It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How come no one told me the hero in this is basically living my Deadliest Catch dreams? *insert nerd noises of me watching Discovery Channel and screaming at the guys that a wave is coming* Honestly, if I had known that about this book it would have bumped up in my TBR a long ago. As it is, I had a tough time picking it up only because I don't have the most stellar relationship with Tessa Bailey but damn if I was going to skip this one after all the hype.

I am glad I didn't skip it because I thoroughly and utterly enjoyed it. It's a story about this completely shameless, but entirely endearing Heiress named Piper Bellinger (which c'mon, I mean I grew up pumping up Paris Hilton since her early days, I am never one to put down this so called "airheads") and this tough-as-nails boat Captain, king crab catcher extraordinaire Brendan Taggart. This is already appealing enough, isn't it?

But wait until you dive in and find that it's hilarious and full of growth and a hero/heroine combo that actually TRY TO BE UNDERSTANDING AND MATURE and I just find that so APPEALING. It was romantic as hell to watch both Piper and Brendan be mature about what the other might be going through without jumping into conclusions and also like, trying to put themselves in each others shoes: THAT'S WHAT I LIKE, AUTHORS; GIMME MORE PLEASE, THANKS.

So basically, me and Tessa Bailey are restored now. I can see our relationship growing steady in the near future. I can't wait for the companion novel to this one actually.



*Note about the sex--> goodness gracious, there is a lot of sex in this, so be prepared (to either read it, or read it through your fingers covering your face, or skip it, whatever is your thing :)

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One Night Only by Catherine Walsh

One Night Only by Catherine Walsh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been ages since I’ve gotten so hooked on a story, on a pair of characters (or I guess in a whole group of characters) that I actually fly through the book like a hungry miss pac-man. One Night Only brought some fresh fun and romance to my life this weekend and it deserves its corresponding good review.

Sarah is a commitmentphobe who is living her worst nightmare, her one-night stand turns out to be Declan, the brother of her best friend’s fiancé. That puts both of them into all kinds of awkward and hilarious situations they can’t escape.

Now of course this had the potential to be wonderfully messy, but both Sarah and Declan are so funny and wonderful that I just wanted them to turn out to be perfect for each other. So I spent a few hours completely engrossed in what was one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while. I am so totally reading whatever Catherine Walsh puts out next. Until then catch me wearing my copy of One Night Only down to the bone.

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Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington 🌲🌊🏊🏼🏊🏼‍♀️

Meet Me at Midnight by Jessica Pennington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of this book is delightful. A prank war going on for the span of eight years that is suddenly ended by a third party who becomes the new enemy and forces the two previous enemies to be allies? Uh yes! Sign me the hell up!

The book is all about summer feelings of invincibility and being young and careless. Both our main characters, Asher and Sidney, are really invested in making each other suffer embarrassment, discomfort and the plain old feeling of loserdom. This is the last summer before college though, the last summer... and things don’t go as planned.

I liked the book. I thought both Asher and Sidney really captured the way teenaged minds work. They were both funny to read and a joy to watch as they slowly come to really know each other finally, after all the years of vacationing together and never really get to.

I am not sure I can pin point the reason I didn’t quite fall in love with the story. Though I did enjoy it, I can’t say it captured me enough to read nonstop, or to make me want to read it again. But that could be me.

So I totally would recommend it if you are in for some light, summery read that will take you back to the days we could still enjoy the outdoors.

Stay safe!

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Review: Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

Title: Starry Eyes 
Author: Jenn Bennett
Published April 3rd 2018 by Simon Pulse
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I found this book browsing the nominees for the Goodreads Choice Awards. Normally, the awards tend to be just a popularity contest, but with this book I have no doubt that the majority of its readers actually voted for it because they loved it.

Because I loved it too. So much. It embodies every single thing I used to love about Young Adult literature. Smart characters who grow into awesome people, fun new experiences, the drama of becoming their ownselves. I enjoyed every minute of this book and it filled me with hope that not everything is lost for Contemporary YA.

The story is about a couple of best friends who go through bad circumstances (a failed Great Experiment) and end up becoming sort of "enemies". Zorie is a young girl obsessed with planets and stars, and Lennon is a reptile lover, punk rocker, Bear Grylls-extraordinaire. I love them to bits. They both reminded me so much of myself when I was a teenager, stressed and confused but also always trying to move forward. The author got it so right.

I also appreciated how quick and intense the book was, filled with awesome scenes both in the city and the wilderness that had me on the edge of my seat. And don't even get me started on all the amazing side characters and their own nail-biting stories, like Joy's marriage  or Mac's teenaged homelessness. I thought everything added an extra depth to an already brilliant story.

I can't recommend this enough. This book is already on a straight path into my favorites. Even now writing a review about it, I can't help but smile, reminiscing how great it was. Loved it.

Love and Other Train Wrecks by Leah Konen

Title: Love and Other Train Wrecks 
Author: Leah Konen
Published January 2nd 2018 by Katherine Tegen Books
Goodreads / Amazon
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Love and Other Train Wrecks has a lot of reasons not to work out. Surprisingly it does. I mean we are talking about two teens meeting and falling in love in the course of twenty four hours, some of you may say—oh dear, insta love. Not at all. Yes, it turns out to be a romantic story (after a while) but I wouldn’t even throw the word love—yet.

Noah and Ammy find themselves stuck in an unmoving train during a heavy snow fall. They both have places to go, and fast. And although they didn’t hit it off right away, they come up with a plan so together they can get where they are going.

You can imagine all sorts of trouble gets in their way, and it is good, ‘cause otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten to know each other that well.

I had a couple of problems with Ammy at the beginning. I just thought she was being so rude to Noah. And I get it, everyone can have a bad day, and she was having a really bad one, but I would never be nasty to anyone no matter my own condition. I also thought she was like that at the start because Noah was a stranger, but at the end when the trouble rolls in paradise, she went back to being mean. But I guess that’s just her personality, you’re forgiven Ammy.

In the end, I had fun even though I figured out the twist from the start and I wish I hadn’t. But it was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon inside.