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Book Review: One Thousand Stars and You by Isabelle Broom #Bloggers #Fiction #Blogtober

One Thousand Stars and You Isabelle Broom book cover

GIFTED / Today I bring you my review for a backlist written by one of my favourite authors: Isabelle Broom. Becoming a mother slowed me down in my reading and pretty much stopped me from reviewing/blogging for so long that now I have so many books that I am late with when it comes to reviewing. Good thing is I still am very interested in every single one I received and I am making my way through them. One Thousand Stars and You was a good book to spend time with and even though I am kind of late with my review for it, I still hope my review will makw you notice this novel and maybe will get it some atteintion. After all, when it comes to backlists, chances are they are traslated in more languages by now and available in more libraries.

One Thousand Stars and You was published on August 23rd 2018 by Penguin and it has 400 pages. I want to thank the team from Penguin UK, Michael Joseph for sending me an eARC via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

Alice is settling down. It might not be the adventurous life she once imagined, but more than anything she wants to make everyone happy – her steady boyfriend, her over-protective mother – even if it means a little part of her will always feel stifled.

Max is shaking things up. After a devastating injury, he is determined to prove himself. To find the man beyond the disability, to escape his smothering family and go on an adventure.

A trip to Sri Lanka is Alice’s last hurrah – her chance to throw herself into the heat, chaos and colour of a place thousands of miles from home.

It’s also the moment she meets Max.

Alice doesn’t know it yet, but her whole life is about to change.

Max doesn’t know it yet, but he’s the one who’s going to change it.

Review:

Are you familiar with the case when you like the author and enjoy their writing, but you just don’t click with the story?
That is what happened to me with One Thousand Stars and You.

I usually love Isabelle Broom’s work. Ever since she started publishing her stories back in 2016 I fell in love with her writing and the way she would describe places her characters visited, and she found her spot on my favourite authors list.
Unfortunately, although I still enjoyed her descriptions of beautiful Sri Lanka, I didn’t fall in love with this novel.

I think the main reason I was put off was the way one of her characters was presented to us, through other characters’ (and what it felt like through author’s too) eyes.
I am talking here about Moureen who was perfect the way she was, but for some reason our MC and her love interest looked down upon her, like they are for some reason better then her.
Like Alice was pure and inocent when in reality she was emotionally cheating on her boyfriend since the moment she met Max, and Max who for some reason acted like he deserves better then Maur.
It was just really hard to love the story with hard-to-like characters.

I also wasn’t a fan how the novel reminded me of Me Before You in some parts and I am still not sure would I loved it better if it went all the way there or do I like it that it took a different turn.

In the end I appreciate the message behind this whole journey, and think that the book is good and would still recommend it.
I just wish I liked it little bit more.

The one that didn’t stay with me: My Epic Spring Break (Up) by Kristin Rockaway @PRHGlobal #partner #Blogtober

My Epic Spring Break (Up) by Kristin Rockaway book cover US edition

GIFTED / Today I bring you my short review for a novel that I have read a (it feels like) lifetime ago. It was actually this summer, July to be precise. I made a mistake and didn’t review it shortly after I finished it so my review is very short and brief too.

My Epic Spring Break (Up) was released by Penguin Random House Children’s on May 7th 2021. It has 252 pages.
I want to thank the team from Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

For coder extraordinaire Ashley, high school is all about prepping for college. Her love life? Virtually nonexistent. She’s never been on a date. Never been kissed. Never been in love.

When her plans veer off course, Ashley realizes she might be missing out on her high school experience. Now that spring break is finally here, Ashley vows to have fun . . . and, for the first time, follow her heart.

Starting with Walker Beech, her gorgeous, maybe-not-so-unrequited crush. But with Jason Eisler–her childhood friend turned prankster–in the picture, trouble is bound to follow. Will Ashley’s epic spring break lead her to love, or will her heart crash and burn?

Review:

I made a mistake and didn’t write my review as soon as I finished the book, and now when I finally sit down to express my thoughts, I realized that I forgot most of the story.

