Tag: adult

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: July 16th, 2024

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Adult, Books about Books, Mystery, Contemporary, Magic, Adult Fiction, LGBT

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

First Line:

The drive from Emilie Wendall’s house in Milton, Ohio, to Bernhelm Forest outside Louisville took a good two and a half hours.

Important details about The Lost Story

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (The Narrator), 3rd person (Emilie, Rafe, Jeremy)

Content/Trigger Guidance: The Lost Story contains themes that include homophobia, child abuse, physical abuse, domestic abuse, kidnapping, violence, alcoholism, death of parent, death, emotional abuse, hate crime, mental illness, physical abuse, abandonment, violence, injury, injury detail, panic attack/disorders, grief, medical content, suicide, bullying, drug use, addiction, terminal illness, blood, war, cancer, and trafficking.

Language: The Lost Story contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is mild sexual content in The Lost Story.

Setting: Dead Tired is set in West Virginia and the fictional country of Shanandoah.

My Review

I was very excited when I saw that Meg Shaffer had a new book coming out. I loved The Wishing Game and was very curious about The Lost Story. So, when Random House sent me a widget, I jumped on it. I didn’t even read the synopsis. I hit accept and then downloaded so fast that I think it might have confused my computer (there was a pause).

Because I was so excited about this book, I went into reading it with a little trepidation. I have been burned in the past by being excited and then the book not living up to my expectations. Well, The Lost Story did live up to my expectations and then some.

The main storyline of The Lost Story follows Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe on their quest to find out what happened fifteen years earlier and what happened to Emilie’s older sister (she disappeared in the same forest a couple of years before the boys went missing). The storyline was well-written and well-fleshed out. But, I was getting frustrated by what I thought at the time was a lack of information or insight into Jeremy and Rafe’s past. That frustration lasted until they found Shanandoah again and Jeremy could explain everything to Rafe. And when I say everything, I mean everything. I’m not going to say much past that because of spoilers.

Every so often (usually when things get serious), the Narrator interrupts and explains situations or gives humorous outtakes of what is happening. Usually, I wouldn’t say I like the shift in POV or character, but in this case, it worked. I giggled over some of the things the Narrator said or alluded to. Of course, the Narrator’s identity is revealed at the end of the book; honestly, I wasn’t shocked at who it was. I had my suspicions, and the reveal confirmed them.

The Lost Story touches upon some heavy topics (suicide, drug use, child abuse) throughout the book. The author handled those topics with grace. I was also very thankful that only a little detail (other than what happened the night Jeremy and Rafe disappeared) was given.

The main characters brought so much to this book—Emilie, with her determination to hire Jeremy to look for her sister. Jeremy was the stable one whose line of work exposed him to the horrors of missing children, teens, and adults. And Rafe, well, he was damaged, and the author wasn’t afraid to show it.

The fantasy angle of the book was terrific. This book was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, and it showed. Everything in Shanandoah was vivid and looked like a child had created it. Because of how vividly the author described it, I would have been happy with just a book set in Shanandoah.

The romance/LGBTQ angle was perfect. I won’t go into it except to say that I loved how the author wrote the love story. It was heartbreaking, poignant, and heartwarming all at once.

The end of The Lost Story brought tears to my eyes. The author brought closure to many of the storylines but left some open. It made me wonder if another book would be written in this world, and the end certainly made it seem that way.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Meg Shaffer for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Lost Story. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Lost Story, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Meg Shaffer

Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: June 25th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Canada, Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction, Autism Spectrum Disorder

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Liz Lewis has tried everything to be what people want, but she’s always been labeled different in the boisterous world of wilderness expeditions. Her marriage to popular adventure guide Tobin Renner-Lewis is a sinkhole of toxic positivity where she’s the only one saying no.

When she gets mistaken for a server at her own thirtieth birthday party,Liz vows to stop playing a minor character in her own life. The (incredibly well-researched and scientific) plan? A crash course in confidence . . . via an improv comedy class. The catch? She’s terrible at it, and the only
person willing to practice with her is a certain extroverted wilderness guide who seems dead set on saving their marriage.

But as Liz and Tobin get closer again, she’s forced to confront all the reasons they didn’t work the first time, along with her growing suspicion that her social awkwardness might mean something deeper. Liz must learn improv’s most important lesson—“Yes, and”—or she’ll have to choose between the love she always wanted and the dreams that got away.

Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice . . . with the same person?

First Line:

The first minute of my thirtieth birthday party is everyone I want it to be.

Important details about Rules for Second Chances

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Liz)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Rules for Second Changes contains themes that include parental neglect, abandonment, anti-autistic bias, needles, medication, lost child, lost pet, childbirth, ableism, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, toxic relationship, infidelity, emotional abuse, anxiety, anxiety attacks, depression, alcohol consumption, and animal injury. Please read carefully if these trigger you.

Language: Rules for Second Changes contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Rules for Second Chances.

Setting: Rules for Second Chances is set in Grey Tusk, British Columbia, Canada.

