Tag: baking

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood ~ Book Review

Morgan

Berkley Books
Genre: Romance
Release Date: September 14, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

This book was unique in its setting, with its focus on Olive, a biology PhD candidate. In an effort to cover up a lie to her best friend about going on a date, Olive randomly kisses the first man she sees. Said man just happens to be Adam Carlsen, a young professor notorious for being hard on students. Once the awkwardness subsides, Olive explains herself and, to her shock, Adam agrees to pretend to date her.

I liked the idea behind this book, but honestly, the romance never seemed that believable to me. It continued to feel performative even when it was clear that real feelings were growing on both sides. A lot of the conversations between the two of them were just not interesting, and I didn’t feel the sparks. I also didn’t feel like I knew enough about either of them and their deeper motivations.

As great as the representation of the young female PhD candidate in STEM was, the rest of the book didn’t uphold the promise. 

Buy The Love Hypothesis at an indie bookstore near you
The Love Hypothesis on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance, Uncategorized

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey ~ Book Review

Morgan

Avon
Genre: Romance
Release Date: July 13, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

Oh my steam. I was not prepared for how steamy this book was going to be. If you’re not comfortable reading books with a lot of detailed sex scenes, this one should be a hard pass for you.

I found the beginning of It Happened One Summer somewhat misleading, in that it cast the main character as an airheaded party-girl. The opening scenes were lavish and over the top, filled with LA drama and glitter. That is not the rest of the book. Piper redeemed herself quickly when she arrived in the small town of Westport after being cut off by her stepfather.

Bailey did a wonderful job of creating a delightful small town feel in Westport and introduced an interesting and heartwarming set of characters. Although complete fish out of water at first, Piper and her sister are slowly taken in by the community and find soon find ways to give back. I loved that Piper’s kindness and realness were able to shine through and it was clear how much she came to care for those around her.

The romance, as previously mentioned, was a LOT. I liked Brendan’s backstory, and seeing his character warm up to Piper, but things seemed to move incredibly fast from there. Maybe that’s just the nature of romance novels. Did I think all the sex scenes were necessary? No. But I also wasn’t really put off by them.

Despite my initial mixed feelings about this story, I found it enjoyable once LA was left behind, and really fell in love with the town of Westport and the space Piper came to fill within in.

Buy It Happened One Summer at an indie bookstore near you
It Happened One Summer on Goodreads

Book Review, Memoir, Nonfiction, Uncategorized

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong ~ Book Review

Morgan

One World
Genre: Memoir
Release Date: February 25, 2021

The central tenet of Minor Feelings is Hong’s idea of ‘minor feelings’ –– the accumulating negative emotions that build up over time as a result of pervasive racial experiences and gaslighting. Through personal experience and by drawing on other texts and media, Hong illustrates how these experiences build up to create the kind of inner turmoil that is far from minor. I found it especially interesting the way she drew on media outside of her own writing, including art, books, and movies, to help illustrate her points and show just how pervasive they are.

As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Hong expresses her personal experiences and points to ways that Asian Americans in particular are disregarded and discriminated against.  Hong also introduces the idea of ‘speaking nearby’ the experiences of other people and cultural groups who may face similar hardships. In this way, she expands the scope of her narrative.

Some of the later chapters focused more prominently on Hong’s life and her friendships, and seemed somewhat out of place to me, but was nonetheless excellently written, and fitting for a memoir.

Buy Minor Feelings at an indie bookstore near you
Minor Feelings on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, mystery

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano ~ Book Review

Morgan

Minotaur Books
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: February 1, 2022
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

I love Elle Cosimano’s writing style. Her descriptions are so fresh and unique that it immediately draws me in regardless of the actual content of the story. I was excited to see what mishaps Finlay would get into this time, after she accidentally found herself hired for murder in her previous book.

I read a lot of thrillers and mysteries, so I like to think that I’m pretty good at following that kind of plot and picking up clues and threads throughout a narrative. In this book I was straight-up confused though. There was so much going on and so many intertwining characters and storylines that I got frustrated trying to keep track of everything. As great as the writing was, the plot was so convoluted that it took away from a lot of my enjoyment of the story.

That being said, the juxtaposition of Finlay and her nanny caring for her kids and doing mundane activities while also being badass criminals is hilarious, unique, and well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

Buy Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead at an indie bookstore near you
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead on Goodreads

Book Review, mystery, YA

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes ~ Book Review

Morgan

Penguin
Genre: YA Mystery
Release Date: September 7, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪

Honestly, I found The Hawthorne Legacy pretty indistinguishable from the first book in the series. The Inheritance Games left off with a huge cliffhanger and I couldn’t wait to dig in and find out how it fit into the mystery surrounding Avery’s inheritance. Unfortunately, the wild goose chase of following clues with the Hawthorne brothers felt tired to me by midway through this sequel.

I still loved the personified Hawthorne manor and the sense of mystery and urgency as Avery tries to figure out her relationship to the family before any loophole can be found that strips her of her inheritance. With each of these books, we get closer to the truth about Avery, her family, and her connection to Tobias Hawthorne, but I felt like the progress was incremental in this book compared to the amount of time spent running around looking for clues.

Will I read the final book in this series? I’m not sure. Based on this one, I think my enjoyment of The Inheritance Games may have had a lot to do with its novelty, which has now worn off.

