The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

 

The Cheat Sheet - Sarah Adams - 4 Stars - A cute, funny friends to lovers sports romance!

What a cute, funny friends to lovers story! I was cracking up the whole time! I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this! Sarah Adams writes such fun rom coms with engaging characters! The sports aspect was also really fun.

This is all about Bree Camden, who is in love with her best friend and NFL star, Nathan Donelson. Each one loves each other but doesn't think the other likes them back LOL - SO GOOD. They keep hiding their feelings and getting into very funny situations. Bree has her own dance studio and wants to expand it but the rent has increased....buttttt Nathan comes in and buys the entire building - HA We love to see it!! Bree isn't very thrilled about that but one night they're out and she has a few too many drinks, spills her secret love for Nathan to a TMZ reporter and her video goes viral! EVERYONE wants Nathan and Bree together so Nathan's publicist says they should pretend to be in love for 3 weeks - AHH WE LOVE A GOOD FAKE DATING TROPE LOL Story goes on from there as they start to realize their true feelings for one another.

I had the BEST time with this book, made me laugh SO many times and I just really appreciate this author writing a clean closed door story for those of us who do not want to read smut. Especially since her books are very popular in the big bookstores - SO awesome to see that!

The whole idea of the "cheat sheet" inside this story was so fun too.

Content—closed door secular romance, mention of panic attacks, some drinking, mild language

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5019881478
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pE39M0
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELA8SzwYdKM

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

 

Forget Me Not - Ellie Terry - 2 Stars - Enjoyed learning about Tourette syndrome, but the way this was told in verse, it wasn't my favorite.

A 7th grade girl, Calliope June, has Tourette syndrome and starts at a new school She tries to hide her quirks mostly because her Mom tells her to. Her Mom is not much of a mother to her - she leaves her alone, is always finding a new boyfriend and is moving her from place to place all the time. Her Dad passed away so it's just Calli and her Mom. At this new school, she makes a new friend and potential love interest, but he is afraid to embrace their friendship in front of everyone....

I am having a hard time fully understanding this book. Maybe because it's told in verse (poetry style) I must be missing something because the ending of this book was just....bad. Our main girl struggles with not having a present mom, being bullied at school, not being able to be who she truly is with her TS, etc. I liked seeing her point of view with TS and learned a lot about TS. However, the scenes and details with her mom were so sad. Mostly, this book was so depressing - yes it was realistic in many ways - but I didn't get the feel good ending I was looking for as we usually get in a middle grade. The connection just wasn't there. The ending frustrated me. Yes we got to see her embrace who she was but the way this ended -without spoiling it- was not what I hoped. It was too centered about her mom. It just feels unfinished.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5343953382
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44NC1Jj
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELA8SzwYdKM

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll

 

A Kind of Spark - Elle McNicoll - 5 Stars - So many adults should read this book!

THIS BOOK MADE ME CRY YA'LL. 5 stars. A middle grade book about an young 11 year old autistic girl - Addie - who lives in a small town in Scotland near Edinburgh. She learns about innocent women who lost their lives during the witch trials centuries ago and she sets out to honor those falsely accused so long ago. But not everyone wants her to do this... Addie's sister, Kaddie - is also autistic and is in college and helps her along the way. Addie goes through so much in this book. SO MANY ADULTS SHOULD READ THIS! It truly gives you the perspective of an autistic child. The importance of understanding sensory overload and overstimulation.

Addie: "While you may be neurotypical and I'm autistic, I promise. We are more alike than we are different."

This poor girl went through so much in school and it shows just how important it is that we support children with special needs and those that are different / neurodivergent. This teacher in this story, Miss Murphy, is a terrible person and teacher. I am SO thankful for the teachers my autistic son has today in his Pre-K class. This book also makes you think of how appreciative we, as parents, are for the good teachers we do have.

Highly recommend this book. So glad my friend told me about it!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5343578328
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pLjH4w
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELA8SzwYdKM

Honest June by Tina Wells

 

Honest June - Tina Wells - 5 Stars - A precious story about a young 11 year old girl named June!

Y’all what a precious story about a young 11 year old girl - June. She just wants to make everyone else happy, but struggles with telling the truth…she learns just how important it can be to tell the truth. She’s visited by her fairy godmother, Victoria, who puts her under this spell where she can’t lie- if she does, she will basically start sneezing uncontrollably! So she starts to learn all about why it’s important to be honest and not hold everything inside. Very important message here. I truly related to her, especially my inner child, because I am always such a people pleaser. Can’t wait to read more about June! Sweet middle grade story!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5353113803
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3NRrjuj
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELA8SzwYdKM

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray

 

My Hope Next Door - Tammy L. Gray - 5 Stars - A beautiful, redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings! (Book 2 in The Fairfield Duology)

This book TOOK ME THROUGH IT Ya’ll! Such a beautiful redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings. This was such realistic story that grabbed me from the very first page and deals with issues Christians face in their everyday life. 5 BIG STARS.

