May 15-18

Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man.

Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky

Review : I really loved this book it was cute and funny and I loved the characters. This is about olive she's a twin and her sister is getting married and olive is happy for her but she's annoyed she has to deal with Ethan Dane's older brother. But the reception doesn't go to well when everyone but Ethan and olive get some kind of shellfish poisoning and Ethan and olive have to take their honeymoon. Ethan and olive don't get along she thinks it has to do with him judging her eating cheese curds . They have to pretend to be married on this honeymoon and then olive runs into her new boss and Ethan and olive have dinner with her new boss and his wife . Then they run into Ethan ex girlfriend and her fiance very awkward. Olive starts enjoying Ethans company and hes not what she thought he was . Ethan ends up drinking a lot and ends up kissing olive he tells her he likes her and apparently Dane told Ethan when they first met not to bother with olive . Ethan and olive hook up and then they end up start dating but the problem is ethan let it be clear he never planned those trips Dane did and he was cheating on ami . When they get back home olive tells her boss the truth and he let's her go and then Dane hits on her and Ethan doesn't believe her and either does ami when olive tells her and then Ethan breaks up with her . Ami finds texts on Dane phone . Ami invites all the girls Dane has been cheating on her and Ethan shows up and Ethan is trying to get her back and he shows up at the restaurant she's working at and they get back together. Two years later they are back at Maui with her sister and her new boyfriend and Ethan plans on proposing. And he does kinda and it was so sweet so them .
Quotes:“I can appreciate my body in a bikini and still want to set fire to the patriarchy.”

the only coherent thought that comes to mind is how insulting it is that eyelashes like his were wasted on Satan’s Errand Boy”

Rumor has it your dad brought her flowers and she pulled off every petal and used them to spell PUTA in the snow.”

Ethan Thomas is doing something weird to my emotions.”

knew he was a book lover, but to be the same kind of book lover I am? It makes my insides melt.”

Feb 14 - April 10

Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen -- especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.

Review : I loved this book it was funny cute and sad and I loved the characters this is about Kristen and Josh . Josh hits Kristen's car when she's going to meet Josh cause her best friend is engaged to a firefighter and its family day . Kristen and Josh end up hitting it off and Josh ends up being a contractor for Kristens dog business. Kristen can't have kids she is getting surgery after Sloans wedding her boyfriend Tyler who is in the military is supposed to be moving in soon . Josh and Kristen get closer and they both like each other but Josh wants kids and she can't have them so she doesn't want him to settle . Then her boyfriend of two years breaks up with her on voice-mail he reenlisted. Kristen and Josh hook up but she only wants it to be a hook up thing no feelings but Josh wants to be with her and love her and they both love each other . Then tragedy happens Brandon sloans fiancee gets in a crash a drunk driver hits him and he's in the hospital and then he dies . Josh found out ways for him and Kristen to have kids and then they get married I was sobbing .They go to the doctor to schedule her surgery and it turns out she's pregnant. It skips to two years later they have a son named Oliver Brandon so cute loved this book.

Quotes: “I already know how I'm going to die"..."How?" I asked. "Spider bite. Or being sarcastic at the wrong time

“I’d found my person.
She was the foundation. She was the thing that all other things are built on. Everything was secondary to being with her. It didn’t matter where I worked or if I liked my job, where I lived or how many kids I had. My happiness, my sanity, my well-being – it all started with her. And now that I knew that, I didn’t want to just be her boyfriend – I wanted everything.”

“You know what I think the trick to dealing with family is? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.”

“What?” I said, spreading strawberry jam on my toast.

“Marrying your best friend.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You marry your best friend, and at family gatherings you deal with your shitty relatives together. You laugh about it and have each other’s backs. Share looks and text each other from across the room when everyone else is being an asshole. And nobody else really matters because you have your own universe.”

He held my eyes for a moment. “That’s what I want. I want someone to be my universe.”

He’d have no problem finding that. No problem at all. Josh could have any woman he wanted. After all, he was the sun. Warm and vital. He would be the center of a big family one day, just like he wanted, and they’d all adore him.

And I was just some passing comet. Momentarily distracting. Useless and unimportant. I was nice to look at, fun to observe, but I’d never give life or be the center of anything.

I’d streak through and be gone, and Josh would forget me before we knew it.”

I really really do not like romance and yet I still read some of it because I am sure I will find something that will knock my socks off and will make me change my opinion on the genre . So far that has not happened.Just the plot of most romances are chessy to me and I get bored with them more likely than not. I thought the summary for this one sounded different and fun so I thought I would give it a chance. While is not all the worst romance I have ever read, in fact it is very from that, it still had certain cliches that drive me crazy and are sadly some cliches that are just particular to romance in general. I should know going into a romance that there are going to be certain cliches in it that will drive me crazy or that I will just not like . Yet here we are. I don't overall think cliches are the end of the world and depending on how they are used can be interesting. Then there are cliches that to me that are just cringy and no matter what the author does it will just not work for me.