So I guess first thing that I will say about the book will be that although it was easy to read and entertaining, it was also forgettable.

Ashley, our protagonist was not the most likeable person, but at the same time it was easy to understand her.
I love how her interest into STEM was present through the whole story and how it sort of had it’s own role.
The other thing I appreciate was the friendship between Ashley and her friends.

I love to read ya contemporary novels from time to time. My Epic Spring Break (Up) was typical ya contemporary novel, perfect to read in one sitting, but didn’t stand out in the sea of contemporaries.

Witchy and relaxing: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (Book Review) @PRHGlobal #partner #Halloween #Witches

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna book cover US edition

GIFTED / Today I am so, so, so happy to bring you my review for a book I read and enjoyed so much. I am so grateful books like this exist and am happy to spread my word about it in hope it will reach as many readers as possible.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches was published on August 23rd by Berkley and it has 336 pages. I want to say thank you to Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

Review:

I simply loved this book. It was perfect read for the fall, and would be excellent one to pick up during October/spooky season.
Although The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches is not a spooky book, it is still perfect to read for Halloween, as it’s protagonists are witches (and with witches comes magic).

I am actually glad books like this exist, because they do provide that Halloween mood to readers who aren’t into horrors and gory.

This book was just adorable. It was relaxing, witchy story that talked about family, friends and love, and what is the most important, the relationship one has with themselves.

The story follows Mika who takes a job to teach magic to three little children. There, in the Nowhere House, she finally learns how it feels to belong somewhere and what it’s like to have a family.

The story is written in third person following Mika’s POV, but there were also some parts that followed Jamie, the librarian.
As you can assume, Jamie is the love interest and when it comes to romance, this one include grumpy-sunshine trope.

I think the author pictured small circle (of people) vibes so well. It was so easy to get attached to all of the characters, main and the side ones. Holiday scenes in the story were like a warm hug from the author and her characters to us readers, that I appreciate the most.

I highly recommend it to everyone who’s looking for a warm, relaxing, witchy story.

Perfect to spend your vacation with: You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry @PenguinUKBooks #BookLovers #Romance

you and me on Vacation by Emily Henry book cover UK edition

GIFTED / I am so happy to finally tell you all about a book I enjoyed so much this summer, You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry, also published by name People We Meet on Vacation in US, and at the same time, I am sorry I haven’t posted this review sooner. But better late then never, right?

You and Me on Vacation was published on July 22nd 2021, and it has 368 pages. I want to say thank you to Georgia Taylor from Penguin Random House UK for sending me a Netgalley widget and inviting me to read and review this novel.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

TWO FRIENDS
TEN SUMMER TRIPS
THEIR LAST CHANCE TO FALL IN LOVE

12 SUMMERS AGO: Poppy and Alex meet. They hate each other, and are pretty confident they’ll never speak again.

11 SUMMERS AGO: They’re forced to share a ride home from college and by the end of it a friendship is formed. And a pact: every year, one vacation together.

10 SUMMERS AGO: Alex discovers his fear of flying on the way to Vancouver.
Poppy holds his hand the whole way.

7 SUMMERS AGO: They get far too drunk and narrowly avoid getting matching tattoos in New Orleans.

2 SUMMERS AGO: It all goes wrong.

THIS SUMMER: Poppy asks Alex to join her on one last trip. A trip that will determine the rest of their lives.

You and Me on Vacation is a love story for fans of When Harry Met Sally and One Day. Get ready to travel the world, snort with laughter and – most of all – lose your heart to Poppy and Alex.

Review:

I was lucky enough to get an invitation to read You and Me on Vacation before it’s release.
Because life had other plans, I wasn’t able to get into it earlier, but I am so glad I enjoyed this story before it officially hits the shalves.

Last year I read Henry’s Beach Read and fell in love with it.
It is one of the best books I read in 2020 and I couldn’t wait to read her newest adult novel.

