Book review - Non fiction - Historical - True Crime I just finished BoomTown - The True Story of the Wickest town in Texas by Joe Pappalardo and here are my musings. Did you know Borger Texas in 1927 was the most violent town? It was to support the oilfields but instead became a haven for pimps, gamblers and bootleggers run by a corrupt city hall. YIKES! Frank Hamer was brought in to curb the criminal activity in the town.. The man who brought down Bonny and Clyde.. A man who would give his life for justice… Dudes I had no idea this town was a hob of danger and I actually had no idea who Frank was. I am so glad I got a copy of this book because DANGGG IT… WAS… AMAZING! I really enjoyed the writing. I also could tell, after falling down a history rabbit hole, and the book was well researched but dang, there were a lot of people to keep track of and that was a tad annoying. Also the format… It could have been laid out better. It was crazy how it was all lump together and it felt a little cramped and if you are new to historical books…. This may put you off. I also think pictures of each person would have helped because I had no idea what any of these people looked like. Real shame! It was a really interesting topic though but it was a lot of info. 3.5 stars Thank you to @stmartinspress for my SMP early reader copy #truecrime #bookishreview #bookblogging #lionessofliteracy #bookinfluencer #literaryinfluencer #bookpodcast #litdulterous

Book review - Fiction - Audiobook - domestic fiction - found family Such a Bad Influence by Grace Demyan Felicity is still grieving the loss of her mother. So much so she still calls the phone and leaves messages on the voicemail. She spends her time running the small blueberry farm her mother left her… She never expects to receive a call from the number… The new owner is Alex, a teen aged out of foster care and in need of help. Felicity takes her in but she expects her to help her on the farm and the two of them needed each other much more than they realized. It’s funny because this book sounded cozy and sweet but there were some really excellent moments in the book that had me pulled right in! I love books that keep you guessing. I really enjoyed that Felicity and Alex band together to scare off vandals from defacing the farm and building a small business from it. Brilliant! I loved the plot, I enjoyed the characters too. I could really see how these two people could find a way to be a small family and I was totally charmed!! Honestly it was a brilliant book. I loved the audio and I will definitely look for more from the author. 4 stars Thank you @netgalley and @brillianceaudio for my gifted audio.

Book Review - Fiction - Magical Realism - Romance I just finished The Forget-me-not Library by Heather Webber and here are my musings. Juliet is unmoored.. An accident left her lucky to be alive but she has no memory… The same night her grandad died and her heart is heavy. She decides to take a roadtrip and she ends up in a town when her car breaks down… A town where the people know more than they let on.. Single mom Tallulah works at the library after the breakdown of her marriage.. Living with her grandad isn’t what she was expecting but when hers and Juliet’s lives crash into each other, Tallulah starts to see life is for living and she isn’t the only one who needs a second chance…. Oh man, I loved this book! I am a sucker for magical realism and second chances at life books. It was well written, charming and sweet. I normally don’t love 2 POVs but I adored both the FMCs so I wasn't salty about it. It had friendships in unlikely places… Sweet romances… A lost love… That one hit me the hardest… I won’t spoil it.. You will know when you read it. It was more light-hearted than I was expecting and that was a beautiful surprise for me. AND COME ON!! Set in a library… I’m all over that. It had some beautiful hallmark moments that made me swoon and it wasn’t just the romance parts. Juliet losing her memory and finding a place she never expected to find and a little girl is the reason she starts to feel like the town is home… OH MY HEART! I needed the HEA - happily ever after.. I needed the small town… I needed the found family. You need this book! 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy OUT NOW!! #bookblog #bookcommunity #literaryinfluencer #bookrecs #bookalorian

Book review - Fiction - Audiobook - Romance Pick Me by Victoria Schade Brooke needs some inspiration for her writing so looking for a romance opportunity means looking in the weirdest places. She even learns to play pickleball to get close to a handsome man on the courts… She just needs to learn to play so when her friend pays for Owen to give her some lessons… Can she keep it strictly on the courts or will the attraction come off the page too? This one was a real surprise. I haven't ever played pickleball.. I've never seen a game either so it intrigued me. I might have gone to youtube to take a look at it and OMG there has to be easier ways to date haha. I really liked Owen. He was so grumpy and cute I wanted to eat him up with a spoon. I liked Brooke too and that's the magic for me. Their build up. The story was fine and the narration was good but the two of them were the wow factor for me. I liked how they connected. I thought it was really cute and I give it 4 stars Thank you @netgalley #netgalley #bookreview #bookishblog #pickleball #pickme #romancereader #bookalorian

