Title: Heartstopper Vol. 1
Author: Alice Oseman
Pages: 288
Rating: 4
Published: October 1, 2018
Charlie is an openly gay student at an all-boys school in England and is tortured his whole first year at the school. Nick is the popular rugby player at the same school who was always interested in who Charlie was based on the rumors.
One fateful day they were paired up in a class and sparks started to fly, and a real friendship bloomed. Over the school year, their friendship deepened and feelings were starting to skyrocket. It ends on a cliffhanger, will Charlie and Nick become a couple, or will their love be one-sided?
This was a super cute comic book that you could read in 20 minutes. I like the drawings and you really cared for the boys.
Title: Weather Girl
Author: Rachel Lnn Solomon
Hours: 10
Rating: 4
Published: January 11, 2022
Ari Abrams is a meteorologist at a local Seattle news station that is run by her personal hero, Torrance Hale, and Torrance's ex-husband Seth. At a disastrous holiday party between the Hale's, Ari is feeling down and decides to drown her sorrows at the event bar. At the bar, she gets closer to a quiet news reporter named Russel Barringer. During their drunken talks after the party, they decide to set up the Hale's again in hopes they rekindle their love, to make the office a less toxic place to work.
In the following months of scheming to get their bosses back together, an unexpected wind storm of emotions develops between Ari and Russel.
I really enjoyed this book. Ari suffers from severe depression and has a hard time coping with it and feeling good enough for love. I really connected with Ari.
Title: Two Nights in Lisbon
Author: Chris Pavone
Pages: 436
Rating: 5
Published: May 24, 2022
Ariel Pryce is a newlywed ready to go on a business trip with her new husband, John, to Portugal. Everything changes when he gets kidnapped on their 2nd day in Lisbon.⠀What will Ariel do, and what is she willing to give up, in order to get John back?
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I really enjoyed this book! It was a social commentary on what was going on in the world a couple of years ago with the Cavanaugh supreme court hearings and the Russian news hoaxes.⠀Could there possibly be a Russian spy?
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I enjoyed Ariel, as a character, and the cops that she involved in her search for her new husband.⠀The characters were dynamic and had great character-building.
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The twist in this book was something I didn't see coming! It was a really satisfying ending to an epic story.
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This is definitely a book that you either love or hate. And please check the trigger warning for this book. There is a lot of talk about sexual assault and r@pe.
Title: It's Alive!
Author: Julian David Stone
Pages: 198
Rating: 4
Published: May 17, 2022
In 1931 Junior Laemmle is coming down on his successful Dracula movie with Bela Lugosi and has his eyes trained on making a new monster movie, Frankenstein. The only problem is that his dad, Carl Laemmle Sr., is putting the brakes on everything Junior wants to do to launch Universal Studios into the future.
Production of Frankenstein was having a lot of hiccups, first Bela Lugosi is on the job, then he's not, then he wants back. Next is Boris Karloff, a nobody, who is desperate to become the no-lined monster.
This book is told in 3 parts, Junior, Bela, and Boris, and how the pre-production of Frankenstein took its toll on everybody.
I really enjoyed this book, it was neat looking up all the actors and the films they created! The only character I had heard of was Bela Lugosi, and that was only due to a Ghost Adventures episode!
This book was well researched and it didn't feel like you were reading a research paper! Despite how short the book was, you became engrossed in these characters.
Title: Nineteen Minutes
Author: Jodi Piccoult
Pages: 456
Rating:
Published: March 5, 2007
HARLAN BOOKCLUB PICK
Wow, that was a rough read.
Title: Do You Take This Man
Author: Denise Williams
Pages: 341
Rating: 3.5
Published: September 6, 2022
I absolutely love Denise Williams but this book just didn't do it for me. The relationship between RJ and Lear felt forced.
RJ is a hot divorce attorney that got roped in to being an officiant during the summer months for high-profile weddings. Lear is a former pro football event planner now wedding planner. RJ wants things to be done her way, while Lear tries to bend the rules.
They become enemies to sex-buddies and their relationship blooms from there.
Denise will always be a must-buy for me, but this one just didn't do it for me.
Title: The Love Hypothesis
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Hours: 11
Rating: 5
Published: September 14, 2021
I listened to this in 2 days, I really enjoyed it!
Olive is a Ph.D. student at Standford when she unknowingly kissed the most feared biology professor in her department to prove to her best friend that she is dating someone. Now she needs to figure out how to keep the lie going and not upset her friend.
Adam is the feared professor who has been pining over Olive for the last 2 years. He helps her keep the facade of them dating so he can be closer to her.
The biggest problem that Olive faces now are the feelings she develops for Adam over the span of their fake relationship.
I really enjoyed this book! It showed how hard it was to be a woman in academia, especially in the scientific field, and you just really grew to love the characters!
Title: By the Book
Author: Jasmine Guillory
Hours: 10
Rating: 3.5
Published: May 3, 2022
Izzy is a young woman excited to finally get a job in the publishing industry. Her love for books knows no bounds. Over the next few years she is getting tired of the monotony of her job and the lack of appreciation she gets from her boss.
At a company party, she overhears her boss complaining about this big celebrity who was super late on turning in his memoir manuscript. Izzy volunteers to go to his house in California to see if she can convince him to turn in even one page of his memoir.
Beau Towers is a celebrity who was going through an extremely rough patch and horrible media coverage of his behaviors. After the death of his father and a serious falling out with his mom, he goes into hiding to "write his book".
When Izzy gets to Beau's home she is not welcome but somehow ends up having to stay the night and eventually ends up staying 2 months with Beau, helping him write his memoir and getting down to the root of his problems.
While they both try and stay professional, their hearts get in the way.
This was a cute book, the only reason I took away half a star was that the sex scenes were fade to black... ain't nobody want that!
Title: Blind Side
Author: Kandi Steiner
Pages: 408
Rating: 4
Published: June 15, 2022
Clay Johnson is a famous football player that had his heart crushed by his high school sweetheart. Giana is the new public relations intern for the football team that is trying to get Clay out of his depressive rut. When Clay learns that Giana is head over heels in love with a local musician, he comes up with a plan to help Giana get the musician, and for him to get his ex-girlfriend back. They must "fake date".
As the fake relationship progresses, they both get exactly what they want; Giana gets noticed by the musician and he asks her out, while Clay makes his ex so jealous she wants him back. But their hearts get in the way and priorities change.
I really enjoyed how complex Clay was as a character - he wasn't the stereotypical football player character. Clay is complex, gentle, and a total cinnamon roll.
Title: A Lot Like Adiós
Author: Alexis Daria
Hours: 10
Rating: 4
Published: September 14, 2021
Michelle and Gabe were best friends from six years old up until they turned 18, when both of their lives fell apart. Gabe moved to L.A., while Michelle stayed in New York.
13 years later Gabe's gym's business partner contacts Michelle to help them rebrand their gym and to help them expand to New York. Unfortunately for Gabe, his business partner couldn't go to New York, so Gabe went in his place.
Things get messy when Michelle picks him up at the airport and they stay together at her parent's house in the Bronx. Can they get past the last 13 years of lost friendship, or become something more?
Title: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Hours: 3
Rating:
Published: January 5, 1886
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