After finishing You and Me on Vacation (published in US with a title People you Meet on Vacation) I can say that Henry’s writing style really speaks to me (you see what I did here? 😉 ).
Jokes aside, I came to realization that I really enjoy her way of telling stories. I still haven’t check her ya books, and I plan to read them all at some point. I feel like she has potential to become one of my favourite authors.

The book talks about two friends who every summer go to vacation together. We follow present day and see previous 10 years in their own chapters.
The story is told from Poppy’s POV, first person, and it’s perfect best friends to lovers story.
The author mentioned in her note that it was inspired by When Harry met Sally.

Even though this books talks about our main characters visiting places, including my home country Croatia which is so rarely featured in American novels), it is character driven story.
In my honest opinion, it lacks descriptions of places, and if I told you I felt like I was there with our characters, exploring countries, I would lie.
I felt their personal emotions though, and that is what really matters.

One other thing this book accomplished was to make me want to travel somewhere.
I know we are in time when traveling comes with obstacles a is not recommended (damn you Covid! 😡 ), but it was nice to daydream and reminisce).

I know this book is considered as romance. In my opinion it is somewhere between that and women’s fiction.
Chick lit would be perfect genre.

I highly recommend You and Me on Vacation and suggest you to read it on a sunny day.

A book I learned a lot (about bees) from: The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin @PRHGlobal #partner #bookreview #bees

GIFTED / Today I bring you a review of a book I read a while ago, but some parts of the story still stayed with me. I feel like it is one of the books a reader learns a lot from.

The Music of Bees came out on April 27th 2021 and it has 322 pages. I want to thank Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

A heartwarming debut novel for readers of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, following three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life’s curveballs, who are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing–and maybe even a second chance–just when they least expect it.

Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn’t turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren’t helping her feel better these days.

In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake–a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County–while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake’s sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.

And then there’s Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice’s ad for part-time farm help, he’s shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees–and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.

Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don’t turn out the way you expect.

Review:

At first glance, The Music of Bees grabbed my attention. The beautiful yet simple cover made me curious about the story inside, and as I was reading it’s premise, I got a feeling it is beautifully written literary fiction.

In a way, I can blame myself for having my hopes so high, as there weren’t so many reviews out there at the time.

The story follows three characters, Alice, Harry and Jake.
If I am being completely honest, I didn’t click with any of them at first.
I wasn’t a fan of the way Alice and Jake met each other, and I feel like Harry was big mystery, like we didn’t get to really see him, understand him.

It took 60% of the book for me to really get into the story.
That reflected on my reading pace as well. I read those slow 60% for days (when I say days, I mean more than a week), and the last 40% I finished in a day.

I loved how bees were present through the story and I feel like I’ve learned a lot about them.
I was thinking how the author did a really good job researching, but then I read that she actually is a bee farmer, so that makes more sense.
She obviously knew what she was writing about.

In the end, I want to mention that one character has disability (jake) and is in a wheelchair.
I can’t speak from personal experience (although I had to be in wheelchair for two months after the car accident), but I feel like the character is described respectively and fairly.

Review I should have written a lifetime ago: Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas #Books #Thriller @MichaelJBooks

Just Like the Other Girls by Claire Douglas book cover UK edition

GIFTED / Today I decided to post my review for a book that came out some time ago. I was lucky enough to receive a Netgalley widget for this book, but as some of you already know, I was in a bad place and too occupied with motherhood to keep up with my blog.

I enjoyed reading Just Like the Other Girls, as it was a buddy read with my friend Amanda from Chocolate Pages, who came to the rescue when it comes to clearing that Netgalley shelf of mine.

The novel came out on August 6th 2020 and it has 394 pages. Thank you to Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for providing me a copy.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

CARER/COMPANION WANTED FOR ELDERLY LADY
* YOUNG FEMALE PREFERRED * COMPETITIVE SALARY *
* ROOM AND BOARD INCLUDED *

Una Richardson’s heart is broken after the death of her mother. Seeking a place to heal, she responds to an advertisement and steps into the rich, comforting world of Elspeth McKenzie.

