MyTiredBrain

Quick read. I really like Katherine Center’s voice. Videographer Katie Vaughn accepts an assignment to create a promo for the Coast Guard highlighting the heroic Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson. Her job is riding on being able to pull off this mission. She’s not at all qualified, and has to quickly learn to swim. Luckily Hutch’s Aunt Rue takes Katie under her wing. Katie gets caught up in lies told by her colleague, Cole (who happens to be Hutch’s brother), and just as she’s getting closer to Hutch the lies implode.  The book spends a lot of time focusing on self criticism and self love. I like the message, but at times it was a lot of inner dialogue. Katie insists she not someone who’s beautiful but just doesn’t know it, but her former fiancé is a mega star and still pines for her, and Hutch seems smitten right away, so that feels a little hard to believe. I liked Katie’s interactions with her best friend/cousin, Beanie, and her times with Rue’s crew, known as The Gals. It makes me want to ...

I’m a big Rachel Lynn Solomon fan, and will most likely read all her books. This one is my least favorite so far, but I still enjoyed it. I really like the writing and some of the dialogue. Quinn Berkowitz’s family all work together to plan weddings, and Quinn plays the harp. She’s just graduated high school, and it’s assumed she’ll get a business degree and then take on even more responsibility within the family business. But Quinn is suffocating under those expectations, doesn’t believe in love after watching her parents separate for six months, and has no idea what she wants to do with her life, other than not be a wedding planner. Tarek Mansour’s family does catering, and he loves baking. Quinn has a clinical diagnosis of OCD, and Tarek has his own mental health issues. They have danced around each other for years while working weddings.  I enjoyed Quinn and Tarek’s dates. It was frustrating watching Quinn struggle with being honest about her thoughts and wants with those aroun...

This was a cute book, combining reality tv, a murder mystery, and romance. It was a little ridiculous/madcap, but it was intentional camp. Alice Chen agrees to go on a reality tv show with hopes of using the winnings to pay for her mom’s medical bills. It’s a relationship-testing competition, and she feels confident her fiancé, Chase, is up to the task. Until he cheats on her with another contestant. Instead of going home, she opts to fake date the other cheatee, who happens (conveniently) to be her high school nemesis, Daniel Cho. It turns more into a mystery when dangerous things keep happening on the set, and that is intensified when they find a dead body. Alice and Daniel’s sparring is fun. It was a light, fun read. (7)

Xavier is a Veterinarian, and his affection for animals and irritation for humans is instantly relatable (at least for me). Samantha saves a kitten and brings her for a check up, and she has an instant connection with Xavier (in that she thinks he’s an asshole). They go on an amazing date, but Samantha is moving two thousand miles away to help care for her mom, who has dementia. The easiest thing for both of them would be to forget about each other, but neither can bring themselves to do it. His debt, his practice, and his desire to prove to his parents that he’s successful are keeping Xavier from moving to be with Samantha. She can’t leave her mom, as the family is already falling apart under the stress of providing 24/7 care.   I read another book earlier this year that included caring for someone with dementia and it made me angry because it was so unrealistic. This book nails it. The stress on the family, the unpredictability of the disease, everything. I liked the juxtapositio...

Crystal Chen is a a curvy fitness influencer. Scott Richie is a fireman who joins her gym. The book was ok, and I would read another from this author, but I wasn’t wowed by the characters or their chemistry. Crystal has trust issues after being a rebound girlfriend (then dumped for the original girlfriend), so she’s understandably hesitant to jump into a relationship with recently single Scott. Plus their grandparents are getting married, so family dinners could be awkward if it didn’t work out. Crystal preaches self love to her followers, but struggles to practice it IRL. Scott’s got instalove for Crystal. He’s a bit bland and she’s a bit obsessed with the fitness influencer life. It got repetitive at times, making the story drag. The ending was satisfying. (7) 

Let’s face it, it’s a cheesy, sexy Hallmark Channel movie book. But I enjoyed it. I read it on a plane, which was the perfect place for mindless entertainment. Stella and Luka are best friends who are both too scared to make the leap into dating each other, for fear of losing the friendship. Stella has major abandonment issues from her dad ditching her, and from her mom dying young. Her Christmas tree farm is losing money and to try to save it, she enters a contest that will bring about publicity and a cash prize. In the application she says she owns the farm with her boyfriend to make it sound more romantic, but she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Whatever will she do? Luka, obviously.  I liked the mini mystery of who was sabotaging the farm, and why. I really liked the secondary characters and will happily read the series. (8.5)

The book was cute, but somewhat forgettable. Liv gave up her big-screen acting dreams to be there for her mom after her dad died. Her high-school nemesis, Jake, makes it big and his handsome mug is on billboards. It all went south during the prom, when they almost kissed. They reunite for their friend’s wedding years later, and Liv falls into a dimension where they’re in love and married. But now she’s estranged from her best friend and her mom in this life. She struggles to figure out a way to bridge the two worlds.  I think I would have liked the book better without the magic sliding doors element, or maybe have it take up less of the book. I’d read another book by the author, but this book didn’t make me rush to see what else she’s written. (7)