Fake it Till You Bake it

By: Jamie Wesley
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Pages: 336

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I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Jada Townsend-Matthews is the most reviled woman in America after turning down a proposal on a reality dating show. When she comes home to lick her wounds, Jada finds herself working at San Diego's newest cupcake bakery, Sugar Blitz, alongside the uptight owner and professional football player Donovan Dell.

When a reporter mistakenly believes Jada and Donovan are an item, they realize they can use the misunderstanding to their advantage to help the struggling bakery and rehabilitate Jada's image. Faking a relationship should be simple, but sometimes love is the most unexpected ingredient.

Fake it Till You Bake It is a sweet confection of a novel, the perfect story to curl up with and enjoy with a cupcake on the side.

First Impressions

The cover is cute though nothing really special and I found the title to be a little cheesy. I probably would’ve passed this one over in the library or bookstore. However, when I read the summary I was immediately into it. Fake dating? Football player who owns a cupcake shop? Love it.

What I thought

This novel wasn’t great, nor was it bad.

Jada was on a season of (essentially) The Bachelor, where she turned down the Bachelor’s proposal in the last episode. As a result, the whole world hates her. Donovan is a football player for the LA Knights, a team owned by Jada’s grandma, who opened a cupcake shop with two of his teammates. Jada’s life is a bit lost so her grandma asks Donovan to hire her. They immediately don’t get along but get stuck in a situation in which Jada claims Donovan is the guy she met before going on the show and was the reason she turned down the proposal in hopes that America will like her again.

I liked this story but didn’t love it. I enjoyed the banter between Donovan and Jada but I felt like the chemistry was more being told to me than I was really feeling it. I liked Jada. I felt like she was strong, a little immature, but not obnoxious. Donovan fell a little flat to me at times. I liked when he was bickering with Jada but I never felt the passion from him. He claimed to be passionate about the cupcake shop but all he cared about were the numbers.

I do wish that Donovan had had a little more pushback about the fake dating too. He just immediately gave in. I will say that I liked how a lot of their problems were resolved realistically. They talked to each other and asked questions about miscommunications rather than just assuming things. However, that meant that the conflict (because as we know, all romance novels need a conflict), didn’t occur until the 90% mark and was so dumb. I would’ve much rather they left that entire part out because I think it ended up leaving a bad taste in my mouth for this book and coloring the rest of my opinion.

Honestly, I was leaning more towards giving this book 4 stars until the end which dropped it to a 3. Jada is a strong female character and I enjoyed reading her journey about finding herself. I didn’t dislike Donovan but their chemistry didn’t pop for me. I do look forward to reading stories about his other two teammate (because you know they’re coming) and I hope they end up being a little more exciting.

It's Not Summer Without You

By: Jenny Han
Published Year: 2011
Publisher: 275
Pages: Simon & Schuster

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Last year, all of Belly’s dreams came true and the thought of missing a summer in Cousins Beach was inconceivable. But like the rise and fall of the ocean tide, things can change-- just like that. Suddenly the time she's always looked forward to most is something she dreads. And when Jeremiah calls to say Conrad has disappeared, Belly must decide how she will spend this summer: chasing after the boy she loves, or finally letting him go.

First Impressions

I like the color of this cover better than the first book. I was excited to read this one too as I had never read the rest of this trilogy.

What I thought

In case you aren’t aware, I have been reading these book as a part of a book club with The Bookshelf Thomasville. You can read my review of the first book in the series, here. There will be spoilers to the first book, so if you don’t want any, skip this review.

This book starts the summer after the first book. Susannah has been dead about two months and Belly and Conner have kind of sort of broken up though they weren’t really dating in the first place. Jeremiah calls Belly because Conner has disappeared from college and his summer school midterms are coming up. They both go to try to find him, and when they do, they get to have a little bit of one last summer at the cabin.

