Wow I can’t believe that it’s already August and I’m just now getting around to writing these. It feels like such a long time ago since I’ve read these books but did the month of January really set me up for an explosive year reading so far. If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you have already seen me give a mini review of all the books I’ve read so far this year (saved to this highlight). I officially hit my book goal for the year last week and so we have a lot of books to catch up on here. Let’s just jump right into the reviews.
Eight Perfect Hours – Lia Louis
Eight Perfect Hours is the perfect winter read, if you’re already starting to stack up your holiday reads for the year. After being stuck in a snow storm for eight perfect hours with a stranger, Noelle believes she’s found the perfect guy until the storm finally stops. Fate has other plans for these two though as they continue to run into each other and even finding out that there lives may have crossed in the past. This is such a cute winter romance with a hint of sadness with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. For fans of One Day in December, this is a must read.
I read this book as an e-book through the library, but it is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Always, in December – Emily Stone
Another book similar to One Day in December and Eight Perfect Hours, Josie meets Max during her yearly Christmas Day trip to the post office to mail a letter off to her parents, who were killed on Christmas Day. Both looking to avoid celebrating the holiday, the end up spending the day together. Coincidentally running into each other in other countries throughout the next year, they start to think that fate wants them to be together. This is not your typical happy holiday romance. The ending of this book had me sobbing similar to It Ends With Us , but is such a great read that you can’t pass it up. A perfect first five star read of the year.
I read this as an e-book through the library.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Singles Table – Sara Desai
The third book in The Marriage Game series, this one may be my least favorite. Zara is a lawyer who loves celebrities and helping people meet their matches. Jay is a private security officer for celebrities who doesn’t have time for love. Tired of their Indian families trying to set them up with someone during the wedding season, Zara decides to work her magic and find the perfect match for Jay.
While this isn’t my favorite one of the series, it still had that cute and lighthearted feeling I want to feel when reading a contemporary romance. It also hit the emotions I needed after reading Always, in December. I always love when authors make references to popular media or celebrities because it not only gets me to connect with the character, but also the author. And as always, I enjoyed learning more about the Indian culture and getting back into the craziness that is the Patel family in this series.
I read this as an e-book through the local library.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Heartstopper: Volume 1 – Alice Oseman
Hearstopper is a YA Graphic Novel dealing with high school student coming out as gay in a more conservative English town, along with another classmate trying to figure out his sexuality after getting to know each other and the friendship that is built on that. I honestly only read this book to go ahead and complete the graphic novel prompt for the RAD 2022 Reading Challenge and I chose this one because she had read it and gave a positive review. The plot summary in Goodreads also drew my attention as something that I seemed I would enjoy.
Y’all! Don’t hate on graphic novels. This book had me sucked in from the start and I finished it in under 30 minutes. This story line is so cute and really deals with heavy topics such as bullying and being used in a relationship at an age where everyone is most vulnerable. Charlie and Nick are perhaps one of my favorite literary characters and as soon as I finished this book, I immediately put the other three volumes on hold at the library.
I read this book as an e-book through the local library.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Soulmate Equation – Christina Lauren
The Soulmate Equation follows Jess, a single mom scientist who believes in everything scientific research until she signs up for a dating website where the focus is finding a match through DNA-based testing. Not only is she surprised to have a 98% match, but her match is none other than one of the founders, River. This enemies to lovers book gave me the void I needed filled ever since reading The Love Hypothesis and had me continue to develop a love of STEM romance novels. This is definitely one of my top three favorite Christina Lauren novels out of the five that I have already read in their catalog.
I read this as a hardback book through the local library.
Rating:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
The Ex Talk – Rachel Lynn Solomon
The Ex-talk follows Shay, a producer for a local radio station. When she pitches an idea for a new show where two exs give relationship advice on air, her boss not only loves the idea, but decides that she should host it along with her coworker Dominic because they despise each other. Another enemies-to-lovers contemporary romance, I enjoyed this one more because of the workplace environment of a radio station and learning how it operates, especially in a world that’s now podcast show focused and heavy. There’s also the side plot of Shay dealing with the loss of her father, who inspired her to want to work in the radio field.
I read this as paperback book through the local library.
The Bromance Book Club – Lyssa Kay Adams
The Bromance Book Club follows professional baseball player Gavin, who is struggling with his marriage after finding out a big secret his wife has been keeping from them about their relationship. His fellow teammate invites him to come to a book club where the men all read romance novels to learn how the woman’s mind works and how it can help Gavin save his marriage. This book was such fun because while it does go back and forth from Gavin and Thea’s point of view, Gavin is the main character which is very rare in contemporary romance. I also enjoyed all the humor among the men in the book club and getting to know them to help set them up for their own stories throughout the series. It was also a first for me to read a novel where it’s a second chance romance while saving a marriage from divorce.
I read this as a paperback copy from the local library.
Rating
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
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