Celebrate the end of the work week with a little book humor.
Monthly Archives: July 2018
Review: I Think I Love You (Oxford #5) by Lauren Layne
Synopsis from Good Reads:
A game of seduction between two best friends goes deliciously wrong in an irresistible Oxford Novel that brims with wit and sexual tension. Library Journal hails Layne’s work as “exemplary contemporary romance.”
Brit Robbins knows that dating in New York City is hard—she just hoped to have it mastered by age thirty. But after yet another promising suitor says they have no sparks, Brit decides it’s time to torch her dating game and try a new plan. And who better to coach Brit through the art of seduction than the guy who first gave her the “let’s be friends” card?
Hunter Cross has always figured there’s nothing his best friend Brit can do to surprise him. But Brit’s request is a surprise he doesn’t see coming—and one he’s definitely not prepared for. Hunter and Brit have always been careful to keep things perfectly platonic, but the fake dates and faux flirting are starting to feel like the real deal. And soon Hunter realizes he has taught Brit too well. Not only has she become an expert at seduction, the man becoming thoroughly seduced is him.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
I Think I Love You will be available July 10, 2018.
To be honest, the synopsis for I Think I Love You almost scared me off. Anything where the plot sounds like it’s centered around a physical relationship is not generally my thing. However, I’ve learned that when it comes to a Lauren Layne book, it’s always best to give her the benefit of the doubt and I’m once again glad I did. While there were a few of the too-graphic scenes I don’t really appreciate, there weren’t more than her other books I’ve read have had.
One of my favorite Romance tropes is Friends-to-More and I Think I Love You utilized it really well. I loved Brit and Hunter’s friendship. I’m really glad that we got to see them together as friends before they really began to fall for each other. I was expecting the “lessons in seduction” to be kind of cringe-worthy and they really weren’t. It was mostly Hunter reinforcing to Brit that there wasn’t anything wrong with her and she just needed to be relax and be herself.
This is the last book in the Oxford series, which is also connected to another book series from Layne. However, this is the first book from either series I’ve read. There were a lot of side characters that were kind of hard for me to keep track of, being unfamiliar with the couples from the previous books, but I think fans of the series will be pretty happy with the cameos. They did make me want to go back and read some of the books I’ve missed.
Overall, I really enjoyed I Think I Love You. It was a quick, cute read (I read it in a day) with likable characters. Lauren Layne continues to be one of my favorite Romance authors and I’m really looking forward to whatever she writes next.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
Review: A Gathering of Secrets (Kate Burkholder #10) by Linda Castillo
Synopsis from Good Reads:
A deadly fire exposes the dark side of Amish life in A Gathering of Secrets, a harrowing new thriller in the New York Times bestselling series by Linda Castillo.
When a historic barn burns to the ground in the middle of the night, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called in to investigate. At first, it looks like an accident, but when the body of eighteen-year-old Daniel Gingerich is found inside—burned alive—Kate suspects murder. Who would want a well-liked, hardworking young Amish man dead? Kate delves into the investigation only to find herself stonewalled by the community to which she once belonged. Is their silence a result of the Amish tenet of separation? Or is this peaceful and deeply religious community conspiring to hide a truth no one wants to talk about? Kate doubles down only to discover a plethora of secrets and a chilling series of crimes that shatters everything she thought she knew about her Amish roots—and herself.
As Kate wades through a sea of suspects, she’s confronted by her own violent past and an unthinkable possibility.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
A Gathering of Secrets will be available July 10, 2018.
Sometimes when a series has been around for awhile, the characters and the stories seem to get a little stale. That is not the case with the Kate Burkholder series. We are ten books in and I still enjoy it just as much as I did the beginning of the series.
I thought A Gathering of Secrets was a very well done procedural. As with most cases, there is a lot more going on than first suspected and the case becomes really personal for Kate, reminding her of things from her past she thought she moved on from. I also thought these elements were pretty timely to what’s going on in the world today. The pace was really steady with new clues revealed in every chapter. There were a few red herrings here and there, but everything about the resolution of the mystery made sense. I suspected so many characters and it took me about as long as it did Kate to figure things out.
There are a couple of big character developments in this book. One with a beloved side character and one with Kate and Tomasetti. One of the only things I haven’t liked about the last few books in this series is that there isn’t as much Tomasetti as in the beginning. Now that he and Kate are involved, it makes working cases together a little trickier and since the romance is not front and center his role has been reduced. While I do wish we would’ve gotten a little more of him in this installment (I will never stop wanting more Tomasetti), it made me appreciate what we did get even more. He is such a great partner for Kate and I’m looking forward to watching their relationship develop even more in future books.
Overall, I really enjoyed A Gathering of Secrets. I thought the mystery was so well done and I found the book hard to put down. The story takes place in a fictional town in a real county that’s close to where I grew up and it’s always fun to recognize the locations mentioned (this one included the venue I had my junior prom at!). I definitely recommend this series to Mystery fans.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
June 2018 Recap
June was a pretty good reading and blogging month for me, as you’ll see below, so I’m going to take a moment to talk about some life updates. My parents’ dissolution was completed this month. It’s been a very stressful several months and there has been a lot of changes in our family and I’m glad we can all finally move on. My mother has been staying with me, in my one bedroom apartment, for over 7 months. (I’m not sure what the qualifications are for sainthood, but I’m pretty sure I meet them haha.) She is finally going to get back to her condo soon and I think we’re both pretty pleased about that. Maybe one day I will do a whole post about the events that led up to all of this. I think it could be kind of cathartic. It’s felt like a poorly written Lifetime movie. Anyways, on to the books!
Books Read: 14
Adult: 12
YA: 2
Favorite Book I Read This Month:
The Promise (DI Imogen Grey #4) by Katerina Diamond
Books Reviewed: 9
The Book of Me by Peng Shepherd – 3/5 Stars
Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering – 4/5 Stars
The Paris Wedding by Charlotte Nash – 4/5 Stars
Providence by Caroline Kepnes – 2.5/5 Stars
Find You in the Dark by Nathan Ripley – 2.5/5 Stars
One Small Thing by Erin Watt – 4/5 Stars
The Date by Louise Jensen – 2/5 Stars
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage – 3/5 Stars
Our Kind of Cruelty by Araminta Hall – 3.5/5 Stars
Books Read in 2018 Overall: 82
Funny Fridays:
Other Posts:
Top Ten Tuesday: My Summer TBR
Top Ten Tuesday: Series I’ve Given up on / Don’t Plan to Finish
Reviewing the Unreviewed: June 2018
Bellarke
I’ve never been a huge fan of the show The 100, but I’ve watched it – mostly as background noise – since it’s been on. I’ve always shipped Clarke with Bellamy and that has basically been the only reason I’ve stuck with the show for so long. However, I’ve really been enjoying this season so far and decided to go back to the beginning because I don’t remember who a lot of these characters are or how they got there. Between the current season and the first couple of seasons I’ve re-watched now I’ve become, like, a #Bellarke super fan. I spent so much time on Pinterest lately looking at Bellarke pins. It’s a problem, but I can’t help myself. I ship them so hard!
Looking forward to July
There are 2 author events I’m really excited about in July. As part of my favorite Summer tradition, Linda Castillo will be in the area for her book tour. (Look for my review of her latest book on July 2nd). She is also holding a writing seminar while she’s here that I’ve signed up for. I am also going with book buddy Amanda to see one of my favorite authors, Linwood Barclay!
Stephanie's Book Reviews 