Title: Just for the Summer
Author: Abby Jimenez
Publisher: Forever
Pages: 432
Genre: Romance, Drama
My Rating: 8/10

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Just for the Summer

Justin is cursed because every time he dates a woman and they break up, the woman finds The One. It has happened several times now and now the whole world knows it because he shared it on Reddit. Emma reads his post and sends him a message saying that she has the same problem. They make a deal. They are going to date each other for a month and then break up and hopefully, they break the curse and they find their soulmates as well. But it gets a lot harder when they really like each other. At the same time, they are struggling with family issues, and it is very hard to balance everything for them.

Review

I have to say that this book was a lot more emotional than I expected. At first, it is a super cute romance, because Justin and Emma have a lot of fun together. But it also gets more serious as soon you find out they have family issues. Emma’s mother shows up unannounced and Justin’s life is also changing.

There is one particular part of this book I constantly have to think about and that is the part where Emma and Justin are in the car with raccoons. I am not going to spoil too much, but that was the cutest and funniest moment of this book. I really loved that part. It made me laugh so hard.

But this book has so many layers. That part with the raccoons was cute and funny, but there are other parts that were messed up and made me cry. It got very emotional and intense sometimes. I was feeling sorry for Emma (and also Justin). She deserved a lot more love in her life.

I kind of know what Emma was going through though, because I have the same experience with a family member. Just like Emma, you just kind of hope and think that this person will be nicer in the future and you give them thousands of chances. But eventually, you are the one who gets hurt over and over.

I thought the book was going to give me those summer vibes. It didn’t unfortunately. But it is still a good book to read this summer. I think this is the third book in the ‘Part of Your World’ series, but you can still read this as a standalone, I think. I haven’t read the other ones yet. If you want to read these books in order, you have to read ‘Part of Your World; and ‘Yours Truly’ first.

In this book there were also other likable characters like Justin’s siblings, they were pretty cool too. I was happy that everyone was helping and supporting each other. I also liked Emma’s mantra: always choose Empathy over Anger. Those are some very wise words. I liked that this book was dual POV because those books are always my favorites. I think it is fun to read stories from both sides.

Overall, I think this book was a great book. This is was the first time I read a book by Abby Jimenez, but I don’t think it was the last time. This book made me laugh, cry and made me feel so many other emotions. And when that happens, you know it is a good book.

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Title: Moose Be Love
Author: Jacqueline Winters
Publisher: Jackie M. Wallick
Genre: Romance
Pages: 268
My Rating:

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Moose Be Love

Cadence’s aunt Patty passed away a while ago and now she is finding out that she left her and her sisters the lodge. They can sell it and keep the money or keep the lodge and run it. One condition: they all have to agree with the decision. Otherwise, the lodge will go to someone else. At first, they are convinced to sell the place. They are all busy and have their own lives. But the more time Cadence spends at the lodge, the more convinced she wants to keep it. And it doesn’t help that the caretaker of the lodge is really handsome and nice. Can she convince her sisters to keep the place?

Review

Moose Be Love is the first book in the Sunset Ridge series, which takes place in Sunset Ridge and is about the three Whitmore sisters. First of all, Love the name of this book. There are 8 books in total in this series and they all have the word Moose in their titles, but this book definitely has the best title.
And I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I do that anyway. Do not judge me for this. And I really like the cover of it. However, there is also another version with a different cover (click here for the GoodReads page), I am not the biggest fan of those kinds of covers. I believe those kinds of covers were a thing in the early 2000s maybe. But I am definitely more of a fan of this cover. But the Moose Ed looks so cute on this cover

I also liked the story. I am not saying this is similar to Gilmore Girls, but it kind of has the same vibe. They have a lot of festivals in Sunset Ridge and I remember they also have the weirdest festivals/events in Gilmore Girls.
The story was cute. It started with the Moose Ed who is a regular in Sunset Ridge and everyone feeds him, so obviously he comes back for more. But the book also ends with a very similar situation.

The main characters are likable. Cadence works hard all the time, but now her aunt Patty died and she gave the lodge to the three sisters. At first, they want to sell it. But the more time Cadence spent in Sunset Ridge, the more she wanted to keep it. The only problem, she has to convince her sisters. And there is a second problem, she already has a job. Her job (or boss) is very demanding. But she also feels like she should follow her heart.
Ford is taking care of the lodge at this moment and he is also working two jobs to make sure his little sister Rilee can go to her dream university Boston. He also knows that if the sisters agree to keep it, he gets 55K dollars, which he definitely could use to pay for Boston. He is a good man and he takes care of everyone he cares about. And slowly he is falling for Cadence.

I like to read stories that take place in a small town, maybe because I am from a small town. Or maybe it is because I like to spend time in nature and you don’t have a lot of nature in a city.
For those who are wondering, there is no smut in this book, just a little bit of kissing. But you can tell there is a romantic vibe between Ford and Cadence.

I am curious about the other books in the series. Books 2 and 3 will probably be about the other two sisters but what about the other books? Are more people moving to this small town? I wonder what is going to happen. Or maybe Rilee gets her own story as soon she is done in Boston. By the way, I think it is impressive that the author published at least 8 books in just a span of two years. This book came out in 2020 and book 8 was published in 2022.
But you know what? This book series might be perfect to bring with you on a holiday. The book is not that big. This one has 224 pages, so if you are a fast reader, you can probably read the whole series on your vacation.

