It’s been a while, I know. But I’m back with a new book review! FRAYED by Laura Pavlov was released today and I’m here to tell you why I loved it. I received an ARC (advance reader copy) from the author in exchange for my honest review. My ARCs have been so hit or miss lately that I was a smidge wary going into this read, but this book did not disappoint!
Little Gold Book
Frayed by Laura Pavlov
Genre: Romance – Contemporary (YA) Format: Kindle eBook Date Started: March 12, 2021 Date Finished: March 14, 2021 Rating: 4.5/5 star
By Its Cover
If I had to supply a math equation to summarize this book it would be: Bad boy + good girl = beautiful love story.
Frayed brings us to Willow Springs, TX, a small lakeside town with lots of drama and quite a mix of residents. The main characters are Adelaide Edington – high school senior with straight A’s and her whole life planned for her by her mother – and Jett Stone – star quarterback from the wrong side of town with a chip on his shoulder. Though seemingly opposites, the pair fits together in ways neither imagined possible.
In My Book
When I read the synopsis for Frayed, I knew I needed to read it. Even though I don’t typically read YA (young adult) romance, something about Adelaide and Jett called to me. They are young, yes, but the love that grows between them is once in a lifetime.
My favorite male characters are those who are strong yet vulnerable, and Jett fits perfectly in that category. His life hasn’t been easy and it would be easy for him to write off everyone in the town that has treated him and his family poorly for his whole life, but Addy brings out a side in him that is so powerful and honest.
Adelaide, or Ace as Jett calls her (I love a good nickname!), has always done what her parents, specifically her mother, have expected of her. But as she grows closer with Jett, she realizes the power in chasing her own dreams instead of someone else’s. With Jett by her side, steadily encouraging but never forcing his opinion on her, Adelaide’s confidence grows and she starts to live her life for herself.
To Close the Book
As with all good romance stories, my one big complaint is that I wanted more! I enjoyed Adelaide and Jett’s love story and I want to see how they continue to grow together over time. The good news is, since this is the first book in the series, we’ll likely see them again!
It’s Pub Day for one of my recent reads, Love At First by Kate Clayborn. I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the publisher Kensington Books in exchange for my honest review. This was a sweet read featuring a lovely cast of characters, though it started off rather slow for me.
Little Gold Book
Love At First by Kate Clayborn
Genre: Romance – Contemporary Format: eBook Date Started: 2/16/21 Date Finished: 2/22/21 Rating: 4/5 star
By Its Cover
Sparks. Sabotage. Adorable but nosy neighbors. This enemies-to-lovers romance novel will have you laughing and smiling! When Will inherits an apartment from his estranged uncle, he decides to list it for short-term rental. Little does he know that he’s now part of a unique group of neighbors who have become family over the years. Nora, spokeswoman for the building, plots to ruin Will’s plan before he ruins her adopted family and beloved apartment complex. But is the heat that develops between Will and Nora a result of anger, or perhaps something more?
In My Book
Contemporary romance has been hit or miss for me lately, so I was a bit apprehensive when I started this book. I haven’t read any of Kate Clayborn’s books previously and didn’t have any on my TBR, so she was an unknown to me. Sometimes this doesn’t work out so well, but this time it did!
Kate Clayborn developed a sense of community in her book, one that I wish I could join! The neighbors were each unique, but I could feel that their love and respect for one another was genuine. Watching Will fall in love with not just Nora but the whole building was heartwarming.
I have only one real complaint. The pacing in Will & Nora’s relationship was slow to start, with the romance not starting until halfway through the book. This left the rest of the book feeling a bit rushed, as I would have liked to see them find their way in the fledgling relationship more. I also didn’t fully understand their pasts and fears of relationships until they started exploring their relationship’s romantic side. Sometimes, I felt a bit annoyed with the characters because their motives were unclear to me. Now that I know this, it wouldn’t bother me so much during a re-read, so don’t let it stop you!
