Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Beach Read

This romance was adorable, and I could totally go for a movie adaption. Gus and January are college frenemies with chemistry that, years later, find themselves as neighbors during a particularly difficult summer.

I absolutely loved the history-with-chemistry vibe between Gus and January, and their slow-burn challenge throughout is pitch perfect. Their relationship builds naturally, and it still goes deeper than just their romance, as they both heal from the wounds that life has dealt them. Together they pick each other up, dust each other off, and remind one another of who they used to be.

Fantastically satisfying story I would recommend to anyone looking for a wonderful romance with some deeper themes of the ups and downs of life, and how much you can truly know someone. (And the audiobook was fantastic too!)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

More please!

Thanks for reading!

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

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 – 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

Audiobook Review – The Fastest Way to Fall


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!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Three Halves of a Whole


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!

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Audiobook Review – Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

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.

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A good book to curl up with on a cold winter day.

Thanks for reading!

Posted on by hrchow12

Book Review – The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3)

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.

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

There’s always hope for the next one!

Thanks for reading!