Review: The Christmas Village

After Christmas 2020 I told myself I would do Much Better when it came to reviewing Christmas 2021 books. I would be on top of it and get the reviews up in a timely manner. Reader, that did not happen. No, I simply couldn’t keep up with full time work and full time school and reading and reviewing All of the Books. So, here we are, over a month after the Big Day and I am still reviewing Christmas romances. Woohoo! The Christmas Village by Annie Rains was a sweet romance read that was, unfortunately, completely forgettable. Seriously. I couldn’t remember a thing about it when I sat down to write this review. *cringes*

Here’s the book’s description (which did, thankfully, remind me what the book was about):

Lucy Hannigan has inherited her mother's bulldog, Bella, and her childhood home, the only pink house on Gingerbread Lane. With the holidays coming up, the pressure is on to decorate the house for the annual lights competition and maintain her parent's winning streak. But Lucy already has her hands full as a midwife and a new landlord-to her ex-fiance.
When Miles Bruno is suddenly asked to move out of his rental home, he's grateful to Lucy for taking him on as a tenant. But their broken-off engagement doesn't make it easy to live next door. Sparks still fly between them, and he'd give anything to get back in Lucy's good graces. But to do that will take much more than just tree trimming and house decorating and contest winning. Will one wildly grand romantic gesture on Christmas Eve finally soften her heart?

Once again, the small town + second chance got me. With a bonus Christmas storyline! How could I turn it down? I didn’t and maybe I should have. I’m finding I’m totally over the whole “we were so in love but were torn apart by Circumstances and now we’ve been thrown back together and we remember why we were in love and we’ll live happily ever after” storylines when they were So In Love when they were, like, children (or, you know, eighteen). I love romances. I love the predictability and warmth and loveliness of the stories. I don’t love when I don’t care one iota for either of the leads and have a hard time understanding why they broke up in the first place. And don’t seem to actually work through the “issue” in the end anyway. That’s what happened with Lucy and *checks description again* ah yes, Miles. The reason they broke up was valid enough but there was SO much happening with it that just got brushed aside when they really should have had more conversations about it. It blew my mind a little, to be honest. You can’t just start over, friends!

I also admit I wasn’t expecting such a chaste storyline. I’m fine with all sorts of steam levels but considering what had happened in the couple’s past, I kind of expected more than just handholding (I think there were kisses too but please see: “Kaley doesn’t remember anything about this book” as discussed above). And, for some reason, it irked me a lot and my poor little romance reading mind was a bit boggled.

Now, the Christmas element was lovely. There’s Christmas in the title and there’s Christmas in the story. Most notably, the light decorating competition. I LOVE Christmas lights so it was really fun to read as the pair decorated the house. Christmas spirit was also found in the storyline about family and how sometimes your found family is just as important as your blood relatives.

So…no. I didn’t like The Christmas Village. I’m sure there are fans of Annie Rains out there and I do really wish I had become one of them but I will never again think of this novel once I press publish on this post. I know you can’t win ‘em all but it really does make me sad!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: First Love, Take Two

Second chance romances are my kryptonite. I'll pretty much always say yes to reviewing them because there's something about that romance trope that I absolutely love. But sometimes, I don't read enough about the book so I don't realize it's part of a series and then a whole bunch of other things let me down and then I don't like a book. *heaves large sigh* It's a sad, sad day when that happens but, unfortunately, it does occur. That was the case with First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel, which just released last week. I wanted to love it. I really did. Alas, it was a struggle to get through.

Here's the book's description:

On the verge of realizing her dream of being a doctor, Preeti Patel should be ecstatic. But between the stress of her residency, trying to find a job, and managing her traditional, no-boundaries family, Preeti's anxiety is through the roof. Relationships and love aren't even an option. Fortunately, Preeti's finally found a new place to stay . . . only to discover that her new roommate is her ex.

Preeti never quite got over Daniel Thompson. Super-hot, plenty of swagger, amazing cook—the guy is practically perfect. And if it weren't for their families, there might have been a happily ever after. But it's hard to keep her sanity and libido in check when the man of her dreams is sleeping mere feet away. Can Preeti and Daniel find a way to stand up and fight for each other one last time . . . before they lose their second chance?

