Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks ~ Book Review

Morgan

Grand Central Publishing
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I saw The Last Song movie years ago and remembered it fondly so I was excited to go into this one. It was a perfect read for the end of summer (yes, this review is very delayed). Ronnie and her brother are dropped off to spend the summer with their dad in his beach town. The characters in this story were flawed and complex in a realistic way, and it played on complicated family dynamics (especially with a moody teenager) that tugged at my heart.

The setting was described in a way that made the town and its inhabitants come to life. I loved the way that sea turtles brought people together, and the passion around saving their eggs was a catalyst for much of the relationship building in the story.

This was an odd book for me because I loved the story itself, but the writing style really bothered me. The descriptions, particularly of the teenagers, made me really aware that a man was writing, and with a female teenage protagonist, there was some disconnect that was noticeable enough that it kept drawing me out of the story.

I also felt like the antagonist was kind of introduced for no reason, and I think the story would have been just as powerful if he was removed. He seemed like a random character and his motivations for pursuing Ronnie so rampantly were not fleshed out beyond him constantly objectifying her.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Last Song at an indie bookstore near you
The Last Song on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance, YA

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han ~ Book Review

Morgan

Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
YA Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪

Well, this one kind of went off the rails for me. The characters are in college in this book, and the nostalgic summer beach house vibe is kind of lost to their more grown up realities.  I really think that the series would have benefited from ending after the second book, because Belly’s choices surrounding her romantic life in this one really made me lose a lot of respect for her.

It felt like nothing of note really happened in the middle of this book. There was a big shocking (not in a good way – in a laughable way) moment at the beginning and then a rushed ending. It’s hard to give a real review without spoilers, so I’ll mostly leave it at that.

This was a quick read, and Belly and her boys are fantastic escapism that kept me sucked in, but overall, I would recommend skipping this one and remembering the characters as they are in the first two books of the series.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy We’ll Always Have Summer at an indie bookstore near you
We’ll Always Have Summer on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance, YA

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han ~ Book Review

Morgan

Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
YA Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

The beginning of this book was heavy and I was curious to see how it would recapture the (mostly) lighthearted magic of the first one in the series. Once Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah found themselves back at Cousins though, the teenage drama ramped right back up.

There was more depth to the story than in The Summer I Turned Pretty, which made this feel more well-rounded and I actually enjoyed it more. Belly continues to be immature in the way she treats people, but I think it’s realistic given her age and is central to who she is. This was a super fast read and Han’s writing continues to be fantastic.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy It’s Not Summer Without You at an indie bookstore near you
It’s Not Summer Without You on Goodreads

Book Review, Romance, YA

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han ~ Book Review

Morgan

Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
YA Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

I listened to the audiobook of The Summer I Turned Pretty and it was narrated by Lola Tung (who plays Belly in the show), so that alone sold me on this book. It was like getting to watch the show again, but a littttle different. Although not a lot happened, it was a quick enough read (I read it in a day) that I didn’t mind.

My main qualms with this book were the obsession with both physical appearance and the apparent need of a man, and also Belly’s toxic relationship with her ‘best friend.’ Everyone came off as fairly shallow and it was the slightest bit infuriating, but I got over it.

I love the summer beach town/romance trope and this book was no exception. For the most part, it made me happy. I liked the setting and the teenage drama and it made me feel like I was on vacation. Nothing earth-shattering, but I love a fictional gossipy beach getaway.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Summer I Turned Pretty at an indie bookstore near you
The Summer I Turned Pretty on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley Books
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

I loved that The Roughest Draft was a book about the relationship between two co-authors, and it was co-written. Katrina and Nathan wrote bestsellers for years until they suddenly stopped. Katrina has since stopped writing altogether, while Nathan has gone on to write several (less successful) novels of his own.

Begrudgingly, they agree to finish out their contract by writing one more book together. The two find themselves back in the same house where they wrote their last book together, and being back in that environment brings back allll sorts of feelings.

This is definitely a slow burn, and even though you know where it’ll probably end up, I enjoyed the process of getting there. We get a lot of depth on both Katrina and Nathan and what motivates them, and where their choices have led them astray. Most of their communication happens via the ‘fiction’ they write and pass to one another for notes, and I thought this was such a perfect dynamic for the story.

I could also perfectly imagine the oppressive mugginess of the Florida house and how it kept them inside and writing. The setting was so easy to visualize through the writing and I loved the forced proximity and the way it made the main characters grapple with their past and ultimately their present.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Roughest Draft at an indie bookstore near you
The Roughest Draft on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, thriller

Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Thriller
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Can’t Look Away is part thriller and part romance which was a combination I was not expecting, but really enjoyed. We get the love story of Molly and Jake when they meet in NYC and quickly fall for each other. The cracks in their relationship begin to form as Jake and his band become more popular and he devotes more and more time to them.

The rest of the book takes place in the future with Molly living in the suburbs with her daughter and husband, Hunter. Although we don’t know what happened to ultimately break up her and Jake, it’s clear that it was dramatic and extremely heartbreaking. When Molly befriends Sabrina, a newcomer to town, she finds herself suddenly forced to confront her past and takes the reader along with her.

