“Just because you can live without someone doesn’t mean you want to.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: parking spots, lemons, golden retrievers, notes, email drafts, Greek food and second chances.



When Lauren and Ryan’s marriage reaches the breaking point, they come up with an unconventional plan. They decide to take a year off in the hopes of finding a way to fall in love again. One year apart, and only one rule: they cannot contact each other. Aside from that, anything goes.

Lauren embarks on a journey of self-discovery, quickly finding that her friends and family have their own ideas about the meaning of marriage. These influences, as well as her own healing process and the challenges of living apart from Ryan, begin to change Lauren’s ideas about monogamy and marriage. She starts to question: When you can have romance without loyalty and commitment without marriage, when love and lust are no longer tied together, what do you value? What are you willing to fight for?



Another great book from an amazing author! I got into it without knowing too much, and I was surprised with how strongly the story hit me and how it made me reflect about relationships.

Being in a long-term relationship myself, there were scenes in this book I personally related to. After being with someone for so long, it is normal that the relationship dynamics change with time. It requires effort from both sides to make the relationship work long term! It was very interesting to watch closely a very realistic development of a relationship over the years.

The only thing I would change in this book is that I wish it was a two POV story. Sure, there are small moments when you know what the husband is thinking, but the story focuses on the wife’s POV. At some point it felt like the story was only around the female character instead of being about the couple. It didn’t bother me too much, but being a book about a relationship, I thought it would be nice to get the husband’s POV on a deeper level.

The writing was exactly what you would expect from a TJR’s book. She has an amazing talent to grab the reader’s attention, so naturally I was very curious to see their final decision. Would they stick together or would they part ways? With that said, I am very satisfied with the way the story ended, and I applaud the author once again for writing an amazing, compelling story.

I’m not a huge fan of second chance romances, but it didn’t bother me in this book! So far I haven’t found a single disappointing book from TJR. Highly recommend this one!

xoxo,

“People are the problem. But they can also be the solution.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: emails, competitions, marketing strategies, kayaks, flamingoes, cocktails, competitions, snorkeling, bananas, tropical fish, work phones, bad tap water, yoga, social media, ABBA songs, lip-sync battles and cruise ships.



Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it.

The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend.

Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands…together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard.

With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?



Looking for the next beach read? Well, look no further, because this is the perfect book for you. If you like tropical and summery books, you need to check this one out.

In this book, everything works perfectly. The plot is great, the writing was easy to follow, the story flowed perfectly, and of course, the romance was amazing.

The writing was so good, that every single description made me feel like I was on vacation with the characters. I never went on a cruise, but this book awakened that desire in me. The tropical theme was very inspiring and I loved all the wild animals that appeared in some of the activities, like the flamingos and the tortoises.

I was also a big fan of the romance.  Enemies to lovers is by far my favorite trope, and this love story was a great example of what I like in romances. At first our main character hated the love interest with all of her heart, even though she didn’t have a great motive for it. After a while, it was clear they had amazing chemistry and I really liked every time they spent time together, getting to know each other better. I know the miscommunication between them had its purpose in the book, but I found it a little bit annoying at times. That’s the ONLY reason why I didn’t rate this higher.

Another thing I really liked was how the author incorporated what it feels like to be a woman living in a man’s world. It’s not like that everywhere, and thank God for that, but there are still women in this world that are belittled and disrespected in their workplace, regardless of how hard they work or of their positive results. It was a nice addition to the story, and it was done tastefully without taking the focus off the romance.

It’s the perfect summer book. If I would recommend any book for you to read this summer, it would be this one. Hands down, one of the best.

xoxo,

“People love to say, “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” What they don’t say is, “And it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.” That’s the part of the analogy that’s missing.” – 5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: racism, apartheid, bicycles, accidental fires, comedy shows, deaf dogs, pencils, cheese, pirated CDs, orange Volkswagens, jail, acceptance, shoplifting, fast food, dialects and lunch money.

Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

I’m so glad I picked up this book randomly. I went in without expectations and I ended up rating this five stars! For starters, I think it’s important to mention that I didn’t know a lot about Trevor Noah. I knew he was a comedian but I never paid too much attention to his work – something that now has changed -, let alone his life. And this is probably the main reason why I went into this book with zero expectations.

My favorite thing about this book was definitely how much I learned about South Africa and the culture there. The apartheid aspect was insane and I had no idea how bad things were until I listened to this book. This is why I love to read. I always learn so much with reading, regardless of the book being fiction or nonfiction.

Now… another aspect of this book that made me love it so much was his mother. His mother is an absolute legend. Being a daughter of African parents myself, I related so much with their mother-son relationship. Not only was she a badass for doing what she wanted regardless of what people thought of her (which is pretty uncommon), but she tried her best to educate her children with valuable lessons and teach good morals. I really liked Trevor, but his mother was the hero in this book.

