Recent Reads Mini Reviews

More mini reviews from books I’ve enjoyed to varying degrees over the last few weeks.

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Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 Stars)
Release Date: May 4, 2021

This was cute and fun! I love lists in books, so Quinn and Carter tackling one of her lists was great (even though it came about from less than ideal circumstances). There was also some great discussions about race and identity throughout the story.

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Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson

Rating: ★★★☆☆
Release Date: May 4, 2021

Another super fun story from Morgan Matson. Kat and Stevie’s friendship was so genuine and their hectic and wild night out in NYC was a blast – filled with unexpected ups and downs. I do think that the choice to keep a story going back home in Connecticut was a weird choice, and felt very disconnected, but was so ridiculous in a bonkers way was still fun too.

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Sweethand by N.G. Peltier

Rating: ★★☆☆☆  (2.5 Stars)
Release Date: March 30, 2021

Middle of the Road for me the whole way. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the audiobook narrator and the couple didn’t grip my heart strings – though they did have hot chemistry. The baking element was fun, but I feel like Kieran’s music was mostly used for 3rd act drama set up (which was weak and rushed to me). This was an okay read, but I wanted more.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan

Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Release Date: June 29, 2021

DNF @ 60%

I was so excited for this – I thought it would be the whimsical, summery book of my dreams, but I just could not connect to it at all. The story is told in dual timeline, which usually works great, because even if one time isn’t holding my attention, the other can carry s bit of the story weight for me to enjoy it – but nothing was working for me here. I’m over halfway through the book and I still feel like I don’t know Jackie, Willa, Graham, or anyone else from the 1970s timeline, that so clearly is supposed to influence who Jackie is in the 1990s timeline. I can’t connect to these characters or their story, so I can’t bring myself to care finishing it. I kept waiting for the spark to hit me, when I couldn’t put the book down, but while I do think the idea of the story is great, it’s not actually working for me.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

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I didn’t realize that my books were listed from favorite to least favorite – it was purely a happy accident albeit a fun one.

What books have you been reading lately? Share below.