Les's Book Nook

  Title  - Ask for Andrea Author  - Nicole Ihli ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 0 scare 😱 - 4 plot 📖 - 5 characters  🧍- 3.5 stars ⭐ - 5 “On a date that isn’t going well? Do you feel unsafe or just a little uneasy? Ask for Andrea at the bar. We’ll make sure you get home safe.” The pacing, believable scenarios, and dynamic characters made  Ask for Andrea  a slam dunk for me. The Pacing Unfortunately, I was busy the week I was reading this. I could've read it in a few days if I hadn't been. The plot hits you from page one and after the first few chapters packed with introducing characters and gruesome scenes, I was worried it would slow to a snail's pace like many thrillers do. I was pleasantly surprised that the pacing was nearly perfect throughout. From the murders to the investigation, Ihli found ways to keep you immersed. Believable Scenarios Ask for Andrea  is very believable... almost too believa...

  Hi guys, long time no post! Lately, I have been extra busy with life and fell behind on all of my bookish platforms. I was lucky to post my Goodreads review within a week of finishing a book, and my Booksta approached ghost town status a few times. By far, though, this blog is what fell through the cracks. I haven't posted in over a year!  To give you guys a quick update - I'm engaged! (as of Nov 2024) Wedding planning is kicking my ass! 😀 Over the summer, I was lucky enough to be a MOH in one of my friends' weddings, along with concerts, graduations, birthdays, and somehow trying to keep my house semi-decent.  I (finally) feel like I'm caught up on my Booksta, and felt it was only necessary to update the blog next for all 2 of its viewers! Reading-wise, I am being fairly productive! This may be because I'm not wasting so much time on Instagram, Blogger, and Goodreads. I just wrapped up my 2025 Goodreads challenge of 36 books! I upped the challenge by 12 books fr...

  Title  - The Book Swap Author  - Tessa Bickers Release Date  - September 3, 2024 ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 2 (90% closed door) scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 4 characters  🧍- 4 stars ⭐ - 4   What a depressingly cute story! Erin and James, both from the same small town have both relocated a short drive away to London. Their lives have been falling apart since  they  fell apart. Life works in mysterious ways and they come back into each other's orbit, they just don't know it yet. Will they find out? ... and if they do, is a second chance even an option? This book was not what I expected, in the best way possible. The beginning is all sad, no love. It got to the point where I didn't know if I could keep reading and as if Bickers knew exactly what I was thinking the plot shifted to a much lighter story. Some heavy elements still appear in the second half of the book but are decreased dramatically. Th...

  Title  - Worst Case Scenario Author  - TJ Newman Release Date - August 13, 2024 ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 0 scare 😱 - 2 plot 📖 - 3.5 characters  🧍- 4 stars ⭐ - 4   Worst Case Scenario was my first book by TJ Newman and the first book I have ever read in this subgenre. The whole survival suspense novel with political undertones is much more of my partner's thing than mine. He is actually the reason I read this. I saw Worst Case Scenario on NetGalley and my partner asked me to request it as he had read her previous novels and loved them. I was doubtful my request would be approved, but to my surprise it was! Now, keep in mind throughout this review - this book is not my normal read. Worst Case Scenario had many great qualities, but it also had some drawbacks for me. THE GOOD This book is jam-packed with action. It has three distinct plotlines all with their own drama. It also made me sob uncontrollab...

  Title  - Beach Read Author  - Emily Henry ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 3.5 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 3.5 characters  🧍- 3.5 stars ⭐ - 3.5 Again and again he told me I wasn’t myself. But he was wrong. I was the same me I’d always been. I’d just stopped trying to glow in the dark for him, or anyone else. I'm going to rate this book in two sections. The first half of the book, and then the second because I feel very different about each half. The first half was great. It was banter-y and showed the struggle through grief. The whole research component that was included in January and Gus's bet was a great story element as well. Everything was set up with the tension between the FMC and the MMC, the new writing endeavors of both writers, and January becoming more comfortable in her surroundings. Then there's the second half - sigh. The tensions breaks (big fan, big fan), and then like many other romance novels it gets ...

  Title  - Home Again Author  - Kristen Hannah ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 2.5 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 4 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 4 Does this have the most original plot? No. Does this book get cheesy at times? Yes. Does this book resemble a Lifetime movie script? Also yes. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT, I LIKED IT! The writing is great and the plot does not miss regardless of its predictability. Home Again explores the journey of grief and the strained relationships between mothers and teenage daughters. This book is one of those that you pick up when you just need an easy read. Maybe you're in a slump or want a book to fly through on a vacation. I was both in a slump and on family vacation and this book hit the spot. I did not go into this book thinking it would be a work of literary genius. I think the blurb does the book justice regarding what to expect. Kristin Hannah has some hard-hitting historical fiction books, bu...