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Post by mintyblueair on Jul 26, 2021 10:05:21 GMT -6
I read One Last Stop over the weekend. Definitely could have been cut down a bit, but I loved it. So freaking cute. I thought it was adorable! My only problem with it was that, to me, a lot of the characters seemed to have the exact same personality.
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gingy
Opal
Posts: 7,651 Likes: 35,355
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Post by gingy on Jul 26, 2021 10:11:17 GMT -6
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melohdy
Platinum
Posts: 2,376 Likes: 13,188
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Post by melohdy on Jul 26, 2021 11:17:16 GMT -6
I finished Half Sick of Shadows this weekend - it was just alright. I liked the premise but it felt...unresolved?
I also finished The Lost and Found Bookshop - it was very predictable but very cute
Now I'm listening to Malibu Rising and The Midnight Library. If I recall correctly, people either loved or hated both.
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melohdy
Platinum
Posts: 2,376 Likes: 13,188
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Post by melohdy on Jul 26, 2021 11:20:13 GMT -6
I’m mostly through The Bookish Life of Nina Hill and it’s really cute and a good beach read. I loved this book - it might have been one of my favorite that I read last year.
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Diordra
Sapphire
Posts: 4,368 Likes: 18,191
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Post by Diordra on Jul 26, 2021 11:37:21 GMT -6
I have been in a Kindle Unlimited Spiral. My other TBR's are way on the back burner.
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polson
Platinum
Posts: 1,610 Likes: 4,403
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Post by polson on Jul 26, 2021 13:02:10 GMT -6
i haven’t been keeping up here as much as i would like. in the last few weeks i’ve listened to the bone garden (gerritson), evvie drake starts over (holmes), and you’ve been volunteered (gelman). very different books all of which i enjoyed. evvie drake was way out of my norm - not sure if it’s classified as romcom but it was a good change of pace. you’ve been volunteered was second in the class mom series - light, easy listening. the third book just came out a week ago and i’m looking forward to it. the bone garden was a solid stand alone mystery although it does feature dr isles as the medical examiner.
i also read the once and future witches (harrow). it weaves witching in with the women’s movement and although it dragged for me a bit, the story was decent.
im currently reading the girls weekend (gehrman). it seems like a pretty predictable suspense/thriller to me but it’s holding my interest. i’m listening to the lions of fifth avenue and i would say it’s my favorite of fiona davis so far (i’ve only read the address and the dollhouse though)
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junch817
Amethyst
Posts: 6,106 Likes: 16,742
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Post by junch817 on Jul 26, 2021 13:34:23 GMT -6
tatorhead328’s post reminded me that I want/need/dream to create a nice space to house my books. I would love to see pictures of everyone’s book spaces/storage/shelves/whatever. I need some ideas, and I also just loving looking at other’s book collections
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melohdy
Platinum
Posts: 2,376 Likes: 13,188
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Post by melohdy on Jul 26, 2021 13:45:50 GMT -6
i also read the once and future witches (harrow). it weaves witching in with the women’s movement and although it dragged for me a bit, the story was decent. This one has become available from my holds twice now and I never end up downloading it. I can't really pinpoint why...I was excited about it when I added it to my list; but now I'm not. Maybe in the fall when I'm feeling witchy.
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nelzie
Sapphire
Posts: 3,427 Likes: 9,957
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Post by nelzie on Jul 26, 2021 17:13:27 GMT -6
i also read the once and future witches (harrow). it weaves witching in with the women’s movement and although it dragged for me a bit, the story was decent. This one has become available from my holds twice now and I never end up downloading it. I can't really pinpoint why...I was excited about it when I added it to my list; but now I'm not. Maybe in the fall when I'm feeling witchy. Same here. I've heard good things about it but I keep passing it up for some reason. A fall read sounds like a good idea
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Post by stayingblonde on Jul 26, 2021 21:32:14 GMT -6
Finished Live Your Life by Amanda Kloots Tonight and I'm having some real Feelings about it.
It's a very sad story, and I feel awful for everyone involved. But...this book made me like her less, which I don't think was the goal.
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abs
Sapphire
Posts: 4,030 Likes: 20,894
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Post by abs on Jul 27, 2021 5:39:19 GMT -6
Hello!
I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution.
I'm now reading While We Were Dating.
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caer
Sapphire
Posts: 4,577 Likes: 26,503
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Post by caer on Jul 27, 2021 5:40:49 GMT -6
Hello! I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution. I'm now reading While We Were Dating. I agree - it was well written but just relentlessly sad. I really, really miss her old romcoms.
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Post by angelashly on Jul 27, 2021 7:35:40 GMT -6
Hello! I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution. I'm now reading While We Were Dating. I agree - it was well written but just relentlessly sad. I really, really miss her old romcoms. This! I am new to her and so I am reading some, but On Second Thought is a great example of this it was a sad subject, but done where I wasn't sad the literal whole time I read it.
