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Georgia’s Bookshelf



Synopsis:

Kai – I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team. I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.

Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.

Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire-his daughter.

Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached.

Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.

Miller – As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.

With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.
Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.

Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.

Genre: Contemporary Sports Romance 

Tropes:
  • Baseball Romance 
  • Nanny 
  • Single Dad
  • Forced Proximity
My Thoughts:

After completing my A-Z Reading Challenge, I decided that for the rest of the year I was going to prioritise finishing series I had started, or at least catch up so I was ready to read the newest release. 

That meant catching up on the Windy City series by Liz Tomforde that I started this year. Caught Up is the third book of the series and the third book I’ve read by Liz. I didn’t hugely enjoy the previous two, despite their popularity on BookTok. 

I was on the fence about starting Caught Up because Liz Tomforde’s books are notoriously long and in my opinion, too long – but I do love a single dad/nanny trope, so I was more excited than previously. 

I think The Windy City Series was the first sports romance books that I’d ever delved into and maybe I need to try other authors, but I don’t think sports romances are for me. I don’t know what it is about them that I dislike – maybe the sports technical talk? The only other sports romance I’ve read was Powerless by Elsie Silver and even that I wasn’t a huge fan of, or maybe I should try one more author? 

My enjoyment for reading this book peaked and dipped throughout – I started off really enjoying it, but then eventually lost interest to where I struggled to pick it up, to then towards the end, being motivated to read. 

With all of the previous books, I definitely think this story could’ve easily been 200-300 pages. I really don’t understand why they needed to be so long. They had so much filler, which I can’t even remember what. It got very repetitive with the back and forth, which dragged it out and made me bored. 

I got extremely frustrated with Miller and how she didn’t want to give up her career, when she knew it wasn’t what she wanted anymore. I know that’s what adds to the plot, but I just felt like screaming at her. It felt like we were in a continuous circle of her moaning about her career, it felt like the girl who cried wolf – I eventually lost all sympathy for her. 

I didn’t feel any emotional connection to any of the characters. I will continue the rest of the series, but I can’t say I’ll be pursing Liz’s work further. 

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia
🌷
November 04, 2024 No comments


Synopsis:

When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, they find something elusive–the friendship of two like-minded, pitch-black souls who just happen to enjoy killing other serial killers. 

From small-town West Virginia to upscale California, and from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. 

But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. 

Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves?

Or have they finally met their match?

Genre: Contemporary Dark Romance
Tropes:
  • Touch Her and Die Vibes
  • Golden Retriever X Black Cat
  • He Falls First 
  • Forced Proximity 
  • Serial Killers 
My Thoughts:

Brynne Weaver is a new author who hit my fyp recently and quickly became popular among the BookTok community. 

When I looked into the Ruinous Love series and read what they were about, I thought they would be right up my street – especially since I loved The Mindf*ck series, which this was advertised as being very similar. 

Me and my friend Izzy started our own book club back in September and Butcher and Blackbird was the first official book of the club!

After reading this book, I wasn’t sure what to think on it. I was torn on my opinion because it was marketed as being the exact same as The Mindf*ck series, which I absolutely loved. It was my first adventure into the murder love story world, so when I had heard Butcher & Blackbird was the same, I was very excited! 

I wanted to love this book so badly, but I just couldn’t get into the story at all. I couldn’t connect with Sloane or Rowan and this meant my motivation to read their story was just not there. I think with The Mindf*ck series, I was invested in Lara’s story and when I learned of why she was doing what she was, I felt for her. With Sloane and Rowan, I just wasn’t invested into their history of why they were going around murdering – even though they were similar. I felt like the details regarding their trauma wasn’t detailed enough to make me fully understand. 

In the series, Rowan and his brothers are Irish but for me, the constant reference to Irish slang and Romans constant line of “feckin eejit” got very annoying, very fast. I think the second time he said it had me rolling my eyes. I really hate when authors take something and oversell it or make something the character’s only personality trait. I feel like the Irish persona was made more exaggerated by the fact that Brynne Weaver isn’t Irish?

I did hope that this was the type of book that would grow on me, but it didn’t. 

Towards the end of the book, I was just skim reading it because I had fully lost interest in it

With The Mindf*ck series, I wouldn’t say the scenes detailed were super gruesome, but with Butcher & Blackbird they were – to the point where I was feeling very sick. The cannibalism scene in particular had me feeling very queasy and I was a bit shocked that David was the one to watch for.

