Welcome to my first ever WWW Wednesday. A weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
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Hey guys!! How has your month been?
I’ve been in a good mood for reading. I’ve been sick and this is the only thing that helps, which made me reach my goal of 50 books for the year. When I put that challenge I was in a book slump so I’m happy I got out of it and probably can reach my 100 mark for the year, which is what I normally put.
Check out what I’ve read this month:
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The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
Series: N/A
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
Expected publication June 6, 2023
Genres: LGBTQIAP+, Romance, Teens & YA
Pages: 336
Format: ARC – Audiobook
Buy: Amazon
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
A pun-filled YA contemporary romance, The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar finds a teenage girl competing in a televised baking competition, with contestants including her ex-girlfriend and a potential new crush – perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off and She Drives Me Crazy !
“Welcome to the first ever Junior Irish Baking Show!”
Shireen Malik is still reeling from the breakup with her ex-girlfriend, Chris, when she receives news that she’s been accepted as a contestant on a new televised baking competition show. This is Shireen’s dream come true! Because winning will not only mean prize money, but it will also bring some much-needed attention to You Drive Me Glazy, her parents’ beloved donut shop.
Things get complicated, though, because Chris is also a contestant on the show. Then there’s the very outgoing Niamh, a fellow contestant who is becoming fast friends with Shireen. Things are heating up between them, and not just in the kitchen.
As the competition intensifies , Shireen will have to ignore all these factors and more― including potential sabotage―if she wants a sweet victory!
This book is about Shireen, a Bangladeshi-Irish young girl competing in a Junior Irish Bake-off show!
It’s in general a coming of age story that includes “Mentions of racism and fatphobia, depictions of anxiety (specifically anxiety and panic attacks and spiraling thoughts), and online harassment” according to the author’s website.
Shireen is still hurting from a recent breakup with Chris and this show is the only thing that can put her in a good mood, until she knows she has to be paired with her ex!
Even with her heart broken Shireen is excited to get more attention to her parents’ donut shop and hopefully help her dreams come true!
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I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Karen Clarke
Series: N/A
Publisher: Bookouture
Published October 14th 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Holidays
Pages: 268
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
The weather forecasters said the snowstorm would miss the eastern seaboard. They were wrong. When Ally Henderson’s flight from Southern California to New York City for Christmas gets diverted to the tiny Midwestern town of Bethlehem, she’s desperate to get back in the air and back to the Big Apple. But with all the airports closed, she’s forced to rely on Midwestern hospitality to wait out the storm. And she soon le
Last Christmas, Nina gave away her heart – only to have it broken. But this year, at her family’s cosy café, could she find a second chance at love with someone special under the mistletoe?
Nina Bailey loves Christmas. Except this year she doesn’t. Because it turns out that her husband-to-be has been cheating on her – and her beautiful wedding ceremony in the snow is cancelled.
She’s not really in the mood to be jolly, sing carols, or go anywhere near gingerbread men – in fact, what Nina wants is to avoid the whole thing. So she’s come to stay at her Aunt Dolly’s cosy café to nurse her broken heart.
Nina is determined to get through Christmas with no tinsel, no fuss – and definitely no flirting. So when she arrives and meets infuriatingly handsome Ryan Sadler, with his gorgeous forest-green eyes, she is not best pleased. And when Nina overhears him making fun of her, she is furious. (There might have been an incident with a koala onesie and a spilled bottle of milk, but that really wasn’t her fault!) So despite the spark between them, and the fact that he can whip up a fabulous dinner faster than she can say Michelin star, romance and Christmas are off the menu this year.
Unfortunately, Aunt Dolly hasn’t quite got the message, going to great lengths to provide a proper British Christmas for her beloved niece: a true home away from home. With sparkling lights adorning every wall and a tree to equal the Rockefeller Center’s and, yes, mistletoe above every doorway, can Nina resist the magic of Christmas – and stick to her no-romance rule?
This heartwarming romantic comedy will have you reaching for eggnog, roasted chestnuts and gingerbread cookies! The perfect festive book to read curled up in front of the fire, for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Holly Martin and Debbie Johnson.