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sasam
Gold
Posts: 765 Likes: 2,820
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Post by sasam on Jul 27, 2021 7:52:32 GMT -6
Finished The Nightingale the other day. I really enjoyed it! Took a little while to get into, but once it picked up, I couldn't put it down!
The Great Alone is next on my list.
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Post by mrsnorris on Jul 27, 2021 8:10:20 GMT -6
Finished Tales of the Hinterland yesterday, if anyone is a Hazel Wood fan I recommend it. Very creepy fairy tale style stories.
Also read the new Jasmine Guillory and found it pretty meh. I feel like all her books are the same book? Sassy brilliant woman who is perfect at her job, impossibly idealized man who is head over heels for the woman, add in sex, tons of junk food, and a lot of poor communication.
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Post by mrsnorris on Jul 27, 2021 8:16:03 GMT -6
Hello! I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution. I'm now reading While We Were Dating. I loved this one but I do miss her older ones! This one reminded me a lot of PS I Love You. Cried all the way through both of them. I feel like I need a new go-to for romantic comedy now. Guillory isn’t too bad, and I like Avery Flynn also but I don’t like either as much as Higgins older books. And this is silly maybe, but I appreciate a good PG-13 romance without the explicit scenes. They are harder to find!
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caer
Sapphire
Posts: 4,577 Likes: 26,503
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Post by caer on Jul 27, 2021 8:22:03 GMT -6
I agree - it was well written but just relentlessly sad. I really, really miss her old romcoms. This! I am new to her and so I am reading some, but On Second Thought is a great example of this it was a sad subject, but done where I wasn't sad the literal whole time I read it. I agree 1000%. That was one of my favorites by her - you can have the emotional stuff without it being completely depressing.
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caer
Sapphire
Posts: 4,577 Likes: 26,503
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Post by caer on Jul 27, 2021 8:25:11 GMT -6
Hello! I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution. I'm now reading While We Were Dating. I loved this one but I do miss her older ones! This one reminded me a lot of PS I Love You. Cried all the way through both of them. I feel like I need a new go-to for romantic comedy now. Guillory isn’t too bad, and I like Avery Flynn also but I don’t like either as much as Higgins older books. And this is silly maybe, but I appreciate a good PG-13 romance without the explicit scenes. They are harder to find! I’ve made the same complaint before re: overly long sex scenes lol. I’m not a prude but dear lord, we all know how sex works and I don’t need it to take up 50% of the book. Have you read any Sophie Kinsella or Mhairi MacFarlane? They are both British but they both write cute romcoms. Also Emily Henry and Sarah Hogle are my two new favorites.
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Post by mrsnorris on Jul 27, 2021 8:36:07 GMT -6
I loved this one but I do miss her older ones! This one reminded me a lot of PS I Love You. Cried all the way through both of them. I feel like I need a new go-to for romantic comedy now. Guillory isn’t too bad, and I like Avery Flynn also but I don’t like either as much as Higgins older books. And this is silly maybe, but I appreciate a good PG-13 romance without the explicit scenes. They are harder to find! I’ve made the same complaint before re: overly long sex scenes lol. I’m not a prude but dear lord, we all know how sex works and I don’t need it to take up 50% of the book. Have you read any Sophie Kinsella or Mhairi MacFarlane? They are both British but they both write cute romcoms. Also Emily Henry and Sarah Hogle are my two new favorites. I’ve only tried Kinsella; I’ll check out the others, thanks! Re: the sex scenes, yes! I don’t mind some smut but maybe if the main characters stopped rolling around naked for five seconds and had an honest conversation with each other their relationship wouldn’t have to go through a unforeseen crisis 2/3rds of the way through every time.
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caer
Sapphire
Posts: 4,577 Likes: 26,503
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Post by caer on Jul 27, 2021 8:39:34 GMT -6
I’ve made the same complaint before re: overly long sex scenes lol. I’m not a prude but dear lord, we all know how sex works and I don’t need it to take up 50% of the book. Have you read any Sophie Kinsella or Mhairi MacFarlane? They are both British but they both write cute romcoms. Also Emily Henry and Sarah Hogle are my two new favorites. I’ve only tried Kinsella; I’ll check out the others, thanks! Re: the sex scenes, yes! I don’t mind some smut but maybe if the main characters stopped rolling around naked for five seconds and had an honest conversation with each other their relationship wouldn’t have to go through a unforeseen crisis 2/3rds of the way through every time. 😂 Yes, excellent point! I will say that MacFarlane’s newest book is pretty sad but the rest of her books are lighter. I started with If I Never Met You, which is a pretty classic romcom and very cute.