First off, this is the second book in Patel's The Trouble with Hating You series (side note: anyone notice that a lot of rom com series just get named after the first book?). Normally, it's not a huge deal to have not read the previous book in a series like this. They're (supposed to be) more of a companion novel where each book is about a different friend/family member and there are small references to the previous story but nothing that would confuse the reader. I didn't get that with this book. Something MAJOR happened with Liya in the first book and I couldn't really get a good sense of it - it was like it was just alluded to and I was expected to know and Patel wasn't giving any extra info to those who hadn't read the first book. Because of this, I couldn't understand some of the feelings and motivations the characters had in the second book. 

Because I was annoyed at this being a second book and feeling like I wasn't getting all the information I should have, it took longer than I'd like to admit to get used to reading about a culture outside of my own. Normally, this isn't much of an issue for me. I always have to shift my mindset but I'm never outright annoyed like I almost was this time. It can be hard for me, a white, non-religious person, to understand a culture that is based around prayer and respecting elders no matter how terrible they may be. And some of the elders in Preeti's life were horrendous and were acting like catty high school girls. Not a good look. But again, they were being atrocious, in part, because of whatever had happened to Liya so I was a bit lost (but no less furious on Preeti's behalf, I'll say that). 

As for the romance...Preeti spent so much time fighting her feelings and avoiding even talking to Daniel that I wasn't really sure why they had been together in the first place. Did they actually love each other? Does she even like him or just feel like jumping into bed with him? Can they actually talk to each other for crying out loud and discuss why Preeti left? There were SO MANY things they were both keeping hidden and it was infuriating as they just ignored the elephant in the room and didn't address the why of their break up and tried to move past it. Spoiler alert: you have to address all issues before you can have your Happily Ever After.

So...no. First Love, Take Two was not a winner for me. There was too much that just didn't work for me in Sajni Patel's latest novel that meant I couldn't enjoy reading it. I don't think I'll be picking up anything she writes next but I know many others love her books. To each their own, I say!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, HBG Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: A Brit Player

I first read Brenda St. John Brown back in 2018 when I picked up A Brit on the Side, the first in the Castle Calder series. I loved the setting she created in small town England and the characters she wrote. I haven't read books two or three but when I had the chance to read book four, I was happy to do so! I knew this isn't a true series and I could read the books in any order so I wasn't bothered by jumping back in with A Brit Player. I was rewarded with a steamy second-chance romance that I really enjoyed reading.

Here's the book's description:

Whoever said taking a second chance on your first love was a good idea obviously had nothing to hide…
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. But shagging a guy with a “Bad Decision” tattoo is never a good idea. It’s a warning label. Trust me.
So when a friend coerces me into taking part in a charity dating auction, I jump at the chance to leave London - and my bad decisions - behind for a weekend.
But Max Foster is there and he’s bidding on me like it’s his job. Max isn’t just a guy. He’s THE GUY - my first love who I haven’t seen since the day he left high school to go play professional football in Spain.
I shouldn’t see him again, never mind want to. Because letting him find out about the secret I’ve kept from him these past twelve years? That has “bad decision” written all over it.

My mid-thirties old lady feeling self was a bit...concerned that the initial relationship between Tara and Max happened when they were sixteen. You cannot fully know yourself at sixteen but you can have intense emotional connections. And the pair had that. Of course you're not going to forget someone like that over the last decade plus. Neither Max nor Tara expected the other to be exactly like their teenaged self (ugh can you imagine if you reconnected with someone in your twenties and they were exactly the same as they were in high school?) and they did seem to want to get to know the person they had become. That helped with my "ahh they were so young" feelings. Plus you could just tell they were meant to be together so I put my old lady judginess away and went along for the ride.

There are triggers in this book and two of them I feel I can't mention because they're central to the plot how the story is told. If you want to read this and are really concerned about what they are, please DM me on Instagram! (@KaleyS23, if you're not following already!) I will say they are relationship based and do not include abuse. Other triggers could include feelings of abandonment, being unable to commit, and a second chance at a relationship. 

It had been awhile since I had read a true romance (true = the end goal is a Happily Ever After (or a Happily Ever After For Now) where the two main characters end up together in coupled bliss) that was also on the steamier side. Yes, please, doors open sex scenes. There's a place for all kinds of sex scenes, of course, but sometimes you want to actually see (er, read) the sexual attraction instead of just imagining it. (Which, I guess, you're still technically doing while reading it...) Anywho. St. John Brown wrote the scenes really well and you could feel the pent up emotions between Tara and Max just leaping off the page.

Tara and Max were lovely characters to read about. Sometimes when a friend of a friend type series gets into the later books, the characters might not be as engaging or entertaining as the author might have hoped. I liked reading about both past and present day Tara and Max and were rooting for them, both as a couple and for Tara personally as she worked on her issues. 

