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I just finished Friends to Lovers by Sally Blakely and here are my musings. Best friends Joni and Ren have been friends since they were kids and even with a whole country between them, they make time for each other by being each other plus ones for weddings. It worked until that friendship line was crossed.. When her sister's wedding has her back at the summer home the 2 families share, she knows she has to fake a friendship with Ren but can they both get past the heartache to move forward? This one was a slowwwww burrnnnnnnn. I have to be in the right mindset to tackle books like this and I was lucky to be in the mood for it because the whole story took its sweet time unravelling into the main point. Anyone who reads my reviews knows I hate miscommunication in tropes and this one was no exception because it really did drag out but the last part of the book when it is all cleared up. That’s the money baby. The emotion and depth made it all worth the wait but it was a close DNF. I am so glad I kept going because that was the past end of a book I have read in a very long time. I can see why Emily Henry fans seemed to favor this book but I didn’t really see much of a comparison. The writing was solid and I did love the self discovery journey that Joni was on and honestly, that was the only thing that kept me invested until the last part. I felt Ren was a solid MMC and I would have loved more of him. Overall I am really glad I finished it and if you love Childhood friends to lovers Slow Burn Miscommunication Second chances Forced Proximity… This would be a win for you. 4 stars Grab your copy here >>> https://amzn.to/40Zv0Wp <<< Thank you to @netgalley and @htpbooks for my gifted copy. Come watch my podcast at youtube.com/@litdulterous #friendstolovers #sallyblakely #romance #friendstolovers #forcedproximity #bookishreview #bookblog #igbooks #booksbooksbooks #slowburn #romancereader #romancerecs #romancebooks #bookalorian #lionessofliteracy #kindle #litdulterous

I just finished Plays Well with Others by Lauren Myracle and here are my musings. Jake Nolan has suffered so many losses. Stillborn child and the loss of her marriage, job and reputation. She has to start over and when she settles into a new home and starts a friendship with a woman, Mabel, things seem better. Trouble is the charming neighborhood isn’t what it seems. This one was a weird one. I saw it all over booksta and I was super excited to read it but the multiple POVs and messy pacing, made me glad I was doing the audio version. It’s the only reason I kept going. The narration was well done. It was loaded with neighborhood drama and there were a lot of twists and turns but it wasn’t brilliant for me. It was a quick read and the storyline was at least decent enough to keep me intrigued. There was some really great meat to the story with some complex themes but nothing was dug into enough for my liking. I kinda feel ambivalent about it. I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. I think the concept was excellent but the execution needed a bit more tweaking. Audio is definitely the right way to go with this one. 3.5 stars Thank you @blackstonepublishing and @netgalley for my gifted ALC Grab your copy here!! >>> https://amzn.to/3UUDb2y <<< #playswellwithothers #laurenmyracle #thriller #uniquereads #bookreview #literaryinfluencer #literary #literarylife #booklover #readersofinsta #readstagram #readingislife #readingissexy #audiobookreview #audiobookstagram

I just finished Bad Creek by Peyton June and here are my thoughts. Bad creek is the holiday destination every summer for 3 friends. Iris has a mission… Her sister Iris died in the water the year before and she can't move on from it. She needs to know what happened to her sister but she may not like what she finds out. This was an odd book. A lot of what the book is about seemed irreverent and I wondered why it was in there… Then BOOM! Everything made sense and my eyes had popped wide open and I devoured the rest of the story. It was pretty dark toward the end and I kind of wish the tone of the book had all been that dark because it was really a solid ending. It felt a little too fluffy at the beginning. I needed that ominous feeling because the characters were a little blah for my liking. It was like two different people wrote it! I kinda loved it.. I also kinda was ambivalent about it. I have really mixed feelings on this book but…. I won’t be forgetting it in a hurry. The plot was good. I thought the writing was decent but it took too long to really get interesting and that's a real gamble with the DNF culture that reigns supreme now. It needed to come out of the gate stronger or not drag the story out. Would I recommend it? Yeah, I can see people enjoying it. It will definitely hit the spot for people who like a slower paced build up. 3.75 stars from me. 😍😍😍😍😍😍 Grab your copy today!!! https://amzn.to/3J8t0F1 😍😍😍😍😍😍 You can find my bookish podcast youtube.com/@litdulterous #peytonjune #badcreek #bookalorian #lionessofliteracy #bookish #bookreviews #bookblog #bookblogger #readersofig #litdulterous #bookishpodcast #bookinfluencer #netgalley #audiobookreader

I just finished Relationship Goals by Brittany Kelley and here are my thoughts. Abigail dreams of making it big and when she is offered a breakout role, it comes with homework.. Shadowing her real-life counterpart to be able to act the role with authenticity. She doesn’t expect to meet Luke, soccer player and all around asshole.. Things begin to sizzle and Abigail cannot believe how happy she is. That is, until she discovers the truth, Luke was coerced into fake dating her for ticket sales so he could be traded. She isn’t just angry… She is going to make him pay in the funniest of ways. I did not expect a sports romance to be so good. I am not a massive fan of all the sporty stuff usually but I was fully invested in both of the characters and the soccer stuff really added to the story in my humble opinion. It was a seriously entertaining book. I love how extreme the grumpy sunshine was. Luke was such a bummer at first! I don’t find negative people attractive so he set my teeth on edge from the get go but the more you learn about him, the more you start to understand him. Abigail had things to prove but she didn’t let it dull her shine and I felt honest to God… extreme anger that Luke didn’t just tell her he needed to fake-date and why. Having said that, had he said something, she may not have opened up the same so while I am glad they did break past it, it really rubbed me the wrong way. The chemistry was amazing and the build up was decedent. I loved how light and playful the whole thing was. It was definitely one of my faves of the month. 4 sexy stars Thank you to @berkleypub and @netgalley for my gifted copy. #relationshipgoals #brittanykelley #sportsromance #fakedating #booklover #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookpodcast #bookinfluencer #literaryinfluencer #bookishreview #booksbooksbooks #tiktokbooks #booktok #bookstagrammer