My Review

I was not expecting how this book would feel when I accepted the widget the publisher sent me. I had read the blurb and thought this would be quick and easy. Yeah, that wasn’t the case. Put it this way: I was a teary mess as the book ended. Since I read at night, that woke my husband up, and I tried to explain what set me off.

The main storyline for Rules for Second Chances is centered on Liz. When the book starts, Liz is hurrying to her thirtieth birthday party, which is thrown for her by her very popular, extroverted husband, Tobin. Liz loses her shit when a guest mistakes her for a server at her party. It pushes Liz to realize that she must take control of her life. And her way of doing that? Joining an improv class run by her husband’s best friend and asking Tobin for a divorce. Realizing she is terrible at improv, Liz decides to ask Tobin to help her practice. As she and Tobin grow closer, Liz begins to think that her social awkwardness might have a more profound meaning. Will she fold with pressure mounting at the wilderness guide company they both work for and in Liz’s personal life? Or will Liz roll with the punches, like improv has taught her? And most importantly, will she be able to save her marriage?

I started this book not liking Liz. The author didn’t give a lot of background to her. She worked with Tobin at the same wilderness guide company but was extremely socially awkward and insecure. But my dislike of her didn’t even last through the first chapter. The author made it almost painfully clear that Liz, for most of her life, was made to feel like she was a spectator in her own life. I loved seeing her character grow throughout the book. By the end of the book, she went from this mousy person who hated confrontation to this self-assured woman. It took Liz a lot of work to get where she was at the end of the book, but it was worth the journey.

Tobin was quickly my favorite character in Rules for Second Chances. He loved Liz and was willing to do anything to fix their marriage (the Little Mermaid scene will be forever etched into my brain). I liked that Tobin wasn’t as confident as he was made out to be. I also liked that he owned his mistakes and that, during one crucial scene, he was willing to let Liz go—because it would make her happy.

I did have characters I didn’t like, but I will touch on two because they were the most prevalent. I was not fond of Tobin’s father and Liz’s older sister. I was furious with both during different parts of the book. Tobin’s father was a piece of work (he was a piece of shit who managed to help ruin their wedding and an anniversary dinner). But Liz’s sister took home the award for the biggest asshole to date. She had her suspicions about Liz having autism, but instead of talking to Liz about it, she sat on it. It wasn’t in a normal conversation when she decided to tell Liz her suspicions. Instead, it was blurted out in an argument, which made it somewhat worse for Liz to hear. The author did attempt to have Liz’s sister redeem herself towards the end of the book. But Tobin’s father jetted and was only mentioned once or twice after that scene.

I loved the secondary storyline that revolved around the improv group and the self-help book. Those were some of the funniest scenes in the book, but they were also some of the most heartbreaking.

I liked how the author handled Liz’s journey through her autism diagnosis. The author’s forward explains that she wrote Liz’s character and autism journey to the best of her ability and that Liz doesn’t portray every adult autism diagnosis.

The end of Rules for Second Chances was terrific. I loved how the author ended things for Tobin and Liz. It was the perfect ending for this book!!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Maggie North for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Rules for Second Chances. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Rules for Second Chances, then you will enjoy these books:

Knife River by Justine Champine

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press

Date of publication: May 28th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, LGBT, Suspense, Adult, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Lesbian

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Jess was thirteen her mother went for a walk and never returned. Jess and her older sister Liz never found out what happened. Instead, they did what they hoped their mother would do: survive. As soon as she was old enough, Jess fled their small town of Knife River, wandering from girlfriend to girlfriend like a ghost in her own life, aimless in her attempts to outrun grief and confusion. But one morning fifteen years later she gets the call she’s been bracing herself for: Her mother’s remains have been found.

First Line:

Her bones were discovered by a group of children playing in the woods.

Important details about Knife River

Pace: Slow

POV: 1st person (Jess)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Knife River contains themes that include alcoholism, murder, alcohol, gun violence, the death of a parent, cancer, bullying, cheating, infidelity, anxiety, anxiety attacks, depression, mental health, blood, disappearance of a loved one, and homophobia. Please read carefully if these trigger you.

Language: Knife River contains moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Knife River.

Setting: Knife River is set in Knife River, New York.

My Review

When I read the blurb for Knife River, I was intrigued. I read it after some internal debate (because I always do that with these books) and am glad I did. This book is a poignant and heartbreaking look into life after a loved one disappears. It also explores what the family goes through when a victim is found.

The main storyline of Knife River follows Jess. Jess was thirteen when her mother disappeared. Her mother’s disappearance and her older sister raising her had a drastic impact on Jess. She drifted from one relationship to another and kept everyone (including family) at arm’s length. One day, she receives a phone call from her older sister that turns her world upside down. Her mother’s body had been found, and she needed a home. Jess is determined to understand why her mother disappeared and looks for answers. The deeper she digs, the more she uncovers about her mother; not all is good. The answers she seeks might be different from what she wants to hear.

Knife River is a slow book. The slowness grated on me in places, but I understood why the author chose to keep it at this pace. The book needed to be slow to understand Jess’s state of mind and her actions throughout the book.

