paperbacks_and_planners's reviews
1177 reviews

I received an arc of this from the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
19 year old Ruby Grace is engaged the perfect man.
Noah works at the whiskey distillery the entire town revolves around.
When Ruby Grace goes to the distillery to buy her fiancé a barrel, she is greeted by the man she hasn't seen in 10 years. Noah sees right through her facade of designer shoes and snooty attitude. And for the first time since she got home from college, she's able to be herself.
As Noah and Ruby grow closer, Ruby Grace starts questioning if she really wants the future laid out before her.

Overview
This is an age gap, forbidden romance told in dual perspective from Ruby Grace and Noah's POV.

Just a note in case these aren't your cups of tea - there is quite a bit of grey area cheating as well as plenty of unlikeable characters.

Content Warnings: Gambling, Addiction, Death of a family member

What I Liked
1. Kandi Steiner writes some of the best angsty romance ever. I can't get over the drama she is able to build in her story without it feeling too heavy or too much. It is a true art
2. The romance in this totally had me. The chemistry between Noah and Ruby Grace was built up so well and jumped off the page. I couldn't help but root for them even when I totally disagreed with their actions. Again just a note there is grey area cheating in this book - so tread lightly if that's not something you're okay with reading about.
3. I want to join Noah's family. Ugh I fell in love with literally all of them and I'm so excited that we are getting a story from all the brothers!!

What I Didn't Like
1. Ruby Grace's family is insanely unlikeable. Which in of itself doesn't bother me, but I didn't like the they were forgiven so easily. It's mentioned right at the end that their relationship is still strained, but I don't think I could ever forgive what they had done.
2. I'm still a little unclear about the whole marriage situation. This is a spoiler for the twist so don't read this next part if you haven't read the book yet.

Spoiler

Her mother said that they made a deal with Anthony when he came to ask for her hand. So did he actually love her? Like obviously he was going to propose before the deal was made... So what did his family get out of it? I'm a little unclear. Because to me, he was always going to propose and use her as his arm candy. So why take the deal? I'm a little confused.

3. There are a lot of open plot points. I know there are like 3 more books in the series (one for each remaining brother I'm assuming). But there are a lot of open threads and I want to know now!!

Overall, I cannot wait to continue on with this series. I'm completely in love with the Becker family and need more from them asap. I don't think I could ever not love a book Kandi Steiner writes ❤❤ I devoured this and highly recommend it if you want a small town, forbidden, angsty romance!

I received an arc of this from Minotaur Books via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

1.5 stars... this is going to be a quick one because unfortunately I don't have much to say about this...

Summary
Alice is an interior designer and business owner. She has 2 daughters, Sophie and Olivia, and a husband, Nathan. Nathan helps run the financial side of Alice's business.
Beth is Alice' best friend. When Beth shares that she intends to track down the father of her child, the secret turns Alice's life upside down.

Overview
This is told in 3 parts: Present day from Alices POV (first person), 9 years in the past from Beth's POV (first person), and Present day omniscient third person.

Content warnings: Depression, abandonment, death of a spouse

What I Liked
1. Honestly there wasn't much of anything I LIKED about this book. It was fine. It didn't do anything offensive or outrageous. But I can't say I enjoyed my time reading at all.

What I Didn't Like
1. I didn't particularly like the change to third person in the last part of the book. After 200ish pages of first person pov, it was really jarring.
2. This moved so dang slowly. I was 3/4 of the way through the book and it felt like the only thing happening was Alice accusing her husband(s) of cheating. It felt so repetitive and drawn out and honestly I was bored to the point of skim reading.
3. The big reveal was so fast, kind of confusing, and underwhelming. It didn't help that the foreshadowing and hints were not well concealed so I had a pretty good idea of what the twist was going to be by the time we got there.

Overall this was not for me.

3.5 stars!
It's been over a month since I finished this, so the details are a little blurry. So this review will be a little shorter/different than normal.

Synopsis
This follows Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson right conclusion of book 1, in England for the holidays. When Charlotte's uncle goes missing, the 2 of them head to Germany to find him. They uncover an art forgery scheme and quickly get pulled into diabolical plots.

Review
Overall, I really enjoy this series! I absolutely love the relationship Charlotte and Jamie. The will-they-won't-they angst is everything I've ever wanted.
However the mystery plot in this one left something to be desired. It felt kind of convoluted and hard to follow at times. And I didn't fine the conclusion satisfying at all.

The ending of this though! How could Brittany Cavallaro leave me like that?! I'm really excited to pick up book 3 and see where this series goes!

