romance, but it's peppered with the patricharchy, race, and political arguments and it just wasn't what I needed right now. I don't know if I'm the only one who ended the book with a "what the hell is this ending?!" but maybe that's the point. Now that we know what happened since that election in real life, you could just imagine how Jess and Josh would handle it. I definitely don't think they'd survive it as a couple, that much I know. 

I haven't read a book where I didn't like either character. Jess is the realist/pessimist, Josh is the optimist/his own version of white realist, a classic Fox News Republican. Surely they wouldn't work as a couple somehow they make it through different things. I think I found myself so frustrated throughout it I almost DNF'ed it but I wanted to know how it was going to end. I had an ideal ending that would be best for everyone and that'd didn't happen so I was left frustrated and wanting to yell at someone. 

But... maybe that was the point. 

Regardless of the ending or how you feel about the story, it is truly a stunning and promising debut for Cecilia Rabess. I'll be interested to see what she does next. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour!

Book Review: Where the Grass Grows Blue

Hi friends! I know I don't post nearly as often as I should but my goal is to get better about it. I've no shortage of great books I've read, that's for sure, and I have all kinds of personal life stuff I could be writing about. I'm hoping now that summer is here and I can feel my vitamin D going up that everything else starts perking up. 

But!! 

I do have a great summer read for you. Part romance, part women's fiction, a perfect summer book club selection!

Where The Grass Grows Blue - Hope Gibbs

Penny Crenshaw’s swift divorce and her husband’s new marriage to a much younger woman have been hot topics around Atlanta’s social circles. After a year of enduring the cruel gossip, Penny leaps from the frying pan into the fire by heading back to Kentucky to settle her grandmother’s estate.

Reluctantly, Penny travels to her hometown of Camden, knowing she will be stirring up all the ghosts from her turbulent childhood. But not all her problems stem from a dysfunctional family. One of Penny’s greatest sources of pain lives just down the street: Bradley Hitchens, her childhood best friend, the keeper of her darkest secrets, and the boy who shattered her heart.

As Penny struggles with sorting through her grandmother’s house and her own memories, a colorful group of friends drifts back into her life, reminding her of the unique warmth, fellowship, and romance that only the Bluegrass state can provide. Now that fate has forced Penny back, she must either let go of the scars of her past or risk losing a second chance at love. Can she learn to live an unbridled life?

I have to say, this book was fulfilling on so many levels. It's a romance, a second chance romance, but it is also a story of starting over and getting it right the second go round. 

We have Penny, who is abruptly served divorce papers that sends her life into a tailspin. Having had a difficult childhood, she relies on nobody but herself and doesn't always stick up for herself. Learning of the death of her grandmother at nearly the same time, having to take care of her grandmother's estate, and her children going on a ridiculous trip to Africa with their father and his shiny new wife, forces Penny to reevaluate her life, close up loose ends, and figure out what her future is going to be. Of course going back to your hometown with mixed memories is never easy, especially when she runs into Bradley, her first love and her first major heartbreak.

I absolutely adored this book. I flew threw it while nursing Olivia post wisdom teeth surgery, and it was the best book to kick my summer reading off with. As a mom I could relate to the hurt of splitting your time with your children, especially if your ex husband is just a piece of human garbage like Penny's, but also the uncertainty she would have over her future when her whole life has been a stay at home, do-it-all mom and wife, and now that's all erased. Very reminiscent of the writing style of Susan Mallery, and the heart of Susan Wiggs, but the humor of Dorothea Benton Frank, this book takes you directly into the small town heartland of Kentucky. (Also, there's a chapter that includes a coming home potluck at the community church for Penny and I kid you not, if you life in the midwest, you KNOW what that potluck looks like and the author absolutely nailed it, down to the strawberry fluff salad. HA!!)

If you're looking for something light, with plenty of heart, Hope Gibbs needs to be on your radar. A perfect read for the beach, laying in a lawn chair while supervising the kiddos, or relaxing on the couch post sunburn. 

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Book Review: The Recall Paradox

Happy... May? I don't know, it feels like winter here and I'm over it. I'm desperate for sunshine and warm days. I refuse to listen to anyone complain about summer this year, I'll tell you that much. 

