Week of June 2, 2025

• Interestingly, an audio book that popped up as a suggested read this week on the Audible app is called Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. I’m not sure how I feel about this suggestion. Yes, it’s entirely possible that I have a reading addiction - it’s crossed my mind before. But for this to just pop up intrigued me. So I downloaded it and started listening to it on Wednesday. And I was instantly hooked (huh, interesting choice of words) with how the author outlined her own dopamine addiction as it related to romance novels. (I feel very called out right now. 😳) And on the heels of my post last week about not having any motivation to DO anything, I feel like this subject warrants a little more attention on my part. So I’m going to make a conscious effort to be more attentive to my reading, and not just read for the sake of reading. I’m going to actually aim to read LESS, and I’m going to focus on branching out from the escapist romance books that I’ve been reading. Books 1 and 2 below I read before I started listening to this audiobook, so take that into consideration. 😃 

• Based on not only the fact that I got into my own head about reading too much, we also had a busy week and had to travel back to PA on Thursday for some medical appointments. Getting older sure ain’t for the weak. So my typical reading capacity was off this week, but we were very active with friends in both PA and NJ, so that’s a win in my book.

• As always, here’s my rating scale for your information:

  ⭐️ Did not like this book, would not recommend. Lots of errors, plot holes, not worth the effort to read, most likely didn’t finish. But I’m giving this author a single star for making the effort to publish a book. Not everyone’s even gotten that far, so yay for you.

  ⭐️⭐️ Didn’t really like it, multiple issues with style, plot, syntax or characters. Most likely forced myself to finish it. Would consider other books by the same author but I might have to be convinced.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Enjoyed the book. Perhaps there were issues with plot or style but it was an enjoyable read. I could see recommending it if it were of a specific genre or trope or series. Most of what I read could easily fall into this category and I’d be a happy camper.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a good book. Like a really good book. I will think about this book when I’m finished, and there’s a really good chance I’ll buy it for my personal library if it was a KU read. I’d recommend it to other readers of the same genre or trope. I’ll definitely search out other books by this author, probably as soon as I’m finished reading.

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Wow. Just wow. Amazing book, amazing story. If there were flaws in the book I’m completely overlooking them because in my mind the book was sheer perfection. I didn’t want the book to end and I’m immediately adding it to my favorites and my re-read pile. And if there’s an audio version I might have to buy that, too. I have a book hangover, I miss the characters, and I feel actual, physical loss in my life when this book is finished.

Although I still agree that reading is a hobby that should be enjoyed and getting to kick your feet up with glee over a feel-good story is so much fun, it’s good to have variety. And that’s my goal for the rest of this month. So with that being said, here are this past week’s reads:

1. Unbreak Me, by Jesse H Reign. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 523 pages.

   Would I re-read this book? Yes.

   Genre: MM romance

   3rd week in a row reading a Jesse H. Reign book, and like Romeo Falling last week, this one was absolutely wonderful. Again, written in single POV, and I think that’s becoming key for me - I really love reading in a single voice. I’m realizing that most of my favorite recent reads have been that way. This one is written is someone of a diary form, somewhat of a dialogue form, and it follows David and Jonathan from their first meeting and intense and unusual relationship and through the subsequent 5 year gap in their relationship. It’s a beautiful tortured story, of course. I love that Jonathan is a wonderfully developed character whose inner peace seems to literally seep off the page. This is a really lovely book and it helps if you read it with a British accent 😃 

2. Garnet Flats, by Devney Perry. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 346 pages.

   Would I re-read this book? Probably not.

   Genre: Romance; second chance, small town romance

   This is book 3 of 6 in The Edens series, each taking place in a small Montana town founded by ancestors of, you guessed it, The Edens. This follows Talia Eden, one of the younger of the six Eden siblings and her former love, UFC fighter Foster Madden. In a somewhat convoluted plot covering broken friendships, deceit, bribery, even mafia connections, everything you think will happen does, and yes, the guy gets the girl.

3. Coast Road, Barbara Delinsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 447 pages.

   Would I re-read this book? Yes.

   Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction

   This is me trying to cleanse myself of giddy romance books, and this was a good place to start. This book was published in 1999, so it’s been around a while, and some of the plot is a little dated as a result of that, but this book was still really well done and a nice change for me. The story follows Jack, an architect, and his ex-wife Rachel, an artist, as they come together again as a result of Rachel’s car accident and subsequent coma. Jack comes back to take care of their two teenage daughters six years after the couple divorced and he comes to learn many life lessons that he didn’t see coming. The only reason this didn’t get 5 stars for me was the sudden flip flop of the older teenaged girl from hating and resenting dad to being dad’s biggest cheerleader in the course of a weekend. Having raised two of those myself, that’s not how it works. But for the sake of the story, it was nice. All in all, this was a good read.

4. Beautiful and Terrible Things, by Riley Hart ⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 404 pages

   Would I re-read this book? Probably not.

   Genre: MM romance,

   A sweet friends to lovers story with a lot of heartbreak added in for extra angst. Joey and Gage went through it — all of it — to find their HEA. There was a good deal of psychological trauma in here, learning disabilities, self hate, emotional abuse, incarceration, this book literally had it all. There wasn’t anything particularly novel in the way this story was laid out, but it was nice to see the characters develop, seek help when they needed it, and come out the other side. Again, a nice redemption story.

That’s it for this week! As always, you can keep up with all of my reading on my Goodreads if you want to. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/12921106-karen

Love, Karen