This was a sweet romance novel well-balanced in romance, humor, trauma, and growth. It felt realistic, like these could be your neighbors or friends. A great read when you need a laugh and a pick-me-up mixed together.
To Close the Book
This is a book that I would love to see as a series so that the characters can come to life. I can picture them each in my head so perfectly, as the author did an excellent job of developing a backstory for each character, even the more minor ones.
It’s pub day for Choosing You by Stacy Finz! I was lucky enough to receive an ARC (advanced readers copy) of this book through NetGalley last month. This was a great first experience with NetGalley because I absolutely adored this book. Keep reading for my full Choosing You book review.
Little Gold Book
Choosing You by Stacy Finz
Genre: Contemporary Romance Format: eBook Date Started: January 17, 2021 Date Finished: January 18, 2021 Rating: 4.5/5 star
By Its Cover
Set in small-town Nugget, CA, about an hour west of Reno, Choosing You tells a beautiful story of finding love after loss and despair. Widowed Bryann and divorced Ethan are brought together when Brynn’s son Henry becomes Ethan’s pediatric orthopedic patient. Despite coming from very different worlds and a taboo stigma on their relationship, Brynn and Ethan fall deeply in love and help each other heal from their painful pasts.
In My Book
In Choosing You, you follow two people who come from such different worlds yet fall utterly in love with one another. The build-up to their romance is slow but full of sparks between the main characters, Brynn and Ethan. There is plenty of conflict, but realistically so, not overdone. I recently read an article that said something along the lines of the best romance writers make you think there’s no way the central couple could end up together, even though readers pick up the book knowing they will. The author did exactly that, and in a beautiful, heart-wrenching way.
I don’t often read romance novels in which one of the main characters is a parent, so the fact that both Brynn and Ethan had children added an additional element of complexity to this story. Not only did they have to make decisions based on their feelings toward each other, but they also had to keep the best interests of their children in mind. This is especially true for Ethan, as he struggles with whether or not to reconcile with his ex-wife.
This was my first time reading a Stacy Finz novel, and I was a little nervous about hopping into the 11th book of the Nugget series. Those nerves were for nothing, though – I was able to dive into life in Nugget without needing to have the backstory of the previous books. There were hints to other stories, but that just made me want to read the rest of the series! Finz also hinted at a possible next story without letting it take away from the current one. In fact, it drew me in yet again.
I honestly don’t have any negative things to say about this book. The pacing felt right, the story felt realistic, and of course, there was a happy ending, as is generally the case in the romance genre. I’ll surely re-read it in the future when I need a little pick-me-up of a beautiful love story.
To Close the Book
Most of my romance reading may be relegated to historical periods, but it is nice to visit the modern world of love from time to time. I am grateful to have found NetGalley, as I may not have stumbled upon this book otherwise. I may even check out some of the other books in the series since Nugget sounds like a special place full of love and strong characters.
Since I haven’t commuted to work since March, my Audible account hasn’t been getting much love. I decided to change that in 2021 and listen to audiobooks while doing my mundane tasks at work. Memoirs are my favorite genre for audiobooks, so I decided to start there. My first (full) listen of 2021 was The Rural Diaries written and narrated by Hilarie Burton. It certainly delivered!
TRIGGER WARNING:
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This book discusses infertility and child loss.
Little Gold Book
The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton
Genre: Memoir/biography Format: Audiobook, narrated by the author Date Started: January 18, 2021 Date Finished: January 22, 2021 Rating: 5/5 star
By Its Cover
Hilarie Burton, of One Tree Hill fame, details her life out of the spotlight in her memoir The Rural Diaries. From her relationship, to becoming a mom, to balancing a career, to infertility and child loss, to life on her farm in Rhinebeck, NY, Hilarie lays it all out. You almost forget that Hilarie is a celebrity as her memoir covers all of her “normal” life experiences.
