Tag: romance

Hello, hello!

It’s been a while since I posted book reviews and wow, I have missed it. I love reading and sharing my thoughts on books and then hearing from others on what they’re reading and enjoying! I thought for quite a while about whether I wanted to catch up on all the books I’ve read over the past 18 months or just start back in with what I’m reading now…turns out I just couldn’t leave all of last year’s books behind. And thankfully, even though I wasn’t publishing blog posts, I was still drafting reviews on most of them throughout the year so I decided to bring them all together into one massive catch-up post. Today’s post is a big round up of all my 2024 books, although to be fair, it’s the fewest amount of books I’ve read in a year by a long shot so don’t be too intimidated 😉 Let’s do this!

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue (3/5 stars)

While supporting herself through college by working in a bookstore, Rachel befriends her super-charismatic coworker James, and the two soon become best friends and roommates. When Rachel confesses to James that she is in love with her married professor, Dr. Fred Byrne, she and James concoct a plan for him to come into the bookstore to do a reading. What starts out as an attempt for Rachel to seduce Fred ends up completely changing the lives of Rachel, James, and Fred as they navigate increasingly complex relationships and the consequences of their own decisions over the course of the year and beyond.

So here’s the thing. I flew through this book. I was hooked by 30 pages in and compulsively read the rest of it in less than two days. I loved the author’s style of writing and will absolutely be interested in reading other books of hers in the future. But! Did I actually enjoy this book? I don’t think so. And that’s such a strange thing to feel when I liked so much, but I think it all hinges on what I did not like, which unfortunately was: Rachel. It was hard to find her endearing or want to root for her when she felt like a chaotic, immature hot mess making terrible decision after terrible decision for the majority of the book. Now my friend read this book at the same time but primarily listened to it as an audiobook and she did not feel this same way, so our theory is that perhaps the audiobook narrator’s delivery made you feel differently towards Rachel. For me, it was not a win but I will still read another book by this same author in the future (hopefully with a main character I can actually like). I’ll note that it isn’t steamy or very graphic, but does include a lot of mentions of sex, drugs, and language, and I would give it an R-rating. This book isn’t for everyone, myself included, but I do think it finds it’s audience with people who crave a provocative story of a young woman trying to find her way in life.

Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer (3/5 stars)

Recently widowed Edith Sherman has decided to forget about love and lean into a life of adventure by using her nursing skills on a humanitarian trip to South Africa. Since she can’t go until the paperwork is finalized, she accepts a short-term nursing position in a small Midwestern town. Her contact there suggests an unusual housing situation: her Uncle Henry works days and Edith works nights, so would Edith be willing to share his house and essentially switch off living there? Edith agrees, but does not actually meet Henry in person. He knows she’s a widow and assumes she’s elderly. She doesn’t realize he’s close in age to his niece and also assumes he’s a (somewhat grumpy) old man. When they keep missing each other in person, they begin exchanging notes―short messages at first, then longer letters, sharing increasingly personal parts of their lives…and then, one day they finally meet.

This is a Christian rom-com, so it’s pretty squeaky-clean other than one very quick mention of a teen pregnancy (which actually felt pretty out of place in the story). There are mentions of God and church, but it doesn’t dig into any of the character’s faiths so it’s not one you have to be religious to enjoy. It’s Hallmark-esque but felt more sweet than cheesy. It’s not a standout, but it’s also a nice, easy, happy read and sometimes you’re just in the mood for that. I loved that Henry and Edith both thought they were writing letters to someone in another generation as they shared parts of their lives in writing. I actually wish that had gone on a bit longer; I wanted to see a little more development through letters and the flirtations in person before they found out who the other person was. That being said, as a whole I thought the book was way too long – it’s 370+ pages and could easily have been 100 pages shorter. There’s a lot of extra fluff and some pretty over-the-top situations with the townsfolk and side characters that are meant to be charming and quirky but feel a bit overdone and unnecessary. I couldn’t keep all the side characters straight and so much time was devoted to them that I feel like the actual main plot was underdeveloped. The premise reminded me a lot of The Flatshare, which I loved and thought was executed better than this one, but if you’re specifically wanting a fun, sweet, clean rom-com, this would be a good one to choose.

