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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated No Weddings in Books
Jan 8, 2021
I first saw this book as a giveaway on Goodreads and entered to win it. Unfortunately I wasn’t a lucky winner and after re-reading the synopsis I decided I wanted to read it anyway, which isn’t always the case with the books I enter to win on Goodreads. So off I went to Amazon to search it out and I was surprised by the price (77p) so I pre-ordered it and two days later it was delivered.
Let me say this now; I'm not a big contemporary romance reader any more. I tend to stick to paranormal/urban fantasy/suspense books with romance in them for an added element.
But I have to say that I really liked this!
It was told from Cade's POV, a proper ladies man, who sets up a party planning company with his three older sisters and decides they won't do any weddings as Cade seems to always end up sleeping with a guest (or two). But then he meets Hannah, an amazing baker/cook who they want to hire to make the cakes for whatever events they're organizing for, and as he gets to know her he begins to really like her.
Let me tell you this book is full of sexual tension; they flirt, they touch...it was really kinda cute watching how he softened and changed.
http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n5z8fpUqsd1t0hoy1o1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank
Another thing I liked was the banter between almost everyone. The siblings reminded me a bit of me and my brother; Cade and Hannah; Cade and his room mates.
Let me say that there is no sex in this book—plenty of romance!—and their relationship is going to continue into the next one, One Funeral, which I believe is going to be from Hannah's POV. And let me tell you I will most definitely be continuing this series.
Let me say this now; I'm not a big contemporary romance reader any more. I tend to stick to paranormal/urban fantasy/suspense books with romance in them for an added element.
But I have to say that I really liked this!
It was told from Cade's POV, a proper ladies man, who sets up a party planning company with his three older sisters and decides they won't do any weddings as Cade seems to always end up sleeping with a guest (or two). But then he meets Hannah, an amazing baker/cook who they want to hire to make the cakes for whatever events they're organizing for, and as he gets to know her he begins to really like her.
Let me tell you this book is full of sexual tension; they flirt, they touch...it was really kinda cute watching how he softened and changed.
http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n5z8fpUqsd1t0hoy1o1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank
Another thing I liked was the banter between almost everyone. The siblings reminded me a bit of me and my brother; Cade and Hannah; Cade and his room mates.
Let me say that there is no sex in this book—plenty of romance!—and their relationship is going to continue into the next one, One Funeral, which I believe is going to be from Hannah's POV. And let me tell you I will most definitely be continuing this series.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4) in Books
Jan 20, 2021
3.75 stars.
It's taken me a long time to finish this, mainly because other books on my Kindle were taking up all my attention and being a bit more angsty and action-packed than this one, but once I sat down and concentrated on this fully I got it finished in a handful of hours.
I grabbed this paperback from my favourite bargain bookshop: The Works for £2. I've had a taste of Jill's books and I do enjoy them so when I saw this, I decided to buy it.
It tells the story of Piper who's just celebrating - or rather not celebrating - her 30th birthday with friends at the local bar when she meets Camden, her next door neighbours oldest son. They flirt a little but shy away from anything happening between them initially but as they spend more time together, they start to care about each other.
This doesn't just focus on Piper, we also have her siblings' viewpoints, too.
Gavin, an ex trouble maker, has come back for various reasons and one of them is his love for CJ - the man he hurt several years ago. We see their re-connection and it is quite lovely actually.
Winnie, the youngest, has come back from college and wants to help Piper fix up the place so they can all live together happily - only she's got a secret of her own, that her brother and a handful of others know about but not Piper. Yet.
This is a story of family and love, grief and forgiveness. It's heartwarming at time and others I felt a little prick of tears as they tried to deal with their issues. I thought it was really well written.
There was one scene I really loved that was near the end with Camden and Piper when she tells him to throw her journal in the lake and then has a panic when he actually does it before jumping in the lake despite her fear of water to try and rescue the bloody thing.
It's taken me a long time to finish this, mainly because other books on my Kindle were taking up all my attention and being a bit more angsty and action-packed than this one, but once I sat down and concentrated on this fully I got it finished in a handful of hours.
I grabbed this paperback from my favourite bargain bookshop: The Works for £2. I've had a taste of Jill's books and I do enjoy them so when I saw this, I decided to buy it.
It tells the story of Piper who's just celebrating - or rather not celebrating - her 30th birthday with friends at the local bar when she meets Camden, her next door neighbours oldest son. They flirt a little but shy away from anything happening between them initially but as they spend more time together, they start to care about each other.
This doesn't just focus on Piper, we also have her siblings' viewpoints, too.
Gavin, an ex trouble maker, has come back for various reasons and one of them is his love for CJ - the man he hurt several years ago. We see their re-connection and it is quite lovely actually.
Winnie, the youngest, has come back from college and wants to help Piper fix up the place so they can all live together happily - only she's got a secret of her own, that her brother and a handful of others know about but not Piper. Yet.
This is a story of family and love, grief and forgiveness. It's heartwarming at time and others I felt a little prick of tears as they tried to deal with their issues. I thought it was really well written.
