Les's Book Nook

  Title  - Winter in Paradise (Paradise #1) Author  - Elin Hilderbrand ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 2 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 4.5 characters  🧍- 5 stars ⭐ - 5 I am so happy I am going out of 2023 on a good note. It has been four months since I have read a solid five-star book. I could feel a reading slump coming on and Winter in Paradise pushed that right down.  Winter in Paradise started out a little slow, I was wondering if I could get into it. Once Irene receives the news of her husband's passing the book picks up and does not slow down. While nothing "thrilling" happens in this book it is juicy and heartfelt which keeps you more than intrigued throughout.  "Funny, we’ve been here less than a week and we know everyone else’s personal drama…" This quote perfectly describes how the reader feels. No stones are left unturned, dirty laundry is aired, and conflict causes secrets to come out.  It’s newly astonishin

Well if there was one thing (almost) all of the Goodreads users agreed on this year it was that the Goodreads Choice Awards this year SUCKED. I had only read one book that was a nominee. I read a lot of new releases this year and was disappointed not more made the nominee list. Many people had a similar feeling and even more were disappointed that several well-loved categories were eliminated from the docket. This was the first year I would be able to participate in the Goodreads Choice Awards and I had been looking forward to it all year and it really fell flat. So instead I am doing my own, I am naming my favorite book from each genre I read this year and telling you why below. They will not be all new releases because I think all books deserve love, not just the new ones!  Best of Thriller  Verity - Colleen Hoover Released - 2018 Pages - ~ 336  stars ⭐ - 5 I know I've talked a lot of shit about Colleen Hoover this year, but Verity really is different than her other books. If y

Well... that was rough. I don't think I can confidently say that any of these books are winners. I want to make it clear I did not hate these books. These books just were not my cup of tea. I'm not sure if I am just not a Christmas book person in general or if all these books just missed the mark. I had not read many novellas before and there were several on this readlist. Man, those are nice when you just want to get through a book in a few days. All but one of the books were novellas, or a collection of novellas, which made getting through this readlist a breeze. It actually went much quicker than I thought it would and I am currently reading an additional book that would easily top the list except it is set after New Year's, not Christmas. To stay true to the "Holly Jolly Readlist" I shouldn't add it to the running. Follow along from worst to best as I rank the Holly Jolly Readlist.  ________________________________________________________________   #5 - Mi

  Title  - Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead Author  - Jenny Hollander ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - .5  scare 😱 - 1 plot 📖 - 3 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 3 Before I begin, can we get some commotion for the cover?!  That cover art is absolutely GORGEOUS!  Now, onto the book itself... First 90% - trudging through. Lat 10% - somehow made the first 90% feel worth it?  The premise of this book is so interesting and sets up the plot to be a knock out of the park. Unfortunately, once I got into the book - actually, scratch that, I didn't get into the book. That was the whole problem. I was reading words on a page after words on a page.  I didn't feel anything for any of the characters until the last 50 pages of the book. Charlie emotionally separates herself from everyone and everything, including the reader. You seem to be on the outside of the story and it does not create an immersive experience. There were countless times in the

Title  - Mistletoe Malarkey Author  - Stella Bixby ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - .5 (mentioned, but I would still consider this a clean book) scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 3 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 3 Mistletoe Malarkey is a solid three-star read. I will say I did not guess the ending correctly, so kudos to Bixby on that! I wasn't sure I would be able to get through this book after reading the first few chapters. I almost DNF'd it in the first 10%, but I kept with it and I'm glad I did. I'm not sure if it's the author herself or if this is a common aspect in books I haven't discovered yet, but weight is a big deal in this book, for no reason. Within the first 10% of the book Shayla complained about her weight at least five times and that's just not something I enjoy reading about. However, after the first ~20% of the book that aspect calms down a lot. Bixby has another series based on Shayla's bestie Rylie that