MyTiredBrain

Micah was the lead singer in a successful band as a teenager, until it all fell apart. John and Micah were best friends growing up, and when the band imploded Micah essentially ghosted John. Now they are forced together, along with the three other band members, for a nostalgia cruise.  I like Alicia Thomason’s writing style. It’s told in alternating narratives between Micah and John, which worked for me. At one point Micah is introducing John on stage and he doesn’t hear what she says about him, and the author skillfully adds it later in the book, when Micah reaffirms that John is the heart of the band.  Micah’s previous relationship with another member in the band, Ryder, felt a little shaky and I was happy when he was punched and booted. Micah herself was unlikeable at times, and John was almost too understanding. I read With Love, from Cold World a long time go, so I didn’t remember the characters from the book, but some were John’s roommates. The chemistry was good and it ...

Norah generally prefers to be behind the scenes when it comes to working with her bounty-hunting sisters. She’s more on the computer research and tracking end than fist fights, but she doesn’t want to be the weak link anymore. She starts taking self defense lessons with MMA fighter Dash.  When one of the skips hacks her computer and starts stalking her, Dash and Norah try to find him before he, and others, can hurt Norah. Norah befriends an acquaintance of the skip, named Chloe. She also is almost burned to death when someone sets fire to Dash’s apartment above his gym. The book was a bit fluffy and cavalier, but an ok read. (7)

The third book in the When in Rome series. Emily and Jack have been enemies ever since they met in college. When he got engaged and moved away, Emily should have felt relief, but instead it felt like a piece of her was missing. For a control freak like Emily, it has been disconcerting. So when she discovers Jack broke off the engagement and is moving back, she is ready to give him the cactus treatment to make him stay away.  Jack finds odd pleasure in sparring with Emily, and life without her has felt flat. He buys a house next door to Emily, and their fighting turns into something more. Jack is a secret best-selling author. Emily wrote a romance novel. She drunk sends it to her boss, and Jack helps her delete the email. Jack has a narcissistic father and a too-kind mother, so he struggles to support his mom while dealing with his dad. Emily is struggling with her sisters and brother moving on while she is anxious and stagnated. When her parents died young, Emily was the one who he...

It was cute but not overly memorable. When Lily’s local soccer team decides to move to another town, her family decide to start a new local team. The first few chapters are about her, her father, her sister, and other townsfolk working together to get the team off the ground. One of the players on their new team has a famous soccer player brother, named Ben Pryce. He is currently suspended for an altercation with a fan, so he spends his time cheering on his brother and wooing Lily. The book feels more Ted Lasso and less romance, but Lily and Ben have their moments.  Ben is finally allowed to return to his team, but his publicist insists he be seen dating an up-and-coming actress to help Ben repair his image. This puts a strain on Ben and Lily’s relationship. It also felt very contrived to me. (7.75)

It was a cute read. I’m getting a little tired of books with main characters who need money to keep gram gram in the nice nursing facility, but that may be just me. Anywho, Olive needs money to keep her beloved grandmother in the swanky assisted living. When her argument with her actor boyfriend, Chuck, goes viral, they agree to participate in a reality tv show to live together for a month despite a nasty breakup. Olive is the scandalous baby of a famous affair, and she’s always felt ashamed of her existence. Her parents died when she was young, and she felt guilt and sympathy for the woman (a famous actor) her parents scorned. Meanwhile Chuck has been labeled a problem actor, and can’t get a job. Their time filming the reality show is full of set ups for romance and conflict.  Olivia’s father married an actress to help the actress stay in the US and advance her career, but they were never in love. It was a business arrangement. When her father met her mother, their relationship wa...

It was a cute, quick read. At times the flipping between the past and present was frustrating to me. I wanted to stay in the present. And Thea narrating her thoughts and life felt a little contrived to me. Otherwise I really enjoyed it. Thea and Alex met as they walked to Thea’s ex-husband’s house, and realize their exes have jumped into a relationship with each other. Thea and Alex pretend to be long-lost lovers, and that lie becomes the basis for a deep friendship. Both seem to yearn for more, but both have been burned by love in the past. It’s a lot of “will-they, won’t-they,” but I liked their interactions.  I’m not sure the book will be overly memorable, but it was enjoyable. Thea’s interactions with Alex’s daughter were sweet. The way Alex’s ex was portrayed was well done too. (8)

It was cute. It felt like it took a while to get going, and it lagged in parts. There was a bit too much internal dialogue for my tastes. The romance part felt weak to me, and the killer was exactly who I expected it to be. It was a fine cozy mystery, but there was no grit. Emersyn is raising her niece after her brother dies of cancer. (So she’s Auntie Em.) She gets fired from her waitressing job, so she’s job hunting in order to figure out a way to stay afloat. She’s broke because an ex-boyfriend ran off with her savings. Her friend devises a plan to get Em’s money back - buy fake detective business cards and make him think he’s under surveillance for theft. The cards say “Wyatt” because Emersyn always equated that name with sexy romance leads. Then she meets a mysterious Wyatt while trying to confront her ex. Finally, a guy in her apartment building dies, and Em is “hired” to solve the crime. It was farcical in places, with the elderly people in the building all helping to investigat...