Jess was not likable, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. Sometimes, she couldn’t get out of her own way and made things worse for herself. She also did and said things that made my eyebrows raise and made me wonder, “Why?” She was so damaged, and the author didn’t sugarcoat it.

The mystery of Jess’s mother’s disappearance was very well written. The author did a great job of showing what went into investigating a cold case and trying to find leads after fifteen years. She showed Jess and her sister’s frustration with the police when they stopped communicating with them about the case (of course, there was another reason why). I also liked Jess’s investigation and how she accidentally stumbled upon the truth of what happened. That was a massive twist to the disappearance. It was one that I didn’t see coming and took me completely by surprise.

The end of Knife River left me with more questions than answers. I was confused as to what happened with Jess and the girl she was sleeping with and why she just sat on the confession she got. But I did like that Jess and her sister had grown closer at the end of the book and, in a way, started healing from their mother’s disappearance.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Press, NetGalley, and Justine Champine for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Knife River. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Knife River, then you will enjoy these books:

All’s Fair in Love and War (Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s: Book 1) by Virginia Heath

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: May 28th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Regency, Fiction, Adult, Regency Romance, Humor, British Literature

Series: Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s

All’s Fair in Love and War—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A new Regency romp of a series, about governess who believes in cultivating joy in her charges, clashes with the children’s uncle who hired her, only to find herself falling in love.

When the flighty older sister of former naval captain, Henry Kincaid, decides on a whim to accompany her explorer husband on an expedition to Egypt, he finds himself unwittingly left in the lurch with her three unruly children and her giant, mad dog. With no clue how to manage the little rascals, a busy career at the Admiralty that requires all of his attention, and no idea when his sister is coming back, Harry has to hire an emergency governess to ensure that everything in his ordered house continues to run shipshape. In desperation, he goes to Miss Prentice’s School for Girls prepared to pay whatever it takes to get a governess quick sharp to bring order to the chaos.

Thanks to her miserable, strict upbringing, fledgling governess Georgina Rowe does not subscribe to the ethos that children should be seen and not heard. She believes childhood should be everything that hers wasn’t, filled with laughter, adventure, and discovery. Thankfully, the three Pendleton children she has been tasked with looking after are already delightfully bohemian and instantly embrace her unconventional educational ethos. Their staid, stickler-for-the-rules uncle, however, is another matter entirely…

First Line:

Georgie stared up at the strange building while her stepfather’s latest dour housekeeper supervised the unloading of her things from the back of the hackney.

Important details about All’s Fair in Love and War

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Henry and Georgina)

Series: All’s Fair in Love and War is the first book in Miss Prentice’s Protegees series.

Content/Trigger Guidance: All’s Fair in Love and War contains themes that include the death of a parent, child abuse, emotional abuse, animal cruelty, abandonment, classism, era-appropriate sexism & misogyny, anxiety, anxiety attacks, alcohol consumption, military service, military deployment, and conscription.

Language: All’s Fair in Love and War contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in All’s Fair in Love and War.

Setting: All’s Fair in Love and War is set in London (Mayfair), Plymouth, and Cawsand, England.

My Review

When I started reading All’s Fair in Love and War, I badly needed a book that didn’t require me to think about what I read. The previous three books I had read before this one were heavy books, and I badly needed one that I could coast through. Thankfully, All’s Fair in Love and War let my overstimulated brain rest.

All’s Fair in Love and War is the first book in the Miss Prentice’s Protegee’s series. Since it is the first book, there will be no warning if it is a standalone. You can dive right into this book without having to worry about that.

The storyline of All’s Fair in Love and War follows Georgina and Henry. Georgina has been trained to be a governess at a prestigious school, where she is the founder’s protege. However, she has been having issues finding work because she does not adhere to conventional teaching or raising children. Because of her childhood, which was spent being shuttled from naval base to naval base by her stepfather, she abhors rules and believes that children should be seen and not kept in the classrooms or out of sight. These beliefs have cost her jobs. When Henry, a former naval captain on the fast track to becoming an Admiral, inquired at the agency about governesses after his sister left her three children with him, Georgina was presented and hired. Georgina and Henry’s relationship begins, both working and personal. The more time the two spend together, with and without the children, the closer they get.

Georgina (or Georgie) was way ahead of her time, education-wise, and I liked that. I do have a feeling that Georgie’s views on education and childrearing will upset some of the die-hard Regency readers (too modern), But, for me, it was refreshing. I liked seeing the children bloom under Georgie’s care. I was also surprised when it was revealed (by the children) that their mother taught them and that all of them were smart beyond their years. Georgie considered that in their lessons, and I loved seeing the children learning in an environment that enriched and supported them.

I liked Georgie. She wasn’t afraid to let people know her feelings and views. Her childhood (and the abandonment at Miss Prentice’s school) did scar her, but she refused to let it bring her down. She was authentically herself and stayed true to herself throughout the book.

I also liked Henry. He did come across as an uptight, rigid person at the beginning of the book. But, as his backstory was explained, I understood why he was that way. He was terrified of reliving his childhood with irresponsible parents. But, at the same time, he was also terrified not to live up to the standards that his grandfather and the Royal Navy beat into him. He was also a workaholic and was severely stressed out when Georgie and the children came into his life. He needed them, even if he wouldn’t admit that to himself. His character growth was fun, and I loved seeing him unwind. I also loved seeing him slowly realize there is more to life than work and promotions.

