ARC – Page 2 – Stephanie Caffrey, Author

Book Review: A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

September 30, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged A Winter in New York, ARC, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Books, Josie Silver, Netgalley, Reading1 Comment

A WINTER IN NEW YORK by JOSIE SILVER

RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2023

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading A Winter in New York by Josie Silver, all I want to do is eat gelato. And after you read it, you will too.

The book follows Iris in her first year living in New York after previously living in London. She has left an abusive relationship behind, and is still grieving the loss of her mother. The one constant in her life is the secret gelato recipe her mom had made her her entire life. As she attends an Italian festival, she finds a door that looks familiar. Turns out, it’s the gelato restaurant from her mom’s past, the source of the secret gelato recipe.

Enter Gio, the handsome widower, and son of the gelato owner. There’s been a family tragedy, and they don’t have the recipe…but Iris does. What follows is the gradual falling in love between these two lost souls as they work to find the lost recipe.

While I really liked this book, the characters were amazing, I felt the secrets Iris kept from Gio were kept for much too long, and I felt the ending was very rushed. I feel like Silver could have drawn it out a little bit more. However, that minor gripe aside, the book was an emotional rollercoaster. It had me smiling, crying, and sighing at the romance of it all.

Josie Silver is one of my favorite romance authors and look forward to reading her books every year. I was not let down with this book. It had every element I love in a Silver book: realistic characters, realistic problems, a tad of a tragic background, overcoming grief, romance, and hope.

A Winter in New York is the perfect addition to your holiday TBR list.

Book Review: The Takedown by Carlie Walker

September 25, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Books, Carlie Walker, Netgalley, Reading, The Takedown1 Comment

THE TAKEDOWN by CARLIE WALKER

RELEASE DATE: October 3, 2023

Thank you NetGalley and Berkely for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Takedown by Carlie Walker is a wonderful romantic suspense meets romantic comedy. The characters are rich, and the chemistry between Sydney and Nick is palpable, and one of the best buildups I’ve read in a romance this year.

Sydney is a CIA operative, and the FBI has pulled her from duty because her sister is marrying a Boston crime lord. It’s her job to get close enough to his bodyguard, Nick, to find out where the next big hit is going to be. Oh, and under no circumstances should she fall for the target. Simple, right? Maybe not.

The plot has so many twists and turns it keeps the typical tropes (enemies to lovers, there’s only one bed, etc.) feeling fresh. The comedy is also real, and I found myself chuckling aloud. More importantly, the relationship between Sydney and her sister, Calla, was touching, and probably my second favorite part only to the romance.

I devoured this book in a day, and I highly recommend giving it a read. Since it takes place during Christmas, you could even add this to your December TBR.

Book Review: Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn

September 19, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Recommendations, Books, Erin Hahn, Friends Don't Fall in Love, Netgalley, Reading1 Comment

TITLE: FRIENDS DON’T FALL IN LOVE by ERIN HAHN

RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 17, 2023

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Friends Don’t Fall in Love by Erin Hahn is a friends to lovers romance for the ages. The story is about Craig and Lorelai, who are best friends and fall in love. Craig is a country music writer and producer, while Lorelai is a former country music star who is now unpopular.

While the first person present narration is not my favorite, I could get over it and really enjoy the story. Craig and Lorelai’s relationship felt so natural and I could root for them through the book.

The third act break up is always painful, but this one wasn’t, and I think it is because of the friendship they have.

If you like friends to lovers tropes in romance, you should really give this one a try. Bonus points for celiac representation. I always like to see authors adding in personal touches and using their platform to raise awareness of things like this.

Book Review: Love, Holly by Emily Stone

September 7, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Books, Love Holly, Netgalley, Reading1 Comment

LOVE, HOLLY by EMILY STONE

Release Date: September 26, 2023

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love, Holly by Emily Stone is a holiday romance that doesn’t completely revolve around the holiday season. We see three different Christmases, but the book is about so much more than that. It is about family, fate, and learning to accept things you may not believe.

Holly meets Jack during a pit stop as she and her sister are driving to a family Christmas getaway. There’s an instant connection. However, something causes them to lose contact after that first meeting. Three years later, Holly is part of a Dear Stranger letter exchange to help lonely people during the holidays. When she reads this year’s letter, she immediately feels a connection and knows she needs to find the letter writer.

What follows is a heart-wrenching story that made me cry several times at multiple parts of the book. The characters are so genuine; they leap off the page, and their heartbreak is my heartbreak. You can’t help but root for Holly and Jack and Emma as the book progresses. I never wanted to stop reading. In fact, I stayed up way too late finishing the book because I needed to make sure everything turned out okay.

If you enjoy holiday romances and books that make you believe in fate, this book is definitely for you.

