Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Everlong

I heard great things about this one through the Twitterverse, and when I saw it pitched for my little free library contest, I knew I had it grab it. It totally did not disappoint!

Everlong is a whimsical paranormal that follows Lily as she walks to “her bench” every night to write. There, she runs into sweet Sam, and they strike up an easy friendship. From there, things get a little more complicated for the pair as they come to learn more about each other.

The writing is beautiful, and the relationship that grows between the two feels incredibly natural. If you like friends-to-lovers, this story gets it exactly right. It is sweet, and poignant, and though we are in the mysterious world of paranormal, this story uses it to cast a light on the human side of it.

After the things I’d heard about this book, I was braced for the end, but honestly I found it a wonderful, poignant end to a great love story. (No tissues required over here, but if you’re a crier you might want to be armed in case.)

This story hits right in the feels, capturing our humanity in a little jar of whimsical paranormal. I’m so glad I picked this one up and can’t wait to share it with our little free library. Highly recommended to anyone who wants paranormal romance that goes beyond the surface.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love adding wonderful books to our little free library!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Picture Book Review – This Town


Okay, I’ve read a few new picture books today, but This Town by Mark Restaino was definitely my favorite. The story is about a little girl as she grows up in a small town, all the people she meets along the way, and how her life is connected to the town around her. The illustrations are pleasing to the eye, the prose has a nice lilting rhyme to it, and when the story comes full circle, it’s very satisfying. This is actually the second excellently poignant picture book by Restaino I’ve read ,and I would also recommend taking a look at “How Could I Ever Forget?”

Would totally recommend this for ages 2-6! Thanks to Sandra’s Book Club for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cheers to another great picture book!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Betwixt


Okay, continuing my Darynda Jones marathon. I *loved* the first two books of the Sunshine series, I thought the first two books of her Charley Davidson series were okay, so I picked up Betwixt.

This story follows Defiance as she comes in to a rather large inheritance in the town of Salem with lots of paranormal fun involved.

Once again, the author’s strengths shine here with lots of voice, an interesting world and setting, and lots of banter. But… once again the romance veered into insta-love territory that fell a little flat for me (Although I like Roan more than I like Reyes from Charley Davidson).

To add to that, about 70% of this book is someone telling the MC to do something: watch this video, do this other thing, we don’t have a lot of time and you’re in GRAVE danger – to which the MC finds some way to put off said thing she needs to do, OR she keeps getting interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Seriously, someone interrupts her by knocking on the door probably about 10 times! It was driving me insane!

I didn’t think the MC was quite as likeable as Charley or Sunshine, and some of the plotline (mainly not being able to afford the house) seemed a little contrived. And there’s a cliffhanger, which I’m not super a fan of. Overall, while I think the sequel has potential (there was a lot of set-up in this one) I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. However, the writing voice is fun, so if you’re into quirky paranormal, I still recommend you might try it from the library… although I think I’d point you to the author’s other series first.

⭐⭐⭐½

Curl up with the Sunshine Vicram books first!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Drift


This sci-fi dystopian follows Samara, an enslaved, enhanced assassin, and her mark, the idealistic resistance leader, Tristan, as their fates intertwine with that of their brutal, divided world.

I really enjoyed the intricate world-building in this tiered, futuristic society, and the action scenes kept the plot moving at a quick pace. Tristan is easy to like with his unassailable optimism, his devotion to his friends, his cause, and his interesting powers. And while it took me some time to warm up to Samara, she comes a long way throughout the story, and I was rooting for her by the end. Wyatt makes for an interesting, conflicted villain, and the side characters all have very distinct personalities. Probably my only real critique is there is an interesting element of fate running through the book which gave it a little bit of an insta-love spark that I wasn’t a huge fan of, but I think that’s just my subjective opinion.

