Review: You Again by Debra Jo Immergut

You Again by Debra Jo Immergut
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I did however listen to the final version of the audiobook.  All opinions are my own.

This is marketed as general and literary fiction but it definitely has a thriller vibe to it.  I do think the premise of this book is really interesting, and you aren't really sure if what is happening is real  or if a sci-fi event taking place or if the main character is having some sort of mid-life crisis.  That is where the thriller feeling comes from, you aren't sure if what what is happening between Abby and the mysterious appearances of "A" are really happening or if it is all in her head.  Pairing these sightings of her younger self aka A, with her son getting in trouble and joining an anti-fascist group, her marriage falling apart, and other things in her life spiraling out of control.  Abby continues to see her younger self and tries to warn her of events of the past so A can make different decisions, in turn A prods her to look at herself and asks if she is still making the art she once loved and examine her own happiness.  Both versions are forces to reflect on what is going on in their lives and Abby reflects on things in her past.

As a reflection of life in general and the decisions we make, the sacrifices we make and the things we may give up as we get older I think this hits the mark pretty well.  We all grow distant from friends and relationships evolve as we get older and may give up hobbies we were once passionate about because life gets in the way due to work or growing families.  Like Abby not everyone ends up as the brilliant, successful painter (or whatever your dream career is/was) because they need a steady income to pay the bills but hopefully we can work the things we are passionate into our lives to find fulfillment.  

Overall, I didn't like the disjointed nature of the book.  It is told mainly from Abby's perspective, but also has some mixed media entries from a physicist, the therapist she sees, and the neurologist Abby ends up seeing toward the end of the book.  The timeline is kind of all over the place which I found confusing.  Perhaps had I read the print book versus listening to the audiobook I would have been able to reference the dates associated with the entries and would have been able to keep the timeline straight.  Personally I'm not a fan of non-linear timelines, especially with so many perspectives.  I found it confusing and hard follow at times which took away from my enjoyment of the book.  

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Review: The Relationship Pact by Adriana Lock

The Relationship Pact by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is the final installment of The Kings of Football series and follows Hollis, one of 3 friends on the Braxton football team.  Much like book 2 in the series this doesn't take place at the university and doesn't center on sports much at all.  Hollis is in Savannah for a few days to receive an award for all of the charity work he does when he isn't playing football or going to class.  He doesn't want anyone to make a big deal about it, but it is the holidays and everyone has left school to be with their families.  Fortunately this little trip out of town has led Hollis to Larissa, who just happens to need a fake boyfriend for a few minutes to let her jerk of an ex know that she doesn't need him around anymore and she's doing just fine.  Larissa and Hollis hit it off in the few minutes they spend together, and they exchange numbers which works out because they both end up needing dates for events later in the week.  Neither of them start out wanting anything serious because they both know Hollis is only in town for a few days, and Larissa has had a run of bad luck with men.  Neither of them expected to find the person they'd been waiting for, but when baggage from the past threatens to push them apart are will flight or fight win the day?

I really loved the character development that we see in this.  While the relationship is fairly instant between Hollis and Larissa, they both have some baggage to work through especially when it comes to trusting people.  The chemistry and banter is there from the start and the easily fall in to something more than a "fake" relationship for a few days.  Hollis has quite the heart wrenching back story, so naturally he doesn't let people into his life easily because of it.  He has wall about a mile thick because of people letting him down in his past, but Larissa is the first person he's met in quite some time that he'd like to let into the fortress that he's built around him.  Larissa is awesome, she's been burnt by so many guys, but she hasn't let it ruin what she wants from love and relationships.  She hasn't given up hope, she knows she hasn't found the right guy yet.  I really loved them together and figuring things out.  I can't write this review without mentioning Grandma Judy.  I am a sucker for an amazing Grandma character and Judy was amazing!  The way she just adopted Hollis as her own and gave him such good advice!  And she was funny!  I really enjoyed getting to know these amazing characters and their stories.  You might want to have a box of tissues handy, there are some moments that may make you tear up.

This was a great end to the series and I really enjoyed reading the three standalone books by three different authors.  

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BLOG TOUR: The Relationship Pact by Adriana Locke

 

  THE RELATIONSHIP PACT by Adriana Locke Release Date: December 17th  

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  Blurb: How hard can it be? That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend. It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all. Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family. She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either. And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be. It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy. Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder. What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?

      

  About the Author: USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own. She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather's nice and there's always a piece of candy in her pocket.

 

  Connect w/Adriana: 

Website: https://adrianalocke.com 

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Blog Tour: The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn

    

  THE ROMANTIC PACT by Meghan Quinn Release Date: December 10th  

To see what I thought you can check out my review here.

    

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Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54451134-the-romantic-pact  

    

  Blurb: 

I haven't seen her in three years. I haven't talked to her since the kiss. So why am I on a plane, flying across the world to spend a week with her in Germany? One word: Pops. My life’s a mess. My possible football career is hanging on by a thread. I'm driving the roads of Germany in honor of Pops with the one girl I can never have. And I’m sharing a bed with her, the girl I've measured everyone else up to, while desperately trying to not to touch her. We made a pact growing up, never to get romantic with each other - never fall in love. And I'm about to break that pact. For good.  

      

About Meghan Quinn: 

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

 

  Connect w/Meghan: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor 

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Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com 

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Review: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  I did however listen to the published version of the audiobook instead.  

The audio narration of this was wonderful!  I give the 4 narrators 5 stars in bringing the 4 perspectives to life in this wild fantasy.  I think in a book like this where there are so many characters and several perspectives in a book, having 4 distinct voices in your audiobook really helps the reader to distinguish which character you are listening.  The story relies on being told from each perspective so I think it was really important to get to hear each voice and I thought each of the narrators did a great job with their parts of the story.  I hope they are back for future installments!

