Review: Say Yes to What’s Next: How to Age With Elegance and Class While Never Losing Your Beauty and Sass! by Lori Allen

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I’m still waiting for Mr. Right but until then, I will continue to cheer on those ladies I see on Say Yes to the Dress. What a delight getting to know Lori Allen besides the personality that I’ve grown to love from the show. She is as beautiful on television and she is through her words. Her sense of humor and charm just radiates the pages. Her wisdom and experience was much to admire and cherish.Despite not being in the demographic she intended, I still found what she had to say relatable and informative for me to lay down the groundwork for my own life to come. I found her advice so inspiring and useful.

Age is nothing but a number. That’s a true testament in regards to reading her book. She offers such wonderful insight and advice on aging with grace and humility. She embodies hope and encouragement for women who are approaching 50+ and as a businesswoman inspires those with dreams to make them happen regardless of their place in life. She has overcome some obstacles that many will find comfort in that there is hope in life’s moments of despair. She shares her experience and offers advice on maintaining good health and relationships, pursuing goals, money advice, family life and the struggles of aging parents. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading her book. She’s not only a beautiful person on the outside but inside as well. With everything going on today, this was such a breath of fresh air. She doesn’t skip a beat. If you love what she has to say on her show, then you will enjoy what she has to offer from her life experience. This isn’t a reflection of the show but as a girlfriend, take a page out of her life to try and make yours a little easier. I’d recommend checking her book out. 

Review: The Trouble With Quarterbacks by R.S. Grey

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Buy on Amazon

Buy on Amazon

It has been decided this is my favorite book by R.S. Grey. I laughed.  I loved. I had an overall great time.  

The premise of this story is that Candace works at a prestigious preschool and one day she meets one of her student’s very attractive uncle who may or may not be a famous quarterback who just won the superbowl. 

This was an enjoyable read and the perfect mix between romantic and comedic. I thought the story pacing was very good. And both Candace and Logan were likable characters who had an interesting and enduring love story. I will say that I enjoyed Logan a little more than Candace. I found him to be extremely sweet and charming. Much like the book he is a favorite of mine amongst R.S. Grey’s leading men. 

However, it is worth mentioning that I wish she had explored his background a little more. Within the book, there are casual mentions of his family and his nephew is shown a reasonable amount, however, I wish there was more information about Logan and his sister. I felt like there was so much to explore there. 

In addition, I enjoyed the relationship between Candace and her two roommates (Kat & Yasmine). But I do wish they had a little bit more to do and had been developed a little further. 

Final Thoughts 

The Trouble With Quarterbacks is a funny, witty and romantic read.

Review: The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal

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The Lost Girls of Devon introduces us to four generations of women brought together by tragedy, find their way through past secrets, pain, and forgiveness.

Upon news of the disappearance of her childhood friend Diana, caretaker to her grandmother, Zoe decides with her daughter, Isabel, to go to England and help find her friend. Zoe, feeling bad for not being such a great to Diana as well as the upcoming anxiety to see her mother, old wounds slowly are creeping in from the past stirring up old pain and resentment.

Here is a little backstory. When Zoe was young, her mother left her to travel. She struggled with being a wife and mother. Her departure was supposed to be temporary but fell in love and gave up everything. She never came back, leaving Zoe to feel resentment and abandonment. With the disappearance of her friend and having to return to England, it brought back strong emotions that were hard to let go. Another reminder of her past, an ex-boyfriend thrown into the pot, brings back another painful reminder of her past. 

When something happens to someone close to Diana, the investigation unearths some secrets that dimmer their glimmer of hope. With this tragedy, bringing all four women together, they find themselves confronting their pasts with newfound hope for the future. 

I enjoyed the women in this book. Lilian, despite her diminishing cognitive health, I appreciate the receptiveness of her age and wisdom on their lives. The love that they had for her was so beautiful. Zoe, watching her through this experience, embodied the power of forgiveness and the impact of how letting go can be so transformative. The over-protectiveness of her daughter drove me crazy, but her intention was in the right place. Poppy is a testament to why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. So many people lose time on relationships that can be mended. The journey that they both take was needed and necessary. It was wonderful to experience the evolution of their narrative.. I enjoyed Isabel's sacrifice to have a relationship with her and not be influenced by what was happening with them. Isabel has an innocence to her that you want to see flourish. Being held back by a traumatic experience halted things, but having this time with her family brought the best out of her. 