Summary
Dean has been in love with Rosie since high school. The only problem: he dated her sister.
Rosie doesn't want love or a relationship. She is sick and knows that her time is limited.
They are pushed together for a long weekend back home and they rely on each other to make it through. Back in New York, they're falling for each other. But Rosie knows that it may not last forever...

Overview
Like book 1, this is told from dual POV's - Rosie and Dean.

This is definitely a series you need to read in order - there are continuing story lines and characters from previous books that are addressed.

Content Warnings: Chronic illness, talk of death, child abandonment, alcohol and drug addiction/abuse

What I Liked
1. I can't speak to it's accuracy, but I really appreciated the chronicle illness (Cystic Fibrosis) rep in this. I feel like it's not something that is often explored especially in romance and I really appreciated that L.J. Shen tackled that.
2. L.J. Shen is the queen of angst. And oh man it was given in droves with this book. There is so much stacked against these characters and everyone is beyond flawed. I can't get enough.
3. So. Much. Steam. (Although see section below) These series brings with the sexy scenes. Just know that this series plays with the line of bully/bad boy romance.
4. I absolutely loved Dean's character. In fact I might like him more than Vicious. Dean is definitely less bully-ish than Vicious which I appreciated (although he has PLENTY of his own flaws to make up for it). But his redemption arc just felt more natural and you could tell right away how much he loved Rosie.

What I Didn't Like
1. The number 1 reason I didn't rate this higher is there is a sex scene in this that made me feel so. dang. uncomfortable. I just couldn't get behind this one.

Overall, this is another romance series I'm obsessed with. Definitely continuing with book 3 as soon as I can!

I received an arc of this from Bloomsbury via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Summary
Maegan is known as "the cheater" since she was caught cheating on the SAT, causing her and 100 other student's tests to be thrown out. And to add to the household tension, her sister has just come home from college pregnant.
Rob was always the big guy on campus. But after his dad was turned in for stealing money from his clients, he's become a social outcast. At home, Rob is also responsible for taking care of his comatose father who lived after attempting to take his own life.
The two are teamed up for a math project and realize they've both been looking for someone to talk to. As they grow close, they try to make amends for all the dark secrets they're hiding.

Overview
This book is told in dual perspective from the POV of Maegan and Rob. This book is packed to the brim with lots of difficult topics (taking care of a comatose parent, familial & school pressures, and loads more). So definitely make sure you're in a head space to handle a heavy book before going into this one.

Spoiler

Content Warnings: Embezzlement, Attempted Suicide, Cheating (school), Bullying, Teen Pregnancy, Abuse, PTSD (never directly stated)

What I Liked
1. Mr. London. He was hands down my favorite character in this book (and the only one who didn't drive me up a wall).
2. I thought the relationship between Rob and Maegan was well written and realistic. I appreciated that they supported each other when they had no one else to rely on.
3. The sisterly bond between Sam and Maegan was really well written. They bickered and didn't always see eye to eye, but they always had each other's best interest at heart. It felt like such a realistic portrayal of siblings. And I definitely wanted to slow clap when Maegan stood up to the professor.

What I Didn't Like
1. My number one grip with this book was the sheer over-the-top dramatics. Like there was never a single moment of relief throughout this. It was just terrible choice after terrible choice. And to make it even worse it wasn't just the teens being train wrecks - it was every adult too. But the end I was so exhausted and frustrated. It just felt like way too much. The reader is dragged in so many directions and into so many problems that I personally never connected or cared about any of them. Because there was always another disastrous thing happening. I needed this to focus on one big thing rather than taking on: teen pregnancy, embezzlement, child abuse, bullying, cheating, familial pressures, poverty, attempted suicide, etc. It was all just too much.
2. I HATED that her pregnant sister gets drunk at high school party and then it is never discussed again. Like everything's cool. Not okay.

This was overall just not for me. This book was heavy, but not in a way that I enjoyed. I can definitely appreciate that there were important topics discussed in this - and if these are something you're interested in reading about, this may work for you! But overall I felt like this book took on too much.

3.5 stars!

Summary
Millie has been dreaming of going to school in Scotland for the last year. She decides not to go for her best friend turned sort-of-girlfriend. But when Millie catches her kissing someone else, she immediately applies for scholarships.
Millie is given a full scholarship and flies off to Scotland for her last full year of high school. The prestigious boarding school is known for educating Scotland's rich and royal - including the royal family themselves.
Not only is Millie out of place as the only American but her new roommate is Princess Flora - the princess of Scotland.
Flora wants nothing to do with the school, or Millie. But despite all her attempts to leave, Flora is there to stay.

