The Book Was Better

Aspiring jockey Gracyn Lane has moved from one foster home to the next, and by 20 she's had enough. When she discovers that her birth mother may actually be the respected Anna Shaw, a stable owner a few towns over, she sees an opportunity to reap revenge on the mother who abandoned her, while also giving her a new job and place to live. What she doesn't expect is for Anna and her friends to be so kind and welcoming to a stranger -- and filled with secrets of their own.  I feel like I may be missing something here...(and if I am, I'm happy to revise this review), but this felt like half a book. I know there is a second book in the series, but this read didn't even come to a climax before abruptly ending.  And this was a huge pity because it was a great read! I love Foxe's skill with showing rather than telling -- though I did occasionally feel like there was a secret I wasn't being let in on; a presumption of knowledge I didn't have. The relationships were co...

If When Harry Met Sally taught us anything, it's that men and women cannot just be friends. But Poppy and Alex can, of course. Best friends since college, and living in different cities, their diverging personalities unite every summer for The Summer Trip . From Canadian communes, to the mountains of Colorado and the beaches of Florida, Poppy and Alex make their own adventures with the people they meet along the way. But their last trip has changed all that. After a two-year hiatus, Poppy is determined to win back her best friend -- and she has less than a week to convince Alex.  I typically don't read "trending" books. Usually, I find that they don't live up to the hype and I'm just disappointed. There was NOTHING disappointing about this read. The past and present narration kept the story moving and the tension building. Poppy and Alex were both equally flawed and endearing, and real . The vacation adventures were fun without being over-the-top. The dynami...

  In this latest Haven brothers tale, we get Theo's story. After a football career-ending injury, Theo is home in Tilikum, coaching and teaching at the local high school alongside his work bestie, Penelope. But when work friends become roommates, and the two conspire to solve a mystery, sparks start to fly.  I was excited to return to Tilikum -- home of the Baileys and the Havens -- and more excited to get Theo's perspective, since he was the brother I felt like I knew the least. But even after plowing through this book, I still feel like I don't know him all that well. Contrary to her normal style, Kinglsey's characters felt a little flat in this edition. I appreciate that she weaves a good mystery into her stories, but this one felt like more of an afterthought and was fairly anticlimactic.  The friends to lovers trope worked well and the characters were likable -- just not very deep. The squirrels were MIA, as were many of the beloved characters from the other books,...

Cassia's business is love. Literally. She and her powerhouse tribe of matriarchs own One & Only: a match-making service that pairs "fateds" using the art of face-reading and a touch of Korean magic. But when Cassia's long-held belief in fate gets tested by free will, her world and her livelihood are forever altered.  This read has everything you could want in just the right proportions -- strong family bonds, spicy (but not too spicy) romance, friendship goals, a love triangle, a swoon-worthy setting, and just the right amount of character growth. While I kind of wanted not to like Cassia is the beginning, her self-deprecating humor, cool-auntie vibe, and vulnerability won me over. There's really nothing not to like here.  One & Only: ★★★★★

Catherine Saunders is struggling. She’s buried herself in meaningless one night stands and copious amounts of alcohol while she attempts to finish her PhD in Archeology and come to terms with her recent divorce. When the key artifact of her dissertation goes missing, Catherine has to tame her desperation and reexamine her own choices — and her own conscience — to get the vessel back.   The premise behind this read, and the overall plot, were intriguing and fun, making it a light-hearted almost-beach-read. But, the over-academic pretension, underdeveloped side characters, and borderline unlikable heroine, made it a little more of a slog than it should’ve been.   More Mary, fewer daddy issues, a less predictable twist, and more relationship development could have made this a winner.   Huge thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Books for this advance read!  Her Life in Ruins: ★ ★ ★1/2

  Would you open your box?   The Measure follows the intertwining lives of eight people who must decide —and then deal with the consequences. For inside each box is a simple string that represents the length of their lives. Of course, all the best minds pounce on the mysterious strings, trying to determine: Are they real? Where did they come from? What values do the measurements represent?   As the story unfolds, more questions arrive than answers. Should “short-stringers” hold office? Get married? Have children? Are “long-stringers” invincible?   Two elements stuck with me as I read: 1) How scarily authentic the worldwide reaction to the strings was portrayed, and 2) The way the lives of the characters were artfully woven to show the impact that each individual has on the world around them.   And then there were the small things (without spoilers): the girl with the pink-tipped hair, the engraving on the bench, the rescued doctor, the prayer card.   When I...