Let There Be Books

Thank you to NetGalley for this early review copy of Rebecca Smith's newest novel, Faking It,  coming out on August 7th! I did NOT know that this was second in a series and I am so mad that I missed out on the first book! However, I was 75% through with the book when I realized and I was able to read this as a stand alone. All I can say is this book is HILARIOUS! I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book and was entertained the entire time. There was not a single moment where I was not laughing or enjoying myself reading this. It is a typical British comedy, that deals with the taboo topic of sexuality and sexual intercourse. I was literally LOL'ing from the first page to the very last, and that is impressive. Faking It  follows our 44-year-old, mother of three, Hannah. By day, Hannah is a teacher for Year Ten three days as week and a mother to a 10, 17, and 18-year-old. By night, she is Twinky Malone, author of Erotic Fiction and talking about sex makes her quite uncomfort...

Hi Friends! For so long, I have heard many people talk about Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus series, a sports romance trope following college and hockey. (I love hockey). When I finally picked up the first installment in the series, The Deal , I was not expecting to love it as much as I did! Thanks to the Reading Rush challenge of "reading a book with the word The in the title" for encouraging me to finally read this hilarious and fun story. The Deal  follows our main characters Hannah Wells and Garrett Grahame. Garrett is the captain of the division 1 hockey team and is the big-man on campus. He comes across as cocky and arrogant, which makes Hannah really despise him at first. When Garrett asks Hannah, well begs her, the quiet music student to tutor him in Ethics, she is against the idea. Eventually she budges after Garrett promises to up hr reputation so she can score a date with football player Justin Kohl. Soon the two start spending a lot of time together and end up uncov...

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read Lindsey Kelk's newest release, In Case You Missed It  coming out on July 23, 2020. I love Lindsey Kelk and her writing. I fell in love with her I Heart series, and it is one of the few series, aside from Harry Potter  that I have read more than once because I loved it that much.  When I heard Lindsey was releasing a new book, I was so excited to get my hands on it! This story had all of the humor, charm, and romance that you can expect from her stories and it gave me nostalgic memories of the first time I read I Heart New York. This story is so funny. The banter and sarcasm between the characters makes the book feel so real and the inner thoughts of our main character, Rosalind, makes this book that much more relatable.  In this story we follow Rosalind, Ros for short, as she returns to England after losing her producing career in Washington D.C. When she returns she is hit with old memories of days in her twenties when h...

Hi Friends! July has definitely been the month where I have been craving and loving all things thriller! I have been flying through each thriller that I have been picking up lately, and my latest read is no exception. A Good Marriage follows our main character Lizzie who is an attorney who had once been happy as a federal prosecutor. One day she gets a call from an acquaintance from law school who tells her that he has been sentenced to Rikers for assaulting a police officer and is suspected to have killed his wife Amanda, who was found dead in   their home. Lizzie soon gets into the secrets of Amanda and Zach's past but also gets to know Amanda's closest friends in Park Slope and that those "perfect" friends may not be so perfect after all.  I love a good legal thriller. The legal jargon can be confusing, but there is something about watching/reading about a court case and how things are handled that excites me. Sometimes I think maybe I should have went to law schoo...

Hi Friends! My god. Just when I think Sandhya Menon can't write any more adorable romances, she comes and releases her newest Dimpleverse companion novel, 10 Things I Hate About Pinky .  Ever since I stumbled upon When Dimple Met Rishi (one of my favorites of all-time) I was HOOKED on Menon's story telling skills. Then, when I got to meet her in the flesh at BookCon last year, she was even more adorable and sweet in person!  Her romances are so very cute and witty. The cast of characters showing up in one another's stories is so fun and really builds a world for the readers and shows a strong sense of community. All of her characters follow Indian culture, which I find very interesting and exciting to learn more about in each story that she tells.  Pinky has been present in all the Dimpleverse books so far, and I have been anxiously waiting for her own story to happen so that I can learn more about her and the passion that she has for social justice. She is a freaking roc...

 Hi Friends! Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read and review Sheryl Browne's new psychological thriller, The New Girlfriend , set to release on August 3rd.  **All review opinions are my own. This book was twisted, and in the best kind of way. We follow several different character's POV's as they grieve the loss of Joshua. Joshua was the son of Cassie and was killed on the train tracks in July of 2019. Soon after his funeral, this woman named Kim knocks on Cassie's door claiming that Josh had a baby with her and that Cassie has a grandson. Soon Cassie learns that she will do whatever she can to hide her secrets and care for Samuel and protect him at all costs. Wow, the cast of characters were all unreliable and that's what makes this thriller so good. Kim was insane, literally insane, and you could tell that there was something off with her early on in the beginning of the story. It was interesting to see some chapters go back in time to Josh...