Overall, I thought this was a very engaging, unique story that I would definitely recommend for fans of sci-fi, dystopian, and a slow burn romance. Heads up though, because the cliffhanger will definitely have you asking for the sequel!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Real talk, we need more sci-fi romance in the world! NEED!!!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Second Grave on the Left


Second Grave on the Left has most of the charm of the first book: humor, banter, great voice, and the return of our funny, badass grim reaper heroine. But once again we have another rather forgettable “solving a murder” plot and the insta-love romance with the dark & otherworldly Reyes didn’t really grow as much as I would’ve hoped. The additional world building was interesting with Charley’s powers growing, but although I’d say I enjoyed it (once again the audiobook narration is great), I expect the sequel to be more of the same, so I think I’ll probably stop the series here. If you really loved the first one though, I think you’ll also totally be into this one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Still good, just not as good as some of Jones’s others.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – A Good Day for Chardonnay

So I absolutely LOVED the first Sunshine Vicram book, and I got my hands on this one as fast as I possibly could. In general, it has everything I loved about the first one, the quirky town, the wonderful side characters, our badass main character, the sassy romance, the slowburn romance that’s still killing us, and a the slowly unfolding mystery around Sunshine’s abduction. The only thing I thought wasn’t quite as strong was the little mystery they were investigating, AND IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER. Like seriously, how could you?!?! Now I have to pine for Book 3 until it comes out next winter.😭

Highly, HIGHLY recommend this quirky contemporary mystery heavy on the slowburn romance, and I can’t wait to get my grabby hands on book 3!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Can’t wait for book 3!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – First Grave on the Right


I picked this book after falling completely in love with Darynda Jones’s “A Bad Day for Sunshine.” While this one still sparkled with humor, fabulous banter, and a gutsy, kickass heroine, it didn’t quite capture me like Sunshine. I definitely liked the concept: a sassy grim reaper constantly plagued by the dead to solve their problems uses her powers as a private investigator. I loved finding out more about Charley’s powers and the back and forth with her sidekick, Cookie, but the central “solving a murder” plot seemed less memorable and the insta-love romance from a “bad boy” types didn’t really work for me. (Especially they’re initial meet-cute was just super weird to me) Still, the narration of the audiobook was great, and it kept be interested enough to read the sequel, so I’d definitely still recommend for those looking for a fun, voicey paranormal mystery with a side of bad boy insta-love.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Another quirky, fun story from Darynda Jones!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – Piranesi


So let me preface this by saying I knew within about the first ten pages that this book wasn’t for me. But as it’s so highly rated and recommended, I decided to try to broaden my pedestrian horizons and give it a shot. And I found it… very strange.

If you are reading to soak in the writing and look deeply into the symbiology and themes of a book. This may be for you! The first half essentially follows Piranesi as he wanders through a never-ending house of nature and statues that he reveres unequivocally. There’s a little mystery as we try to figure out where exactly Piranesi is and how he got there, but even though this book is short, this story… Takes… Its… Time.

Piranesi is a strange, innocent sort of character, reverently altered by his strange surroundings, and spends much of the book alone, reading through his journals to try to piece together his memories.

This book has lyrical descriptions with strands of grand themes interwoven into philosophical musings, and in general is unique in its own way. Altogether, I found it interesting, but not gripping, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a literary venture they can think into.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Not really for us, but it could be for you!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – A Bad Day for Sunshine

Holy crap, I loved this book. A Bad Day for Sunshine follows Sunshine Vicram as she starts her first day as sheriff of the strange town of Del Sol.

It’s funny, the characters are amazing, the slowburn romance might kill you, the mystery elements keep you guessing, and even the quirky town of Del Sol comes to life.

As soon as I finished this audiobook (which is also fantastically narrated), I immediately put myself on the waitlist for the sequel as well as the author’s others books. Honesty, I’m so thrilled I don’t have to think about what my next audiobook is going to be for awhile, because it’s totally going to be Darynda Jones

Six brilliant stars, and I’ll probably be recommending this one to just about everybody.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The only real problem with this book is it makes me want to stop everything else and just read!!!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – If I Could Turn Back Time

This book was exactly what I thought it would be, and that is incredibly satisfying. If I Could Turn Back Time follows Amelia as she inherits her grandfather’s “haunted” cabin and tries to settle in a new town in a bit of a rough part of her life.

This book is light, but not shallow, funny, romantic, and all-in-all just the type of book that leaves a smile on my face. The time-traveling elements are well done, and the characters were likable, developed naturally, and had great chemistry. In general, the plot just flowed super well. The romance moves fast, but I think it skirted insta love territory (Steam level maybe a 4 out of 5.)

Basically, I think this would make a stellar chick flick, and I’d be stoked to watch it. Although it is technically it’s part of a series, I didn’t read the first one and this book reads well as a stand-alone. I totally recommend this for romance fans who like a little steam, and I’ll definitely be reading more by this author.

Thanks to the publisher and Booksirens for the free ARC! 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Solid light romance to give you a smile!

Thanks for reading!