Audiobook – Donna's Reading Chair

Book Review: Save The Date

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for my audiobook copy of Save The Date by Allison Raskin in exchange for my honest review. This was released on April 8th and I received it after the release, but have no fear I listened in a timely manner!

Emma Moskowitz is a brave woman. She takes being dumped 6 months before her wedding and turns it into a social experiment. Emma is a therapist and has the breakthrough idea of keeping her wedding date and finding someone else to marry. Crazy right?

The craziest part about it is the support she gets from her friends and family to do it! I could never in a million years get behind this idea if one of my children said this is what they were doing. However, the family trusts Emma and support her. I enjoyed that in this book.

Emma decides to take this quest publicly and gains a lot of attention. She has videos, podcasts, and much more on social media. She has gained a following and even a new beau. Can it go the distance?

4 stars. This one had me laughing out loud throughout it. It’s an enjoyable closed-door romance, so don’t be afraid to let your romance loving teens dive in to this one. It’s a unique book with a very satisfying ending!

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Title: Save The Date

Author: Allison Raskin

Genre(s): Fiction, Humor, Romance, Chick Lit

Publisher: Canary Street Press, Harlequin Audio

Release Date: April 8, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Everything’s Coming Up Rosie

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson and Zondervan Fiction Audio for my advance audiobook copy of Everything’s Coming Up Rosie by Courtney Walsh in exchange for my honest review. This is coming out on June 10th!

Rosie sees herself as a failure. She has lost her job AND apartment in the city and on a trip home she sees that everyone else has their life together. She has not admitted to anyone just how unhappy she has been, but keeps a smile on her face and fakes it.

Needing a job, Rosie takes an offer to be a regional theater director, despite how badly she wants to be an actor, and despite the fact that it isn’t in New York City, but in Wisconsin. The humor really starts to pick up in this book when it isn’t just a regional theater, but a retirement community that she’s directing.

She failed to read the job description so suddenly she’s stuck. This is where I really enjoyed the story and it took off for me. Rosie has been so hard on herself that she hasn’t seen what is in front of her. When a few of the members of the retirement community get on her case, can she turn it around?

I also enjoyed the cameo of her friends. They knew that Rosie wasn’t always happy, but were waiting for her to say something. Ah friends, we can’t always hide from them, can we?

4 stars. I loved the growth Rosie had throughout this book. I always enjoyed the romance factor in this one as well. Keep an eye out for this one, it was a fun, light hearted read!

Title: Everything’s Coming Up Rosie

Author: Courtney Walsh

Genre(s): Fiction, Humor, Romance, Chick Lit

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: June 10, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding by Catherine Mack in exchange for my honest review. This was released on May 13, 2025 and I’m a little behind because I was finishing up the first book in this series and I’m so glad I did!

Catherine Mack is an absolutely hilarious writer that will have you laughing out loud while you’re trying to solve a mystery. I absolutely love the perspective she has with this book as she is telling YOU the story. She will drop you hints and give you some behind the scenes perspectives so it feels like she’s with you, telling you this story personally. Does it make it easier to solve the mystery? Ha…good luck!

This book follows behind Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies and picks up where it left off. Could this be read as a standalone? Absolutely. I do feel like you’ll enjoy it more if you read the first one in the Vacation Series because you’ll already have all the background on the characters and situation. She does give you brief backgrounds in case you didn’t read it, but I think this would be even that much more enjoyable paired with it (or maybe you wouldn’t even miss it and I just know what I would have since I read the first one).

Eleanor is attending her best friend’s wedding and everything is great until a note is discovered that says someone will die at the wedding. Eleanor and her gang of friends go into detective mode to try and figure out who is a potential murderer and who the target is.

We also have a love story in the mix with Emma (Eleanor’s best friend) and her movie star fiance Fred Winters, as well as Eleanor with her own love life drama being around her ex-boyfriend Connor while with her new (yet also previous) beau Oliver. Oh the drama with that as well!

4 stars. This will have you constantly chuckling while also playing detective. I failed at guessing who the murderer was in the first book and I failed miserably this time as well. If you read it, let me know if you figured it out because…HOW?!

Title: No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding

Author: Catherine Mack

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Romance

Publisher: Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Close Your Eyes and Count To 10

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for my audiobook copy of Close Your Eyes and Count To 10 in exchange for my honest review. I received access to this one after the release date so it’s available NOW for you to read or listen to!

The book was certainly a thriller from start to finish! This was the most intense game of hide an seek!

Enter Adele, a single mother of 2 teens who happens to need money after her husband just disappeared after an apparent money issue. Adele’s teenagers are all about the latest and greatest influencers, as Adele is trying hard herself to become one. So when they stumble upon Maverick Dillon holding a game of hide and seek on Falcao Island (a place where her son happens to know thanks to a friend he online games with), they encourage her to enter. Wouldn’t you know she gets picked to complete?

