Books

Book 910: Back Where I Come From (Five Points Stories #4) – Kyle Baxter

This is the fourth book by Baxter that I’ve read and is the fourth book in his Five Point Stories. It’s been languishing on my Kindle for a few months and I finally added it to my queue when I was preparing for a vacation that would result in a week of offline time.

My first observation of this one is that the cover is creepy AF. Seriously go to Goodreads or Amazon and blow up the image. I can’t quite put my finger on it but both Zach and Grant’s faces are just a little bit off and Taylor’s (the kid) just doesn’t quite look finished. Thankfully, I didn’t stare at it too much before starting or I might’ve put it off even longer!

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Book 908: Sink or Swim (Shore Leave #2) – Annabeth Albert

Yessssssss . . . I’m so glad Calder got his book and that I was able to snag a review copy from NetGalley as soon as it was listed. I’ve been sitting on it FOR MONTHS—do you know how hard that is when it comes to an Annabeth Albert book!? I had to force myself to read soooooo many other books so I wouldn’t push my response out too soon!!!!

Sink or Swim is a low-conflict simmering romance and Albert brings her character-driven humor to the story just like she does to all of her other works. Calder is Arthur’s (from Sailor Proof) older brother who happens to be bisexual and thrives on competition and gambling. And after winning a house from a fellow SEAL, he has the best meet-cute ever with Felix, flustered and guarded single-parent taking care of his two nieces, at the house he thinks he owns.

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Books

Book 905: Heartstopper, Vol. 4 (Heartstopper #4) – Alice Oseman

I’m not sure I was ready for this one. I’d guessed it would overlap with what happened in Solitaire, but wasn’t 100% sure it would. I wasn’t sure how Oseman would handle it graphically, I think there were a couple of images in Solitaire, and she sort of glossed the particular scene probably because of this.

I really appreciated having Nick’s outside perspective on the situation as we know he’s been worried about Charlie for two books now and when it came to the point right when Charlie was going to tell Nick he loved him, Nick asks about the eating disorder and it throws both of them into confusion which was just so real.

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Book 890: Playing at Home (Sporting Secrets #2) – Jax Calder

I have been waiting for this ARC request to arrive in my inbox ever since I read the teaser at the end of Playing Offside and it was worth the wait!*

Playing at Home is the story of Jacob Browne, professional rugby player and son of a legendary New Zealand rugby player who’s recently split with his wife but is co-parenting his kids, and Austin, the manny his wife hires who’s fled London after a mess with his previous employer.

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Book 888: A Dashwood of Sense and Sensibility (Love, Austen #6) – Anyta Sunday

This wasn’t the perfect ending to Sunday’s Love, Austen retellings, but it was a damn good one. Like the last five there was no doubt I would accept the ARC when it came in (and I was a little worried when I didn’t see it even though its publication date was fast approaching)!*

We met Noah and Zach Dashwood in one of the previous novels (I believe Finley Embraces Heart and Home) and I have to assume we met Brandy/Brandon and Wade at some point too, but no clue honestly. For some reason, I guess because the names were great cognates like some of the other books, it took me way too long to remember who Zach and Noah were compared to Elinor and Marianne from the OG Sense and Sensibility. Once I got that sorted, I was all set.

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