Book Review: "They Never Learn" by Layne Fargo

Whoa. Just whoa.

I’ve seen a bunch of friends raving about Layne Fargo's books, so I was excited to win a Bookstagram giveaway of her new book. And after reading it in one sitting, now I’m definitely a fan!

Scarlett is a professor at Gorman University. She’s smart, ambitious, sexy—and dangerous. Scarlett is determined to rid the university of the men who take advantage of, and hurt, women. All of her crimes are meticulously planned and no one has suspected any foul play, at least until the university starts to think there may be more to these deaths than meets the eye.

Carly is an incoming freshman at Gorman. She’s happy to be away from her abusive father and victimized mother, but college makes her nervous. She wishes she could be cool like her roommate, Allison. As the two become closer, Carly comes to Allison’s rescue when she needs her the most.

I’m going to stop describing the plot now because there’s so much that needs to unfold for you as you read. Suffice it to say it’s a little bit Dexter, a little bit How to Get Away with Murder, and a little bit Unbelievable, with twists all its own.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. It was just so excellent and it hooked me completely. Boy, does Fargo know how to tell a story!!

This will definitely be one of my favorite thrillers of the year, and I need to read more of Fargo's books!!

Book Review: "Mistletoe and Wedding Bells" by Ashley Farley

No, I don’t want to be done with the Hope Springs series!! I love these characters!!

Christmas is just around the corner. Stella, owner of The Inn at Hope Springs Farms, wants nothing more than to finally marry her fiancée, Jack. But she has so much on her mind, especially an impending custody battle over her half-sister, Jazz, whose mother will stop at nothing to keep Stella from winning, which could lead to drastic circumstances.

Presley, the Inn’s event planner, will be spending her first Christmas since her mother died, and her musician boyfriend is on the road. She decides to throw her energy into planning a surprise wedding for Stella and Jack, but will this be the wedding of Stella’s dreams or her own?

Cecily, the Inn’s talented chef, is supposed to marry her boyfriend on Christmas Eve. But as the wedding draws closer, are they actually suited for each other, or are they getting married too soon? Cecily has to navigate her nervousness about her relationship with her anxiety about her job.

Mistletoe and Wedding Bells, the third in Ashley Farley’s Hope Springs series, tells all three stories. I feel like I’ve known these characters for a while, and even when they’re annoying me a little, I can’t get enough of them. Farley brings such warmth and joy to her books even when her characters are at low points, and that makes these books so enjoyable to read.

You could read this as a stand-alone, but I’d recommend starting with the first book, Dream Big, Stella! Hopefully you’ll fall in love with Hope Springs and Ashley Farley like I have.

So grateful to be on the blog tour for this book. Thanks to Kate Rock Book Tours and Ashley Farley for providing me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!

Book Review: "Perfectly Impossible" by Elizabeth Topp

It’s totally easy to hold your life together at the same time as your employer’s, right? Elizabeth Topp's Perfectly Impossible weighs in on that question.

Anna has been the private assistant to Bambi Von Bizmark, an immensely wealthy NYC matriarch, for a long while now. Her job is simple: make sure there are no surprises in the family's life and do everything perfectly. It’s always hectic because she never knows what she’ll be asked, what will be needed, or what she’ll need to remember, but she’s excellent at what she does.

Things are tense in the Von Bizmark household right now. Bambi and her tycoon husband are on the outs, but with them being selected as honorees for the Opera Ball, Bambi’s demands and mood swings are increasing exponentially. Anna has to walk many a delicate line between fulfilling Bambi’s wishes and not bankrupting the family, not to mention helping her employer accept reality, which isn’t easy.

Meanwhile, Anna, who really wants to be an artist, is struggling with getting attention for her work. She can’t figure out why it seems she’s better at being a private assistant than an artist, and that tension impacts her relationship with her boyfriend, Adrian, whose prestigious new job keeps him occupied and unable to support her the way she needs.

When roadblock after roadblock occurs as the Opera Ball approaches, Anna is finding it tougher to keep everything running smoothly. Will she be able to pull it all off? Can she make sure the Von Bizmarks are getting along in time for the Ball? And what will happen to her career and her own relationship?

Perfectly Impossible was a fun read about the excessive lifestyle of the NYC elite and the typical chaos a private assistant must face. So much of it seems over the top, but I totally believe people like this exist—if not worse!

Little A, Amazon Publishing, and Blankenship PR provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Book Review: "My Best Friend's Exorcism" by Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism might just be what you expect looking at the book: it's campy, crazy, and chock full of 80s references!

Can a friendship be powerful enough to beat the devil?

Abby and Gretchen have been inseparable best friends since 4th grade. They have private jokes and countless memories together, and they’ve remained close through high school.

But one boring night, after some warm beer and some drugs, the girls and their friends decide to go skinny-dipping. Something strange happens, though, something inexplicable, and it changes Gretchen drastically.

