Nome-o Seeks Juliet by Katy Regnery- Reshelved Books

Thank you to Amzaon for the cover art.

Hi hi everyone. 

I'm back! 

This time, I have a review on Katy Regnery's newest book Nome-o Seeks Juliet (this is book #2 in the An Odds- Are-Good Standalone series). Just like before, this book was sent to us in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

As some of you may be aware, I reviewed the first book, Single in Sitka last month (you can find that review here).  This series are standalones which all take place in different parts of Alaska but it seems that all of the men we're meeting have ads posted in the fictional The Odds Are Good periodical (after typing that out, I understand *why* this is the Odd-Are-Good series...).  This time, we're leaving Sitka and we're traveling to Nome. 
I didn't think it was possible to love two characters in a book more.  I really didn't.  But it happened.
I also thought that I really liked Single in Sitka... But I gotta say Nome-o Seeks Juliet is just a thousand times better to me!

When I first started reading this book, I felt like it bore striking resemblance to the first book in the series. I got serious vibes that Juliet was a little like Amanda and that Silvia was a little like Leigh.  Which had me feeling like I had been doped...

I am happy to say that I was wrong.  

Juliet is a 24 year old vet student.  She won a grant for her fellowship and sadly, she was about to have to give her grant up due to lack of a mentor.  Silvia found what she thought to be a way for Juliet to keep her funding for her fellowship: a classified ad looking for a female musher for a co-ed dog sledding team; a "Juliet". 

Though, I can't say that I blame Juliet's character for being leery toward this "classified ad" - it did seem to be too good to be true.  However, the title of the ad was totally adorable!

One thing that I wasn't expecting when I started this book, was for there to be a student/professor relationship.  You know, those types of things that could get someone jammed up.  

Making a split second decision, Juliet decides that she IS going to Alaska!  That she will be able to keep the funding for her fellowship because she IS going to be mushing with this Nome-o!  This means that she'll have to answer his ad and hope for the best. 

Juliet arrives in Nome and meets a very attractive man named Cody.  Cody happens to be 10 years her senior,  retired from the Military and an amateur musher.

As the reader, we learn that Cody looks like a young Brad Pitt but Cody doesn't feel like he looks like Brad Pitt.  During his tour, Cody suffered a devastating injury and lost 5 of his fingers, leaving him with a severe injury and an honorable discharge from the service. 

I don't think I've ever felt more compassion from a character before EVER.  It was very easy to fall in love with Cody's character.  He was strong, yet sensitive and I commend Juliet's character for waiting so long. 

I felt like this story moved a little faster than the book in the series but that's okay!  (Heck, that’s even something that Juliet felt).  There was something so genuine about their relationship. It had factor to it that made it believable. 

What will happen between Juliet and Cody, you ask?  I don't know.  Y'all are just going to hope onto the great interwebs, snag a copy and find out for yourself!

I give this book 10 coffee beans out of 5!  Realistically, it gets 5 coffee beans out of 5. 

~ Jillian

After We Break by Katy Regnery- Reshelved Books

Hellooooooo!!

Sorry, I've been MIA for a while.  Life sort of has a way of sneaking in on us when we least expect it. Plus most titles I had read of late, didn't do anything for me.  I thought that most of them were blah. 


Have no fear though as I have found books that I liked and those are the ones that I have been reading. 

Case and point: After We Break by Katy Regnery.

It's no secret that I enjoy the books that Regnery writes. 
I snagged a copy of this read in hopes of reviewing it. 

I found this book to be a quick read.  Now, this might be because I read it as an E-book.

This story was a complicated one.  Violet and Zach are now in their late 20s.  They graduated from college, Violet went to Yale and Zach went to Julliard.  
Violet on to write a popular novel and Zach is writing chart topping hits for bands.  
In a bizarre turn of events, Violet and Zach find themselves with each other. 

As the reader, we get to see how Violet and Z (or Vile and Z) heal and move forward. 

There was certainly a fair share of drama in this book.  There was a lot that was going on, not necessarily just between the two.  Zach's life was very involved, we got to see how his career played out (more so than Violet's career as an author). 

What was cool, was that the reader got to see how the two of them worked together to write a few songs. 

This book for me was blah.  Which is hard for me to say given that I really like Katy Regnery's books! 

