Month: March 2024

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston | Book Review

Posted March 28, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

With Any Luck by Ashley Poston | Book ReviewWith Any Luck by Ashley Poston
Series: The Improbable Meet-Cute #5
Also in this series: Rosie and the Dreamboat, Drop, Cover, and Hold On, The Exception to the Rule
Narrator: Amy McFadden
Published by Amazon Original Stories on January 23, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 43
Length: 1 hour and 11 mins
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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Every person she kisses finds their true love, and it’s never her—until now, in this funny and magically romantic short story by the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Audrey Love is cursed to be the person before you find your soulmate, the girl you dump for your true love. So when her best friend disappears hours before his Valentine’s Day wedding, Audrey fears that she did the unthinkable and kissed him at last night’s bachelor party. With help from the best man, she retraces her steps to find the missing groom and, with any luck, a true love of her own.

Ashley Poston’s With Any Luck is part of The Improbable Meet-Cute, irresistibly romantic stories about finding love when and where you least expect it. They can be read or listened to in one sitting. Let’s make a date of it.

The Improbable Meet-Cute series has been pretty hit or miss for me, but I did enjoy listening to them all back to back on a lazy Sunday while I crocheted. Each story in this series focuses on two love interests meeting. Then it ends. Don’t be bamboozled and go in thinking you’re getting a quick romance. Every book ends right when the meet-cute is over, which can be disappointing if you’re invested in the characters. You’ve been warned! I didn’t realize this going in to my first one, but once I came to terms with the fact that I was going to be getting an incomplete story I was able to enjoy my time.

With Any Luck was pretty meh for me. I really didn’t like this narrator and have made a note to avoid them in the future, but I don’t think reading the kindle copy would have helped me like it any more. If I’m being honest, I’m a bit behind on my reviews, so it’s been a few weeks since I listened to this one but I seriously remembered nothing about it. Usually I see a title or a cover and I remember parts of the story or how the book made me feel, even years later. My mind was blank on this book until I went and read the synopsis to refresh my memory. There was very little substance to hold on to, and at one point it was hard to tell who the love interest even was. I wish the story had been fleshed out a little more. It was missing a lot of info that I needed to feel like I really cared about what happened. I did empathize with Audrey, as I also always seem to be the last girl a guy dates before getting married. lol. And I always enjoy a good friendship. But the “curse” was silly and unconvincing, and the fact that the entire story was about Audrey thinking she was powerful enough to make her best friend ruin his entire life against his will rubbed me the wrong way. I just didn’t buy it. There was too much going on for such a short book, and I really wouldn’t even call this a meet-cute. There was no spark between the two main characters, and then it ended. And then I forgot it all. lol.


Top Ten Tuesday Link-up – March 26, 2024

Posted March 25, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 4 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted through the request form by Sabrina @ Notes From a Paper Plane Nomad , and is: Movies/TV Shows That Would Have Made Amazing Books. Unfortunately, time got away from me and I didn’t get a chance to write up my list! I’ll be taking a break this week, but I’m here with the Linky so you can still post your link. And I’ll be sure to pop around a little extra and see what everyone did with this week’s topic!


In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander | Book Review

Posted March 21, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

In a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander | Book ReviewIn a Not So Perfect World by Neely Tubati Alexander
Published by Harper Perennial on March 19, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 350
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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A delightful Caribbean-set romp about an ambitious designer of apocalyptic video games with a strategy for (almost) everything who discovers what happens when her best-laid plans go off course...

Sloane Cooper is up for her dream job as a designer for a top video game company. During the interview, though, she somehow promises the all-male panel that she’ll remain single and fully dedicated to the work. It’s actually fine—after her last boyfriend cheated on her, she vowed to focus on her career anyway.

Enter Charlie, aka Hot Neighbor Guy, a near-stranger who shocks her with the offer of an all-inclusive trip to a Turks and Caicos resort. The catch? Charlie originally planned the trip with his ex, and asks Sloane to pose as his new girlfriend to make his old flame come running back. Against her better judgment, Sloane says yes; she can use the time away to develop a game design that will dazzle the Catapult team and get her a job offer.

Despite sparks flying in paradise, the trip can’t lead to more. As their connection deepens, Sloane is reminded that she can’t fall for Charlie and get knocked off her professional path. Besides, he’s trying to win back his true love. Can Sloane figure out a way to move past heartbreak, land the job of her dreams, and avoid catching feelings? The zombie apocalypse would be easier to solve—at least she’s prepared for that.

