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IF ONLY YOU BY CHLOE LIESE // spoiler-free book review: finally reviewing one of my fave reads of the year aka friends to lovers sports romance perfection
A lot has been happening this year and by a lot I mean I’ve been working on my thesis for like 3 months straight. Hence this post has not happened until now *cries* I’m sorry, but I swear the wait will be worth it!!!! Because this book!!! Imma just get right into it because I need to yell!!!! Oh wait, you can check out my interview with Chloe Liese right over here: Title: If Only YouSeries: Bergman Brothers book #5Author: Chloe LiesePage count: 376Date published: 11 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ⚽ Synopsis: Ziggy I’m the youngest player on the National Soccer team, the baby of my family, and thoroughly sick of being underestimated, so I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands. Which is where my brother’s best friend and teammate, the infamous Sebastian Marchand, comes in. Seb needs to rehab his reputation. I want to give mine an edge. So I propose a fake friendship with real benefits: spending time in the public eye, my good-girl image and his bad-boy notoriety rubbing off on each other. He’s my devious, dark-haired fantasy come to life, but his destructive ways make it easy to keep him in the (fake)…
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FOUL HEART HUNTSMAN BY CHLOE GONG // blog tour book talk: say hello to my favourite read of this year and hands down the best conclusion to a showstopping ya historical fiction fantasy series!!!
Hi hello friends! And welcome to my tour stop celebrating the upcoming release of Foul Heart Huntsman. As you can guess, I’m hyperventilating over this just a little bit and I’ll just shut up now so we can cry together,,,, Big thanks to Colored Pages Book Tours for having me! Title: Foul Heart HuntsmanSeries: Secret Shanghai series book #5Author: Chloe GongPage count: 560Date published: 26 September 2023Genre: Young Adult historical fiction fantasy 🫀 Synopsis: Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion. Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back. But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince…
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INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR JESSICA JOYCE // chatting with debut author of You, With a View about this glorious childhood rivals to lovers romance you need injected into your veins!!!
Gosh dang am I excited about today’s post and am oh so grateful that our guest Jessica Joyce agreed to be here today. I haven’t read a debut THIS GOOD in a long freaking time and I shall no go forth and shove her down your throats!!!! 💌 Big thanks to Penguin Random House South Africafor the early copy of You, With a View! Title: You, With A ViewAuthor: Jessica JoycePage count: 352Date published: 11 July 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance 💌 Synopsis: Two weeks on the road… stuck in a car with your high-school enemy. Noelle Shepard is grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother when she discovers decades-old photos and letters that hint to a forbidden love in her gram’s past. Needing to know the full story, she creates a TikTok video appealing for information – and it goes viral. Through her video, she manages to track down her grandmother’s secret love, Paul, who offers to take her on the honeymoon road-trip he and Gram planned but never got to go on. Noelle jumps at the chance to make this one last connection with her grandmother. There’s just one problem – Paul’s grandson is Noelle’s frustratingly handsome high-school rival…
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JULY RECAP // movie theatre mania aka going to barbenheimer, publisher events, back to school & cute reads
Quite chuffed with myself for being mostly on time with these lately. Who knows if it’ll stick because I have a big fat deadline at the end of August. You have been warned of my potential upcoming hibernation. Let me stop freaking us all out (lmao) and jump right in! — Nothing More To Tell by Karen M McManus {★★★½☆}:I FINALLY picked up this one and ugh Ms McManus always manages to sweep me away with a great time. Unfortunately, this was not my favourite of hers, I usually tend to love her characters but they weren’t my fave in this one. But the cold case was fun and I kept going, so it’s definitely worth a read if you’re a fan like me. Big thanks to Penguin Random House South Africa for the eARC and physical copy. More thoughts in GR review right over here You, With A View by Jessica Joyce {★★★★½}: I mean wow. Round of freaking applause for this DEBUT that literally knocked my socks off. Jessica has pure talent in those finger tips and this book was just absolutely everything. From the writing to the romance to the settings and the gut-wrenching grief conversations THIS…
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MAD ABOUT YOU BY MHAIRI MCFARLANE // spoiler-free book review: meet one of the best adult contemporaries i’ve ever read aka a delightfully british rom-com that has me in a chokehold
Please say hello to this absolute gem of a book that you should be ashamed you haven’t read yet. Yes I do have the right and power to say that about you all and you are not allowed to say it back *hides* AHHH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH IT HURTS AND IM SHOVING IT DOWN ALL YOUR THROATS FOR ETERNITY!!!!! Onwards with the crying/yelling/screeching about this author *wink wink* Title: Mad About YouAuthor: Mhairi McFarlanePage count: 432Date published: 14 April 2022Genre: Adult contemporary fiction 🏡 Synopsis: Two reluctant housemates.Two broken promises.One crazy plan… Harriet Hatley may be one of the most in-demand wedding photographers in Leeds, but she hates the idea of marriage. Cal Clarke is used to the world falling in line with his plans – apart from his own love-life, which has gone hopelessly wrong. When they become unlikely housemates, it’s clear they’re both running away from something bigger. Can they take a crazy risk to face the past and change everything? 🏡 🏡 STAR RATING: (5 out of 5 stars) Trigger warnings for previous relationship emotional abuse — My heart is so full and I am jumping for joy and Mhairi McFarlane is…
