Les's Book Nook

Title  - Ravensong (Green Creek 2) Author  - TJ Klune ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 3 scare 😱 - 2 plot 📖 - 4.5 characters  🧍- 5 stars ⭐ - 5 Currently: sobbing with my jaw on the floor GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH During the first quarter of the book I was starting to think "Maybe Wolfsong was a one-time thing, maybe I'll never feel true joy or heartbreak ever again"... I was WRONG. If there is one thing I can say about TJ Klune it is that he has written my favorite characters of all time. I swear to god the sassiest men you will ever dare to read about will be in these books. Friendship and love emanates from all of the characters which results in me being the most attached to characters I think I've ever been. Hence the joy and heartbreak. While I love it, Klune's writing style will not be for everyone. It is chaotic and random, sometimes repetitive. It takes you a bit to get used to, but if you are able to get used to it I ...

  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...

  Title  - The Book of Goose Author  - Yiyun Li ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 0 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 3 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 3 As much as I wish I could be the girl who can read books filled with tragically beautiful prose, I am not. If you are looking for a book with even a dash of reprieve from its heavy plot - don't look here. ❤ Les View my review on Goodreads  here . ➳  Goodreads ➳  Instagram

Title  - The Invisible Hour Author  - Alice Hoffman ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 2 scare 😱 - 1 plot 📖 - 3.5 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 3   The Invisible Hour had me in the first half! It follows Mia Jacobs through her upbringing in a cult. It is exhilarating at times and piqued my interest. The chapters are looooong throughout this whole book but especially in the first half. This would normally make it a more difficult read for me, but I still flew through it. The character growth of Mia was truly heartwarming!  Then the second half... While the romance between Mia and Nathaniel is hinted at in the blurb I did not think it would go to the extent that it did. It honestly cheapened the whole book that had so many endearing qualities. The first half of the book prides itself on female empowerment just to have the FMC literally disappearing just so she can be in the presence of a man.  Hoffman also has a...

Title  - Until Next Summer Author  - Ali Brady ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 3 scare 😱 - .5 plot 📖 - 4 characters  🧍- 5 stars ⭐ - 5 What a great read!  Until Next Summer  has it all: romance, friendship, nostalgia, spice, humor, serious moments, and even a touch of suspense. The book revolves around a summer camp and its director, Jessie. When it comes to light that the camp and all the surrounding land will be sold Jessie has to grapple with the fact that this will be her last summer. The thing I liked about the book is that it made me feel things. I actually laughed out loud and I balled like a baby (if you read the book you'll know where that happened and you'll probably cry too). I also (could be totally off base here) think there were some nods to the summer camp portion of The Parent Trap movie. There were a few things that I think were lacking in the book. First off, there was so much back and forth ...

Title  - Like It Never Was Author  - Faith Gardner ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 0 scare 😱 - 3.5 plot 📖 - 4 characters  🧍- 4 stars ⭐ - 4  Like It Never Was deserves an award for having an unreliable narrator I did not loathe! Unreliable narrators have burned me in the past, but Gardner did a fantastic job with Jolene's character. Jolene is a thirty-year-old with nomadic tendencies. Not only does she jump from job to job, but she jumps from place to place even quicker. While we all probably know someone who doesn't like to stay in one place for too long, Jolene's reason for never settling down is (hopefully) different. Jolene did something bad, REALLY bad.  When she makes the move to Berkley, CA she really thinks this may be it. She has outrun her past. Little does she know her past is in her backyard, and her improv class. When she begins spiraling she signs up for therapy to stop that voice in her head on...

Title  - Bear Author  - Julia Phillips ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 1.5 scare 😱 - 2 plot 📖 - 4 characters  🧍- 4 stars ⭐ - 3.5 Bear .. was something.  It is a very atmospheric novel about two sisters, Sam and Elena, who live on the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. They live in a dilapidated house that their grandmother bought, who passed when the girls were very young. Now, their mother is in that same bedroom withering away from a terminal illness. Sam and Elena are the sole caregivers.  The medical bills are piling up along with a multitude of others, even with working double shifts and almost no days off their heads are barely above water. However, they have a plan: once their mother passes on they can sell the house and take the money from the sale to get off this godforsaken island. That was the plan anyway; until a bear appeared at their front step.    I have some things to prai...

Title  - Seven Summer Weekends Author  - Jane Rosen ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 2.5 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 3 characters  🧍- 4 stars ⭐ - 3.5 It’s a tale as old as time, or since Hallmark movies started anyways. A girl is left a house by an estranged relative in some tiny town she’s never been in. She then travels to that house and well… I think you all know what happens next.  THOUGHTS - NEGATIVE This story is centered around Addison and the revolving door of characters that reach Addison not only about her estranged aunt but about herself. What a fantastic concept! The problem is that it feels like you are in the outside looking in during this book (which obviously you are) but good books make you feel like you are IN them. I don’t feel what the characters feel, or have a draw to Fire Island. I read the words and they slide off my back, they don’t stick in my mind to swirl about during the day. I think the main ...

Title  - This Summer Will Be Different Author  - Carley Fortune ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 4 scare 😱 - 0 plot 📖 - 5 characters  🧍- 5 stars ⭐ - 5  THE book of the summer!  THE SETTING If there is one thing I can count on in a Carley Fortune book it is that I will want to quit my job and move to some random Canadian town to live my best life. The way she describes and evokes feelings in the settings of her books is truly unmatched. Watch out Prince Edward Island, I'm coming for you!... once I get the money... and a passport.  THE CHARACTERS swooooon! Fortune brings the characters to life and they are so distinct from one another. They have quirks, faults, and struggles that all intertwine with one another. The female friendship is probably my favorite part of the book, (Felix is a close second) between Lucy, Bridget, Farah, and Lucy's aunt there are so many great moments.  THE ROMANCE I am a sl*...

Title  - How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways Author  - Eve Killman Release Date  - May 14, 2024 ________________________________________________________________   spice 🌶 - 0 scare 😱 - 2 plot 📖 - 3.5 characters  🧍- 3 stars ⭐ - 3 How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways was quite the read. At first, I was really into the book. The protagonist's inner monologues were quite humourous and she was pretty relatable. Then it escalated, first it was just extra judgemental remarks about everything and then slowly spiraled into full-blown psychopathy.  The author tries to get us to sympathize with Millie and bring a more relatable light to psychopaths. Kellman is pretty successful in her efforts and I did have moments of sympathy for her. However, the blatant acts of someone desperate and psychotic could not be looked over.  You are stuck in the head of a budding psychopath until about 85% of the way in and then all he** breaks loose. While I did enjoy the last 15% of the bo...