Monthly Wrap-Up: January 2020

Welcome to 2020! 🎆 I hope everyone’s year is off to a good start. My reading is going good so far! It’s also my last semester of nursing school so I’m both nervous and excited about the next few months 😬

RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE: This was such a warm, amusing story about self-discovery and an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance between the son the President of the United States and the Prince of England! Alex and Henry were such soft, tender-hearted men and I felt giddy the entire time as their relationship and feelings unfolded between them. Some parts of the book dragged and some of the political aspects were exaggerated and unrealistic, but otherwise I really enjoyed this book. [review] ★★★½

THE KINGDOM OF BACK: I was expecting a fantasy story with musical aspects something along the veins of Wintersong, however, this story more focused on the bond between the siblings Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart as they discover and cultivate their prodigious musical talents together. Honestly, I was a tad disappointed by the lack of fantasy elements, but enjoyed the history lesson this book provided regarding the Mozarts. ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter. [review] ★★★½

BRINGING DOWN THE DUKE: There’s so much to praise about this book. The wonderful characters, the simmering attraction between Annabelle and Sebastian, the witty banter and humorous writing. Everything came together perfectly to create this very compelling story. The author did a fantastic job writing the tension and passion between Annabelle and Sebastian. This was another historical romance written by a debut author that was nothing short of a fun, page-turning story. [review] ★★★★½

LOVE HER OR LOSE HER: This was a second-chance romance and falling in love all over again with your spouse. I loved watching Rosie and Dominic “relearn” each other’s love language and figure out how to better communicate and what needed to be changed in order to grow together and fix their marriage. I didn’t end up loving this one as much as I was hoping because I struggled with Dominic’s character. [review] ★★★½

LUCKY CALLER: I’m usually a huge fan of Emma Mills’ books, but this one was just okay. It centers around a group of students forced into a group for their class project and working together to form a radio show for their high school. I did really enjoy the relationship between Nina and Jamie, but I wish the angst and tension between them had been built up a bit more. All in all, not my favorite, but still a heartwarming story. ★★★

THIS VICIOUS CURE: It pains me to admit how unsatisfied and disappointed I was with the conclusion to this trilogy. I absolutely LOVED the first two books in the series. I really disliked reading half the book through Jun Bei’s POV, and the complete lack of interaction between Catarina and Cole left a lot of unresolved tension and plot so I finished the book feeling immensely sad, not hopeful. [review] ★★½

TWEET CUTE: This was such an adorable story! Two teenages pitted against each other on opposing social media accounts but falling for each other in real life? Yes, please! The story was told through both Pepper and Jack’s POVs and I thought it was an excellent choice. I loved reading the story from both their perspectives. I highly recommend for anyone looking for a fun, quick, heartwarming book! [review] ★★★★