I just finished Mob Queen by Erin Bledsoe and here are my musings. Virginia is worried. Her friend is missing and she knows it's something to do with the mob. What she doesn’t expect is to climb the ranks within the organization and amass power no one could have foreseen. She is ruthless because that’s how you survive in the dark world of organized crime. YEEE-FING-YAWWWWWWW This audiobook was too brilliant. I loved how I was transported to the 1930s and wish I had dressed for the occasion. Virginia really changed over the course of the book. It was amazing. I loved watching the evolution. The girl who was terrified for her missing friend but needed to know the truth so she took a step into the seedy underbelly of Chicago… Into the self contained woman who became an integral part of the mob’s operation. She is based on a real person and her life was totally fascinating. I love historical fiction like this. It was gritty and raw. I felt like I was really taken back in time and I was fully immersed into a world of murder, money laundering and mob bosses. There is some abuse in here so be mindful. I love books based on real events and the author did an amazing job of researching all the key players back then while staying true to who Virginia Hall was. Couldn’t have loved it more. 5 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @blackstonepublishing for my gifted alc #blackstonepublishing #themobqueen #Erinbledsoe #historicalfiction #bookreview #bookishreview #bookblog #readervlog #bookalorian #litdulterous #bookishpodcast #bookpodcast

I just finished Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen Ellie never expected her morning to start with her Husband asking for a divorce. 30 years of her life to a man who throws her away for a younger model. Deciding to leave their home with a great alimony and taking the bently, she takes her house keeper and her old friend on an adventure across Europe. Women traveling alone in the 1930s wasn't the norm, but Ellie wasn’t going to live her life that way anymore. When the bently breaks down during their adventure, they can’t help falling in love with the hamlet. For Ellie, her life hasn’t ended… it has just begun again. I absolutely enjoyed this book!! The writing was absolutely incredible and I was hooked from page 1. The best part of the book was watching all 3 women, who felt hopeless, find a new lease on life and really warmed to each other the longer they were together. I was beautiful. The friendship of all 3 women was the best part of the whole story and Dora.. I loved Dora! The descriptive scenes of their travels through France and the little hamlet they end up in where absolutely spectacular. It has some really humorous moments, some really sweet moments and some tearjerking moments. It really did bring all the feels. One of the best historical fictions I’ve read, which has some of it set during WW2 without being a really heavy book. Genius! 5 stars. Thank you for my gifted copy, @rhysbowen And this book is out today! Run don’t walk! #mrsendicottssplendidaventure #rhysbowen #historicalfiction #ww2 #ww2novel #friendship #bookalorian #litdulterous #readersofig #bookishblog #readerblog #blogforreaders #5starbook #goodreads

I just finished Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter and here are my musings. Abi has a dream and it is not to be a professional cleaner for the rest of her life. When her apartment has an infestation she needs to find somewhere to stay.. One of her clients is away and she thinks… What's the harm in just crashing in his empty place… What she didn’t expect is to come face to face with his parents and she just so happens to have the same name as the elusive girlfriend of the owner of the place she is crashing at. When Declan discovers she's been staying in his home he hatches a plan… She plays his fake girlfriend and she can stay in his place until hers is safe again…. Win win… What could go wrong? I LOVED THE BANTER. I think this book might have had the best witty back chat of any book I have ever read. The characters were so much fun. I loved Abi! Would I have fake dated Declan? Damn straight I would have and the fun she had playing his girlfriend had me giggling my face off. I am not a massive fan of the fake dating trope but this one was quite excellent because the underlying attraction was always there and it felt natural. I always find it odd that people lie about dating people which is why the trope never normally sits well with me but Declan.. I kinda get it. He’s not normal and it shows but he is perfect for Abi and the hopeless romantic in me loved the chemistry. I like how it ended too. It was very pretty woman! 4.5 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for my gifted copy #lynnpainter #maidforeachother #romcom #romanceread #romancereader #romance #bookreview #fakedating #booklover #bookalorian #bookish #bookblog #litdulterous #bookishpodcast

I just finished Diamonds, Deception and Destiny by Pia Mia and here are my musings. The latest single is a hit and Princess is floating on cloud 9. Her relationship with Win is going well but she has other things to deal with. Her ex can’t keep it professional and fulfilling her contract is becoming problematic… The single her record label wants to release could be her downfall…. I am loving this series. I like the fact the book is a quest for identity which is something we all go through when we are young adults. It's relatable and humanizes celebrities. I love it. I got sucked right back into Princess’ world. The writing style is so subversive and engaging. The narrative has such depth that it was a brilliantly unique coming of age story. I love the characters, I love how they interact and I felt invested in what they were doing and how they were. I felt rather protective of Princess and what she was going through. I often find that the next installment of books tend to not be quite as good as the first but this wasn’t the case here. The pace was on point and I really enjoyed the storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think if you are looking for a YA with some razzle dazzle, you should grab this series. 4 stars Thank you to @wattpadbooks and @piamia for my gifted copy. #diamondsdeceptionanddestiny #piamia #comingofage #yanovel #bookishreview #booklover #bookalorian #bookblog #readervlog #booktokbooks #bookstagramreader #readersofig #igbooks #wattpad #readreadread #litdulterous #bookishpodcaster