In My Book
I didn’t know what to expect when I downloaded this memoir. The title called to me, since my husband and I always joke about living on a farm someday. I knew that Hilarie was married to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who I’ve loved since he appeared as Denny on Grey’s Anatomy. Over the years since leaving One Tree Hill, I had seen Hilarie pop up in some shows and Christmas movies. But other than that, I didn’t know much about Hilarie Burton.
This book blew me away, to be quite frank. It wasn’t about the glitz and glam about Hollywood life as a celebrity. Instead, Hilarie got raw with her life and experiences. She didn’t shy away from the difficulties she faced and didn’t sugarcoat things. I found Hilarie’s perspective on life to be inspiring. She faced every challenge with positivity and grew from it. Her life may not be as she planned it, but she has loved her journey and loves her life and family.
The small town charm of her cabin and farm warmed my heart. As someone who would love to live on a farm, I enjoyed the anecdotes of farm-life. Hearing about how Hilarie, her family, and her friends worked to give back to their community and add to the small town spirit was uplifting, and something I could totally see myself doing!
Hilarie’s narration of her memoir made this listen even more special. I could feel her emotion as she discussed the difficult times in her life and the happiness as she reminisced on the happy moments. The chapters on infertility, child loss, and her rainbow baby were so emotional to listen to, as her pain was palpable. Although I don’t want to be a mother myself, I’ve seen many women in my life struggle with infertility. Hilarie’s approach to this difficult topic was beautiful, as she gave a raw recounting of her years-long struggle to have a second child.
To Close the Book
I thoroughly enjoyed this listen. It was fairly short, as far as audiobooks go, at just over seven hours. I listened to it within a work week, breaking it into one to two hour chunks. If you’re looking for an inspiring story of real life and perseverance, I’d highly recommend The Rural Diaries!
In honor of the second book in the Calamity, Montana series The Bluff being released next week, today I’m sharing my review of the first book, The Bribe. This was my second read of 2021 and I loved it!
Little Gold Book The Bribe by Willa Nash
Genre: Romance Date Started: January 9, 2021 Date Finished: January 9, 2021 Rating: 5/5 star
By Its Cover
Talk about a steamy cover! But don’t worry, this book isn’t all X-rated sex scenes. Although there are some, The Bribe centers on Lucy, a famous country music singer in hiding, and Duke, the sheriff of the small town in Montana that Lucy chose as her hiding spot. Chemistry burns between them instantly. As the romance between the two heats up, so does the mystery of what led Lucy to change her name and hide in Montana.
In My Book
The main characters, Duke and Lucy, start off with a meet-cute when Duke helps extricate Lucy and her BFF Everly from a herd of bison they encountered while hiking a trail in Montana. The spark between the two is instant and even though they depart without as much as a kiss, you know there’s going to be so much more between them. One of my favorite things about The Bribe is the chemistry between Duke and Lucy. It’s one thing to tell readers that the characters are attracted to one another; it’s a different thing entirely for a reader to be able to feel that connection leaping off the pages.
Pacing is something I often find off in romance books. It’s either too slow and drawn out or too fast and unrealistic. In this book, I thought the author Devney Perry did a great job of letting the relationship evolve between the main love interests. The lust was instant but the love was built on a strong foundation.
I enjoyed the conflicts in the story as well. There wasn’t just the main conflict of why Lucy was in hiding; there was also tension and disruption from Duke’s almost-stepson as well. This minor storyline kept the plot interesting as the major conflict developed, and the two intertwined for the climax of the book when Lucy came face-to-face with her stalker and would-be killer.
Perry laid out the foundation for a series set in Calamity, Montana quite nicely. By having the female lead be a newcomer to town, I got to explore the local attractions and meet the townsfolk through her eyes. I was introduced to the characters that would star in future books, but their presence didn’t take away from the story at hand – another complaint of mine for romance series!
To Close the Book
Instagram served me well by leading me to this book. Its sequel came up on my feed, as it’s the featured book in the February Bookish Box, who I follow on IG. As I pondered over whether to splurge on the box, I realized there was a first book of the series! Available on Kindle Unlimited, I downloaded The Bribe and read it in an afternoon. I loved it so much that I purchased a Kindle copy so I’d always have access. I’ve already pre-ordered the second book in the series!