I think I know who might be the stars of the next book and I'm excited to see if I'm right.

If you're a romance reader, I encourage you to check out Brenda St. John Brown's novels, especially her Castle Calder series. A Brit Player was just the book I needed at the time and I flew through it. I'm looking forward to finding the time to go back and read the books I've missed and check out some of her others.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Seven Days in June

I know I've said recently that second chance romances have slipped from the top spot on my list of favourite tropes. But I was really intrigued when I head about Tia Williams' Seven Days in June. Sure there's a second chance romance to it but this novel didn't seem like a typical romance. It seemed deeper and more angsty and it made for a read that I was totally invested in.

Here's the book's description:

Brooklynite Eva Mercy is a single mom and bestselling erotica writer, who is feeling pressed from all sides. Shane Hall is a reclusive, enigmatic, award-winning literary author who, to everyone's surprise, shows up in New York.
When Shane and Eva meet unexpectedly at a literary event, sparks fly, raising not only their past buried traumas, but the eyebrows of New York's Black literati. What no one knows is that twenty years earlier, teenage Eva and Shane spent one crazy, torrid week madly in love. They may be pretending that everything is fine now, but they can't deny their chemistry-or the fact that they've been secretly writing to each other in their books ever since.
Over the next seven days in the middle of a steamy Brooklyn summer, Eva and Shane reconnect, but Eva's not sure how she can trust the man who broke her heart, and she needs to get him out of New York so that her life can return to normal. But before Shane disappears again, there are a few questions she needs answered. . .

While the second chance thing had me intrigued, I was also looking forward to reading about a couple of authors. I just love bookishness in my reading material. I'm not totally sure why. I mean, I know I'm totally obsessed with books so that's a huge part of it. But it's kind of...meta, I guess?...to read a story by an author about authors. I loved that Williams threw the characters into so many Black Literati events and had every type of book lover and industry professional depicted. There were the hardcore readers who embraced the fandom, genre authors and literary darlings, publishers, editors, book reviewers and influencers. It was great. It also really made me miss book events!

Eva and Shane's relationship was, in a word, intense. It was off the charts bananas and the truth of what had happened to them fifteen years prior (the first seven days in June) just about broke my heart. It was a tough situation to begin with but then you learn more about it and I was so sad and so infuriated. And the romantic in me was distraught over all the lost time (but the realist in me understood, as the couple did, that maybe they can only work because they're older and aren't reckless teenagers). Their attraction almost seemed far-fetched but the comments from the people around them, like Audre, Eva's daughter, and Cece, their editor, made it clear that they were so much happier and healthier when they were together. That means something.

I don't know if I think all books need to be classified into a specific sub-genre but I still found myself sort of struggling to fit this novel into a box. I wouldn't call it a romance and it's not a rom com - though it does have super steamy romantic elements and it's wicked smart, it's just not laugh out loud funny. It falls into that large, vague contemporary fiction space that gets defined very differently if you're a man or a woman. And, I imagine, if you're a white woman or a Black woman. Regardless of what genre you could shove this into, it's a really good read that hits all the emotions you encounter in life.

I don't have an invisible illness like Eva, who suffered from debilitating migraines, but I do know that those kinds of disabilities (among many, many others) aren't seen in fiction all that often. I hadn't realized until the last several years how important it is to be able to see yourself reflected in the fiction you consume (whether that's books, TV, movies, and so on) because I'm straight, white woman. Eva's illness is a large part of her life, of course, but it doesn't define her and it doesn't define the novel and I think Williams found the perfect balance in this book (she does thank her own migraine doctor in the acknowledgements). 

Seven Days in June is worth a read. It's raw and real. It's sexy and smart. It's probably a few other alliterative adjectives. Tia Williams has written a few other adult novels (and YA novels) that I'm going to have to check out because I really loved her voice and writing style. 

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Hachette Book Group Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Blog Tour: Talk Bookish to Me

I love a good rom com when one of the main characters is in a bookish profession. In Kate Bromley's Talk Bookish to Me, the heroine is a romance author whose first love has unexpectedly shown up in her life after ten years and you can imagine the hijinks that ensue. The story was fun and SO funny and I had a good time reading it.