Overall, this was a beautiful story that will have you invested in their lives. Wonderful characters derived from a well-written story with enough drama to keep you turning the pages. I’d recommend adding this one to your TBR.

Review: Mr. H.O.A. by Carina Taylor

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I’ve read many fake marriage tropes; however, I haven’t read one with this particular storyline. In all fake marriage tropes, the reason the characters get married is either to obtain a goal or get something in return. I’ve read some about obtaining power or a social status. The reason that the characters in Mr. H.O.A do the whole fake marriage thing because of housing. 

Both Bane and Nola have the misfortune of living in a rundown apartment complex and the apartment complex is about to be torn down to build shiny new ones. This leaves them completely homeless. Despite only knowing each other for a couple of days, Nola & Bane hatch a plan to stay in the empty house of one of Nola’s friends and inform the neighborhood that they are newlyweds. 

This was a cute and lighthearted read. I enjoyed myself. It is marketed as a romantic comedy. And even though there were few times that I laughed, I still think it was a solid read. Like mentioned before, this isn’t typically how the fake marriage trope begins. So it was interesting to see this trope explored in a different light. 

As for the characters, I found them to be likable and relatable. Both quirky and interesting in their own rights. 

Final thoughts 

Mr. H.O.A is a sweet entertaining fake marriage romance with great characters. It is well written and the story remains fresh throughout the adventure.

Review: Hate Thy Neighbor by S.M. Soto

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I enjoyed this book. It had a heart about it, and I thought the characters were well rounded and three dimensional. I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say it- the enemies to lover trope is one of the best out there. There is something exciting and interesting about two characters who hate each other and then something shifts and they fall in love. There is so much to explore there and depth that can be provided. It’s just interesting storytelling. 

Hate Thy Neighbor centers on Olivia and Roman. Olivia excitingly moves into her first house and unfortunately, her neighbor isn’t very kind. Eventually, Olivia and Roman begin a prank war and feelings start to develop. 

Like mentioned earlier, I enjoyed Hate Thy Neighbor. It had a very interesting story and there was never a dull moment. The pranks were funny. It is worth mentioning that some got a little out of control and the reactions between the characters were completely justified. And it was emotional and intriguing to see these characters go from hating each other to friendship and to something more. There were some back and forth with Olivia and Roman in the beginning, however, before it got tiring it stopped, which was nice. 

Most of the earlier part of the book is told in Olivia’s POV. So when she met Roman for the first time and he was very rude, I thought for sure there was no way I could grow to like him. There was no reason for him to be rude to her; however, when we drove into his POV my feelings changed. He had a tragic backstory and although I don’t approve of his earlier treatment of Olivia, I do understand him. 

Final Thoughts

Hate Thy Neighbor is a great enemies to lovers book that has great characters and is surprisingly emotional.

Review: Big Gray by Ina Carter

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Buy on Amazon

I had a complicated relationship with this book. I thought the premise of the book was very promising and interesting. If it had been explored correctly, I think I might have enjoyed this book more. 

The story centers on college quarterback, Grayson Walters. After having his body be the talk of campus and gaining a player rep, he gets this idea to create a secret group called Parties Anonymous. It is a meeting where individuals can hang out without their true identities known in a pitch-dark room. During one of those meetings, Grayson meets someone who he refers to as Red and they spend countless nights there talking and developing a friendship. The only problem is that Grayson fears Red’s reaction when she learns about his true identity. 

This book is marketed as a romantic comedy. And that is where I think my complicated feelings arise from. There were several times during Big Gray that I felt the comedy was overbearing. Nothing could just happen. Everything had to have an “OMG moment” mixed together with ridiculous comedic antics. 

For example, there is a small side plot where Grayson’s mother believes that his father is cheating on her. The dramatics, the logistics, and the reasoning from this alone was eye roll worthy. Again, this was a very small portion of the book and it took me out of the book. There was no reason for this, other than to make this book feel like a ridiculous comedy. 

I don’t think there was this perfect balance. Before I had finished the book, I got tired of the overly comedic aspect. I understand the idea that this is supposed to be a romantic comedy. However, the romance was severely underdeveloped and the comedy was severely overly played. It felt like the author was constantly reminding the readers that this was a comedy. A comedy full of things that don’t work on a technical standpoint and are very big coincidences.