The queen of half stars? It’s looking that way.
Total Number of Books: 17
Total Number of Pages: 5,171
Physical: 4
eBooks: 9
Audiobooks: 4
Favorite (New) Reads of the Month: A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan AND Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Physical:
The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegmund-Broka – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Listen to Your Heart by Kasie West – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taken from their own relationship, Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegmund-Broka’s adult debut, The Roughest Draft, was just a delight. Katrina and Nathan had so much chemistry, whether they were fighting or flirting. I also really enjoyed the insider moments of the writing process between our two characters. After getting an ARC for the sequel to Tokyo Ever After, I thought I should probably read the first. Like with Katherine McGee’s American Royals, I really love contemporary royalty stories. Emiko Jean’s book reminded me so much of The Princess Diaries—a personal favorite of mine—with a lovely Japanese spin. Plus a very entertaining hate-to-love couple that turns into a forbidden romance—so much fun! My last three Kasie West books were three stars and its starting to bum me out.
eBooks:
Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Magpie by Elizabeth Day – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
How We Ricochet by Faith Gardner – ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Our Little World by Karen Winn – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Book Lovers by Emily Henry – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
While sometimes reading Kasie West makes me think I’m done with YA, I read stuff like A Show for Two and Breathe and Count Back from Ten and I’m reminded how good it can get it. I was feeling a little slumpy after reading two three star reads in a row so these books were very much welcomed. The disability rep from Natalia Sylvester was an added plus. I really wanted to like How We Ricochet, but it didn’t wow me like other books with similar hard hitting contemporaries have in the past—I wanted more umph. I really hope this is just the beginning for Nina LaCour’s foray into adult fiction. Her writing is always so beautiful and I’ve always wanted to see her reach a wider audience. Yerba Buena started out a little slow, but once it found its footing I was hooked. I like the ambiguous ending and the messiness between our characters Sara and Emilie. Blog Tour posts on Book Lovers and Tokyo Dreaming coming soon!
Audiobooks:
Under One Roof by Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Below Zero by Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In April, Ali Hazelwood released a series of novella audiobooks. They were a lot of fun and highlighted women in STEM. Mara and Liam from Under One Roof had the greatest connection out of the three.
Lindsay Glenne 