Happy Friday (and last day of my 20s)!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've all had a fantastic week.

On a personal note (not that I've been going on about it all week...HA), today is officially the last day of my 20s, and my 30s start tomorrow! I honestly can't believe where my 20s went, a bit emotional to say the least...ha. BUT, at the same time, I know I've accomplished a lot during this decade, and I'm hopeful for the next! It's not quite the 30th that I'd imagined, but I'm sure it's the same for a lot of people. It'll be unique, but I am grateful to be having it at home with some of my family 😊

And back to this week! I've read a few interesting books this week. I don't like to comment on all of them that I read here as some of them I just wouldn't recommend, and I don't like talking badly about things. I read one last night that I picked up just before midnight as a lull to sleep, and ended up finishing it about 3:30am. It was a great novel and I just couldn't wait to see what happened next, but at the same time, it was actually quite emotional and had some hard moments to read through. I would recommend it as a great read, but I don't think it would be one that I would pick up again, simply because it did have such tough moments to get through. Beautifully written, but emotionally difficult at parts.

So what have I been reading this week? I was really excited to see the new release from best-selling romance author Tara Sivec's newest series, Summersweet Island, with Kiss My Putt. Then I had to go back and re-read some of best-selling romance author R.S. Grey's older books, Hotshot Doc. Both are absolutely great reads, and thoroughly recommended. Click on the pictures below to check out my reviews.

                          

I also increased my book browsing and have a look at what I'm most excited for releasing this month here.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

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August Releases!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I'll admit that I haven't managed to fit this post in yet, but we're officially in a new month! Which means, more book releases. So, what am I excited to read this month?

1. Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting (11th August)

Blaire Calloway has planned every Instagram-worthy moment of her cupcake and cocktails shop launch down to the tiniest detail. What she didn't plan on? Ronan Knight and his old-school sports bar next door opening on the very same day. He may be super swoony, but Blaire hasn't spent years obsessing over buttercream and bourbon to have him ruin her chance at success.

From axe throwing (his place) to frosting contests (hers), Blaire and Ronan are constantly trying to one-up each other in a battle to win new customers. But with every clash, there's also an undeniable chemistry. When an even bigger threat to their business comes to town, they're forced to call a temporary time-out on their own war and work together. And the more time Blaire spends getting to know the real Ronan, the more she wonders if it's possible to have her cupcake and eat it too.

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

2. The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn (25th August)

I can’t believe I have to go home to Nebraska for my sister’s wedding. I’m gonna need a wingman and a whole lot of vodka for this level of family interaction. At least my bestie agreed he’d man up and help. Too bad he had to catch a different flight than me. Then his plane got delayed. And finally—because bad things always happen in threes—instead of my best friend, his evil twin strolls out of the airport.

If you looked up doesn’t-deserve-to-be-that-confident, way-too-hot-for-his-own-good billionaire in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Will Holt. He’s awful. Horrible. The worst—even if his butt looks phenomenal in those jeans. Ten times worse? My buffer was supposed to be there to keep me away from the million and one family events. But Satan’s spawn just grins and signs us up for every. Single. Thing.

Fine. “Cutthroat” Scrabble? I’m in. I can’t wait to take this guy down a notch. But somewhere between Pictionary and the teasing glint in his eyes, our bickering starts to feel like more than just a game…

Click here to purchase from Amazon, and click here to check out my review.

3. The Trouble with Quarterbacks by R.S. Grey (6th August)

CANDACE: KAT & YASMINE! DO NOT DALLY! Come straight home after work. Kat, don’t take the long route from the subway station just so you can pass by Cute Hot Dog Guy. This is important!

I’ve had THE BEST DAY. You won’t believe it. There I was in my preschool classroom, washing a bit of poo out of some soggy trousers, when this absolute babe came to collect his nephew from my class.

Truthfully, I thought I’d blacked out for a moment when I first saw him. He was a proper hunk with glorious brown hair, quite tall, and he had these arms. Are muscly arms supposed to turn me on? I’m panting just thinking about them.

Anyway, he told me he’s a professional foosball player. At least, I think that’s what he said. The tots can get quite loud near pick-up time.

Click here to purchase from Amazon.

4. The Anti-Boyfriend by Penelope Ward (31st August)

At first, my neighbor Deacon frustrated me. Sure, he was great-looking and friendly. But our walls were thin, and on occasion, he’d bring women to his place and keep me awake while he “entertained” them. As a single mother to an infant, I didn’t appreciate it. So, finally it was my turn.

When my daughter wouldn’t stop wailing one night, Mr. Manwhore came knocking on my door. Miraculously, at the sound of his voice, Sunny stopped crying. And when he held her…she eventually fell asleep in his arms. Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer.

After that night, we became friends. He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff. But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer. Until one night we crossed the line. Our friendship turned into a complicated mess. I’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d sworn off commitment and kids. I knew Deacon was starting to care for me too, even though Sunny and I didn’t fit into any plan he’d ever imagined for himself. He was wrong for me—so wrong that I’d dubbed him the “anti-boyfriend.” Then why did I wish more than anything that I could be the one woman to change him?

What are you looking forward to reading this month?

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Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and read some great books.

