Tag: #romance

Book Review: Pleasant Bay

Full disclosure: I grew up with this author. We both lived in the same small town and went to middle and high school together. That being said, it bears no influence on my review (simply put, if I didn’t LOVE this book, I just wouldn’t take the time to write a review).

If you are looking for a beach read, stop, I’ve found it. Pleasant Bay is an absolute FANTASTIC summer read and left me with that tough decision…do I fly through the book and finish it or do I savor this and enjoy every second with these characters? Well…I devoured it and am now left with an incredible book hangover.

Pleasant Bay goes back and forth between 2002 and 2019. The unique part to this story is that in 2002 we are reading things from Sarah’s perspective. In 2019 we are reading in present day, from her daughter’s perspective.

Sarah spends a summer with her aunt in Cape Cod. It’s about to be her senior year in college and she’s living up life waitressing to save up money. She’s had an absolutely crap year with a breakup and her father falling ill. Can a summer in Cape Cod save her sanity?

Madelyn, Sarah’s daughter, also spends a summer in Cape Cod with her great aunt to help give her a break from her single mother. It’s the summer between her sophomore and junior year of high school and her boyfriend happens to be a senior about to go away to college. The nerve her mother has to send her away!

Can I add in some family drama? Madelyn has no idea who her father is. Her mother has kept this from her, but why. Well…no spoilers here, but she’s a teen who won’t stop until she figures her life out.

5 stars.  SOLID read, perfect for laying by the pool or at the beach. What I appreciated the most with this, was how the writing changed between characters. Sarah in 2002 is written like a college student. Sarah in 2019 is a total typical teen who thinks they know better. I could say so, so much more, but that would ruin what makes this book so special. Just know that I laughed and I cried. I love a good epilogue and this one delivers just that!



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Title: Pleasant Bat

Author: Emily Wakeman Cyr

Genre(s): Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance

Publisher: Novelist Next Door

Release Date: July 31, 2023

Find it here on Goodreads

Book Review: Faking It

Thank you to Netgally and Harper Collins UK/One More Chapter for my advance copy of Faking It in exchange for my honest review! (This is a LATE review, I have previously read this one and am just catching up on writing reviews…my apologies to the publishers!)

Faking It is the perfect lighthearted, fun read if you’re looking for something not so serious. We meet Hannah Thompson, who is a relatable mother and wife, trying to juggle it all. She is working on publishing her first novel, a work of erotica, while trying to hide that from her kids because…well…she doesn’t want them to know what she’s been (tastefully) writing.

What I loved most about this book was how supportive her husband was. That is ALWAYS appreciated when I read novels, especially with moms. Being a mother myself, if my husband wasn’t supportive between everything I do I would absolutely lose it.

Hannah decides to take on an alter ego and write a little more on the naught side and finds herself about to be the guest speaker at a sex convention. The research she does with her friends was just hilarious. I could see myself in her shoes!

4 stars.  If you’re a fan of chick lit, you’ll enjoy this one!

Title: Faking It

Author: Rebecca Smith

Genre(s): Fiction, Romance

Publisher: Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter

Release Date: August 7, 2020

Find it here on Goodreads