Review: By the Book

 

Isabelle's publishing career is not going as she expected. She's stuck in a rut with a boss who isn't interested in helping her out of her rut. When Isabelle overhears her boss complain about a client who hasn't turned in his manuscript, she offers to take matters into her own hands.

What Isabelle sees as a quick trip for a pep talk turns into a very different story. Instead, she's stuck in the house with a former child actor who hasn't written any pages of his memoir. Worse - he's grumpy and rude. But Isabelle's not about to give up; she's determined to make her dreams come true.

My Thoughts: An adult Disney book! I've been waiting for this series* my whole life! This Beauty and the Beast retelling was amazing. First, it's written by one of my favorite romance authors. Second, I love all the nods to the fairy tale. It's simply enchanting. I loved the moments about publishing, Isabelle's pep talks, and the chats about writing. And of course, I loved that library! I want to spend some time writing there. I loved the snack cupboard and all the food descriptions. 

Cover Thoughts: Adorable

Source: My Library

Library Recommendation: A must have book for your romance collection

* It's not technically a series with overlapping characters but an adult series of fairy tale retellings.

Top Ten Tuesday: Romance

 If you read this blog, you know I'm a HUGE romance fan. You can watch a video of my co-worker and I talking about romance books on our Book Recommendation video here.

Sometimes pictures share a better story, so here are the top ten adult romances I can't wait to read this year! Believe me, there are several more I'm excited to read....

Are you excited to read any of these too?

Top Ten Tuesday: Under the Tree

 This week's topic is books we wish Santa would leave under the tree for us! We've been awfully good readers this year!

My biggest ARC wishes for 2022 books with covers (so far)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any of these on your list to read?

Book Lists: Hollywood

I recently finished While We Were Dating and I loved it. I'm a sucker for Hollywood books. So I thought I would make a booklist.

Pictured:

While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner 

Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade

Not Pictured:

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

Upcoming:

Love Scene by Bridget Morrisey

I Kissed a Girl by Jennet Alexander

Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

Hollywood Ending by Tash Skilton

Books and Treats (13)

A new blog idea inspired by Andi @ http://andiabcs.com/2014/08/01/pub-date-1/ with the Pub Date where a few bloggers share book and beer pair ups.  Andi states that the idea is the brain child of Brittany at The Book Addict’s Guide.

Often times when I read books, I know they're going to make my mouth water because their foodie books. But I wasn't expecting this one.

This book, which was delightful, made me crave cake. Mostly chocolate cake. But also coconut cake. 

Photo Credit: https://cdn-image.foodandwine.com/sites/default/files/200512-r-xl-fudgy-chocolate-layer-cake.jpg

 

Christmas Book Review: Royal Holiday

 * Book 4 in the Wedding Date series * 

When Maddie's job takes her to England for Christmas, she asks her mom to accompany her. Vivian's excited to travel, especially since after the first of the year, things will drastically change at work. This will be her last vacation for a while. She's also proud of her daughter for her accomplishments. While Maddie's helping the Duchess, she'll be able to relax.

When she meets the Queen's Royal Secretary - the two of them hit it off. Soon, he taking her on private tours of the estate, horseback riding, and more.

Malcolm and Vivian talk for hours, spending as much time together as they can. But what happens when the clock strikes midnight and Vivian must return home? 

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I loved the Christmas moments and the festivities. I loved learning more about Maddie's mom. I loved her romance with Malcom. I loved the royal moments - meeting the Queen, seeing the palace, moments with the Duchess. I loved how Vivian and Malcolm couldn't keep away from each other, enjoyed their conversations, and helped each other with family and job drama. Another fun book in this series. 

Cover Thoughts: Seriously cute

Source: My library

Library Recommendation: Grab this holiday novel for your romance collection

Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Movie Wishes

This week's topic is our wishes for books to movies - and I have several of them. There are so many great books that would make amazing movies. Now that Hallmark and Netflix are making more and more books into movies, maybe they are listening! 

Here are my picks from books I've recently read.

My top choice!

Bonus:

Here's a post from 2 years ago about great suggestions for the Hallmark channel

Romance Review: The Proposal

Nik would rather be anywhere but at a baseball game with her boyfriend of five months. She's stunned when he forces her to look at the screen - asking her to marry him. He's never said he loves her. He spells her name wrong. They've never talked about marriage. It's no wonder that she's horrified. She tries to gently turn him down, but he's having none of that. He storms out leaving her there.

Carlos sees what's happening to this poor girl and then moments later spots a camera crew making their ways towards her. He and his sister leap up to help Nik. After rescuing her, they drop her off at a bar with her friends. They end up having a drink together. They meet up a few times as friends and wind up becoming something just a little bit more...

My Thoughts: Another great romance from Jasmine Guillory. Once again, I loved how this couple met. I love that they talk over food - there's so much food in this book. I loved Nik's group of friends and how they joined that class at the gym. It sounds like such a fun class - I'd even like to take it. I loved the secondary romance plot. I loved the cupcake shop. I loved the easy banter between Carlos and Nik. And I Really Loved the moments with the ex-boyfriend and how that turned out. I enjoyed the connections with The Wedding Date and seeing favorite characters pop in for a quick visit. A fantastic feminist romance

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: A must have for public libraries.

Review: Wedding Date

Alexa meets Drew in an elevator at a hotel - that shuts power when the power goes off. They start chatting. She's there to meet her sister and celebrate a milestone achievement. He's there to attend the wedding of his ex-girlfriend and good friend. In a moment of craziness, he acts her to be his date and fake girlfriend to the wedding. And she says yes. They have a great weekend together, but all to soon he's leaving. Could this weekend be the start of something much more?

My Thoughts: I've been waiting for ages to read this book - it had a bunch of holds on it at the library. I kept hearing so much buzz about it. And the buzz wasn't wrong - it was delightful. I loved the meet cute. I loved that Alexa was smart, strong, and spoke her mind. I love how she didn't hide talking about being Black and how she called Drew out on his privileged life. I loved the moments between the sisters - even though they were difficult at times. I loved that both Drew and Alexa were so passionate about their jobs. I really liked Carlos. Of course I enjoyed the pop culture references - especially Anne of Green Gables. I love how they ate all the time - it made me hungry! For a debut novel, Jasmine Guillory knocked it out of the park; I can't wait for her next book which also looks amazing.

Cover Thoughts: Cute
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: A must have for public libraries