Jess
Read If You Life:
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Insta-Love
- Opposites Attract
- Small-Town
Tessa Bailey never fails to release an ‘OMG fan me' kind of book. This one was definitely spicy. I will say that the trope for enemies to lovers lasted like a day and turned more into an insta-love which I was a little bummed about. The banter and corkiness die out too quickly, I don't feel like the story gave you much time to see these characters really develop something for each other. It was a very fast paced read. Side Characters were great, I really want to see what happens in the next story with Hannah & Fox.
Overall, if you want a quick read with some very spicy scenes in it, this is your jam. I really did enjoy it but I wouldn't say its a favorite.
Read If You Life:
- Slow Burn
- Angsty
- Humor
- Fake Dating
- Friends to Lovers
- Celebrity Main Characters
This was my first read from married duo Mikaella & Onjuli and I truly enjoy reading this story from beginning to end.
As you start to follow the life of movie star/celebrity Whitman ‘Win' Tragore you see the behind the scenes of what it's like to be a woman of color in the limelight of Hollywood life.
With her most recent breakup and the rumors flowing, Win struggles to keep a well known name from it all. When the gossip start rolling she calls on her trusted long-time friend/faux love interest Leo Milanowski to dim down the negative talks. Leo, a rice playboy from family money, is always willing to jump in and help Win out of a jam.
As you read you get some back story how Win & Leo met and become friends, or partners in crime. They realize that their new found friendship can truly become magic in her lifestyle. So they create a faux on-again off-again celebrity romance that the world can't get enough of. That's what they been for each other for the past seven years, but it they most recent get together things start to become a lot more intense for the two. The charade of their relationship starts to blur and things don't seem to be at a professional capacity anymore. Trouble starts to loom as Leo's past comes knocking and Win's gets some sad family news and turns everything upside down.
Through all the PDA and semi fake smiles, Win and Leo start to see maybe there's more than all what they thought could be there between each other and they needs to decide on whether its all worth it behind and in front of the camera.
I loved it..... you could see that there was so much more between Win and Leo that they just are afraid to realize and their back and forth through out the year shows you how their friendship has become so much more than that. I will say that there are some part in the book that where a little dragging, some chapters or scenes were extended longer than needed but overall great story, great writing.
The YA version of ‘The Truman Show'. If you've seen this movie back in the day then you can just imagine the concept of this book.
You follow Jess Flynn, a teen girl in her junior year of high school. As her days pass by she slowly start hearing and seeing things that seem odd and doesn't make sense. She begin to feel concerned and afraid as if she can't tell the difference between truth and reality. With her social life starting to go awry with her overprotective “parents”, her very “sick” sister, and everything around fake and unreal; she focuses her “best friend/crush” Ty to tell her everything, the whole truth. Thats when things start falling into place for Jess and her decision on what to do next about this new reality.
The first 40% of the book feels like it takes a little long to get into the story but as soon as Jess finds out the truth the story starts to really get interesting.
One thing I did love was the 90s nostalgia. It was fun reading about everything we loved as a teenage girl in the nineties..... awww Scott Wolf ::swoon::
You will definitely enjoy the characters, intriguing storyline with the right amount of twists and turns but like I mentioned before if you've seen ‘The Truman Show' then you'll know what to expect (The teen version).
Please keep in mind that the conclusion of the story will be in the next book ‘This Is Not the Real World'.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this story, it felt more to me like a family oriented story with a sprinkle of romance. (If you looking for something with pure romance or smut - this may not be the one for you). But I wouldn't count it out - it will still give you all the feels.
It's about the female MC: Jo Walker, her upcoming thirtieth birthday, a list of unfinished goals, the grief of losing a family member, and how she learns to work through them.
With the help of her two nieces Kitty & Mia (that come down for the summer), her hot neighbor/coworker Alex and his energetic daughter Greyson - they set on spending the summer knocking out her unfinished list before she turns thirty.
This book was very moving, and heartfelt. The friendship turned romance between Jo and Alex is a true slow burn but truly worth the wait seeing how they get there and how they are there for one another. Then you have the relationship between Jo and her nieces - makes you want to get up give someone you love a hug and tell them you love them. The grief they are going through is deep and emotional
If grief and talk of death is a trigger for you, please note that this is discussed in the book.
3.5 - overall I had mix feelings about where the story went. The best part was the first 30% when they were actually on the cruise and rest was meh. The family drama was a little too much and a bit annoying. Cruz was a push over most of the time and Tennessee was blah at best. Not my favorite LJ story.