The emotional chaos that Sabrina sets into motion is fantastic. She was one of those characters who I loved to hate and I couldn’t wait to unravel her motivations and see just how twisted her actions would get.

This was definitely light on the ‘thriller’ vibes, but not knowing what had caused the fallout between Jake and Molly and what repercussions may still be playing out in the future kept me reading. This was a wonderful mix of rich suburban gossip drama, romance, and mystery.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Can’t Look Away at an indie bookstore near you
Can’t Look Away on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, thriller

The Lies I Tell by Julie Clark ~ Book Review

Morgan

Sourcebooks Landmark
Thriller
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

I love a good con artist and Meg Williams is a great one. Popping up in different towns under different names, she gets close to her targets and their friends and has them eating out of the palm of her hand before she takes what she wants of theirs and disappears. Kat, a reporter, has had her eyes on Meg for years. When she finally sees an opportunity to get close to her, Kat begins to realize that there’s more to Meg than meets the eye.

The backstory behind Meg and her actions was really interesting and made me appreciate her genius all the more. I enjoyed getting narration by both her and Kat so I could see how Meg’s image differentiated from her true motivations.

Although this is classified as a thriller, I hesitate a little to call it one. There are a lot of questions swirling around Meg and her actions which I guess could be considered thrilling, but not in the traditional sense of the genre. It felt like more of a character study of these two women. Personally, I found Meg much more compelling and well-developed than Kat, who seemed naïve and whiny most of the time.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Lies I Tell at an indie bookstore near you
The Lies I Tell on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by  Gabrielle Zevin ~ Book Review

Morgan

Knopf Publishing Group
Fiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow closely followed the friendship of Sam and Sadie, starting when they met in the hospital as kids. The two quickly bonded over their love for video games, but fell out of touch until they ran into each other in Boston while they were both in college. They pick things up exactly where they left off and soon find themselves creators of the smash hit video game, Ichigo.

Zevin’s writing fully immersed me into Sam and Sadie’s reality. There is so much detail about their lives, feelings, and intricate relationships with other people that I felt like I truly knew them and understood their motivations. They were interesting and flawed and I thoroughly enjoyed the ebbs and flows of their friendship as they navigated their success together.

There was a lot of discussion of the mechanics and intricacies of video games which did get a little old for me by the end. I understand that that was the primary topic of this book, but I could have gone for a more general approach to the subject matter.

This writing style reminded me somewhat of Sally Rooney, with the same heavy focus on depth of character development.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow at an indie bookstore near you
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Morgan

Ballantine
Fiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

I was entirely enthralled by Mad Honey. The setting this author duo created was so vividly detailed that I felt like I was with the characters in small-town New England. Olivia brought her son Asher back to her hometown, where she takes over her father’s beekeeping business, in an escape from an abusive marriage.

When Asher’s girlfriend Lily is found dead, Asher is brought in for questioning. Olivia calls in her brother to act as Asher’s lawyer as he becomes more and more of a suspect.

There was so much depth and richness to Mad Honey. From the details about beekeeping that were seamlessly tied into the narrative, to the flashbacks to the burgeoning relationship between Lily and Asher, to Olivia’s fear that her son has taken after her ex-husband in ways she doesn’t want to face, there was always something thought-provoking to dissect in this book.

The present-day trial is interspersed with flashbacks from Olivia, and Lily’s past, and their perspectives kept me guessing about Asher’s nature and what had really happened to Lily.

I was surprised multiple times through the story, and it ended up covering much more than I anticipated. An utterly thought-provoking and captivating exploration of characters who I will not easily forget.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Mad Honey at an indie bookstore near you
Mad Honey on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction

Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid ~ Book Review

Morgan

Ballantine Books
Fiction
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

TJR knows how to take a single topic and run with it. In this case, it was tennis, and specifically, being an elite athlete. Carrie Soto retired from tennis after securing her spot as the best tennis player in the world. When Nicki Chan steals that title, Carrie decides to come out of retirement for one season to win her title back.

The depth and intricacies between Carrie’s relationship with her dad Javier, who coaches her, were so well written. The complexity of their relationship was so interesting, and their love for one another was palpable even at their most trying moments.

Carrie herself is framed as a coldhearted champion with her eye on the prize. By the end of the book, you begin to see more layers to her and get to know her more. I wished there had been a bit more of this throughout. For the most part, she’s just ruthless.

There’s a lotttt of tennis in this book (duh). For someone who knows nothing about the sport, it was a bit much for me, especially given the sports show commentary style that was employed. I will say, this was really fun to listen to as an audiobook since there were different narrators for the commentators, but if I’d been reading a physical copy, I probably would have done a lot of skimming.

This was an interesting character study, but I wish a little more had happened. It was truly all about tennis and some more extensive plot would have bumped up my rating.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Carrie Soto is Back at an indie bookstore near you
Carrie Soto is Back on Goodreads