Hello 👋🏼 I’m still around, although as you can probably tell, blogging has not been on the forefront of my mind. I’ve been reading a lot more lately and starting to find myself reaching for more books so I’m happy I’m getting out of that months-long slump. I really hope that by reading more, I’ll also find the motivation to also get back into blogging because I DO really miss writing posts and reviews, I just can never find the energy or inspiration to actually sit down and blog.

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PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION: Emily Henry has clearly found her niche in writing adult contemporary romance because wow. This has the same heartwarming, entertaining, and emotional quality found in Beach Read. The characters were smart, relatable, and delightful. The romance completely delivered on the opposites attract and friends-to-lovers tropes. ARC provided by Berkley through NetGalley.  ★★★★★  [review]

THE CROWN OF GILDED BONES: The fact that I had to DNF this makes it the biggest disappointment of this year. When I realized that the thought of reading another chapter filled me with dread, I knew I had to quit. There was absolutely no plot and the book dragged horribly. I read nearly half the book and absolutely nothing happened. I really care about the characters but cannot see myself reading the rest of this book, let alone the rest of the series. I usually love JLA books so I was not expecting this at all.  DNF @ 42%

LIFE’S TOO SHORT: This book was breathtaking. As with her other two books, this is more than simply a romance book: it has depth, emotional complexity, and touches on heavy issues. This is my absolute favorite of her books and I cannot recommend it enough. The chemistry between Vanessa and Adrian was off the charts. The yearning and sexual tension was palpable through the pages. I couldn’t have hoped for a better book and Abby Jimenez has definitely become an auto-add author.  ★★★★★

THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN: A dark, woodsy read? Adult fantasy? Magic? Enemies-to-romance? The word “wolf” in the title? I’m pretty sure this book checked all my boxes, and then some. I was seriously impressed by this debut fantasy novel by Ava Reid! From the excellent writing, to the slow-burn romance and bucketloads of angst, to the atmospheric setting this was such a tremendous story and I can’t wait for it to be out in the world for everyone else to enjoy and gush over!  ARC provided by Harper Voyager through NetGalley.  ★★★★

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW: While I enjoy reading thrillers, I feel like a majority follow the same basic formula that I’ve read ten times before with thrillers. The chapters were short and sweet and the writing was simple so I was able to fly through this book, which was a huge advantage. Sometimes with thrillers, they seem to drag since a lot of the conflict tends to be internal. I have to give props where they are due, however, and note that I absolutely did not see the reveal at the end coming. That character was not on my radar at all so I was very pleasantly surprised!  ★★★½

ANXIOUS PEOPLE: This seems to be such a big hit with other people and I see it on a lot of “favorites” lists, so I think the probably stands more with me than the book. I did not connect with the writing at all. I struggled with the writing and the only way I can describe it is that it felt like it was trying too hard to be both poignant and comical. I also found every single character idiotically stupid, which I think was the point, but their dialogue were so over-the-top silly that became annoying very fast.  ★★

WIILDE CHILD: Each book in this series has gotten better and better, but this one truly stole the show. It was pure perfection. With historical romance, a lot of conflict centers around the protagonist and the love interest getting together (don’t get me wrong, I love some good angst), but that’s not the case here. From the beginning, there is no playing games: Joan and Thaddeus make it very clear that they are into each other. The conflict comes from other issues in which the two of them have to work together to succeed and it was so refreshing!  ★★★★

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