Monday, July 29, 2024

The Solid Grounds Coffee Company by Carla Laureano (Review)

Series: The Supper Club #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Tyndale House
Released: February 4, 2020
392 pages

About the Book:

Analyn Sanchez can handle the long hours and arrogant clients that come with her job as a crisis management associate at Denver's largest publicity firm. The high-powered job, expensive condo, and designer wardrobe are all part of her plan to prove to her family that her life choices haven't been in vain. But when she's asked to cover up a client's misdeeds with serious moral and legal ramifications, she can no longer sacrifice her conscience for her career . . . and the cost is no less than her job.

Ever since a devastating climbing accident in South America eight months ago, and a bad decision that dried up his sponsorships, professional rock climber Bryan Shaw has found himself at similar loose ends. When the opportunity to buy a coffee farm in Colombia arises, he jumps on it--only to discover his wandering ways have left him utterly unprepared to run a business.

When Bryan returns home and offers Ana a role in his company as a solution to both their problems, she's desperate enough to consider working with the far-too-flippant and far-too-handsome climber, even though he's the polar opposite of her type A nature. As they delve deeper into the business, however, she begins to suspect there's much more to Bryan than she's given him credit for . . . and that sometimes the best plans are the ones you never see coming.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐

It was nice to finally get to know Ana more. She was definitely a driven character always on a schedule. When her routine gets changed, how will she react? Meanwhile, Bryan is trying to move on from bad actions he has made and change his path. I respected how he wasn't relying on his parents' money but rather working hard. I did like these two characters together and enjoyed seeing the friend group interactions. But I did not like the third act conflict that was inserted. Not only did the situation bother me, but it also felt like the writing style changed at this point as it didn't flow the same. It jumped in time to wrap up very quickly. There were parts of the epilogue I liked but also parts that made me a little sad for the friend group, but like continues to move on. I did learn quite a bit about coffee through this book.


(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Saturday, July 27, 2024

Emma by Jane Austen (Review)

Genre: Classic
Released: 1815
495 pages
About the Book:

Emma Woodhouse believes herself to be an excellent matchmaker, though she herself does not plan on marrying. But as she meddles in the relationships of others, she causes confusion and misunderstandings throughout the village, and she just may be overlooking a true love of her own.











  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐


This was my very first time reading a Jane Austen book. Emma sees herself as a matchmaker but isn't that great at it at times. The story is the characters talking about nothing much and drags at times. It helped that I have seen a few adaptations of this book, so I was familiar with the story. We see Emma grow and learn not to judge everyone based on their financial status but rather their heart. I liked how Mr. Knightly was blunt with Emma and made her see the error of her ways at times. I struggled with the age difference between them. I felt for Harriet, so much heartache could have been avoided if she had just gone with her heart about a guy near the beginning rather than let Emma influence her. I did really like Emma's commitment to her father.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)
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Thursday, July 25, 2024

To Steal a Heart by Jen Turano (Review)

Series: The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency #1
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Publisher: Bethany House 
Released: November 1, 2020
361 pages
About the Book:

After spending her childhood as a street thief, Gabriella Goodhue thought she'd put her past behind her until a fellow resident at her boardinghouse is unjustly accused of theft. Using her old skills to prove her friend's innocence, Gabriella unexpectedly encounters Nicholas Quinn, the man she once considered her best friend—until he abandoned her.

After being taken under the wing of a professor who introduced him into society and named him as his heir, Nicholas is living far removed from his childhood life of crime. As a favor to a friend, Nicholas agreed to help clear the name of an innocent woman, never imagining he'd be reunited with the girl he thought lost to him forever.

As Gabriella and Nicholas are thrown together into one intrigue after another, their childhood affection grows into more, but their newfound feelings are tested when truths about their past are revealed and danger follows their every step.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐


While I liked the main characters of Gabriella and Nicholas it was the supporting characters, in particular Daphne, Gus, Philip and Eunice; that I really enjoyed. Each one added their own element to the story and had me laughing at times. Gabriella and Nicholas reconnect after many years in an unusual situation and it had me questioning what their motives were. They are now seen as being in two different standings within society than they once were and I enjoyed how they didn't let that stop them from being friends and doing what was right. One stands up for what they believe is right even if it will affect their status. I enjoyed following them trying to solve the various cases and figuring out their friendship and discovering feelings for one another. I felt for the characters when they learned things about their background that they did not know and wasn't pleasant. I was impressed with the way handled the news and how they responded. One of the characters in particular struggled with feelings that God had abandoned them but discovered that God was providing for them all along. This story kept me hooked and wanting to know how it was going to turn out. Knowing this is the first book in a series I kept trying to match characters up and guessing which characters may get together in future books... lol. I'm looking forward reading the next books and spending more times with all these characters.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Shattered Rose by Tammy L. Gray (Review)

Series: Windsor #1
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: CreateSpace
Released: January 7, 2014
416 pages

About the Book:

When obsession and love blend, and darkness consumes the mind and spirit, is it even possible to recognize the light? Set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, nineteen-year-old Avery Nichols embarks on a journey of love, loss and recognition that perfection is often an illusion. She gives all she has to the one man who cannot love her back, but still refuses let her go. Now another fights to give her everything she doesn’t believe she deserves. It is the beginning of her sophomore year at Winsor University, and Avery is determined that nothing will stop her momentum, not even the internal battle she has fought for four years. Forced to live on campus because of her alumni scholarship, Avery is thrilled when she is placed in the coveted University Apartments and is swept away by her roommate’s cousin, Jake, whose charm and charisma touches every part of her soul and shatters every piece of her heart. Broken and lost, Avery meets Parker, a man who not only offers her hope, but also teaches her to love in ways she never thought possible. Jake is complicated and damaged, fighting to find his way after the loss of his mother, and despite his every attempt to stop it, Avery gets behind his defenses and forces him to feel once again. He doesn’t want to love her, but can’t let her go. Parker is genuine, honest, and falls for Avery the moment he sees her. He wants nothing more than to love her, if she would only let him.
  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐

I struggled with this book, it's marketed as a YA book, so I am not its target audience but majority of the characters annoyed me. There were some really selfish people who treated others like garbage. The characters are in college and there is a lot of partying, drinking and kissing, touching and more that happens. The main character Avery struggles a eating disorder, is uncomfortable with her appearance and lacks self-confidence however agrees to go out to a bar with her roommate minutes after meeting her. She connects with a guy and things go well at first, but then he does something that made me so mad and while Avery is mad at him for a while, he is able to keep drawing her back to him even though she has since met a much better guy. Avery waffles between the two guys and continues to make the same bad decisions over and over again, it got really frustrating. I got very frustrated with a couple characters saying they want to avoid certain things however they continually would put themselves in bad and tempting situations. This book was too long for what was it. Each chapter opens with someone praying for Avery, but other than that there was very little faith in God mentioned. There is a lot of physical interactions between characters (no described open door scenes), but I felt like the making out scenes went to far. It did wrap up nicely and provided a positive future for Avery.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Sunday, July 21, 2024

Protecting Tanner Hollow by Lynette Eason (Review)

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Revell 
Released: November 5, 2019
355 pages
About the Book:

Four nail-biting novellas in one!

Lethal Homecoming
Nolan Tanner never got over Kallie Ainsworth's sudden, unexplained departure. Now when he comes to her rescue after an attempt on her life, all the old feelings come rushing back.

Lethal Conspiracy
When professional fundraiser Lillian Maloney sees her father's campaign manager commit murder, she goes on the run from the men he hires to kill her. A close call brings firefighter Jason Tanner to the rescue, but the killer is closing in . . .

Lethal Secrets
Someone wants Honor McBride dead. When Eli Murphy helps her change a flat tire and discovers the danger Honor is in, he longs to help--but Eli has secrets of his own that could get them all killed.

Lethal Agenda
When Detective Derek St. John rescues a woman he's met only once before--and has never been able to forget--he finds himself falling for her. But he'll have to keep Claire Montgomery alive if they're to have a future together.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a compilation of four novellas. I enjoyed the main characters from each story but wish they had been longer. Stories were faced paced and too short. Because of the length, there were some aspects that felt too convenient. I did really enjoy how the character of Nolan was active in each of the stories, and we got little updates on his relationship the first story. I loved that the last story featured Derek St. John and included a scene with the St. John family from Ms. Eason's Blue Justice series. I love it when characters appear that we've met before. 

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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