Review: Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover

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I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a Colleen Hoover book. There was a time in my life where I would devour each and every book of hers. But I suddenly stopped. Her books started to feel like they were following the same formula. 

I picked up Heart Bones one day after I scrolled through goodreads and I saw it several times. I decided to give it a chance. 

Beyah’s mission in life is to get away from Kentucky and her drug addicted mother. That reality comes sooner than she expected when she ends up in Texas with her father, whom she hasn’t seen or communicated with in two years. She plans to lay low until the summer is up; however, she meets Samson. Whereas, she comes from a life of poverty and neglect, he was born in a family of wealth and privilege. She is drawn to him and the overall mystery of him. And soon they begin a summer fling. 

I enjoyed this book. It was a pleasant surprise with enough story to keep me interested. There were also some unexpected twists. This story was mostly a romance. And unfortunately, the romance part is my least favorite part of the book. 

I found myself getting more connected to Beyah and Samson’s relationship with other people rather than their relationship with each other. Those relationships spoke to me more on an emotional level and I found myself wishing for their development throughout the book. 

For example, I enjoyed Beyah’s relationship with her step-sister. Immediately, in the book, Sara becomes someone that Beyah is honest with. I found that intriguing, and I like how the book didn’t paint them rivals or enemies. Another relationship that I enjoyed with the friendship between Samson and Majorie. The only time I cried during this book was because of them. Their relationship had such a full circle moment, and unexpectedly brought me to tears. 

Final Thoughts 

Heart Bones is heavy on the angst and mystery. It features a strong story element but unfortunately, the romance doesn't deliver the emotional punch as promised. 

Review: The Comeback by Ella Berman

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“What I couldn’t have predicted was how people would want more and more of me; I didn’t yet know how closely praise is linked to punishment, how I would never again determine my own value because I wasn’t so much a person as an idea, shaped not only by the people around the table with me that night but by the millions of people who would pay to watch my movies in years to come.” 

The Comeback was such a raw, nuanced, and heartbreaking story. It is a story mirrored around the #metoo moment and it really dives deep. It’s gripping and although hard to read at times, you just can’t stop. It’s thought provoking and captivating. 

Like mentioned before, this book is centered around the #metoo moment. It’s a fictional story; however, the events within the book are realistic and raw. Grace Turner was on track to becoming a well-known critical acclaimed actress and awards winner; however, on the eve of her Golden Globe nomination, she disappeared. A year later, she finds herself back in Los Angeles, trying to stay afloat, and she is provided the chance to present a lifetime achievement award to the director Able Yorke- the man who controlled her every move for eight years. 

The Comeback started off slow; which wasn’t a bad thing. I thought the pacing was nice; as it slowly continued to the heart racing climax of the story. This was a page turner and the emotions leap through the page with every word. And this book isn’t for the faintest of hearts.  

Several terrible things happened to Grace and this is a detailed deep dive into her psyche. She’s been famous since she was a kid. In a matter of days, her entire life shifted and she no longer had normalcy. And the adults in her life who promised to protect her before her normal was changed forever, didn't do that.

As the book progresses, more walls and barriers begin to break down and eventually we get a glimpse of how truly impacted she is. 

Grace was an extremely strong character. And although she was a victim, that doesn't define solely her. She had other characters and that shined through in the book. One other thing that I would like to mention is that there were several well developed and nuanced relationships within this book. One in particular that I want to shout out is Grace and her little sister, Esme’s, relationship. It was intriguing to watch that change as the book progressed. 

Final Thoughts

The Comeback is an important and heartbreaking book surrounded on the #metoo moment, and the unfortunate tragedies that happen in the world. 

Review: Not My Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills

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I was fairly entertained by Not My Romeo. I thought it had a solid plot line and I found the romance to be interesting and the characters likable. I will admit that towards the end of the book, it did get a little patchy. The conflict straddled the line of ignorance and bearable.

Not My Romeo centers on small town girl Elena. On Valentine’s Day, she is set up on a blind date with the local weatherman. She’s never seen his face before; she just knows the guy is alone and is wearing a blue shirt. With confidence, she walks up to this attractive guy, they end up at his penthouse, and she is presented with a NDA. She later learns that the guy she met she wasn’t her blind date. Instead he was a famous football player.

Characters

Like mentioned before, I thought the characters were likable. However, I will admit there were times where Elena was frustrating. Especially, regarding the NDA.  But besides that, I enjoyed her and Jack together. I thought their meet cute was adorable and I really appreciated their dynamic.