The Recall Paradox - Julian R. Vaca

What if everything you remember is a lie? Freya Izquierdo and Fletcher Cohen believe they’re done with top-secret memory knifing. After successfully hacking a terrorist’s memories and foiling the Memory Ghosts’ next attack, they spend their school break intending to clear Fletcher’s dad of being accused of colluding with the radical group. Exposing the truth should be straightforward, if not easy. But Fletcher’s house is robbed, and Freya makes a shocking discovery about her flawed recall. When they return to Foxtail Academy, no one but the dean and Dr. Sanders seems to remember Freya, Fletcher, and their friends Chase and Ollie. Then the Memory Ghosts make contact, and everything the four students thought was true proves false. As they struggle to shine light on the shadowy battlefield between Memory Frontier and the Memory Ghosts, their only option is to undertake the most difficult and risky knifing mission of their lives. But this time, more than their lives are at stake. In this heart-stopping and gripping conclusion to the critically acclaimed Memory Index duology , the only way out is in, and the only way to safety is through reckless danger that could wipe Freya and Fletcher from everyone’s minds . . . forever.

I really wish I had read the first book, The Memory Index, first. In fact, I'm going to tell you to absolutely read the first one first because this is a duology and I think you'll get into this a lot more. There are a lot of secondary characters in this one and I'm not sure if they were in book one and there wasn't a whole lot from the first book mentioned here so you could kind of get the idea of that so there were times I was confused and not sure why these characters were there. 

The story was a bit slow, and felt like a continuation of book one but a good bulk of it didn't really feel worth it, if that makes sense. I almost wondered if a good bulk of this could have been tossed and the rest just added to the first book. I have a hard time with duologies because I always feel like it really could be done in one book, just edited down. Not everything is worth being a duology, you know? 

Things I did like about this book, the overwhelming theme of grief and memory. I'm in a unique place because I have memory issues and it's a weird place to be in. It's really strange to look at photos and see yourself and have zero memory of it, but having people tell stories about it. It feels like someone else, it is truly bizarre. That aspect of this book is what kept me hooked, for sure. I was explaining the book to someone and she said it sounded like a cross between The Matrix and Inception, which I guess it kind of is. If you're a fan of dystopian and either of those movies, this duo is right up your alley. I will also mention the Memory Ghosts kind of freaked me out, I'm not a fan of them. Haha! 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson Publishing for sending me a copy for review! 

Book Review: Pomegranate

Hey lamb chops, do any of us even know what day it is anymore? Because everything just blends together for me now so time is meaningless. I have this little goat on my desk and when you push it the goat screams. I feel like it speaks to my soul most days. I am the goat. 

Pomegranate - Helen Elaine Lee

The acclaimed author of The Serpent’s Gift returns with this gripping and powerful novel of healing, redemption, and love, following a queer Black woman who works to stay clean, pull her life together, and heal after being released from prison.

Ranita Atwater is “getting short.”

She is almost done with her four-year sentence for opiate possession at Oak Hills Correctional Center. With three years of sobriety, she is determined to stay clean and regain custody of her two children.

My name is Ranita, and I’m an addict, she has said again and again at recovery meetings. But who else is she? Who might she choose to become? As she claims the story housed within her pomegranate-like heart, she is determined to confront the weight of the past and discover what might lie beyond mere survival.

Ranita is regaining her freedom, but she’s leaving behind her lover Maxine, who has inspired her to imagine herself and the world differently. Now she must steer clear of the temptations that have pulled her down, while atoning for her missteps and facing old wounds. With a fierce, smart, and sometimes funny voice, Ranita reveals how rocky and winding the path to wellness is for a Black woman, even as she draws on family, memory, faith, and love in order to choose life.

Perfect or fans of Jesmyn Ward and Yaa Gyasi, Pomegranate is a complex portrayal of queer Black womanhood and marginalization in America: a story of loss, healing, redemption, and strength. In lyrical and precise prose, Helen Elaine Lee paints a humane and unflinching portrait of the devastating effects of incarceration and addiction, and of one woman’s determination to tell her story.