Will get into that but first want to talk about what I did like about this book because again did overall enjoy it. Enough so that I am going to give the second in the series a shot. I did overall like the characters in this. They felt mostly liked flawed/real people. There were certain things about them that bugged me and will get into that in the things I didn't like section. Since in romance you should care about the characters felt this book did a good job of that. I also liked that this one focused on an already established relationship instead of strangers to lovers. Way way too many romance novels turn into insta love fests and it was nice to see trying to find love again in a not so perfect already established relationship. The writing overall was pretty well done there were some cases , and again will get into that in the things I didn't like section, but didn't find myself hating the writing or rolling my eyes while reading , which has what turns me off from a lot of romance. I also liked that the side characters were pretty well established . Too often in romance side characters are just there for the sack of being there. They get quick mentions every now and again but after the two main leads get together they are too soon forgotten . That are the side characters are just there and do nothing for the story. Felt like in this that all the side characters had personalities of their own.

Now to what I didn't like. What drew me into this was of course the book club element and to be honest just felt like that aspect was underused or just not used in the way I was expecting. Just felt at times it was just there and more often honestly forgotten about . Mentioning that is there are bits of the book that are from the book that that Gavin is reading. Books inside books can be done well and they can be done poorly . For this book felt like they were just sort of there . I would have loved if those chapters had underlines or sections marked out so it felt like you were reading Gavin's copy of the book. Just something. Otherwise they just felt sort of there again and oh look similar things in the book are actually happening to the characters. Honestly if you choose to skip those sections you really would miss anything and that is the thing . If you put something in it has to serve a purpose . Now Gavin commented on the book in the other chapters but again felt like you could read his comment without reading the sections from the book that came before and still been ok.

The sex..Oh ...just yeah. I get that sex scenes for romance and erotica are written way different but the sex scenes in romance is one of the top reasons I tend to avoid the genre. They were ok for what they were and thankfully they were not as cringy as they could have been and thankfully the author did not overdo it on euphemisms. Seriously drives me mad when authors go out of their way to avoid saying cock for instance. Young adult I get a bit more but seriously if a book is for adults I don't get the need for the overly flowery language. Least not in this day in age. Just it is not sexy to me personally and just feel it is silly. There were a few times here and there so the author is not totally immune to it but they were not so overused that they were distracting. Still even so the sex scenes were just sort of juvenile. I really disliked that these two adults sort of acted more like teenagers while having sex. And just some shocked dialogue in the middle of the sex scenes were so bad , ( The oh god's and oh fuck sort of things) Again ...just I will never get this sort of stuff. I don't even get it in romance where one or both have never had sex before. Especially not when it is adults. Just sadly see it too often and it is always distracting to me.

Another thing about most and this romance as well that are just not my cup of tea is the need to repeat over and over how attracted they both are to the other. Once or twice ..fine. Just like the reader should get that the characters are attracted to each other without having to have it repeated to it over and over. As stated before the characters didn't always feel like adults to me . Certain things just made them feel more like teens than two grown adults with kids. Thankfully it didn't happen so much that it ruined my reading experience but it is there from time to time.

Also the big issue in this book and how it is resolved just doesn't really make much logical sense. At the start of the book and hell in the summary , a big fact is made that Thea has been faking it in bed. Now with the book I get Gavin being able to say "the right" thing as way to make his wife fall back in love with me but I just don't buy it that chessy romance books would turn you from not realizing you can't make your wife cum to turning you into a sex god, which by the end is what happens. Now I do buy that books on sex (not romance books but actually books about sex, sex positions etc ) can help couples try things that can make them better lovers . Here,though, is the thing you actually have to try the things out a few times. Not be oh I read this thing in a book omg I am going to try this and be amazing at it. If that is the case than go you . Just Gavin is given a month to make his wife not want to divorcee him and again he goes from not being able to make her cum to by the end making her cum several times in a single love making session. Yeah, sorry not sorry , don't buy it. Not with what he had to work with and also because at the point they had been close but had not had sex at all during the course of the book til that moment.

Another thing that bugged me is that toward the end Gavin and Thea have a pretty serious fight to the point that Gavin leaves again. Now to be fair my issue is not about the fight. Thought it was pretty bold of the author to have a fight at the end. Shows that even if things seem ok that they are never perfect. No , my issue is how the fight is resolved because it is resolved with the romance cliche that I personally hate the most :The grand gesture. It's that scene in a romance novel, though, more so in romantic comedies when one of the main characters is running through the airport to catch the flight the other is on or running to the church to stop a wedding . To me they make no logical sense, they are stupid to watch and read and just feel lazy. There is a tiny joke about it made by one of the characters, but still Gavin and his group of friends are able to stop a flight so Gavin can get off the plane so he can go to Thea's father's wedding to whatever wife he marrying (the father has remarried quite a few times) . Again I get that a lot of things in romance don't always make sense but no matter how it is written I will also hate/dislike these sort of grand gesture moments. I don't find them sweet more so I find these stupid and annoying.

Overall though even with the things I did not like was still one of the better romance novels that I have read. I still wish the actual book club aspect had played a bigger role. Am still interested to read the next one in the series.

December 27-January 2

Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.

Morgan is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps. Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.

With warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.

While struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets, resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back together.

