When in Rome by Sarah Adams

 

When in Rome - Sarah Adams - 4 Stars - A fun rom-com!

What a fun rom-com! I laughed SO much! While this does have quite a bit of mild language, I really enjoyed our main couple and had a lot of fun listening to the audiobook! This is a clean, closed door secular romance.

This is all about Ameila Rose, also known as Rae Rose to her fans. She is a very famous music artist from Nashville and she is just REALLY burned-out from so many years of trying to maintain her pop princess image. She loves the Audrey Hepburn movie, Roman Holiday, so inspired by that movie, she takes off in the middle of the night for a break to Rome.....Rome, Kentucky that is. She finds herself in her car, broken down in front of Noah Walker's house. He doesn't want to deal with celebrity problems but he agrees to help Amelia out. She isn't able to stay in a local hotel in town....so she ends up staying in Noah's guest room. for the 2 weeks she is there waiting for her car to be fixed. They start to get to know each other and things go on from there....

Overall I had so much fun with this book by Sarah Adams. It had a cute southern hospitality vibe with many of the side characters, I loved Noah and Amelia's banter back and forth (SO FUNNY), Noah's sisters were awesome, (really the entire town was great!), and it just had the charming, cozy small town story vibe I love. The conversations cracked me up. I loved the ending too. Very quick and entertaining read.

The sexual content was not over the top, but did ride a fine line up until the "fade to black" scenes. But I am also thankful she writes these books as "closed door" because I didn't feel uncomfortable reading the romantic bits and could actually enjoy the story without worrying about smut. I didn't love the number of curse words in this book, she certainly likes the word s***, lol. But I can look past it because the characters and story were really fun and entertaining.

4 stars and I'll be reading The Cheat Sheet next!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5351983225
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JWNpuc
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

The Wonderland Trials by Sara Ella

 

The Wonderland Trials - Sara Ella - 4 Stars - Lovers of all things Alice in Wonderland will LOVE this! (Book 1 in The Curious Realities Series)

If you are a lover of all things Alice in Wonderland, you will enjoy this new, fun Alice inspired Young Adult Christian Fantasy story! While the first part was a bit slow for me to get into, by the 50% mark I was invested in the story. Fans of dystopian favorites like The Hunger Games will also probably enjoy this because it has a "trial" game that gave me Hunger Games vibes. The whole time you never know who to trust, what's real vs fictional, what "reality" you are in and it's just a very unique story I think many will enjoy. I also kind of had "Caraval" vibes too from the writing style - really enjoyed that aspect.

This story is all about Alice who just wants to escape her normal life in Oxford and find her parents who abandoned her 10 years ago. She gets more than she bargained for though when her older sister, Charlotte, is arrested for having the "Wonder" Gene - the key to unlocking the curious "Wonderland Reality". Alice must play for "Team Heart" in this year's annual - and deadly - Wonderland Trials. She must find her way to Wonderland through the trials but nothing is what it seems.... People go missing. Her and her team try to solve the clues and find the missing players but who can she trust along the way?

I'm not always the biggest fantasy reader but I am starting to find ones I do enjoy and this one ended up being a great foundational book for the "Curious Realities" series. We had good world building, easy to understand details and characters and everything was explained very well. We had some Christian allegory I could see, especially toward the end. That was nice to see.

We also had a bit of a budding romance toward the end - very light - but hope to see that expanded in future books. I don't know that I ever fell in love with our characters per say, but mostly enjoyed the fantasy element and storyline here.

The ending leaves on a bit of cliffhanger so I am so glad there will be a book 2 so we can continue on in this world! If you would like an engaging fantasy read with a Wonderland twist, pick this up!

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4803124508
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JVoR4V
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Murder in a Scottish Garden by Traci Hall

 

Murder in a Scottish Garden - Traci Hall - 3.5 Stars - Enjoyed a bit more than book 1! (Book 2 in A Scottish Shire Mystery Series)

Book 2 in the Scottish Shire Mystery Series, Paislee, owner of her specialty sweater and yarn shop, Cashmere Crush, is a chaperone on her son's field trip. She hears a gun shot and sees a man fall through the hedges. Throughout the book they are trying to figure out who killed this man, who was the cousin to her landlord that's been trying to evict her, Shawn Marcus. Shawn is afraid someone is trying to kill him and his mother so Paislee starts trying to investigate the murder and everything gets crazy from there.

I liked this one a little more than book 1, we have more of a focus on the mystery here then their family dynamics, but I still want a romance for Paislee! I will continue on listening to these audiobooks because they are very bingeable :) Love the Scottish vibes and accents, as always. Looking forward to see what happens next with our characters. I did like the family aspect of Paislee, her son and grandfather. We get pretty attached to our main characters more in this story as we grow to know them and their backgrounds. Paislee is a very realistic character trying to balance being a single mom, small business owner and taking care of her family.