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark (4/5 stars)

Meg Williams…or should I say Maggie Littleton…or should I say Melody Wilde? All three names point to the same person – a cunning con artist who upended Kat Robert’s life 10 years ago. Kat has been waiting all this time for Meg to return so she can uncover her secrets and it looks like she finally got her wish. Meg is back in town and Kat is determined to get close enough to expose her. In a riveting back-and-forth, we see Meg and Kat grow closer but as they do, Kat starts to realize that she may not understand Meg’s motivations and targets as well as she thought.

There is a scene in the TV show Friends where certain characters are learning about a big secret and trying not to reveal their knowledge and this line is said: “They don’t know that we know they know we know!” This book felt exactly like that line. There are so many layers of deception and trickery between the two main characters and it definitely keeps the reader on their toes. What is real? What is a lie? Wanting an answer to those questions had me picking this up again and again to keep reading more. Because there is so much deception with the two main characters, I appreciated that there weren’t a ton of side characters or plots; pretty much everything gravitated around Meg’s cons and Kat’s desire to expose her, though we did have some time jumps within those. I went back and forth with which protagonist I wanted to see “win” their objective: sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes neither, sometimes both. It’s not really a twisty or shocking read, but it is clever and interesting to see how the characters try to manipulate each other as they work towards their goals. Ultimately I found this book to be riveting and satisfying. I will say, I absolutely loved The Last Flight by this same author and would probably put this one a smidge below that one, but it’s still a great domestic thriller I would definitely recommend!

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin (3.5/5 stars)

With younger sisters to provide for and only twelve weeks to pay off her father’s massive debts, Kitty Talbot is getting desperate. She needs a husband, a rich husband, and she needs one now or her sisters will lose their home. She boldly decides to enter the London season despite having limited resources and connections and uses every ounce of her cunning and scheming abilities to present herself as a lady and snag herself a rich husband. Being in love, at least on her end, is not a requirement. Her plan seems to be working on everyone except Lord Radcliffe, who sees through her ruse to snag his brother and is determined to thwart her every attempt. An agreement is reached that she’ll lay off his brother if he helps her find someone else and thus begins a season full of Kitty and Radcliffe sparring with one another in one event after another.

It’s not often that I want to start off a book by skimming, but in this case, I did. It took me a long time to get into the storyline and I wasn’t even sure I could commit to actually finishing the book, but then about 25% of the way in things picked up and I finally became interested. Kitty somehow manages to remain likeable despite all of her scheming, and I did enjoy the banter she had with Radcliffe. It took me WAY too long to realize this is a spin on Pride and Prejudice (like, embarrassingly long!) but I actually like that it wasn’t an obvious re-telling. It felt like a fresh version that hasn’t been done before. It’s very clean, with no language or steam but has a nice slow burn romance. It was a pleasant enough read with enough fun banter and charming and satisfying moments later on to redeem the earlier skimming.

Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks (3/5 stars)

Tom Hanks is the voice of my childhood, and he’s one of those celebrities that has just become more cherished as time goes one. I happened to see this book of short stories on the shelf at my local library and just seeing his name as the author made me want to read it. I wanted to love it because I love him as an actor and human, and I was charmed by the use of typewriters woven throughout all the stories, but I wanted to love the compilation of stories as a whole more than I actually did. I do think short stories are hard to write since they have to be compelling and interesting in just a few pages and I think he wrote them fairly well; however, if it didn’t have his name attached to it and someone just gave me the book and told me to read it without my knowing the author, I would’ve just thought it was an okay read.