This is a book for fantasy lovers.  If you aren't into complex fantasy, skip this.  This is also not for the faint of heart as there is quite a bit of violence both self inflicted and amongst the characters.   There is a lot going on and a lot to keep track of in this book.  There are several different mythologies and religious systems at play and they are fascinating.    This is told from the perspective of 4 characters each with their own roles to play in the story.  Instead of political unrest we have religious unrest as a a prophecy, solar eclipse, and winter solstice all intersect.  The magic system in this is really interesting as it is based in the mythology and seems to be individual.  Each of the players wants what is best for their people and struggles with doing the right thing given the situations they are put in.  This has everything you could want from an epic fantasy, an uprising, cool magic, prophecies, betrayal, interesting characters, and more.  Oh and did I mention some of the warriors can ride on giant crows?  

I really loved the world building and the character development that took place here.  Normally I don't like multi perspective books because it tends to take away from the characters, but because Xiala and Serapio spend their time together we get alot from the two of them.  I feel like Okoa was the least developed but he also got the least page time.  I feel like he will be a bigger player in the future as the series moves forward.  We also get quite a bit from Narumpa and how her progression through the ranks of the priesthood have put her where she is today.  We also get to see how her progressive views within her own religion may not exactly fit with her peers.  All four of them are interconnected in and Roanhorse does such a great job interweaving the characters.

I will say I wasn't a fan of the open ending.  It does set us up for there to be more in the series, but no one really enjoys a cliffhanger ending.  Several of the plotlines are left up in the air and the reader is left with lots of questions.  It only makes me want the next book more, but I do prefer my books to end with some sort of closure.

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Review: Kiss To Forget by Anna B. Doe

Kiss To Forget by Anna B. Doe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an emotional rollercoaster! This had me tearing up in several places, and I'm not usually one to cry when it comes to books. I would recommend having some tissues on standby, you know just in case you need them. This book is a standalone, but reading book 1 in the series will introduce you to the other characters. I don't think it is 100% necessary to read it to enjoy this as the stories do stand on their own.

If you have read Kiss To Forget, you will remember Nixon and Yasmin as friends of the main characters from book 1. Yasmin is Callie's roommate who is taking a ton of classes, working at the coffee shop, and volunteers at the local community center. She works really hard, rarely has time to sleep, and keeps her free time to a minimum. Like Callie, she has secrets but she isn't ready to confess them just yet. Nixon is the quarterback of the football team and best friends with Hayden. He is relatively happy go lucky, but something is up this semester and he isn't telling anyone his secrets.

Nixon is friendly to everyone and usually everyone likes him back, except Yasmin. She seems to hate football players but no one knows why. Their paths continually cross and Nixon accidentally finds out Yasmin's secret. While her secret at first doesn't seem like that big of a deal, there is more to the story. This is the first of several incidents that forms a bond between the two of them, because it is the first time Yasmin discovers that Nixon might actually have something in common with her and that not all football players are all bad. Nixon ends up on a rescue mission to pick up Yas when her car breaks down, when he has to take a detour on the away home. Yasmin finds herself learning more about Nixon than she expected and their bond grows even stronger. They both are able to let down the walls that they have built and find some much needed support when they are together. When tragedy strikes, their fragile relationship is threatened and they both have to make the choice between fight or flight if they want to be together in the end.

This was a wonderful story about resilience, friendship, love, grief, heartache, and so much more. I think I felt every emotion in the book while reading this. Both of the characters have so many things to deal with in this story. This had just the right amount of steam to balance out the angst. I really loved Yasmin and Nixon's story. I'm looking forward to reading more from the group at Blairwood in the future.

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Review: The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn

The Romantic Pact by Meghan Quinn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was so cute!  I was provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for a holiday romance, look no further.  This is a friends to lovers romance set around the holidays that is sure to put you in the spirit.  Beware though, it will also pull on those heart strings and may have you shedding a tear or two before the end.

This follows Crew Smith and Hazel Allen who have been best friends after spending numerous summers at Crew's grandfather's farm.  Crew has just finished out an abysmal football season and his head and life are a mess.  His grandfather aka Pops passed away this past summer and Crew is feeling a lot of guilt for spending time training for football instead of spending the last few summers with Pops.  He didn't even know Pops was sick until it was too late.  Now home for holiday break, he finds himself on a plane to Germany on a trip pre-planned by Pops.  Crew is pleasantly surprised when Hazel is his travel companion for the trip.  Pops practically raised Hazel and considered her family.  She helped him run his farm and she also took his passing hard.  She is excited to reconnect with her best friend, but she is also hurt by the way Crew treated her over the past few years.  Fortunately this trip, guided by Pops and his letters to them gives them a chance to reconnect, forgive, and maybe develop a new connection in their relationship.  It also gives Crew a chance to find closure and really think about what he wants to do with his life.

I absolutely loved going on this trip through Germany with Hazel and Crew.  I've always wanted to go to Germany, and right now it seems like I may never get there.  I loved all of the stops they took on their trip from.  If you ever have the chance to visit a German Christmas market, they are wonderful.  I can only imagine how wonderful they are in Germany.  At each stop they made their relationship takes another step from friendship to romantic, you just were never sure who was going to make the first move or when it was going to happen.  Each of the characters had to face some pretty difficult life decisions and I really loved Pops' letters to them giving them the wisdom they needed to face the hard choices they had to make.  I especially loved the part about expectation versus passion.  

I really enjoyed going on this trip with Crew and Hazel.  Not only did I get to visit Germany with them but much like Crew it made me think about my passions.  It also jump started my Christmas spirit which has been really lacking.  I highly recommend this!

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