We follow Katie and Asher as they overcome their past challenges, find forgiveness and each other.

Katie's past is all surrounding drugs and a bad reputation. After running from her hometown many years ago, Katie is back home because of an illness her mother is facing. She's turned her life around and wants to do the right thing, but every where she turns her past is staring her in the face and she doesn't know how to overcome it. Then she meets Asher - the boy next door and the son of a small-town pastor. His life has been turned upside down when his breakup left him wounded by members of his church. He meets Katie and even though they come from 2 different worlds, they need each other more than they know.

I absolutely LOVED the ending to this story. I will admit, it was a tough read for me personally as I could relate to the parental fights and hoarding battles Katie was going through with her parents. I found myself saying, we'll I've said that to my parents before - lol. Parts were very emotionally draining for me personally just because of some of those things but overall I loved how this ended and it's now one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the aspect of forgiveness, the romance was AMAZING, Asher is the BEST, he was so patient with Katie and I loved that he never gave up on her. The faith was wonderful....What else can I say? I couldn't stand the scenes with Cooper, which I guess was the point for readers LOL but I am excited to read the next book to see how the other characters play out.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5372220515
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PPCJl0
YouTube Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

A Lady of Esteem by Kristi Ann Hunter

 

A Lady of Esteem - Kristi Ann Hunter - 4 Stars - Such a great introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! (Prequel 0.5 in The Hawthorne House Series)

What a fun introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! I listened to this on audio since it was a quick listen and short novella that introduces us to Amelia and Anthony. Lots of regency vibes!

Amelia Stalwood lives in London but she has never really met any nobility or anything - her closest friends are servants. Her paths cross with the Hawthorne Family and their close family friend, Anthony, former Raeburn Rake. Anthony is very interested in her and I loved their interactions, especially when they first meet, I was laughing! Just as she is starting to get comfortable, she's blindsides by some unexpected changes and nasty rumors....the story took off here.

I enjoyed seeing Anthony's transformation and the ending was wrapped up really nicely. Amelia was such a great character too! Very entertaining read and I am excited to dive into book 1 of the official series!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5377990972
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pOKVHA
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

 

Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik - 4 Stars - 3 Brave Women making hard choices and sacrifices.

This is the story of 3 brave women who each have their own hard choices to make, quests to embark on and sacrifices to make. Told in 1st person, with multiple perspectives, I think we have 6 in total, but a few primary perspectives. Many have said this is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, but I would say it’s loosely based on that and truly made into its own fairytale. We follow 3 main women’s stories – Miryem, Wanda and Irina. Each have an important role to play in this quest to stop the all-consuming threat – the king of the Staryk – grim fey creatures who seem to be more ice then flesh.

I feel like we had some great “found family” vibes in this book and the story truly kept me engaged – especially since Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre. That’s really why I give it 4 stars, because I read this in 1 day – I was SO interested and engaged in the story. This book really has winter vibes to the highest level – it really feels like winter is personified into its own character – which I love. You truly feel the atmosphere while reading it.

My only complaint is the chapters/perspectives are not labeled, so I had the hardest time trying to figure out who was talking sometimes – mostly at the beginning as Naomi does a pretty good job differentiating the voices of the characters in general, but I still think this book could benefit from having titles for each POV throughout the story, especially since they’re all 1st person.

Our characters were very strong-willed women and I loved it. Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father was not making the effort to get their money back. With their mother sick and no food in sight, Miryem takes things into her own hands and sets out to claim what is owed. She becomes known for being able to turn silver into gold, which gets the attention of the king of the Staryk, leaving Miryem with some extreme struggles. Miryem is also Jewish, so I loved seeing the details surrounding her traditions and family. Very layered. I wish we had more of those details.

Then we have Wanda, she is hard worker who works for Miryem to pay off her father’s debt but also starts working for her own money as well. Her mother passed away and her father is extremely abusive, so she is so thankful Miryem basically saves them from their bad home life by taking her to work for them. Wanda is a strong woman who will do anything to protect her family and those she cares about.

Lastly, we have Irina, whose Father schemes and wants her to marry her off to the “tsar”. We are following Irina’s crazy path with this “tsar” as he holds a secret within himself that threatens ALL.

Miryem and Wanda were my favorite characters but Irina was great too. Overall, a wild adult fantasy story that I thoroughly enjoyed! THAT ENDINGGGG had me on the edge.

Content warnings: I would say this is a secular, adult fantasy story that leans a bit on the grimdark side, deals with family trauma, parental abuse, family death of parents and children, alcoholism and discussions of sexual assault. One character has a dark side that some may find rides a fine line of what they could be comfortable with – as it did for me, but I was overall ok with how it was portrayed.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5372499552
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44nh9ZC
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0