I felt like I was left with a lot more questions at the end – who was phantom and why was he targeting Rowan? Maybe they were answered but I was too busy skim reading 🤷🏻‍♀️

I am supposed to be reading the second book Leather & Lark, which I can’t say I’m excited for.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia
🌷
November 04, 2024 No comments



Synopsis:

Beau Eaton is the town prince, a handsome military hero with a tortured past.

I’m the outcast bartender, a shy girl from the wrong side of the tracks.

He’s thirty-five and all man, I’m twenty-two and all . . . virgin. He’s also my fiancé. Correction: my fake fiancé.
We start out as a bet. He doesn’t believe that anyone holds my last name against me. So he offers me his to prove a point.

It’s a win-win. He gets a break from his concerned family’s prying, and I get a chance to shed my family’s reputation while I save up to ditch this small town.
He says all I have to do is wear his ring, follow his lead, and pretend I can’t keep my hands off of him in public.
But it’s what happens between us in private that blurs all those carefully drawn lines . . .

It’s what transpires behind closed doors that doesn’t feel like pretending at all . . .

This engagement was supposed to be for show. This agreement? It has an end date.
He once told me he’d never fall in love.
And yet here I am, head over heels for my fake fiancé.

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tropes:
  • Fake Dating / Fake Engagement
  • Tortured Hero
  • He Falls First
  • Age Gap
  • Touch Her and Die Vibes
  • Military
My Thoughts:

I held off reading Hopeless because I adored the Chestnut Springs series and I truly didn’t want it to end. I was worried that finishing this book and putting this series to a close would mean all other cowboy romances wouldn’t come near to the love I had for this series. 

Elsie Silver released the first two books of her new Rose Hill series and I knew I wanted to read them, BUT it meant I had to finish the chestnut springs series because they’re all interconnected standalones and I didn’t want to risk spoilers. 

Hopeless was a book I was very nervous to read – it had gotten very mixed reviews online and I hadn’t seen any that were positive. I loved majority of the Chestnut Springs books – didn’t massively love Powerless, but it was a sports romance and they’re not my thing. So I was hoping that Hopeless wouldn’t disappoint and ensure the series went out with a bang. 


I loved everything about Hopeless, despite my initial concerns. I fell in love with Beau and how attentive he was and how he genuinely cared for Bailey. I equally loved Bailey and how she was such a spitfire with no filter – equally loved Beau’s reactions to her one liners. 
I loved the tension in this book and how it built in such a perfect time frame – it wasn’t too long or too short! 

Hopeless had me giggling to myself at Bailey and Beau’s banter and interactions – it really brought back my love for reading and made me remember that this is what I love about reading romances. I enjoy feeling the character’s connection and being in on the funny banger. I feel like a lot of books miss that and I struggle to care or connect with the characters. 

I think Hopeless got a lot of negative reviews because of Beau’s previous behaviour in other books and also because of the age gap between Beau and Bailey. In Hopeless, Bailey is 23 years old and Beau is in his mid 30’s I want to say (I can’t remember). Personally, I don’t think this was that bad of an age gap and that’s because I’d previously read Virtuous Lies which had the FMC as a freshly turned 18 year old with a 30 year old who had been pining after her for a while. I had not long finished that book before starting Hopeless, so in comparison I didn’t think it was as bad as that. Would my opinion be different if I’d read Hopeless before that? I don’t know. As a 23 year old myself, I can’t say whether I would or wouldn’t date someone older, but this is just fiction and I read a lot of things I would not do in my life. 

This isn’t a Chestnut Springs book without the much loved family dynamic, but I felt like we didn’t see as much as we have previously and I missed it. 

I felt so many emotions for Bailey, especially how she’d never received genuine care and love before Beau. It truly had my heart breaking for her and I was so happy when she got to experience not only romantic love from Beau, but also from the Eaton girls. 

My only criticism is that I wish we saw more into Beau’s backstory of when he went missing in the military. It was made a big theme in Powerless and Beau’s behaviour was mentioned frequently in Reckless, that I thought we would’ve seen some flashbacks detailing what he went through to cause his change in character. 

Now that I’ve finished the Chestnut Springs series, I know for certain I’ll definitely be revisiting it in the future, especially since I read Flawless so long ago. 
I am excited to delve into the Rose Hill universe of single dads, but I think I’ll miss the cowboy setting. 