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overboard
Sapphire
Dull normal
Posts: 3,158 Likes: 15,874
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Post by overboard on Jul 27, 2021 8:47:30 GMT -6
For regencies, Julianne Donaldson writes good stories without the smut and without throwing in god too. Many of the “clean” romances throw in proselytizing. Also some of Sarah M. Eden’s are good too. For contemporary, try Stephanie Bond.
I swear I read other stuff besides romance.
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Post by imapenguin on Jul 27, 2021 9:15:24 GMT -6
Hello! I swore I wasn't going to read Pack Up the Moon because I didn't need anything sad in my life but then I wanted something heavier after a few light books and did anyways. Eesh. It was very well written and the ending was uplifting and sweet but wow it was even more depressing than I was expecting. I guess Higgans is just not going to do light romances anymore is she?! Anyways read this one with extreme caution. I'm now reading While We Were Dating. I loved this one but I do miss her older ones! This one reminded me a lot of PS I Love You. Cried all the way through both of them. I feel like I need a new go-to for romantic comedy now. Guillory isn’t too bad, and I like Avery Flynn also but I don’t like either as much as Higgins older books. And this is silly maybe, but I appreciate a good PG-13 romance without the explicit scenes. They are harder to find! Romances published by Thomas Nelson won’t have the sex scenes. Some of them will have a church element because TN is a Christian publisher, but not all of them. J’nell Ciesielski is one of their authors that I really love and her romances don’t have any faith element. They’re historical though, not modern. You can also search “closed door romance” for lots of lists. Sarah Morgenthaler comes to mind…I know I have a lot more. I’ll make a list when I’m standing in front of my bookshelf next.
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Post by stayingblonde on Jul 27, 2021 9:45:52 GMT -6
mrsnorris Have you read any of Kerry Winfrey's books? You might like her.
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byjove
Ruby
Posts: 15,228 Likes: 74,207
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Post by byjove on Jul 27, 2021 10:20:21 GMT -6
Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas came out today and so far so good. It's #7 in the Ravenel series, which I read in May. It's killing me that I can't figure out how the main character is related to the original set of sisters. The book bio is no help either.
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Post by mrsnorris on Jul 27, 2021 11:02:22 GMT -6
Thanks for all the recommendations! I’m not usually a fan of Christian romances because they tend to go hard on the cheese factor even when they’re not expressly evangelizing to you. I’m open to giving new authors a shot! But I’ve been burned by Francine Rivers one too many times after raves from people at my church over the years haha.
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Post by mrsnorris on Jul 27, 2021 11:06:30 GMT -6
I loved this one but I do miss her older ones! This one reminded me a lot of PS I Love You. Cried all the way through both of them. I feel like I need a new go-to for romantic comedy now. Guillory isn’t too bad, and I like Avery Flynn also but I don’t like either as much as Higgins older books. And this is silly maybe, but I appreciate a good PG-13 romance without the explicit scenes. They are harder to find! Romances published by Thomas Nelson won’t have the sex scenes. Some of them will have a church element because TN is a Christian publisher, but not all of them. J’nell Ciesielski is one of their authors that I really love and her romances don’t have any faith element. They’re historical though, not modern. You can also search “closed door romance” for lots of lists. Sarah Morgenthaler comes to mind…I know I have a lot more. I’ll make a list when I’m standing in front of my bookshelf next. Sarah Morganthaler looks great! I’m a sucker for anything set in Alaska for some reason, though I’ve never been there. Added to the TBR list.
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wedding
Emerald
Posts: 14,204 Likes: 77,075
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Post by wedding on Jul 27, 2021 16:21:38 GMT -6
This past week I read Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson. It was an ok thrilled. It kept my attention enough but I felt like it was unoriginal. I also read Don’t Look For Me by Wendy Walker and liked that one better. The characters were interesting and there were a couple of unpredictable twists.
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caer
Sapphire
Posts: 4,577 Likes: 26,503
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Post by caer on Jul 27, 2021 16:25:22 GMT -6
I finished Local Woman Missing and it was wild. There were a ton of twists, most of which I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed it. (I feel like I always say this but lots of TW in this one, too!)
I want to read a romcom next but I’m not sure which one. I need to go through my TBR list to see if anything looks good right now.
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Post by goldenbird on Jul 27, 2021 17:44:46 GMT -6
Anyone read any good mystery/suspense/thrillers lately? I did The Woman in the Window, The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Wives last beach trip. We're going again next week so I'm looking for more recs.
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junch817
Amethyst
Posts: 6,106 Likes: 16,742
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Post by junch817 on Jul 27, 2021 18:38:48 GMT -6
Anyone read any good mystery/suspense/thrillers lately? I did The Woman in the Window, The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Wives last beach trip. We're going again next week so I'm looking for more recs. Ladies of the Secret Circus was a unique read with some mystery involved.
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