I can’t write this review without mentioning the children or the dogs. The children and Norbert (the dog) stole scenes when they were in them. I laughed at their shenanigans. I also agreed with Henry when he said that they were hellions. And Norbert, you have to read the book to understand my Norbert love (and I am including his son, too). Everyone should have a Norbert.

The romance angle of All’s Fair in Love and War was sweet and a little spicy. Henry fought, falling in love with Georgie. At a point in the book, I got a little frustrated with him because he was hung up on something that happened years earlier (being forced to break an engagement). I would be rich if I had a nickel for every eye roll I did when that woman’s name was mentioned. I liked that Georgie was more straightforward. Once she got to know Henry (saw past what he projected), she fell in love with the inner him.

Of course, there is sex in this book. Because of the chemistry and the build-up that the author did with Henry and Georgie, the sex was fantastic—a little vanilla but amazing.

The end of All’s Fair in Love and War was your typical HEA. I liked that everything worked out for Henry and Georgie. But I am curious about the next book and whether it will be anything like Henry and Georgie’s romance.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Virginia Heath for allowing me to read and review this ARC of All’s Fair in Love and War. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to All’s Fair in Love and War, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Virginia Heath

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: June 11th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Chick-Lit, Adult, Adult Fiction, Family

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own?

Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies―good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates―The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!―it’s a break too big to pass up.

Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone―much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script―it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme.

But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter―even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules―and comes true?

First Line

Logan Scott called just as I was making dinner, and I almost didn’t answer because my dad and I were singing along to ABBA’s greatest hits.

Important details about The Rom-Commers

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Emma)

Content/Trigger Guidance: The Rom-Commers contains themes that include the death of a parent, cancer, grief, injury, injury detail, medical content, death, medical trauma, panic attacks, chronic illness, car accident, terminal illness, misogyny, blood, alcohol, vomit, toxic friendship, animal death, infertility, and toxic relationship. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: The Rom-Commers contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is semi-graphic sexual content in The Rom-Commers.

Setting: The Rom-Commers is set in Los Angeles, California, but the beginning and ending chapters are in Texas.

My Review:

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors. I have read every book she has published in the last four or five years and enjoyed each. As soon as I see that she has a book coming out, I stalk it and pray that I get to read the ARC. When the publisher decides to send me the widget, I get super excited, and I can’t download the book fast enough. That is how it played out with The Rom-Commers. I did get a little worried, though. Books I have built up in my mind have a habit of not living up to the hype. That wasn’t the case with The Rom-Commers, thankfully. 

The Rom-Commer’s main storyline is centered around Emma. Emma is a socially awkward, slightly obnoxious, but sweet wanna-be screenwriter. When her father was seriously hurt and her mother was killed in a freak rock-climbing accident, Emma had to put her dreams on hold to take care of her father and sister. When her best friend offers her a job to rewrite a script for a famous screenwriter, she accepts. With her sister and father urging her, Emma sets out to LA. Once there, she is surprised that her best friend has forced her onto Charlie without warning. But when Charlie reads her revisions, he reluctantly agrees to the rewrite. The longer Emma stays with Charlie, the more she falls for him. But Charlie is a cynic. He does not believe in love. It isn’t until Emma leaves that he is forced to face his feelings.

I enjoyed The Rom-Commers. I don’t know anything about what goes into being a screenwriter, but the author did a great job of explaining it. She only went into great depth with some things, but she explained enough so I understood the basics.

I liked Emma. As I said above, she was a socially awkward, slightly obnoxious, but sweet girl. She had a whole lot of stuff dumped on her at an early age (she was in her mid-to-late teens when the accident happened). Plus, she had to almost single-handedly raise her younger sister while her father relearned to live with his disabilities. I liked that she was good at what she did and knew it.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Charlie for most of the book. He was surprised when Emma showed up with his manager out of the blue. I also get that he suffered from writer’s block, which contributed to his writing such a bad rom-com. But, everything after that, Charlie was being a jerk. The things he said about Emma were horrible (he didn’t know she overheard), and how he treated her was awful. But Charlie did redeem himself in my eyes. I’m not going into what he did, but let’s say that I was bawling my eyes out when Emma confronted him about everything.

The romance angle was slow. I felt that it was a one-step-forward/three-step-back progression. It didn’t help that Charlie didn’t believe in love and thought Emma (a rom-com addict) was ridiculous in her beliefs. There was a point in the book where I wanted to slap Charlie upside the head and shake some sense into him. But once Charlie’s Grinch heart grew three sizes too big, he realized what he had given up.

The end of The Rom-Commers felt rushed. It wasn’t my favorite ending, but it worked. I wish more attention had been paid to Charlie and Emma’s HEA. While I liked reading about everyone else, I didn’t think it was needed. It was that extra that made the ending rushed.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Katherine Center for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Rom-Commers. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Rom-Commers, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Katherine Center

Dead Tired (The Expectant Detectives: Book 2) by Kat Ailes

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: June 4th, 2024

Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Adult

Series: The Expectant Detectives

The Expectant Detectives—Book 1 (review here)

Dead Tired—Book 2

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Being a new mom is murder.