I found Violet to be a bit difficult and not so easy to forgive Zach.  It wasn't like he cheated on her or anything.  He just didn't handle the situation well and really, you can't fault a 18-19 year old guy for that.  
Even after she learned of his background story, she was still a little hesitant to forgive.

For me, After We Break was a kind of a dud...

I sadly am giving it 3.5 coffee beans out of 5...

~ Jillian

Single in Sitka by Katy Regnery - Reshelved Books

Raise your hand if you're ready for a new review!
Raise your other hand if you're ready for a new review on a book that's newly released!

Now wave those arms if you're ready to read about Katy Regnery's new book Single in Sitka!!

Single in Sitka is the first book in her Odds-Are-Good Romance series.  It seems that all of the books that are in this series, will be standalone books.  The common theme, from what I've gathered based on the cover art and the titles, would be that these books all take place in Alaska. 

Singe in Sitka was featured in the anthology One Hot Summer (You can find my review of that book here).  Which is how I got to read the first 10 chapters of the book.  My plan was to buy the book when it came out earlier this week.  Lucky for me! I was able to snag a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

It's no secret that I've enjoyed every one of the Katy Regnery books that I have read to date.  (I actually am working on a review of After We Break).

As I digress. 

Single in Sitka tells the story of Alaskan State Trooper Luke Kingston and Seattle Sentinel columnist Amanda McKendrick.  Amanda has just broken up with her long term boyfriend, Bryce and Luke tragically lost his wife, Wendy, in an accident a couple years prior.  Amanda found Luke's dating profile in a singles website.  In a bold move, Amanda and her best friend Leigh, decide that Amanda needs to go to Sitka, Alaska to meet with Luke. 

Little does she know that this meet up is going to change her life forever.  But maybe the change will be in a good way. 

What I liked about this book was that it was more than just romance.  There was another part to this story.  Luke is a widower and he has 3 children; who are between the ages of 13 and 5.

Regnery makes sure to tell a story that is more than just being about Amanda and Luke; it's a story that brings to light her relationship with Chad and Gillian and Meghan.  I liked this and felt like it was an important thing.

I honestly enjoyed this book.  I'm excited to see what of this series holds. 

My rating: 5 coffee beans out of 5. 

~ Jillian

One Hot Summer Anthology - ARC

 

Hiya all!

Today's blog post will be featuring One Hot Summer which is a compilation of different stories by different authors.

Cover is from Amazon- the Arc didn't include this?!

I feel kinda bad about not liking this book but I really couldn't like this anthology.  We were sent this anthology in exchange for an honest review.  Ready? Here we go!

First things first: this book is like an appetizer platter.

That is the best way that I can describe it.  I signed up for the reading blitz thinking that it would be an actual anthology of short stories?  I didn't realize that this would a collection of the first several chapters of completed books.  While there are 7 different authors, their stories featured in this anthology range from having 7 to 11 chapters and then they just tell you to go and buy the book when it's available for purchase.  Which is fine (I guess?) but really, if I'm going to buying a book with only parts of books in them- be up front with that... Don't be misleading. 

I also signed up for the blitz because I happen to be a fan of Katy Regnery!  I like her books and I really liked her YA book when she wrote under the pen name, Callie Henry.  So I figured, why not?!  NOW I didn't have any problem with Regnery's story in this anthology.  (I liked her story and I actually plan on buying Single in Sitka was when comes out next month.) 

I'm going to go in order of the books as they are featured in the anthology to tell you a little bit of what I thought about them....

Here goes nothing!

The Summer of Us by Melanie Moreland: 
I'm reading the synopsis of the story now on Amazon about this book and for the life of me, I can't remember what I read under The Summer of Us!  It didn't do anything for me.  I was fairly neutral about this one. 

The Inheritance by Amy Briggs:
I liked this one! I thought it was well written and I could definitely see myself reading the rest of the book.  I liked the idea that this woman, inherited a small fortune (and a home and a dog) from a colleague.  I liked that Briggs wrote a story about how you might not be with someone in a physically intimate way to make them love you and share things with you.   

Summer Seduction by Caisy Quinn:
NO. Just a big fat NO.
What the heck?!
This story follows a 17 (A SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD!!!) and the night she spends with a 24 year old guy from her college level art history class.  This 24 year old guy is also about to be her HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER!!
NO. NO NO NO.
I wanted to crawl out of my skin while reading this one. 
Just. NO.