The Hawthorne Legacy on Goodreads
Buy The Hawthorne Legacy at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Fiction, thriller

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarak Pekkanen

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: March 8, 2022 (Thank you to Libro.fm for my ARC)
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

I loved the premise of The Golden Couple — a former therapist who guarantees that she can fix people’s problems in ten sessions. After losing her license due to her unorthodox practices, Avery forges forward with taking on clients, newly freed from the regulations she previously had to adhere to.

Marissa and Matthew, a seemingly ‘golden couple’ show up for their first session where Marissa confesses to her infidelity. As their appointments progress, Avery begins to uncover secrets about the couple and connections between them and herself. Simultaneously on edge and haunted by actions in her own past, Avery becomes increasingly suspicious and paranoid.

I didn’t find the twists at the end of this book terribly groundbreaking, but the anticipation of seeing how everything fit together was enough to keep me gripped to the storyline.

The Golden Couple on Goodreads
Buy The Golden Couple at an indie bookstore near you

Book Review, Holiday, Romance

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox ~ Book Review

Morgan

G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Holiday Romance
Release Date: October 5, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪.5

For a holiday romcom, the premise of The Holiday Swap struck me as pretty unique. It’s a split narrative between identical twins Cassie and Charlie, who swap places for the holiday season after Charlie suffers a concussion that puts her job on a cooking show in jeopardy. She heads home to her family’s small-town bakery and quickly finds that her sister’s life is much more difficult than it seems.

I loved the juxtaposition between the fast-paced, high-pressure cooking show in L.A., and the small-town, beloved bakery. As the sisters begin to fit themselves into their twin’s lives, they learn a lot about each other and themselves.

The romance was really well done, and each love interest was unique, believable, and worked so well in their respective storyline. The romance wasn’t overbearing, but it was very cute and added a lot to the stories.

The ending definitely felt pretty rushed, and I could have done without the cheesy epilogue, but other than that, this was a thoroughly enjoyable holiday read that was perfect for December.

Buy The Holiday Swap at an indie bookstore near you
The Holiday Swap on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Holiday

A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss ~ Book Review

Morgan

G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Holiday
Release Date: October 19, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪.5

I adored the setting of A Season for Second Chances. The small town, close-knit, gossipy community vibe was illustrated wonderfully and each quirky inhabitant brought their own charm to the story.

After Annie Sharpe catches her husband cheating – again – she decides to leave him once and for all and takes a temporary job as the guardian for the historic Saltwater Nook in Willow Bay. As Annie gets to know the locals, she learns that the Nook is beloved by all, and its impending sale and anticipated destruction have many of them upset.

When Annie confronts John, the owner’s nephew, she finds that there’s more to the sale of the old house than meets the eye.

Unfortunately, this story just dragged for me. By a third of the way through the book, it felt like all the action has happened already, and there wasn’t enough going on to keep me invested. Additionally, Annie’s husband was so emotionally abusive and refused to leave her alone. This was never really addressed, which bothered me a lot. His behavior was absolutely unacceptable and it felt like it was just brushed off. This happened so many times and I think if it had been spoked about for the abusive nature that it was, it could have added a lot to the story. 

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A Season for Second Chances on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Holiday

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews ~ Book Review

Morgan

St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Holiday/Romance
Release Date: September 28, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪

The Santa Suit read like a Hallmark movie dunked in hot chocolate. It has a very classic Christmas romcom storyline, with Ivy (yes, Ivy) moving away to a farmhouse she’s never visited, after her divorce. The house comes with quite the history — its previous owners dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Clause every year, and decked out the house with Christmas lights. Although reluctant at first to follow in their footsteps, Ivy finds herself sucked into the holiday spirit when she finds a touching note in the pocket of the left-behind Santa suit and begins a quest to track down the girl who wrote it.

The cheesiness of this book was too much for me and it was such a short read that everything felt very rushed. The relationships didn’t have enough time to develop and I felt like I didn’t really know any of the characters. The romance in particular seemed incredibly surface level and I got no sense of chemistry. It seemed like it was included as a formality.

I actually think if the story had been expanded, I would have liked it a lot more. The setting and general premise were interesting and I loved the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, nothing felt quite developed enough to really suck me in.

Buy The Santa Suit at an indie bookstore near you
The Santa Suit on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Holiday, Romance

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan ~ Book Review

Morgan

William Morrow
Genre: Holiday
Release Date: October 26, 2021
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

When the store Carmen works for suddenly closes, she finds herself faced with the unappealing proposition of moving in with her successful, put-together, very pregnant sister Sofia. Sofia is less than thrilled by Carmen’s arrival, but a client of hers needs retail assistance in his bookstore, so she agrees.

I loved seeing Carmen slowly warm up to her nieces and nephew and embrace her identity as their aunt. She stands in stark contrast to their nanny, Skylar, who is a sexy yoga/wellness caricature. Each of the main characters was very distinct from one another, and made for really interesting dynamics.

Carmen quickly begins to implement changes to the bookshop to draw attention to passersby, despite the consternation of curmudgeonly Mr. McCredie, the owner. Carmen’s commitment to the bookstore felt really genuine, and helped her character develop a lot.

There are two semi-love interests introduced throughout the storyline, but the romance is pretty peripheral, and overall this is much more a story about Carmen’s relationship with her sister, herself, and Edinburgh. The descriptions of Edinburgh were so quirky and charming and it so clearly holds a special place in the author’s heart. I could vividly visualize Carmen’s wanderings around the city.

This was a sweet and unique story, perfect for a cozy winter night.

Buy The Christmas Bookshop at an indie bookstore near you
The Christmas Bookshop on Goodreads