Alice didn’t think her maternity leave would involve so much, well, murder. Before becoming proud new moms, she and her friends bonded more than members of a prenatal group usually would, as they became accidental amateur sleuths and solved a crime together. Now, with all this behind them and Alice’s son Jack somehow already a year old, Alice is keen to finally catch up on some sleep. So when an opportunity presents itself in the unlikely form of an eco-protest, Alice and her friends willingly chain themselves to trees and settle in as an excuse to get some overdue rest. Not the most comfortable arrangement ever, but at this point, they’ll take what they can get.

However, the next morning one of their fellow protesters is found strangled, and any hope of a peaceful interlude is suddenly swept away. Soon Alice and her friends become entangled in a plot involving rogue artists, an enigmatic local entrepreneur, and nude (optional) protesting, offering an unexpected—but not necessarily unwelcome—break from changing diapers and wrestling baby toys away from Helen the dog.

Alice, whose success rate in solving countryside murder is at an all-time high (one out of one), cannot resist the chance to demonstrate her detective skills once more, and assembles her gang of new moms to investigate this latest mystery in their not-so-sleepy English countryside village.

First Line:

There used to be an advert for Boursin herby cheese that showed a couple enjoying a picture-perfect picnic in a meadow-only to zoom out and reveal a combine harveswter heading straight for them.

Important details about Dead Tired

Pace: Fast

POV: 1st person (Alice)

Series: Dead Tired is the 2nd book in The Expectant Detectives series.

Content/Trigger Guidance: Dead Tired contains themes that include classism, alcohol consumption, dead bodies, death of a partner, death of a sibling, grief & loss depiction, strangulation, murder, and poisoning. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Dead Tired contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Dead Tired.

Setting: Dead Tired is set in the town of Penton, England.

My Review

I had been waiting for Dead Tired to come out as soon as I had finished The Expectant Detectives. I couldn’t wait to see what trouble Alice, Hen, Poppy, and Ailsa could get into. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. This book had me laughing and trying to figure out who killed Leila and Sam.

Dead Tired is the second book in The Expectant Detective series. It cannot be read standalone; you need to read book 1 to understand what is happening in book 2.

The main storyline in Dead Tired revolves around Alice, her friends, a protest group, two murders, and Alice and her friends (minus Hen) investigating them. The storyline has a nice blend of humor and suspense.

The mystery angle of the book was terrific. The author kept who killed Leila and Sam under wraps until almost the end of the book. There were many red herrings and misdirections from the author, so when it was revealed, I was shocked and saddened. I was also shocked by the murder of Sam and why that person did it.

I enjoyed the humor in the book. As a mother of three, I related to Alice, Poppy, Hen, and Ailsa. I could see myself in each of them. Everything was relatable, from Alice’s dirty house to Ailsa’s crunchy mothering. The first birthday scene had me in stitches, as did the scene where Alice stripped Aurora and put Jack’s clothes on her so she could get dirty.

The end of Dead Tired was typical. I liked how Alice figured everything out and presented the case to everyone. The author also left enough wiggle room with the last sentence in the epilogue. I will be eagerly awaiting book 3.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Kat Ailes for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Dead Tired. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Dead Tired, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Kat Ailes

Rednecks by Taylor Brown

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 14th, 2024

Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Adult, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Southern, Drama

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A historical drama based on the Battle of Blair Mountain, pitting a multi-ethnic army of 10,000 coal miners against mine owners, state militia, and the United States government in the largest labor uprising in American history.

Rednecks is a tour de force, big canvas historical novel that dramatizes the 1920 to 1921 events of the West Virginia Mine Wars—from the Matewan Massacre through the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, when some one million rounds were fired, bombs were dropped on Appalachia, and the term “redneck” would come to have an unexpected origin story.

Brimming with the high stakes drama of America’s buried history, Rednecks tells a powerful story of rebellion against oppression. In a land where the coal companies use violence and intimidation to keep miners from organizing, “Doc Moo” Muhanna, a Lebanese-American doctor (inspired by the author’s own great-grandfather), toils amid the blood and injustice of the mining camps. When Frank Hugham, a Black World War One veteran and coal miner, takes dramatic steps to lead a miners’ revolt with a band of fellow veterans, Doc Moo risks his life and career to treat sick and wounded miners, while Frank’s grandmother, Beulah, fights her own battle to save her home and grandson. Real-life historical figures burn bright among the hills: the fiery Mother Jones, an Irish-born labor organizer once known as “The Most Dangerous Woman in America,” struggles to maintain the ear of the miners (“her boys”) amid the tide of rebellion, while the sharp-shooting police chief “Smilin” Sid Hatfield dares to stand up to the “gun thugs” of the coal companies, becoming a folk hero of the mine wars.

