BookWormin'

 Workplace romance, enemies-to-lovers, drama 4 stars I received  an  e-ARC of this book from  Random House Publishing Group on NetGalley. All thoughts expressed below are my own honest opinions.  Lilah and Shane have had a lots of ups and downs - mostly downs - in their relationship (both personal and professional). Every time they attempt to finally get back together, it seems something gets in the way - even when that something is themselves. I love getting to know them as individuals as we slowly learn their backstory together and the different ways they view their acting job. Their past is holding them back from the potential of a future, and to reach this realization they have to dig deep inside themselves.  Despite all the back and forth, the author’s writing is compelling and I never felt bored by the story - there is always a new element or focus. I like that the story continues to move forward, rather than stalling out as the couple tries to figure...

One thing I have noticed about myself is that during the second half of the year, I tend to get nostalgic and start doing a lot more re-reading, either from earlier that year or from years past. I have also noticed that I am very bad at putting ratings in Goodreads once I finish a book, so I had to read a lot of synopses to try and remember which books were my favorites from July-December. (The downside of reading so many books; I often forget what they were all about and if I enjoyed them. Oops!) Don't forget to check out my top reads of the first six months of the year here , and without further ado, let's get into the rest of the best. 5 Star Reads: July - December 2022 1. Beach Read by Emily Henry Enemies-to-lovers, because this list needs as least one book with that trope! Gus and January are just so great. They have a history from back in school and while they're not technically rivals in the literary world, they are authors living next door to each other, so there i...

Enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, sports romance 5 stars Jasmine Santos knows she has nearly reached the end of her figure-skating career.  After  being  betrayed by her pairs partner years ago and  gaining  a  reputation  for her response, Jas is pretty much retired with nothing to show for her dedication to the sport.  So imagine her surprise when Ivan Lukov - Ivan Lukov who has won multiple championships, Ivan Lukov whose banners taunt her during practice, Ivan Lukov who she has traded  tunes  with over the years, Ivan Lukov whose family owns the complex she skates at - asks to partner with her for a year.  Jasmine has  sacrificed  a lot for figure skating, and she always gave it willingly.  But is this a step she is willing to take if it means a win for her?  And are Jas and Ivan going to be able to work  together  long enough  to  make it to the competitions? What's the point of having an i...

 Spicy, opposites attract, contemporary romance 2 stars Axel Heller has been slowly falling in love with Rena Jackson, but she has no idea.  When she leaves her job as a bartender to finally fulfill her dream of starting a salon, Axel takes his chance to ask her on a date. Unfortunately, Rena is reevaluating her life, and does see a place for Axel there - she wants to settle down with Mr. Right as soon as possible, and she doesn't see Axel as that person.  Determined, Axel makes a bet with Rena.  "I bet you a kiss you can't resist me."  And so the game begins. A quick note: this book is described as a "sexy contemporary romance," meaning there are explicit scenes inside.  This will be reflected in my review below.  This is also a review that is full of spoilers - you have been warned. ~~~~~~~~~~ I did not enjoy this book.  I wanted to, I really did.  I read all the way through to the end, when I was fighting with myself to just put it down. ...

  This book has had the book community buzzing since it came out, so I was excited when my turn finally came at the library. In this novel, Addie LaRue makes a deal with the old gods, and in return is cursed. No one can remember her, and she cannot tell them any truths about her life.   Over 300 years Addie finds ways to survive and continue living as something less than human but more than ghost.   And suddenly, she runs into someone she never expected - and he remembers her.   The writing is phenomenal in this book. The perspective flips through the years of Addie’s life, drawing out key moments and bringing the past forward when it unlocks a new moment in the narrative. Addie is delightful and stubborn and so artistic in her soul, leaving crumbs of her self in various “lives” she’s lived.   When presented with her curse and confronted with pain over and over again, she digs in and finds a way forward, something to look forward to, a new thing she’d like to se...

