Narrated by Julia Whelan and Zachary Webber Strong word of mouth about the author and their new audiobook led me to request Part of Your World from NetGalley last week. Abby Jimenez is a new-to-me author and lately, I’ve been a bit leery about veering away from old favorites, but I’m happy to tell you…
The No-Show didn’t quite jibe for me. While Beth O’Leary normally can do no wrong in my eyes, this is the lowest grade I’ve given any of her books, and that’s for one reason – she expects us to feel sympathy for Joseph, the central guy here. Naturally, she weaves a mature narrative out of…
First, a bit of backstory. Months ago, I optimistically requested The No-Show on Netgalley. I was thrilled (and surprised) when I received a notification that my request was accepted. To be honest, I requested The No-Show because it was an O’Leary book, and not because of anything I knew about the story. As usual, I…
The plot of In Search of a Prince is a twist on the classic story of Cinderella. In this case, a young woman discovers she is heiress to a royal throne in a faraway country, travels there to explore her options, and falls in love. The country is a West African island nation, and In…
Seoulmates is the conclusion to the story begun in Heart and Seoul. I strongly recommend reading the books in order, since events in this volume build upon what happened in the first novel. When Hara travelled to Seoul, it was with the sole intent of finding her birth mother. As a Korean adoptee, she had…
Good Girl Complex is a contemporary cross-class romance which is weighed down by its formula, and while the author gives an excellent view of her working-class hero, she doesn’t deliver on the heroine’s wealthy side of the class divide. Mackenzie – Mac – Cabot is just one of the many filthy-rich brats who pass through…
One True Loves is sweet, honest and touching in its portrayal of that space between being a teenager and becoming an independent college student. The delightful Lenore Bennett is brilliant, talented and no romantic – though she wants to be in love, has tried to be in love, and has lost repeatedly along the way. …
What surprised me about Never Too Late is that it has almost no external plot, no particular situation driving the two protagonists together. Instead, it’s a strong friends-to-lovers story with the most important action happening internally as both leads deal with past pain and consider that they might just be more than friends. Never Too…
What’s that you say? YA is immature, and just for kids? Hahahaha! The protagonist of Michelle Quatch’s Not Here to Be Liked, Eliza Quan. isn’t sunshiny, but that shouldn’t prevent her from winning the school paper’s election for editor-in-chief, because she’s damn good at her job and has the awards to prove it. Plus, she’s…
Queen’s Surrender: To A Higher Calling is the latest release in Pat Simmons’s ten-book series The Jamieson Legacy, and as I had not read the previous books, I knew I was coming in late to this long-running story. Nonetheless, with a little attention I was able to get a handle on the large Jamieson clan…