Book Review: As Long As You Love Me by Marianna Leal

September 5, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, As Long As You Love Me, Book Recommendations, Books1 Comment

AS LONG AS YOU LOVE ME by MARIANNA LEAL

Release Date: September 12, 2023

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

As Long As You Love Me by Marianna Leal is a perfect example of two of my favorite romance tropes: enemies to lovers and fake dating.

Catalina is the perfect immigrant. She is getting good grades and staying out of trouble to achieve her goal of working and staying in the US. Her primary competition is the campus heartthrob, Gabriel. When Gabe proposes Catalina pose as his girlfriend at his brother’s wedding, she agrees, only if he steps back from the job. He agrees.

What follows is a whirlwind of events that leads to the inevitable: is the relationship really pretend anymore? And when an emergency crops up with Catalina’s family in Venezuela, will their relationship last?

I truly enjoyed this book. Catalina was a great protagonist, and Gabe was an amazing love interest. I loved how Gabe was always there for Cata, even if she didn’t want him to be. The characters in the book were well-developed, and their love story felt well-paced and realistic.

If you’re a romance reader and you enjoy these tropes, you should definitely read it.

Review: Wolfsong

July 1, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Books, Netgalley, Reading, TJ Klune, Wolfsong1 Comment

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

Release Date: July 4, 2023

Thank you NetGalley and Tor books for the ARC. I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

It’s candy canes and pinecones. And epic and awesome. And it’s everything you would expect from a TJ Klune book, except with a lot more angst and smut. Wolfsong is technically a back list title of Klunes, but Tor is re-releasing the series. If you haven’t read the series before, like me, this is the time.

Clocking in at nearly six hundred pages, don’t let the size of the book intimidate you – I read the book in two days. I could not put it down. I was enthralled. Told from the point of view of Ox, beginning when he is twelve years old, the book’s timeline spans a little over a decade.

At first it was hard to get into the book, but the minute Ox meets ten year old Joe on the dirt road outside his house on the day he turns sixteen, I was hooked. What follows is the slowest of slow-burns, and the most satisfying fantasy story about werewolves I’ve read.

As you would expect from a Klune book by now, the book is full of found family and unconditional love. The book has the squishy feelings his other books have, and you will be laughing and smiling and your heart will be bursting. Except, where this one differs is there are several events that will just rip out your heart and stomp on it. But they don’t hurt too bad, because this is Klune, so he’ll just add more found family and unconditional love to temper the blow.

This book made me laugh, it made me cry, it made my heart swell. If you’re a fan of Klune, you should definitely pick this up. If you’ve never read Klune before, you could also read it, but I suggest you also read all the rest of his books as well. Klune is a favorite author of mine, and he’s never let me down. I hope you will enjoy him too.

Review: The Wife App

June 27, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Review, Books, Reading, The Wife App1 Comment

THE WIFE APP by CAROLYN MACKLER

Release Date: June 27, 2023

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

Ever felt overwhelmed by the mental load you’re expected to carry out each day? In charge of remembering every event? Planning each event? School forms, vacation planning, packing? Well, what if you could pay someone to do all of that for you? What if there was an app for that? These are things the book The Wife App by Carolyn Mackler tackles.

Three best friends, fresh off one friend’s divorce from her cheating husband, come up with the idea of The Wife App. The book follows the women through the first year of the app, showing how their lives grow along with it.

Madeline, Sophie, and Lauren were very compelling characters, and I found myself instantly drawn into their stories. I was fully invested in each woman getting their happy ending. I felt the pace of the novel was great, and the idea of the plot brilliant. I couldn’t put the book down. I needed to know each woman would be happy when everything was finished.

If you’re looking for a fun read that will make you laugh, make you cry, and deliver you a happy ending, this is the book for you!

Book Review: The List by J.L. Bowman

May 21, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Review, Book Siren, Books, J.L. Bowman, The List1 Comment

THE LIST by J.L. BOWMAN

Release Date: June 6, 2023

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The List by J.L. Bowman is a romance book about a woman, Ever, who is planning to go on a year long cross country road trip to cross things off of her bucket list. Everything is going to plan, until she meets Xavier, a retired professional surfer, and things begin to bloom between them.

I liked the book. Ever and Xavier were well developed characters. You could see their growth throughout the book. And I liked that we got to see each character separate from the other. I liked the romance, and the side characters. The plot was plausible, and I liked how independent Ever was.

The things I didn’t like about the book were some of the aspects of the relationship. It seemed a little over the top at times, and a little forced. The book also had a lot of errors in it, which I hope will be corrected before publication. A lot of pronoun mix ups and I think the timeline was a little fuzzy for each of the characters’ pasts. But the mistakes were not glaring enough to really affect my reading of the book.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book, and did cry the last 10% of the book – happy and sad tears. If you’re looking for a fun romance, this is for you. I will probably read more books in this series.