Suddenly Gretchen is acting erratically, complaining of being touched by invisible beings, her personal hygiene deteriorates, and strange and troubling things happen and appear when she’s around. But while others give up on her, Abby is determined to figure out what happened to her friend, and save her at any cost—even though there are great risks to her own future. And she's not even sure if anyone takes her seriously, or if they think she's on drugs like they suspect Gretchen is.

As you might imagine, this book is a little silly, a little scary (at least for cowards like me who usually steer clear of books like this), and more than a little bit gross at times. But that being said, it has some surprising emotional heft I didn’t see coming given the subject matter.

If you’re a child of the 80s like me, you’ll love the pop culture references sprinkled throughout and this nostalgic cover design. There is a bunch of gore—blood and guts and some mentions of animal harm and animal death—so be forewarned if those trouble you. They’re easily skimmed over.

Hendrix really is quite the storyteller. Exorcism and friends...they go together?

Book Review: "Tiny Imperfections" by Alli Frank and Asha Youmans

Alli Frank and Asha Youmans' Tiny Imperfections is a lighthearted romp through the world of private school admissions, with some family drama thrown in for good measure.

Raised by her aunt in San Francisco, Josie was able to get a scholarship to one of the city’s most prestigious private schools. She dropped out of college, spent a few years as one of the hottest models in the world, and then returned home with a young daughter, Etta, and moved back in with her aunt. Josie is now director of admissions at her alma mater, where she gets to preside over ultra-wealthy parents trying to compete to get their kids a spot at the school.

This year seems like it will be crazier than ever for Josie. Not only is Etta graduating—and her future plans differ vastly from what Josie wants for her—but her best friend is determined to help Josie break out of her sexual slump.

She also has to contend with the parents who are desperate to get their children into the school, particularly a high-maintenance woman with boundary issues, and a pair of husbands she can’t quite figure out. Throw in a manipulative boss and the pressure is mounting!

I thought this was a fun and enjoyable read, one I devoured pretty quickly. There’s humor, emotions, backstabbing, a surprise or two (one I really didn't see coming), and even some family drama!

I enjoyed the characters very much, and even though some of what happened was a bit predictable, I couldn’t get enough of the story. I’d love to see another book with these characters—Alli and Asha, are you listening?

Book Review: "Ties That Tether" by Jane Igharo

Does love always have to require sacrifices and hard choices? Jane Igharo analyzes that question in her great debut novel, Ties That Tether.

When Azere was 12, her father died, and she moved with her mother and sister from Nigeria to Canada. Just before he died, she promised her father she’d marry a Nigerian man and preserve their culture.

Since then, she’s been dutiful about keeping that promise, even as her mother becomes more domineering and essentially forces her to go on dates with eligible men. And after one such date ends badly, she goes to nurse her wounds at a hotel bar, and winds up meeting Rafael, who is handsome, intelligent, sexy...and not Nigerian.

After their passionate one-night stand, she never plans to see him again, but fate has other ideas. Neither can get the other out of their mind. But when complications ensue, Azere must decide which is more important—following her heart or obeying her mother and keeping a promise she made when she was too young to know better.

This was a really good story, with rom-com elements and a tiny bit of steam, but it’s also a powerful exploration of the issues faced by those in biracial or bicultural relationships. There’s also a healthy dose of drama and family dysfunction, which I’m always there for.

I definitely enjoyed this one, and was hooked from start to finish. I'll admit I found one or two of the characters irritating but I'm sure that their behavior was realistic to situations like these. (And by the way, how gorgeous is the cover of this book?)

Book Review: "The Code for Love and Heartbreak" by Jillian Cantor

In Jillian Cantor's new YA novel, The Code for Love and Heartbreak, math is one thing. Love is another.

It’s senior year of high school for overachiever Emma Woodhouse. She’s at the top of her class, she’s co-president of the Coding Club, and with her perfect SATs, she hopes to go to Stanford next year.

But while she has the academics down pat, she’s not particularly social. She doesn’t really have many (or any) friends save George, her co-president, and she has no desire to find a boyfriend.

In an effort to win a national coding competition, she comes up with a great idea: an app which will match her fellow students up based on mutual interests, using an algorithm. George and some other club members think she’s lost her mind—love isn’t something you can code.

But “The Love Code” seems to be working, and all of her classmates are interested in getting matches. What does it mean, though, when the matches don’t work?

The more focused on the app and the competition Emma becomes, the more blind she is to what’s going on around her. Why are people breaking up if the algorithm predicts matches? And how can an algorithm consider the intangible qualities that make people fall in love?

This was a cute and enjoyable retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. (It’s been a while since I read that one, so while I know the names of the characters are the same, I don't remember how much of the plot of this book resembles that one.) Sure, it’s predictable, but that didn’t really matter to me.

I love a good rom-com, even when math is involved!