Totally Engaged by Mina V. EsguerraContemporary RomanceMay 14, 2021, Self PublishedARC Review by Melinda I think Mina V. Esguerra is such a talented writer and generally I pick up anything she writes. But this book is really up there with one of my favorites of hers. Rose is a fashion entrepreneur who is pretty happy with her life and what she has. However, her mother is not as happy about any of it. Rose's entire immediate family immigrated to the United States, but Rose had aged out of Continue Reading
Jen’s Mini Audible Reviews: Reviews for Books by Amy Harmon, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Kerri Maniscalco, Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy and Kylie Scott
I love listening to books when I go on walks and when I’m working around my house. All of the below books were excellent. I’m pretty particular about voices. There's one popular male narrator out there who just gives me creepy uncle vibes. I really enjoyed these stories AND the narrators were terrific. No creepy uncle. :) The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon Epic!!! This was brilliant!! The narrator, Rob Shapiro was spot on. The story takes place in NYC in the 1960s and Shapiro’s Continue Reading
Review: People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily HenryContemporary Romance/Women's FictionMay 11, 2021, by BerkleyARCReview by Angela Favorite Quote: "You're staring at me because I'm tall?" Alex says"Very tall," I say, as if that clears things up. It's easier than saying, I have missed you, beautiful smile. It's so good to see you, strong arms and legs. Thank you, freakishly taut belly, for feeding this person I love so much. After reading last year's release by this author, Beach Read, I couldn't Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin & Farm of Fancy by Julianna Thorn
Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma JalaluddinContemporary 4/13/2021 by Harper Avenue There is so much about this book that I enjoyed! There is a podcasting FMC that I just loved so much. I listen to an intense amount of podcasts so this made me fall for Hana early on. And Hana was just lovely and fierce from beginning to end. I also really enjoyed her family, who owns a hala restaurant and are her biggest fans. I loved watching them basically believe she could do anything she wanted. And the Continue Reading
Review: The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel CleetonHistorical FictionMay 4, 2021, by Berkley Review by Melanie Let me preface this review by stating that I know very little about Cuban politics and history. It’s not a subject that’s focused on in the American public school system and I am also not a history scholar so my knowledge on this topic is greatly limited. However, I am a big fan of Chanel Cleeton, read her consistently when she was writing contemporary romance and when she made the Continue Reading
Review: Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan
Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan Young Adult May 4, 2021, by Inkyard Press Review by Melanie I don’t find myself reading too much YA but this delightful book made me want to change that. There’s so much I want to say about this book that I’m a little afraid my review might be all over the place. But before I start in on the actual bones of the review, I just want to address one thing really quickly: I related HARD to this book. Maybe it’s because of the similarities in our Continue Reading
Melinda’s Minis: The Conductors by Nicole Glover and The Hate Project by Kris Ripper
The Conductors by Nicole GloverHistorical MysteryMarch 2, 2021 by John Joseph Adams This book was really so inventive from concept to completion and I was interested in it from the second I heard about it. This is a post Civil War-set fantasy where some Black people have magic they can perform based on constellations - this magic is brought over from Africa - and white people need wands to perform magic. The book deals with incredibly difficult topics - obviously with the post Civil War Continue Reading
Audio Review: Sweet Talk by Cara Bastone
Sweet Talk by Cara BastoneApril 22, 2021 by Audible OriginalsContemporary Reviewed by Melinda Sweet Talk is the follow up to Call Me Maybe, which was also an Audible Original by Cara Bastone. I’m not sure if there are other series that have been originals like this in the romance area because I haven’t followed many beyond Alyssa Cole and now Bastone. I know Alyssa has mentioned The A.I Who Love Me will be a series as well but I can’t think of any others. As an audible Continue Reading
Review: The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen
The Paris Apartment by Kelly BowenHistorical FictionApril 20, 2021, by ForeverARCReview by Angela I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this book for the first time on my Kindle. I've read and enjoyed many of this author's historical romances, but this title is more of a historical fiction book, wrapped in a mystery, containing elements of extreme danger and desperation, all set against the Nazi invasion of France. That's a lot, I know. And to be honest I was hesitant going in because Continue Reading
Review: The Revelation of Light and Dark by Sawyer Bennett
The Revelation of Light and Dark by Sawyer BennettChronicles of the Stone Veil #1Romantic Fantasy/Urban FantasyFebruary 9, 2021Reviewed by Jen Some of my favorite reads over the past several months have been in the fantasy category. The cover for The Revelation of Light and Dark by Sawyer Bennett has the same vibe as the Ash and Blood series and ACOTAR. Of course, I was in. First up- here’s your warning, each book ends on a cliffhanger. Big cliffhangers. BUT, the first three books Continue Reading