I am choosing to not go into detail about this book because a lot of it I think needs to be freshly read with no pre-conceived ideas of what you're going to read or what to expect. I had nothing going in and I'm grateful for it. Author Tayari Jones, who wrote An American Marriage (you can read my review of that HERE) writes, "prepare to be challenged, and changed" and she is not wrong. Recently I've been watching a show about people going to jail undercover to basically report to the warden what their experience was to hopefully make positive changes and potentially make it safer for employees and inmates. One of the jailers made a comment that they all come back, and in the beginning of this book, Ranita is told the same thing and it just struck me and that is what hooked me in. 

It's a harrowing story of a woman, who is queer, black, and a recovering drug addict, and how the system is set up for her to continually fail. She's a mother of two children she is trying to get back and form positive relationships with, her lover Maxine is still in prison so she's lonely, she's desperately trying not to turn to drugs to cope with everything on her back, and you can obviously assume there are some mental health challenges in there as well. We learn about her childhood and what set her on a path of destruction that got her to this point, and its a hard but important read. Not every person who goes to prison is terrible, not every drug addict is terrible, sometimes people make mistakes and those spin out of control and we are more than our failings. 

The story started slow for me, but like the problems in her life, things escalated and it felt like a ball rolling down a hill. I loved her therapy sessions and how she slowly came around and opened up. I appreciated the difficult journey to regain trust and family in her life, and just the work she put in when society truly makes it difficult to do anything but fail. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Atria Books for providing a copy for review. I can see this becoming a book club favorite for 2023, easily. 

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Book Review: Breaking All the Rules

TGIF, folks. TGIF. It feels like a long week but also not really at all. I don't have much in the way of plans for this weekend and I'm OK with that. Matt is going to bring me grocery shopping, because oh yes, I can't do that by myself. Love the loss of independence, it's really so much fun. 

Breaking All the Rules - Amy Andrews

Sometimes you gotta toss your whole life into a burning dumpster to find what’s most important...

Beatrice Archer has always done everything she’s supposed to —worked her ass off, ignored her non-existent personal life, and kept her mouth shut. Now she’s over it. The rat race, respectability…the underwire bras. She’s taking her life back. Starting with moving to Nowhere, Colorado to live life on her own terms.

Now Bea gives exactly zero forks. Beer for breakfast. Sugar for everything else. Baggy sweats and soft cotton undies FTW. Then a much younger and delightfully attractive cop is called to deal with her flagrant disregard for appropriate clothing outside the local diner (some folks just don’t appreciate bunny slippers) and Bea realizes there’s something missing from her little decathlon of decadence…and he might be the guy to help her out.

When it comes to breaking rules, Officer Austin Cooper is surprisingly eager to assist. He’s charming, a little bit cowboy, and a whole lot sexy. But Bea’s about to discover that breaking the rules has consequences. And all of the cherry pies in Colorado can’t save her from what’s coming…

I loved this book!! I didn't realize this was going to be a reverse age gap (Bea is older than Austin) romance, but I was here for it because I'm trying to read things I haven't seen a lot of and reverse age gap is just that. I loved Bea's character, I feel like if I were a literary character, I also would give zero forks, if you will. Austin really is charming, and their chemistry is FIRE. For all of that alone, you need to add this to your TBR for 2023, hands down. What sealed the deal for me though is the humor, I love romance with some good humor, and the author balanced it perfectly. I really liked that Bea is going on a limb and asking for exactly what she wants and Austin is eager to please. If I had to offer a critique, I would say I wished the epilogue wasn't mostly Bea, and not them as a couple/their future. This is a series though, so I'm assuming we'll see more from them in future books so I can't be mad about that. This was my first one from Amy Andrews but it definitely isn't going to be my last, I loved her writing style and the personality in her characters. 

Thank you to Entangled Publishing and TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review! 

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Book Review: Pirate's Paradox

It is Wednesday...but I am so screwed up on which day of the week it is since my kids were off of school Monday and Tuesday. Then I decided to keep Lucy home today because she threw up in th emiddle of the night. I'm pretty sure it was just the pizza she ate for dinner that didn't sit well in her tummy but still, better to be safe than sorry. So she's home today, Jackson has a doctor appointment, I have a bunch of emails to catch up on and a book to read. Lots to do. 