We're almost officially in August! I'm turning 30 this month (8th August), so this is a bit of a milestone birthday for me. Not quite the one that I'd imagined, but, I think that's the same for a lot of people at the moment. I'll also confess that I've restarted an old hand injury, so typing this week for me will be slow, so expect posts to potentially unfortunately be a little less this week!

I'm still stuck in a bit of a book rut at the moment and I really can't get into a new book. I've turned to one of my all-time favourite authors, Teresa Medeiros, and having a re-read of Nobody's Darling. Does anyone have any recommendations of great books they've been reading lately?

Having said that, I am reading some new books that are coming out next month (one of them below), and those reviews should be with you this week (if not next, depending on how fast I finish Nobody's Darling!).

As if it wasn’t bad enough to be deemed the “most single person” at her magazine’s office, budding reporter Penny has now been tapped to write a series of features called “The Dating Game.” From speed dating to Tinder, old-fashioned matchmakers to up-and-coming “dark dating,” Penny now has to go on a lot of dates. Silver lining: meeting new people should be fun, right? But running into her old rival, George, at her first dating event is decidedly not. Not only does the arrogant know-it-all have zero trouble attracting women, wherever Penny goes, somehow he just. Keeps. Showing. Up.

What are you reading this week?

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(ARC) The Wedding Date Disaster by Avery Flynn

I can’t believe I have to go home to Nebraska for my sister’s wedding. I’m gonna need a wingman and a whole lot of vodka for this level of family interaction. At least my bestie agreed he’d man up and help. Too bad he had to catch a different flight than me. Then his plane got delayed. And finally—because bad things always happen in threes—instead of my best friend, his evil twin strolls out of the airport.

If you looked up doesn’t-deserve-to-be-that-confident, way-too-hot-for-his-own-good billionaire in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Will Holt. He’s awful. Horrible. The worst—even if his butt looks phenomenal in those jeans.

Ten times worse? My buffer was supposed to be there to keep me away from the million and one family events. But Satan’s spawn just grins and signs us up for every. Single. Thing.

Fine. “Cutthroat” Scrabble? I’m in. I can’t wait to take this guy down a notch.

But somewhere between Pictionary and the teasing glint in his eyes, our bickering starts to feel like more than just a game…

Thanks to Ms. Flynn and Entangled Publishing, I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Review Copy of her upcoming romance novel, The Wedding Date Disaster due out 25th August. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I fell in love with Ms. Flynn's novels back in her Hartigan series with Tomboy, and then followed her through to her Ice Knight series, and then back through her older novels. While I will say that   Tomboy still remains my firm favourite of all her novels, this one may well be tied for first place, and if not, I will say that without doubt, it's her best novel since Tomboy's release.

The enemies to lovers trope is not new, but, all the elements combined in this novel just made it work so well. One of the things that I love best about her novels is that the secondary characters actually are present and provide substance to the story, they're not just mentioned once and never heard from again. While at its core it still remains a romance novel, there were so many elements of family and friendship added that it just worked beautifully and felt like I was dropped into this new world that was fully planned out.

The romance between our two leads is beautiful, steamy and has its heart-breaking moments at times. I'll confess that there were elements thrown in that I didn't expect, and this just made it even better. Both characters are fully formed and likeable, and you just can't help but cheer for them both.

Spoilers Ahead

I will confess that tears were shed during this book, which doesn't usually happen. It did get somewhat emotional at times, and added in (trigger warning: suicide) was a very sad turn in the story where we learn that our heroine's father committed suicide, having an impact on how her relationships and interactions with  family adjusted. It was beautifully written and emotional, and something not just added in for a shock value, but did have a point in the story.

Spoilers Finished

As mentioned above, I think this is Ms. Flynn's best novel to date since Tomboy, and I will confess that it still remains my permanent favorite number one from her, but I think this one definitely has sneaked up to be joint first. A definite must-read, and the perfect summer romance!

Rating: 4.5/5

Click here to pre-order from Amazon, available 25th August.

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Happy Monday!

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you're all doing well, had a fantastic weekend, and hopefully read some great books!

I've got some quite exciting news in that I was lucky enough to receive an Advanced Reading Copy of best-selling romance author (and one of my personal favourites) Avery Flynn's newest upcoming novel, The Wedding Date Disaster (TWDD). This was started at approximately 11:00pm and finished by 3:30am, and yes, I am quite tired! That review will be coming out tomorrow, so make sure to check back here for that.

I've also got an old favourite that I'm excited to share with you all on Thursday, which is also quite possibly my favourite book ever.
I've also had a few discussions with some of my fellow book lovers about how I keep track of all my books. While I do love my digital organization, I do love having my information at a glance, and while it may be slightly old-fashioned, I do absolutely love having it on paper. And thus, the new book review tracker was born!

Quite handy for taking notes of your books while reading them, and along with my personal favourite feature - the quotes section. Click on the picture to be taken through to my Etsy store for purchase. PLUS, receive 10% off from coming through my website with the code THANKS10. Give me a shout if you'd like to have any extra features or pages added in!

Once I finished TWDD on Saturday morning however, I was a bit stumped looking for a next book to read. I tried picking up a few but just couldn't fully get absorbed in. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hope you all have a fantastic week!

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