Here's the book's description:

Kara Sullivan is definitely not avoiding her deadline. After all, it's the week of her best friend's wedding and she's the maid of honor, so she's got lots of responsibilities. As a bestselling romance novelist with seven novels under her belt, she’s a pro and looming deadlines and writer’s block (which she definitely doesn’t have) don't scare her. She's just eager to support Cristina as she ties the knot with Jason.
But who should show up at Cristina and Jason's rehearsal dinner but Kara's college ex-boyfriend, (the gorgeous and infuriating) Ryan? Apparently, he’s one of Jason's childhood friends, and he's in the wedding party, too. Considering neither Kara nor Ryan were prepared to see each other again, it's decidedly a meet-NOT-cute. There is nothing cute about this situation, and a bit of notice to mentally prepare would’ve been nice, Cristina! However, when Kara sits down to write again the next day, her writers' block is suddenly gone. She has to wonder what’s changed. Are muses real…? And is Kara's muse...Ryan?

I really liked Kara. She was smart and funny and passionate about the romance genre. She was clearly a fantastic friend, having two equally amazing best friends, and was confident in herself. I liked that she was thirty and had her life together, for the most part. It's so great to see rom coms exploring heroines of all ages (and all everything, really) especially as I move towards being in my mid-thirties. She has her issues, as do we all, but they weren't manufactured flaws or outrageous - it all made sense. Short story long, she was a really great heroine.

Ryan was also a great hero...to a point. You know how in romances and rom coms there's a moment where something goes TERRIBLY WRONG and the couple has to move past it in order to get their Happily Ever After? I was super pissed at the Terribly Wrong Thing. Like REALLY angry. I understood how they could move past it buuuut it made me not a fan of the character and their actions. It was sort of like, really? Was that really necessary? I mean, of course it was because it's fiction and there needed to be a Terribly Wrong Thing but I kinda wanted a different Thing. Other than the whole Thing, Ryan was a sweetheart. Smart and clearly head over heels in love with...his dog. (And, yes, Kara.) He had a bulldog named Duke who stole every scene he was in. It was adorable.

This does read a bit like a debut novel. There were pieces that didn't really connect but didn't take away from my enjoyment of the overall story. I was also totally over Kara being a bookstagrammer. And I say that as a blogger/bookstagrammer. I didn't think it added to the story and while I can understand bringing a bunch of books to stage at a beautiful location, I also found it to be a bit much. Plus she's a very accomplished author with several novels under her belt. That alone would allow her advanced copies - she didn't need to resort to bookstagram for free books. I'm aware this is an odd thing to be nitpicky about but, personally, it just rubbed me the wrong way. 

Second chance romances have long been a favourite trope of mine but the shine had started to come off them in recent months. Talk Bookish to Me managed to polish the shine. I was so happy to hear about Kara and Ryan's initial relationship and read as they were thrown together again and tried to make things work a second time. It wasn't easy but it was a lot of fun to ride along with them as they figured it out.

I had a great time reading Talk Bookish to Me. Kate Bromley has written a debut novel that delighted me and had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. I liked the bookish vibes and the second chance romance. I'm looking forward to seeing what Bromley writes next!

Where to buy Talk Bookish to Me:
BookShop.org * Harlequin * Barnes & Noble * Amazon * Books-A-Million * Powell’s

Connect with the Author:
Website * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Goodreads

About the Author:
KATE BROMLEY lives in New York City with her husband, son, and her somewhat excessive collection of romance novels (It’s not hoarding if it’s books, right?). She was a preschool teacher for seven years and is now focusing full-time on combining her two great passions – writing swoon-worthy love stories and making people laugh. Talk Bookish to Me is her first novel.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Graydon House Books, in exchange for a review for the purpose of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Second Chance on Cypress Lane

Reese Ryan's Second Chance on Cypress Lane came out last December but it was a really great read for spring. It was light and full of heartfelt moments and told a sweet second chance story.

Here's the book's description:

When a romance gone wrong lands reporter Dakota Jones in the pages of the tabloids, her rising star crashes and burns. Instead of getting the weekend anchor job she'd been promised, she's promptly shown the door. Which leaves her one option: return home to lick her wounds, eat lemon meringue pie, and plot her comeback while actively avoiding the man who once broke her heart.
Dexter Roberts made a huge mistake when he walked away from Dakota, and he's regretted it ever since. So when Dakota returns to Holly Grove Island to regroup and decide what's next, Dex can't pass up the opportunity to win back the love of his life. Now he just needs to convince Dakota to give him a second chance. 

