I have listened to several audio books in quick succession. While all were pretty good, none stood out so much that I felt like I could write a full review. We’ll go through them today.
For Genie’s 30th birthday, her grandmother gifts her with… a wish. All her life, her family has believed in magic- her grandmother’s a psychic!- but she doesn’t believe in all that. A random, badly timed comment throws her world into chaos. Suddenly her good dog is a very confused, if oddly profound, man. She and her best-friend and neighbor Miles, have to try to teach Rory to live as a human. Meanwhile Rory is trying to teach them to live- simply, truthfully, joyfully. Like a dog. Filled with charm and unreasonably funny scenarios, this one touched my heart. I loved the interactions between the three, and watching Genie move towards being her best self. Can she make everything right- find her true self, be honest about her feelings…. and get her freaking dog back. For me this was a three star book. It was charming, fun and not too hard to follow (some slight pacing issues). I just didn’t feel like it was completely memorable.
Sam Abrams has had naughty thoughts about her best friend, Ian forever. Who wouldn’t? He’s gorgeous. She tried several times to see if they could have a thing- he isn’t interested and that’s okay. She loves being his friend…. even if she does have racy dreams from time to time. Except… one wrong move and everyone knows they aren’t together. Everyone is after Ian, it’s crazy and Sam’s not liking it. What’s worse, is he’s starting to blur lines. Calls are getting spicy and he’s watching her like…. has anyone ever watched her like that? The two compliment eachother well and I don’t think anyone else could possibly have handled Sam’s level of crazy- sexual fantasies about being in barracks, running from your problems straight to the icecream shop…. it was bananas. But, that’s why it was so interesting. I laughed so hard it hurt, I was invested in their odd relationship, I was just here for it. That said, there was nothing I felt like I could do a full review on. I enjoyed myself but it’s not the book that will make me binge the rest of their books. It’s got a lot of adult content- language, sexual content, and internet bullying. For me, this was a three star book.
Lana Ferguson comes out with the best side characters. Seriously, they’re fun, snarky, funny, loyal. Often times they very nearly steal the show. It was a close call this time. Our main… “couple”, Danica and Ezra, are rival divorce lawyers and just basically enemies that can’t keep their hands off eachother. Sexually, the chemistry is there. Emotionally… meh. I wasn’t buying it the way I did for The Nanny. The side characters, Nate and Vera were hilarious and actually a much easier sell as a couple than Dani and Ezra. Don’t get me wrong, it was a fun ride and I could see a large amount of character growth, which is really important to me. It just…. didn’t wow me. I will still be looking for Ferguson’s books- she’s a great writer. This one may just be one of my least favorites of hers. Dani seemed… ruder than necessary even after she fell. I felt bad for Ezra. Plus, we might have overused the miscommunication trope a little bit. Still, a fun, fast read and absolutely worth a look. For me, this is a three star book.
A ton of people told me I needed to read this. They weren’t wrong. This was a super engaging romance with main characters that might not work with anyone else but are flawless together. There are moments with so much emotion and depth that it surprised me… and there were times where I wanted to strangle one or both of them. How does a smart, strong, independent woman go through the motions- ‘there’s a man in the house- kill him! Attack! This is not okay’…. and end up with ‘Oh, it’s the hot guy. this is fine.’ Seriously? Still, their interactions were amazing and their relationship was believable in a completely messed up way- as I said, flawless together but absolutely broken with anyone else. I loved how they each got the other to see themselves and their past differently. I loved that they were emotionally there for eachother. I absolutely loved that their first “child” was Aly’s freaking cat. Josh is… way funnier than he has any right to be considering the content here. I had an absolute blast, but for me, there was just something missing. It was fun, the characters were great…. I’d even be interested in reading more of their books. It just didn’t stay with me. There are books that I will still fangirl over to my book buddies months later… this is not one of them. For me this is a three star book.
Now, as far as adult content and trigger warnings… well, I think the author said it best.
Yeah, it was a lot and fairly explicit. I would definitely say this one is geared towards adults.
I think that about catches me up. Are there any you’re interested in hearing more about? Let me know!
Happy Reading,
Gwen