By the Seaside by Heidi McLaughlin:
While writing this review, I've realized that this one and The Inheritance seemed fairly similar to me.  There is something underlying about them both that makes me think that... This one was okay.  I didn't really get how this one "event" could change everything for the main character, Kelly- how she was basically driven out of her hometown and lead a life that she didn't really want.  But traumatic events change people and even though an outsider might not see it as that, it depends on how the person living it sees it. 

Love's a Beach by Danielle Pearl
This is another one that I liked.  This one who quite real.  There wasn't anything about it that was far fetched. It tackled something that was very real and something that a lot of women experience.  (A perk about this book? There's a character named Jillian!!)

Single in Sitka by Katy Regnery
What can I say? I'm a fan of Katy Regnery.  I started to find myself swooning over Luke Kingston! I liked the interactions between him and his kids.  I liked the real fears that his older son, Chad toward Amanda.  I liked how the story started off in a goofy way.  I thought it was cute.  I'm very excited for when this book comes out in October.  It ended on a true cliffhanger and I can't wait to see what will happen next!

The Secret at Sunset by Shari J. Ryan
I didn't care for this one either.  I found the main character Alexa to be self absorbed.  Meh. 

Out of 7 stories, I have to say that I would confidently go and buy 2 of the books to find out what happens.  Two of them were good and while I could see myself going out and getting copies to see what happened- would I really do it? No.  Then the last 3... while I found two to be meh, so much to the point where I don't remember what the heck happened in them.  That ONE really made me get upset (ask MB!).  I would honestly say to pass this anthology.  Go out and get copes of Love's a Beach and Single in Sitka when they become available!

~ Jillian

A Date for Hannah by Callie Henry - Reshelved Books

Hellooooo everybody!

We were reached out by an awesome team to review A Date for Hannah by Callie Henry. (Who happens to be New York Times Bestselling Author Katy Regnery!!)

Stock Imagine for "A Date with Hannah" cover

In the beginning of a July, we were able to post the cover reveal (just a cool experience!).  Earlier this month, we received a copy of A Date for Hannah.  Which I have to say that I’ve been waiting for since we had posted the cover and I got to read the synopsis of the book.  (On a side note: the cover is beautiful!)

Hannah Giacomina is down in California for the weekend of her sister, Bree's wedding.  So, Hannah isn't alone and the only one under the age of 30 at the wedding, Bree enlists the help of 17 year old Liam to keep Hannah company. 

Little does Liam know, he starts to fall for Hannah.  With the intense connection that is felt between the both of them, Hannah starts to fall for Liam too. 

Hannah accidentally hears between Bree and her friend, Abby that Liam was essentially HIRED for solely that night for Hannah.  Like anyone, Hannah is horribly upset when she finds out.  Not only is she understandably upset at Bree but she's also upset with Liam.  Now, Hannah doesn't know what to think!

And really, who could blame her? 

Hannah and Liam had both confided in one and another and they both let their guards down. 
Liam told Hannah all about his past and Hannah told Liam that she didn’t think anyone was capable of loving her because of her size. 

That’s intense stuff to be sharing right away with someone who you just met. 

One thing that I liked about the story was that it tackled how being self conscious can really steer your direction and the choices you make. The affect that it had on Hannah. How she felt that a guy would be in capable of loving her because she was a size 16. 

I was sad to see that was happening because I was happy for Hannah as time went on and how she was able to believe in herself and how Liam helped her see herself in a different light. 

Now. Liam. 

His past consisted of a mistake. Regnery showed how one mistake can turn into something so big and life changing. 

As the reader, you feel bad for Liam too.  One mistake and his entire life shifted - changing not for the better. 

Deep down though, Liam is a good guy.  He won Hannah over in ways that would make ALL girls swoon!  The manner in which he won (? maybe... You'll have to read the book to find out!) was adorable.  It was romantic and super heartwarming. 

Without giving too much of the book away! I hope I didn't give too much of it away :/

I give A Date for Hannah 5 coffee beans out of 5! It was a quick read, that was cute and meaningful. Henry (Regnery) definitely packed a lot of punch into this book.  It covers everything from love to honesty to sadness.

Go and grab yourself a copy.  It's the first book in a series of 3 books (Love is for Everyone). 


~ Jillian


*A Date for Hannah was given to us in exchange for an honest review!*