The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I really wanted to like this one more than I did because I loved the first book (and everything else I’ve read from this author). But this book really doubled down on two things I hate: love triangles involving siblings and bad boys who refuse to call the protagonist anything other than an annoying nickname.
In addition, I felt like the mystery/puzzle aspect was kind of convoluted and hard to follow. I wasn’t always sure what was happening even when the characters were making it seem like the next step was obvious. Not sure if there will be another book after this, but if there is, I’d be pretty on the fence about continuing. 3.5/5
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Elle Cosimano
I liked the first book quite a bit but this one didn’t live up to it. Everything was just SO messy. And while I think that was the point, it was just too much for me. Absolutely nothing went right for Finlay and Vero. Also, part of what I liked about the first book was Finlay juggling being a mom with everything that was going on, but in this book the kids are mostly with other characters off-screen.
Overall, this book was fine for me. I’ll continue with the series and I’ll admit that the twist at the end got me. But I could’ve done with just a little less mess. 3/5
Manu by Kelly Fernandez (ARC)
Kind of confusing at times. I had a hard time telling characters apart, but that could be because my ARC wasn’t finished color-wise. 3/5
On a Night Like This by Lindsey Felk
I’m a little surprised with how much I enjoyed this one? I found Fran to be a very easy character to root for. I wanted so badly for her to get out of her situation with Stew and to do well at this new job! The Crystal Ball sounded insane and I don’t even want to know if the super rich of the world actually have events like that. Also, I was glad for the Below Deck reference because as soon as she got on that yacht I thought “this is like Below Deck”.
Anyway, long story short if you enjoy these British romances featuring 30-something women (Mhairi McFarlane, Giovanna Fletcher, Beth O’Leary) then you’ll like this one too. 4/5
How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur
This book was delightful! If you’re a fan of The Good Place or Modern Love by Aziz Ansari, I’d recommend giving this one a read. And I’d ESPECIALLY recommend the audiobook as it features cameos from the cast of The Good Place and it’s just nice listening to Michael Schur narrate.
This book gives a good overview of several top philosophers and I felt like I came away with a pretty good, basic understanding and of ethics and moral philosophy. It honestly would be pretty interesting to rewatch The Good Place with this new background. Schur tackles some touchy subjects and is pretty obvious about his stance on them (in the context of ethics) so readers with opposing viewpoints may take issues with that.
Overall, I found this book to be very informational while having a liberal dose of humor and some fun anecdotes from Schur’s career. 4/5
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