Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen

Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen

224 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

What do you do when you're the girl who can do it all, and suddenly you can't?

After burning out last year, Angelica is ready to get her life back together. Thankfully she has amazing friends to support her...including Peri the Bear, the mascot of her town's local theater. At her lowest moments, Angelica found comfort in private messaging Peri's social media account, and well, she might have a bit of a crush. Now, Angelica is interning at the local theater in the hopes of finding the person beind the account and thanking them. Who was this mysterious stranger and why did they help her out? Was it just caring for a stranger...or did they feel the same connection that Angelica felt?

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick

Phoebe Berman's Gonna Lose It by Brooke Averick

304 pages

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Phoebe Berman fears the one thing she wants the most: love. Thanks to an extremely unfortunate first kiss attempt, crippling intimacy anxiety has plagued her since she was a teen.

Phoebe has so much going for her: a dream teaching job, a supportive and hilarious group of best friends, and all the romance novels a girl could want at her fingertips—but she can’t help but beat herself up over the one thing she can’t quite seem to figure out. Determined to change this, she drafts up the ultimate "Guide to Losing My Virginity" checklist with the hope of finally getting laid.

Suddenly, she goes from a relatively boring (basically non-existent) dating life to juggling three romantic prospects at once. There's the gorgeous new fourth grade teacher at her school, a former high school classmate that resurfaces through Words with Friends, and there will always be her roommate, who might just be the best friends-to-lovers situation of her dreams.

Good Spirits

 Good Spirits by B.K. Borison 352 pages

Synopsis: Ghost of Christmas Past Nolan Callahan intends to spend this holiday haunting like every other—get in, get out, return to his otherwise aimless existence as a ghost awaiting the afterlife. But when he’s faced with Harriet York, the sweetest assignment he’s ever had, he suddenly finds himself wishing for a future.

Harriet York has no idea why she’s being haunted. She’s a good person—or, at least, she tries to be. A people pleaser to her core, she always does what’s expected of her. But as she and Nolan begin to examine her past, they discover there are threads that bind them together— and realize there might be more to moving on than expected.

With the deadline of Christmas Eve fast approaching, will they find the key to their futures in each other’s pasts? Or will they stay firmly in the present, indulging in their unexpected, spirited connection?

My thoughts: Okay this book was cutesy. I did like how it did have depth as well as some smexy romance in it. I loved the author's take on the Ghost of Christmas Past. The chaos of his magic and her quirkiness was epic.

The Wedding People

 The Wedding People by Alison Espach 367 pages

Summary: It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

My Thoughts: I actually enjoyed this book, it was funny, it was relatable, it was deep. The characters were excellent. The only thing I thought was weird was the timing of some of the things and how fast a few things seemed. I would definitely recommend this book. I will warn you, it begins pretty bleak and it takes a bit to get to the hilarious parts. 

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

 Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner - 328 pages

Grace Henderson has been a star of the US Women’s National Team for ten years, even though she’s only 26. But when she’s sidelined with an injury, a bold new upstart, Phoebe Matthews, takes her spot. Phoebe is everything Grace isn’t—a gregarious jokester who plays with a joy that Grace lost somewhere along the way. The last thing Grace expects is to become friends with benefits with this class clown she sees as her rival.

Phoebe Matthews has always admired Grace’s skill and was star struck to be training alongside her idol. But she quickly finds herself looking at Grace as more than a mere teammate. After one daring kiss, she’s hooked. Grace is everything she has been waiting to find.

As the World Cup approaches, and Grace works her way back from injury, the women decide to find a way they can play together instead of vying for the same position. Except, when they are off the field, Grace is worried she’s catching feelings while Phoebe thinks they are dating. As the tension between them grows, will both players realize they care more about their relationship than making the roster?

Opinion: This book fell flat for me. There was a lot of telling and not showing, the dynamic between the two main characters felt off, and it only got worse the further on I read. I feel like there was no actual romance and what was there had me cringing. Both characters were frustrating but that could also be because I hate the miscommunication trope. 

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

 The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna 318 pages

Summary: As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and...Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he's concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn't the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn't know she was looking for....

My Thoughts: This book was exactly what I needed after reading such an intense book "The Personal Librarian". It was funny, it was light, but also had this theme of feeling lonely and isolated. The characters all had different personalities, but somehow they all fit together perfectly. I loved the take on witch magic in this book. 

Donut Fall in Love

Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau 358 pages

Summary: Actor Ryan Kwok is back in Toronto after the promotional tour for his latest film, a rom-com that is getting less-than-stellar reviews. After the sudden death of his mother and years of constant work, Ryan is taking some much-needed time off. But as he tries to be supportive to his family, he struggles with his loss and doesn't know how to talk to his dad—who now trolls him on Twitter instead of meeting him for dim sum.

Innovative baker Lindsay McLeod meets Ryan when he knocks over two dozen specialty donuts at her bakery. Their relationship is off to a messy start, but there’s no denying their immediate attraction. When Ryan signs up for a celebrity episode of Baking Fail, he asks Lindsay to teach him how to bake and she agrees.

As Lindsay and Ryan spend time together, bonding over grief and bubble tea, it starts to feel like they’re cooking up something sweeter than cupcakes in the kitchen.

