small town

Wish You Were Her

by Elle McNicoll

coming August 26, 2025

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Wednesday Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

In Wish You Were Her, we follow a young actress, Allegra, who is taking a break and spending her summer in a small town, where she meets a grumpy bookseller, Jonah. It’s dual POV, which gives us the opportunity to see things from both Allegra and Jonah’s perspectives. Since the author is Scottish, the book is written in British English.

I enjoyed reading this book and had a hard time putting it down. While there wasn’t anything super surprising about the plot, it didn’t really take away from my enjoyment of the book. The relationship between Allegra and Jonah could be a bit explosive but was fun to watch it evolve. We meet a variety of characters, with some very likable and others having a darker side.

A big topic in this story is autism, and we meet a couple autistic characters along the way. I thought it was all very insightful, with great descriptions of how characters felt. It was portrayed in an optimistic and uplifting way while still showing the obstacles characters faced. Allegra was an especially interesting character since we could see what it was like to be famous, the challenges that came with it, and how her autism affected that experience, sometimes in a very positive way.

This was a quick, fun read, and I look forward to seeing more from the author!

A Dragon Rider’s Guide to Retirement

by Julia Huni

coming August 5, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

A special “thank you” to author Julia Huni for providing a free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

This was a cozy fantasy with a quaint small-town setting. It also had a sweet, spice-free romance that developed. I liked how descriptive the story was, allowing me to easily visualize this world. It almost felt like a fairy tale the way it was written, with a variety of magical beings. I especially liked the water dragons! There wasn’t necessarily anything that was shocking or surprising in the story, but sometimes it’s nice to have something that doesn’t bring a ton of drama. And there were still some exciting scenes to keep things interesting! It was fun to meet William and Cala, who were both likable characters. I liked to see how they each adapted to “normal” life after fighting in a war for many years. Some of the side characters were a lot of fun too!

July 23, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Romance 0

32 Days in May

by Betty Corrello

coming May 13, 2025

(4 / 5)

A woman who is struggling after her lupus diagnosis meets a former tv star in a small New Jersey island town. They decide to have a whirlwind romance, just for the month of May.

This book took me a little bit to get into. In the beginning we are briefly jumping through a few key moments in time in the months after our protagonist, Nadia, learns that she has lupus and it significantly impacts her life. It’s obvious that she’s struggling a lot mentally, which can be difficult to read about, though it’s also an important part of her journey. Once I got more acclimated to the story, I was hooked, and I ended up enjoying it a lot.

Things definitely got more interesting when Nadia met Marco, a minor celebrity who has had his own struggles. Both characters felt so authentic and I really liked them, so it wasn’t hard to adore the relationship that develops between them. While there’s not necessarily anything about the story that surprised me, it was an emotional journey with a powerful message.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the free review copy of 32 Days in May! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

February 26, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Women's Fiction 0

Shampoo Unicorn

By Sawyer Lovett

Coming May 6, 2025

(4 / 5)

Shampoo Unicorn is a story that follows 3 LGBTQ teens who live in conservative small towns in West Virginia and Pennsylvania. They each provide a different perspective: the gay boy who everyone always just knew about and hosts a podcast, the masculine football player who is secretly gay, and a trans girl who is struggling to get through life until she can feel safe enough to live as her true self. Full disclosure: I am not LGBTQ myself, but as the parent of an LGBTQ teen, I enjoy reading stories that help me better understand those experiences.

At first I was a little unsure of the book. Each of the main characters’ portions are portrayed in a different perspective: 1st person (Brian), 2nd person (Greg), and 3rd person (Leslie). It took a bit to get used to, especially Greg’s 2nd person part. Plus we are also getting transcripts of Brian’s podcast, which I actually enjoyed a lot despite not being into podcasts personally. Once I got used to how the book was presented, I came to appreciate how the different perspectives gave each character a very distinctive feel and portrayed their individual experience especially well. For example, I found Greg’s 2nd person part to be very reflective and fitting for what his character goes through in the story. Leslie’s 3rd person perspective really drove home that she was undoubtedly a girl despite her male appearance, and we were seeing her authentic self. Leslie was actually one of my favorite characters, and I would have loved to see even more of her story.