I listened to this as an audiobook and I’m glad he was the one who narrated it. I really like when authors narrate their own work because it gives it a personal touch. It’s a great way to better connect the memoir/biography to the person!

After reading this book, Trevor and his mother gained my respect, and I’m definitely curious about his work as a comedian. I’m very happy I picked this up, we can learn so much with one another when we share our stories.

xoxo,

“What none of them understand is that the point of the game isn’t to fool others with a lie. The goal is to trick them by telling the truth.” – 4.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: deep lakes, campers, bunk beds, red paint, small cabins, security cameras, old photographs, statues, wooden boxes, s’mores, fires, gaps, bracelets, crows, paintings, swimming lessons, heart shaped glasses, secrets and lies.

Fifteen years ago, summer camper Emma Davis watched sleepily as her three cabin mates snuck out of their cabin in the dead of night. The last she–and anyone–saw of them was Vivian closing the cabin door behind her, hushing Emma with a finger pressed to her lips.

Now a rising star in the NYC art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings.. They catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of the very same Camp Nightingale–and when Francesca implores Emma to return to the camp as a painting counselor, Emma sees an opportunity to find closure and move on.

Yet, it is immediately clear that all is not right at Camp Nightingale. Already haunted by surfacing memories, Emma is suddenly plagued by a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca, and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian apparently left behind about the camp’s twisted origins. And as history begins to repeat itself and three girls go missing again, Emma must face threats from both man and nature in order to uncover all the buried secrets–including what really happened all those years ago.

This book hooked me from the first pages! I need to read more Riley Sager books, because even though I haven’t read a lot from him, he really has a special talent for keeping the reader interested in his mysteries.

This story in particular was amazing and it was very difficult to put the book down! I just got so excited everytime a new clue came up to add another piece to the puzzle!

The writing style is very similar to his other book Lock Every Door, so if you liked that, you’ll probably like this one too. The stories have nothing in common, but the writing style is very similar – especially the way the mystery keeps building up.

I don’t know what to feel about the ending. It’s not that I didn’t like it, but there is such a huge build up during the entire book that you kind of expect the ending to be extremely shocking. The reality is that I kind of figured out what happened (well, only part of it anyways), so I wasn’t extremely surprised with the final explanation. I will say there were a lot of things I wasn’t expecting, especially regarding the last few pages! The shocking value was there, definitely.

It was a good book, I really want to read more from this author!

xoxo,

“And that was the moment I realized: when the world felt dark and scary, love could whisk you off to go dancing; laughter could take some of the pain away; beauty could punch holes in your fear. I decided then that my life would be full of all three.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: donuts, neighbours, letters, carnivals, vomit-phobia, plots, decks, field trips, blue cocktails, breadsticks, handwritten notes, haunted hats, tuxedos, drive-in movies, line dancing, labradorite and happy endings.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.

This book is a breath of fresh air. It’s difficult for me to really love an adult contemporary romance, but this was really good and well made. The story is really creative and unique, and the execution is top-notch! There are also a lot of pop culture references to movies and books – which I thought was really cool!

I really like the characters and the romance in this story. The romance felt real and the main characters had amazing chemistry! I also really liked how the author wrote complex backstories to each one of them, which gave a lot of depth to the story.

I’m not a writer whatsoever, but this book made me want to write! It gave me a glimpse of what writing a book looks like and how hard it is to work creatively when you have a deadline. It takes a lot to transform simple inspiration into plots and unique stories with great execution.

It’s difficult nowadays to find a unique romance, but this was really well made. I completely understand and agree with the hype around this book. It’s summery, it’s cute and you’ll be immersed in the story. Can’t recommend it enough!

xoxo,

‘There’s something about death that gets under your skin and destroys you from the inside. Nobody warns you about it before you go. Nobody explains what happens to you once you’ve seen death first-hand, when you’ve stared it in the face. The way it kind of gets its claws into you. Becomes part of you.” – 4/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: cigarettes, bus stops, bunkers, photographs, farms, schoolwork, chickens, investigations, nudism, hair ties and scratches.

Three years ago, Lelle’s daughter went missing in a remote part of Northern Sweden. Lelle has spent the intervening summers driving the Silver Road under the midnight sun, frantically searching for his lost daughter, for himself and for redemption.

Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Meja arrives in town hoping for a fresh start. She is the same age as Lelle’s daughter was – a girl on the brink of adulthood. But for Meja, there are dangers to be found in this isolated place.

As autumn’s darkness slowly creeps in, Lelle and Meja’s lives are intertwined in ways, both haunting and tragic, that they could never have imagined.

