Category: Book Review

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer | Book Review

Posted August 8, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer
Published by GP Putnam's Sons on August 6, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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A tender, laugh-out-loud debut romance about a woman who ends up in over her head after a little white lie . . .

When thirty-year-old post-double-mastectomy BRCA 1 carrier and reluctant thrill-seeker Alison Mullally arrives at her ex-boyfriend Sam’s funeral to find that no one knows he dumped her, she agrees to play the grieving girlfriend for the sake of the family and pack up Sam’s apartment with his prickly best friend, Adam Berg. After all, it’ll only take four weekends . . .

But Adam doesn’t want Alison anywhere near him. Forced to spend long hours with the grump, and his monosyllabic demeanor, Alison decides she must put her people-pleasing abilities to the test. She will make him like her. And after awkward family affairs and packing up dilemmas, the two form a tenuous friendship . . . if “friendship” means incredible chemistry and tension between them. Can Alison come clean and finally embrace the life and love she's always wanted? Or will her little white lie get in the way of her new, unexpected romance?

One of my favorite things about being a book reviewer is being exposed to books I probably never would have picked up on my own. I never imagined falling in love with a book that had the word “Funeral” in the title, and I didn’t think it was possible to giggle and swoon while reading a book that included such heavy subject matter. But here we are! Ellie Palmer did a beautiful job of balancing out the humor with the emotional aspects of the story, and really made me fall in love with these characters and their individual stories.

Our heroine, Alison, opted for a preventative double mastectomy after she tested positive for the BRCA 1 mutation. She’s grappling with survivor’s guilt and feels she must live a big, meaningful life in order to feel worthy of escaping death. To her, this means she must live a life of adventure even though she’d rather be at home on the couch than out camping and hiking in the mud. She’s essentially trapped in a life she doesn’t feel worthy to have, living it in a way that isn’t true to who she is. Her feelings about her life and her new body are so raw and poignant and they really touched my heart. She’s so strong and has been through so much. She’s still navigating through the changes of losing her breasts, and is facing an uncertain future as she considers other life-altering procedures to further preserve her health. I felt for her so much, and really identified with parts of what she’s going through. As a way to fuel the adventure in her life, she dated an adventurous, adrenaline-seeking guy named Sam for a while. Ultimately, they were too different and broke up shortly before his sudden passing. Instead of telling his family of their break-up, though, Sam let them think that he was getting ready to put down roots and get married. It’s not until she arrives at Sam’s funeral that Alison learns that they all believe her to be his grieving almost-fiancée. At the request of Sam’s sister, she plays along with the charade and ends up volunteering to help his best friend, Adam, pack up his things and prepare his home to go on the market. And that’s how she ends up spending a funeral and four weekends with him.

I loved the set-up for this story. It’s so unique and has so much depth. You’ve got two people grieving in very different ways, going through many different emotions, all while this layer of untruth rests on top of them. As they work together, they develop this special connection that begins as a timid friendship and blossoms into something far deeper than that. Alison is trying so hard to check off all the boxes in the life she thinks she should be living that she isn’t completely sure of what she wants. She’s confused and struggles to be herself. Adam is trying not to think any romantic thoughts about Alison because she’s his best friend’s girlfriend, so he’s grumpy, standoffish, and alternates between hot and cold. But you can tell he cares about her and wants to know everything there is to know about her. As she opens up more about who she is and what she wants in life, he’s so accepting and compassionate. It’s a bit of a rocky road for them at times, but it felt real and they felt it was worth fighting for. I loved seeing them develop and heal separately as well as together. The romance between the two of them is quietly powerful and very, very sweet. It’s sexy and swoony, with no spice. Any heat is behind closed doors.

This book takes place over the holidays, so there’s festive cheer in the form of Christmas carols, a cookie party, and snow sprinkled throughout. I loved those moments so much. There’s lots of humor and light moments juxtaposed with more serious topics and conversations between Alison and Adam as well as Alison and her mom. Trivia nights play a big role in the story, which gives us lots of time with Allie’s friends (she has some really amazing girlfriends), all of whom were really fun. These people take their trivia very seriously! Alison is really funny, too! I laughed out loud at some of the things she said. There’s talk of Pizza Hut’s Book-It personal pan pizza program, gel pens, Christmas music that can never be played too early in the year, a run-in with a difficult parking enforcer, school concert shenanigans, loving someone means never running out of Girl Scout Cookies, and a cat named Colonel Corduroy. So. Much. To love.