I’ll never say no to an opportunity to read a fake dating, forced-proximity, destination romance, so I was very excited to dive into In a Not So Perfect World! I love traveling to fun locations through books, and this one is set in a place I’ve been before (Turks & Caicos) so I could picture the water and the sand and the balmy breezes off the ocean. I initially had fun with this one. It was heartwarming and got me in the feels at times, but I also felt like things spiraled out of control and ultimately fizzled. Anyway, let’s discuss.

Right off the bat, things started strong for me. Sloane has a unique and sexy meet-cute with Charlie, who for some reason she doesn’t know is her super hot neighbor. Like, actual neighbor. Not a down the hall or one floor above kind of neighbor. She can see his door from her door. How does one miss a guy like Charlie?? They’re both reeling from recent break-ups and when he offers her his ex-girlfriend’s spot on his fancy tropical vacation (to make his ex jealous, of course) she reluctantly agrees to go, thinking it would be nice to get away from the possibility of running into her own ex. We’ve seen this premise before, so it’s obvious that shenanigans will ensue and the feelings will flow. This storyline is my kryptonite, and I quickly settled in. But things grew clunky for me as I read more.

I liked Charlie a lot and thought he was sweet and very caring. His punny t-shirts were very entertaining. Sloane wasn’t as easy to like. I wanted to see a strong woman challenge the norm in an often male-dominated sector of the business world, but she practically laid down and invited these guys at the video game company to wipe their feet on her. Watching her value herself so little was infuriating. I did LOVE her dog. Her dog is my favorite character in this book. Charlie and Sloane are cute together, and they have some very silly, chaotic interactions that I wish I had seen more of. When they got deep into their banter, I couldn’t contain my smiles. They have some purely golden moments. However, they got boring. I wanted to see these two spending more time enjoying the resort and sightseeing together than sitting on their balcony having the same conversations over and over again. There was a LOT of sitting around talking about their past struggles, and I did start to skim at times when things began to drag. The fake dating plot was seriously overshadowed and nearly wiped out completely because the emphasis was on their painful pasts instead of leaning into the fake dating and the forced-proximity tropes. I really enjoyed the connection they developed but, I can’t believe I’m saying this, when all was said and done I actually liked the friendship parts of their relationship much more than the romantic parts. The romance developed so slowly that when it finally happened it was all way too fast. It’s like they fell in love because this book is supposed to be a romance instead of general fiction, and I didn’t believe in it.

This might be a bit spoilery (maybe?), so stop reading here if you’re worried. The third-act break-up was so long that, again, the romance was unbelievable. I was getting Elsa feelings like… how do you fall in love with someone you just met and hardly know? A week-long vacation, followed by months of not even being on speaking terms does not a love story make. The ending is so messy. For all the conflict and drama that Sloane had to wade through, things were wrapped up too quickly and too perfectly. Like the romance, the ending came out of nowhere. There was so much more that could have been done to let Sloane really shatter the glass ceiling of video game design, but it all fizzled. I wanted more oomf from her. More power. I wanted to be jumping up and down, fist-pumping, and living vicariously through a strong woman that actually declared her worth and stuck it to a group of misogynistic, egotistical men. I wanted her to grow a spine, but she never did. At least, she didn’t on-page. She put up with so much crap and I never got the satisfaction of her telling anyone off about it. So much of what happens in the epilogue should have happened in the story, with details on how we got there. Instead, the ending seriously just happens and then an “oh, by the way, let me tie up some loose ends really quick” epilogue was slapped on at the end. “This happened and this happened and this happened…” NO!! As a reader, I want to see an ending happen. I don’t want to be told about it after it’s over. This issue right here is what made me give the book a much lower rating than I was planning. The last 15%-20% made the entire book plummet for me. All in all, this was not what I wanted.


Top Ten Books on my Spring 2024 To-Read List

Posted March 18, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 16 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! And happy first day of spring! Can you believe it’s spring already? I’m going to miss the cozy winter nights and the snow, but I do love the flowers and the warmer temperatures! I really enjoy putting together these seasonal to-read lists, even though I have a hard time sticking to them! The curse of the mood reader. Some of my picks are series I’m trying to catch up on, some are backlist titles I’ve been hoping to get to, some are on Kindle Unlimited that I’m excited about, and some are review copies coming out in the next few months! I’m excited to see what you’re planning to read!