Project 333: The Minimalist Fashion Challenge That Proves Less Really Is So Much More by Courtney Carver (2.5/5 stars)

The challenge is simple: streamline your wardrobe down to just 33 items for 3 months. By paring down your wardrobe, you can significantly reduce the number of daily decisions about what to wear, de-clutter your closet, and save money on shopping for new items you likely won’t wear very often. This book sets out to inspire and equip you to live with less in your wardrobe and enjoy life more.

I thought this book would be right in my wheelhouse because it aligns with my values, but I think the problem is it’s written more for people who want to get to the point of a streamlined wardrobe and minimal living than for people who have already started. I already have a pretty simplified closet and a strong interest in living minimally (though I’m still always looking for tips and ideas for other way to pare down!) so I felt like I had already gathered much of this inspiration from other sources on my journey. It also felt like it might have been better as a magazine article or blog post than an entire book and I found myself skimming a lot. I did appreciate that she referenced other people in the minimalism movement, as it gave me a few inspiring people to follow for inspiration, but this specific 333 formula didn’t particularly motivate me. If you’re already interested and versed in living with less, it might not hold much new information for you, but if you’re interested in paring down your wardrobe and don’t know where to start, you might like it!

Cheap Old Houses by Elizabeth & Ethan Finkelstein (4/5 stars)

Welcome to the magical world of Cheap Old Houses, where the new American dream comes with zero mortgage and an affordable lifestyle fit for a storybook. Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein have scoured the country to find homes in desperate need of saving—including a $45,000 Victorian in Mississippi, a $25,000 mansion in Indiana, an $82,000 recreational camp in Maine, and more. Cheap Old Houses features the stories of how these homes were acquired and lovingly restored. (summary taken from Goodreads)

This is probably a niche pick for a book to read, but I loved flipping through the pages and reading stories of homeowners who saw these diamonds in the rough. They could look past things that other potential buyers saw as dealbreakers and pour a lot of TLC to create beautiful, cozy, inspiring homes for themselves. I personally love seeing how people actually live in spaces; that is so much more inspiring to me than picture-perfect showhouses. I gained inspiration and also just enjoyed getting immersed in a variety of homes so different than one another and from my own home. This book is perfect for anyone who loves HGTV and seeing old homes given new life.

Small Space Style: Because You Don’t Need to Live Large to Live Beautifully by Whitney Leigh Morris (4/5 stars)

Whitney Leigh Morris has demonstrated through her blog and popular Instagram account that living in small spaces can be stylish, beautiful, functional, and enjoyable. Her tiny family of three (plus two dogs!) lives in 362 square feet and while her cottage is charming and inspiring in and of itself, she also shares a variety of spaces and creative solutions for minimal living in other settings. With tons of pictures and hundreds of practical tips, she makes living minimally both approachable and manageable.

Now this is the kind of minimal living book I really love. Honestly, I was blown away by the sheer volume of practical tips – it’s not like a 10-step solution, there are over two hundred ideas for ways to live more minimally within your own home. Some ideas are big, some are small. Some literally take a few seconds to implement and make a difference. It allows the reader to pick and choose ideas that will work for them without feeling guilty for not doing everything. I also really love that Whitney lives in the intersection of minimalism and environmentalism. She shows how you can live beautifully while still being mindful of and gentler on the planet. She encourages working with simple things you already have or items you can find secondhand. She reuses things, she repurposes things, and she generally does not encourage buying new things. I appreciated the wisdom and grace with which she guides the reader to try to view your space with fresh eyes and find solutions for living more simply. She’s also an inspiring Instagram follow and I’ll end this review with something she said there: “we usually don’t need more space, we just need to explore the full potential of the space we have.” Loved it!

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle (3/5 stars)

Over the past twenty years, every time Daphne meets a new potential partner, she mysteriously receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it revealing the amount of time they will be a couple. Every romance she has experienced has had an expiration date, and every paper she’s received has been exactly correct. Then one day, she receives a paper with just a name: Jake. Does this mean she has finally found the man she is supposed to be with for the rest of her life? And does she like him because there’s no expiration or is there no expiration because she likes him?