Pirate's Paradox - Lisa Kessler

Pirate Caleb Graves may be an immortal, but he’s also a navigator and a man of science. And yet he can’t explain the erratic tides threatening Savannah. Nor the terrible dreams of sailing through a vicious, supernatural storm that he keeps having. But when fascinating, petite dynamo Diana Williams marches up to his ship and demands to speak to the captain, Caleb is caught up in a wave of unexpected fear…and an electric frisson of longing for this captivating woman.

Diana wouldn’t be a true psychic if she didn’t listen to her spirit guide. So when dream after dream compels her to visit specific coordinates in the Atlantic, she can’t ignore it. Now, she just needs a ship. Good thing she knows about a particular pirate ship that’s in tip-top shape. Complete with a surly, albeit hot, navigator who doesn’t immediately believe in her visions. But no matter how much Caleb objects, she’ll risk sending the entire crew—including herself—to the uncharted ocean.

But both their dreams could be the key to saving Savannah and may even be a clue about the fabled lost city of Atlantis. Or it could damn them all to an unforgiving, watery grave.

Right off the bat I'm going to tell you if this synopsis does it for you, read the books in the series that come before this one. Technically each book is a standalone, but I feel like I would have enjoyed this even more had I read the others. There is quite a bit of backstory that I had no idea about, and while the author did a good job doing really fast summary, I wish I had read the others. With that said, I enjoyed thhis. It was a fast read, it centers around pirates, immortal ones at that, and I can honestly say I don't remember reading a book with immortal pirates. 

Let's talk about some of the things I enjoyed: 

• The romance! Caleb and Diana are a great couple and I loved their arc. I so appreciated communication between the two and the trust! FINALLY a romance that makes it work!
• I liked the dynamic between the pirate crew, I need to read the other books before this in the series, I want those stories. 
• The book also features a.... being that I've never read about but I can't tell you more because it kind of ruins it. I do hope they are featured again, and I think they will be given some of the things that happened in this one. 
• I really liked the diversity! I appreciate authors taking more chances on diversity in their books, it can only make them stronger and more interesting. 
• Diana is a great character on her own and I love that she's strong and confident in herself but truthful enough to be uncertain and be OK with that. Caleb is great, too, he is so old fashioned and I thought it was charming. 

If you're looking for something out of the box, something that there aren't multiple of on the shelf, this is a solid option. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for having me on this tour and providing a copy for review! 

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Book Review: My Three Men

Happy Valentine's Day, lovers! Do you have any plans? We don't plan on doing anything because we are bro-kay, but that's OK. I always do a little something for my kids, nothing big, but it's just fun. If you're not busy and need a little somethin', somethin', I've got a read for you! 

My Three Men - Petra Sharpe

No job. No money. No prospects. When I get the offer of a lifetime from a hot stranger, what choice do I have but to take it?

When I shared a hot hook-up with a stranger at a bar to get my mind off my recent job loss, the last thing I expected was for it to turn into something more.

But it turns out that stranger was a high-flying CEO named Tyler, who runs a major company alongside his best friends, Will and Nate. And he needs a favor. His father won’t sign off on Tyler’s ownership of the company until he shows up with a wife on his arm.

Which is where I come in. Tyler’s paying me an insane amount of cash to play at being his fiancee on a vacation with his family. When it’s over, my money troubles will be done with and the company will be his.

But once we leave the city, I realize it’s not going to be so easy to play at romance with someone I’m so attracted to. And, with Will and Nate joining us, he’s not the only one I’m having to fight off feelings for…

When was the last time you read a MMMF romance? I honestly could not tell you when the last romance I read that wasn't just your standard MF, so I jumped at the chance for this when it popped up. In My Three Men, we begin with Anna, fresh off of being fired and out of options, she reluctantly decides to go for a night out on the town with her friend/roommate Suruthi, and that's where we meet Tyler. He's clearly got money, but he's handsome and listens to her woes as she drinks the night away. One steamy rendezvous later, and Anna is back to worrying about her next step because rent is due whether you have a job or not. 