The second story is definitely darker than the first. The way that Han writes grief felt very relatable to me and even though Belly still was still on the immature side. The romance again was the weakest part of the book for me. I was super confused as to whether or not Conner and Belly had every even dated and I’m still unclear as to how Conner actually even feels about Belly.

This book, instead of alternating with chapters in the past alternates with some chapters from Jeremiah’s perspective. It was a bit weird but did help to provide some perspective and make it so that his feelings didn’t feel like they 100% came out of nowhere.

I definitely was left with some questions regarding Susannah’s death and how affairs were handled afterwards, but even though it contributes to a main story point, it’s not essential to the telling of the story.

I enjoyed this book but I think because it wasn’t as light and fun and also was a little confusing I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the first. I am looking forward to getting to discuss this with a group of people and hear their thoughts on everything that happened. I’m definitely a little confused as to where this story is going to continue in the next book, but I’m looking forward to it!

The Diamond Eye

By: Kate Quinn
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: William Morrow and Company
Pages: 435

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kiev (now known as Kyiv), wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son--but Hitler's invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper--a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC--until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila's past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

First Impressions

Another one of my auto-read authors. Kate Quinn is one of the queens of historical fiction, especially stories centered around female heroes. I didn’t know this book was coming out until right before the publication date. I was excited to see this one was a little shorter than the Rose Code and was extremely excited to read it.

What I thought

This might be my favorite book of the year so far. I flew through this one.

Mila is a Russian sniper in World War II with a body count of over 300. She’s also a single mother, graduate student, and in hear early to mid 20s. When she racks up more kills she finally gets recognized and is sent to America as a part of Russian propaganda to gain more support from the Americans towards the end of WWII.

I flew through this book even though it was over 400 pages. I spent two solid days just reading and not putting it down. Mila’s character was fascinating and seeing her grow from a helpless young mother barely over 20 dealing with her mean not so quite ex-husband to a fierce independent woman who starts to put herself first and changes the way you view snipers.

The story alternates between Mila’s past, right before the war began, and when she is at the student delegation in the US in 1942. The past storyline moves until it catches up to when Mila is in America in 1942 and then continues with this timeline through the final quarter of the story. I will admit that the past and watching Mila rise through the ranks was a little more enjoyable to me than when she was in America. Not in a way that had me wanting to read through the American storyline quickly to get back to the past, but just slightly more interesting to me.

Quinn does such an amazing job finding and highlighting these female heroes of war. I love how she includes pictures at the end of the story and then explains in the author’s note what bits she changed. This story just immediately sucked me in and I wish that we had more real accounts from Mila that weren’t influenced by Russian propaganda. I think this may have become my 2nd favorite of Quinn’s novels. I don’t know if anything will top The Alice Network, but I definitely enjoyed these more than The Rose Code, which I still loved but was a bit long for my tastes.

Adult Assembly Required

By: Abbi Waxman
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 400

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When Laura Costello moves to Los Angeles, trying to escape an overprotective family and the haunting memories of a terrible accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. (She’s pretty sure she didn’t start that fire — right?) She also doesn't expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team from ignominy… but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura isn’t really sure she’s cut out for this adulting thing. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly and Impossibly Handsome Bob aren't sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work for them.

First Impressions

I always enjoy Waxman’s books and enjoyed The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. When I saw this book was going to go back into Nina’s world, I was intrigued. This cover to me is a bit meh. It’s not bad but it’s not eye catching.

What I thought

I felt the same way about this book as I did about my first impression of the cover.

Laura has moved across the country from New York to California to go to grad school. When within the first week of her moving her apartment burns down, she wanders into a book store and finds herself pulled into Polly and Nina’s world.

My biggest issue with this book was that I found it very repetitive and nothing seemed to happen. I liked all of the characters and I loved reuniting with older ones, but the story overall was a miss for me.

Two years prior to moving to California, Laura was in a horrible car accident which has caused her to have panic attacks. As a result, she does not currently drive and even struggles to be inside of a car. When she finds herself homeless, she’s lucky to run into Polly who lives in a house with 4 (sort of 5) other roommates. Luckily, one of the rooms recently opened up and when she moves in she’s immediately attracted to another one of the residents, Bob.