I was intrigued by the unique concept of this book and was excited to read it, despite not really liking In Five Years by this same author. You do have to suspend some realism with the prophetic slips of papers, but I knew that going in and had no problem just going with the premise. The author takes you on a journey between Daphne’s present-day relationship with Jake and all the past relationships that came with expiration dates. It’s interesting enough, but I wish there was a little more character development and didn’t love Daphne. Also, around 2/3 of the way through I found myself so tired of reading about the past relationships and solely wanted to know about her present day situation; I was invested enough in the story to need to know what happened and how things resolved but just didn’t care about the past anymore. I definitely liked it more than In Five Years, and while it’s not a new favorite of mine, I found it to be an overall satisfying read.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez (4/5 stars)

Thanks to a viral reddit post, Emma and Justin learn that they have one very unusual thing in common: every person they date goes on to find his or her soulmate right after they break up. If they’re both cursed with being the person before the soulmate, how will they ever find true love for themselves? A DM is sent and a plan is formed – date each other and then break up. They would both be destined to find their soulmate immediately after, right? It seems worth a shot, and with Emma’s travel nursing job and Justin’s major family transitions it can only be just for the summer anyways, so what’s the harm in trying?

This is an example of a book that, for me, got stronger as it went on. I admit, it started off a little hard to get into. It felt similar to the start of The Happy Ever After Playlist, except not quite as convincingly done as that one. The whole break-the-dating-curse premise is very over the top and the dating formula they come up with seemed so silly to me but I decided for the sake of enjoying the book I needed to just overlook that. I needed to suspend beliefs in the reality of two people actually trying this plan in real life and just accept it and go with it. I’m glad I did because with that set aside, this was a really fun little escape! Justin and Emma are both likeable and their chemistry is entertaining. I loved the side characters and I enjoyed that there was some depth woven in through some harder storylines. It felt like a beach read with some weight to it and that’s the sweet spot for me. There is language and some steam, although easy to skip over the spicy parts if you prefer since it’s not written as open-door as other Abby Jimenez books. There are both fleeting and significant references to characters in every other book she has written and I got a little thrill every time I spotted one dropped in throughout the story (one in particular caught me so off guard in the best way). Overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend!

The Opt-Out Family: How to Give Your Kids what Technology Can’t by Erin Loechner (4.5/5 stars)

Erin Loechner was among the first people to become a social media influencer, way back before we even had a name for the job. She started writing online in 2001, joined all the social media platforms as they rose to popularity, headlined conferences, hosted workshops, and even had her own HGTV.com renovation show. She amassed a following of 1.4 million followers . . . and then walked away from it all. She now has no social media and is raising her children in an “opt-out family” which she defines as “an intentional home environment, group, or household unit in which the role of technology is greatly minimized as a result of evidence-based research on the developmental harms attributed to screens, social media, and digital use.” This book works as a kind of playbook to help you do the same with your family. Honestly, sign. me. up!

I found this book to be incredibly validating; it gives voice to many things I have been feeling myself but wasn’t sure how to put into words. I enjoy writing on this blog and sharing parts of my life, particularly my home projects, on social media – but I’m “bad” at it (meaning, anyone working at a tech company would say I’m not doing the things needed to grow my audience and they’re right, I’m purposefully not) because quite frankly, I also want to minimize technology in my life. When I look at my children and my family as a whole, I want less technology, not more. This book dives into a ton of research and stories that question the narrative we’ve been fed over the years – do we really need this? Do we even want this? Or can we opt-out? I thought this book did a great job of staying hopeful and inspiring while giving practical, realistic advice for use in your family. Don’t get me wrong, the facts are daunting and can feel scary, but the author is determined to equip parents with applicable strategies to choose a different path forward. In this book, she takes her experience as an influencer and her knowledge of the tech world’s playbook and flips the script to reveal approachable ways to resist the pull of tech and choose differently for your family. I appreciate that she isn’t anti-all-screens-all-the-time; some families, like my own, are going to continue to have TV, smartphones, laptops, etc. in some capacity and this book is so helpful for finding ways to minimize technology’s grip on our lives. Highly recommend!