One other thing to note – I haven’t talked about this yet because it just happened this month but I was (finally!) officially diagnosed with ADHD. I’m still wrapping my head around what that means for me, and I’ll be sure to share more about it in some personal essays in the future. What’s relevant here is that the day I read this book was my first time ever taking Adderall, which may have contributed to my ability to read a whole book in a day! I’m hoping this medication can help me focus on reading better – something I have struggled with a lot in recent years.
Thanks for checking out my book review of The Night Swim, by Megan Goldin. It’s the first book I read in 2020, out of my goal of 50!
TRIGGER WARNING:
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Please note, this book centers on two violent rape cases.
Little Gold Book
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
Genre: Mystery
Date Started: January 1, 2021
Date Finished: January 3, 2021
Rating: 4/5 Stars
By Its Cover
The Night Swim chronicles the interwoven tales of two tragic events in the seaside town of Neapolis, twenty-five years apart. The main character, Rachel Krall, is a popular true crime podcast host in town to cover a controversial rape trial for the next season of her show. On her way to Neapolis, she receives a mysterious note from a stranger, asking for her help to solve her sixteen year old sister’s murder from twenty-five years ago. As the trial reaches its climax, so does the mystery around the young girl’s long-forgotten death.
In My Book
I didn’t know much about The Night Swim going into it, other than that the main character was the host of a true crime podcast. Considering such podcasts make up the majority of my Spotify playlists, I had a feeling this could be the book for me. It certainly delivered – there was mystery, conflict and, in the end, good won over evil.
Unlike most mystery novels, this one was more of a slow burn. The intertwining plots slowly unraveled. The point that was supposed to be the climax didn’t hit as hard as I expected it to. I was surprised by who the “villain” turned out to be, though I guess if I thought hard about it I probably could have guessed, but the scene itself wasn’t as shocking as I was hoping or expecting.
I also had trouble connecting to the main character. It felt like she could have been more developed. Again, maybe I missed something, but I didn’t understand her motivation behind her podcast show or her deep desire to solve Jenny’s murder. I didn’t dislike the character of Rachel, but I didn’t feel the connection to her that I was expecting. I felt it more so with Hannah, the secondary character, than Rachel.
By the previous three paragraphs, it may sound as if I didn’t enjoy this book. But I really did! Megan Goldin did an incredible job of delving into the complex topic of rape and sexual assault. At times, it hit so close to home that I had to take breaks from reading because it was so emotional. It’s difficult to explore such themes in a respectful but honest way, yet Goldin did just that.
The Night Swim pushed me outside of my reading comfort zone, which is exactly what I was hoping it would do. As a lover of all things romance, I have trouble accepting endings that aren’t happily ever afters. But that’s not reality. In order to grow as a writer, I know I need to expand my horizons and read new and interesting perspectives. I learned a lot from reading The Night Swim and I’ll carry those lessons into my future writings.
To Close The Book
I received my copy of The Night Swim fromBook of the Month (affiliate link – get your copy for $5!) as my second month in a three-month gift subscription from my friendSalina last August. As excited as I was about the gift subscription, Salina sent it just as I was hitting a four-month slump where I was only able to finish one audiobook and no traditional books. Ugh!
Once I started to ramp up my reading again in late December, I knew The Night Swim needed to be high on my next reads list. Crime novels are one of my favorite genres, after romance of course, and when you add a true crime podcaster to the mix, I knew this book would be up my alley!
Based on the book jacket description, I’m not sure if I would have picked this book on my own. But that’s the beauty of Book of the Month and other similar book subscriptions – they help you find your way to a story you may not have read otherwise.
In December, I broke out of my four-month reading slump with a not-so-great (1 star) book. I didn’t want to end the year with that, so I decided to sneak in one more book. Stealing Home was the perfect positive and inspiring book to end the year on a high note.
