Play Dates - Maggie Wells

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This is one of those stories with a cute premise that just fell short of delivering an unforgettable tales. I can probably put money on the fact that I won’t remember this story for too long, so here is a review straight from the last page.

Monica Rayburn is a workaholic, not so doting aunt who eyes the hot dad at the park. They go on a date, some truths aren’t revealed and that is the start of the story.

There were some parts where I felt that the author might’ve forgotten about continuation, it felt very rushed and the two main characters could’ve saved themselves a lot of trouble by just communicating. Guess there is a life lesson that can be learned from this.

If you like corny romantic comedies with some one-liners, this is the book for you. 

Unravel - Christine Bernard

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This one is difficult to review, you can't say too much without giving away the plot.

Meet Rose Madison, a senior at college, a budding writer with the shadow of her best-selling author mother hovering over her. She is beautiful, funny, intelligent and she seems to be headed for success in the literary world.

In this suspenseful debut novel by Christine Bernard, you can’t help but develop trust issues in the people around you, thinking twice about that sound you just heard behind you.

It is well written and even though I had an idea about the outcome from the beginning, I couldn’t help second guessing myself every time a new twist came along. 

If this is the first book for Christine I can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve with her new books that will surely follow this one. 

Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë

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This is one of those classics that loomed like an ominous mountain in front of me. Then I downloaded the audiobook narrated by Juliet Stevenson and she made all the difference to the experiencing. She is a true entertainer, the voices and accents that she made for each character brought a whole different level to the experience.

The story was dark and bewitching, with a love story that could’ve ended differently if the two characters weren’t stubborn. Catherine really worked on my nerves, she was selfish and with her betrayal of Heathcliff that set the wheels in motion of the plot, I found her very childish.

To a certain degree, I can not really understand why people always reference Catherine and Heathcliff as the perfect couple. Heathcliff is an emotional abuser and Catherine is a spiteful young woman who damned everyone with her actions.

I am however very glad that I am only reading this now as an adult since I can see where a younger person would romanticise the relationships, but as an older reader, I can say it is disturbing to think so many people have these two characters as their ideal of how a relationship should be. 

Please children, spiting one another and then ruining each other does not make a great relationship. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

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Oh man, this book took me a while to get in, but once I got over my reading slump, it sucked me in and the story really worked for me.

This book has been on my TBR since I found out it was a beauty and the beast retelling, which is one of my all time favourite stories. So of course when I finally got round to reading it, it was just plain bad luck that I was going through a reading slump. It felt like the book took ages to kick off. So I did what I always did, put it down and went to one of my go to authors to pull me out of it, which didn’t work.

After finding a different type of book, it got me back on track. And boy did ACOTAR then finally kick off, the story pulled me in, and true to Maas’ writing style the characters are well written and you find yourself rooting for them.

There isn’t a lot that you can say about this book since it is the first in the series and I am really scared since I haven’t read the rest yet that whatever I say in the review will be a spoiler.

I would definitely recommend this, just look at the cover it is absolutely gorgeous

The Law of Tall Girls - Joanne Macgregor

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Who would’ve thought that a book about a tall girl will appeal to this short girl?

This is not just your average romance novel, there are some deeper lessons that you can learn, something that you can either know about yourself or about the people around you. This is definitely not just a story about a tall girl that learns to accept who she is but also that everyone should learn to love themselves for who they are.

Admittedly Peyton did work on my nerve with her constant complaining and to this self-confessed mama’s girl, her relationship with her mother got me worked up. But true to Macgregor’s style, all was revealed in an epic twist and I could then understand the relationship a little better.

I adored the whole misfit crew, you could see all of the characters grow throughout the story.

There was laughter with a couple of very witty jokes, my heart raced with Peyton as she fell for the tall boy, I could feel the weight of keeping her secret, cried with her at 1 in the morning.

Well done Joanne this is another great read.

Lastly, can we have a round of applause for the cover design, it grabs your eye and draws you in. It is gorgeous.

Dirty Little Secret - Kendall Ryan

♥♥♥♥

Sorry for the long wait, I had one of the longest reading slumps and it took me a couple of books to get me out of it. After searching for something on Netgalley, I came across this little gem. It is a quick, dirty book that pulled me from my slump so fast and sent me catapulted into more books.

This is everything you would want from the first book in a series. The build up, the anticipation of what is sure to come and the sweet cliff-hanger that makes you want to shake the author by the shoulders to make her write faster.

We meet Emma a mousy librarian and Gavin the CEO of a multi-billion dollar escort agency. The two characters have chemistry oozing from every pore. The sexual tension between these two characters was almost palpable and throw in the little hint of a love triangle and it makes you giddy and binge read the book in one sitting. The only problem I had with Emma, she did come off a little naïve at some parts and that irritated me, but not enough to put the book down.

The anticipation leaves you gasping for more and to me, that is the sign of a good author, someone I will recommend to more people. The characters are well written and you get to know them and see where they are struggling with themselves.

This is my first book by Ryan and I have to say the way this book pulled me from my reading slump I am more than willing to delve into her other work. 

The Memory of Water - JT Lawrence

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This settles it, Janita can basically write any genre and I would read it. The way she draws you in no matter what her subject is, just blew my mind. At first, I was a little sceptic about the book, as it doesn’t fall within my normal genre’s but then I read it and she has opened a whole genre for me.

I listened to the audiobook of The Memory of Water, the narrator has a rich, deep voice that lulls you into a false sense of security, and then Janita’s words rocks your world and makes you think twice about what you just listened to. I actually listened to the ending twice, it was just that good.

This story follows Slade Harris, an author whose past catches up with him and he goes through writer’s block. He then come’s up with a dangerous idea, an idea that will be the making of his next best-seller.

There were a lot of characters who played a big part in this book, and they all grabbed your attention, pulling you along with the story. Slade was a well-rounded character and in the end, I couldn’t believe all that he had been through, I felt sorry for him, agitated with him, frustrated for him. The writing is beautiful and just confirms in my mind that Lawrence is one of my favourite writers.

This book has something for everyone, if you like thrillers, this is the book for you. In the mood for something a little bit more steamy than your average book, this one is for you. Looking for a book that is character driven and makes you want to finish it in one sitting, yet still stretch it out as long as possible. This is the book for you.

You can get your copy of either the Audiobook or the Kindle