Funny Friday started as book-related humor and then shifted into COVID-19 humor. I decided to stop limiting it to one thing and it will now be whatever I find that’s funny and relevant to me.
Accurate!
Monthly Archives: February 2021
WWW Wednesday: February 24, 2021
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
What did you recently finish reading?
Nate by Tijan. I liked this, but didn’t love it. A big thank you to Deanna for lending me her copy!!
What are you currently reading?
Romancing Mister Bridgerton (Bridgertons #4) by Julia Quinn. I am really enjoying this so far! I’m already lamenting the wait for the next book in the series at my library.
What do you think you’ll read next?
The Songbook of Benny Lament by Amy Harmon. I almost always love Harmon’s books, so I have high hopes for this one.
What are you reading?
Review: You Love Me (You #3) by Caroline Kepnes
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The highly anticipated new thriller in Caroline Kepnes’s hit You series, now a blockbuster Netflix show…
Joe Goldberg is back. And he’s going to start a family – even if it kills him.
Joe Goldberg is done with cities, done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he’s saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cozy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe.
He gets a job at the local library – he does know a thing or two about books – and that’s where he meets her: Mary Kaye DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won’t meddle, he will not obsess. He’ll win her the old fashioned way… by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they’ll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town.
The trouble is… Mary Kaye already has a life. She’s a mother. She’s a friend. She’s… busy.
True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He’s ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kaye will do the right thing and make room for him.
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
You Love Me publishes April 6, 2021.
I remember reading You, the first book in this series, years ago. It still stands out in my mind as being perhaps the most the most messed up book I’ve ever read. The writing was so different and Joe was so crazy that I was completely enthralled by it. I was excited to pick up the newest book in the series. It ended up feeling very reminiscent of the first book to me. But while You felt fresh and fascinating, You Love Me…didn’t.
This book just really felt like more of the same to me, but not as well done. It didn’t have that new, unique feel of the first book and it didn’t have the body count and actual plot development of the second book. It was a slow (and I mean slooooooooow) burn with a lack of payoff. Joe is still the same obsessives, but lovable, pyschopath, but slightly reformed. He doesn’t want to be quite so stalkerish with hew new love interest. He doesn’t want to “have to” kill anyone for her. He comes off as a knockoff version of himself from the previous books and the result was a pretty boring story.
I do want to make sure I point out that I’m still a Joe fan. The thing that this author does so well is putting us in Joe’s head and making his crazy behavior almost make sense. I make myself a little uncomfortable with how much I understand his thought process sometimes. So while the plot felt recycled and almost a little lazy, I did enjoy getting more Joe.
Overall, I found You Love Me pretty disappointing. While I always enjoy Joe, I never cared about any of the other characters and the story really dragged. While I do like that Kepnes tried to evolve his character by making him want to be a better man, I found myself wishing he would act a little crazier so something interesting would finally happen. While I definitely plan on continuing to watch the tv series whenever a new season comes out, I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the next book in the series.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2 Stars
Funny Friday
Funny Friday started as book-related humor and then shifted into COVID-19 humor. I decided to stop limiting it to one thing and it will now be whatever I find that’s funny and relevant to me.
Guaranteed disappointment, indeed…
WWW Wednesday: February 17, 2021
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
What did you recently finish reading?
You Love Me (You #3) by Caroline Kepnes. I was pretty disappointed with this. My review will post next week.
What are you currently reading?
The Insiders by Tijan. I’m not really sure what I think of this so far. Like, I’m enjoying it, but there’s not a whole lot of actual plot development going on.
What do you think you’ll read next?
I’m not sure, but Bookshop by the Sea by Denise Hunter is my next ARC up.
What are you reading?
Review: To Sir, with Love by Lauren Layne
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Love Is Blind meets You’ve Got Mail in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy following two thirty-somethings who meet on a blind dating app—only to realize that their online chemistry is nothing compared to their offline rivalry.
Perpetually cheerful and eager to please, Gracie Cooper strives to make the best out of every situation. So when her father dies just five months after a lung cancer diagnosis, she sets aside her dreams of pursuing her passion for art to take over his Midtown Manhattan champagne shop. She soon finds out that the store’s profit margins are being squeezed perilously tight, and complicating matters further, a giant corporation headed by the impossibly handsome, but irritatingly arrogant Sebastian Andrews is proposing a buyout to turn the store into a parking garage. But Gracie can’t bear the thought of throwing away her father’s dream like she did her own.
Overwhelmed and not wanting to admit to her friends or family that she’s having second thoughts about the shop, Gracie seeks advice and solace from someone she’s never met—the faceless “Sir”, with whom she connected on a blind dating app where matches get to know each other through messages and common interests before exchanging real names or photos.
But although Gracie finds herself slowly falling for Sir online, she has no idea she’s already met him in real life…and they can’t stand each other.
I received a copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley and Edelweiss.
To Sir, with Love publishes June 29, 2021
There is nothing like a Lauren Layne book to break you out of a book rut and uplift your mood. Her books are often among my most anticipated of the year and To Sir, with Love did not disappoint. I really loved it!
The premise of the story is a familiar one. Two people who meet and start off on the wrong foot with each other don’t realize that they’ve just met the person they’ve been anonymously corresponding with. In this case, they’ve been messaging as “Sir” and “Lady” on a photo free dating app when Sebastian comes into Gracie’s fledgling champagne shop offering to buy out the remainder of the lease. An offer she resents, letting that resentment transfer over to Sebastian.