Bravely leaving her children behind, she embarks on what she thinks will just be a weekend chance to earn money to make all their problems go away. What she doesn’t count on are people on the island warning her to leave before the game even begins. What she really doesn’t know is what is happening behind the scenes with Dillon’s company (he’s kind of like Mr. Beast) AND a HUGE storm is approaching the island.

This is the perfect storm for a page turning thriller you cannot put down.

5 stars. I couldn’t stop listening. I was so desperately trying to piece everything together (I failed, shocker). How she puts everything together is absolutely brilliant and it had parts I just could not see coming. I highly recommend this book for any thriller enthusiast, you will not be disappointed!

Title: Close Your Eyes and Count To 10

Author: Lisa Unger

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Harlequin Audio, Park Row

Release Date: February 25, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Heart Of The Sun

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for my advance audiobook copy of Heart Of The Sun by Mia Sheridan in exchange for my honest review. This one has me wanting to start doomsday prepping!

Mia Sheridan does not disappoint in this dystopian-esque tale where we have childhood friends finding eachother after years apart. Tuck, who is recently out of prison, and Emily, an up and coming popstar, find eachother thanks to Emily’s mom who encourages Tuck to reach out to Emily to apply to be her bodyguard.

Emily has the movie star boyfriend and the beginnings of a fancy Hollywood life. Tuck is a little surprised with her choice of boyfriend, but does his duty as her bodyguard. They are on a private flight across the country when a solar flare hits and they crash, leaving them in survival mode. Tuck, who gets involved a slight mistrust, does his job to keep her safe, even if she doesn’t necessarily want him to.

They do everything they can to make it back to California to check on her parents and get home to where they think they can be safe. They encounter a lot on a the way and the scary part of this book is that one major solar flare or nuclear attack in our atmosphere and BAM, this is reality.

This is a slow burn that checks off so many boxes. Childhood friends. Enemies to lovers. Bodyguard romance. Second chance. I absolutely loved and adored this!

4 stars. It’s a fantastic dystopian romance that will have you unable to put this down. I absolutely could NOT stop towards the end of the book and I just loved how Sheridan ended it. This truly is an absolute gem that also has me doomsday prepping now, so, thanks for that, haha. This is one to add to your collection immediately, it’s out tomorrow, May 20th!

Title: Heart Of The Sun

Author: Mia Sheridan

Genre(s): Fiction, Dystopian, Romance, Chick Lit

Publisher: Harlequin Audio, Canary Street Press

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Friends With Benefits

Thank you for Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of Friends With Benefits by Marisa Kanter in exchange for my honest review!

I love a good friends to lovers romance so I was excited to snag an advance copy of Friends With Benefits. The story starts with Evie and Theo, childhood friends finding themselves at a turning point. Theo’s roommates are moving out and in California rent is expensive and his income doesn’t allow himself to qualify to take the lease over on his own. Evie has been living at her grandparent’s bungalow home until they come back from a vacation and say they’ve sold it and she now has to move out. Ut oh.

As friends, Evie and Theo still can’t move in together with income requirements and then…along comes an email which says that Evie has been accepted to a fellowship with a top Foley artist. As much as she would love to take it, she can’t afford to quit her job and lose her health insurance with her chronic illness. Yes…our guy Theo steps in.

Theo proposes they get married, she’ll get on his health insurance, AND because they are married they will meet the requirements to move in to Theo’s place. Has Evie had lingering feelings for Theo? Has Theo had lingering feelings for Evie? Oooh, this slow burn takes us through all of that.

What I really liked about this one was they both had some baggage, but they worked through it. In any other time in their lives, I don’t think they would have worked together. As stubborn and as frustrated that I got with both Evie and Theo at times, I am happy they took the paths they did and worked through what they had to, because then it made them available to love.

4 stars. Friends With Benefits is out this coming Tuesday, May 6th and should be one to look out for and read! This story was spicy (it’s a not a slow burn waiting for that, just waiting for them to realize what they want from each other) and definitely a read that will have you smiling!

Title: Friends With Benefits

Author: Marisa Kanter

Genre(s): Fiction, Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: The Day After The Party

Thank you to the Facebook Group I Just Want To Do Book Nerd Stuff With My Friends for selecting this as our book club pick for the month of April! I would have never read this one otherwise!

That being said, this was fairly predictable, with the exception of the twist at the end. Overall the book kind of felt rushed in general. This is the first book I’ve read by Nicole Trope so I’m not sure if this is her style…shorter, faster paced books with less details, or if that was a one off (if you’ve read her before, let me know).

Katelyn loses memory of her birthday party. Her best friend and husband seem to be hiding something from her. Supposedly her memory went missing from traumatic information and she believes her husband has a secret he’s failing to tell her. I did enjoy getting to know the backstory of Katelyn and best friend Leah and if I’m honest, it’s all weird how they’re both connected to Katelyn’s husband as well. Reminded me a little of Vanderpump Rules, haha.

