Review: Head Over Heels by Karla Sorensen

About the Book

There’s only one course of action when your dad wants you to marry a clammy-handed wimp to make one of his board members happy—you get yourself stuck in an elevator with a hot stranger and have the steamiest make-out session of your life. Years of etiquette lessons went out the window thanks to Cameron Wilder, who managed to unleash my hidden bad girl with naught but his talented mouth and deliciously rough hands.

Afterward, he went back to his small-town life, and I marched home to inform my dad there would be no business-centric nuptials. As punishment, he shipped me off to Sisters, Oregon and demanded I turn a healthy profit on a not-so-healthy property.

You see where I’m going with this—the buttoned-up city girl stuck in a small town hires a local builder to help her … and he’s the hot stranger from the elevator. Turns out, I have a weakness for the broad-shouldered nice guy who’s not so nice behind closed doors. Keeping things professional gets harder the longer I’m in town, until the only lesson I have left to learn is how to keep both our hearts from getting broken.

Review

Head Over Heels might be one of my favorite books of the year. I absolutely adored this one, and even days later, I’m still just as obsessed with it as I was while reading. I hadn’t known this book was a part of a series, nor did I know that all of Karla Sorensen’s books were a part of a shared universe. I found that fact interesting, and I’m almost determined to dive into the entire universe. 

One of my favorite things about this book was the family-- the Wilder family. I loved their dynamics, and each other their relationship with Cameron, the main male lead. There’s a lot of history there, and even though I hadn’t read the other books about Cameron’s siblings, the history was still easy to follow. In fact, it made me want to go back and read the previous books. 

Speaking of Cameron. I loved him. He has golden retriever energy, but he’s also a little stubborn. At one point in the story, someone mentioned that he had the desire to save everyone. I think that really summed him up. Despite him and Ivy having a rocky/awkward post-meeting relationship, he wanted to ensure that she was okay, and he saw through her façade. Cameron had the patience that Ivy needed in her life. He wasn’t perfect by any means. He still had his ghosts and issues. 

As for Ivy, she’s my favorite type of female main lead. I’ve always loved main characters with thick skin; however, they are dealing with a lot, but they put on a brave face. There’s so much to Ivy’s character. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when she’s invited to dinner with Cameron’s family. She takes the time to learn something new. She’s determined, and even though labels have been placed on her for her entire life, she’s constantly proving them all to be incorrect. She is someone who cares about people. 

I appreciated her character development. Though, I would have preferred there to be more focus on her learning about her mother. I’m still pleased with what I got with Ivy. 

I have no complaints about the romance. It was amazing. I live and breathe them. They created the standard for me this year. 

I was fully prepared to give this book five stars. The only reason that I did not is because of the ending. I want to begin by saying that there were no lows for this book. Everything was the highest of highs until the end. To me, the ending didn’t feel like an ending. There’s more story to tell. Part of this could be me wanting to never let go of the characters; however, I feel like Ivy and Cameron deserve a better epilogue. And maybe, Karla has written it as a bonus, and I just haven’t looked hard enough. 

Final Thoughts 

Before writing this review, I knew I loved Head Over Heels. And as I wrote it, I realized that I loved it more, something that I hadn’t thought was possible. There was something so beautiful about the characters and romance. The story is emotional, heartbreaking, and engaging. I might have had issues with the ending, but I still absolutely loved this one.

Review: Thirty Day Boyfriend by Whitney G

About the Book

I should've never agreed to this arrangement...

Thirty days ago, my boss--Mr. Wolf of Wall Street--came to me with an offer I couldn't refuse: Sign my name on the dotted line and pretend to be his fiancée for one month. If I agreed, he would let me out of my employment contract with a "very generous" severance package.

The rules were pretty simple: No intimate kissing, no actual sex. Just pretend to love each other for the press, even though I've secretly wanted to knock that sexy smirk off his face since the first day we met.

I definitely didn't need to think twice about this. I signed my name and started counting down the seconds to when I would never have to deal with his special brand of a**-holery again.

Review

I feel as if I have read this book a thousand times. The rude boss needs his assistant to pose as his fiancé or girlfriend to close a big deal. The assistant is the only one who can handle the boss and gives everything she has into her job but she’s very unhappy and wants to quit. They enter this fake relationship, and then surprise! The boss secretly has been in love with his assistant for years and never told her. I’m quite fond of this trope; however, the trope has unfortunately been watered down to the same plot beats. 