One thing that threw me off with this story was that it would randomly and briefly change perspectives. For example, sometimes mid-scene we would get Polly’s perspective, that of the cat’s, or even Bob’s. Even though it was mostly Laura’s story, I feel like these switches in perspective, rather than filling out the story, made it feel like it was less than. I didn’t feel like it was truly Laura’s story but instead, every one else’s equally with Laura just being the most common perspective taker.

I also got a little irritated by how flippant Laura seemed about her trauma and mental health. She was willing to spill about how terrible her accident was immediately and without care, but then also didn’t want to burden anyone with her panic attacks. I also was a bit thrown off with how easily everything was fixed. We were told in passing that she had started to go to a therapist and then that was it.

The characters in this book were the saving grace. The story was a bit of a nothing and I don’t feel like I know any more about these people than before I started. It falls oddly between a romance and a contemporary fiction without quite enough from either category. While I enjoyed it while I read it (minus the repetitiveness and the naiveté of Laura and Bob), the longer I sit with it the more it kind of drives me nuts. Waxman has other, much better written novels, so I recommend looking into those rather than this one.

Something Wilder

By: Christina Lauren
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Gallery Books
Pages: 384

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I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Growing up the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father Duke Wilder left Lily without much patience for the profession…or much money in the bank. But Lily is nothing if not resourceful, and now uses Duke’s coveted hand-drawn maps to guide tourists on fake treasure hunts through the red rock canyons of Utah. It pays the bills but doesn’t leave enough to fulfill her dream of buying back the beloved ranch her father sold years ago, and definitely not enough to deal with the sight of the man she once loved walking back into her life with a motley crew of friends ready to hit the trails. Frankly, Lily would like to take him out into the wilderness—and leave him there.

Leo Grady knew mirages were a thing in the desert, but they’d barely left civilization when the silhouette of his greatest regret comes into focus in the flickering light of the campfire. Ready to leave the past behind him, Leo wants nothing more than to reconnect with his first and only love. Unfortunately, Lily Wilder is all business, drawing a clear line in the sand: it’s never going to happen.

But when the trip goes horribly and hilariously wrong, the group wonders if maybe the legend of the hidden treasure wasn’t a gimmick after all. There’s a chance to right the wrongs—of Duke’s past and their own—but only if Leo and Lily can confront their history and work together. Alone under the stars in the isolated and dangerous mazes of the Canyonlands, Leo and Lily must decide whether they’ll risk their lives and hearts on the adventure of a lifetime.

First Impressions

It’s a Christina Lauren book. Does it need a first impression? I do really like the cover and the summary sounded right up my alley, especially since I went to Utah last summer.

What I thought

This book was so different from their other books and I really liked it. It felt refreshing.

Lilly runs a tour company along the Outlaw Trail in Canyonlands in Moab, Utah. When Leo and his friends show up as one of the groups for the tour, both he and Lilly are shocked since they haven’t seen each other for over 10 years. The last time they saw each other, Leo had been living with Lilly at her family’s ranch when he got a phone call his mother was in an accident. He left to go take care of her and then Lilly never heard from him again.

This book is so much more action packed than any of the other Christina Lauren novels. It felt more like an adventure novel with a side of romance than a true romance novel. Which, I definitely didn’t mind, but just was a bit different than their previous ones I’ve read.

Admittedly, this was not my favorite couple of theirs. I didn’t feel the spark as much as I usually do. I don’t know if this is because the adventure was so front and center that I was more interested in the mystery and adventure part of the story that I didn’t connect to the romance, or if it just wasn’t fleshed out enough. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Lilly and Leo, I just didn’t find myself believing they had this palpable chemistry that couldn’t keep them apart.

What I did really like about this book was that there were twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. So much happened in this book and I enjoyed every crazy moment.