  In The Crowns of Croswald, a middle-grade fantasy, we follow the magical adventures of one Ivy Lovely, a scaldrony maid. Ivy longs for something more to her life, something magic, and spends her free moments sketching in the open air and the light of the moon with her dwarf friend. One day though, Ivy’s whole life turns around; she is kicked out of her home and picked up by a scrivenist who starts her on her journey to the Halls of Ivy magic school.  Of course, no adventure would be complete without a mystery, and along the way Ivy picks up clues about the Wandering Family and some unexplained disappearances. Can Ivy put everything together before it is too late? To start off I love the world-building in this book!   The hairies for light, the mysterious ‘the Town,’ the cabbys and their personal storm covers, and especially the scrivenist magic; it’s all very mystical and fun.   Ivy’s experiences are exciting and new, and it’s easy to get drawn in to the story of t...

 Olive Torres is historically unlucky. She has a bad luck story for every situation - including the time she was on the news for getting stuck in a claw machine game. Her twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is the luckiest person Olive knows. So when Ami’s whole wedding party -with the exception of Olive and the best man, Ethan Thomas- it seems like the luck may be shifting. Ami offers Olive the honeymoon in Maui because it’s a non-refundable vacation. The only catch is Olive would have to go with her mortal enemy...who is, you guessed it, Ethan. But as they spend this Unhoneymoon together, they might just discover things aren’t as they seem.  Photo from goodreads.com Bonus points for the Minnesota setting - references to Edina and the State Fair had me right at home in the start of this book. And one of my favorite movie quotes from Clue (1985) is included as well. So basically the writing is fantastic on top of the story being fun!  I love Olive and while her luck is t...

One of my English classes spoke with author Jessica Goudeau about her upcoming (at the time, it has since been published) book After the Last Border.   During the talk, I asked about book recommendations and books that inspired her while she was writing.  She recommended several, including Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, Evicted  by Matthew Desmond, and The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang.  Goudeau's book topic was inspiring as were the excerpts we had the  chance to read, and I was eager to see the types of books that had inspired her.  The first chance I got, I picked up The Latehomecomer from my local library.  Below is a quick review, where I decided to quickly free write my honest impression of the book immediately after finishing it. Life, strength, trials, community, and family. In this memoir we learn about immigration from a child’s eyes, grow up with the author, and experience different countries through the journey ...

  Legendborn  by Tracy Deonn is a fantastic retelling (of sorts) of Arthurian legends.  It's not what you expect, but just as incredible and magical as the legends we all know.  Maybe even more so - I love myths and legends and so I was pretty excited for this book, but it blew through my expectations and raised the bar for retellings in my first read-through.  (I already am looking forward to a re-read!)  I've copy and pasted the summary below, and if you keep scrolling you'll get to my review! Photo by me - this is the alternate cover from OwlCrate Book summary (from the author's website ):   After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so...

I read this book sometime last year and it stuck with me enough that I was taking notes and writing down my thoughts as I read.  This post is a very informal review - it is literally those notes and thoughts combined and made a little easier to read than my sentence fragments.     The author does an excellent job of conveying the fear and pain they live with on a daily basis, and calls readers to examine their own lives to bring attention to when they feel the same fear, or have caused that very pain. Vivek Shraya writes about being afraid of men in the way that all women have learned to be afraid of men - afraid to look for fear of inciting groping or unwanted compliments, afraid to walk alone or dress up too nice, afraid to be themselves. But there is the additional lenses of the author being both a male-to-female transgender person and non-white. While the majority of readers might see a feminist statement, and I do think there is one being made, it is important to not...

  I’m in love with the way Sara Desai writes love. Photo by me - from my bookstagram @bookworminkayla Through a series of  unforseen circumstances, Layla Patel and Sam Mehta have to share an office space above the Patel family restaurant.  Layla is just starting her new recruitment consultant business, while Sam is CEO of a corporate downsizing company - in other words, Layla finds jobs and Sam cuts them.  And their differences don't end there.  As Layla and Sam fight over their office space, they continuously clash (in all the best ways).  Additionally, Layla's well-meaning father sets her up on a series of blind dates and they all come right to the office doors, causing more trouble (and opportunities) for Sam.  As these two enemies spend more and more time together, the lines of their game begin to blur and they start to question what it means to win. Riding on mutual attraction from the start, Layla and Sam are very much no...