Review: Liars Like Us by J.T. Geissinger

A young woman on the verge of bankruptcy.

A mysterious billionaire with an offer that will change her life.

An obsession so powerful, it could destroy them both.

Sex

Lies

Secrets

Passion

What Callum McCord wants, he takes.

No matter what he has to do to get it.

Review

I went into Liars Like Us expecting a big twist. And from the first few chapters, I was intrigued to how this story would take place. I enjoy marriage of conveniences, and the set up was appearing to be very juicy. Also, let’s not forget the banter between Callum and Emery. It was great.

Now that I finished it, I must say I’m a little bit disappointed. The “twist” was predictable. And although Callum and Emery had this amazing chemistry, I couldn’t fully get behind him. A second after they got married, Callum changed into this possessive person, and at times it was a major turn off. He doesn’t get a POV within this book, and I really think the book would have benefitted from having his POV. His secret and motives could still be a mystery; however, it would be great to get within his head. Especially given his obsession with Emory.

Final Thoughts

For all the issues I had with Liars Like Us, it’s still one of the highlights of the month of May for me. Some of the scenes still replay around in my mind. And I did really enjoy the setup to the marriage. 

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Review: Charlie, Love, and Cliches by Ella Maise

Six years ago at a random diner I met a stranger and he became the-one-who-got-away, or more correctly the-one-who-didn’t-show-up.

A small advice from me to you: if you haven’t dated, touched *or* kissed a guy in years and *years*…do not try to crawl away or hide from the-one-who-got-away. It’s not a good look.

William Carter, the stranger I’d met six years ago was the last person I’d imagine ever seeing at my dad’s firm where I work. While I panic and fight off the butterflies in my stomach and in general struggle to act normal, I realize he doesn’t even remember me. I’m not sure if I should feel relieved or heartbroken. Things get worse when I learn we’ll need to work in close quarters to each other, but at least I let him know that I don’t have a crush on him anymore right away. Just in case he gets any ideas.

While I’m in the process of writing lists and making serious changes in my life, because I decide I’m ready to be the heroine in my own story; having William just a breath away is not helping things. Especially when things shift between us and we start to make eye contact in meetings. Then he shows up in places I least expect him to…as in blind dates and sex clubs. He also gives me cheese because he knows how much I like it and there are secret notes he leaves in my office. If you were wondering, I still don’t have a crush on him though. Nope.

Even though I’d promised myself I’d never wait around for another guy and postpone my own life, I’m afraid William Carter who looks at me as if I’m his and was always supposed to be his might ruin my hopeful plans. And quite possibly me for any other guy since I’m craving his touch like I’ve never craved anything in my life before. But we both know we’re a losing game so we keep admitting that neither one of us has a crush on the other.

Not anymore. Not at all. Not even a little bit.

Review

One of the most embarrassing and upsetting things in the world is spending the majority of a book wishing it was over. To me Charlie, Love, and Cliches was utterly boring. For a book with cliché in the title I had braced myself to be subject to ridiculous but also entertaining cliches. I absolutely love Marriage for One by Ella Maise, and I have read two other books by her, and thought them to be good, nothing spectacular like Marriage for One. My expectations were over the top for this one.

For a quick summary— both Charlie and William live in New York, and one week six years ago they met at a diner and opened up to each other. Then one day, William doesn’t show up and they go back to being strangers. Years later, they both end up working at her father’s company, and he still impacts her just the same.

I think my real issue with this story for why I didn’t enjoy it as much and why I believe it to be boring-- hinges on the main characters. Both of them fell extremely flat to me. The easiest way to categorize them two is Charlie is someone who won’t stop talking and has a complicated relationship with her family. And William is recently divorced, makes bad decisions, and can’t trust women. I can’t tell you anything else about them. They just seemed severely lacking to me, which is disappointing for a story that is trying to sell a second chance romance.

Final Thoughts

Charlie, Love, and Cliches was just boring.