Thirty Day Boyfriend adds nothing new to this plot. The romance feels stale at times. There was no true connection to the characters, and the only thing believable between them was their attraction to each other. I would have preferred for the characters to be more fleshed out. Especially, Emily. She wanted so badly to be removed from her contract, but the writing didn’t provide insight into what she wanted next. 

Final Thoughts

Thirty Day Boyfriend adds nothing new to the boss/secretary trope. It feels like it was written using a template. There are no substances to this story, and neither characters nor the romance are memorable.   

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible

Review: You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples by Patricia Marx and Roz Chast (Illustrator)

About the Book

The perfect Valentine’s Day or anniversary gift: An illustrated collection of love and relationship advice from New Yorker writer Patricia Marx, with illustrations from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast.

Everyone’s heard the old advice for a healthy relationship: Never go to bed angry. Play hard to get. Sexual favors in exchange for cleaning up the cat vomit is a good and fair trade.

Okay, not that last one. It’s one of the tips in You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time: Rules for Couples by the authors of Why Don’t You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It: A Mother’s Suggestions. This guide will make you laugh, remind you why your relationship is better than everyone else’s, and solve all your problems.

Nuggets of advice include:

If you must breathe, don’t breathe so loudly.

It is easier to stay inside and wait for the snow to melt than to fight about who should shovel.

Queen-sized beds, king-sized blankets.

Why not give this book to your significant or insignificant other, your anti-Valentine’s Day crusader pal, or anyone who can’t live with or without love?

Review

This was an immediate first sight grab. The title caught my attention immediately without a second glance to what the book was about. This might not be for everyone but the humor and wit will bring out a smile. The illustrations complement the advice and tips given throughout the book. This is one that couples can share among each other with some laughs and hopefully realize being with each other isn’t so bad. 

Overall, this was a quick read that was witty with great illustrations. Couples might enjoy it together but the romantic advice is relatable to everyone even if you’re not with anyone. You can still enjoy the intent of the book. 

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Hardcover | Bookshop.org

Audiobook Review: The Ark of Taste: Delicious and Distinctive Foods That Define the United States by David S Shields and Giselle Kennedy Lord

About the Book

Explore and enjoy the heritage foods that give the United States its culinary identity, from heirloom tomatoes to Tupelo honey, in this visual volume for curious eaters, gardeners and home cooks.

The Ark of Taste is a living catalog of our nation's food heritage preserving treasures passed down for generations—some rare, some endangered, all delicious.

Created by Slow Food USA, the Ark shines light on history, identity, and taste through these unique food products, featuring recipes and the stories of how they reach our tables In these pages you'll learn about: 

• Carolina Gold rice

• Wellfleet oysters

• Cherokee Purple tomatoes

• The Moon and Stars watermelon

• Black Republican cherries

• Candy Roaster squash, and more

These foods reflect our country's diversity. By championing them, we keep them in production and on our plates, while promoting a more equitable alternative to industrial agriculture.

The Ark of Taste is a vital resource for all of us who spend the summer searching for that perfectly ripe peach or heirloom tomato—or who are simply looking for the next good thing to eat. 

Review

If you love food or just want to be more active in promoting and preserving farm to table, then this is an amazing book to look into. As an audiobook, I found this so interesting. The narrator had my interest from beginning to end. She was so wonderful to listen to. Her narration gave a voice to the past and present that brought these foods alive. Learning their origin, cultures, recipes and history of foods that were new to me truly inspired me to want to get the book.

In a time where food cost is on the rise, there’s no better time to invest in local farmers. With big corporations monopolizing the market and bioengineered foods replacing traditional ones, eating foods that grow in their intended natural habitat is something we should look more into exploring. There clearly is a wide world of food out there that many of us don’t know about that not only sounds delicious but has amazing stories and histories that need to be preserved. This book sounds like the perfect place to start.

Overall, I thought this was a wonderful audiobook that was not only interesting but informative and encouraging. This would be perfect for listeners who are visually impaired. I thought it was such a great touch to separate by regions. It allows those in those areas a great starting point to explore. This book hopefully will promote more interest in local farmers. For the food enthusiasts or if you love food from the farms to your tables, this will definitely inspire conversation and explorative interest the next time you go to the farmers market. 