I've always said one of my favourite romance tropes is second chances. I've read a bunch lately (in the last couple of years) that have kind of disappointed me. I have a sneaking suspicion it's because I put too much pressure on the trope and the novels (which aren't bad at all) can't quite live up to my expectations. I think I've also had a stretch where it seems like ALL of them are a second chance after almost 20 years as the couple broke up before going away to college and then reconnect (almost always in their small town) many years later. There are only so many ways that story can go. Ryan's novel didn't surprise me in too many ways but it was really sweet to read as the people around Dakota and Dexter keep telling them that they're clearly meant to get back together and you could see that they were so much happier since they had reconnected.

I really liked the setting. Small town stories can do no wrong in my book. (Don't try to prove me wrong. Let me enjoy my small town charm.) I've never been to North Carolina but it's always seemed like a nice place to visit. I loved that Holly Grove Island was on the upswing and the small town was trying to stay current and restaurants and shops are being revitalized. I can see how great it'll be to read on through the rest of the series that's planned. And I cannot wait for Nick and Em's story. Or Sinclair and Garrett's. Oh, boy, I'm excited.

The steam level in this book was just right for my mood (I'm happy for all steam levels, in case you're new). Doors are open but it's not intensely descriptive. Plus the pair are so totally into each other which makes it SO much better. There's history and there's respect (even if they're a bit wary because their hearts, especially Dakota's, were broken so many years ago) and there's love (even if they haven't admitted it yet). That's pretty sexy.

I had a good time reading Second Chance on Cypress Lane and I'm going to keep my eye out for the next in Reese Ryan's series. I want to revisit this small town and see what everyone's up to!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Merriest Magnolia

Note to self: make sure you check if a book is part of a series before you request it. I hadn't realized that The Merriest Magnolia was actually the second book Michelle Major had written in her Magnolia Sisters series. It wasn't the end of the world but it meant I wasn't prepared for not knowing everything about the characters but expecting to. I got over that fairly quickly but then the rest of the book kind of let me down.

Here's the synopsis:

Home for the holidays has always meant cozy small-town traditions…but this year all that may change…

Carrie Reed has always been known as her hometown Good Girl, yet she still loves Magnolia, North Carolina—after all, this is where her newly discovered sisters, Avery and Meredith, live. But Christmas is on its way and with it, her first love. Dylan Scott is back in town and planning on changing everything she’s ever loved about Magnolia with his real estate development project…but not without a fight.

Returning to Magnolia was never in Dylan’s plans—it holds too many reminders that he would never be good enough, and memories of the girl he left behind. But when a tragedy leaves him guardian of a grieving teenager, Dylan returns, ready to remake the town into something only money can buy, small-town traditions be damned. But with Carrie determined to stop him, he finds himself wondering if redeeming his teenage reputation is worth losing out on his second chance at love.

In a surprise to no one who knows what romance novel tropes I like, I requested this book because of the second chance love story. If I'm being honest though, I'm starting to wonder why. Because usually there's major heartbreak and massive miscommunication and then lots of anger when they see each other again after 10+ years. So, I think I need to reevaluate things and take a closer look at which second chance stories I am actually drawn to. And maybe not get distracted by festive storylines!

Dylan was, quite frankly, an idiot. I can forgive running off when he was 18 (ish?) because no one really knows themselves at that age. He should have just talked to Carrie because he was stupid to think she was too good for him (not to say that she wasn't good...she was. And perhaps was too good for him. But that's for HER to decide.) and there was a lot of hurt and emotional issues that could have been avoided if he hadn't just taken off. He was holding onto too much anger about what her father did to him and the town and couldn't see that he was acting in quite a similar manner when he came storming back into town wanting to take over things and make them "better" without even taking the time to figure out what the town actually needed. Newsflash: it wasn't him and his fancy schmancy ideas. Ahem. Yeah, I didn't like Dylan at all and that did not help me like this story.

Carrie was a very good person. Too good. She had turned into a doormat because her father emotionally manipulated her. I feel like I was missing a few pieces since I hadn't read the first book where she and her half-sisters find out about each other after their father's death. He seemed like a real piece of work and I hated that she lost out on so much of her own life because he and his ego were too fragile to let her go and experience things on her own. And he discouraged her painting because she was better than him! What parent does that?? She did have a typical romance heroine journey and found a backbone and rekindled her love of painting, so I appreciated that. But it was hard to get over my anger with her father...and Dylan...and even her mother for leaving her with her dad. 