But Elspeth’s home is not as safe as it seems.

Kathryn, her cold and bitter daughter, resents Una’s presence. But more disturbing is the realization that two girls had lived here before. Two girls who ended up dead.

Why won’t the McKenzies talk about them? What other secrets are locked inside this house? As the walls close in around her, Una starts to fear that she will end up just like the other girls . . .

Review:

Just Like the Other Girls was a wild ride I took with my friend Amanda (in other words, we buddy read it), and guys, it was a thrilling enjoyment.

If you keep up with my reading, you would know that reading club and buddy reads with my friends are my number one priority for months now, and let me tell you, I can’t recall when was the latast time we read such a good, discussion caller of a novel.

The writing pulled me in immediately, with action and mystery that urged me to read one more page, and all the characters that were suspicious.
This is one of the books where everyone can be a bad guy and you don’t know their motives at all, and as a result, you don’t even know how many bad guys are there at all.
Is it all the work of a one person, or do two/more work together?? That is a mystery!

Because of all of the above, we finished the book in 5 days instead of 8 that was originally planned.

I also want to applause the author for her courage to take turn that was brave and definitely unique, and so unpredictable.
If you read the book, you know what I’m talking about, if you didn’t, I don’t want to spoil you.
But because of that “thing” that happened, that lead to “part 2” I was sure I was reading a 5stars worth book.

However, after I finished the book, and mystery was solved (in a satisfying way) I looked back at italic parts of the book and I felt played out. Fooled.
It was like the author made up some parts of it just to lead us the wrong way, and they don’t make sense.
I was so angry I even wanted to give it 3,5 stars.
Actually, I still am angry and I still am debating whether to give it 4 or 3,5 stars.
This whole situation reminded me that Douglas did the very same thing in her previous novel When She Vanished, and I felt the same.

I decided that I will read another book by her some other time and if italics make me mad again, I will just give up on her work.
Her books are good, but I just don’t like being mislead if it’s not done in an intelligent way.

However, I do recommend this book because it is really good.

The one with… stupid main character (sorry, not sorry): Survive the Night by Riley Sager @PRHGlobal #partner #horror #thriller #bookreview

Survive the Night by Riley Sager book cover US edition 2021

GIFTED / Hi guys! Today I am talking about a book that I read along with my girls in our book club. These days I am mostly focused on buddy reads, as I feel like I get more from the book when I discuss it with others. My favourite buddy in crime is Amanda from ChocolatePages, we read many books together this year, and I hope we’ll continue with it. Survive the Night was the August pick in the book club we are both members of.

This book was published on 29th June 2021 and it has 324 pages. I want to say thank you to Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana’s in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer.

Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. Like the Hitchcock heroine she’s named after, Charlie has her doubts. There’s something suspicious about Josh, from the holes in his story about his father to how he doesn’t seem to want Charlie to see inside the car’s trunk. As they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s suspicion merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination?

What follows is a game of cat-and-mouse played out on night-shrouded roads and in neon-lit parking lots, during an age when the only call for help can be made on a pay phone and in a place where there’s nowhere to run. In order to win, Charlie must do one thing–survive the night.

Review:

So… this was a shitshow full of mad people. And I don’t mean it in a good way.

Let me start this review on a positive note.
As Riley Sager is a best selling author, I expected to like his writing style, and although I wasn’t a fan of all the things he has written in this particular novel, I do admit that his words are easy to follow and the book reads easy and fast.
To give you and example how fast it reads, I will just say that it was our August pick for our book club and instead of planned 7, it took us only 4 days to finish.

The premise was promising, but with all the negative reviews appearing I didn’t have too high expectations.
However, I did expect to be fascinated with Josh’s character (because of one BookTube review) but that didn’t happen.
Also, in one of my Goodreads friend’s review I read that Charlie is one of the stupidest characters ever written, and after I finished Survive the Night, I 100% understand why my friend feels that way. I also agree with her, to some point.
It is hard to root for someone who acts so against their well being.
If I am being honest, one part of me even wanted for her not to survive the night.

