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.
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.
This was *such* a cute rom com! The Fastest Way to Fall is about Britta, a journalist that’s reviewing a fitness app, and her fitness coach, Wes, as they do everything they can to resist crossing professional lines and falling for each other.
There’s so much to love here. The MCs are super likeable and were totally brought to life in the audiobook. Britta is funny and lovable, Wes is sweet and sincere, their predicament is traditional romcom goodness, and I was cheering for them the whole time. Their relationship growth and chemistry felt super natural and even the side characters felt real. I also loved the body positivity in this book as well as the growth of the female coworker relationship. Honestly Britta’s fictional journey had me alternatively smiling and wanting to hit the gym. (Although, full disclosure, I am a gym rat, so I may be biased.) Also, speaking of disclosure, there is one steamy scene, and also trigger warnings stated in the beginning for eating disorders, addiction, and fat phobia.
This book was heartfelt, sweet, fun, and it just felt super real. Honestly, now that I’ve read it, I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of it before I picked up the audiobook from the library. Since it’s near the end of the year, I can say with confidence that this is my favorite romance of 2021 (and… I have read quite a few), and I *highly* recommend it for anyone looking for feel-good fun.
Now, someone make the movie please!!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This one definitely left me with a big smile! Reading slump: Vanquished!
Three Halves of a Whole follows Andrew as he struggles to cope with the downward spiral of his ex-lover. The story gives a brief introduction into how Andrew and Riley fell in love before bringing us to the present where Andrew has been forced to move on, even though he still cares deeply for the struggling Riley.
This short audiobook is well performed, beautifully written, and achingly poignant—making you wish you could reach in and pull the characters from their tragic trajectory.
My only real critique is that I wish we got to spend more time with Riley and be present while he and Andrew fell in love before diving into the aftermath. Mostly we see Riley through the lens of Andrew’s memories. But once I started listening, the story pulled me in and I flew through it.
Definitely recommend for those looking for a deeply emotional read that deals with grief, complicated relationships, and letting go. (Trigger warnings for substance abuse and suicide)
⭐⭐⭐⭐
In other news, I’ve realized that like 90% of my reads these days are audiobooks. O_O WHO AM I ANYMORE?! In other other news, send audiobook recs!
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is a dual-POV romcom-ish tale of a chaotic girl with a guarded heart and an ordered guy reeling from a crash and burn relationship. To encourage each other to get back out there, they start going on double-blind-dates with mostly disastrous results.
The plot is cute, the leads are lovable, their relationship grows naturally, and I would totally watch the movie. (Although, I did think the epilogue goes a little overboard on the happily ever after, and they do seem to take quite a lot of time to recognize their feelings.)
All that said, it was a light, quick read with a few steamy scenes, but I didn’t see a whole lot that really set this one apart. If you liked the Unhoneymooners, you’ll almost certainly find this enjoyable… just maybe not terribly memorable.
Okay, so to review. Book 1: I thought the first half was boring, and the second sucked me in. 4.5 stars Book 2: Totally got me with the side characters, the enemies-to-lovers romance, and the plot. 5 stars And now here we are at book 3.
So… I jumped right into this book from Book 2, excited and ready, and for about the first 30% I was riveted… and then we ran into some problems. First, the romance seemed to overwhelm the plot, which isn’t super problematic, but the MCs were square in the honeymoon phase for pretty much the whole book. Their relationship didn’t seem to grow, and the smut was honestly kind of repetitive. The inside jokes that were cute in book 1 and book 2 (Miss Willa’s diary and Poppy’s neverending questions) felt stale here, and the plot as a whole just seemed to stall with lots of talking and not much doing. There were also a few plot points (won’t give away without spoilers) that also didn’t really work for me.
I actually hesitated reading this book with #4 not out yet since I thought I would be dying to get my hands on it. As it is, I think I’ll read it once it comes to the library, but I’m really hoping it has more to it then this one.
The Switch follows a grandmother and her granddaughter as they seek to cope with a still-raw family tragedy and a recent divorce. They swap apartments for a few months in hopes of a change of scenery to help them with a fresh start.
If this plot sounds like a Hallmark movie, it’s because it definitely could be. Eileen and Leena are both sweet and so easy to root for, and in their new environments, they both manage to instill positive change while also discovering the much needed growth they were looking for. You’ll be able to see the romance coming from a mile away, but the romantic interests are also likeable and have a natural development. The audiobook was well told, with different narrators for the two MCs, and overall I definitely enjoyed this light, sweet romance.