Review: This book is beautiful I love colleen Hoover's books and this is now one of my new favorites of hers it's so raw and beautiful. This is a duel POV book about a mother and daughter

Its starts out when morgan the mother figures out she's pregnant at 17 and she's at this party with her boyfriend his friend and her sister . There are these moments she has with Jonah that she feels something there . Then we get to where her daughter Clara is 16 and she is driving and sees this guy she has a crush on Miller and she gives him a ride home . Tragedy happens when there is a car crash Chris and Jenny were in a crash they were in the car together and they were having an affair Jonah and Morgan were at the hospital when they found this out they died and Morgan is crushed and hurt and doesn't know what to do . Clara spends her dad's funeral getting high with Miller her mom finds her and she's pissed . Clara is so angry at herself cause she thinks her aunt and father dying is her fault . Jonah snaps one day and brings Elijah his son to Morgan saying he cant do this anymore cause Elijah isnt his kid its Chris's kid what the hell . Clara knocks some sence in him and tells him to pick up his kid and Jonah does . Miller has a girlfriend but she ended up breaking up with him but then they get back together but Clara likes Miller but he keeps sending her these mix signals and she tells him to figure it out so he does and he breaks up with his girlfriend and him and Clara talk and kiss and they finally get together hes liked her since he was 15 . Jonah and Morgan have this moment again where they almost kiss . Miller and Clara work on film project together. Jonah kisses Morgan and clara walked in on them and thinks they were having an affair and then Clara calls Miller to have him come over cause she wants to have sex with Miller to make her mom angry I dont see the reasoning in that . Clara gets drunk and tells her mom she is the reason that her aunt and Dad are dead she asks clara the next day and Clara tries to hide back the tears but she tells her mom but Morgan told her that her dad was driving and then Clara asks why they were in the car together and figures it out they were having an affair she's angry and sad she asks her mom to drive her to Miller and she does Morgan goes back to the movie theater and talks with clara . Jonah and Morgan talk and are together officially and Elijah says his first word . Clara and Miller show there film and it's weird but funny and Jonah likes it . But then miller shows Clara his promposal and when he first fell in love with her it was sweet and adorable. Millers gramps has been joking he was leaving miller air but actually is air to land and he can go to his college he wants to now I loved this book .

Quotes:I wonder if humans are the only living creatures that ever feel hollow inside. I don’t understand how my body
can be full of everything bodies are full of—bones and muscles and blood and organs—yet my chest sometimes
feels vacant, as if someone could scream into my mouth and it would echo inside of me.

don’t know if Miller realizes what his attention (or lack thereof) can do to a person. When he looks at you, he
does it in such a way that it makes you feel like the most interesting thing he’s ever seen. He puts his entire body
into the look, somehow.

He’s got a sucker in his mouth, which isn’t unusual. I find his addiction to suckers amusing, but it also gives off
a cocky vibe. I don’t feel like insecure guys would walk around eating candy as much as he does, but he always
shows up to school eating a sucker and usually has one in his mouth at the end of lunch.

It’s unfair how one event . . . one second . . . can shake the world around you. Toss everything on its head. Ruin
every happy moment that led up to that earth-shattering second.

He waves a hand toward Elijah. “He smiled for the first time tonight.” He pauses, as if what he’s about to say
next is too painful to put into words. “Elijah—my son—has Chris’s fucking smile.”

For some reason, sadness in music eases the sadness in my soul. It’s like the worse the heartache in a song is, the
better I feel. Dramatic songs are like a drug, I imagine. Really bad for you, but they make you feel good.

“I’ve never hated watermelon Jolly Ranchers. I only saved them because I knew they were your favorite.”

It makes me sad, because if there’s one thing Jonah Sullivan shouldn’t have to worry about, it’s the way I feel
about him

“So? I guess you finally saw the video of when Miller fell in love with you?” I laugh and lean into Miller. “Your
grandson is a romantic.” Gramps laughs. “No, my grandson is a nitwit. Took him three years to finally ask you
out.” “Patience is a virtue,” Miller says.

Dec 24-27
Dear Santa,

Please stop by my house and pick up your suit. If you thought I was going to run it to the dry cleaners for you after you left it on my bedroom floor, you’ve got another think coming.

Best,
Noel Winter

Review: I loved the last of this series it was really cute .Noel's coworker hired her brother to be Santa. An older lady at her work is trying to hook Noel with her grandson . So santa shows up and hits on Noel after they go for hot chocolate and then they hook up and she runs out of her own house oh god . Her coworker tells her she's sorry that her brother ditched on the Santa event and Noel is confused but it turns out the guy Noel slept with and liked was the womans grandson and his name is Theodore but lets Noel call him teddy and they decide to start dating . A year later ginger is married and pregnant Holly is engaged and Noel is wondering when Teddy is going to so she asks him and he proposes it was adorable.
Quotes :
It’s also clear why Jillian sent the Santa padding along with the costume because her brother does not have the body to play Santa. Unless it was a male stripper version of Santa—

I ask Teddy if I can see his North Pole

Perhaps I could hire him to be my sex elf, then he’d have a job and I’d have a sex elf.