Tag: romance reader

Book Review, Holiday, Romance

The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪.5

I so badly wanted to love this book. I’m Jewish, and the premise of a book about a Jewish woman writing Christmas novels under a pseudonym was intriguing and relatable, as a Christmas-movie lover myself. I really appreciated the depiction of Rachel’s chronic illness and the ways it impacted her life and was misunderstood by those around her. Her character was layered and I liked learning about her. I did not, however, like her or the main male character Jacob, as people.

The two of them initially met at summer camp when they were kids and had a short-lived romance that ended in a clear miscommunication. When they reconnect as adults, Jacob tries to woo Rachel by making her wear a bizarre costume while volunteering for his upcoming Matzah Ball. This approach to a relationship and the subsequent reactions were immature and unbelievable and made it impossible for me to care what happened to the two of them.

Jacob’s inadequacy at planning the Matzah Ball when he was supposedly such an impressive event planner was baffling. Rachel’s career, family life, friends, and backstory kept me reading, as did my passive interest in seeing how the Matzah Ball worked out, but I would not recommend it.

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Buy The Matzah Ball at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

One Last Gift by Emily Stone ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Holiday Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪.5

When Cassie loses her brother, Tom, she feels unmoored. Having lost their parents at a young age, the siblings were incredibly close and spent lots of time together, often accompanied by Tom’s best friend, Sam. Following Tom’s death, Cassie finds an envelope with the first clue to a scavenger hunt that Tom had planned to give her for Christmas. So Cassie begins what she knows will be her last annual hunt, and her last gift from Tom, with no idea what to expect or how she will feel when she finishes it.

I love a romance book that also focuses on familial love. The bond between Tom and Cassie was palpable even though he was not actually present in the majority of the story. The clues he left behind for her made it clear how much he cared. Throughout the hunt, Cassie was reminded of different moments with Tom that painted vignettes of the two of them together, allowing the reader to get to know him.

Throughout the whole story, Sam’s relationship with Cassie is looming. They are not on good terms for much of the narrative, tiptoeing around each other to avoid addressing their past feelings for one another. It was interesting to see the different ways they responded to their grief over losing Tom and how that informed their reactions toward one another.

Parts of this story reminded me of Me Before You with a focus on showing someone your love by helping them push themselves to their full potential. The way that Tom continued to influence Cassie’s life for the better long after his passing was beautiful.

Although this may be classified as a holiday book, the only real nod to the holidays was the fact that the ‘one last gift’ was a Christmas present. More centrally, it’s an emotional exploration of two siblings’ love and Cassie’s journey to both grieve and honor Tom.

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

Book Review, Fiction, Holiday, Romance

Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison ~ Book Review

Morgan

Genre: Holiday Romance
My Rating: 🍪

Lovelight Farms is a friends to lovers will-they-won’t-they romance that suffered from a lack of creativity in the writing style. The actual storyline – Stella trying to save her Christmas tree farm by applying for an influencer’s publicity contest and lying about having a boyfriend – had all the makings for an adorable holiday romance. Unfortunately the execution was just not there. The number of times the two love interests reiterated “s/he can’t be interested in me, we’re just best friends. I misunderstood” made me want to scream. There was also a thread of mysterious vandalism running through the story that had such a random conclusion and felt so unnecessary. A cute premise, but I could not get on board.

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Buy Lovelight Farms at an indie bookstore near you
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Book Review, Fiction, Romance

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan ~ Book Review

Morgan

Avon Books
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Thank You for Listening is book about an audiobook narrator, written by an audiobook narrator. It felt only fitting that I listen to it. Sewanee Chester was an actress before an accident caused her to turn to narration. Although she believes romance novels are unrealistic, when she finds out that a late beloved romance author requested that Sewanee co-narrate her last book, Sewanee considers it an investment toward getting her grandmother the care she needs.

There were so many layers to this book. From Sewanee’s grandmother’s dementia to the tragic end of Sewanee’s acting career, to her fraught relationship with her father, the story went much deeper than just romance.

That being said, the romance was sooo well done. The flirty banter was, either via texting or conversations, so fun and sexy. And it was funny! Both Sewanees and her co-narrator, Brock, were so amusing, and I’m so impressed with Whelan’s creation of their humor.

To top it all off, the ending totally shook me. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a ‘twist,’ but it added an extra wrinkle to the entire plot that completely melted my heart.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy Thank You for Listening at an indie bookstore near you
Thank You for Listening on Goodreads

Book Review, Fiction, Romance

The Key to My Heart by Lia Louis ~ Book Review

Morgan

Emily Bestler Books (Thank you to the publisher for my copy!)
Romance
My Rating: 🍪🍪🍪🍪

I can always count on Lia Louis to make me feel things. In The Key to My Heart, Natalie is living as a shell of herself 2.5 years after the sudden death of her husband. She begrudgingly tags along on nights out with her well-meaning friends and can only bring herself indulge in her musical passion by playing at a public piano at a train station.

Natalie’s struggle trying to honor her late husband while also give herself the grace to move forward with her life was so heart wrenching. The way that her grief impacts her relationships with those around her and the unwitting pain she herself causes added such emotion and intricacy to her story.

I was obsessed with all the secondary characters in this book. Natalie has a rich community around her, from an older woman she befriends at her regular coffee shop to a handsome stranger at a bar who she uses to get her friends off her back about getting back in the dating scene. Everyone had such a detailed backstory and distinct characteristics that they came to life and created such a well rounded support system for Natalie.

The flirty banter in this book was next level. It was sexy and funny and creative and it was impossible not to root for the romance to work out.

This was a 5-star read until the ending, which left me wanting. There was a mystery throughout the book and the conclusion of it felt anticlimactic. I still highly recommend this book, but I wanted just a little more to wrap it up.

Check out my bookstagram: @Treat.your.shelf
Buy The Key to My Heart at an indie bookstore near you
The Key to My Heart on Goodreads