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong

Daphne McFadden already knows that as a female author, the cards are stacked against her. Now she knows just how much. Because her sudden whim to pose as an “outdoorsy hunk of masculinity” male author for her new book just resulted in the a bidding war, a huge book deal, and the kind of fame every author dreams of. Now she’s in big trouble. Because she needs to convince the world that Zane Remington actually exists . . . but how?

Only Chris Stanton is not an actor—not officially. He’s used to balancing the books, not pretending he wrote one. Still, he’s mostly certain he can pose as some overly macho bro-author. But when the media descend on Daphne’s gorgeous remote home in the Yukon, it’s not enough for Chris to just be the face of Zane Remington—he’ll have to become him. All while hilariously balancing the terrifying dangers of the wilderness, a massive femme fandom, and a serious crush on Daphne. But as the hype circus gets more out of control, it’s just a matter of time before someone discovers their little write lie . . .

The Duchess Hunt by Lorraine Heath

Hugh Brinsley-Norton, the Duke of Kingsland, is in need of a duchess. However, restoring the dukedom—left in ruins by his father—to its former glory demands all his time, with little room for sentiment. He places an advert encouraging the single ladies of the ton to write why they should be the one chosen, and leaves it to his efficient secretary to select his future wife.

If there exists a more unpleasant task in the world than deciding who is to marry the man you love, Penelope Pettypeace certainly can’t imagine what it might be. Still, she is determined to find the perfect bride for her clueless, yet ruthlessly charming employer.

But when an anonymous note threatens to reveal truths best hidden, Kingsland has no choice but to confront the danger with Penelope at his side. Beguiled by the strong-willed, courageous beauty, he realizes he’s willing to risk everything, including his heart, to keep her safe within his arms. Could it be the duchess he’s hunting for has been in front of him all along?

Chasm by Stacey McEwan

Dawsyn’s fight to save the people of the Ledge is far from over in this thrilling and highly anticipated sequel to the bestselling, Ledge

Dawsyn’s miraculous escape from the Ledge was just the beginning. In the queens’ dungeon, Dawsyn awaits her execution while reliving the death of her lover, Ryon. There is no chance of mercy.

But hope finds her in the form of rescue by her village friends. Now on the run and struggling to tame her newly-gained and greatly unstable powers, Dawsyn’s journey continues. Facing betrayal anew, she must learn patience and trust as she builds strength on all fronts, while she and her comrades recover and ready themselves for what’s to come.

As they ascend the perilous mountain slopes to the Glacian kingdom once again in a desperate attempt to save those remaining on the Ledge, Dawsyn must battle wills as well as weapons, before discovering an entirely new evil awaiting her…

My Lucky Charm by Courtney Walsh

A humiliating break-up leads to an impulsive New Year’s Kiss with a complete stranger.
What could possibly go wrong?

It’s no secret that I love life. And Dr Pepper. But also, I love a challenge. . .

So when the coach of the Chicago Comets gives me the opportunity to help their star player, newly traded to their team, acclimate to life in Chicago, I’m all in.

I have to be. After my last job went up in flames, I have something to prove.

It turns out that the player, Grayson Hawke, is the rudest, most off-putting, reclusive guy I’ve ever met.

It also turns out that he is the beautiful stranger I kissed on New Year’s Eve.

I can do this job. I can do this job. I can do this job.

And I can. Really well.

I can make Gray’s life easier, show him all the reasons to fall in love with this city, and in the process, hopefully completely forget that the amazing kiss ever happened.

How hard can it be? We’re total opposites anyway.

I love people . . . and all their stories. Gray loves hockey . . . and nothing else.

I love to talk. Gray only stares.

I’m happy-go-lucky. Gray’s all work and no play.

There’s just one problem. The more time I spend with Grayson Hawke, the more I start to see that underneath his bristly, standoffish exterior, he’s nothing like the man everyone thinks he is.

And suddenly, all the reasons for keeping my distance, staying professional, and not falling for someone again. . . are impossible to remember. My Lucky Charm is a grumpy/sunshine, sweet hockey romance with all of the sizzle but none of the steam. It’s the second in the Holidays with Hart series, but My Lucky Charm can be read as a stand alone.

Selling Out by Martha Keyes

The only thing more daunting than singing in front of sold-out crowds across Europe? Facing the music when you start falling for the guy in the spotlight.

