emileereadsbooks's reviews
1113 reviews

This is my least favorite Emma Lord book I have read. It is not her normal YA fun fluffy fare, but two adults who couldn't find healthy communication if punched them in the face. They are a bit insufferable and although they have chemistry, the scenes in-between their dialed up chemistry fall a bit flat. Emma Lord's other books I have read have atmosphere and a sense of place that are vibrant, and this book really was a bit dull in comparison. 

Also, this book should have been titled The Revenge Exes. The break-up pact moniker felt forced into the plot. It wasn't well named. I'm very annoyed at poorly titled books lately.

Book elements: Internet sensations, High school besties-second chance romance, shared grief, close knit community, single POV, fake dating, entrepreneurship, making decisions for yourself

Content Note: 1 very open door scene, LGBTQ side story of planning a wedding, infidelity, grief

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Griffin for the gifted title. All opinions are my own. 

I think I would have loved this book as a full length novel, but the pacing felt like a Nancy Drew novel, a lot of great build off and then wrapped up in 5 pages at break neck speed. I always love a single parent trope where the love interest bonds with the kiddo and desires to make them one big happy family, and that works perfectly here. And the faith elements are well done. It’s just that abrupt ending that let me down. 

Thanks to Bethany House for the gifted title. All opinions are my own. 

I think going into this book expecting more of a female bonding story story vs a romance will serve you well because that's what I loved about this book. Seeing Madison and Addie work through their different priorities and desires was so great. Plus seeing Madison and Lily bond was so endearing and benefitted them both.

The ending was a bit too abrupt for me. Granted this is probably considered a novella and I think is is hard to pace a novella well for romance to get a satisfying and non rushed ending, but it just made the story fall a bit flat for me. Giving that relationship pay off some room to breathe would have served the story well. 

Thanks to Revell for the gifted title. All opinions are my own.

I knew who Clayton Kershaw was. But I knew very little about him other than he was a storied baseball pitcher who pitched for Los Angeles, but lived in Highland Park in Dallas and regularly sat a few rows away from my in-laws at church. (In fact, I sat two rows behind him at Christmas Eve service!)

But this book really pulled back the curtain and showed me a better picture of the full man that is Clayton Kershaw. The athlete, the son, the husband, the father. He is not just one thing, but rather each part of him informs all the others. I think the author did a great job contextualizing the baseball minutiae to give the lay person (me!) more understanding of how Kershaw fits into the scope of baseball history. In fact, although this book is about Kershaw, I think it also gives an excellent overview of the state of baseball today and how Kershaw's career is evidence of the evolution of the game during his time as a pro player. 

It's a real shame that this book was published in early 2024 before the Dodgers and Kershaw won the World Series. That would have been the perfect bow at the end of this book.

If you are someone who loves baseball or loves deep diving an elite athlete, this book is for you. This would be a great one to bookmark to gift for Father's Day. 

Content Warning: Language, Death

Thanks to Hachette for a gifted copy of this book to review. 

I am always happy to revisit Oakley Island and will read anything Emma St Clair and Jenny Proctor out out so this novella was a no brainer for me. And once again these two marry ridiculous hijinks and endearing reality so well. They also are excellent at tension without malice. This is not enemies to lovers, so not that kind of tension, but the couple does have some payback to dish out and it felt very real to what I would experience around my family table. Justifiable and forgivable. 

Also this is set at Christmas but not overly Christmas-y. Don't limit your reading of it just to the holiday season. 

This whole series would make for excellent TV. Certain scenes especially popped off the page for me and I could imagine them on a screen. 

This is a closed door rom com novella that revisits a series, but it could be read as a standalone. 

Want to be whisked away to an English manor house to celebrate a Victorian Christmas? Than look no further because this book will transport and delight you. Ned is the most stoic of gentlemanly callers, but you are rooting for him and Sophie with all you have to let go and give in to their feelings. The tension, the pacing, the conflict are all so we'll excuses that the payoff is quite sweet. 

Written in small vignettes that she weaves together in a spider web of overlap and fascination, this book does really elevate the stories of the small and the mighty who made a difference in America to make her what she is today. I really enjoyed floating in and out of these stories and being inspired by these lives lived selflessly! Plus Sharon wrote and narrated this in such a congenial tone that the whole thing was a delight to take in. 

Thanks to Revell for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

What a fun holiday read. Full of holiday cheer, the real meaning of Christmas, and childlike exuberance, this romance will have you wanting to curl up with some hot chocolate and warm apple pie by the fire. Whitney and Daniel are so tender and sweet as they fall for one another. I loved how they immediately saw each other as no one else had seen them before. I love the instant connection (this is not insta love here). Plus the secondary characters Aretha (the meddling old lady), and Julia Mae (the intuitive and matter of fact child) added some good levity and insight into the plot.

I haven't read Liz Johnson before but I will definitely be seeking out more of her books and looking for the rest of the books in this series.

This was a fun read for the Christmas season. Light frothy holiday fun. But it didn't have anything that will stick with me.

Lots of food details, especially about specific cheese and wines. Even down to brands of wines and what it pairs well with. It got very old after a while. We don't need details of every single meal. More emotional details would have been much better. 

Plus, I wish the audiobook had different voices for the different characters. The perspectives of three women of all different ages, but with the same voice was a bit bland.

Overall a fun and yet unmemorable Christmas read. 

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's for the gifted title. All opinions are my own. 

In a season of not wanting to read many thrillers, TJ Newman is an exception to the rule! This one is another plane based thriller, but most of the action is from people on the ground. I think this is the hardest of all of Newman's thrillers to read as a parent. There are several parent and child pairs here that are tested and I was emotional more than once listening. 

Newman hits the right balance once again of tension, action, and human groundedness that define her books and will keep me as a loyal reader.

Content Warnings: Language, death, serious radiation sickness
 
Thanks to Hachette Audio for my audio copy of this book! All opinions are my own.