As for the big relevation I wasn’t surprised at all, as the author gave us only few characters in the whole story, there weren’t much choices to chose our suspect from.

Last thing I want to mention is how I am not happy with the way mental illness was handled.
We never got the answer what Charlie’s diagnosis were, the author almost approached it as some kind of superpower, at some parts it felt like it was used just to mess with our mind and one chapter closer to the end reminded me of the way mental illness was handled in the history, when ppl in mental hospitals were put under electricity hamlets to be cured.
That chapter left bad taste in my mouth.

In the end I will just say that I am still eager to read Riley’s book called Lock Every Door, and this one I will just pretend it wasn’t written by him.

Gender swap retelling of Beauty and the Beast: Curses by Lish McBride #bookreview @PRHGlobal #partner #retelling

Curses by Lish McBride book cover US edition 2021

GIFTED / It has been months since my last post, but while I have been gone I have written some reviews, and today I bring you one of them.

Curses by Lish McBride reminded me how much I love Beauty and the Beast and how I enjoy it’s retellings. It’s like I can’t get enough of them.

This book was published on 20th July 2021 and it has 480 pages. I want to thank the team from Penguin Random House Global for sending me an e-galley of this novel (in an exchange for an honest review).

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS /

Merit Cravan refused to fulfill her obligation to marry a prince, leading to a fairy godling’s curse. She will be forced to live as a beast forever, unless she agrees to marry a man of her mother’s choosing before her eighteenth birthday.

Tevin Dumont has always been a pawn in his family’s cons. The prettiest boy in a big family, his job is to tempt naïve rich girls to abandon their engagements, unless their parents agree to pay him off. But after his mother runs afoul of the beast, she decides to trade Tevin for her own freedom.

Now, Tevin and Merit have agreed that he can pay off his mother’s debt by using his con-artist skills to help Merit find the best match . . . but what if the best match is Tevin himself?

Review:

I don’t know if my brain is in post-covid or what, but when I first started reading Curses I was sure it had 280 pages. In fact, that is the reason why I picked it up in the first place. I wanted a short book that I would finish quickly.
However, as I was reading, the story went on and on and on… (I read it on kindle) and after I finally finished it it said it has 480 pages, which makes much more sense, as it dragged.

The story is gender swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with cast of characters that have potential to capture your heart.

I can’t honestly remember when was the ast time I read about characters I can see myself wanting to revisit, because I find them so likeable and like I know them in a way.
It was probably years ago, back when I was reading Vampire Academy, Iron Fay and Clockwork Angel for the first time.

My favourites were Tavin and his cousin (Val I think, but don’t quote me on that, I am terrible when it comes to remembering the names).

The story started off good and I was very excited, very invested into all that was happening, especially in all the characters making connections with each other.
There was a scene involving Tavin and one other female character that was NOT Merit, and their chemistry was so strong you could cut it with a knife. I wished for them two to be with each other, but I guess the author had another plan…

Closer to the middle the story started to drag and I lost the motivation to continue with reading (with pace I read with at the very start), and then as we got closer to the end, the story became little… ridiculous I would say.
At times it felt rushed, and the motive and the way the villain wanted to reach their goal were illogical to me.

The one to relax with: Queen Bee by Jane Fallon @MichaelJBooks @JaneFallon #QueenBee #BookLovers

GIFTED / Today I happily present you my review for Queen Bee, the newest novel by Jane Fallon, who’s work I always enjoy.

This book should have been published back in April, but the release day has been changed to July 9th 2020. It has 400 pages.

I received an eARC via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Michael Joseph, Penguin for giving me this chance.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / Welcome to The Close – a beautiful street of mansions, where gorgeous Stella is the indisputable Queen Bee . . .

It is here that Laura, seeking peace and privacy after her marriage falls apart, rents a tiny studio. Unfortunately, her arrival upsets suspicious Stella – who fears Laura has designs on her fiancé, Al.

