trauma

Lights Out

by Jenni Fletcher

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5)

I want to thank Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books, and NetGalley for providing a free review copy of the book. All opinions are completely my own.

Lights Out is a fake dating romance story that takes us into the world of Formula 1 racing. I have to admit that I knew very little about the sport going into the book but found it very accessible since our narrator, Maisie, also didn’t know much about it. The car races really brought a lot of excitement and energy to the story. The book was a quick, easy, fast-paced read that was hard to put down. I liked the chemistry between Maisie and Gio. There were some situations along the way that I didn’t really like how one or both of them acted, but I was glad to see that most of it was reflected on and discussed later in the story. They both had their issues, but I also felt like it made them feel human. It was also nice to see Maisie working through some of her fears from past trauma and addressing her mental health. Overall, the book was a fun read that I enjoyed.

A Latte Like Love

by Michelle C. Harris

3 out of 5 stars (3 / 5)

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book! All opinions are completely my own.

This one is a tough one to rate. At first I really enjoyed the book and was easily pulled into the story. But somewhere along the way it lost me. I think a lot of it was that the book just felt so much longer than it needed to be, especially since not a lot seemed to be happening with the plot. The biggest conflict was in a flashback, so it felt pretty anticlimactic when I reached the epilogue. The epilogue itself was very long, rehashing things that had already happened from a different perspective. For me, it just felt a little repetitive. As for the relationship between Audrey and Theo itself, I was rooting for them, but then things really seemed to move alarmingly fast, especially considering Theo’s mental state. A lot of the story centers on Theo’s recovery after an accident and coming to terms with significant scarring. I was glad to see growth in Theo’s character over the course of the story, though Audrey didn’t really seem to develop very much. In the end, the book had a lot of promise but just didn’t quite deliver for me.