Month: May 2025

Five Ways in Which My Blogging Habits Have Changed Over Time

Posted May 12, 2025 by Jana in About Me, Top Ten Tuesday / 14 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Ways in Which My Blogging/Review Style Has Changed Over Time, and was submitted by submitted by Susan @ Bloggin’ ’bout Books. I decided to tweak this a little because there’s no way I can find 10 ways my style has changed. But even this tweaked topic is still a bit of a tricky one for me, as I’m not sure I’ve changed much since I started reviewing books waaaaaay back in 2011. But I’ll see what I can do!

*30 minutes later* Ok, I’m changing this to five ways my blogging habits have changed because this is too hard. LOL

1. I am pickier about the books I accept for review. I used to accept almost anything I thought I might like because I wanted to get some experience, show that I’m trustworthy, and build a name for myself in the blogging world. I’m pickier now, which helps me keep my reading schedule under control and allows me more freedom to be a mood reader.

2. I am more willing to DNF books, which means I write way fewer negative reviews than I used to. I used to make myself finish every book in the beginning, even if I wasn’t enjoying it, so I ended up writing more negative reviews. Now that I DNF (and sometimes quickly), I get to spend more time gushing about the books I love and promoting authors rather than talking about why a book didn’t work for me. I love this, and it’s what kept me reviewing all these years later.

3. I’ve switched up the kinds of books I review! I used to read YA almost exclusively. My reading habits changed, and so did my review habits. I now focus primarily on adult romance, with the occasional mystery and historical fiction novel thrown in here and there.

4. I quit summarizing the book in my reviews. I actually quit this very soon after I started reviewing. It takes forever and why not just use the summary the publisher paid someone to write in the first place? It helps avoid spoilers, it saves time, it avoids redundancy, and it’s allowed my readers to find my thoughts easily without having to slog through a synopsis they most likely don’t need since they already read the official one (or one written by another reviewer). I really don’t love it when I go to read someone’s review and 95% of the review is their own summary of the book (which is often too detailed and gives away the entire book), followed by a couple generic sentences saying that they either liked it or didn’t. I’d much rather know what you liked and what you didn’t like and why you felt that way than read another summary.

5. I’ve allowed myself to write shorter reviews. I used to think that long, detailed reviews were preferred but then I realized I didn’t like reading long, detailed reviews from other people! And I don’t like writing them myself! Now that I’ve shortened my reviews it doesn’t feel like such a chore to write them… and I’m writing more. Imagine that!

How have your blogging/reviewing habits or style changed since you started reviewing books?

Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison | Book Review

Posted May 8, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

Mixed Signals by B.K. Borison | Book ReviewMixed Signals by B.K. Borison
Series: Lovelight #3
Also in this series: In the Weeds, Business Casual
Published by Berkley on August 30, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 335
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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Layla Dupree has given up on love.

She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.

Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution.

After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: One month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his dating game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating, without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.

But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red hot and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s double fudge mocha brownies.

Will the heat between them boil over? Or will it be another case of mixed signals?

Mixed Signals is a sweet and steamy small-town romance. Our story features a bashful man who can rock a Hawaiian shirt, a hopeful and dreamy bakery owner, enough sweets to give you a cavity, and your favorite Inglewild residents. Mixed Signals is a standalone romance and the third book in the Lovelight series, a collection of interconnected novels.

I know I’ve sung Lovelight’s praises for years now, and this book will be no different. I love this small town and all the people who live in it. I love B.K. Borison’s writing. I love the romances she gives us, the special moments, the swoons. She’s an auto-buy author for me for sure. In this book we have Layla the baker and Caleb, the guy who no substitute teaches because he was fired by the police department for being too sweet. lol. So you’ve got pastries as a love language and a golden retriever who will capture the moon for his beloved. What more could anyone want?

Ok, so we’ve got Layla. She’s been very unlucky in her dating life, which I can absolutely relate to. I can confidently say that there are not many people out there who have dated as many frogs as I have. Anyway, I felt for Layla. She’s so sweet and she deserves someone who will treat her right and love her with his entire soul. And that’s Caleb! He’s been in love with her forever, and he shows her by going to her bakery every morning to order a croissant just so he has the opportunity to talk to her. Are you melting yet? Of course, she has no clue because she’s been burned so many times that he heart is guarded behind a very thick wall. He runs into her one day after her most recent horrible date, and they commiserate about their awful dating lives. Caleb comes up with an idea to date each other for one month as a mutually beneficial, no-strings-attached partnership of sorts. He will show her how she deserves to be treated, and she will critique his dating abilities and offer suggestions for improvements (if she has any–and how could she??).

Caleb’s and Layla’s chemistry is off the charts. Maybe it’s easier to date someone when you’re not supposed to be emotionally invested in them, but they sink into this very sweet friendship very quickly. I loved their dates and their conversations. I loved watching Caleb fall more and more for Layla, and I loved watching Layla slowly let him start tearing down her walls. They are the sweetest couple, and they both value what they have because it’s something they’ve wanted for so long. I swooned and smiled and my eyes turned into hearts for them.