Nina just had a really bad breakup when she was about to get married. To get away from it, she travels to the charming French village of Chamillon to spend some quality time at her aunt and cousin and focus on her new career as a travel blogger. Romance is far from her plans, but her aunt Dolly is trying to set her up nonetheless with her son’s best friend Ryan. He is also staying at their house and is also going through a tough breakup. As first impressions go, let’s just say they didn’t hit the jackpot, but will Dolly’s skills as matchmaker change that?
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A Snowy Little Christmas by Fern Michaels, Tara Sheets and Kate Clayborn
Series: N/A
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published October 29th, 2019
Genres: Holiday Romance, Contemporary, Anthology
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon | BookDepository
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
Sometimes love needs a little help from Mother Nature—and what better time than the holidays to let it snow . . . and snow . . . and snow . . .
STARRY NIGHT * Fern Michaels
As the host of a radio program for the lovelorn, Jessie Richmond is surprisingly lonely, especially with the holidays approaching. So she decides to make the trek to her uncle’s bookstore in rural New York state and hold a speed dating event—only to find herself snowed in—with one very special single . . .
MISTLETOE AND MIMOSAS * Tara Sheets
After years of hard work, real estate agent Layla Gentry has her dream home on Pine Cove Island. She’s perfectly content to be on her own. Until her childhood nemesis, Sebastian, comes to town. When a snowstorm and a stranded kitten bring them together on Christmas Eve, Layla discovers he’s all grown up—and she may have one more dream left . . .
MISSING CHRISTMAS * Kate Clayborn
It’s all work and no play for two longtime friends-turned-business-partners Kristen and Jasper—until an unexpected kiss turns things personal. Will it mean the end of something, or the beginning? With a major contract in the balance, Christmas around the corner, and a lot of unspoken feelings, it may take an unpredictable blizzard in New England to seal the deal . .
This was exactly what I needed right now! I’m super late to both read it and review it but as I don’t have as much time now-a-days, I was waiting for the Christmas spark to finally hit me and alas, it did!
This is the perfect Hallmark book! There’s three romantic stories all passed during Christmas written by three different authors. They are all different in ways but they all felt like the perfect Christmas movie to me. Christmas is my fav time of the year and these definitely made me feel all warm and toasty ready for a winter night!
The first story was perfect for me. It was a subtle romance with a bookstore setting and I couldn’t be more in love.
There’s something for everyone in here, three different romance stories – nemesis to lovers, business-partners to lovers and of course the “I just met you but holy mistletoe I think I love you” which I unexpectedly loved. There’s also Christmas lovers, grinches, kitties (Who doesn’t love a kitty, right?!) and all the cuteness you can think of.
It was just incredibly cute and the much needed happy jolly book I was craving for. Definitely getting this one to re-read during the holidays! Swoon!
What did you think of it? Have you read it? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
Mayhem by Estelle Laure
Series: N/A
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Expected publication: July 14th, 2020
Genres: YA, Fantasy, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon | BookDepository
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
The Lost Boys meets Wilder Girls in this supernatural feminist YA novel.
It’s 1987 and unfortunately it’s not all Madonna and cherry lip balm. Mayhem Brayburn has always known there was something off about her and her mother, Roxy. Maybe it has to do with Roxy’s constant physical pain, or maybe with Mayhem’s own irresistible pull to water. Either way, she knows they aren’t like everyone else.
But when May’s stepfather finally goes too far, Roxy and Mayhem flee to Santa Maria, California, the coastal beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem’s questions about who her mother is, her estranged family, and the mysteries of her own self. There she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and it opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage in her family, the very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good.
But when she gets wrapped up in the search for the man who has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she is forced to face the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
From the acclaimed author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back, Estelle Laure offers a riveting and complex story with magical elements about a family of women contending with what appears to be an irreversible destiny, taking control and saying when enough is enough.
Mayhem is kind of a retelling of The Lost Boys with a witchy side and a feminist touch in the #MeToo era.
Set in 1987, Meyhem Brayburn runs away with her mother Roxy from an abusive stepfather to Santa Maria California, where Roxy lived as a kid. At the Brayburn farm Mayhem meets her aunt and the three kids she kind of adopted. But that place harbors much more than Mayhem could have expected.
