Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: June 11, 2019

Publisher: Forever Romance

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Blurb:

Kristen Petersen doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.

Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen–especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.

The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass. 

Review:

MUST READ BOOK ALERT! You guys, I’m so excited about this one, it’s way up at the top of my favorite books of the year list and I want everybody to read it! Don’t be fooled by the cutesy cover and assume that it’s just another silly and fun rom com because it is SO much more than that. Yes, it has all the charm and laughs of a traditional rom com but it also has depth and tackles some serious subject matter as well. This isn’t just a fluffy book y’all and it’s way different than everything else currently available right now.

When I pick up a romance I know that if I don’t immediately connect to at least one of the main characters then the book probably won’t work for me. Well, I connected to Kristin almost instantly, she is just a cool chick and her sarcasm and wit made me wish she was my BFF instead of Sloane’s. She’s also just a badass, tough woman who I found myself both admiring and relating to. Then there’s Josh, who sigh may be my new favorite book boyfriend because not only is he hot and charming, he’s also sensitive, values his family and he he’s an amazing sense of humor. SWOON 😍 Put these two together and you have magic, their chemistry is off the charts and when the story took an unexpected emotional turn you get to see that deep down they’re also both kind and just honest to goodness human beings. I couldn’t ask for more in terms of characterization, seriously perfect.

One last thing, this is a debut and I can’t tell you the last time that I was this blown away by a debut author. Abby Jimenez writes like a seasoned pro, I don’t know how she will ever top this gem but I have a feeling we will find out when we get a new book from her next year! Until then, I’ll be over here planning my reread of this one and pushing this book on anyone who will listen.

The Friend Zone in three words: Witty, Relatable and Emotional

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: June 4, 2019

Publisher: Harper

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Blurb:

The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime…

It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret on-line dating site for married and committed couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed…including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town. 

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers her essence with painful honesty and humor, reawakening both her sensuality and ambitions as a sculptor. 

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom. Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever…and what it means to be truly unbreakable.

Review:

I don’t know about you but when the Ashley Madison scandal broke I was equally horrified but also morbidly curious. How could so many millions of people be using such a tacky and torrid site?! It still blows my mind actually, and this book opens with Sophie having a birthday dinner with her closet friends and finding out her husband is on the site. Not only that, he’s their cities most active user 😱 I cannot even imagine the humiliation and pain this would cause but as far as an opening hook?! SOLD!

Listen, I’ve read plenty of books about a woman scorned trying to find herself again but I’ve never read one that felt quite so fresh and empowering as this one. Sophie takes quite a journey after her marriage crumbles and none of what happened was predictable at all. I absolutely love that, it’s hard to surprise me lately but I definitely was here. It was also racier than I expected, Sophie wants to stand on her own two feet after being half of a couple for years and she does this not only in a personal way, but also sexually. She’s the type of character that I think any woman can relate to and I was rooting for her hardcore. It was really inspiring to see her try new things and take chances and I was oddly proud of her by the end.

Highly recommended by me, this was not only a fun and fast read, it was also full of wisdom and felt super modern and hip!

The Unbreakables in three words: Sexy, Empowering and Fresh.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

Goodreads|Amazon

Release date: June 4, 2019

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Blurb:

Evvie, Maggie, and Topher have known each other since university. Their friendship was something they swore would last forever. Now years have passed, the friends have drifted apart, and none of them ever found the lives they wanted – the lives they dreamed of when they were young and everything seemed possible.
 
Evvie starved herself to become a supermodel but derailed her career by sleeping with a married man. 
 
Maggie married Ben, the boy she fell in love with at university, never imagining the heartbreak his drinking would cause. 
 
Topher became a successful actor but the shame of a childhood secret shut him off from real intimacy.
 
By their thirtieth reunion, these old friends have lost touch with each other and with the people they dreamed of becoming. Together again, they have a second chance at happiness… until a dark secret is revealed that changes everything.
 
The Friends We Keep is about how despite disappointments we’ve had or mistakes we’ve made, it’s never too late to find a place to call home. 

Review:

JG is an auto buy author for me, when one of her books is released I always know I’m in for a treat and this was no exception. This is yet another book from her that is ideal for summer reading, it’s light and easy but also full of depth and dimension, which is the perfect combination for me in terms of a great beach read.

This begins in the eighties when Evvie, Topher and Maggie all meet for the first time and follows them over the next few decades as they navigate everything from marriage and the birth of children to loss and devastating heartbreak. All three of them are complex and fascinating individually and the dynamics between them are also complicated, each separate relationship is intriguing as well. When they reunite after mostly losing touch thirty years after they met, their lives have all taken several different and unexpected turns and they all wonder if they can manage to get back to the way they used to be.

I always enjoy following a group of characters for a number of years and experiencing all that life brings to them over the years and this story also had some downright juicy secrets and surprising turns which was just an added bonus. This was a heartfelt story about friendship and how secrets and regret can really change the course of our lives and also about how true family can come in the form of those that are not related by blood. Highly recommended by me to add to your summer reading list, especially if you enjoy books about friends!

The Friends We Keep in three words: Heartfelt, Juicy and Effortless.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.