AHHHH this series. I will never not tell someone to read it. I am annoying about it. I am clearly crummy at book recommendations because I’ll tell you to read these no matter what you preferred genre is. Oh, you like sci-fi? Read the Lovelight books. You’re a mystery fan? Read the Lovelight books. You don’t like romance? Wellllllllllll you’ll love the Lovelight books. I know this is book #3, but I accidentally reviewed these out of order so I am still mourning the fact that the series is over. I read these in order and I recommend that you do, too. I always love catching up with previous couples and B.K.’s writing just gets better and better!

Top Ten Utah Authors Whose Books I’ve Read

Posted May 5, 2025 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 19 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country and was submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction! I chose to feature ten Utah authors whose books I’ve read and enjoyed! We have a LOT of authors here. I chose the ones like best, but I’ve read books by many more! The one single asterisk below indicates which author I’ve met!

1. Christina Hobbs, half of Christina Lauren
2. Shannon Hale
3. Ally Condie
4. Kasey Stockton
5. Louise Plummer
6. Brandon Sanderson*
7. Lisa Mangum
8. Joanna Barker
9. Martha Keyes
10. Becca Wilhite

Which authors live where you live? Have you met any of them?

The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe | Book Review

Posted May 1, 2025 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 3 Comments

The Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe | Book ReviewThe Gilded Heiress by Joanna Shupe
Published by Avon on August 26, 2025
Genres: Historical Romance, Retelling, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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From USA Today bestselling author Joanna Shupe comes a spicy Anastasia story full of secrets and betrayal, set among the glittering streets of New York City's Gilded Age.

In 1880 a baby was stolen from the wealthiest family in America. Though no ransom was ever demanded, the Pendelton family never gave up hope . . . and their reward became the stuff of legend.

After being raised in a children’s asylum, Josie Smith ends up on the streets and quickly learns how to take care of herself. Her singing voice draws crowds on every corner, and she’ll stop at nothing to become famous and travel the world, loved and adored by all. Maybe then she won’t think about the family who gave her away as an infant.

Leo Hardy isn’t afraid to use his charm and wits to make a fast buck, especially with a mother and five siblings to support. When he stumbles upon a beautiful young woman singing on the street, Leo notices her striking resemblance to the infamous missing baby’s mother, Mrs. Thomas Pendelton. The Hardys lost everything thanks to the Pendeltons, and once Leo sees Josie, he seizes the opportunity to settle the score. All he needs to do is pull off the biggest swindle of his career.

As the two are catapulted into Knickerbocker High Society, they grow closer to their goal, as well as to each other. But secrets can only stay hidden for so long. Soon the truth unfolds, and both Josie and Leo must separate what’s real from what’s just gilding.

Long story short, The Gilded Heiress was not for me. I was very excited about an Anastasia retelling in New York, but the magic this could have been was lost to a very creepy male protagonist. And I mean very creepy. A conman finds an 18-year-old girl, 10 years his junior (ew), who he thinks he can pass off as the missing daughter of a family he dreams of getting his revenge against. He exploits her love of singing and promises to make her dreams come true before lying and scheming his way into her heart… and her bed. He says it’s love, but I never believed him. He holds her future in his hands, thereby essentially making her do whatever he wants. She set ground rules and boundaries before they entered into their partnership, and he began disregarding them almost immediately. He took her away from her home to New York where she became 100% dependent on him and he relished that fact. He locked her in the house they were staying at so he could go off galavanting all night and then got mad at her that she snuck out. The way he spoke to her was manipulative and predatory. His unfiltered inner thoughts were even more repulsive. Nobody needs to be in this guy’s head. When the romance started to gain momentum, I wanted to run in and rescue her. There was nothing sexy or swoony about any of this for me. All I saw was a 28-year-old man taking advantage of an 18-year-old girl by dangling her dream in front of her nose like a carrot.

I should have just DNFed when I got to the very detailed (and honestly uncomfortably written for my taste) threesome in chapter 2 that I’ve been trying to scrub out of my brain since I finished the book weeks ago. Our hero made law enforcement mad, so he ran to his friend’s brothel and OF COURSE the only way she could hide him was to throw him into bed with two women who could take turns sitting on his face so the police officer wouldn’t recognize him when he barged into the room. I didn’t sign up for this! I continued because I love the movie Anastasia. I know that this storyline sounds very similar to the movie, but the big uncomfortable difference here is the age gap (in the movie they’re only a couple years apart) and the fact that this guy seems predatory. That’s not how the movie is. I continued because I wanted to see how things ended, but if anything this book has just ruined the movie for me because now I’ll be thinking about it the next time I watch it. I know people love Joanna Shupe, which is why I own 6 of her other books. This was my first full-length novel of hers (I read and loved a Christmas novella of hers, Miracle on Ladies’ Mile, last year) and I truly, truly hope her other books are not like this one.