My Thoughts: This book was cute fluff. I wasn't really in the mood for this light romance book, so it took me a while to get through. However, I enjoyed the baking aspect of this book and having a movie star be really down to earth. If you like baking and movie stars and cute love, this book is for you! It also touches on heavy topics and it does it very well. 

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County

 The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County by Claire Swinarski 272 Pages

Summary: Esther Larson has been cooking for funerals in the Northwoods of Wisconsin for seventy years. Known locally as the “funeral ladies,” she and her cohort have worked hard to keep the mourners of Ellerie County fed—it is her firm belief that there is very little a warm casserole and a piece of cherry pie can’t fix. But, after falling for an internet scam that puts her home at risk, the proud Larson family matriarch is the one in need of help these days. Iris, Esther’s whip-smart Gen Z granddaughter, would do anything for her family and her community.

As she watches her friends and family move out of their lakeside town onto bigger and better things, Iris wonders why she feels so left behind in the place she is desperate to make her home. But when Cooper Welsh shows up, she finally starts to feel like she’s found the missing piece of her puzzle. Cooper is dealing with becoming a legal guardian to his younger half-sister after his beloved stepmother dies. While their celebrity-chef father is focused on his booming career and top-ranked television show, Cooper is still hurting from a public tragedy he witnessed last year as a paramedic and finding it hard to cope. With Iris in the gorgeous Ellerie County, though, he hopes he might finally find the home he’s been looking for.

It doesn’t seem like a community cookbook could possibly solve their problems, especially one where casseroles have their own section and cream of chicken soup mix is the most frequently used ingredient. But when you mix the can-do spirit of Midwestern grandmothers with the stubborn hope of a boy raised by food plus a dash of long-awaited forgiveness—things might just turn out okay.

My thoughts: This book was an easy read and my book club ladies enjoyed it. This is the author's first Adult book and it did show that it was. She wrote YA fiction before this book.  The depth just wasn't there. The author touched on so many hard topics, but didn't explore those topics and issues further and show how the character(s) overcame them. As I said it was an easy read and light and fluffy, but the depth wasn't there.  

The Cinnamon Bun Book Store

 The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore 384 pages

Summary: When a secret message turns up hidden in a book in the Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, Hazel can't understand it. As more secret codes appear between the pages, she decides to follow the trail of clues… she just need someone to help her out.

Gorgeous and outgoing fisherman, Noah, is always up for an adventure. And a scavenger hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Even better that the cute bookseller he's been crushing on for months is the one who wants his help!

Hazel didn’t go looking for romance, but as the treasure hunt leads her and Noah around Dream Harbor, their undeniable chemistry might be just as hot as the fresh-out-of-the-oven cinnamon buns the bookstore sells…

My Thoughts: Cute cozy romance for those of you that want something easy to read. I do enjoy small town novels, where everyone is in everyone's business. This is part of the author's Dream Harbor series and focuses on Hazel who works in the bookstore. 

The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lind-Rice

 

The Bookshop Sisterhood by Michelle Lind-Rice 368 Pages

Summary: When life rewrites the story, only friendship will see them through.

After years of hard work, four best friends—Celeste, Yasmeen, Toni and Leslie—are finally on the verge of opening the bookstore of their dreams. A place where their community can find solace with an intriguing new read, a comforting beverage and book-loving friends.
But before they can cut the ribbon, their worlds are upended.
Toni receives devastating news just months before her wedding, while Celeste’s struggling marriage threatens to collapse completely. Leslie learns a shocking secret about her family, and a lotto ticket changes Yasmeen’s life—but not for the better.
As the bookstore’s grand opening fast approaches, the four women must lean on each other now more than ever to navigate their grief and uncertainty. And together, they’ll learn that sometimes, even life’s most unexpected plot twists can lead to beautiful new beginnings.

My Thoughts: What surprised me most about this book was the bookshop was more of a background theme. The real theme was about family and friends, money can't buy happiness, and life. The only thing that irked me was how childish some of these adult women acted at times, they acted more like people in their mid-twenties do, even though they were all supposed to be in their 30's. The drama was definitely insane drama, but relatable at times. Overall I did enjoy the book (anything to do with books I'm all for it).

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

 A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson 433 pages

Summary: Everyone in Fairview knows the story.

Pretty and popular high school senior Andie Bell was murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who then killed himself. It was all anyone could talk about. And five years later, Pip sees how the tragedy still haunts her town.
But she can't shake the feeling that there was more to what happened that day. She knew Sal when she was a child, and he was always so kind to her. How could he possibly have been a killer?
Now a senior herself, Pip decides to reexamine the closed case for her final project, at first just to cast doubt on the original investigation. But soon she discovers a trail of dark secrets that might actually prove Sal innocent . . . and the line between past and present begins to blur. Someone in Fairview doesn't want Pip digging around for answers, and now her own life might be in danger.

My Thoughts: I read this book because there's now a TV series on Netflix based off of this book. The book and the TV Show follow each other very well. Trigger warning... a beloved animal dies and I dislike books like that so much, but i powered through and sobbed both with the book and show.