Award-winning novelist Taylor Brown brings to life one of the most compelling events in 20th century American history, reminding us of the hard-won origins of today’s unions. Rednecks is a propulsive, character-driven tale that’s both a century old and blisteringly contemporary: a story of unexpected friendship, heroism in the face of injustice, and the power of love and community against all odds.

First Line:

Doc Moo was up at the coal camp above town, checking on an elderly patient of his, when the Baldwins came rattling up the road in a pair of tin lizzies, their rifles and shotguns prickling from the windows, like hackles and spines.

Important details about Rednecks

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (numerous characters)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Rednecks contains themes that include bullying, classism, homelessness, poverty, racism, terrorism, alcohol consumption, blood, gore, body horror, dead bodies, body parts, decapitation, dismemberment, loss of limb, medical treatment, medical procedures, mutilation, physical injuries, scars, death, grief, explosions, fire, arson, gun violence, murder, physical assault, police brutality, police violence, torture, mass murder, war themes, and military violence. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Rednecks contain moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is nongraphic sexual content in Rednecks.

Setting: Rednecks is set around Blair Mountain, West Virginia.

My Review:

The storyline of Rednecks is centered around a conflict called the West Virginia Miner Wars (1920-1921). These wars were the most significant armed conflict on American soil since the Civil War, but little is known about it because politicians and coal mining executives covered it up. I will warn you: this book is bloody, violent, and is not an easy read. But people need to read because this is a part of American history.

Another thing that I liked about this book was how the author incorporated actual events and people into the timeline. Everyone (and every event) in this book is real, except for Dr. Muhanna (Doc Moo), a Lebanese-American doctor based on the author’s great-grandfather. It made the book stand out more to me. 

I do want to explain the book’s title. The miners wore red kerchiefs tied around their necks, identifying them to the police and army they were fighting against. The police and army started using this as a derogatory statement, and it has stuck to this day.

I was irritated by the end of the book. I thought people would have been up in arms over what happened (a year of war in Appalachia). But instead, people who were sympathetic to the coal miners (mainly politicians) started denouncing everything that happened. And the reason the coal miners went on strike (working conditions and wanting shorter days) was forgotten.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Taylor Brown for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Summers at the Saint. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Rednecks, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Taylor Brown

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: May 7th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Adult Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .

Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.

Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach read with depth and heart.

First Line

The first time Traci Eddings saw the Saint she was six or seven.

Important details about Summers at the Saint

Pace: Fast

POV: 3rd person (Traci, Olivia, Shannon, Felice, Garrett)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Summers at the Saint contains themes that include drug use, fatphobia, homophobia, rape, sexual assault, murder, child death, classism, alcoholism, death, drug abuse, infidelity, violence, fire, fire injury, adult/minor relationships, gaslighting, workplace harassment, divorce, abandonment, anxiety & anxiety attacks, drugging, teen pregnancy, terminal illness, hospitalization, physical injuries, death of a parent, death of a spouse, grief & loss depiction, and car accident. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

Language: Summers at the Saint contains mild swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is mild, nongraphic sexual content in Summers at the Saint.

Setting: Summers at the Saint in the fictional town of Bonaventure, Georgia, at a hotel called the Saint.

My Review:

When I think of Mary Kay Andrews, my mind immediately goes to beach reads. I have read several books by her, and they all have the potential to be such books. So, when I read the blurb of Summers at the Saint, I thought that it was a given that this book (being set in a hotel, in the summer, and on the beach) would be one of those books. Well, color me surprised because I was wrong. Summers at the Saint isn’t a beach book. Instead, I got a fast-paced mystery that kept me glued to the book.

The main storyline of Summers at the Saint centers around the hotel, Traci Eddings, two murders (one from the mid-90s and one in the present), and drama with Traci’s in-laws. Numerous secondary storylines feed into and flesh out the main storyline.

I do want to warn you that this book has several POVs. I don’t like more than two because I feel that switching back and forth can get bogged down. But in this case, it worked. Backgrounds were explained (or alluded to), and storylines were given more depth.

I liked Traci, but she was so busy with everything happening at the hotel and in her personal life that she missed some blatant things happening in and around the hotel. Stuff that was so blatant and so obvious that these people were waving a red flag in front of her, and she didn’t see it. Not that I blamed her because she was dealing with so much.

Other characters in the book get a lot of page time, but if I went through them all, this review would be huge. Each character added depth and background to the primary (and secondary) storylines.

The mystery angle of Summers at the Saint was terrific. The big mystery (the murder) was very twisty and very turny. The author had me in knots trying to figure out who the killer was, and I was shocked by who it was. I was also surprised at the reason why. The death of a small boy nineteen years earlier was also a significant part of the storyline. That mystery led to one of the saddest scenes I have read and gave some much-needed background on why Traci and Shannon stopped being friends.

The end of Summers at the Saint was a feel-good ending. I liked that the author gave all the major players HEAs, and justice was dealt to the bad guys. I liked seeing everyone a year in the future and happy!!

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Mary Kay Andrews for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Summers at the Saint. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Summers at the Saint, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Mary Kay Andrews

The Deepest Lake by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Publisher: Soho Press, Soho Crime

Date of publication: May 7th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Travel, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this atmospheric thriller set at a luxury memoir-writing workshop on the shores of Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, a grieving mother goes undercover to investigate her daughter’s mysterious death.