Hi Friends! I just finished the Selection series (way ahead of time) and I am sad to be done with it. I definitely think that the series itself could have ended at book three (the best book), but I can understand why Kiera Cass went and made two more books about America and Maxon's eldest child and their way to the throne.  This book felt the most rushed and most thrown together. It was the shortest, and by the end it seemed as though Cass was done with the series and just threw this one together for the sake of it. I mean, the epilogue was only one page, and not even a full page at that.  Eadlyn was much MORE tolerable in this book and really showed some serious character development as she began to make political moves and try to follow in her father's foot steps. She begins to realize that her brother was right and she really is very self-centered and selfish, but she also grew up being told she was the most powerful, so what else did you expect to happen? It was nice to se...

Hi Friends! When I heard that Katherine Center had a new book coming out, I could not wait to get my hands on it. You can imagine my happiness when I saw that Book of the Month had made it one of it's add-on picks. I couldn't wait to dive right in! I have been loving Katherine Center since I read her 2018 release, How to Walk Away.  It quickly became one of my favorite books of 2018, and of all time, and was one of my first books I ever got from BOTM. I fell in love with her writing and her story telling of cheesy, feel good romances. What You Wish For  follows our two main characters, Samantha (Sam) and Duncan. Sam is a school librarian for the local elementary school and adores her job. When the principal of the school, and father figure to Sam, passes away unexpectedly, Duncan Carpenter is brought in to take on the role. Sam knows Duncan from her previous school job, and was madly in love with him to the point where it drove her away to move to Texas. But the Duncan that ta...

Hi Friends! I recently started the fourth book in the Selection series, The Heir , which follows King Maxon and Queen America's eldest child (and daughter), Eadlyn. Eadlyn is a twin and very bitter that her brother, Ahren, was born several minutes after her. She feels that she is the most powerful person and is very, very snotty and bratty and overall unlikeable. Due to resistant beginning in response to the Castes being dismantled, Maxon suggests that Eadlyn have her own Selection to find a husband, but of course Eadlyn does not want that and puts up quite the fight. Eventually, she agrees to give it a shot but for only three months. After all, she is the most powerful and wants to reign on her own.  I love that Eadlyn challenges the rule of the Monarchy in regards to needing to be married to rule, and how she does not feel she needs a male to help her rule, but she is also very stubborn (much like both her parents) and needs to have more of an open mind around certain things. I w...

O. M. G. This book was PHENOMENAL! It's true, I read this in a day because it caught my attention so wholeheartedly, I could not put it down. I even had to take breaks from editing my videos for Booktube because I HAD to know what happens next! This book was truly a whirlwind, in the very best way. Cass knew what she was doing when she wrote this novel, and I am so glad that there are two other books (even if it follows Maxon & America's daughter), so that I can still get my dose of cuteness from Maxon's devotion to America. I truly thought that America had lost when Maxon found out about Aspen. I was shaking my head and hitting myself in the forehead when America finally came clean. To think that Kriss was going to win, after she was found to be a rebel (sorry Aspen). And then, Maxon surprises us all and risks his life for America by diving in front of a bullet meant to KILL her!  Then, to find out America's father was a rebel?! I can't say that I am surprised ...

Hi Friends! Holy crap. This Selection series is so addicting, I just want to spend all day reading! The second installment, The Elite was (almost) as good as the first book, The Selection.  The Elite takes place immediately after where the first book ends and goes into more depth about the Selection process, the remaining girls, and America's feelings.  America was really getting on my nerves during this book, which is why I am rating this one lower than the first, even though I couldn't put it down. It was annoying how America kept going back and forth between Maxon and Aspen. I understand that it was needed for the sake of the plot and the advertised love-triangle, but it seemed that every time she realized her true feelings for Maxon, Aspen would conveniently sweep in and make all these promises, reminding America of where they came from. It felt to me as though Aspen was trying to interfere and sabotage America's chances with Maxon, despite the devotion she clearly has ...

Hi Friends! I have finally picked up the beloved Selection  series to ready, as a buddy read, for the month of July!  I finished book one, self-titled The Selection  and pretty much ate it up like candy, it was addictive and so good! I seriously missed out these past eight years that this book has been out for. The Selection  follows our main character America Singer, who is one of the 35 girls picked to be part of the Selection process that involves Prince Maxon dating these girls to find his future wife and princess to Illea. (Talk about DRAMA). First things first, this book gave me serious Hunger Games vibes. This book has a caste system that operates similar to the Districts in The Hunger Games. Caste One is the royal family with Caste Eight being the criminals, the lowest of the low, and the homeless. America is in the middle and is a Five. This reminded me of the Districts system in The Hunger Games because the higher number you are, the worse things are for ...