It’s a Christina Lauren book. What else do I need to say? I loved the adventure and their story telling is always so fun and easy to read. I got sucked in and loved that it took place somewhere I have visited. While it’s not one of my favorites of theirs, keep in mind it’s up against some stiff competition. I hold Christina Lauren books to a high standard to in order to get 5 stars everything needs to click perfectly. I enjoyed every moment I read this book, but felt that if the romance wasn’t there, I would’ve enjoyed this story just as much and not found anything lacking.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

By: Jenny Han
Published Year: 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Pages: 276

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): When each summer begins, Belly leaves her school life behind and escapes to Cousins Beach, the place she has spent every summer of her life. Not only does the beach house mean home away from home, but her favorite people are there: Susannah, her mother's best friend, and her sons, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has been chasing Conrad for as long as she can remember, and more than anything, she hopes this summer will be different. Despite distractions from a new guy named Cam and lingering looks from Conrad's brother, Jeremiah, Belly's heart belongs to Conrad. Will he offer his to her? Will this be the summer that changes everything?

Summer Book Club

My friend Stephanie has discovered a local bookstore in South Georgia called The Bookshelf. They often do these book clubs where you can buy a collection of books and then they do Zoom meetings to discuss them. Stephanie did one last year which was a year long YA book club. This summer they are doing the Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy and Stephanie asked if I wanted to join. Since I have read and enjoyed Jenny Han’s other books and I believe read the first one around when it first came out, I decided to join her.

The first story follows Belly as she returns to her mom’s friend’s summer home like she does every summer. She, along with her mother and brother go to their mother’s best friend’s summer home every summer. Susannah has two boys around the same age as Belly and Steven and Belly has always been in love with the eldest of the two. But this summer, the brother’s notice her for the first time as something more than an annoying little sister.

I did enjoy this book and flew through it, even though there were some flaws. Keep in mind that I am not 16 and therefore a little older than the intended audience. I honestly didn’t understand the appeal of Conrad at all. He was moody, bratty, rude, and pretty much ignored Belly. Jeremiah was so much better and Belly didn’t care to give him the time of day. I also thought it was an interesting choice to give Belly a brother but then write him out within the first few chapters.

I enjoyed the family drama a lot more than the romance side. Han did a great job with the friendships and relationships as well as the ups and downs of growing up. While the romance was a little bit of a weak spot for me, it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. I am excited to read the next two books in the series and see where everything goes.

This was definitely closer to 3.5 stars for me. I really enjoyed getting to talk about this book with others and see whether or not they had similar opinions. It also was interesting getting to hear the parts that stuck out more for others than for me. I wasn’t as annoyed with Belly’s immaturity as others were, but I also was more annoyed with Conrad than some other people were. I’m looking forward to reading and discussing the next book a well as watching the show that is coming out this summer. It will be interesting to see how they modernize it because, even though the book was published in 2009, it very much has a 90s feel to it.

Book Club May 2022- The Cartographers

By: Peng Shepherd
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: 392
Pages: William Morrow

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Summary (Provided by Goodreads): What is the purpose of a map?

Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn’t seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.

But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable and exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence... because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way.

But why?

To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret and discovers the true power that lies in maps...

From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father’s belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret—one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family’s dark history.

What I thought

Oh man… this book was so good. It’s so hard to talk about it without giving anything away and I really don’t want to give anything away.

After the passing of her father, who she hasn’t talked to in 7 years, Nell discovers the map that caused their rift in the secret compartment of her dad’s desk.

This is a great mix of mystery with magical realism. I flew through this book and was sucked in from the very beginning. As someone who often judges mysteries based off of whether or not I could figure them out, I would say that I figured out parts but not all, so it still won me over.

I really don’t know how to review this book without giving things away other than to say that it’s unlike anything I’ve read before. Nell is an interesting character who is trying to figure out the job her dad was last working on before his death and through that process learns so much more. There’s also a secondary band of characters but, if I talk about them, that takes away some of the mystery and parts of the story that I enjoyed finding out as I read it.