I felt like this story was pretty character-driven, which I sometimes struggle with but actually enjoyed a lot in this book. I was impressed with the growth of characters, especially some of the secondary characters that were rather unexpected. I also appreciated the variety of LGBTQ experiences that were portrayed by fans of the podcast. This book turned out to be a heartwarming story that held a lot of meaning and left me with a sense of hope. What a wonderful debut novel – I look forward to seeing future books by Sawyer Lovett!

Thank you to Hyperion and BookishFirst for the free review copy of Shampoo Unicorn! My review is voluntary and all opinions are completely my own.

February 2, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction LGBTQ Paperback Young Adult 0

When You Renovate a Grump

When in Rotheberg #6

By Lia Huni

Coming February 10, 2025

(4 / 5)

When You Renovate a Grump fits right in with the rest of the books in this series of sweet romcoms. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the others though, this one could easily be read as a standalone. In this story, we follow Andi, a former princess who is now trying to provide for herself without the help of her family. She happens to meet Reece in London when he comes to her rescue, though they part ways without exchanging contact information. So imagine their surprise when they discover that they are both living in the same small town in Oregon.

I enjoyed reading this book! Andi has a lot of spunk that makes her relatable despite her former status as royalty. It was certainly interesting to see her helping out with a home renovation! Reece comes off a bit aloof at first, but I liked his dry sense of humor and could tell he was a decent guy. The personalities played against each other well, and I respected that each of them was trying to find success on their own. There were a lot of lighthearted moments, keeping the story fun. The book kept my interest the whole way through, and it was hard to put down!

Thank you to Lia Huni for providing a free review copy of When You Renovate a Grump! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

January 28, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

When You Rescue Your Celebrity Crush

When in Rotheberg #3

By Lia Huni

I’m working on reading the entire When in Rotheberg series in order, though this book could easily be a standalone. I ended up liking this one more than book #2. In this story, we follow Matt and his celebrity crush, actress Nica. Matt as a character was a lot more fun than I was expecting, and I enjoyed how the book started with a prank on his daughter. Honestly, in the beginning I didn’t see how a romance between the two could ever work (which is basically how the characters feel too), but it all came together in a way that makes sense. I enjoyed seeing all the quirky characters we’ve met along the way in this series, and also finally meeting Matt’s daughter, Eva. I’m looking forward to continuing on to the next book in the series!

January 22, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Romance 0

When You Bake with the Enemy

When in Rotheberg Book 1

By Lia Huni

(4 / 5)

When You Bake with the Enemy is the first book in the When in Rotheberg series, which brings us to a small Bavarian-inspired town in Oregon. This story follows Jamie, a math teacher who is new to the town and unexpectedly finds out she also has to teach a baking class. When she encounters Dylan, a local who is hoping to build a test kitchen in the spot where the baking class takes place, sparks fly.

I thought this was a really cute story. In the beginning I was a little overwhelmed with all the characters we were meeting, but since Jamie was new to town, it also felt like a good reflection about how she must feel. Plus, I can already see how it sets up for the series to easily expand into multiple books. The story alternates POVs between Jamie and Dylan, which I think helped me like both characters because I could see the situation from both sides. Dylan definitely had moments where his actions could be frustrating, but it was hard to stay mad at him for long. In the end, there was nothing particularly surprising about this story, but it was a fun escape and kept me interested the whole time. I’m looking forward to continuing the series!

January 17, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Book Lovers

By Emily Henry

(5 / 5)

I enjoyed reading this book so much. The witty banter and comebacks between Nora and Charlie had me literally laughing out loud more than I have while reading a book in a long time. The characters had a lot of depth, with their first impressions barely scratching the surface. This book faces some heavy topics at times, but I enjoyed the growth of the characters and relationships with each other. As a book lover, I enjoyed the glimpses into the book publishing world, plus the quips about small town romance tropes when this was indeed a small town romance itself. My only regret is that it took me so long to finally get around to reading this book!

January 15, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Hardcover Romance 0