There was one scene I really loved that was near the end with Camden and Piper when she tells him to throw her journal in the lake and then has a panic when he actually does it before jumping in the lake despite her fear of water to try and rescue the bloody thing.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna in Books
Aug 26, 2019
This is the family saga of the Fortuna’s, and follows their lives from poverty in Calabria to the USA. It follows Stella from the birth and death of her older sister (also called Mariastella), her siblings, parents and her life in Connecticut - covering 100 years. I still can’t quite believe that the author managed to fit so much into 460+ pages without it feeling rushed or shoe-horned in, it she did it!
As you can probably guess from the title, Stella’s 7 or 8 deaths feature quite prominently in this, as does her close relationships with her mother and sister. Her father as good as abandons them for the first part of her life, and then demands that his wife and children sell everything and join him in the US where he has been working. Stella hates her controlling, abusive father, but is very much restricted by tradition and religion. So, she lives under his despotic rule. There is quite a bit of abuse - both physical and mental - in this, but what is most admirable is Stella’s unbroken spirit. And she has spirit in spades.
I loved the style in which this was told: a family member researching and telling the story of her relatives, and trying to work out why Stella in her last 30 years refuses to have anything to do with the sister that she loved so much. I had to keep reminding myself that it was in fact fiction. There was a great balance of modern thinking (from the narrator) and the traditions of the older members of the family, complete with curses and spells to avoid the evil eye.
I’ll be honest, I thought I’d made a mistake by choosing this book. I really didn’t think I’d like it. I’m so relieved that I took a chance on this though, because I loved it, and I’d say that it’s well worth a read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
As you can probably guess from the title, Stella’s 7 or 8 deaths feature quite prominently in this, as does her close relationships with her mother and sister. Her father as good as abandons them for the first part of her life, and then demands that his wife and children sell everything and join him in the US where he has been working. Stella hates her controlling, abusive father, but is very much restricted by tradition and religion. So, she lives under his despotic rule. There is quite a bit of abuse - both physical and mental - in this, but what is most admirable is Stella’s unbroken spirit. And she has spirit in spades.
I loved the style in which this was told: a family member researching and telling the story of her relatives, and trying to work out why Stella in her last 30 years refuses to have anything to do with the sister that she loved so much. I had to keep reminding myself that it was in fact fiction. There was a great balance of modern thinking (from the narrator) and the traditions of the older members of the family, complete with curses and spells to avoid the evil eye.
I’ll be honest, I thought I’d made a mistake by choosing this book. I really didn’t think I’d like it. I’m so relieved that I took a chance on this though, because I loved it, and I’d say that it’s well worth a read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
Every Last Fear
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Shelle Perry (66 KP) rated The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales (Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic #3) in Books
Aug 12, 2021
I am so excited to go back to Destiny Falls.
Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic tells the story of Hayden, a young woman who has been transported to a magical dimension to find that she has a family she never knew and a destiny she never dreamed of. While ostensibly these are cozy mysteries, the true story is Hayden’s missing mother. She left Hayden with her grandmothers not long after she was born, but as we have learned through the books of this series, that is not entirely accurate.
Here in book 3, The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales, Hayden along with her siblings investigate information that could finally lead her to her mom. Though, it comes with the admonition not to trust anyone.
While Hayden and feline bestie Latifa investigate a new death on the island while trying to find out more about the mysterious letter from Emily, a ghost with a penchant for storytelling brings Hayden to his world. She must decide whether his stories are for fun or more historical in nature, and what do they have to do with her investigations.
As I said, it is so great to be back. The great recurring characters of Hayden’s family, the local townspeople, and of course the wonderful animals of Destiny Falls, which in itself is a magical wonderful place, pick the story up right where the last book left, without a moment’s pause in the action. Romance takes a step up and Latifa and her extended cat family prove why cats will someday rule the world. We finally get to learn secrets, but then there are always more questions than answers, so of course I can’t wait for the next installment.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Here in book 3, The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales, Hayden along with her siblings investigate information that could finally lead her to her mom. Though, it comes with the admonition not to trust anyone.
While Hayden and feline bestie Latifa investigate a new death on the island while trying to find out more about the mysterious letter from Emily, a ghost with a penchant for storytelling brings Hayden to his world. She must decide whether his stories are for fun or more historical in nature, and what do they have to do with her investigations.
As I said, it is so great to be back. The great recurring characters of Hayden’s family, the local townspeople, and of course the wonderful animals of Destiny Falls, which in itself is a magical wonderful place, pick the story up right where the last book left, without a moment’s pause in the action. Romance takes a step up and Latifa and her extended cat family prove why cats will someday rule the world. We finally get to learn secrets, but then there are always more questions than answers, so of course I can’t wait for the next installment.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
I received an advance review copy for free through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Black Cake in Books
Feb 4, 2022
Siblings Byron and Benny are estranged, but after their mother's death, they discover she’s left them a black cake, a beloved food from their childhood and history, and a voice recording that reveals many surprises about her past. Their mother Eleanor's story is heartbreaking and shocking, but will it bring Byron and Benny together to share the cake "when the time is right," as their mother desired?