I just finished Only Lovers in the Building by Nadine Gonzalez and here are my musings. Liliane quits her job as a lawyer after someone else got the credit for her hard work. Not willing to go home from the retreat just yet, she gets herself an air bnb and plans to read all summer. She finds herself bumping into her neighbor Ben and they discover a shared love for romance books and they spend the summer reading and critiquing books together while fighting the mounting attraction that neither wants to act on. This is one of the only beachy reads I did this summer and it was definitely the only one I needed. The thing this book had in spades was an eclectic group of characters. All unique and perfect in their imperfection. I loved Ben. He was refreshingly honest in how he dealt with people but had the biggest problem being honest with himself which really made for an interesting read. It was a realllllllllyyyyyyyyyy sssssssssslllllllllllllooooooooooowwwwwwwww burn. I mean really slow but honestly it worked for me. I liked the build up of their friendship and their mutual love of books. I liked their banter and how they started their podcast on their musings. It was very cool! 4.25 stars Thank you @harperaudio for my gifted copy You can find all my book reviews at thelionessofliteracy.com And my podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/5kKN96RNPNh4uNDZzpIE1A You can find all my book merch at Bookaloriandesigns.com and bookaloriandesigns.etsy.com #onlyloversinthebuilding #bookish #bookalorian #bookreview #audiobookreview #bookblog #bookpod #bookpodcast #litdulterous #booksbooksbooks #bookrecs #romancereader

Book Review - Fiction - Audiobook - greek retelling - Romantic Fantasy The Cafe of Inescapable Human Destiny by Elizabeth Hrib When Liv quits school she didn’t expect to find herself working in a coffee shop… Ran by the Fates! When her life thread becomes entwined with a beautiful man…. Nick, she has to get his life back onto track before the fates intervene. Well that was an entertaining read!! I loved the narration and the characters were the magic here. It was short and very entertaining little audio. Not my normal thing but dang the story was good! The book moved quickly and you will be just as charmed as I was. It was a clever little greek retelling and I can’t gush about it enough. 4 stars #novella #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #reader #reading #bookishblog #bookinfluencer

I just finished Dot Slash Magic by Liz Shipton and here are my musings. Seven Jones is in college… she just wants to get through it all. Walking into a secret underground magic club was not on the agenda. Learning she had magic is a big adjustment and the fact she doesn’t know what channels her magic is making everyone uneasy. When she accidently creates a magic computer program, an AI she calls dot… She keeps it a secret but someone is summoning terrifying creatures and everyone is looking at her to blame. This might be the weirdest plot of a book ever but dang I was hooked from the first chapter!! Seven has powers and she joins a group that can help her channel so the power doesn’t go bad.. She spends her time fighting the people in the group and working out how her magic works. I loved all the characters. It was a motley crew of magic wielders and they all connected so well. I loved the narration. The voice for dot was excellent. It made me giggle every single time. I liked how the book gave us the pitfalls of AI while showing us how it can make some things so much easier. I was really blown away with the plot! It was so different and fun! The ending threw me through a loop too! It was an excellent book! I love sci-fi’s and this one was unique and brilliant!! 4.5 stars! Thank you @tantoraudio and @netgalley #litdulterous #bookalorian #dotslashmagic #lizshipton #fantasybook #romancereader #dystopian #darkacademia #bookpodcast #bookreview #Urbanfantasy #sciencefiction #newadult

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Book review - Fiction - audiobook - Thriller - general fiction Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan It was the eve of 1999 summer solstice that was the last time anyone saw Roison… just 9 years old… she went into the hanging woods and never came back out. Twenty years later Roison's sister DeeDee is now a cop and she is barely holding her life together. Roison's childhood bestie Caitlin… A petty thief is returning home for the first time in years… She was the last person to see Roison before she disappeared.. It took me a while to get used to the audio narration on this one but I am so glad I stuck it out because the story was fabulous. It was dark and ominous and the twists came together at the end for a beautiful heartbreaking conclusion. I never really connected with any character and I think that was on purpose… We were supposed to distrust them all and it was a seriously clever way to tell a tale. I found the pacing started out really slow… It was a build up I didn’t get until I got further in so keep going! It will make sense! The writing was very good! I have ordered a copy for my shelf! Definitely worth the read. 4 stars Thank you to @netgalley and @harperaudio #netgalley #audiobookreader #thrillerbook #bookpodcast #bookishpodcaster #bookblog