Les's Book Nook

  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*...