Tyler then has an interesting proposal...literally for Anna, pretend to be his fiance on an upcoming family vacation to dupe his dad. Tyler won't be left control of the family company unless he can show his dad that he's responsible and has "plans for his future", which in his dad's eyes, includes a wife....and maybe kids eventually. Tyler has no interest in getting married, he quite enjoys the lifestyle he currently enjoys. Anna, for her part, is quite reluctant, but when she sees the dollar amount Tyler is offering her, she really would be an idiot to say no. Also, who is really going to say no to an all-expense paid vacation to Hawaii?? Anna soon learns that this technically isn't a family only trip as Tyler's business partners Nate and Will are also coming, both of which Anna is attracted to, and all three men have wildly different personalities, so Anna begins to feel confused over feelings she seems to be developing. 

I won't go over more than that since it's the bulk of the story, but let's talk about some hits and misses for me with this book. I am a fan of books that aren't dragging a story out, though I do wish this one gave us a little more. It felt like we never really got a full ending, some things were mentioned and that was that. I never got a clear explanation of how this MMMF was supposed to work long-term, and maybe that was the point, but I would have liked to have more, at least in that area. It almost felt like the author had more ideas and literally ran out of time so had to tie it up quickly. I also was really tired of hearing Anna's inner thoughts on being fired, how she's getting paid well for this, how she needs money, etc. At first it was fine because it's story development, but we don't need to be reminded of this every few pages, we get it. It makes it seem like her situation is far more dire than it probably is, I mean, go work at McDonald's or something, you'll find a job, calm down. 

I did really like the development of her relationship (is that what it is?) with Tyler. I really wished that we had gotten more from that because it felt like the author was exploring it and then just dropped the idea towards the end. He seemed like a really good guy at heart, and he was capable of the kind of relationship his dad wanted for him, he just didn't want to go there (for reasons never made clear). Also, for the premise of this being a MMMF story, the author also focused on the MF relationships (all three of them) equally and it felt like Anna had something distinct and special with each one, but collectively it was great, too. The steam of level is pretty high, and the book is short, so if you're in the mood for a quick read that will uh.... get the job done, this is definitely one to consider. 

Thank you to Red Clover Digital and author Petra Sharpe for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review! 

Book Review: The Love You Save

What day of the week is it? Who knows! I keep telling my family that it feels like Friday, everyday is feeling like Friday, so I have no idea what is even going on anymore. What I do know is that this is now the second day in a row that I've kind of forced myself to get dressed, try to look like a functioning adult, and I think that's helping. Also, I bought some new pants and the fact they are the same size as I was at my biggest isn't getting me down. I'm just happy to now own two pairs that fit me, lets just hope they don't shrink in the wash. Now I just need shirts, but I'm poor, so baggy hoodies it is! Anyways, lets talk books. 

The Love You Save - Goldie Taylor

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings meets Educated in this harrowing, deeply hopeful memoir of family, faith and the power of books—from acclaimed journalist and human rights activist Goldie Taylor 
 
Aunt Gerald takes in anyone who asks, but the conditions are harsh. For her young niece Goldie Taylor, abandoned by her mother and coping with trauma of her own, life in Gerald’s East St. Louis comes with nothing but a threadbare blanket on the living room floor. 
 
But amid the pain and anguish, Goldie discovers a secret. She can find kinship among writers like James Baldwin and Toni Morrison. She can find hope in a nurturing teacher who helps her find her voice. And books, she realizes, can save her life.  

Goldie Taylor's debut memoir shines a light on the strictures of race, class and gender in a post–Jim Crow America while offering a nuanced, empathetic portrait of a family in a pitched battle for its very soul.

Profoundly moving, exquisitely rendered and ultimately uplifting, The Love You Save is a story about hidden strength, perseverance against unimaginable odds, the beauty and pain of girlhood, and the power of the written word. 

Wow. If you are doing any reading challenges that are asking for a memoir, let this be the one you pick. Today is actually its book birthday so go to your local bookstore and pick this one up. It isn't very long, 277 pages, but WOW. 

As a white woman, who was once a white little girl in the public school system in a rather poor neighborhood, I have absolutely no idea what life would have been like for Goldie Taylor, and this book was eye opening for me in so many ways. I try hard to learn the things I do not know and I'm coming to realize that no matter how hard I try or how much I learn, I will never get to the end. I'm sad about that, but that doesn't mean I'm going to quit. 