My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (very close to being 4.75)

Georgia
🌷
November 04, 2024 No comments

Synopsis:

David and Cheryl Burroughs are living the dream – married, a beautiful house in the suburbs, a three year old son named Matthew – when tragedy strikes one night in the worst possible way.

David awakes to find himself covered in blood, but not his own – his son’s. And while he knows he did not murder his son, the overwhelming evidence against him puts him behind bars indefinitely.

Five years into his imprisonment, Cheryl’s sister arrives – and drops a bombshell.

She’s come with a photograph that a friend took on vacation at a theme park. The boy in the background seems familiar – and even though David realizes it can’t be, he knows it is.

It’s Matthew, and he’s still alive.

David plans a harrowing escape from prison, determined to do what seems impossible – save his son, clear his own name, and discover the real story of what happened that devastating night.

Genre: Suspenseful Mystery-Thriller

Tropes:
  • Missing Person
  • Abduction
  • Prison Escapee
  • Murder
  • Wrongful Conviction 
My Thoughts:
Now that I’ve completed my A-Z Reading Challenge, my goal is to dip into my TBR Jar that’s been very neglected the past few months.

I have always been a fan of the screen adaptations of Harlan Coben’s work. I absolutely loved Netflix’s The Stranger and Stay Close and Prime’s Shelter (absolutely gutted that it’s been cancelled!), but I haven’t ever read his books, so when I saw I Will Find You, I thought it would be a good book to start with! 

I first came across I Will Find You in Waterstones and it stuck with me because the premise of the story really interested me – how is he in prison if his son is alive?
When this book popped up for me to loan from my local library, I knew it was time to venture into Harlan’s writing!

The pace of this was extremely slow to begin with and I felt like a lot of the details were unnecessary filler. I always think thrillers need to be fast paced and snappy because if they’re slow paced, it gives me too long to think about the plot twists.

Based on the synopsis that got me intrigued to read the book, I thought David’s son William to be an adult rather than a child and I was expecting the premise to be that William framed his own father – oh how I was wrong! 

When I first set out reading this book, I was thrown from time to time as the chapters alternated between the first person of David and then a third person perspective of the other characters – only it wasn’t mentioned whose pov it was. This did really confuse me as I would be reading each chapter not knowing whose pov it was, until halfway through the chapter. Once I realised this, I was quickly able to realise what was happening going forth.

I wasn’t necessarily hooked on the plot, I was more motivated to finish it and discover the big Harlan Cohen twist. I predicted that Cheryl (William’s mother) went ahead with the insemination because David couldn’t father a child, which meant that Hayden (Cheryl’s sisters ex) ended up being the father, which resulted in Hayden to kidnap his child. I was pretty spot on, aside from the Hayden did the insemination as revenge for Rachel, believing it was her having the procedure, rather than her sister. 

I think there were too many side plots pushed into the story which made it very hard to follow such as the neighbour who framed David and her own separate reasons, which really had nothing to do with William’s disappearance. 

After reading this months ago and rethinking about the plot, it has made me realise how twisted this plot actually was and how intertwined parts were, plus the additional side plots. 

I think I will read more of Harlan’s work, if it’s something that interests me and catches my attention, but I don’t think I’d actively pursue looking for his next work. I do like his adaptations, so I will continue to watch those. 
This is a book I would be excited to see turned into a screen adaptation.

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Georgia 
🌷
November 04, 2024 No comments

 




Synopsis:

A woman is in a race against time to clear her name and find her husband’s murderer.

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. 

To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect-her. Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer.

Genre: Suspenseful Mystery-Thriller

Tropes:

  • Murder 
  • Detective/Investigation 
  • Fugitive
  • Framing

My Thoughts:

The final book of the A-Z Reading Challenge! Finally completed the challenge and I could not be happier – also managed to finish it within August, like I had said (only these posts are back dated). I finished the challenge, with a few days in August to spare. 

Full rundown and rating of all the alphabetical choices: here.

Finding a choice for letter Z of the challenge, proved to be quite tricky, as nothing with the letter seemed to fit the genres I enjoyed reading. I somehow came across Zero Days (can’t remember how – maybe a Facebook page?), but I knew when I read the synopsis, that it had to be added to my tbr. 

Ruth Ware is an author that I was deeply unfamiliar with until I stumbled upon this book of hers.


