Susan’s Book Blog

It’s Pub Day for two truly EXCELLENT books that you need to run out and get right now! One is Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots by Cat Sebastian (you can find my full review and more info  here ). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The other is Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade (my full review of it - and more info - is here ). ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫   If you enjoy romance, you’ll love these. I enjoyed them both immensely and highly recommend them! Both are out now - 11/15/2022 

 Happy Publication Day to Jacqueline Firkins and her newest work, Marlowe Banks Redesigned .  Check out my original review of Marlowe Banks here and then get your copy! 

Marlowe Banks, Redesigned by Jacqueline Firkins Pub date: Oct 25, 2022 // ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ // Marlowe Banks is an overworked, under appreciated production assistant on a TV show filming in LA with dreams of one day becoming a costume designer. She has a run-in with grumpy actor Angus on set and things don’t really get off on the right foot. They eventually get to know each other through working together but it takes extra work for Marlowe to excavate the real Angus Gordon from all the publicity she reads about him in magazines and online.  Even though this is a romance, the main story arc of the book is more about Marlowe’s journey in discovering who she is, what she wants in life, and figuring out how she’s going to get it. It has more emotional depth than a typical romcom and explores many important topics.  Aspects of the book remind me a little of Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard and Ava Wilder’s How To Fake It in Hollywood, both of which I loved. The blurb totally sold me o...

 Red White and Royal Blue The Collector’s Edition  by Casey McQuiston  Oct 11, 2022, St. Martin’s Griffin 🇺🇸 ❤️ 🇬🇧   I first read Red White and Royal Blue back in December 2020. I became a fervent fan before I had even reached the end. I had never read anything like it before. I LOVED it. I wanted everyone I knew to read it and love it as much as I did. And now… it kind of feels like they do. 😂  “They” may not be people I’ve actually met in person but I do know, now, a whole lot of people who love the book as much as I do, or more.  RWRB is the book that really started me reading again. I absolutely devoured it, and wanted more. I soon discovered “Bookstagram” and the rest is history. I now have many new favorite books and authors and a whole bunch of amazing people I am lucky to call friends - all because of this book.  👑 The special Collector's Edition of Casey McQuiston's beloved  New York Times  bestselling novel, features: • illust...

  So This is Christmas   by Jenny Holiday Pub date 10/4/2022   Avon/ Harper Collins 🏔 3.5 stars out of 5 🏔 ✨ 🏰 👑 🎿🛷❄️🎄🎅🏻✨ Matteo Benz has spent his life serving at the pleasure of the Eldovian crown. His work is his life and his life, well…he doesn’t have much of one. When he is tasked to aid a management consultant who has been flown in to help straighten out the king’s affairs, he is instantly disturbed by her brash American manner—as well by an inconvenient attraction to the brainy beauty. Cara Delaney is in Eldovia to help clean up the king’s financial affairs, but soon finds herself at odds with the very proper Mr. Benz. As intrigued by his good looks as she is annoyed by his dedication to tradition for its own sake, she slowly begins to see the real man behind the royal throne. As they work together to return Eldovia to its former glory during the country’s magical Christmas season, Matteo discovers he is falling hopelessly in love with the unconventional A...

  You’re a Mean One Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky Pub Date 10/4/2022 ⛄️ 3 stars out of 5 ⛄️ This is basically a Schitt’s Creek Christmas AU. The narrator, Matthew, is so clearly written to be a David Rose-style spoiled brat that I could only picture the character as Dan Levy. He was so unlikeable it took me quite a while until I became invested. I actually considered quitting several times before the 25% mark. (Then again, it took me a long time to warm up to Schitt’s Creek as well.)  Matthew learns things about himself during his exile to his grandparents’ home. As he spends more time in the small town and with Hector, he learns that the life he previously knew was not a good one despite all its material rewards. Hector helps bring him down to earth and keep him there. Matthew’s struggles with anxiety also helped humanize him and soften his rough edges. I generally appreciate anxiety/mental health rep but it almost felt like a cheap ploy here to make Matthew likeable. It...

This is one of my favorite favorite books. According to GoodReads, I first read it back in April/May of last year. Which is crazy because it feels like it’s been in my head far longer than that.  I’d never read a shifter book before (I don’t think I’ve read any outside of the Green Creek series since, either) and had no idea if I’d even like it but boy was I unprepared for how much this book would crawl into my soul 😂  I steadily devoured the entire rest of the series, then put off the final one a bit because I didn’t want it to end. I needed more candy canes and pinecones, epic and awesome.  I am so so glad this book and series is finally getting the attention it deserves and a gorgeous hardcover release. When I saw Waterstones was offering this signed sprayed edge edition, I ran to preorder! I’m so excited to see what the rest look like! 