Overview
This a really sweet, enemies to lovers, F/F romance told from Millie's POV.

Content Warnings: Cheating

What I Liked
1. Millie was such an amazing main character. She was independent and not afraid to put herself out there. I really appreciated her steadfastness in herself - especially as a teenager. While she wasn't completely out, this wasn't a story of her "becoming comfortable with herself". She knew who she was and went after what she wanted. I love a smart, self-sufficient, and witty female main character.
2. I still love the royal family. They are insanely dysfunctional and I can't get enough. I really hope we get Seb's story soon!!
3. The school was wonderful. Boarding school is one of my favorite settings to read and paired with the Scotland backdrop, this setting was perfect.
4. Saks and Perry are everything. They were such amazing best friends and their little romance at the end just tied everything up perfectly. They were my favorite side characters in this book, hands down.

What I Didn't Like
1. The switch from hate to love was a little quick for my taste. They wanted nothing to do with each other before the Challenge, then suddenly opened up to each other. While I understood, I personally prefer more build up in my enemies to lovers trope.
2. While the big romantic gesture was really cute, it felt abrupt. I totally understood why Millie felt betrayed, but her decision to look past and the make-up-scene was so sudden. The entire conflict wrapped up in about 10 pages and I personally needed more. I don't think I could have flipped a switch the same way Millie did so I had a hard buying into their reconciliation 100%.

Overall this was everything I wanted from this story. It was cute, sweet, and had amazing characters. I cannot wait for the next book in this series!

ARC provided by Rebellion via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
This follows Gary, an astronaut who is lost, wandering The Crypts - an alien artifact located just beyond Pluto. As Gary wanders in the dark, he talks to himself, relaying everything that has happened to get him to where he is.

Overview
This is a short, 140ish page novel, told in an internal monologue format - Gary tells his story to the reader as if they were there.
This is high science fiction! The aliens, science, setting, are nothing similar to Earth or humans. Which can make picturing the creatures or scene a little tricky. This is definitely not a sci-fi beginner book.

What I Liked
1. I NEEDED to know what was going on! This opens up and you have no idea how Gary got here, what the Crypts are, or anything. And I was completely sucked in by all the open questions.
2. Both the setting and aliens were so unique and descriptive. Nothing was humanoid which I really appreciated. The Crypts were so creepy and atmospheric.
3. I loved the bits of humor that were thrown in. This story overall is bleak and depressing, so the bits of humor gave it a perfect balance.
4. I really liked the style of the story telling. I thought it was a really unique style choice to have the main character talking to the reader as an internal monologue. And it worked perfectly considering the characters mental state. It was just such a perfect choice.
5. The twist ending. Oh man, so good.

What I Didn't Like
1. For about 3/4 of this book I kept questioning if this story had a point. It was very meandering and slow (it took me 4 days to read 140 pages). And with all the heavy description for world and alien creatures, I felt a little bogged down.

Overall, this is one of the strangest stories I've ever read (in a good way!). And it has a really great sci-fi twist! If you're a science fiction reader, I definitely recommend checking this out!

I received an arc of this from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
The Loman's own Little Port, Maine. The small, seaside town survives on the influx of tourists every summer. And the Loman's own all the rentals.
This follows our main character Avery who is in a downward spiral after losing her entire family. Avery meets Sadie Loman and is brought into the family. Years later, she is managing all the rental properties and living in their guest house. Then Sadie dies and her death is ruled a suicide after they police find a note in the garbage.
A year later, mysterious things are happening all over the Loman properties. And Avery starts unearthing secrets that lead her to believe there was more to Sadie's death.

Overview
This is told in alternating timelines - the present and flashbacks to the night of the Plus One Party the year before.

This book is pretty dark. There is lots of talk about self harm, depressive thoughts, sudden death, neglect, etc.

Content Warnings: Suicide, Death, Depression, Self Harm

What I Liked
1. This book was insanely atmospheric - and the setting was one of my favorite things about the story. The town itself almost felt like it's own character with the way it was described as "claiming" people.
2. I loved the dynamic between the tourists and locals. I've never seen this dynamic explored before and found it really fascinating. There was so much built in tension and it just added to the mysterious, dark tone of the book.
3. Working off my first too points - this book was suspenseful. Megan Miranda built so much tension and mystery into this without it feeling forced or outwardly trying to be scary. Which this book definitely wasn't. But the suspenseful feeling of this entire story felt so natural and gripping.
4. I suspected everyone!

