“In your thirties something strange starts to happen. It’s a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I’m — you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you’re not. You’re thirty-five. And then you’re bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it’s decades before you admit it.” – 4/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: senior homes, old memories, difficult routines, inexperienced vets, and of course, water for elephants.

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits, a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her.

Beautifully written, Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place. It tells a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford.

I wasn’t even planning on reading this book anytime soon, but one day I saw it in my TBR and decided to give it a go!

I read this randomly near the end of the year 2023… and I just can’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t know the story or anything about it before picking it up, so I was completely in the dark – in the end, I ended up giving it a 4-star rating! It was a fascinating and well-made story. I have to say I found the animal abuse scenes disturbing and upsetting to read, but I get why they were important to the story. 

I’m not sure if this was popular when it came out, but if it wasn’t, this deserves all the hype! It was a very heartbreaking read, but there is something very special about this book that has stuck with me. 

Also, a few weeks after finishing the book, the movie version was on TV and I ended up seeing it! If you saw the movie, I would say that you don’t necessarily need to read the book because I thought they did a good job adapting the story to the big screen. But of course, there’s always something that is lost so if you like the story, I would say to read the book anyway!

“My heart is not mine to give because it is already yours.” – 3.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: old friendships, witches, fishermen, mermaids, princes, 3 days, true love, a first kiss, drownings, and… revenge.

Everyone knows what happens in the end. A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss. But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends. One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

Some people may want to read this book knowing this is a Little Mermaid retelling, and if that’s the case, I need to tell you this. While the story progressed I kept thinking “…how is this a Little Mermaid retelling?”. That kept going on for a while and eventually, my question was answered and I finally understood what the resemblance was. For this reason, I want to tell you to keep in mind that this is still very different from the story we all know. If you’re a fan of the Disney version and want to read this book for that reason, let me tell you straight up: you’ll be disappointed!

The writing was okay. There are two timelines here, but I personally was not confused by that format. The author uses two timelines to explain the main event and also the “present”, 4 years after. The pacing is on the slower side, especially during the first half of the book. Things took a while to start moving and I admit my attention was starting to get lost.

Still, there were a few elements in this book that kept me interested and wanting to keep reading – like the mystery surrounding Anna -, but other elements were a little too repetitive – for example, the fact they kept repeating the main event that started it all in different perspectives.

The characters in this book are a little bland, and even though there is some romance in here, the story feels a little flat. I liked the “main” romance, but the “secondary” romances felt a little too insta-lovey for my taste.

Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it – it was okay. I think there are better mermaid stories out there, so I wouldn’t exactly recommend this one. With that being said, it’s not a bad story and it was entertaining at the end of the day.

“Hell with you sounds like heaven to me.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: ugly paintings, offices, libraries, nights out, threats, homemade videos, recognizable shoes, skiing, redheads, a ton of angst, and an enemies-to-lovers trope.

He hates her…almost as much as he wants her.

Gorgeous, cocky, and fast on his way to becoming a hotshot doctor, Josh Chen has never met a woman he couldn’t charm—except for Jules f**king Ambrose.

The beautiful redhead has been a thorn in his side since they met, but she also consumes his thoughts in a way no woman ever has.

When their animosity explodes into one unforgettable night, he proposes a solution that’ll get her out of his system once and for all: an enemies with benefits arrangement with simple rules.

No jealousy.

No strings attached.

And absolutely no falling in love.

**

Outgoing and ambitious, Jules Ambrose is a former party girl who’s focused on one thing: passing the attorney’s bar exam.

The last thing she needs is to get involved with a doctor who puts the SUFFER in insufferable…no matter how good-looking he is.

But the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes there’s more than meets the eye to the man she’s hated for so long.

Her best friend’s brother.

Her nemesis.

And her only salvation.

Theirs is a match made in hell, and when the demons from their past catch up with them, they’re faced with truths that could either save them …or destroy everything they’ve worked for.

Twisted Hate is a steamy enemies with benefits/enemies to lovers romance. It’s book three in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Warning: It contains explicit content, profanity, and topics that may be sensitive to some readers. For details, please see content notes inside the book. Recommended for 18+.

My favorite book from the series so far!

I’m a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers story, so I was excited and hopeful about this one – although I wasn’t exactly expecting a lot from it after reading the previous book because I ended up being disappointed. The plot is a pretty typical one for a modern romance: the story of a girl who is running away from her past and mistakes, so she moves to another town to start over. But of course, her past catches up with her and she even starts getting blackmailed – then the guy comes and saves her. It’s not exactly a groundbreaking plot, but not necessarily a bad one in my eyes!

I really liked Josh Chen as the romantic interest, and to be honest, he’s probably the reason why I liked this book as much as I did. In comparison to the first two love interests (Alex and Rhys), Josh is more… normal? He seems like a good, outgoing guy, as opposed to Ale, who has a “too much” gene, and Rhys who is overly grumpy. I also liked Jules as a main character, and how fierce and strong she was! She was also very different from the previous two main characters with her fiery red hair and attitude!

The romance was pretty good! I’m a big fan of the enemies-to-lovers trope, so this was a treat for me. There’s a lot of anger, angst, and sexual tension behind their clever banter, which I loved! Also, I really liked the nicknames Josh gave Jules, my favorite one being JR (Jessica Rabbit) – and the one she hated the most.  

As a side note, I’m also glad that Josh and Alex were working things out in this book. I still think they have a long way to go, but I’m glad things are moving forward. Good for you Josh! It was also fun to see the girls together now and then, and the author took the opportunity to introduce Stella, the main character of the next book. It was a smooth transition to the next book!

