Losing Emma, Finding Hope - Lisl Barnes

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In a world where cancer is romanticised to make more people read about this subject (Not that I’m complaining), I really appreciate that Lisl Barnes decided to share their story in such a way.

First off the cover and all the illustrations are beautiful, and I’m sure they captured Emma’s likeness.

Lisl’s writing pulls you in from the beginning and I quickly got so absorbed in their tale, it broke my heart and opened my eyes. It shows the brutal truth of childhood cancers and how it can change a family.

I would recommend this book in a heartbeat. I wanted to get in my car and go give Lisl a hug, (don’t know how appropriate it would’ve been) and tell her, their story touched my heart.

The Honorable Heir – Laurie Alice Eakes

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Where to begin, and not sound horrible.

I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is a Historical Fiction, I love historical fiction, I didn’t love this book. It felt like the second book in the series, but it’s stand-alone, trust me I went back and checked on several instances. If it wasn’t that I wanted to know who stole the jewels I would’ve given up at 40%

It follows Catherine who had married an English earl a couple of years before, she returns to her family home after her husband died, closely followed by Lord Tristram who was commissioned to find the jewels that Catherine presumably took.

I didn’t like how the story dragged on, and the ending felt very rushed. I know Catherine was supposed to be the victim in this situation, but she just irritated me.

I’m sure there will be people who love this book, but for me, it fell short. 

It Ends with Us - Colleen Hoover

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This was an emotionally draining and yet so satisfying book.

Lily hasn’t always had it easy, she grew up in a home where her father abused her mother. She worked hard to reach her goals and life was just going in the right direction when she met Ryle Kincaid, a gorgeous neurosurgeon, life suddenly feels too good to be true. Ryle is assertive, stubborn and just a tad arrogant and this did make them get off to a rocky start. While she can’t get Ryle of her mind, there is a ghost from her past that surfaced as well in Atlas.

I adored Lily, I connected with her from the moment I opened the book. Her spirit and just her character all over drew me in. That is what I love about Hoover’s books her characters are normal everyday people. Ryle although he was an arrogant know-all, I really liked him, up to a point. There was just something about me that screamed at me.

Hoover’s story felt so real and even though this situation was very close to home, I couldn’t stop reading. I cried, I laughed, and Hoover has the way to make you enjoy every single minute of it.

I would have to add some trigger warning if you are going to read it, I didn’t have a clue what it was about and it did catch me off guard to be reading about such a personal subject.

Miriam and the Stranger – Jerry S. Eicher

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This is my first Amish story in a long time, I used to love these stories, and was quite excited when I got a copy from NetGalley. The excitement was fleeting and now a distant memory.

This is book 3 in the Land of Promise series, we get to know Miriam Yoder, a young Amish woman, who has been through a lot. She soon finds herself betrothed to a widower Mose Stoll, who arrives from her home community. There is also an English man who makes Miriam’s heart beat faster.

I didn’t know that this was book 3 when I requested it, but Eicher does catch you up on what happened in the previous ones… eventually.

I found that it dragged a lot, but I was determined to finish it. There were some parts where I wasn’t really sure if this could happen in the Amish community, but this isn’t facts, so you can change some aspects of it. The end felt rushed and all happened in about what felt like 10 pages. But at least everything was all wrapped up.  

Don’t think I will read anything else by this author, and I won’t even go and read the previous books in this series. 

The Trouble with Faking – Rachel Morgan

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I am telling you this series is giving me so many feelings and just confirmed to myself that this is my genre, this is what I love to read.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This one follows Andi, she has longed for the boy next door, Damien, since she was 10. Andi moves to Cape Town to attend UCT, almost immediately there is a twist to the book as Charlotte, Damien’s girlfriend, suspects that he is cheating on her with Andi. After Charlotte breaks up with Damien, he and Andi decide to continue the façade, ‘to make the people they really like jealous.’

Andi is pretending she likes someone else, even though she is in love with Damien, Damien is in love with someone else and pretending to be in a relationship with Andi, and the game just gets interesting from there.

There were so many twists and turns in this book, that when the end happened, I couldn’t help but giggle because I had it so wrong.

I would definitely recommend this series to any contemporary romance fans, and of course, there is the added bonus that it is set around a location I have actually been, and I could nostalgically dream back to that  wonderful holiday.  The other thing I really enjoyed was the fact that Andi is a Booktuber and has an Etsy shop. I am a big fan of Booktubers.

The Trouble novels are stand-alone novels that can be read in any order, but each contains mild spoilers for any previous books in the Trouble series. I have now also seen that the author is considering publishing these under a pen name to set them apart from her fantasy novels. So if you can’t find it under Rachel Morgan, you might get it under Rochelle Morgan.

Catch Me a Cowboy - Jacquie Underdown

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I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a quick and easy read, I knew it had to do with a cowboy but was pleasantly surprised when it was an Australian cowboy.

Emily Wolfe is a real estate to the elite who is tired of going through the same old dates with the same results, she then competes in a reality TV show for the heart of the cowboy. Will Parker is a sexy, rugged farmer whose heart has been broken before.

The characters were extremely likeable, Emily made me laugh on so many occasions. This was one of those books that once you pick it up, you can’t put it down. Towards the end, I was sobbing and just wanted to fix everything for Emily and Will. Truly a wonderful story.

Just a word of warning, this is probably not a book for under-aged readers, as there are some language and sexual content.

The Trouble with Flirting – Rachel Morgan

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I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book immensely, the writing emerged you into this world, and after visiting Cape Town last December I was very nostalgic about the scenes set out in front of me.

This one follows Livi, after being labelled a nerd at high school she is determined to shed this persona when she leaves for university. But nothing is as simple as it seems and through everything, Livi learns that being in the in-crowd isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.

Livi did work on my nerves at times, maybe because I am a nerd and can’t imagine one day going without reading, or having to put up such a front to proof you aren’t one. All the nerdy references had me giggling.

I flew through this book as it was a very quick read. Would definitely recommend this one.