What a beautiful book! In a fairly short page span (although typical for children’s fiction), this book packs in so much! I’m glad I read this for a book club context because I was able to really analyze each very short chapter and dig for the amount of themes being explored. And boy was there a lot of themes. Themes that children come in contact with all the time, but may not be explained to them in easy to understand ways. I’m sure if I read this as a child a lot would’ve gone over my head, but I do think I would’ve absorbed it somehow. Maybe with multiple rereads, but there was a lot there to grasp onto.

My favourite relationship in this was between Miranda and her mother. By no means was her mother a perfect parent, but there was clearly so much love there. And Miranda was no question her top priority. Even though she had dreams and aspirations, everything came after Miranda or included Miranda in it. And you could tell that Miranda respected her mother because she never wanted to hurt her or go against her wishes. Even something as simple as being at another parents household and listening to her mom‘s rules about using the stove. There was clearly mutual respect there and I loved it.

I think this author captured the middle school mind so well. It felt like they wrote children in such a realistic way without making fun of them at all. The way Miranda‘s mind works, and her curiosity was just so fascinating to read. The way she interacts with her friends, and makes mistakes with them was so interesting. And the way she absorbs her world was just so fun.

There were so many moments where I had no idea where this book was going! I spent so much of it theorizing as to what was going on, and being a full grown adult the fact that I didn’t predict the ending until a few chapters before? I’m pretty proud of the author for that. I was just so along for the journey that even though I was curious as to what could possibly happen… I couldn’t really jump ahead. But that ending? Loved it. I loved how both hopeful and sad it was. And it really paid off. Sometimes it’s hard for a mystery to pay off, but this one definitely worked.

If I had one big critique of this book, it would just be that the chapters were just a few too many and too short. But that’s just if I’m being picky, and because I’m an adult reader. I know short chapters are a lot more accessible for kids. And for parents reading to their kids right before they go to bed lol. I just found it took a little bit of time to get through because each chapter started a new thought and I started to become a little bit tired with each time I sat down to read it. But again, that’s just me being picky!

I wish I’d read this one as a child! I loved it!

Very pleasantly surprised!

I had kind of written off Tessa Bailey, as I hadn’t heard great things and I really did not like the Christmas book of hers that I read. I decided to give her one more chance with this one, and I’m glad I did! The initial reviews had me questioning if I was going to like it. But I’m surprised it’s so hated. Definitely wasn’t my favourite romance by any means, but I really did have a good time.

My favourite part by far was the creativity of the smut. I feel like a lot of smut scenes are fairly similar in these contemporary romances. However, the seduction involved in these was great. The thing she did with the champagne? The scene in the hospital? The nudes photo shoot before getting it on on the boat. I mean, come on! That’s just sexy as hell! Piper was a very seductive gal and I was HERE for it. Especially because he was so gone for her and she did not even need to seduce him at all. It was very fun to read.

It was also a trope that I really like. Grumpy/sunshine is always gonna be fun. I’m actually not usually a huge fan of spoiled rich girl goes to small town. However, this one was oddly charming. I thought Piper‘s growth was really well written and paced quite nicely. I don’t think she was a bad person or too far gone by any means. I think she was just kind of jaded by her environment. And I also really liked Hannah as a sister. She was really supportive and kind about both sides of Piper’s personality. She wasn’t afraid to talk to her and give her the real scoop, but she was also there for her. Their sister relationship was a lot more like a best friend relationship. Not to mention Hannah was a well developed character, and I’m actually quite excited to read her book now.

I wish this book had leaned a little bit more into the discovering her roots part of the story. It was kind of hinted at, but I wish there had been more of a connection to her dad and her fear that Brendan wouldn’t come home. Also, I wish her mom had gotten a scene or two in which they really talked about her moving there. Also I would have liked maybe a little bit more longing and build to the romance. The build was really good, I just wish it had been dragged out a little bit more. And I was frustrated by the third act break up, not going to lie. I thought it was well justified by his apology eventually, but at the time his actions were super out of character. They were more like a real person which I won’t fault, but the unending support that he gave her for most of the story… I don’t know. It just felt weird that he gave her almost no chance that day on the dock! Also, it’s pretty hilarious that she ran straight to LA and was able to get a flight all within a few hours. Like why not sleep it off and go the next morning? Pretty silly. But whatever. It made for a fun ending with the party and her realizing what she really wanted so I guess it was good in the long run.

Like I said, pleasantly surprising. If you’re going to read a Tessa Bailey, I would recommend this one!

Ok heck yes!

As mentioned in my review of the first of the series, i'm fairly new to historical romance. I love the way Alexandra Vasti writes her stories! She has such a good grasp on longing and staying within the confines of regency society, while also writing likable characters for a modern and feminist audience.

I really liked this couple. I assumed based on the start that this was going to be a penpal romance, but it clearly turned into a forced proximity/pretending to date trope. Both are tropes I love, so it of course worked for me. This plot did surprise me with Lydia, not going to lie. The woman who barely could speak in the presence of a man in the last book REALLY did some growing throughout these letters. As a stand alone it worked, but it was a tad strange as a sequel to the last book. However, I quickly got over that with how cute these two were. They were both so insecure in their relationship, and constantly thinking they couldn't be enough. Two shy people in love? I have a soft spot for it!

What I also found so intriguing about this one was the additional plot! This was very much not just a romance! This whole stolen contraption felt like just a plot device to keep them together at the start, but by the end it turned into a whole very intense B plot! I would not have guessed a book like this would involve an assassination attempt, or anyone being held at gunpoint, but here we are! I was super here for it, and intrigued the whole time.

This was an improvement on the last book, and I hope they keep getting better! With the next one being a sapphic romance involving georgiana? YES PLEASE!!!

A very strange read (complimentary!). Chuck Tingle books are always so goofy, in such a fun way. The mix between horror and sci-fi is something I enjoy. While this one wasn't very scary (bury your gays is still my favourite), it was gruesome. It definitely had a lot of horror elements in the description of a bunch of scenarios. Specifically the low probability event. That was CRAZY.

The rampant bi-phobia throughline and the wish to not exist (like her mother suggest she already did not) was very interesting. I am glad chuck tingle is so inclusive with different sides of queerness, with a focus on bisexuality in this book. Even having a gay man not see her validity was so true to life. ALTHOUGH this did make me instantly dislike him, which made the slow trickle of dislikable traits of his less impactful in my opinion. I feel like we were supposed to really like Agent Layne for most of the book, and after that comment I just really couldn't. As for Vera, I did like her. I liked her growth after trauma in realizing that she could find a reason to care about things again. I do think there could have been better juxtaposition however. Maybe just more time spent with who she was BEFORE the low probability event?

Plot wise this one was definitely interesting! I won't lie, I was confused for a big chunk of it. I get the concept of low probability, but I didn't understand why a lot of things happened for the majority of the book. THANKFULLY it was all explained in the end, but some of it really wasn't until the epilogue, which made me truly confused as to how i felt about the book for most of it. I think some of that could have been paced a bit better!

I did see the reveal coming, but I still liked it. And i really did love that ending! I'm an eternal optimist, so I see it as the perfect open ended happy ending. This still wasn't my favourite of his three that i've read, but I think it takes spot number 2!