I think I would have liked more development between Elena and her younger sister, Giselle. The fact that her younger sister is dating her ex-boyfriend and the relationship might have started before they had broken up is a lot to unpack. And it makes for an interesting dynamic between the characters. And I wish that it had been explored more with how that impacts a sisterly relationship.

Also, Jack had a pretty tragic backstory. I would have liked a deeper dive into his psyche because from what was presented in the book, he was deeply impacted by the events.

Final Thoughts

Not My Romeo does start off strong with a good romance and likable characters. Towards the end, it does lose momentum. 

Review: Kiss My Cupcake by Helena Hunting

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There is nothing particularly wrong with this story; I just had a hard time powering through it. I felt that the book had the same tone throughout and nothing extremely exciting happened.

Kiss My Cupcake centers on two neighborhood shop owners. Blaire owns a cupcake and cocktail shop and Ronan owns an axe sports bar throwing bar. The shops are right next to each other and Blaire and Ronan get off to a not so great start. Eventually, the two of them must team up when a bigger bar enters the neighborhood. 

What you see is what you get with this book. Again, there is nothing particularly wrong with that. The characters appear as they are. Ronan is basically a lumberjack and Blaire is someone who enjoys the 50’s pin up era. There isn’t anything too deep about them or the book. 

I will say at times, I felt the dialogue to be a little stiff or awkward. It wasn’t an overwhelming amount of times or anything to hinder my reading experience, but when it happened it did take me out a couple of seconds. 

As for the relationship between the characters, I thought it was cute. There was really no angst between them. And that is something that could have spiced the story up a little bit. I will say I preferred them as friends/partners rather than enemies or lovers. I felt that dynamic had the most development. 

Final Analysis 

Kiss My Cupcake is a cute enemies to lover story; however, it lacks real angst and depth.

Review: You Would Have Told Me Not To by Christopher Coake

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Unfamiliar with his previous work, You Would Have Told Me Not To by Christopher Coake, takes you out of your comfort zone and places you into the lives of people who have truly experienced the depth of human suffering. Six stories that really leave an impact, especially the last one, I can’t forget him. I’ve read short stories in the past but none that have moved my empathetic heart as much as these. 

Some of them I wished were longer and a couple were just the right length. Some moments were moving and others made you introspective of your life and how you treat people in relationships you’ve had in the past and present. I really found myself immersed in this book and thought it one that was impactful and really pulls at your heart. I’d recommend checking this one out and really look forward to seeing what this author has coming next.

Review: Final Flight by Eric Anderson

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As I read the book, I tried to remain neutral with my thoughts but after I finished, I’m left feeling indifferent. My first impression of the book piqued my interest. The prologue I felt really set the tone to expect something great. Between the maps and the glossary, I knew I was going to experience something different with that many characters but the anticipation I had after reading the prologue left me uncertain.

There was a cringe moment for me early on in the book that I will isolate from my overall perspective of the book. I felt uneasy with the association of the geographical location in Washington with mentioning Kurt Cobain. I personally remember that day when I found out what happened to him. I thought that reference was a bit insensitive using the double barrel shotgun reference considering what happened to him. The author could’ve just said what he said without including him in the sentence. This didn’t affect my thoughts but it sat in the back of my mind.

I know this is categorized as a thriller but I didn’t feel the connection of any particular character that was advancing the plot where I couldn’t just stop turning the pages. I will credit the author with a plot that was crafted with meticulous detail deriving from his military and intelligence experience. The technical jargon and details were very detailed and brought credibility to the book. I think for some this will be a hindrance trying to get through the book but there is a glossary in the back as well as a breakdown of all the characters in the beginning. I thought that many different characters were going to drive me crazy but I was laser focused on their individual traits from reading in the beginning so it made it easier to get through. There are many moving parts to this book so I think this is one of those that will be left to the individual reader.

Overall, I was expecting something different than what I read but like I said I don’t want to take away from what was written. This is only based on from reading the summary, prologue and then the plot as it unfolds. I just I wish the direction of plot was more inline with what we read that had happened with a build up that lead to that moment. My thoughts were mixed because after the prologue, I wanted to know what happened that led up to that moment. With all the moving parts and people coming and going, I felt it slowed down the moment of the plot. I just down feel the progression of the plot lived up to the high of where he starts the book at. I was expecting more and it just wasn’t what I hoped. I will leave this one up for you to decide.