This compelling and haunting read is perfect for fans of Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone.

This book was a very pleasant surprise! 

What kept me so intrigued throughout this book was the suspense created by having two different storylines going on. It made me very curious to know when and where the stories would meet and what that would mean to the plot.

Another cool thing about this book is that there are a number of suspicious characters that could have committed the crime the book is about. There are several hints that appear casually for all of them, so you don’t know for sure who might have done it.

I figured out who did it about halfway through the book, but I admit it wasn’t easy because I felt like anyone could have done it!

It’s full of mystery and the eerie atmosphere of the woods made the book even creepier! I really liked this and I think this would be perfect to read when the weather starts to get cooler.

xoxo,

“Time passes by you like a bullet,” he says, “and fear gives you the excuses you’re craving to not do the things you know you should. Don’t doubt yourself, don’t second-guess, don’t let fear hold you back, don’t be lazy, and don’t base your decisions on how happy it will make others. Just go for it, okay?” – 4.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: doughnuts, tattoos, candles, pool tables, lingerie, pizza, 80s music, fixed cars, babysitting, extra shifts, birthday wishes and a taboo romance.

JORDAN

He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.

I have to stop this. It can’t happen.

My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.
I am.

PIKE

I took her in, because I thought I was helping. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.

But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight.

And her boyfriend’s father.

Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

I devoured this book like no man’s business. I don’t read about forbidden romances very often, but I really loved this one!

This story is considered a taboo romance because of the age difference between the main characters – the girl is 19 years old and the guy is 38 years old. With that said: the romance was amazing. It was a perfect slow burn romance to me! Jordan and Pike have amazing chemistry and that was probably the main reason why I loved this book so much. And their age gap didn’t bother me because they were both very mature, there was a true love story there and for the way their relationship developed. 

The plot wasn’t based on superficial attraction, but on real feelings. They actually liked each other in a deeper way and they enjoyed spending a lot of time together. And in case you are wondering, yes, this is definitely on the steamier side!

Probably not everyone will like this book for the taboo aspect of it, but I really enjoyed it! Penelope Douglas is an amazing romance writer and I’ll be reading more from her.

xoxo,

“I never needed this race, or a hashtag, or the king to be a queen. I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.” – 4.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: outsiders, promposals, homophobia, scholarships, clarinets, panic attacks, hashtags, campaigns, pound cake, corsages and crowns.



Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?



This was so cute, I loved it! I admit never paid too much attention to this particular book until other readers started recommending it to me non-stop – so thank you to all the people who told me I had to read it!

This is not your typical prom book. This story is about an awkward high school girl coming out of her shell and understanding her true value and potential. Liz was an amazing strong female lead and I really liked her perseverance, kindness and strength.

And of course, there is a cute romance to pair with the story! Liz falls in love with another girl running for prom queen, just like her. Mack was a very likeable character as well and she made the cutest pair with Liz!

I also really liked the other relationships in this book, especially the one between Liz and her brother! They share a very special bond and it was so nice to see how they got each other’s back.

I really liked this book! It’s a relatable book for teens who are still trying to discover their identity and it’s done beautifully. It’s the perfect book to binge on a weekend.

xoxo,

“It’s not the face, but the expressions on it. It’s not the voice, but what you say. It’s not how you look in that body, but the thing you do with it. You are beautiful.” – 4/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: old newspapers, deserts, hunger, powerful medicine, raids, aliens, wanderers, brotherhood, meetings, bread, caves, transplants, stories and hosts. 

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

I admit I was apprehensive when I first picked this book. A science fiction book (not my favorite genre) with over 800 pages? My friend who borrowed me the book asked me to give it a shot and go into it with an open mind, so that’s what I did. And… surprise, surprise: I actually really liked this story.

The concept of this book was very interesting: aliens taking over bodies in different planets. These aliens think they’re doing what’s best for the Earth because humans are evil and have a destructive behaviour. Well, the thing is that one of the aliens (Wanderer) took over a body that still had its original host (Melanie). So now two souls are inside the same body!

I really liked how Melanie and Wanderer’s relationship developed and how strong their bond got throughout the book. And there’s a… love triangle? Well, I don’t think I can’t consider it that, but there is romance here – which was very interesting considering the situation the souls are in.

The ONLY thing I think could be different is the length of the book. The portuguese version – the one I read – is over 800 pages long, and I feel like the story could perfectly be half its size. There was no need for a lot of scenes there.

Still, I really liked it. I think it’s a good book to think about what really means to be a human and to be compassionate. For a science fiction book, I was very surprised in a positive way. I know there’s a movie adaptation for this book, and I’m very curious about it!

xoxo,