When Laura stumbles on the big secret Al is hiding, suddenly Stella’s perfectly controlled world, not to mention Laura’s future, are threatened.

Taking a chance on beating Al at his own twisted game, these two former strangers are fast becoming best friends.

But has Laura forgotten that revenge never comes without a sting in the tail?

Review:

Once again, Jane Fallon proved herself as a perfect go-to author for book clubs with her newest book Queen Bee.

As I already stated in my reviews for her other novels, I think Fallon’s work is great to read along with friends, as her novels often demand to be discussed about.
However, this time there wasn’t too many things people could argue about, but still it would make a perfect choice to read together and just comment things that were served.

I started this book and immediately knew I wouldn’t let it go until I finish that last page.
But life doesn’t happen as we planned it, so I gave birth somewhere in the middle of my Queen Bee journey, and too pause from it to get to know my baby and get better from that exper.
Once I finally took some time to read again, I was so happy to continue, as I was really looking forward to it, and didn’t forget anything that happened.

I enjoyed spending time in the neighborhood along with Laura. I think fans of Desperate Housewives would enjoy this story, because of the setting and mentality of characters.

The book is written in first person, following Laura’s POV.

I think it was a great choice because it made me really invested in the story.

I also really enjoyed how children of main characters were involved and I was looking forward to read about them.

I really recommend Queen Bee to readers of women’s fiction and I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

The one to fall in love with (on the beach): Beach Read by Emily Henry #BeachRead #Romance #BookLovers #Summer

GIFTED / I am happy to bring you my review for Beach Read, a book I fell in love with, that took by the storm bookish community, well deserved.

I was lucky enough to be invited to be one of early readers of this novel. Thank you to Penguin Random House for giving me this chance.

Beach Read will be published in UK on July 9th 2020 and it is already published in US. It is 384 pages long.

About the book:

FROM GOODREADS / He doesn’t believe in happy endings.
She’s lost her faith that they exist.
But could they find one together?

January is a hopeless romantic who likes narrating her life as if she’s the heroine in a blockbuster movie.
Augustus is a serious literary type who thinks true love is a fairy-tale.
January and Augustus are not going to get on.

But they actually have more in common than you’d think:

They’re both broke.
They’ve got crippling writer’s block.
They need to write bestsellers before the end of the summer.

The result? A bet to see who can get their book published first.
The catch? They have to swap genres.
The risk? In telling each other’s stories, their worlds might be changed entirely…

Review:

I can not even find the words to tell you how happy, honoured I feel to have received an invitation to read and review Beach Read so early before it’s publication.
I already know that this book will be on my “best of 2020” list.

It is a perfect, relaxing beach read even though it can be devoured in any time, in every possible corner of the world, not only on beach. (😜😎)(I mean, I read it during winter and still enjoyed it the most!)

The story is written in first person, following January (the name of our main character) who after loss of her father and revelation of his secret has hard time believing in happily ever afters, and suffers from the writing block, when she should finish her next romance novel.
Placing herself in the new house in a small town, she comes across her rival from Uni days, who is well respected, published author of literary fiction now.

They start spending more and more time together and January starts to develop feelings for him.

I enjoyed every page of this book.
Do you know that feeling when you read a good story and don’t want it to end, so you start to read it at slower pace only to have more time with it?
That’s what my experience was with Beach Read. I didn’t want it to end.

My favourite part of the story was the chemistry between Gus and January, and her own self aware of her feelings for him, and the complication of their situation.
I loved watching their relationship growth.

Beside that, I loved reading about their writing process and journeys.

Since I read an ARC, I am not sure if my copy was messed up or if it had two different ends to the story, and that is why I can’t give it full 5 stars. I guess I’ll have to wait for the finished copies to see what the case is.
If it is the case of two different endings, then I think the one with only January and Gus is the better one.

Overall, Beach Read was an amazing story and I would recommend it to romance, general fiction and women’s fiction lovers who are looking for a new, light hearted and relaxing read.