Sebastian begins to win her over, though, and I loved watching it unfold. Their animosity towards each other pops up occasionally, but didn’t overshadow all the cute moments going on. I was definitely shipping Sebastian and Gracie and was anxiously waiting for them to figure things out. Speaking of which, I really enjoyed the chat excerpts between them that were interspersed throughout the story. There was some good banter that I always enjoy. I do have to say, though, that since it’s obvious to the reader that Sebastian and Sir are the same person, I got a little annoyed at Gracie for taking so long to figure it out. All of the times she’s debating about her feelings between Sir and Sebastian seemed a little fruitless to me. However, it eventually all comes to light in a very sweet scene, so it still worked for me.
Another thing I really liked about this story is that the romance falls more on the sweet side. Those that are familiar with Layne’s other books know that she often includes a couple of explicit love scenes, but there aren’t any here and it made me like the book even more.
In addition to to the romance, I loved the friendships and family dynamics. Gracie’s friend and neighbor, Keva, was funny and I wouldn’t mind seeing a book about her in the future. I also enjoyed Gracie’s siblings, Caleb and Lily, and I loved Lily’s husband, Alec. They were so supportive of Gracie and I liked seeing them grow closer.
If there is one thing that I didn’t really care for, though, it’s the title of the book. It’s also the title of a movie. At first I thought this was supposed to be based on the movie, but it isn’t at all. I understand how the title works for the book, but I maybe would have changed a word so there would be no confusion in trying to compare it to the movie.
Overall, I really loved To Sir, with Love. It was such a sweet story and I enjoyed every minute I was reading it. The characters were likable and the romance was shippable. I was feeling like I was in a book slump when I started this book and it pulled me out of it. Rom-Com fans will definitely want to add this to their TBR list for this summer!
Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars
Funny Friday
Funny Friday started as book-related humor and then shifted into COVID-19 humor. I decided to stop limiting it to one thing and it will now be whatever I find that’s funny and relevant to me.
And I’ve been dropping way too much money on tickets…
WWW Wednesday: February 10, 2021
WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.
What did you recently finish reading?
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I enjoyed this, but not quite as much as I hoped to, considering Beach Read was one of my top reads of 2020.
What are you currently reading?
Enjoy the View (Moose Springs, Alaska #3) by Sarah Morgenthaler and If It’s Perfect by Summer Dowell. Honestly, I’ll probably be a little surprised surprised if I end up finishing either of these books right now. I loved the first book in the Moose Springs, Alaska series, but I tried reading the second book several times and never made it past the first chapter and this one I’ve read the first chapter and don’t really feel too inspired to read any more. If It’s Perfect is ok so far, but I’m not super into it. I like the cute cover, though.
What do you think you’ll read next?
I just got A Simple Murder by Linda Castillo from the library. This is a collection of all the novellas from the Kate Burkholder series. Even though it’s one of my favorite series, I think I’ve only read one of the novellas, so I’m looking forward to these. And maybe reading one short story at a time will help with my book slump.
What are you reading?
Review: The Minders by John Marrs
Synopsis from Goodreads:
“The new high concept thriller from the author of The Passengers and the word-of-mouth sensation The One, soon to be a Netflix original series. In the 21st century, information is king. But computers can be hacked and files can be broken into – so a unique government initiative has been born. Five ordinary people have been selected to become “minders” – the latest weapon in thwarting cyberterrorism. Transformed by a revolutionary medical procedure, the country’s most classified information has been taken offline and turned into genetic code implanted inside their heads. Together, the five know every secret – the truth behind every government lie, conspiracy theory and cover up. In return, they’re given the chance to leave their problems behind and a blank slate to start their lives anew. But not everyone should be trusted, especially when they each have secrets of their own they’ll do anything to protect…”
I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.
The Minders publishes February 16, 2021.
This is why I can’t have nice things. I’ve heard so many great things about The Minders and I was excited to finally read it, my first John Marrs novel. Unfortunately, I did not find it to live up to any of the hype for me.
Let’s start with what I enjoyed. Going into the book, I was a little wary of the sci-fi elements and expected that to bring the story down for me, but it was actually my favorite part. Everything felt futuristic, but not that futuristic that it seemed unbelievable. A lot of it seemed like things that could still happen in my lifetime and that was kind of cool – and a little scary.
I thought the concept of the story was interesting and unique, but I ended up feeling really bored for most of it. The story is incredibly slow paced until the final third or so. It’s heavily character-driven, but I felt pretty ambivalent about all of them, which made it feel like a chore to get through. None of the characters were likeable and where there were a few sympathetic elements to all of them, I just never felt a connection to them. I almost DNF-ed the book several times, but the promises of crazy twists and suspense I kept reading in other reviews kept me going.
Sadly, I felt left down by the twists, as well. There were a few surprises that I didn’t guess beforehand, but most of the larger plot twists I predicted far in advance. I thought there were enough clues that anyone paying attention would guess them. Or even if you just read a lot of thrillers, you will probably be able figure it out. While the sci-fi backdrop felt unique, the actual execution of the plot seemed redundant.
Overall, The Minders was not for me. I liked the concept and the action did pick up in the last third or so of the book, but everything leading up to it was really boring to me. I didn’t care for the characters and I guessed a couple of the major plot twists long before there were revealed. While I didn’t really enjoy the story, I am obviously in the minority opinion, so it still may be worth checking it out.
Overall Rating (out of 5): 2 Stars
Funny Friday
Funny Friday started as book-related humor and then shifted into COVID-19 humor. I decided to stop limiting it to one thing and it will now be whatever I find that’s funny and relevant to me.
This one is in honor of the sick day I took for the weather induced migraine I got last week and was told I couldn’t go back to the office for 10 days…
Stephanie's Book Reviews 