AUSTIN
After years of working my tail off in the music industry, I’ve finally made it: headlining my own tour across Europe. Sure, it’d be great to sing my own songs instead of the stuff my label gives me, but success requires compromise.

It also requires a stellar tour team, which is why I know I have to have Mia Sawyer as one of my backup vocalists when I hear her sing. With thousands of women screaming my name on stage every night, it shouldn’t bother me that she doesn’t seem to think much of me. I don’t have time for real relationships anyway.

MIA
Austin Sheppard is the exact type of man and “musician” I roll my eyes at. But since my own following on social media is stagnant enough that it’s bound to start attracting mosquitoes soon, I figure this may be the only opportunity I have to get paid to sing—and to see Europe, for that matter. For an opportunity like that? I can keep my opinions to myself.

Life on tour with Austin gives me a front-row seat to everything I wish I could have as a musician. It also puts me constantly and perilously close to the man I’ve pegged as a womanizer and a sell-out. So close, in fact, that I’m starting to worry the next sell-out will be my heart.

The Prince of Secrets by A.J. Lancaster

Well-bred women should not be seen kissing their butlers. Even when the butler in question is secretly a fae prince.

Wyn knows falling for Hetta Valstar is a bad idea. She’s not only human but the new magically bonded ruler of Stariel Estate. If their relationship gets out, it’ll cause a scandal that could ruin their attempts to sort out the estate’s crumbling finances.

And it doesn’t help that Stariel has decided it doesn’t like him.

But more than jealous sentient estates and Hetta’s good name are at stake. Wyn’s past is coming back to bite him. Ten years ago, he broke an oath and shattered the power of his home court, and the fae have been hunting him ever since. Now they’ve found his hiding place, they won’t rest until he’s dead or the debt is repaid–and they don’t play nicely.

The Seamstress on Cider Lane by Jillianne Hamilton

The Germans pause their bombing raids on London but life on the homefront is certainly far from ordinary. The Seamstress on Cider Lane is a lighthearted and hopeful romance, perfect for fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Last Bookshop in London.

Gifted seamstress Nora Archer opens a sewing shop just as clothing becomes rationed and scarce in Britain. London’s fashionable elites soon discover her remarkable talent for giving garments new life and her skills are soon in high demand.

Having lost his flat during the Blitz, Jack Parker is relieved to finally locate a new home. He finds himself living under the same roof as Nora, the spirited and enchanting woman he thought he’d lost, as well as Nora’s protective aunt.

Despite her aunt’s warnings, Nora can’t help falling for Jack. However, the sweet and bookish teacher is from a different world and Nora doesn’t know if she fits in or if Jack might be too good to be true. She can’t deny the intense attraction between herself and Jack—and neither of them wants to.

When a struggling friend’s desperate plea for help lures Nora into the dodgy clothing black market, she risks not only her business and reputation but also her blossoming relationship with Jack.

Will Jack and Nora’s wartime romance survive when Nora’s secrets are revealed?

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

A nice, normal life. Is that too much to ask? For Riley Thorn it is.

Divorced. Broke. Living with a pack of elderly roommates. And those hallucinations she’s diligently ignoring? Her tarot card-dealing mom is convinced they’re clairvoyant visions.Just when things can’t get worse, a so-hot-it-should-be-illegal private investigator shows up on her doorstep looking for a neighbor…who turns up murdered.

Nick Santiago doesn’t play well with others. Unless the “others” are of the female persuasion. Wink. He’s a rebel, a black sheep, a man who prefers a buffet of options to being stuck with the same entrée every night, if you catch his drift.

When the pretty, possibly psychic Riley lands at the top of the list of suspects, Nick volunteers to find out whodunit. Only because he likes solving mysteries not because he wants to flex his heroic muscles for the damsel in distress.

All they have to do is figure out who pulled the trigger, keep the by-the-book detective with a grudge at bay, and deal with a stranger claiming he was sent to help Riley hone her psychic gifts. All before the killer discovers she’s a loose end that requires snipping.

The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour

Her only interest is in making her own way in the world. Luckily, he can help.

Lieutenant Eli Williams was supposed to be dead. In the two years since his shipwreck, his friends and family mourned him, his brother spent his savings, and his fiancée married someone else. So, when he turns up in the middle of the London social season, he quickly becomes the talk of the town. All Eli wants is to set his life back in order and reconnect with Jane Bishop, a friend who has always meant so much more to him, before returning to sea.