The ending was magical and everything I wanted. I absolutely adored Four Weekends and a Funeral, and my love for it kind of snuck up on me as I immersed myself more into the story. It’s emotional and heartwarming and so unbelievably tender and sweet. And funny! It felt like reading a classic rom-com like While You Were Sleeping (which seriously, I swear this book was inspired by that movie because I feel like I found a million Easter eggs for it… Adam builds furniture and there’s even a mention of leaning at one point. If you know you know.). I highly recommend it, and am shelving it with all my other favorite romances!

Veridian Sterling Fakes It by Jennifer Gooch Hummer | Book Review

Posted June 27, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 0 Comments

Veridian Sterling Fakes It by Jennifer Gooch Hummer
Published by Lake Union Publishing on July 2, 2024
Genres: Women's Fiction
Pages: 252
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
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Freshly graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, Veridian Sterling is ready to hang her work in any of the countless New York galleries that are sure to give her a show. The problem is only one will, and they’re not interested in her art so much as her personal assistant skills.

No glitz, no glam, and definitely none of the money she needs to help her struggling mother finally realize her dream of starting her own business after having sacrificed everything for Veri to go to art school. So when she overhears her new boss discussing the impressive finder’s fee for a lost Van Gogh, Veri takes matters into her own hands. Maybe her own artwork isn’t celebrated, but she knows how to copy what is, and maybe those skills can help lead to a discovery.

But when a famous art dealer takes her under his wing (and his charming driver takes her interest), Veri realizes she’s in deeper than she expected, and quite possibly with the wrong people. With her mother’s dreams and her own future at stake, Veri will have to pull out every trick she can think of to wipe her canvas clean and erase the mess she’s created before she goes down for someone else’s crimes.

I just finished binging the complete TV series of White Collar before accepting this book for review, and I was still on my art heist kick. I love art so much. I was an art history minor in undergrad, and I love books dealing with art and artists and art lovers. Veridian Sterling Fakes It sounded like THE perfect book for me and I thought for sure I was going to love it! Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me the way I had hoped. As always, my main points are bolded.

1. First of all, I don’t think book knows what genre it’s supposed to be. It’s not a mystery. The part that I’m assuming is the mystery part was a secondary plot line for about half the book, and it wasn’t very interesting. There’s no case that needs solving, and whatever information that is revealed is not because someone discovers it. It’s because someone is told something. But most of those somethings don’t really matter or do anything for the plot, so I didn’t see the point. It’s not a thriller or suspense novel because the book doesn’t have any suspenseful moments or an exciting climax. Most of the story is very slice of life, with not a lot happening. It’s a relatively short book, but it still took me a long time to read it because it never grabbed me. It’s not a romance, but there is some flirting (nothing comes of said flirting). Veridian acts like a teenager, so it doesn’t feel like women’s fiction. It’s not crime fiction because there’s not really a crime here. Veridian keeps freaking out about being a criminal, but she’s not. I can tell I was supposed to be worried about Veridian, but nothing was written in a way that made me think Veridian even cared what happened to her.

2. The events in this book are a series of convenient coincidences that had nothing to do with the characters written. Nobody really did anything, including Veridian. She walked around with a pipe in her mouth (that she didn’t smoke, just had fun holding it there like a snowman), went to work, talked to people, and painted sometimes. Veridian’s life unfolds as though there was a checklist that needed to be completed, without any character development or story building put forth to make anyone understand why Veridian’s life is on the path that it is.

3. These characters are all extremely unlikable. Veridian’s (nicknamed Veri, which bugged me for some reason) character lacks any real substance. She’s quirky and different, but it doesn’t feel natural. It felt like she was trying unreasonably hard to be unique. Her reactions to the book’s issues were identical no matter the severity of the issue, which made me feel like she either had no clue what was going on or she didn’t care. There’s no critical thinking going on in that brain of hers. Then you’ve got her best friend, who was so overly unrealistic that she seemed like a cartoon character. Veridian’s boss was a bad Miranda Priestly knock-off. Then there’s the British driver and the rich, “scary” art forgeries dude and both of them were caricatures. Veridian’s mom had the most personality of anyone here, and that’s not saying much. Everyone is either over the top or background noise.