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MID YEAR BOOK FREAK OUT TAG // 2023 edition: i’ve read almost 30 books so far ft. stunning 5 star reads, new favourite authors & exciting new releases
Time for my overused Christmas in July joke once again? We all laughed right? Glad I can amuse you. Anyways, I always love doing this tag but I’m realising it’s been a minute since I did a tag. And there are more questions than I remember so hopefully you get this at a reasonable time and not in like November. I deserve a commandment if this post is early honestly. An entire ceremony if you ask me, Alright, I’ll shut up now and get into the questions!!! BEST BOOK YOU’VE READ THIS YEAR SO FAR ✯ Honourable mention: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong ✯ Happy Place by Emily Henry The internet had me scared for a second there with all them bad reviews but turns out I should trust my gut. And also my mother Emily Henry. Because she never disappoints and I loved this one. As expected. God, I loved it so much. And hated it. Conflicting but in a good way. Emily Henry is writing my obituary at this point honestly. Not to be morbid or anything, but I do need her to do that. Anyways, yes this book destroyed me and brought me back to life.…
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JUNE RECAP // back on the blogging game ft. some new fave reads, a book event but nothing much really oops
Doing pretty well with these recaps lately. Aren’t you proud? It would be mean if you weren’t, just sayin’ Anyways, not much to waffle about so we’ll just jump right in! — Happy Place by Emily Henry {★★★★★}: thank the heavens I got off my butt and actually read this freaking book. I thank you all for your endless patience on waiting like 6 months for me to review this. I’ve done a whole review already so go read that for more in-depth thoughts. But I will say shame on the Internet for making me doubt Ms Henry for a hot minute because I was scared for a second. But that was not necessary because she was as good as I needed her to be and I want to cry on the floor at how good this freaking book was omg!!! I love you Viking Books & Penguin SA, ty for my gifted copies! Something More by Jackie Khalileah {★★★☆☆}: sad she was exactly what I wanted but still recommend if you’re looking for a fun debut YA romance with some stunning autism rep. Big thanks to Colored Pages Tours & Tundra Books for the eARC! GR review right over…
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TWICE SHY BY SARAH HOGLE // spoiler-free book review: a cinnamon roll of a contemporary romance that you absolutely need to warm your cold hearts <3
Read this literally a year ago and I have only just managed to get my hands on a physical copy and I need to yell at you all about this delightful book. Ugh, it’s so good and underrated and let’s just get into it!!!! Title: Twice ShyAuthor: Sarah HoglePage count: 302Date published: 6 April 2021Genre: Adult contemporary romance 🌳 Synopsis: Can you find real love when you’ve always got your head in the clouds? Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start. Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future. Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other…
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LAST VIOLENT CALL BY CHLOE GONG // book talk: died and went to heaven reading these masterpiece novellas from my fave series
Finally being the obedient fan that I am and caught up on my fave hence these reviews are very close together. Did you all know I love Chloe Gong? Didn’t know if it was obvious or not haha Quick disclaimer: I’m actually not spoiling this book in particular, but the entire plot is a spoiler for previous books in the series, especially Our Violent Ends, hence me titling this a book talk. However, if you’re up to date with the series, I’m not spoiling anything *wink wink* Anyways, this has been a long time coming and I’m excited to get into this! Title: Last Violent CallSeries: Secret Shanghai book #3.5Author: Chloe GongPage count: 233Date published: 28 February 2023Genre: New adult historical fiction ☎ Synopsis: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Chloe Gong come two captivating novellas surrounding the events of Foul Lady Fortune and following a familiar cast of characters from These Violent Delights. In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their quiet life. But when they hear about Russian girls showing up dead in nearby…
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HAPPY PLACE BY EMILY HENRY // spoiler-free book review: the most perfect summer read from my queen mother ft. stunning best friends on vacation & heartwrenching second chance romance
Let us ignore that I could have read this book months ago but I was too much of a scaredy cat lmao But I shall cease to be in awe of the Henry magic and I shall now spend the rest of my days shoving this down your throat. You’ve been warned! Let’s dive in ; ) Title: Happy PlaceAuthor: Emily HenryPage count: 388Date published: 25 April 2023Genre: Adult contemporary romance ☀️ Synopsis: A couple who broke up months ago pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends. Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t. They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the…