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren

Lily Wilder, daughter of the famous treasure hunter Duke Wilder, is using her father’s hand-drawn notes and maps to guide adventurous tourists on fake treasure hunts to try and earn the money to buy back the family ranch he sold years ago. She is shocked to find out that one of the tourists coming on her next tour is none other than Leo Grady, who broke her heart a decade ago and has no idea that she is the guide assigned with taking him and his friends into the Utah desert. Miscommunications ensue but a second chance may be on the table for Lily and Leo, all while their motley crew of adventurers learn that the treasure they seek in the desert might not be so fake after all.

I’ll keep this one short: I’ve enjoyed Christina Lauren books in the past but this one just fell pretty flat for me. It’s supposed to be a riddle-filled, Wild West, treasure-seeking epic adventure but it ended up being too over the top for my liking. The treasure hunt took precedence in the plot over the development of the romance so once Lily and Leo got together it seemed really sudden and kind of forced. It wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t a fave for me and ended up being somewhat forgettable.

The Women by Kristin Hannah (5/5 stars!)

In 1965, Frankie McGrath follows in a long line of family tradition and enlists in the Army, but the difference from all other family members is that Frankie is a woman. As part of the Army Nurse Corps, she serves in Vietnam and is immediately thrown into the immense chaos and destruction of the war. Despite the atrocious horrors she faces daily, Frankie perseveres and is one of the lucky ones to come home – but the world she comes home to is different than she expected and her struggles are far from over.

This was HANDS DOWN the best book I read all year! This is phenomenally written historical fiction. It is so evident to the reader that Kristin Hannah doesn’t just pull things from her imagination – she heavily researches the subject matter to make her work of nonfiction feel incredibly realistic. The characters are so well thought out and the events are so vividly described that it doesn’t feel like fiction at all. Before I read this book I knew very little about the Vietnam War and this was such a compelling look into the women who served. I love that while we only got Frankie’s firsthand perspective, we also saw the different paths other women who served with her took to move forward after returning from the war. It’s heartbreaking, it’s redemptive, it’s captivating, and it’s thought-provoking. It will make you want to do a deep dive and learn more about the Vietnam War and the real-life women who served there. It’s honestly the most engrossing book I’ve read in a long time and I absolutely loved it. HIGHLY recommend!

Funny Story by Emily Henry

Daphne’s world is rocked when her fiancé, Peter, realizes he is in love with his childhood best friend, Petra, and breaks off their wedding. Heartbroken and now kicked out of the house they shared, Daphne turns to the one person who might understand just how much this situation hurts: Petra’s ex, Miles. Daphne and Miles have very little in common, but do share a need for a place to live and a person who understands their pain so they decide to become roommates. After receiving a wedding invite for Peter and Petra, Miles and Daphne decide to get their revenge by pretending to now be in love with one another to make their exes jealous. They’re so opposite from one another it’ll be hard to be convincing in love, but they’re up for the challenge.

Here’s the thing. Every other book on this 2024 list, I either had a review already drafted after reading or I could easily remember how I felt reading the book. For this book…I genuinely can’t remember. I think I liked it, but did I love it? I have no idea. What exactly happened? I can’t recall. A few minutes on Goodreads and I was able to refresh my memory a bit based on other reviews, but I can remember only vague details for myself. So honestly, I need to re-read this one. And maybe that in and of itself means it was only okay? It clearly didn’t leave a super lasting impression, but I also don’t think I disliked it. It definitely doesn’t top the list of Emily Henry books for me, but it also didn’t crash and burn for me because I would’ve remembered if it either of those things. So…TBD on this one. It’s bothering me that I can’t recall it well enough to review so it needs to go back on my 2025 reading list.