What I Didn't Like
1. This started to feel a little long and drawn out right around the halfway point. I felt like things were being rehashed a few too many times.
2. I didn't really care about any of the characters. We got lots of back story but I never connected with anyone... I'm honestly not sure what was missing there for me.

Overall this was a solid thriller. The twist wasn't anything mind-blowing but it was a good, suspenseful mystery/thriller. If you are new to the genre and want a good kicking-off point, I'd highly recommend this!!

Summary
In 1940, Vivian moves to New York after being kicked out of Vasser College. She moves into the Lily Playhouse with her Aunt Peg and group of eclectic cast members. Vivian is immediately swept into the life of showgirls, theatre, and men. But a scandal derails her fun and sends her life into a spiral but also starts her on a path toward freedom and love.

Overview
This is a historical fiction fiction novel that takes place mostly during the WWII era. You see the events through a young, affluent girl living in New York City.

This entire story is told in the format of a letter. As an old woman, Vivian receives a letter from Angela asking to hear the details about how Vivian knows her father. The story slowly unwinds revealing who Angela and her father are and the connection between them.

The best way I can describe this is a cross between Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and How I Met Your Mother

Content Warnings: Sex, Alcoholism/Excessive Drinking, Cheating, PTSD, Death

What I Liked
1. Vivian's character had such a captivating "voice". I was immediately pulled into this story. She is such a sassy, intriguing main character and I couldn't help but turn the page. Vivian is so flawed and so unlikeable at times (or the teenage version of her is). But I loved the little quips that were thrown in by her as a grown woman.
2. This books is hardcore feminist. If excessive sex talk makes you uncomfortable, this is not the book for you. I loved the depiction of healthy female sexuality - especially in a time period where this was even more scandalous. None of these characters shied away from who they were. This entire book was a collection of strong, independent woman. And I was here. for. it.
3. I thought the letter format style was really unique and brought a lot of the story. Since Vivian's character was so flawed and made so many poor choices, the added input from her future self really helped me from becoming unattached to her character. Plus it allowed the narrator to challenge some of the prejudices that were displayed.

What I Didn't Like
1. This book was very long. I personally felt that the amount of detail and background wasn't totally necessary. And there were times that it started to drag because it didn't feel like we were getting any closer to the reveal.
2. My main grip is I was pretty underwhelmed by the reveal. I appreciated the representation of an unconventional relationship. But I personally wanted more after the extensive, 300+ page build up.

Overall this book is unlike anything else I've read. I loved the strong feminist themes and 100% enjoyed my time reading. If you like character driven, literary fiction, I recommend checking this one out!

That was one of the strangest things I've ever read 😳

Summary
Note: This book is a very slow burn, slice of life plot. The less you know going in, the more impactful it will be. So I tried to keep this synopsis really vague. But I recommend skipping it regardless if this is a book you're interested in picking up.

J attends a prestigious boarding school. Him and the other alphabet boys live and attend school in a tower in the woods, overseen by D.A.D. J has been feeling different lately, like there is something he is missing. Then one day, a book appears in all the boy's rooms, one that tells them of secrets the school has been keeping from them. Now J is questioning everything and his loyalty to the only family he's ever know.

Overview
Few things I feel like you should know about this
1. While this books is suspenseful it would classify this more as speculative fiction than horror. It takes a creepy idea and we watch how it plays out. This is not by any means a scary book.
2. The characters are "named" letters. I didn't find this confusing at all, but I know a lot of people have commented that they thought it was.
3. This is a slow burn book. It starts out very much slice of life of these boys at boarding school. I love a slow, character driven book. And the tone and writing style pulled me and captured me immediately.

Content Warnings: Abandonment, Murder, Child abuse

What I Liked
1. This is one of the strangest, most unique, and intense concepts I've ever read. Like I said above, this is definitely a slow burn plot. But it was absolutely worth it. Malerman's writing is captivating and I couldn't put this down once it got going.
2. This takes place at a "boarding school", which is one of my favorite bookish settings. The school was so foreboding and atmospheric. I was always on edge, waiting for the shoe to drop.
3. This. Ending. Wow. The last quarter of this book was outstanding. I did not see the twist coming and it was perfectly executed.

What I Didn't Like
1. I actually wish the synopsis had been MORE vague! If you happen to not have read it, I would recommend not doing so! I think this book would have had a bigger impact had I not know some of the info.

Spoiler

The synopsis tells you that there are 2 schools, 1 for boys and 1 for girls. But you don't meet the girls school until well past the halfway point. I wish it had been left out - it would have been more impactful!