One hundred and twenty eight!

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHT. 128! That's how many books I read this year 🤯 The powers of Libby and disassociating were strong this year. I didn't set a number book goal this year because I didn't want that to be my reading drive but clearly that wasn't a problem this year.  SO here it is. My final book update of the year! 112. The Au Pair Affair (Big Shots, #2) by Tessa Bailey

113. The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

114. Lost and Lassoed (Rebel Blue Ranch, #3) by Lyla Sage

115. Lovelight Farms (Lovelight, #1) by B.K. Borison

116. Winter Street (Winter, #1) by Elin Hilderbrand

117. Winter Stroll (Winter, #2) by Elin Hilderbrand

118. Winter Storms (Winter, #3) by Elin Hilderbrand

119. Winter Solstice (Winter #4) by Elin Hilderbrand

120. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

121. Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

122. Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

123. A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy

124. Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy

125. A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy

126. When in Rome (When in Rome, #1) by Sarah Adams

127. Practice Makes Perfect (When in Rome, #2) by Sarah Adams

128. Beg, Borrow, or Steal (When in Rome, #3) by Sarah Adams And just like that, the 2024 reading season has come to an end 📚

All the Men I've Loved Again by Christine Pride

 Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of All the Men I've Loved Again by Christine Pride. 

Personally, this book was not what I was expecting when the publisher is describing it as “novel about a woman who finds herself in a love triangle with two men in her early twenties, and then again, in her forties” and marketing it towards romance. This book seemed more of a “coming of age” book than a romance novel. 
 If this was a love triangle, it was a very obtuse triangle- with most of the book heavily focused on Cora and Lincoln’s relationship. I would have really liked to see more of the relationship between Cora and Aaron. Most of that relationship we learn about through old letters. (I had an eArc copy of this book and the letters were difficult to read on the kindle as others have mentioned.) I felt like we missed out getting to connect with the Aaron part of this book even though he’s supposed to be her soulmate.
 I think the most beautiful relationship in this book was the relationship between Cora and her father and that’s what really kept me turning the pages. 

Never Planned on You Lindsay Hameroff

 

Thank you to NetGalley for my eARC of Never Planned on You by Lindsay Hameroff. 

When you jump into a book that others are comparing to the Wedding Planner, you get a little hesitant. I expected the “cheating trope” to be centerstage and to have the ick the whole book but boy was I wrong! 

I LOVED Never Planned on You! Lindsay Hameroff added a little twist that made you want to back team Ali+Graham the whole time. 

The FMC Ali is such a fun character and had me laughing throughout the book. It’s not all sunshine and roses and we do get to see some personal growth with her character. 

The MMC Graham  is introduced as this broody, reserved man but when he’s with Ali he can barely resist coming out of his shell. 

The supporting family and friend characters are also a delight. I’m not Jewish so there was a little bit of googling involved for me to get the whole picture of the phrases or food that was mentioned but I didn’t mind the lesson. 

The majority of the timeline/chapter jumps were around when our main characters saw each other next and something about that really worked for me. 

Overall this was quick and super fun read! Personally, I devoured it in a day and was hooked the whole way through. This is the perfect rom-com for February! 

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
 
 

Overall an enjoyable read but a few misses for me. 

What I loved:
 ❤️ Rue 

❤️ Beanie 

❤️ Key West 

❤️ George Bailey (dog lover here) 

What I dislike: 

💔 Cole 

💔 Cole (this is an intentional duplication because he was in fact terrible) 

💔 the “third act breakup” scenario 

💔 possibly too many storylines vying for attention 

 

What I can’t decide on 

❓ The over the top ending? 

❓ The mixing of a heavier topic with the otherwise lightheartedness that we typically see in a KC novel. 

 

Personally, for me this book went from “great” to “WTF” to “okay I guess” 

Katherine Center is, and will continue to be, and instant buy author for me but The Lover Haters fell short for me. 

In the beginning of the story I really appreciated KC taking on a heavier topic like body image. As the story progressed it seemed like this topic was just fighting to be apart of a story that wanted to be both comedic but also dramatic. 

I was on board with this book until we get to our “third act breakup” when Cole arrives at Key West. Everything about Coe in Key West was atrocious and off putting. I also really did not like how Katie the character was handled during this whole part. It really did not feel like I was reading the same book. 

Once we start reaching the finale now the story really goes in to overdrive and I’m still trying to discern how I feel about it. Was the situation totally over the top? Yes. Could we assume that some rescue situation was likely going to transpire because of Hatch’s profession? Probably. 

Overall, I feel like there were too many storylines trying to give this book depth but in my opinion,  it made this book a little messy and over the top. 

Rue was my favorite character and I really loved her story.