Shawna

3.75 rounded up.

I found this book interesting. The network that they built to help advance society and support a more fair and integrated society was inspiring and heartbreaking.

The selfishness of the acts to advance the greater good was noble.

I did not enjoy the ending. For all the build up, I found the ending sort of, flat.

I really enjoyed this book. The horrible, succession-esque family, the over the top spending and tropical Destination were an interesting backdrop for this marriage of convince romance.

The MCs were different but in complimentary ways. Good banter, good spice and some fun side characters.

The storyline was interesting, the “misunderstanding” that is always present in these books was handled well, and the pace of the romance was nice. Not rushing in guns blazing.

I very much enjoyed this book.

I liked how strong a character Evelyn was and how she was so smart and calculated and lived her life for herself. I am not sure if I am supposed to like her or not, but I do.

This book wasn't really my cup of tea.

I read it because I liked the cover and I was part of one of the Goodreads challenges.

I didn't mind the action/mystery plot, however I found the book difficult to get into and boring in places. It felt longer than it was.

Also, knowing this was the first attempt for Black to write adult fiction, I sort of expected more adult themes.

I loved this book. The plot, the main and side characters, the banter, the comedy and the spice. I am very excited to have more books in this series to read.

Don't ask me why, but I was expecting a tennis love story because of “set on you” but it was a gym romance instead.

The MMC and family/side characters are great. The FMC is likeable however I felt her handling of the conflict at the end was a little dramatic.

It is one of those rom coms that seems to really want to comment on societies views and teach me something, which isn't always what I want when reading for pleasure.

3.5 rounded down.

I enjoyed this friends to lovers book. Although I didn't find it as funny as some of the other Christina Lauren books I've read, it was still a very enjoyable story.

The friend group dynamic was good, the dating site adventure was good, however, the conflict for me was not.

You can see where it's going, you can see what's going to happen. I think both MCs handled it poorly, and I think the MMC was sort of shit to his friends and the FMC, blowing things out of proportion and making the apology drag out for too long.

3.5 rounded down.

Finally, Brynn for a book.

It was the conflict in this book that bothered me. I hated the premise of it. That Brynn believed the stories without thinking things through bothered me, because she has been such a strong figure throughout and I thought this was a very weak reaction from her.

3.5 rounded down.

I enjoyed the characters in this book, and was happy Brynn was back as a side character. I really hope one of the next two books focuses on her.

Second chance romance, mixed with football and a single mom. Some of the issues the two MCs glossed over are things I would think would need a lot more time and discussion. It was refreshing to have the FMC in a sports romance not like the sport. And not growing to like the sport, sticking with her own values and beliefs.

3.75 rounded up.

I have only ever read romance books from Emily Giffin, so I was surprised by the heavier nature of this book. As always, this is because I go in blind when reading.

Due to the nature of the story, it could be an especially hard read for anyone with sexual assault/harrassment in their life.

I enjoyed watching Nina's though process and how she debated between family or truth.

This book seemed like a good base for learning some of the basics of reiki and it is making me feel more comfortable going into my Level I reiki training.

I really enjoyed this read. I loved the the football theme, the MMC is giving huge Golden Retriever vibes, a great book boyfriend.

I hated the #hashtags, but everything else was good.

I am excited to read the next three in the series, and hopefully see more of my favorite side characters find their happy endings.

I love the concept of Hygge.

It helped me solidify my pursuit of a more Hygge life forward life going forward.

I did find it sort of subjective and repetitive, but there was good information throughout.

3.5 Rounded Down.

I enjoyed that this was like a campy, action/adventure, witchy love story. The MCs were both extreme but in loveable ways.

2.5 rounded down.

I have become fascinated with Hygge, and have been reading up on it a lot lately. This was not the proper book for me to enjoy.

It felt very repetitive. There was no guide to how to really implement things or simply start bringing Hygge into modern north american homes.

There were a lot of beautiful quotes and although vaguely inspiring, I will look for another book to learn more.

3.5 Rounded Down.

I love the MMC and he was definitely sexy. The spice was good and the premise of the book was fun. I didn't connect fully with the FMC and found her to be a bit unlikeable.

Also, overall, it felt long.

I also listen to about 30% of this book on audio, and I hate when there are two narrators, but they voice the other character in their POV chapter. Like, if you have a male and female voice actor, I don't want to hear the female pretend to be the male. It really takes me out.

I will read the next one, in hopes it is about Josie and Matthew. I see lots of potential there, as in their limited appearances in this book make me feel they will both be loveable MCs

I think this book had so much potential but it turned out to be boring, tangled, repetitive and an ending that I didn't love

3.75 rounded up.

A non-spicy love story about second chances, loss, pain and finding yourself.

I really enjoyed this story and although I am lucky enough to still have my mom with me, if you have lost yours, this book might hit differently for you.

It was warm with likeable characters and realistic growth in my opinion, which makes it a great read for me.

I found this book very engaging. I loved the slow burn of it, and the side characters. I really feel like side characters can make or break a book sometimes.

As always, the EmHen banter was good and there was obvious chemistry between the two MCs. I thought the drama between the FMC and her friend was sort of blown out of proportion, but I understand why it might have been included in this manner. I enjoyed this one more than Happy Place, but I think Beach Read stays at number one for all the Emily Henry books.

This was a solid 4 star book.

A fun winter/holiday romance with people destined to be together, but having difficulties finding their way.

At no point do you not want these two souls to end up together. It was cute, funny and spicy.

3.75 rounded up.

This was a nice, quick guide that went over what the Finnish do to rank amongst the happiest people in the world.

I like how the word happiness doesn't exactly match the vibe they have, it seems more like authenticity and contentment.

It really helped enforce why certain things I do bring more contentment than others and that happiness doesn't need to manifest as smiles and laughing, but more with trust and peace.

It was fun to get a look into another culture and take a few pieces with me to be mindful of going forward.

This book is more of a memoir about Cait's life during her year of buying less, and less of a self help book. If you are looking for a detailed guide on how to live with less, or how to declutter, or tactics to cope with overconsumption, this isn't that.

As someone that wants to be more mindful about what I purchase and what I keep in my home, I found some inspiration in here that I am on the right track and there is no worthwhile things to learn about myself while trying to want/need less.

I did find some of the book to feel like humble brag and it gave me a certain tone in my mind when reading it that felt sort of superior.

3.75 stars rounded up.

I enjoy Emily's writing. I find the banter is always good, and the writing is engaging.

I personally don't love a second chance romance, as sometimes I find it hard to root for the couple to get back together. Sometimes I feel like they overlook important differences just to get a happy ending, but in this book, there was enough growth that seeing Harry and Wyn end up together didn't annoy me.

I did think there was more “little dramas” or small inconveniences/misunderstandings between all the characters then was needed, but not enough that they took away from the overall vibe of the book.

I don't know if this is poetry, quotes or a mix of the two. All I know for sure was that it was a beautiful read.

2.5 rounded down.

This book wasn't what expected. Going in blind gets me again.

This book covers a lot of heavy topics, cancer, death, depression, bipolar disorder, bullying. So it isn't a light read at all.

Although both MCs have backstories that impact their personalities, neither is super likeable. The MMC was less annoying to me, but the FMC seemed so disengaged and self centered.

There were to many disagreements and things that seemed unforgivable for them to end up together. They should have been deal breakers, it didn't seem like their personalities matched.