Roommate Arrangement  by Saxon James // 4.5 origami cranes out of 5 // Ahhhhhhh this was so good. Two cinnamon rolls + low angst + lots of yearning, sexy times & romance = right up my alley! (Me throughout most of this book:  🥹🥹🥹 ) Payne is getting divorced and moving back to his hometown. His brother suggests he move in - temporarily of course - with his BFF Beau. Payne and Beau knew each other in high school but haven’t seen much of each other since Payne left and got married. Now he’s back and Beau thinks letting Payne take his spare room will finally cure him of his lifelong crush on Payne. Sure Jan.  😏 The story is good and the characters are wonderful. I loved both Payne and Beau. Payne’s family are pretty adorable as well. Payne’s friend group, aka the Divorced Men’s Club, is super cute. They’re funny and supportive. I enjoyed their group chats and banter.  Watching Payne and Beau’s relationship grow and change over the course of the book was lovely. T...

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall Pub Date: Nov 1, 2022 🍰  3.5 stars out of 5 🍰   Despite having been warned that this book wasn’t a romance or a romcom (those are debatable) and that the anxiety rep was intense, I still feel underprepared for what this book was. (Not that I even *know* what it was.) I feel almost unable to assess it properly after just one read-through. My opinion of it changed drastically several times while reading as I adjusted and readjusted my expectations. I’m not sure I can give a coherent or meaningful opinion on it right now. I’m also not sure I want to reread it so…  🤷🏻‍♀️  But I’ll do my best to come up with a review that says more than “…it was okay?”  The TV show characters are all back and even more enjoyable than the first go-round (in Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake), in my opinion. The on-set animosity between host Grace Forsythe and producer Jennifer Hallett is great. Not really sure why but I enjoyed th...

  Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade Pub date: Nov 15, 2022 🇸🇪 4.5 stars out of 5 🇸🇪  This one starts out with a bang. (Insert juvenile snickering.) In the very first scene, Peter and Maria are indulging in what she thinks is going to be a one-night stand and what he’s hoping could turn into more. But she takes off before he wakes up. The next day they unexpectedly meet up again when they arrive at their auditions for the TV show Gods of the Gates. And of course they’re both cast for the roles they auditioned for. Roles that will require them to play opposite one another. As a couple. On an island. For a role on a show that’s guaranteed to run for several years. YIKES. That’s awkward. The way this plays out wasn’t at all what I’d expected. The story is told mostly chronologically but with some jumps backward here and there. The six years Peter and Maria spend working together on the show just breeze by in the first 30% of the book. It’s only after that the romance really begins. ...

  So it's Pub Day for Alexis Hall's newest, Husband Material . (To read my early review of it, click here .)  I gave this book 2.5 stars out of 5. And I know I'm not alone in my feelings about this book, though the majority of reviewers seem to have no problems with it. I had thought about laying out more specifically and with evidence all the ways and reasons this book bothered me but at this point I’m pretty done with it. It broke my heart and I’m tired of thinking about it. I will just say that I heartily disagree with any and all 5 star reviews and any declarations of “it’s perfect!!”  I genuinely think that many of these readers have gone in already knowing they were going to give the book a stellar rating regardless of what they read.  That said, I stand by my previous rating and review. I’m not disappointed that they didn’t end up married, even though it felt a little bait-and-switch-y. I’m disappointed that Alexis Hall wrote what he did and thought it depicte...

  Husband Material  by Alexis Hall pub date Aug 2, 2022 Sourcebooks Casablanca  ⛪️ 2.5 stars out of 5 ⛪️  I am a HUGE fan not only of this book’s series predecessor, Boyfriend Material , but of Alexis Hall’s work in general. Literally everything of his I’ve read, I have loved. His writing style, his amazing characters, his facility with language and wordplay, his deep understanding (and inclusion) of complex social issues, these are all huge draws for me. I love everything he writes and trust him as a writer more than anyone I have ever read. I had ZERO doubts about this book. I was so excited to get to revisit one of my favorite fictional couples, Luc & Oliver - especially under the guise of seeing them move their relationship forward. Look at the cover! That title! They’re tying the knot! This is going to be wonderful! I thought. This book is cruel. Nothing about it makes sense. Does Alexis Hall hate us? Did he resent having to write this? I don’t know. I don’t...