I surprisingly enjoyed it. I had no idea what to expect. I love Moose Ed. Imagine you live in a small town and you look out of the window and there is a moose standing. That does not happen where I live. This book had the perfect small-town vibe with two great main characters. I can’t wait to read the other books.

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Title: Hello Stranger
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Genre: Romance
Pages: 325
My Rating:

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Hello Stranger

Sadie Montgomery is an artist but hasn’t had her big breakthrough yet until now. She is one of the finalists of the National Portrait Competition. This is her chance! When she goes to the supermarket to buy some things to celebrate, she faints in the middle of the road. A good samaritan saved her life. In the hospital, the doctors find out that she needs brain surgery as soon as possible, otherwise, she could die, just like her mother did. But after the surgery, she can’t see faces literally. She got face blindness and Saide can only hope it is temporary. Her dog is staying at a Vet clinic for a few days, where she meets Dr. Oliver Addison. She immediately falls in love with this guy and knows they are going to marry one day. Even though, she can’t see his face. In the elevator of her building, she meets Joe. Sadie thinks that he is a player, who has zero respect for women. But when they start hanging out after Oliver Addison stands her up on their date, she realizes he is not as bad. But is it smart to fall in love with someone when you can’t see his face?

Review

OMG! Yes!! I honestly loved this book. It was hilarious and just amazing! This was one of the books I couldn’t stop reading. I thought the first book I read this year (Make Me Wilder – Serena Bell) was great, but this one was even better. I loved every single minute of it.

The story itself is hilarious. She has to paint a portrait for this competition, but that suddenly gets a lot harder when she gets face blindness. And then there are these guys she thinks she is in love with, even though she can’t see their faces. Although, now I think about it. Maybe that is a sign of real love. She loves the guy for who he is and not for what he looks like. The story has a plot twist at the end, and it was a great plot twist. Although, I saw it coming. I think there were many hints. But I still enjoyed it.

The characters are likable. Sadie is a poor artist who has her big breakthrough. Joe is likable as well, even though Sadie thought he was a player who slept with every single woman in their building. Sadie’s stepsister however is an annoying little bitch. I wanted to scream at her. Sadie is unfortunate that she can’t recognize her immediately anymore, so she can run away.
I only wonder how Sadie could all afford those check-ups for her dog and buy so many coffees. She was literally broke and there was no income. That did not make any sense.

The writing style was great and this was definitely one of those books I couldn’t put down. It was just too good. I enjoyed every single minute of it. I couldn’t wait until I got home and could read it again. This makes me wonder if her other books are just as good as this one. Because if it is, I want to read them now, all of them. I did some research and I just realized that ‘Happiness for beginners’ is also by her. I watched that movie recently on Netflix and I loved that as well. So maybe they are all good. I think Katherine is going on my instant-buy list. But Hello Stranger is definitely one of the books I would recommend.

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Title: The Love Plot
Author: Samantha Young
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352
Genre: Romance
My Rating:

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The Love Plot

Star Shine Meadow is a twenty-eight-year-old woman who knows what she wants: she wants to be happy. That is why she is a professional costume character actor and line sitter, when she plays Merida for a birthday party, she meets Rafe Whitman. Rafe is exactly the opposite. He comes from a wealthy family, is a vet, and is grumpy. But not much later Rafe offers Star a job for ten thousand dollars per month. The only thing Star has to do is to pretend to be his girlfriend. Rafe’s mother and sister are pushing him to be in a relationship, which will keep them away and can he relax.

Review

OMG. I just loved this book so much. It was cute and I sensed the chemistry between the two main characters. It had everything a romance book needs. It was also kind of hilarious thanks to Star. She was witty and was not ashamed of who she was. She only wants to be happy and does everything to make sure she is happy, even when it means she is following a non-traditional path.

I am still surprised that Rafe was paying Star a lot for this job. And by a lot, I mean a lot! Rafe was paying Star 10K per month for this job. That is insane, but I am secretly wondering if someone in real life would do this. If a guy like this exists, I am probably available. 10K for just pretending to be a date is crazy. I also wondered if line-sitting was a real job, turns out it is. I had never heard of it before, but maybe it is an American thing.

The story was cute, although the first half of the book was my favorite part. Star was more being herself and I liked that version of her. In the second half Star was pretending to be someone else to be liked by Rafe’s family. I hated it. It was also lacking the chemistry I was feeling in the first half. Normally in two books, there is one big fight and then they make up. In this book, there were two fights. Sometimes they went weeks without talking to each other. I hated that. So yeah, the first half of the book was my favorite.

For me, it was one of those books you can’t stop reading. It made me emotional and it was kind of a rollercoaster. There were many cute moments between the two characters that made you feel happy and then they weren’t speaking to each other, and as someone who feels a lot, it felt like I got dumped.
I know this is just a fictional book, but I am taking two lessons with me. Never change yourself (unless you’re not a nice person), but never change for a relationship. Second, Just have fun in life like Star. She did not care she did not have those traditional jobs. She just did what was making her happy and that is the most important thing in life.

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