Review: In the Lives of Puppets

April 23, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged ARC, Book Review, Books, In The Lives of Puppets, Reading, TJ Klune1 Comment

IN THE LIVES OF PUPPETS by TJ KLUNE

Release Date: April 25, 2023

I received this advanced copy from NetGalley, and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

“Heaven. I’m in Heaven.”

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune takes Pinocchio, Terminator, and Wall-E and creates a unique story about found family in the time of the apocalypse and makes it whimsical in only the way Klune can.

Klune is already an auto-buy author for me, and Puppets has really reminded me why. He paints such a wonderful picture with his storytelling and his characters. He truly is one of the best out there as far as creating spectacular characters who you only grow to love as the book progresses.

Puppets is the story of Gio, a lonely an living in a forest sanctuary that would make the Swiss Family Robinson envious, as he raises his son, Victor. Victor’s best friends are a Roomba named Rambo, and a robot nurse aptly named Nurse Ratched. The four of them live happily until Victor finds a decommissioned android, Hap, in the scrap yard. That’s when the plot really gets started, and never stops.

Rambo and Nurse Ratched are easily my favorite characters in the book, which I never thought I would consider a Roomba to be one of the best, most hilarious, characters I’ve encountered all year, but that’s what Klune does. He makes you fall in love with the most unlikely of “people.” I laughed out loud several times, and I highlighted so many passages.

In addition to his trademark humor, there are also the moments that make you cry. There is a scene near the end where I found myself crying, and had to stop myself and shake my head over what I was crying over. That’s all I’ll say. I don’t want to spoil anything.

If you enjoyed any of Klune’s previous books, I highly recommend you pick this one up. If you’ve never read any of his books before, you might as well start with this one, and then read his back list. If there’s a long wait at your library, go read the back list first.

March 2023 Reads

April 1, 2023Posted in Book RecommendationsTagged Agatha Christie, Anatomy, ARC, Book of the Month, Book Recommendations, Books, Daisy Jones and the Six, Fortunes of Jaded Women, Georgie All Along, Ho, Hollyland, Iowa, Reading, Secret Garden, Silence of the Girls, Stamped From the Beginning, Tag Me For Murder, The House Is On FireLeave a comment

This book was okay. I expected a deeper story about Briseis and the other women, but all I got was something very surface level. The POV and tense made the story feel very cold and distant. The addition of Achilles POV really irked me. You don’t advertise a book as a feminist retelling and have half the book from a male’s POV. And this wasn’t so much as a “re-telling” it was basically the Iliad. After having read Song of Achilles, which was amazing, this book really fell flat.

I read this as an ARC, and reviewed it separately! You can read my in-depth review here.

Obligatory re-read (or re-listen, rather) before watching the Prime series. Loved the book just as much as the first time, possibly even more. This book is probably one of my favorite books of all time. It is everything I love put into a book: 70s Rock, Behind the Music, strong female characters. Camila is and always will be my favorite character. If you haven’t read this yet, get the audiobook, it’s read by a full cast, and then watch the show on Prime.

After starting the month with a couple duds, it was really refreshing to read this one. Fortunes is a fun, light story about generations of a Vietnamese Family “cursed” to only have daughters. The story really shed a light on the relationships between mothers and daughters, especially in immigrant families. The book made me laugh out loud, and it made me cry. (BOTM)

A cookbook with history! This was a very interesting read about the history of the state of Iowa through the quintessential food of the state. I learned so much I didn’t know before, AND I now have some iconic recipes I can’t wait to try out.

Levi is easily one of my favorite romance protagonists in a long time. Bearded, socially awkward, the best. Georgie and Levi’s chemistry was on fire, and I really bought into the premise. the book was really cute and I devoured it in the matter of one day. (BOTM)

Another ARC review you can check out here.

Book club picks with my sisters are often hit or miss (see: Silence of the Girls above), but this one? Hit. I loved this book. LOVED. The romace! The Science! The CLIFFHANGER! Hazel is such a great character – her drive, her gumption, her independce while staying within the confines of the time period. The slow, tender love story between her and Jack was so beautiful. I was completely enthralled and didn’t want to put the book down.

A difficult, but necessary read, Stamped is a powerful, eye-opening book about the history of racism in America. As a history major, I thought I knew everything, but I really didn’t. There was so much I didn’t know. It was upsetting to learn how much politicians throughout history have sytematically built in ways to discriminate against Black people. Also, how many films were “disguised” racism. This book should be required reading in school.

Another ARC. This was the best book I read all month, and a contender for best book I’ve read all year. You can read all about why I thought so here.

Even though it was basically Orient Express but on a boat, the mystery was still good enought to keep me interested. I honestly had no idea who had done it.

Having loved the movie as a kid, I decided to finally read the book. I was not disappointed. It was so good, and the movie adaptation was very faithful to the text. Reading this book was like being wrapped in a warm blanket. It made me so happy.