Although there’s nothing very surprising or new here, if you’re a fan of Hallmark movies, you will almost certainly enjoy this one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
But hey, who doesn’t like a good Hallmark movie now and then?
Okay, so I had mixed thoughts on the first book (specifically I thought the first half was boring, and the second half was awesome), but it left off on a bit of cliff-hanger so I decided to give book two a try, and I was NOT disappointed.
I INHALED this book. Book two successfully intensified everything I enjoyed from book one. Although once again, I did think the start was a touch slow, I wasn’t bothered too much because I was already so invested in the characters. And the side characters really showed up here too in the best way. I absolutely loved Kieran. And this time, I loved learning about the world. The world-building definitely fleshed out and deepened here, but it was more seamlessly woven into book two.
It’s darker, it’s steamier (kind of veering into the weird, but this is a world of essentially vampires and werewolves so… you know), and in general, it’s just more awesome. Cas and Poppy are borderline dysfunctional and absolutely violent, but they seem so suited to each other, and their dynamic just totally works. If you’re unfazed by sex, violence, and language, and you enjoyed the second half of book one, then I wholeheartedly recommend. On to Book 3!
Okay… this review is going to be a little different than the one I posted on Goodreads, because honestly, I’m still mad about the ending. While what I wrote on Goodreads still stands… I’m going to add a little extra because I just need to vent (but I’ll still refrain from spoilers). So here’s my Goodreads review:
A wonderful historical fiction of the forgers in the French resistance in World War II. I loved the characters, their romance, and their story but this definitely left me feeling heavy (which I suppose should be expected from a WWII novel). I picked up the audiobook from the library, and the narrator did a wonderful job with the accents. Although I think the ending technically would be classified as a happy ending, it was super bittersweet, and I still felt really sad for the MCs. I just loved them so much, I was really hoping for more for them. 😭 (No actual tears shed, but definitely a sigh.) Now I need to go listen to something happy. 😭
Okay… now here are my thoughts after stewing over it for a few days. Did I say bittersweet? I meant BITTERsweet. I mean, I did love like 95% of this book… but the whole time, I was basically twisting myself into a knot, saying: This BETTER have a happy ending. They can NOT just build me up like this. There has to be some kind of twist. Etc. Etc. Etc. And then the ending came and… it just wasn’t enough. The near-misses almost seem cruel, and with so much other sad stuff that happens in the book, we couldn’t just have one wonderful thing to hold onto?! I was talking to one of my other author friends… and basically I’m still not over it. If you’re into bittersweet… sure, give it a shot. Or, just stop at the 95% mark and make up your own ending.
⭐⭐⭐1⁄2
Rant over. Do I feel better? …Nope… still not over it.
Darling there are Wolves in the Woods by LV Russell follows Teya as she enters an enchanted, dark wood to find her sister who was stolen by the fey ten years past. As she struggles to survive the horrors of the wood, the complex fey, Lathaniel, become inextricably entwined with her journey.
I really loved the writing style of this book. The descriptions were incredibly evocative and painted such a vivid picture of the darkly magical wood. I also super loved just how dark this fairytale-like story was. It was just the right amount of creepy and disturbing without feeling like anything was added for shock value or out of place. Even though the woods are obviously a death trap you wouldn’t want to find yourself in, they sounded so beautiful, I could see how they would draw someone in. And I loved all the interesting descriptions of the dark magic that exists in this world.
I found Lathaniel to be a very interesting, complicated character… which, after countless years as a fey, a cruel race, and with his a thorny past, makes a lot of sense. Even though he’s very forward about his flaws and is dangerous in so many ways, I can see how Teya would be drawn to him. Teya though, was a bit frustrating to me. Teya has definitely had it rough too in life, but I found her to be rather mercurial in her relationship with Lathaniel, and I had trouble understanding her motivation for some of her choices. But I was definitely still rooting for her, and since there are sequels there’s still a lot of room for growth.
Totally recommend to anyone looking for a unique, dark fairytale with complex characters and beautiful writing.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
And, it’s been set free into the local Little Free Library. I have no doubt it’ll be snapped up in no time!
Hayley Reese Chow 