Recent Reads

                         

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

Synopsis - Aurora De La Torre, or Ora to her friends, knows moving back to Pagosa Springs, Colorado, a place that was once home and is now full of bittersweet memories of her late mother, isn’t going to be easy. Starting your whole life over probably isn’t supposed to be.
But after breaking up with her longtime famous musician boyfriend, hiding out in a small town in the mountains might be the perfect remedy for a broken heart. And checking out her landlord who lives across the driveway just might cure it, too.
Only Tobias Rhodes didn’t rent out the apartment to her, rather it was his teenage son, Amos. Fiercely protective of his family and distrusting of strangers, gruff and grumpy Rhodes initially keeps little miss sunshine Ora at a distance. But over days and weeks, long hikes and fireside chats, Aurora breaks down his walls and soon an unbreakable friendship blossoms into a once-in-a-lifetime love.

Thoughts - I am very picky when it comes to romance reads. I usually stay away but I do enjoy some Emily Henry or Katherine Center books, I was into one Ali Hazelwood one as well so you never know. I have been hearing about this one for a long time so I caved. It was a slow burn and while I didn't love the odd nicknames Mr. Rhodes had for Ora but I did enjoy this one. It was about love of course but not just romantic. It was about friends and family as well.. I really enjoyed the world Ms. Zapata had created and people who lived in it. So this is a thumbs up from me. 

Playing Nice by J.P. Delaney

Synopsis - Pete Riley answers the door one morning and lets in a parent's worst nightmare. On his doorstep is Miles Lambert, a stranger who breaks the devastating news that Pete's son, Theo, isn't actually his son--he is the Lamberts', switched at birth by an understaffed hospital while their real son was sent home with Miles and his wife, Lucy. For Pete, his partner Maddie, and the little boy they've been raising for the past two years, life will never be the same again.
The two families, reeling from the shock, take comfort in shared good intentions, eagerly entwining their very different lives in the hope of becoming one unconventional modern family. But a plan to sue the hospital triggers an official investigation that unearths some disturbing questions about the night their children were switched. How much can they trust the other parents--or even each other? What secrets are hidden behind the Lamberts' glossy front door? Stretched to the breaking point, Pete and Maddie discover they will each stop at nothing to keep their family safe.
They are done playing nice.

Thoughts - Oh the premise for this one is so intriguing. What if you went home with the wrong baby? Do you love the one you have or do you yearn for the one that is biologically yours? What if one child is able and the other one disabled? And what lengths would you go to to get the child you think you should have. This was a twisty one. How easy words and people can be manipulated. I can't really give much away but this was also a good one. 

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

Synopsis - THEN She was fifteen, her mother's golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone. NOW It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter. And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet. Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter. Poppy is precocious and pretty - and meeting her completely takes Laurel's breath away. Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back. What happened to Ellie? Where did she go? Who still has secrets to hide?

Thoughts - So this was tricky for me. Just reading the synopsis.. anyone with two brain cells knows Poppy must be Ellie's child. So there is no twist there. But what happened to Ellie?That is the big question and it was awful, ofcourse.. isn't it always in books like these. We already know she is dead, already know she had a child so it was a lot of waiting to find out the how? It was not a bad book. It was a little slow. And for someone who reads a lot of thrillers.. it wasn't all too thrilling. 

I am currently in the midst of two series's

                    

 Kingmaker Chronicles by Amanda Bouchet 

Synopsis - KINGDOMS WILL RISE AND FALL FOR HER...
Cat Fisa isn't who she pretends to be. She's perfectly content disguised as a soothsayer in a traveling circus, avoiding the destiny the Gods—and her dangerous family—have saddled her with. As far as she's concerned, the magic humming within her blood can live and die with her. She won't be anyone’s pawn. But then she locks eyes with an ambitious warlord from the magic-deprived south and her illusion of safety is shattered forever.
Griffin knows Cat is the Kingmaker—the woman able to divine truth through lies—and he wants her to be a powerful weapon for his newly conquered realm. Kidnapping her off the street is simple enough, but keeping her by his side is infuriatingly tough. Cat fights him at every turn, showing a ferocity of spirit that burns hot...and leaves him desperate for more. But can he ever hope to prove to his once-captive that he wants her there by his side as his equal, his companion—and maybe someday, his Queen?

Thoughts - I am currently mid way through the 3rd book. This series has it pros and cons. I do love a kickass heroine. I am also loving the strong hero without to many issues. He is loving and supportive and has her back 100%. There is also a lots of Greek mythology thrown in for the mythology loving peeps. I enjoyed it. But this trilogy could have easily been a duology. Too much sex. Pages and pages off them flirting and teasing and fornicating and then talking about it.. too much. Also they go on many Herculean quests.. and while they are quite interesting but a few less wouldn't have hurt.. especially if this could have shortened the books. I loved the characters.. especially the side characters.. there was such a great repartee between, camaraderie.. you wanted to route for them. But I have 50% of book three left and while I may be wrong I pretty much know how it's going to end. Book 1 was my favorite.

Shades of Magic by V.E.Schwab

Synopsis - Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Thoughts - With this one I am about 35% into the second book and it is so very different from the other series. They are both fantasy's. This one also has a kickass heroine. And that is where the similarities end. These books have no romance at all. Just a man and a woman joining forces to fight evil. There may be some in the second book but I haven't gotten to that part yet. While both of the books in this duology have some connections, I feel the first book ended in such a solid place that you can go without reading book two. The story in the second book is so different from the first I can not at all predict what is going to happen. One issue though.. I am listening to this series and the narrators are different on the second book, the accents are completely different as well and it is bugging me. I preferred the first narrators much more.. especially for the voice of Delilah. 

Have you read any of these? 

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