4. Are the stakes in the room with us? What are we concerned about? Is Veridian being dramatic, or did she actually do something wrong? Nothing about the ramifications of Veridian’s actions was ever clear, so I just didn’t care. She reads something on her boss’s computer screen and sells that information. Said information does not require any kind of security clearance to view or share with others. So she’s a nosey opportunist. She pays a ton of money for a man to get her a passport ASAP and the reader is led to believe that this is dangerous and illegal when, in reality, the passport is real and she just paid some guy who knows some guy at the passport office who can process things much faster when financially motivated. All the stakes that are supposed to be high end up never being high. I quit caring because I knew the next “issue” would turn out to be another non-issue.

5. The ending was incredibly frustrating. I slogged through this book because I was curious how things would end up for Veridian. And… it all fell so flat. The mystery, if you can call it that, didn’t matter one bit. Again, Veridian had nothing to do with the book’s resolution. Everything tied itself up in a loose, sloppy bow on its own. Just like all the issues she encountered fell into her lap, so did the resolutions. She literally just sat there and watched the entire book happen to her.

6. I did love the glimpses of life in New York City and I wanted to go back the whole time I was reading. I also enjoyed all the art talk and the passion for beautiful paintings. The art forgery world was quite interesting.

All in all, this was a disappointment. Veridian is no Neal Caffrey. She’s incredibly forgettable. The idea for the story was there, but the execution was lacking. I wish more time had been spent making this the exciting, thrilling story the book pitches itself it be. As it stands, the back cover synopsis is the most interesting part of the book for me.

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster | Book Review

Posted April 25, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 1 Comment

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster
Series: Stariel #1
Narrator: Finty Williams
Published by Camberion Press on November 1, 2018
Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 315
Length: 10 hours and 46 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible
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The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is.

Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they?

Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised?

His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense?

His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?

Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave.

But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with. Winged, beautifully deadly problems. For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe.

The Lord of Stariel is the first book in the Stariel quartet, a romantic cozy fantasy series about fae, magical estates, and complicated families.

I’m trying to continue on with one of my 2024 bookish goals, which is to read more titles off the beaten path and share my feelings on them. I was in the mood for a fun, cozy, low-stakes fantasy that would sweep me away and keep me entertained while I crocheted. The Lord of Stariel was the absolute perfect choice for me! I don’t know that I would have stuck with it had I been reading it instead of listening to it, but the narration is wonderful and I liked the writing style a lot. It was easy to listen and enjoy the relatively simple, if not forgettable story.

This story is very light, with enough world building to place me in the setting but not so much that I had a bunch of information to absorb and keep track of throughout the book. The characters, while all likeable, were not very fleshed out or developed. But that meant I could sort of mindlessly listen without paying attention at all times and not having to worry that I missed anything important. It was very easy for me to pause when I got to a tricky part of my crochet pattern and then press play again 15-20 minutes later without having to go back and remember where I was. It just flowed and delivered a story in a very soft, meandering sort of way.

This review isn’t sounding so good, is it? lol. Why the 4 stars? Well, I tend to rate my reads based on how they make me feel and how entertained I was while reading, more than on a set of pre-determined criteria that don’t actually mean anything. The stakes are very low. The magic is quite simple. There’s no real angst. There’s a very faint mystery that had me intrigued, but not ravenous for answers. The sweet romance is barely there, and only kisses when it is. The atmosphere is very cozy and comforting in the way an old favorite movie playing in the background is. It’s been two months since I read The Lord of Stariel and I don’t remember much. I don’t remember the names of the characters or any huge plot twists, but I don’t care! I feel like I can easily start the next book in the series without worrying about whether or not I’ll remember enough to enjoy it. What I do remember is how warm and happy I felt while listening, and that’s exactly what I was looking for. This is the kind of book you can pick up for a little while, set aside, and come back to easily. It’s a great book for falling asleep at night, not because it’s boring, but because it will relax you and let you go when you need to turn out the light. I will absolutely be continuing the series, and already have book two ready and waiting for the next time I need a cozy little getaway to a magical land.

Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle | Book Review

Posted April 4, 2024 by Jana in Adult Fiction, Book Review / 2 Comments

Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle
Published by GP Putnam's Sons on April 2, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance, Romantic Comedy
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley)
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From the celebrated author of You Deserve Each Other and Just Like Magic, a steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

I received an early copy of Old Flames and New Fortunes back in October of 2023, but wanted to wait until after the holidays to read it and I’m so glad I did! Sarah Hogle told me in her comments section on Instagram that she had rewritten some of the story and that “the dynamic between two particular characters has been tweaked” since the earlier draft. Since the Netgalley was updated after early reviews started popping up I thought it was worth mentioning for prospective readers who are trying to decide if this book is for them. Old Flames and New Fortunes was truly such a cozy, delightful, and romantic book and it’s a new favorite of mine!

I think the best part of the book for me was the cozy, springtime cottagecore atmosphere. Romina is a witchy florist who tells fortunes with flowers and helps her clients find the magic of romance in their lives. I’m not usually a fan of witchy stories, but the magical touches are so subtle and definitely enriched the story. I love flowers, and I had fun reading about what different flowers mean. I really enjoyed the setting. Moonville is dripping with lovely, small town vibes. Romina’s house sounds like a colorful fairyland, as does her garden and flower shop. There’s quaint shops filled with unique small businesses (no big box stores or chain restaurants here!), lots of trees, and it’s all coated in sunshine. I could hear the birds singing and feel the springtime breeze kissing my cheeks, the warmth of the sun enveloping me in a hug. I didn’t want to leave!

This town is filled with so many wonderful characters. And wow, there are so many of them. lol. I’ll be honest, I had a hard time keeping track of everyone at times and how they’re connected, but they were all so much fun! Romina shares a building with her sisters, Luna and Zelda, who each have their own small shop within. Romina has a flower shop, Luna makes candles, and Zelda has a bookstore filled with magical and paranormal tomes. They’re in the process of expanding, and will have a greenhouse and space for an outdoor night market soon (if all goes according to plan). Trevor, Romina’s close friend and fake-dating partner, is a not-so-silent investor in their business as a whole. I LOVED Trevor. He’s hilarious and might be my favorite character in this book, and I’d like for Sarah to please write about his love story. And then you’ve got Alex, Romina’s childhood sweetheart, and Trevor’s future stepbrother. Yep, you read that right. Romina is fake-dating her best friend to make her ex-boyfriend jealous and oops, these two guys just found out they’re about to become family. And oh, the wedding between their parents is very soon and everyone’s family shows up and there’s fake feelings and real feelings floating all over the place and sooooo many people in such a small town. lol. Phew!

I loved watching Trevor and Romina try to pretend to date because they were so bad at it. lol. It was so silly. Try picturing what it would be like if Joey Tribbiani and Phoebe Buffay from Friends had tried to fake date and convince people of their love. That’s how Trevor and Romina felt for me, and I loved it. Because of Alex’s suspicions surrounding their relationship, he decides to invite himself to sleep on Romina’s couch since he has nowhere else to go… so of course, Trevor has to move in and share Romaina’s bed and oh my gosh, I was giggling at their antics.

Second chance love stories are one of my less favorite romantic tropes, but I enjoyed how Sarah Hogle wrote about Alex and Romina. The flashbacks to their previous relationship were so swoony, and these moments softened my heart to the initial animosity between them in the present. I don’t like it when a book’s love interests don’t like each other (or hate each other) at first, but it was so obvious that it was all for show in this book and because of some deep-seated longing that was very thinly veiled. I love how it was done. The angst felt very real. Watching Romina and Alex fall in love all over again was so sweet. He says some of the most romantic things to her, and the grand gestures were on point. I need an Alex. Unlike Sarah’s other books, Old Fortunes and New Flames has some open door (or just… outdoors in the open lol) steaminess. The spice level is still on the mild side, but enough to leave me fanning myself and needing a glass of water.

Sarah Hogle is such an amazing storyteller. I’ve read and loved all of her books, and you can always count on them to contain unique elements, some quirkiness, characters you fall in love with, magical writing, and extremely romantic conversations and encounters. She can turn me into a puddle of goo just by having the male character kiss the female character’s wrist. It’s such a small gesture, such a tiny moment, but hundreds of these gestures and moments make up what I’ve come to expect from a Sarah Hogle book. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever read, and each are so unique on their own as well. I keep thinking she will never be able to get another 5-star rating from me and she just keeps on doing it. I can’t wait for what she writes next!

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
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.