The writing is okay and it is easy to follow. The books are on the bigger size, but it’s super easy to read without feeling demotivated. The plot itself wasn’t bad and I was fairly entertained, so I think this series is a good option if you just want to read an easy romance/smut book.

To finish this review, I feel like I have to mention the hype around these books: I do believe this series is a little overrated. I don’t think the books are bad… just not great as most people promote them. They’re entertaining but I still think they lack something. Maybe plot-wise or weird pacing, I can exactly pinpoint what it is.

Like I said, from the three books I’ve read from the series, this is so far my favorite. I had high expectations when I started Bridget’s story because I thought that would be closer to what I like in romances, but I felt like something was missing. Then I thought about what went right with this book, and the answer is: the characters made this book. If they didn’t have great personalities, I don’t think this book would have worked for me. Josh and Jules had chemistry and great banter, so I believe that’s the reason why this was my favorite.

Ok, only one book missing now… I can see the finish line!

“Why do you think it’s so popular? The missing-woman story?”
“Because who can resist a damsel in distress?” – 3.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: letters, non-bio sandwiches, caves, fake names, and a lot of sneaking out.

A couple’s fifteen-year marriage has finally gotten too interesting…

Our love story is simple. I met a gorgeous woman. We fell in love. We had kids. We moved to the suburbs. We told each other our biggest dreams, and our darkest secrets. And then we got bored.

We look like a normal couple. We’re your neighbors, the parents of your kid’s friend, the acquaintances you keep meaning to get dinner with.

We all have secrets to keeping a marriage alive.

Ours just happens to be getting away with murder.

I’ve been wanting to read this book for years! It’s funny how I barely pick thrillers anymore, but this was probably the only one I had on my TBR that I really wanted to read for the synopsis. A couple that spices up their boring lives and marriage by killing women together? That sounded so different and interesting!

Unfortunately, this wasn’t what I expected and the story ended up disappointing me a little. I was hoping we would see their dynamic together while kidnapping and killing the women, but we get almost nothing of the sort. A big portion of the book is focused on the kids and the parents thinking about how their actions are affecting them. Also, I thought this would be a dual POV since the couple is doing it together, but instead, we only get the husband’s POV. There’s a lot of “what is my wife doing to the women behind my back” and not a lot of “this is what we are doing to the women”.

There’s a bit of a plot twist at the end, but I didn’t think it was surprising. You kind of see it coming as the story progresses. Also, the pace is on the slower side, so coupling this with the fact there’s almost no action… it gets a little boring.

It wasn’t a terrible book and part of me was entertained, but I thought the story would be a little better and more engaging. Oh well, at least I’ve finally read it!

“We want you to be better than us. Because if our kids don’t grow up to be better than us, then what’s the point of all this? We want you to be kinder, smarter, more humble, more generous, and more selfless than we are. We want to give you the very best circumstances we can possibly provide. So we follow sleeping methods and go to seminars and buy ergonomic bathtubs and push car-seat salesmen up against the wall and shout, ‘The safest! I want THE SAFEST, doyouhearme?!’ (Not that I’ve ever done that, of course; you shouldn’t pay so much attention to what your mother says.)” – 3.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: starting bands, strong women, masculinity, justice, IKEA, teams, helpful (and unhelpful) advice, and tons of poop.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World collects the personal dispatches from the front lines of one of the most daunting experiences any man can experience: fatherhood.

As he conveys his profound awe at experiencing all the “firsts” that fill him with wonder and catch him completely unprepared, Fredrik Backman doesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop.

In between the sleep-deprived lows and wonderful highs, Backman takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite, and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. Alternating between humorous side notes and longer essays offering his son advice as he grows up and ventures out into the world, Backman relays the big and small lessons in life, including:

-How to find the team you belong to
-Why airports explain everything about religion and war
-The reason starting a band is crucial to cultivating and keeping friendships
-How to beat Monkey Island 3
-Why, sometimes, a dad might hold onto his son’s hand just a little too tight.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove shares an irresistible and moving collection of heartfelt, fictional, humorous essays about fatherhood, providing his newborn son with the perspective and tools he’ll need to make his way in the world.

Reading this small book felt like reading a heart-warming love letter. This is such a beautiful and loving dedication from the author to his newborn son, and I’m glad he decided to share it with the world as well.

I would describe this small book as a collection of essays, where the author describes to his newborn son his first time experiencing fatherhood. He says to his son that he will fail a lot as a parent and how much he is trying. He also gives him “practical” advice on multiple everyday things – which was very funny considering the chosen topics! And yet, there’s a lot of love and wisdom behind his words – and that’s not only directed to his son but to his wife as well. She also received her fair share of love letters from this small book, and it was a joy to read about it!

I’ve read a few Fredrik Backman books before this one, and I can see his familiar humor shining through. I just love how funny this was! Fredrik Backman has a great sense of humor and I’m glad we got to see it not hidden behind his works of fiction.

It’s not often you see a fiction author open up a window like this to their personal lives. Sometimes in the world of fiction, we easily to forget that authors are real people who live real lives and have real experiences. This book made me think about my favorite authors and the kinds of lives they’re living and what challenges they are dealing with daily.

It was a book that made me feel very happy and warm inside. Also, it was a very easy read and I read it in one sitting! I would recommend this one to Fredrik Backman fans, but I’m sure if you have kids this would be a very special read anyway.