If you like The Lost Boys you are probably going to enjoy this, the setting and the pacing is the same, but it has some cool differences that I quite enjoyed.
I really liked May and her new friends (the kids her aunt adopted – Neve, Jason and Kidd), it was interesting to see them together although some friendships were a bit too much – which is where I totally saw The Craft, which I read to be something this was inspired by too.
Neve was wild. She definitely was a bad influence on the others, but I also couldn’t necessarily not like her. She was definitely an interesting character and in her own way she did help May… But one of my fav characters has to be Kidd, she is super sweet and she still has a touch of innocence for how young she is and that really balanced their group. I loved their interaction with “magic”, I always love reading about new magical ways and this was super interesting! I’m not going to say more about it, but although it’s simple, I loved it and it really worked well with the story.
The abuse described in the book was quite heavy and could be triggering. However I did really like how it was approached and it made the end as sweet as can be. It showed that there’s help to be given, there’s hope and it’s possible to get better even if its not easy. No means no and everyone should respect that.
As for what I didn’t like so much…
As I said, the pace is pretty much the same as the movie, and being something that already irked me in the movie, in a book is a bit too much. I would have preferred a bit of a faster pace. I think it would have really worked with the story and made it more compelling.
The story could have gotten a bit more changes too. Half of the book was pretty much the same as the movie, which it didn’t necessarily need to be just to see the inspo. I would have liked a bit more differences because I loved everything that was different in this book and I would definitely want to check out more by the author.
Overall this book was quite enjoyable, I loved the main character and to see her relationship with her mom and her family evolve and change. It deals with abuse and its hard to read at times, but its definitely important, and the end really gives hope.
What did you think of it? Have you read it? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
It Won’t Be Christmas Without You by Beth Reekles
Series: N/A
Publisher: One More Chapter
Published August 30th, 2019
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Christmas
Pages: 203
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
From the author of the smash hit Netflix romcom The Kissing Booth!
Eloise, a self-confessed Christmas obsessive, can’t wait for the big day. Devoted to her Michael Bublé playlist, she’s organising the school nativity play and even her gorgeous Grinch of a neighbour, James, can’t get her down.
Her workaholic twin sister, Cara, on the other hand, plans to work over the holiday – and figure out what secrets her seemingly-perfect boyfriend George might be keeping from her.
The sisters used to be close but since Cara moved to London, everything’s been different. Only, Eloise isn’t giving up just yet, and with a white Christmas on the cards, Cara can’t fail to be moved by the magic of the season … can she?
I can’t believe I forgot to write a review for this urgh! Sorry >-<
Back in December and January I read quite some Christmas books. I love Christmas and this is a book from the author of the Netflix romcom The Kissing Booth, which I enjoyed. But this book felt just average to me (although I would totally see a movie of it! So, finger crossed Netflix adapts it!).
It’s a cute and quick read but I had some problems distinguishing the two main characters? It took me some time to fully assimilate who was who and being a short read, that’s not a good thing.
Other than that it was a very cute and sweet Christmas book with a side of romance – which I was all in for-, the importance of family and sisterhood. I became very invested in the characters’ adventures through the Christmas days and the love that started to bloom.
I also really enjoyed the format of the novel – counting the days – it felt super exciting to me. Overall this is a quick easy Christmassy read that I would love to see on screen!
What did you think of it? Have you read it? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
The year just started and we’re already getting some amazing books! Foul is Fair is a book you should for sure get your hands on, so make sure to check my thoughts on the novel and the amazing things this book has to offer! Welcome to my first favorite book of 2020!
Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin
Series: Foul Is Fair #1
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Expected publication: February 4th, 2020
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Retellings, Murder
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.
Elle and her friends Mads, Jenny, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Elle’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Elle as their next target.
They picked the wrong girl.
Sworn to vengeance, Elle transfers to St. Andrew’s. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.
Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.