In The Love You Save, Goldie's father is brutally murdered, her brother is beaten and robbed, and if that isn't enough, Goldie's mother moves them to a mostly white neighborhood, which, in the 1970's, was bound to be difficult on all of them. Most of all anyone being sent into the school system because children are assholes. They can be sweet and loving, but we all know children are assholes when the adults leave. Goldie is then raped, her mother isn't the support she needs, so she is moved yet again. Her entire upbringing is a serious of chaotic moments, and at times dangerous, and we have this little girl trying to walk around all of it. The entire story is harrowing and that is really putting it lightly. 

I will say the times where they are left alone for long hours because mom is at work, I know what that feels like. I can't be mad at my mom, we have to have money to pay for an apartment and food, but man. It would have been nice to have a mom who wasn't so stressed out and tired. Or have a mom that would take us to cool after school events like the other kids. I'm not mad at her, as a mom of four myself I absolutely get it. I also found a home in my school work, and the few teachers who saw me and saw what I needed. Honestly, thank god for them, really. I am so grateful Goldie had those same kinds of teachers because without that, the entire course of her life could have been wildly different. 

If you are focusing on specific books for Black History Month, The Love You Save should absolutely be on that list. I know it's the end of January but this might actually be my memoir of the year. Sorry, Prince Harry. 

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for having me on this tour and sending me a copy for review. This one has made a mark on my heart. 

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Book Review: Accidentally Famous

It is Friday Eve and I'm here for it. Olivia is in Boston for a school thing, Jackson is busy doing pep band stuff, Pep and Lu want to do a bingo night at school, and I'm just... tired. I'm really tired. The last two days I took a five hour nap, was awake for four, and then went to bed for the rest of the night. What's wrong with me? I have no idea. In the hours I have been awake though, I have gotten quite a bit of reading in, so there's that. I can't hate that. 

Accidentally Famous -  Marissa Clarke

Jack Winston may be Hollywood’s biggest action hero, but he’s seriously burned out. He can’t even save himself from his PR team’s latest scheme: dating a starlet. But when his assistant accidentally tags Cassidy James from Blink, Maine (wherever that is) on social media, the paparazzi decide that she’s Jack’s latest fling. Now Jack needs to do some serious damage control…starting with the adorable home reno pro in paint-splattered overalls.

Cassidy is not prepared when the Jack Winston shows up in her quiet little town—and whew, he is that gorgeous in person. Before she can pick her jaw up off the floor, his PR team is bombarding them with a whole new plan involving “fake girlfriend,” “optics,” and “sign this NDA” (whatever that is). But no one warned her that Mr. A-List Action Star is hot, funny as all get out, and loves old houses as much as she does.

Now they have two weeks to convince everyone they’re in a fake relationship—two weeks that will drive Cassidy’s reno business through the roof and help Jack reclaim his “spark.” The plan is going fine, dare she say, perfectly...until she discovers something that will change everything.

I am so glad to be back in Blink, Maine with Marissa Clarke's latest, Accidentally Famous. Right off the bat I liked Cassidy, and I really liked Jack. I felt like it would have been an easy route to take to make Jack a real jerk but the author did a really good job at balancing his fame and his normalness. Cassidy was a fun character too and again, she could have been almost an angry heroine, and while she had some moments where she was definitely uncomfortable with something she was wearing (or the lavender nails), but she was a sport and she didn't want things to go badly for Jack. 

I also have to talk about the town, who we learned from book one, are all good and decent people who aren't easily starstruck. A star can come here and truly relax, and get some really great food but also not be absolutely hounded. 

Though a romance, it would be considered a very clean one, with only a few kisses. I normally like more (alright, a lot more), but I felt like this was the appropriate level given the story and how it was set up. Anything more would have been trashy and not totally appropriate, to be honest. I also don't know how anyone wouldn't melt a little inside when a hot guy texts you, "I'm coming for you, babe", am I right? 

Final rating? 4.5 stars rounded to 5. I had a hard time putting it down, I found myself smiling throughout, and I had that immediate, "that was cute" when I finished. I can't wait to see how this series folds out with a third installment (it has to be Cassidy's friend, right? RIGHT?) 

Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing a copy for review, I thoroughly loved this one!

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