MyTiredBrain

I liked the voice and characters. Eve Hatch gets pregnant from a one-night stand. The father, Ethan is ambivalent, mostly because his girlfriend is a nightmare. Eve’s best friend, Willa, has been struggling with infertility, so this news drives a wedge between them when Eve needs Willa most. It’s Willa’s brother, Shep, who steps in and supports Eve as she navigates the pregnancy. Eve and Shep’s changing relationships was sweet to read. (8)

Well, this one made me cry multiple times. Emotionally exhausting, but enjoyable. I’m a big fan of this writing duo. Morgan is being haunted by Zach, a guy she met for one, non-remarkable date. He’s ruining her life by driving away her roommate, which puts her at risk of becoming homeless since she can’t afford rent on her own. He can’t remember his past and feels just as miserable about the situation as Morgan. In an attempt to find a solution she goes to a paranormal support group, where she meets Sawyer. He’s being haunted by his fiancée, who died five years ago. Unlike Morgan, he doesn’t want his ghost to leave, and he’s troubled because she seems to be fading.  The book is an exploration on loss, living, letting go, facing fears, and self discovery. Sawyer was a potter before his fiancée died, but his life stopped with Kennedy’s death. His yard is overgrown with dead plants and trees. He’s isolated himself from his friends and family. Morgan has spent her life flitting from th...

It was good enough, but not great. I’d say I’d still read more from this author but when I look back at my books-read list, apparently I’ve read two other books, and they were both rated similarly, so maybe not at this point.  Melody Adams and Beckett Nash met on vacation in Aruba. He was there to work on writing his first book, and to escape the memory of his father bailing on the family right before Christmas. Melody was there for a morale-boosting and bonding trip with her sick mom. Their instalove lacked believable chemistry. The book is written in a sort of duel perspective, two years after they return home and both believe they were dumped. I liked Melody’s relationship with her mom (“Birdie”). I didn’t like her mom calling her “Pretty Girl” all the time. Spoiler alert here - it got to be too much after Birdie dies, and Melody still talks to her. I have no problem with people talking to dead relatives since I think that’s normal, but their somewhat in-depth conversations wher...

I liked the writing style, and the descriptions of the food and scenery were really strong. Olive Stone’s estranged father dies and leaves her his struggling restaurant. His devotion to the restaurant over his family is what caused the estrangement, so Olive wants to sell it and collect the money as soon as possible. The chef there, Leo Ricci, wants her to keep it and let him update the restaurant and menu in a way that her father refused.  Before she can settle that issue, she has to finish her father’s cookbook, which is on deadline and needs the last three chapters completed. Olive must travel with Leo to three regions in Italy to come up with recipes and stories to fulfill the obligation. Leo uses the time to sell his vision of the restaurant. Olive comes to terms with the reasons for the estrangement. And of course, the two discover feelings for each other along the way.  This reads almost more like women’s fiction than romance, as Olive’s emotional journey is more centra...

I enjoyed First Time Caller, and Jackson panic-babbling about the weather to kill radio time was one of my favorite parts of that book. So I was excited to read a book starring Jackson, and this didn’t let me down. I’m a fan of B.K. Borison, and I’m excited there will be at least one more book in the series (although I imagine at least two more). Jackson gives weather reports for the local Baltimore radio station. Delilah gives the occasional weather reports for a Baltimore TV station, but is usually given the worst assignments because her boss is horrible. Jackson is a buttoned-up list follower who is suspicious of fun. His mom ditched him and his sisters to chase fun, so he’s now the guardian of two 15-year-old girls, and he worries that his serious nature is having a negative impact on them. Delilah is manic pixie, but wants to be taken seriously. They’re tasked to jointly cover a huge blizzard, and they realize their differences compliment each other. Delilah and help Jackson light...

This is a tough one for me. There were several times I felt like not finishing the book, but I pretty much never DNF. It had some good points - some of the writing was sharp and funny. Ok, that might be the only good points oh, wait, I like the description of Costa Rica, and I was even in one of the parks she wrote about, so it brought me back to that.  The plot wasn’t good. Single mom Lulu goes on a vacation in Costa Rica after being suspended from her job as a teacher. It’s some sort of pickleball retreat, and her high school ex, Tyler, is there after he torched his pro pickleball career. Ok, sure. There were just so many plot elements that felt unnatural and only there to support the plot. They end up traveling around Costa Rica to teach pickleball and do adventurous stuff, which didn’t feel realistic and felt like it was just to have Lulu and Tyler in stressful situations. For the first half of the book Lulu thinks Tyler’s still married (It’s a romance, so the reader already kn...

Brooke Sinclair gets booted out of University as a result of a forbidden relationship with TA Jack Sutherland. Her dreams of being a writer fell apart with the expulsion, but a new opportunity finally comes her way when her writing mentor, Mhairi, asks her to co-write a biography. Mhairi created a popular hiking route, and to capture that adventurous spirit, Brooke opts to literally follow in her footsteps. The catch - Jack is also going along to take photos for the book.  It’s dual perspective and dual timeline, which felt choppy at times. I felt their whirlwind romance and gutted through when it all fell apart. The book focuses a lot on following your dreams (Jack is hesitant to let his family down but has no desire to join the family’s tour-guide business, and Brooke has imposter syndrome when it comes to writing.) The scenes with Mhairi were the most touching. I’d read another book by this author. (7.75)