Rose, the mother of 20-something aspiring writer Jules, has waited three months for answers about her daughter’s death. Why was she swimming alone when she feared the water? Why did she stop texting days before she was last seen? When the official investigation rules the death an accidental drowning, the body possibly lost forever in Central America’s deepest lake, an unsatisfied Rose travels to the memoir workshop herself. She hopes to draw her own conclusion—and find closure.

When Rose arrives, she is swept into the curious world created by her daughter’s literary hero, the famous writing teacher Eva Marshall, a charismatic woman known for her candid—and controversial—memoirs. As Rose uncovers details about the days leading up to Jules’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that this glamorous retreat package is hiding ugly truths. Is Lake Atitlan a place where traumatized women come to heal or a place where deeper injury is inflicted?

Perfect for fans of Delia Owens, Celeste Ng, and Julia Bartz, The Deepest Lake is both a sharp look at the sometimes toxic, exclusionary world of high-class writing workshops and an achingly poignant view of a mother’s grief.

First Line:

I should be terrified stepping into the rowboat, but for the first adrenaline-spiked moment, I’m not.

Important details about The Deepest Lake

Pace: Fast

POV: 3rd person (Rose), 1st person (Jules)

Content/Trigger Guidance: The Deepest Lake contains themes that include bullying, classism, gaslighting, emotional abuse, depression*, alcohol consumption, drug use, miscarriage*, SIDS-related death*, blood, lack of medical treatment, physical injuries, dehydration, death of a child, grief & loss depiction, captivity & confinement, disappearance of a loved one, fire, attempted murder, physical assault, and mental illness*. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

  • Depression: It is revealed that Jules suffered from depression during college.
  • Miscarriage: Eva reveals to Jules that she had a miscarriage at 24 weeks.
  • SIDS-related death: In Eva’s memoir, she tells how her child died from SIDS at 13 days old.
  • Mental Illness: Eva had an undisclosed mental illness. It became more pronounced at the end of the book. The author never tells what the mental illness is (only that people had to walk on eggshells around her, and she became erratic).

Language: The Deepest Lake contains mild to moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

  • Both Jules and Rose speak fluent Spanish, and they converse with the locals throughout the book. The author does include an English translation, but it was easy enough to guess what they were saying from the context of their conversations. There were only a couple of times I had to use the translation feature on my Kindle.

Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in The Deepest Lake.

Setting: The Deepest Lake is set on a resort bordering a small village (San Felipe) and a lake (Lake Atitlan) in Guatemala. There is also an epilogue set in Chicago, Illinois.

My Review:

Thrillers have always been one of my favorite books to read. Besides romance, they were one of the most reviewed genres on this blog. When I read the blurb for The Deepest Lake on Soho Press’s NetGalley page, I became very interested in it. The storyline caught my attention, but the location also made me double-take. I haven’t read many books set in Central America, and I have read no books set in Guatemala. I hyped this book up in my mind, and in most cases, the book falls short. But not in this case. I enjoyed reading The Deepest Lake.

The Deepest Lake is a dual storyline, dual POV book. In my years of reading, I have noticed that books that go between characters and POVs become choppy towards the end (when the author tries to merge the storyline for the ending). But not in this case. The transition between Rose and Jules was smooth. The author marked whose chapter it was and when it was happening (this is very important towards the end of the book). And the merge of the storylines was seamless. All of this made the book very enjoyable to read.

There are two storylines in The Deepest Lake. One centers on Jules and her experiences working for Eva. The other storyline centers on Rose’s quest for answers about Jule’s disappearance/drowning. Both storylines were well-written and kept my attention focused on the book.

Jules did rub me the wrong way at the beginning of the book. She came across as a brat (for lack of better words) who felt suffocated by her parents. She also suffered from a severe case of hero worship, which lasted until the middle of the book. However, a significant scene in the middle of the book opened her eyes to everything and set up the events at the end of the book.

The depth of Rose’s grief crushed me. All she wanted was answers; the one person who had them (or she thought had them) was Eva. I got why she joined the writer’s workshop. I also got why she kept quiet about who she was and her relationship with Jules. I also loved that she was determined to figure out what happened to Jules, even though her ex-husband had already been to San Felipe and the resort looking for her.

Eva was a great villain. The more page time she got, the more unhinged she became. It was apparent early on in Rose’s workshops. But with Jules, it was evident when, well, the spa scene and after that scene, it just snowballed. I want to say grief was a significant factor behind everything, but you know what, I don’t know. And that is what made her such a great villain. You didn’t know the real reasons of what drove her and why (there were reasons given, but I took them with a grain of salt). I was also shocked by what was revealed at the end of the book about her (on so many levels).

The thriller and mystery angle of the book was good. The author was able to keep me on tenterhooks with both Rose and Jules. She would end chapters a certain way, go to the other POV, and I’d have to wait to see what happened. Also, two massive twists and a few smaller, more insignificant ones were thrown into the storyline. The big twists did surprise me. I did not expect what was revealed and what happened actually to happen. The more minor twists didn’t surprise me, but they added extra padding to what was revealed by the more significant twists.