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible | Hardcover | Bookshop.org

Review: Beneath the Stands by Emily McIntire

About the Book

From USA TODAY bestselling author Emily McIntire comes an angsty, best friend's brother, second chance romance.

Elliot Carson left Sugarlake and has never looked back. Revered as the next big thing in basketball, Eli’s a star until an injury ends his career, sending him spiraling with no direction.

But he won’t go home.

He can’t.

Instead, he accepts a coaching gig at Florida Coast University, determined to leave his past behind. But fate has other plans when Becca, his sister’s best friend, shows up as a student and, even worse, becomes the new team manager.

Rebecca Sanger is the preacher’s daughter and the town's disappointment. When she ignores her family’s demands to come home, she’s cut off and needs a job so she can stay enrolled at FCU. She thought she had everything figured out until Eli Carson—the person she hates more than anything in the world—ends up being her new boss.

Forced together, Becca and Eli’s hatred turns to heat, and they start an affair. But disaster quickly strikes, ripping them apart.

Years pass, and Becca’s back home, under her parent’s thumb, and living a mundane life. When Eli shows up out of the blue with a fiancée in tow, Becca is tasked with planning their wedding.

There’s only one problem.

Becca still loves Eli.

And he hates her.

For the second time in their lives, they’re forced together, and they’ll find out just how thin the line is between hate... and a love that lasts a lifetime.

Review

My overall satisfaction with Beneath the Stands was going to depend on the treatment of Eli’s fiancé. Often authors have gotten into a habit of introducing another female love interest and making her seem “obsessive” and “awful” as a way to push the MMC back to the FMC. 

I enjoyed the early years of Eli and Becca. I felt they worked well together, and I think their transition from dislike to like felt natural. I felt Becca’s departure to be lacking; however, I was still rooting for them. I did not want my enjoyment of them to be taunted because of the introduction of Sarah (Eli’s fiancé) in the flashforward. Fortunately, the author didn’t portray Sarah in a negative light. Therefore, Eli and Becca were able to keep their spark and embark on an angsty journey. 

One of the things that I loved most about them was that they were almost similar. They both had family issues and for a time avoided their hometown. For me, Eli’s family drama packed a bigger punch, and it was heartbreaking to see him and his sister at all. I’m happy they reconnected. Becca’s family drama gave me whiplash. It’s great that she went to therapy because her parents were terrible people. 

Final Thoughts

Beneath the Stands was a solid second-chance romance. I found myself enjoying Eli and Becca and how similar they were. There were a few things that I was concerned about regarding their reunion; however, the author silenced those fears. 

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Bookshop.org

Review: Will They or Won't They by Ava Wilder

About the Book

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love—at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, Lilah and Shane spent years pining for each other onscreen . . . until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a movie star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which Lilah and Shane’s characters will get together at last.

But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of season one, the two of them have despised each other.

Now reunited on set for the first time in years—with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line—they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they might just get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.

Review

Will They or Won’t They was an addicting read. It felt like I was getting a behind-the-scenes scoop on some real-life television actors' drama. I was glued to my iPad as I read. The book follows Lilah and Shane, two actors who land a starring role on a popular paranormal TV show. During the first season, something happens between Lilah and Shane, and it leads to a messy break-up. Lilah remains on the show until season five before leaving. After a struggling movie career, she’s back for the final season and forced to work with her now enemy – Shane. It’s a challenging and emotional experience for both of them. They try to ignore the chemistry and natural pull towards each other. It's juicy material with two leads who have stellar chemistry and an angsty romance. The author did extremely well with blending the past and present in a way that never disrupted the story. It helped build the story and provided insight into what happened between the two of them and how miscommunication and fears got in the way of their prior relationship.

As much as I loved this book, there was one thing that I disliked. This book started extremely strong. And my complaints arise in a scene that is a big moment. It’s Lilah and Shane fully introducing themselves as a couple. However, the leadup wasn’t as good as the execution. Fortunately, the book was able to redeem itself and I thought the ending was perfect.

Final Thoughts

Will They or Won’t They is a great story Hollywood second romance chance story. Lilah and Shane have so much tension that will leave readers screaming at them to just kiss already. One thing genuine about Lilah and Shane is that the author knew her characters and wrote a hilarious back-and-front dialogue between the two of them.