Review: Where Waters Meet by Zhang Ling

Where Waters Meet, the first novel Zhang Ling wrote in English, was breathtaking. For someone whose English is secondary, there’s not a moment that steered my interest away. This beautiful novel captures the extraordinary strength of a multigenerational point of view of women through some of the most tumultuous times in Chinese history.

Upon the death of her mother, deeply heart broken, she finds some mementos that leave her curious about the secret life of her mother. In a quest to fulfill her curiosity, Phoenix Yuan-Whyller boards a flight to China to connect with her mother’s sister, Mei. As her aunt Mei recounts her past, Phoenix discovers the secrets of a painful past that redefined everything she ever knew.

There are no words to describe how wonderful this book is. From the gorgeous cover that invites you in, the beautiful words that grace the pages, it was an experience that grips your emotions and doesn’t let go. There was something special in the sensitive simplicity of her words that left a heavy imprint on my consciousness. As a reader, being able to experience the events through her perspective was haunting and impactful.

What I loved the most about the book was the unique historical perspective coming from someone who represents the culture of the core of the narrative. Her perspective through many of the historical events in the book brought awareness to my interest having not heard of much that was spoken of. What these women endured through the atrocities of war but survived just gives me a new appreciation of life because they went through some things that I don’t know how anyone could have made it. The resilience of the inhumane physical and mental abuse and the fight to gain the courage to survive was remarkable.

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Summary:

A daughter discovers the dramatic history that shaped her mother’s secret life in an emotional and immersive novel written in English by Zhang Ling, the bestselling author of A SINGLE SWALLOW.

There was rarely a time when Phoenix Yuan-Whyller’s mother, Rain, didn’t live with her. Even when Phoenix got married, Rain, who followed her from China to Toronto, came to share Phoenix’s life. Now at the age of eighty-three, Rain’s unexpected death ushers in a heartrending separation.

Struggling with the loss, Phoenix comes across her mother’s suitcase—a memory box Rain had brought from home. Inside, Phoenix finds two old photographs and a decorative bottle holding a crystallized powder. Her auntie Mei tells her these missing pieces of her mother’s early life can only be explained when they meet, and so, clutching her mother’s ashes, Phoenix boards a plane for China. What at first seems like a daughter’s quest to uncover a mother’s secrets becomes a startling journey of self-discovery.

Told across decades and continents, Zhang Ling’s exquisite novel - her first to be written directly in English - is a tale of extraordinary courage and survival. It illuminates the resilience of humanity, the brutalities of life, the secrets we keep and those we share, and the driving forces it takes to survive.

Review: Forth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general―also known as her tough-as-talons mother―has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders.

But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away...because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them.

With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter―like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant.

She’ll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise.

Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom's protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.

Friends, enemies, lovers. Everyone at Basgiath War College has an agenda―because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

Review

It seems like Forth Wing is the number one book that everyone is recommending currently. Lately, I’ve seen this book compared to many others in terms of plot and romance, and each time Forth Wing comes out on top. The book has a 4.72 rating on Goodreads, and I can say with my entire chest that the hype for this series is well deserved.

Rebecca Yarros has perfectly set up an intriguing and high stakes fantasy series. Not only is the main character incredible, but Violet is also lovable and someone who deserves all the recognition in the world. The girl is smart and uses her brain in a situation where she might appear to be unprepared for or the underdog. She’s brave and compassionate. And will stop at nothing to protect others in a world where being cruel is normal. She’s a very balanced character, and I’m very excited to see where this journey takes her.

I enjoyed her and Xaden’s relationship. It’s very much enemies to lovers. And he's tough on the exterior due to his past. However, the longer he spent with Violet the more that he opened up, and we were introduced to a softer side of him. Their romance is angsty and slow burn, with a seat gripping journey.

Final thoughts:

Fourth Wing is an incredibly well-developed fantasy with a strong and lovable character and a beautiful romance.