Jane refuses to waste any more of her life pining over Eli, who chose her cousin instead of her. She needs to focus on gaining her financial independence by establishing a ladies’ gambling club. Never mind that Eli keeps trying to atone for his past mistake by bringing in new members. He’s obviously keeping secrets about his disappearance, which means that she can’t trust him with her heart even if she did kiss him in a moment of weakness. Or three.

As Eli works to regain her trust, Jane’s defensive walls begin to crumble. But when Eli faces a court of inquiry on suspicion of desertion, Jane must decide if she can let go of the past to build a future with Eli, or risk losing him for good.

This charming and sexy friends to enemies to lovers historical romance romp is the perfect read for fans of Evie Dunmore and India Holton.

Have you read any of these? Do you want to?
What’s the one book you’re prioritizing this spring?


Top Ten Books I’m Worried I Might Not Love as Much the Second Time Around

Posted March 11, 2024 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 13 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is on books I loved the first time I read them and am worried I won’t love them as much if I go to re-read them. I love re-reading, but there are some books that hit so perfectly and I loved so much that I worry reading them again wouldn’t evoke the same emotions or joy because of the situations I found myself in while reading them. Or maybe the books I read when I was younger wouldn’t be favorites anymore. Or maybe some books just don’t age well! Whatever the case may be, these are the books I’m afraid to re-read for fear of tainting my original reading experience. If you’re not a re-reader, you could consider tweaking this topic to books you wish you could read again for the first time!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
This book was exactly what I needed, when I needed it. I hated reading during all my school years because teachers and curriculum loved to suck the fun out of it for me, handing over huge packets of essay questions that gave me so much anxiety that I’d miss the answer that I couldn’t focus on the story and enjoy myself. Twilight came out my sophomore year of college, and my mom and I read it together. We bonded over the book, plus I found my love of reading again! Twilight was a gateway book for me into YA and I started devouring everything I could find. I worry now that all that magic would be ruined if I attempted to read it again.

Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson
I read this while on a transatlantic cruise! The heroine was on a yacht in the Mediterranean Sea, and I was sitting on my cabin’s balcony reading this as we crossed from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean. You could tell because the water was doing some really cool swirly stuff and flowing in all different directions. I had to set my Kindle down and watch. It was pretty amazing. I’ll never be able to duplicate that situation again!

Catherine and the Pirate by Karen Hawkins
I read this in high school, and it was my first pirate romance! And really, the first historical romance that I LOVED. But it was written for teens, and I worry that I’ve aged away from this story.

Pretend You Don’t See Her by Mary Higgins Clark
I’ve been reading Mary’s books this year, and have found that they really aren’t aging well. lol. Like, not at all. This one was my first of hers and I read it as a kid. I loved it so much, and was so curious what was going to happen! I was glued to the page. I’ll keep reading Mary’s books until I finally get through them all, but this one is sacred and I don’t think I should re-read it. I don’t want to ever love it less than I do!

Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard
Wanderlove changed my life. It’s one of those books that I found at just the right time, and I’m not sure I’d ever feel like I did when I read it. It scares me that I’d taint that life-changing reading experience if I tried to re-read it now.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I read Delirium right when it came out. I was still on a dystopia kick after reading and loving The Hunger Games. I LOVED this book so much. When I read the synopsis now, though, it’s the kind of story I’d pass over. Maybe I’ve read too many dystopian novels since, or maybe I’m tired of reading so many similar stories. I don’t think I’d love it anymore, which is sad because I own Requiem and want to see how it ends. But that means I’d have to re-read Delirium and Pandemonium because I’ve forgotten everything. I’m worried I wouldn’t make it through and then I’d have ruined one of my favorite books for myself.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
I LOVE this book so much. I’m scared to ever re-read it, though, because I’ve aged out of contemporary YA and might not feel the same anymore.

Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
MAJOR PLOT TWIST that I can never ever re-experience unless I get amnesia. If I do, remind me I want to read this book.

The Only One Left by Riley Sager
This thriller had my on the edge of my seat. I haven’t felt this way about a mystery in SO long. This is another one that will never have me as locked in again, though, because knowing what happens makes the journey less exciting.

Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar
I will absolutely re-read this, but am a bit afraid that it won’t be as magical the second time. The stars were all so perfectly aligned with this one, and I’m scared I won’t fall as madly in love.

Do you worry about this like I do?
Have you ever finished a book and just known there’s no way you’ll ever be able to recreate the magic you felt?
Tell me what book it is! I might want to read it!