Overall, enjoyed this and plan to continue on.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5281755393
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Df24xk
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

 

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb - 4.5 Stars - What a great foundational fantasty story to start this long series! 

#HobbEmotionalSupportGroup 1-800-HOBB-HALP🤣

As someone who doesn't read a ton of fantasy and continues to dip her toes in different types of fantasy reads, this book was a great foundational fantasy story to our world, characters and journey for our main character, Fitz. Told in first person, we follow a young boy, Fitz, at 6 years old through what I believe was 13 or 14 years old in this first book as he learns about his father/relations, is taken into an apprenceship to train and must embrace his new life on the road to beocming a royal assassin. He's learning about weaponry, scribing, courtly manners, how to kill, nobility etc. His life is tough throughout the story and you keep wondering is life going to get any better for poor ol' Fitz?! You grow to love him so much and continuosly root for him. We have a lot of political intrigue throughout the story too. The magic system in this is very interesting! I enjoyed learning about the telepathic magic / wit magic skills and look forward to seeing more of that evolve in other books. Also liked seeing Fitz and the Fool together. The Fool is such an interesting character to me!

Overall, really enjoyed this start to Fitz's journey and can't wait to continue on. Hobb knows how to get you SO INVESTED in her characters and you are LITERALLY going on this journey with them and feeling everything they are feeling. THE ENDING HAD ME IN TEARS AND I MUST CONTINUE ON SOOOOON!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5138471983
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DeTsXg
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Tribulation Force by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins

 

Tribulation Force - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - 5 Stars - WOW WHAT A BOOK!

WOW. Book 2 after Left Behind was so good! We continue the story of Rayford, Buck, Bruce, Chloe as they formed the Tribulation Force to stand and fight the enemies of God during the 7 year tribulation after the rapture. THE ENDING was intense and just...WOW. Love how this story is unfolding and coming together. Love our characters. What a classic where there is never a dull moment.

We also really get to see great development between Rayford and his daughter Chloe. And then developments between Buck and Chloe in their relationship. Some of the way Chloe was acting with the miscommunication was annoying but still loved everything coming together in this story. Can't wait to dive into the next one.

Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5334731503
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3XOlSRy
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson

Barking up the Wrong Tree - Janice Thompson - 4 Stars - really enjoyed this!

Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson is book 3 in the Gone to the Dogs Christian Mystery series. I have really enjoyed each book in this series so far. Each has been 4 stars! In this book, we follow Veterinarian Kristin Keller who realizes the Atkinson family champion sheltie dog, Remington, has somehow been stolen and switched with another almost identical sheltie dog right under their noses! Everyone is shocked and they start working together to figure out who could have done this, any why? We also have a cute romance between Tyler and Kristin blooming, and I loved their chemistry together. Very sweet.

What I enjoy most about this series is how these stories just always feel like you’re coming back home to your family. As a southern girl, I love the charm for each town and how each character has sincere care for one another.

I also love how we have so many different avenues as to what could have happened to the dog in this story. You never know who to trust, as so many people had different motives for wanting to possibly take the dog or switch him out with another.

I also appreciate the faith aspects we get throughout the story as we see them mentioning church, prayers, God’s plan, considering their faith when making decisions, etc.

Overall, a fun, cute continuation to the Gone to the Dogs Series! If you love clean cozy mysteries, check this series out. Book 1 is Off the Chain by Janice Thompson. 😊 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5017005699
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DejSbM
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/478057
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

 

The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - 3.5 Stars - Hilarious with a great group of characters! (Book 1 in The Thursday Murder Club Series)

I liked this mystery surrounding 4 hilarious, older characters who live in a upscale retirement village and work together to solve murder cases as part of the "Thursday Murder Club". This is sent in Kent, England during modern time. Things get wild really fast when some murders start happening at the retirement village and they start working to piece everything together.

I LAUGHED SO MUCH in this book! These characters are HILARIOUS! My only complaint with this book is I really struggled keeping all the characters straight and what what going on throughout the story. It was close to 4 stars but ultimately the pacing and multiple character shifts took me out of the story many times. I still recommend this if you like a good mystery. I would not call this a "cozy" mystery, more along the lines of true crime mystery then a cozy. It had a similar vibe as an Agatha Christie to me too!

Trigger warning- a few mentions of suicide. I seem to remember a few mentions of mild language but can't recall more than a couple.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4830321558
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3DwpRJj
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0