Little Gold Book
Stealing Home by Sherryl Woods
Genre: Romance
Date Started: December 29, 2020
Date Finished: December 31, 2020
Rating: 4/5 star
(Note: I tend to rate books against others in their own genre. A 5-star romance book looks a lot different than a 5-star fiction novel.)
By Its Cover
The first book in the series that inspired Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, Stealing Home is an uplifting story about a woman finding herself following a divorce. In her early forties, mother of three Maddie Townsend suddenly finds herself facing a divorce that she never expected. Her husband Bill has impregnated his mistress, a nurse at his pediatric practice who Maddie herself hired. For the first time in twenty years, Maddie has time to focus on what she wants and how to build a life of her own. With the support of her two best friends, as well as some encouragement from the town’s hunky baseball coach, Maddie begins her second act.
In My Book
My mom lent me her copies of the entire The Sweet Magnolias series after I mentioned that I wanted to read them before watching the new Netflix series inspired by the books. (I prefer inspired by, rather than based on. Even though I haven’t seen the show yet, I’m sure there are quite a few adaptations from the novels). She lent them to me over the summer, when I happened to be in the midst of a mega reading slump, and so they sat on my shelf quietly calling my name. After reading a quite awful “romance” novel, I needed something to shake up my spirits and end 2020 with a bang.
Although the bang was quieter than I’d anticipated, Stealing Home did just that. I’ll admit, it took me a while to get into this book. It’s not a fast-paced, laugh out loud, raunchy romance by any means. Instead, it focuses on Maddie’s first months as an independent woman following a twenty-year marriage. The plot unravels slowly, telling the heartwarming tale of a woman finding herself again.
Stealing Home is based in the fictional small town of Serenity, South Carolina, not too far from Charleston. I enjoyed the small-town life detailed in the book. Woods did a good job of balancing the positives against the negatives of small town life. As Maddie’s relationship with baseball coach Cal Maddox develops, the gossips in town raise major backlash at them, threatening both of their careers. There’s a bit of good triumphs over evil in that storyline, with Cal’s job being saved at a public hearing after he expresses his devotion to Maddie. It was a little over the top for my taste, but still sweet nonetheless.
Friendship is a focal point in this novel, as Maddie’s best friends Helen and Dana Sue support her through this trying time in her life. The friendship between the three is quite beautiful, having existed since they were in elementary school. I enjoyed the contrasting personalities of this trio and how well they complemented each other. Helen and Dana Sue’s unwavering support of Maddie is the type of friendship I’d be honored to have. They lent Maddie their confidence when she was shaken up by her husband’s betrayal and helped her figure out what her life should look like. They could be a bit pushy, but I think we all need that at times. I look forward to reading Helen and Dana Sue’s stories in the next books in the series.
I had a bit of trouble connecting with the main character Maddie, but that’s not entirely surprising when I reflect on it. I’m not a mother, nor do I have any desire to be. I have the utmost respect for women who can run a home with three children and promote their husband at the same time, but it’s not a life I envision for myself. In addition, Maddie was incredibly cautious, almost to the point of neurotic, about any decision she made. While I am certainly a risk-averse person, it was sometimes painful to read her waffling over decisions that seemed obvious to me. I think because I didn’t click with her on a personal level, I didn’t extend her the patience that I could have.
My one other gripe occurred in the final chapter. As the first book in a series, I knew there would be hints as to what the next book’s plot would entail. Totally fine; it usually draws me into the next story. This time though, it was too heavy-handed. Instead of being able to join this book’s happy ending, the attention was pulled away to the next book. It left a bitter taste in my mouth to wrap up an otherwise enjoyable read.
To Close the Book
My goal for this read was to end the year with a quick, feel-good novel. Stealing Home did just that! I’m looking forward to continuing the series later this year. Plus, now I have a new Netflix show to add to my queue.
Have you read any of The Sweet Magnolias series? Or watched the Netflix series? Let me know what you think in the comments section below!