I was not expecting to feel so connected to the characters in this book so much! I have never connected with the characters of any a Mystery-Thriller book I’ve read in the past, not enough to genuinely care for them!

Through reading this book, I felt so connected to Jack and Gabe and the subsequent pain that she carried with her from loosing Gabe. When moving through the chapters, I could feel the love Jack had for Gabe and her determination to find out who was responsible for his death. My heart broke for her several times throughout her time as a fugitive because all she wanted to do was grieve, but she was fuelled to get answers, putting aside her own pain from grieving and also pain from her injuries.

As the story moved, I was interested to find out who killed Gabe, especially as the line of work they do wouldn’t make you think of him as a target. 

It’s definitely a different type of thriller to what I’m used to, such as Verity, but I enjoyed it a lot. I wrote in my book journal that I didn’t love it or hate it, but now reflecting on it, I really enjoyed it. 

The start of the book is very slow, which I think is probably my initial thoughts of not overly liking it, even as Jack went on as a fugitive it was very slow. It did seen like it dragged out a lot and how long Jack was on the run for, but I think that was probably realistic as Gabe had no enemies, so it made sense for it to take a while for Jack to uncover information. 

I was surprised at how quick I was able to read this, as I feared this book might’ve been a one that would’ve put me in a slump, since it was a new author and also because of the pace, but I just struggled to put it down honestly. I became so connected to Jack that I wanted to know who killed her husband.

The thing that surprised me most about this book is the fact that I cried for a thriller! Going into reading this book, I was not expecting to be emotionally crying at the ending. I didn’t just cry once, but twice! I cried when Jack found out she was pregnant and despite the injuries she gained from being on the run, which almost killed her, the baby survived. Then I started crying again when it was revealed that she had a daughter who she named after Gabe. 

The only thing I didn’t like about this book, aside from my mixed feelings on the pace, was that Cole, Gabe’s best friend, died in prison and didn’t receive his punishment in the role he played in Gabe’s death. I also felt like his murders were a cop out because they weren’t known to the reader and they were hired by someone who Cole worked for. They weren’t given names, then they ended up being found dead before they could pay for their role in Gabe’s death. This made the story feel anticlimactic, especially when the sole plot of the story is “who done it” and you don’t fully know who did it. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and anything that makes me cry and tugs at the heartstrings instantly gets a high rating and is something I enjoy. I think the rating is purely down to my emotional connection to Jack and it would’ve been higher if we knew the murderers. However, this hasn’t deterred me from wanting to read more from Ruth Ware

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Georgia 

🌷


October 29, 2024 No comments
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About Me

About Me
Hello, I'm Georgia! I'm a 23 year old reader of romance and psychological thrillers. I spend way too much time listening to Taylor Swift and spending time on Tik Tok!

2024 GoodReads Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge

2024 Reading Challenge
Georgia has read 4 books toward their goal of 30 books.
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4 of 30 (13%)
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Currently Reading

The Housemaid
The Housemaid
by Freida McFadden
tagged: currently-reading

goodreads.com

TBR

Powerless
Powerless
by Elsie Silver
tagged: to-read
King of Greed
King of Greed
by Ana Huang
tagged: to-read
Where Good Girls Go To Die
Where Good Girls Go To Die
by Holly Renee
tagged: to-read
The Inmate
The Inmate
by Freida McFadden
tagged: to-read
Sidetracked
Sidetracked
by S.T. Abby
tagged: to-read

goodreads.com

Completed

November 9
really liked it
November 9
by Colleen Hoover
A Long Time Coming
really liked it
A Long Time Coming
by Meghan Quinn
Practice Makes Perfect
it was amazing
Practice Makes Perfect
by Sarah Adams
Reminders of Him
it was amazing
Reminders of Him
by Colleen Hoover
King of Pride
really liked it
King of Pride
by Ana Huang

goodreads.com

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Blog Archive

  • ▼  2024 (49)
    • ▼  November (4)
      • Caught Up by Liz Tomforde - A Book Review
      • Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver - A Book Review
      • Hopeless by Elsie Silver - A Book Review
      • I Will Find You by Harlan Cohen - A Book Review
    • ►  October (8)
    • ►  September (5)
    • ►  July (3)
    • ►  June (4)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ►  April (5)
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    • ►  February (4)
    • ►  January (7)
  • ►  2023 (18)
    • ►  December (7)
    • ►  November (10)
    • ►  September (1)

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