Do you know when you read that book and after that everything changes? That’s how I feel about this book. I will forever compare everything else with this to find favorites…
I can’t believe I almost didn’t read this book. This was recommended to me and I didn’t even know about its existence. I couldn’t have been happier to participate in my first ever blog tour with this book. I literally devoured this as much as Elle devoured her prey. This book is epic. I loved this read so much and I can’t possibly wait for the next one!
This book is heavily based in Macbeth, the meaning “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” – from where the name came from – is a big part of the book, as are some character’s names and many moments in it which I loved comparing to the original story. For those who don’t know, Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare novels for how brutal and intense it is, so I had high hopes for this book.
Like Macbeth, at the beginning of that story, we have a prophecy from a trio of “witches” that say that one day Macbeth will be king. Now, put that into an amazingly hard and gruesome contemporary story with wealthy boys, amazing (and slightly sick) friendship, hierarchies in highschool, maniacal plans, lies, and suspense and you have Foul is Fair by Hannah Capin which I predict to be one of my favorite books of the year.
This story like I said, is kind of a contemporary retelling of Macbeth. When a group of wealthy untouchable boys rape Elle at a party, the plan is to make them pay with their lives. Elle and her coven of best friends – Summer, Jenny, and Mads – create an elaborate plot that starts when Elle, now going by her middle name Jade, moves to these boy’s school and slowly but surely, by manipulating another boy, turns them all against each other and no one is safe anymore.
Overall, this is a book about revenge, about justice and about taking matters into your own hands. It tackles some heavy topics in a very different and gripping way. The plot is extremely fast-paced and it feels like you’re there every second of it. It’s impossible to put down and it engrosses you in this beautifully gruesome plan where heroes and villains are one and the same. It’s intoxicating and I can’t possibly have enough of it.
Something I really liked was how close Jade and her coven were. They were ruthless, powerful, unapologetic and as close as close can be. They are friendship goals and nothing less, no matter what could come between them. They fight and might not always see eye to eye, like anyone else, but they don’t let that destroy them or their goals. It was beautiful to see them in action and I loved how much they were there for each other.
As for the girl’s parents, they are present too, and although they might not seem very conventional for everyone, it worked well with the type of families present. They are not as tight with each other, but you can see their love and how much they try to help by letting their kids find their way. They don’t protect them in the way of doing everything for them but they give them the knife and teach them how to fight (I especially loved Mads family so much!).
It was amazing to read about Jade and her plot. And as the plot progressed so did my emotions. I wanted her to win, to seek her revenge to be free and make me feel free too. She is not exactly a likable character but one can’t help but admire her fire. She is fierce and won’t go down without a fight. I thought Jade was going to be that typical mean wealthy girl but she is so much more than that! She is the most complex and unique character I’ve read about and I will never forget her. Sure, her plan is completely nuts and that probably says a lot about herself but I was rooting for her all the way!
It was SO beautifully written and in the most incredibly clever way possible. I just couldn’t wait to see “Who’s next” and how everything would unfold. I did see certain things coming but my enjoyment didn’t change one bit.
I will put here the publisher’s note because I think it’s quite important: “The primary thematic material of Foul is Fair centers on sexual assault (not depicted), rape culture, and violence. Additionally, the book includes an abusive relationship, a suicide attempt, and a brief scene with transphobic bullying. For a more detailed description of sensitive content, please visit hannahcapin.com/foulisfair.” This book can be triggering in parts, but seeing Jade create her own justice is quite liberating and empowering too. This is an extremely dark story where revenge is the goal, but it gave me so much more than that…
I highly recommend this one if you love very dark, wicked and empowering stories. It’s violent and even tho it doesn’t really show the assault, everything evolves around it in the most gruesome of ways. This is the most haunting book you will ever read and you will love every second of it. I can’t stop thinking about it!
What did you think of it? Are you excited about this book? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
Hannah Capin is the author of Foul is Fair and The Dead Queens Club, a feminist retelling of the wives of Henry VIII. When she isn’t writing, she can be found singing, sailing, or pulling marathon gossip sessions with her girl squad. She lives in Tidewater, Virginia.
Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Series: N/A
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Published January 7th, 2020
Genres: YA, Contemporary, Thriller
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
Bestselling author Laurie Faria Stolarz returns with Jane Anonymous, a gripping tale of a seventeen-year-old girl’s kidnapping and her struggle to fit back into her life after she escapes.
Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.
Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?
This was not an easy book to read by any means but it’s a fantastic one. It took me some time to gather my thoughts because of the topics this book handles.
The thing is, I really enjoyed this book and it hits hard and it’s as realistic as it could ever be. But I wanted it to dwell even more on the trauma and mental health aspects, and less in the mystery part as I solved it right at the beginning and believe many of you might too… That was my only negative-ish point.
So, let’s get to what I loved about it. This is Jane’s story. Everything in her life seemed to be going great until she was kidnapped and held captive for 7 months. This book tells her story like a diary, retelling all that passed from the beginning when she was taken until now, 3 months after she returned home. It jumps from past to present (which isn’t one of my favorite things but it worked perfectly here) and holds your attention from the very beginning in a way that’s impossible to put it down no matter what.
It was really hard to see Jane dealing with everything while she was captive, and it was hard seeing her cope after the nightmare ended… It’s like a new one started, where one would think everything would be better. I can’t even imagine being in Jane’s situation but her feelings, the panic, the withdrawal, are afterwards present after many other abusive situations, so it really hits hard.
Jane is a very relatable character because she was just a normal 17 yo girl when everything went wrong. And seeing her broken like that… It was so impactful! Jane’s emotional, heart-wrenching, terrifying survival journey was remarkably told. I could feel Jane’s feelings, fears and questions so well. I literally loved the writing and how on edge it put me.
I was especially taken aback by how well put together was her slow recovery. It felt so real and hard to read! It made me cry and many moments were just… Like I said, this book was incredibly and realistically written and I would recommend reading it with caution. It’s unlike anything I’ve read and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
What did you think of it? Are you excited about this book? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
Wrapped Up for Christmas by Katlyn Duncan
Series: N/A
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Published: October 1st, 2019
Genres: Chick-Lit, Christmas, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository
* Received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much! This doesn’t affect the review in any way. My opinions are, as always, my own.*
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… but not for Angie Martinelli…
Having lost her boyfriend, job, and apartment all in the space of a week, Angie has no choice but to leave California and return to her family in New England.
Determined not to let life weigh her down, Angie finds work at the local mall where she worked as a teenager. After an embarrassing run-in with a handsome stranger, Nick, she’s convinced her luck is about to change.
But Nick has secrets of his own… and as the first flakes of snow begin to fall, Angie can’t help but wonder if she’ll ever find love.
This was so adorable! I literally could put this down and read it in two sittings. Such a feel-good story!
This is Angie’s story. She just had a bad break-up, lost her job and had to move home to her parent’s house. Needless to say, this was not how her Christmas was supposed to go. Nonetheless, Angie makes the best of it and enjoys the comfort of being near her family and friends, finds a new job even if it’s not ‘the’ one, and even a new romance. It’s not easy for her to put herself so soon in a romantic situation but sometimes life just happens… it might not go how you predict but it might just go where it should.
Angie was the kindest sweetest person and I loved how much she cared for everyone around her. She’s intelligent, self-sufficient, strong and I loved to see her ultrapass every obstacle life put in front of her. I also loved how much initiative she had and how much she worked for something she believed in. It was beautiful to see and we need more of those thoughts and actions!
I loved her friendship with Reese and how sweet she was for everyone near her. Reese was very different from her, a lot more blunt and harsh but with a heart of gold. Their friendship was beautiful and I dearly enjoyed their moments together.
As for our love interest, Nick. He was definitely a good guy with his heart in place even if sometimes his actions didn’t shine through the way they were supposed to. I loved seeing him with Angie and I could feel their spark and attraction through the pages. Their romance started quite fast but sometimes that’s just how it is, and it doesn’t mean it’s not right. I loved them together and I think they were perfect for each other.
This book is full of holiday cheer, sweet moments, it’s a fair share of drama and a lot of romantic moments.
If you’re a fan of sweet, feel-good Christmas stories this is for you! It was gripping and just the perfect holiday book to curl up and read on a cold day.
What did you think of it? Are you excited about this book? Let’s discuss it in the comments below!
Bookneeders 