I did, surprisingly, love the fact that Dylan was now the guardian of his late cousin's teenager (obviously I was not a fan of people dying and the kid having his life turned upside down). I was more invested in Sam and his storyline than I was the romance between Dylan and Carrie. I liked seeing as he opened up to Carrie, and then Dylan, and started to learn that there were still people in the world who cared about him and were there for him. I said it was surprising that I liked this storyline because I'm not into single parent stories. I don't want kids and have a hard time connecting with romances where the hero or heroine has kids. But there was something about this one that got me right in the feels.

Ultimately, The Merriest Magnolia did not leave me feeling very...well...merry. Michelle Major's latest novel wasn't a bad one. It just wasn't for me. Might be worth a read if you're looking for a hit of small town Christmas and half-sisters becoming the best of friends but if you already have a TBR pile as tall as a Christmas tree, I'd maybe give this one a miss.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Harlequin, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: All Stirred Up

I've been getting more into audiobooks this year so NetGalley's advanced listening copies have been great. I happened to stumble upon Brianne Moore's debut novel All Stirred Up and was immediately intrigued because it's an updated version of Persuasion, my favourite of Jane Austen's novels, and it was set in Edinburgh - a place I had visited just in time at the beginning of March this year. I was sold. And when I was done? Thoroughly delighted.

Here's the synopsis:

Susan Napier's family once lived on the success of the high-end restaurants founded by her late grandfather. But bad luck and worse management has brought the business to the edge of financial ruin. Now it's up to Susan to save the last remaining restaurant: Elliot's, the flagship in Edinburgh. But what awaits Susan in the charming city of Auld Reekie is more than she bargained for. Chris Baker, her grandfather's former protégé - and her ex-boyfriend - is also heading to the Scottish capital.

After finding fame in New York as a chef and judge of a popular TV cooking competition, Chris is returning to his native Scotland to open his own restaurant. Although the storms have cleared after their intense and rocky breakup, Susan and Chris are redrawn into each other's orbit - and their simmering attraction inevitably boils over. As Chris's restaurant opens to great acclaim and Susan tries to haul Elliot's back from the brink, the future brims with new promise.

But darkness looms as they find themselves in the crosshairs of a gossip blogger eager for a juicy story - and willing to do anything to get it. Can Susan and Chris reclaim their lost love, or will the tangled past ruin their last hope for happiness?

It's been a few years since I've read Persuasion (I just checked Goodreads...I read it last in 2013) so the particulars of the novel are a bit fuzzy. I do recall some of the main plot points so I could see where Moore was honouring the story in certain parts. I don't think you have to know Austen's work to appreciate this story and I also think diehard Austen fans can enjoy the way Moore updated the story for her novel. Though I will say I would have much rather had a letter from Chris instead of a text message. If you know, you know.

The reason I love Persuasion so much is because it's a second chance romance, just like All Stirred Up, and that's one of my favourite tropes. It's been years since Chris and Susan have seen each other and you know right from the get-go that there's unfinished business between them. There were so many contributing factors to their break up that neither of them had the full story. They both felt hurt (Chris was justified to feel as such and Susan knew that her hurt was self-inflicted) and that kept them from communicating with each other. I got ever so slightly annoyed when they just refused to talk things through but that's the nature of rom coms, my friends. They're going to do frustrating things! I was rooting for them the whole time because I couldn't wait for them to get over the bullshit in their past and finally get back together. I needed that Happily Ever After!

As I alluded to at the top, I listened to this one as an audiobook. The narrator, Mary Jane Wells, did a pretty good job switching characters and her male Scottish accent didn't annoy me (which is what happened with another audiobook I listened to earlier this year). Since I pretty much only listen to audiobooks on my commute, I found myself looking for ways to get more reading time in. A walk after work when my partner had to work late? Done. (That was before the time change of course. Now it's dark before I even get home. *sobs*) Doing the dishes? Perfect time to listen. Playing mindless games on my phone? More listening time! I didn't want to stop!

This novel was a love letter to Edinburgh. Moore wasn't born there but you can tell in her descriptions that she absolutely, totally, completely loves the city. I had goosebumps as I listened to the description of Susan flying into the city then again as she walked around her new neighbourhood and mentioned streets and monuments I had seen myself back in March. There's a scene where she climbs to the top of Calton Hill that had me swooning because I could completely picture where she was (so much so that I shared my pictures from my trip on Instagram after finishing the novel). 

There were many reasons that may have made me love All Stirred Up more than the average reader but I was so completely thrilled with Brianne Moore's novel that I don't even care. I loved it and it made me feel so happy. That is what I look for in almost every read, even more so this year, and I'm so pleased I had a chance to read this novel.

*An advanced listening copy was provided by the publisher, Dreamscape Media, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*