This is told in dual POV with Katelyn and Leah, but in 3rd person, and with how rushed everything kind of was, didn’t really execute well. By the time you get to the end it’s like, wait, that’s it? Surprising, but, that’s it? Also, it doesn’t read like a thriller, more like a domestic drama.

3.5 stars. I’m not mad I read it, but it was just eh. If it falls into your lap, it’s a worth a read, but I wouldn’t seek it out. The ending made me bump it up a half star, so not a terrible book, but not a great one. Just a middle of the road one! Anyway, onto the next read!

Title: The Day After The Party

Author: Nicole Trope

Genre(s): Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

Publisher: Bookouture

Release Date: October 30, 2023

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: The Love Haters

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of The Love Haters in exchange for my honest review!

the cover for Katherine Center's book The Love Haters which shows a woman and man laying on pool floats in their bathing suits

This book follows Katie, on a quest to save her job that her coworker Cole says in jeopardy, and travels to Florida where she meets Hutch, and works on a project. Both Katie and Hutch have sworn off love and Hutch happens to be Cole’s brother…so why didn’t Cole take the project?

Katie does video work and on the side does day in the life profiles of people. Cole lets her know her job is on the chopping block and she should also do a day in the life of Hutch, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, who also famously saved Jennifer Aniston’s dog. There’s a lot of history that gets unraveled…trust me.

Katie also has body issues. She once dated a now famous singer and the internet was not kind to her. I didn’t get the picture that she was never that large, so I was annoyed for most of this book. Weight was a constant theme. As someone who has struggled with her own weight, I was just screaming to stop, you aren’t even that big!

It did make me reflect on how I am with my own weight. I’m just like Katie, expect I don’t moan and groan about it daily with my best friend. With Katie’s past love and her body issues, she has sworn off love. Hutch, for reasons unknown to us, has also sworn off love. Do they get flirty? Yes. Does Hutch’s aunt and her friends start to play sly matchmaker? Maybe…and oh do I love them so!

There is a little hurricane drama that spices things ups, along with family drama. This book really has a lot going on that is all connected. What made me absolutely LOVE this one was Center’s note AFTER the book, which delved a little into how we should love ourselves and I had tears. All the annoyance I had felt, my perspective completely changed. Katherine Center, never stop writing your books, you are a once in a lifetime gem.

5 stars. It’s a romance with a fantastic story along with some Coast Guard action. Absolutely one of the best books I have read in awhile! Pre-order this ASAP!

Title: The Love Haters

Author: Katherine Center

Genre(s): Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: The Unlucky Ones

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my advance audiobook copy of The Unlucky Ones in exchange for my honest review. My apologies for the delay in the review, I’m behind (as always), but I did enjoy this one!

The book is actually the fourth book in the Black Harbor series, but don’t let that deter you from this! I don’t feel like I missed out on anything!

We have former police transcriber turned novelist, Hazel, return to a town she said she’d never come back to when she finds out her ex-husband has been murdered. Black Harbor was a place she ran from, it isn’t a good town. Black Harbor honestly had a small town vibe for being such a large city, and was the place to be if you were looking for the latest and greatest drug on the streets.

Kole, an officer investigating the murder, happens to be Hazel’s former lover…yeah, maybe kinda sorta when she was still married too. They end up joining forces to tackle the case, much to other’s dismay, but there’s something shady things happening and others ending up dead, so they have to do what they have to do.

I do plan on going back and reading the first three books in this series because I enjoyed it so much. I want their back story in full and see how their relationship has ebbed and flowed.

4 stars. It’s a great thriller with a touch of romance thrown in for good measure, I highly recommend this one!

Title: The Unlucky Ones

Author: Hannah Morrissey

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

Publisher: Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio

Release Date: March 25, 2025

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: One Desperate Life

If you haven’t checked out Chirp for audiobooks, you need to. They have GREAT sales and offer GREAT prices for audiobooks. It’s worth a look into, this is one I found on Chirp and I’m so glad I did!

One Desperate Life by D.J. Maughan is a short, quick paced what I’d call historical thriller that will have you wanting to finish this in one sitting.

The story takes place in the early 1900s, in the time of train travel & horse and buggies, and is told using past & present timelines. Louise finds herself attracted the man set to marry her sister and ends up in a whirlwind romance with him.

Eventually finding herself pregnant from a night with him, she runs away to seek him out, but things aren’t what they seem. Will she be able to survive him?

It was a little confusing on audio at first with the timelines and names, I don’t want to give away too much, but once I figured out who was who and how the past & present connected it was an easy listen!

4 stars. Great, quick read! Truly a gripping thriller!

Title: One Desperate Life

Author: D.J. Maughan

Genre(s): Fiction, Thriller, Historical Thriller

Publisher: Hulyeseg Inc

Release Date: April 26, 2024

Find it here on Goodreads