This is a really interesting and different book. It’s a sweeping tale that spans from the 1960s to the present and touches on racism, homophobia, immigration, assault, the meaning of family, and so much more. If that sounds like a lot, it is, and sometimes it feels like too much. The story meanders at times--it's a lot to go from the 1960s to the near present, and the story is told through many narrators and short chapters. It's sometimes confusing to keep track of. At times, the musings and whining of present-day Byron and Benny are frustrating because you just want to get back to Eleanor and the past.
And that is where BLACK CAKE shines. Because while this is a debut novel and it shows at times, the story really is engrossing, especially when Eleanor gets into her origin story and we learn about the Caribbean and how she became who she is. There's almost a mystery in there, and it's fascinating. We are taken back to the islands, meeting a young determined swimmer and her best friend. I love how Wilkerson weaves everything together into a touching and poignant tale that delves deep into this family's past. I was mesmerized and needed to know everything that happened. There are a lot of characters and a few false starts, but this story winds around to make sense, and it was a really beautiful and fascinating.
I received a copy of this book from Random House / Ballantine and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
This is a really interesting and different book. It’s a sweeping tale that spans from the 1960s to the present and touches on racism, homophobia, immigration, assault, the meaning of family, and so much more. If that sounds like a lot, it is, and sometimes it feels like too much. The story meanders at times--it's a lot to go from the 1960s to the near present, and the story is told through many narrators and short chapters. It's sometimes confusing to keep track of. At times, the musings and whining of present-day Byron and Benny are frustrating because you just want to get back to Eleanor and the past.
And that is where BLACK CAKE shines. Because while this is a debut novel and it shows at times, the story really is engrossing, especially when Eleanor gets into her origin story and we learn about the Caribbean and how she became who she is. There's almost a mystery in there, and it's fascinating. We are taken back to the islands, meeting a young determined swimmer and her best friend. I love how Wilkerson weaves everything together into a touching and poignant tale that delves deep into this family's past. I was mesmerized and needed to know everything that happened. There are a lot of characters and a few false starts, but this story winds around to make sense, and it was a really beautiful and fascinating.
I received a copy of this book from Random House / Ballantine and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
The Heart of a Hussar (The Winged Warrior #1)
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Poland is at war. He must choose between his lifelong ambition and his heart. Exploiting...
Historical Fiction Polish Winged Hussars
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Unpassing in Books
Dec 22, 2021
212 of 250
Book
The Unpassing
By Chia-Chia Lin
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
In Chia-Chia Lin's debut, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman, while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When 10-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.
Routine takes over for the grieving family: The siblings care for each other as they befriend a neighboring family and explore the woods; distance grows between the parents as they deal with their loss separately. But things spiral when the father, increasingly guilt ridden after Ruby's death, is sued for not properly installing a septic tank, which results in grave harm to a little boy. In the ensuing chaos, what really happened to Ruby finally emerges.
With flowing prose that evokes the terrifying beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, Lin explores the fallout after the loss of a child and the way in which a family is forced to grieve in a place that doesn't yet feel like home. Emotionally raw and subtly suspenseful, The Unpassing is a deeply felt family saga that dismisses the American dream for a harsher but ultimately more profound reality.
To start off I’ll say it’s very well written. Sadly I just struggled to connect with the book and it’s characters, yes I’ve still given it 4 stars because it at least deserves that considering it is also the first book from this author. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it as someone else may connect I just struggles.
Book
The Unpassing
By Chia-Chia Lin
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
In Chia-Chia Lin's debut, The Unpassing, we meet a Taiwanese immigrant family of six struggling to make ends meet on the outskirts of Anchorage, Alaska. The father, hardworking but beaten down, is employed as a plumber and repairman, while the mother, a loving, strong-willed, and unpredictably emotional matriarch, holds the house together. When 10-year-old Gavin contracts meningitis at school, he falls into a deep, nearly fatal coma. He wakes up a week later to learn that his little sister Ruby was infected, too. She did not survive.
Routine takes over for the grieving family: The siblings care for each other as they befriend a neighboring family and explore the woods; distance grows between the parents as they deal with their loss separately. But things spiral when the father, increasingly guilt ridden after Ruby's death, is sued for not properly installing a septic tank, which results in grave harm to a little boy. In the ensuing chaos, what really happened to Ruby finally emerges.
With flowing prose that evokes the terrifying beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, Lin explores the fallout after the loss of a child and the way in which a family is forced to grieve in a place that doesn't yet feel like home. Emotionally raw and subtly suspenseful, The Unpassing is a deeply felt family saga that dismisses the American dream for a harsher but ultimately more profound reality.
To start off I’ll say it’s very well written. Sadly I just struggled to connect with the book and it’s characters, yes I’ve still given it 4 stars because it at least deserves that considering it is also the first book from this author. I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading it as someone else may connect I just struggles.