The end of The Deepest Lake was one of the best endings to a book I have read. I loved how the author wrapped everything up. There was a surprise that the author included at the very end that surprised me, mainly because of who was involved and where that person was.

Many thanks to Soho Press, Soho Crime, NetGalley, and Andromeda Romano-Lax for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Deepest Lake. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Deepest Lake, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Andromeda Romano-Lax

Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell

Date of publication: April 30th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Adult, Adult Fiction, Womens Fiction, New Adult

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A playful romantic comedy featuring dueling delis, fake dating, a shockingly awesome ex, and just the right amount of amnesia.

Ellie Greco wishes she weren’t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career—designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater—until her father’s death five years ago called her home to run the family’s decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she’d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the right tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, Greco’s Deli’s very existence is suddenly in jeopardy.

She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it’s not her fault he’s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).

With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fiancée… and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually believe her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their “engagement” stick around. If they manage to convince enough people they might both get what they an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn’t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, reluctantly agrees.

And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working—even Ted, Theo’s shrewd, cold father seems convinced—that is until Sam, Theo’s ex-fiance, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.

First Line:

“Oh, but what about the mortadella? I hadn’t even thought about that. Though I suppose you don’t carry a good mortadella, do you, Ellie? Rose never will buy it here…”

Important details about Love You, Mean It

Pace: Medium

POV: 1st person (Ellie)

Content/Trigger Guidance: Love You, Mean It contains grief, death of a parent, child death, death, alcohol consumption, classism, gentrification, sexism, misogyny, emotional abuse*, hospitalization, medical treatment, death of a sibling, and death from falling. Please read carefully if any of these triggers you.

  • Emotional Abuse—Theo’s father was very emotionally abusive towards Theo and, at times, towards Ellie.

Language: Love You, Mean It contains moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is explicit sexual content in Love You, Mean It.

Setting: Love You, Mean It is set in present-day Milborough, Massachusetts.

My Review:

I am a massive fan of the saying, “Three times is a charm.” I like to apply to almost everything in my life, including reading. I have read (and reviewed) two previous books by Jilly Gagnon. Saying I wasn’t impressed with them is an understatement. Keeping that saying in mind, I read and reviewed Love You, Mean It. Well, the saying worked. The third time is the charm. I enjoyed reading Love You, Mean It.

The main storyline of Love You, Mean It is centered on Ellie, Theo, and their plan to stop Theo’s father from building a Walmart-type store in downtown Milborough. That would mean a slow death for the small businesses (including the deli that Ellie runs), and Ellie is determined to find a way to stop it. I found the storyline to be heart-grabbing, well-written, and poignant. Love You, Mean It kept me glued to the book until the wee hours of the morning.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Ellie but she did grow on me. She was a freaking mess at the beginning of the book. Her attitude sucked, and she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She gets more bearable after Theo regains his memory and goes along with her fake fiancee scheme (all to get his father to stop his plans). But even then, she was forced to act a certain way towards a man she despised (Theo’s father). I felt that the only authentic glimpses of Ellie were given during her family dinners, certain moments with Theo and Sam, and when she was remembering what it was like before her father died.

I did like Theo. There was a brief moment when I wondered if he wouldn’t regain his memory, but the author pretty much takes that idea and stomps on it. Theo’s reasons for not wanting the business downtown were very personal. But I was surprised when he decided to team up with Ellie to stop his father. Also, Theo wears his heart on his sleeve, and I guessed his true feelings toward Ellie early in the book. Well, not so much guessed, but called it.

Theo’s father was the ultimate villain in this book. He used his wealth and upper-class manners to try to intimidate Ellie. He had the audacity to ask Theo if Ellie was pregnant during their first meeting and then inferred she was a gold digger. Both were shot down by Theo and Ellie, but still, I felt the need to clean my Kindle every time he appeared on a page.

Sam became a considerable part of the book fairly early on. While I liked her, what she asked Ellie to do was pretty low (knowing the circumstances of Theo and Ellie’s fake relationship). Also, I wouldn’t say I liked how Sam treated Ellie after the engagement party or when Ellie went to Theo’s house to make up. The whole I want to be your friend now so you can have him vibe at the end of the book frustrated me to no end because it wasn’t needed!!!

The romance angle was cute. I liked how Ellie was dragged, kicking and screaming, into having feelings for Theo. Of course, those feelings made Ellie’s mouth run, and I thought she had ruined her chance with him for a hot minute. I also do need to discuss the sex. Ellie and Theo have mind-numbly hot sex from the middle of the book on. I honestly wasn’t expecting the sex scenes to be so good.

The end of Love You, Mean It was a happily ever after for now ending ( so, HEAFN?). I liked how Ellie and Theo ended up back together. I also hope the author has more books written in this universe. A few people were featured (secondary characters) that I want to see have their HEA.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, Dell, and Jilly Gagnon for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Love You, Mean It. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Love You, Mean It, then you will enjoy these books:

Other Books by Jilly Gagnon