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (3/5 stars)

Sadie is a struggling artist who finally caught her big break by landing in a prestigious portrait competition, only to have a nonconvulsive seizure in the middle of the road on the way to her celebratory party. Saved by a Good Samaritan, she winds up in the hospital where she learns she needs brain surgery. The surgery is successful except for one side effect: Sadie now has a condition where she can’t recognize faces. Struggling to cope with this face blindness and navigate a path forward with the portrait competition deadline looming, Sadie also meets two totally different men and unexpectedly falls for both of them. Will she be able to pull off the most important portrait of her career? And will she be able to find someone to love, even if she can’t see his face?

Katherine Center is a reliable author for me when I want to read a light, happy rom-com and this one fit the ticket. Sadie was likeable. Oliver and Joe, the two men vying for Sadie’s heart, were also likeable. The premise is a little farfetched and silly at times, but I was willing to go with it. However, even when I want a predictably happy romance, this felt too predictable and the beginning was so slow. I wanted cozy romance, but the plot focused on on family drama, her new diagnosis, and her struggles to paint for too long. Things picked up once she actually started interacting with Oliver and Joe, and I breezed right through the rest of it. While it was not my favorite Katherine Center book, it was ultimately a light and happy read.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (4/5 stars)

Emma Wheeler is a struggling screenwriter and full-time caretaker for her medically-fragile father when she receives the opportunity of a lifetime: ghostwriting a romcom screenplay with the legendary Charlie Yates. She will fly to LA and spend six weeks writing her favorite type of script with her favorite screenwriter and get paid an absurd amount of money to do it. It seems like an offer too good to be true . . . and it turns out, it is because Charlie does not actually want to write this romcom, does not even like romcoms, and above all, does not want Emma’s help. What he wants is to have his Mafia movie script picked up, but the only way that will happen is if he finishes a romcom for the studio first. Begrudgingly, he allows Emma to stay and she has her work cut out for her in not only making Charlie see how romcoms are meaningful, but also how they can actually write a good one together.

This one is for lovers of romcoms, of which I am one. If you’re in the mood for a romcom, you want fun, you want spark, you want to swoon, you want to laugh, and you want a satisfying, predictably happy ending. As Emma herself put it: “The fun is in how we get there.” This book delivers on all counts! It’s a little bit cheesy at times, but it’s worth it. Emma was a fun lead to root for (although I will say there were a few times she felt a touch too desperate and naive, but it’s something I could look past and still enjoy her character). I loved Emma and Charlie’s chemistry and enjoyed seeing their dynamics change and relationship unfold as they spent more and more time together. I also loved that it showed them falling into a slow kind of love – a quiet, cozy, just-living-our-daily-lives kind of love. So relatable and refreshing! I also appreciate when a plot has one or two meaningful side plots happening, and Emma’s family situation provided an extra layer of depth and heart to the story. I put this one up there as one of my favorite Katherine Center books so far, along with The Bodyguard (which had a couple cameos in this one!) and Things You Save in a Fire. It’s a clean romance (nothing spicy, just a couple kisses) but it does have language so if you’re looking for totally squeaky clean this isn’t quite it. I enjoyed it!

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell (4/5 stars)

Alix Summer and Josie Fair cross paths for the first time in a pub on what they find out is their shared 45th birthday. When they cross paths again, and Josie learns that Alix hosts a popular podcast sharing other people’s stories, Josie offers to share hers. Alix is intrigued enough to welcome Josie into not only her her podcast but also gradually into her life, and before long, Josie has intertwined herself into Alix’s home and family in irreversible ways.

Lisa Jewell knows how to write an absolutely riveting psychological thriller and this one is no different. I found it to be binge-worthy and flew through it. I really enjoyed that the author switched up narrator points of views and also interspersed documentary interview clips throughout. That format kept things pretty fast paced and full of suspense. There are definitely some very dark themes along with well written, creepy, and unreliable characters. It’s addictive and unsettling and a good choice if you’re in the mood for a domestic thriller.

Whew!! We made it! Now on to 2025 reads!