Basically, this is going to be the shortest review with me saying trust me and just read this book.

What Book Club Thought

All of us loved this one. We had so much to say about it because each of us enjoyed different parts. We did break down some of the confusing parts, so it was nice to know other people that had read it for that point. The interesting part is that I wouldn’t have called this a universal novel based off of the summary, but considering that all of us loved it and we have slightly different tastes. I think what makes this a good book club book is that sometimes when everyone loves a book, it doesn’t lead to a lot of discussion but this one did. There was a lot to break down and analyze as well as just a lot that we enjoyed that we wanted to express. I cannot recommend this book enough and look forward to reading more by Shepherd in the future.

Scarlet Carnation

By: Laila Ibrahim
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Pages: 314

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I received this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this novel.

Summary (Provided by Goodreads): In an early twentieth-century America roiling with racial injustice, class divides, and WWI, two women fight for their dreams in a galvanizing novel by the bestselling author of Golden Poppies.

1915. May and Naomi are extended family, their grandmothers’ lives inseparably entwined on a Virginia plantation in the volatile time leading up to the Civil War. For both women, the twentieth century promises social transformation and equal opportunity.

May, a young white woman, is on the brink of achieving the independent life she’s dreamed of since childhood. Naomi, a nurse, mother, and leader of the NAACP, has fulfilled her own dearest desire: buying a home for her family. But they both are about to learn that dreams can be destroyed in an instant. May’s future is upended, and she is forced to rely once again on her mother. Meanwhile, the white-majority neighborhood into which Naomi has moved is organizing against her while her sons are away fighting for their country.

In the tumult of a changing nation, these two women—whose grandmothers survived the Civil War—support each other’s quest for liberation and dignity. Both find the strength to confront injustice and the faith to thrive on their chosen paths.

First Impressions

The cover of this book is very pretty and is what caught my eye in the first place. The summary sounded interesting and unlike other stories I had read so I was curious. The one thing that made me hesitant was finding out the author was white and also very religious.

What I thought

While this book may not be for everyone, I found it to be an interesting story.

May is white, in her 20s, and on the edge of what she begins to be the rest of her life. Naomi is black, older, and fighting for her rights in Oakland California in 1916. They are tied together through Naomi’s mother-in-law and May’s grandmother and are family through marriage. This story follows them as they deal with their lives.

This book is told in alternating chapters but they felt like completely separate stories. While they did overlap a little in the beginning, as the story went on it felt like I was reading two different books. I didn’t mind it, but I felt like Naomi’s story could’ve been it’s own book. May’s story was interesting and I enjoyed seeing it played out, but if felt like it was wrapped up about halfway through. I never quite understood why these stories were chosen to be told together.

The saddest part is how little the world has changed in 100 years even down to the pandemic and masks. It felt like everything I was reading was present day minus the use of technology and it made me sad and angry. All of the things that Naomi was fighting for is still pertinent today and it broke my heart.

I will warn you that there are a few very (and I mean very) graphic birthing scenes. These scenes might haunt me. And there were like 3 of them. I could’ve done with a little more mystery and less detail to be honest. I also could’ve done with a little less religion, but that’s a personal issue. I’m not a very religious person so I don’t relate to it and find it uncomfortable to read at times.

While this story being told might not be a new one, the perspective of it was interesting. I enjoyed May’s story and I enjoyed Naomi’s. I feel like both of them could’ve been fleshed out a little more, especially Naomi’s. And I know some people are going to view a white author writing the perspective of a black woman as problematic. I don’t know where I stand on that issue, personally. I know I her author’s note she acknowledged this and shared that she had a lot of people of color read this story and provide feedback.

This story was a bit slow to begin with but did pick up and I found myself invested in the characters. While there are parts of the story that I felt were a little weak, the characters themselves were strong and this held the book together. If you are interested in some historical fiction in the late 1910’s, I recommend this book. Just don’t get your hopes up that anything has changed in the past 100 years.