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Review: Toe the Line by Penelope Ward

Summary

The Wall Street Journal Bestseller.

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a friends-to-lovers story spanning more than a decade...

At first, I thought I'd hate spending the summer with Archie Remington—the conceited son of my parents' friends.
What I knew about Archie: he was gorgeous, pre-law, and had always treated me like I didn't exist when we were younger.
When our families bought a house together on an island in Maine, he and I were forced to share a bathroom.

The boy I remembered was now a full-grown man—but with the same attitude.
After a rough start, Archie and I unexpectedly started getting along one day and eventually became friends. We shared secrets and bonded during our morning jogs. I discovered that Archie had a wild spirit and that he struggled to conform to his father's expectations.

Things were cool until I had to go and ruin it, getting drunk one night, and blurting out my fantasy—involving him.

I took it back, but it was too late. Archie had heard me loud and clear. After that, we never quite knew how to toe the line.
When that summer came to an abrupt and shocking end, I headed back to college, unsure if anything would ever be the same again.
Across the miles over the years, he and I stayed in touch as friends, but fate and timing always kept us from becoming more.

You know the saying: If two people are meant to be, they'll find their way back to each other?

Let's just say Archie came back into my life in a way I would've never expected.
And this time, my heart would really be put to the test.

Review

For a book about friends to lovers that spans for more than a decade, I expected to feel something. I was begging to feel any emotion; however, all I felt was disappointment. It took ten plus years for Archie and Noelle to get together, and the buildup and the play off were extremely lacking. Archie was a frustrating hero, and Noelle continued to wait for him despite him wrongly pulling her along when he knew her feelings towards him. He always had an excuse ready for her.

Every step of the way, there was another obstacle to overcome with them, and if they had communicated, they could have been together much sooner. Yes, I understand moments are missed, but every time? Every single sign?

Final Thoughts

Toe the Line is a romance where the hero is probably the worst character in the book. Not only did he feel bland, but he also continuously played with Noelle’s emotions for no good reason. I really had high hopes for this one because of the summary, but every single aspect of this book left me feeling disappointed. 

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Review: That First Night by Jenn McMahon

My new boss is a CEO Billionaire who hired me to be a nanny for his son.

This should have been easy for me considering my experience with children. Except the man I’m working for is Thomas Ford. A man I never thought I would see again, especially not 5 years later.

Now, I live in his penthouse in the city.

I refuse to cross the line because one, he’s my boss and two, I don’t do relationships anymore.

It’s hard to deny this man when his touch lights my body on fire. I told myself I wouldn’t risk losing my job by giving into temptation but all it takes is one night in his kitchen and I am done for.

But who am I kidding? I was a goner that first night.

Review

I often steer clear of criticizing the writings of a book, because writing is something that can be difficult and finishing a book is a huge accomplishment. And mostly, if other aspects of the story stand out, I’m able to look past writing. However, That First Night, to me, suffered due to the poor writing.

Thomas and Peyton meet at a bar, and have a steamy encounter, and don’t see each other for several years later. And that encounter had seemingly impacted them for those years that they just can’t get over each other. I personally didn’t believe that they had made that much of a connection or had that much chemistry with each other to still be head over heels when they see each other five years later. There was a lot of telling rather than showing with the two of them.

And then Thomas. Thomas just felt like a cartoon character. A parody of a bachelor in a romance novel. A terrible parody, if we were being honest. I didn’t enjoy being in his POV. It just felt odd that a billionaire got excited about free drinks at a charity event. And not to mention that some of the conversations with his brothers just felt very disrespectful to women.

There were several times where Peyton and her friends would have a conversation. And then the next chapter Thomas and his brothers would have the same conversation. It got repetitive.

Final Thoughts

That First Night wasn’t an enjoyable read to me. The relationship felt forced at times, and relied too heavily on Thomas’ son, who often spoke like a ten-year-old rather than a three-year-old. In addition, individually the characters felt lackluster. There is little to no character development. 

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