Week of August 4, 2025

On Monday August 4th of this week, for some unknown reason, I didn’t pick up my Kindle. And in doing so, I broke my more than 560 day reading streak. 😳 I’m not sure how I feel about that to be honest. It was a busy week overall, and I didn’t even notice that my streak was broken until Saturday. But I feel a little bit sad that I lost that without even realizing it! But those are the breaks, I suppose, and all good things must come to an end.

The weather finally turned for us over here in New Jersey and we’ve been blessed with absolutely picture perfect weather for the last few days. We had company come and visit us at the beach this weekend and we had a great time visiting with them. It was certainly a welcome change from the typical east coast murky summer humidity that we have been stuck with all summer, so I feel like it was a well-deserved break. But as a result of the nice weather and the company, my reading list was shorter than usual this week.

• 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.

Thanks for joining me this week! Let’s dive in!

1. Eight Seconds to Ride, by Ashley James ⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 377 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, cowboy, enemies to lovers

   The cowboy romance genre is pretty specific, and this one with rodeo riders was even more so. This was a nice story, with Shooter and Sterling being the two main characters. Shooter is a three time world champion bronc rider, and Sterling the new kid on the circuit who poses the only true challenge to Shooter that he’s ever really had. Add to the fact that they hooked up in Vegas one night and suddenly their dynamic is a lot more interesting. These two characters brought out the best in each other and it was a nice read.

2. Rage of Angels, by Sidney Sheldon. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Edition, $14.49, 517 pages.

   Genre/tropes: Fiction, legal thriller, suspense, mafia

   I took my time with this one, and it was well worth it. I’m a tried and true fan of legal thrillers from authors like John Grisham and Scott Turow, but I had never read Rage of Angels, though I had heard of it. I’m so glad I dove in. This was well thought out and well executed, and I loved it from start to finish. Jennifer Parker was a fabulous, strong FMC and was such an easy character to root for no matter the circumstance. If mystery/legal thrillers are your jam, this should absolutely be on your list.

3. Hostile, Nicole Dykes ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 326 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, friends to lovers

   This author is new to me, so I thought I’d give it a try. Though these characters are young, I really liked this book. Once I see the characters are high school aged, I typically am a little guarded. But Grayson and Rhett weren’t written as young men. Grayson struggled to overcome the bigotry and selfishness of his father, and Rhett, growing up in the foster care system, struggled with trusting almost everyone. They handled themselves well, and the way they let their relationship develop was very mature. I appreciated that about this book a lot, and look forward to seeing what else this author has written.

4. Fools Rush In, by Kristan Higgins ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 386 pages

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary romance, friends to lovers

   There was a lot of humor in this book and I enjoyed it a lot. Millie is a quirky character, the self-proclaimed frumpy younger sister who pines for local heartthrob Joe Carpenter the carpenter for 16 years and plots to make him fall for her. Her commitment to the cause was admirable! And boy, did we want to see it work out - I was rooting for them. The book was well written and the reader can see that as her relationship with former brother-in-law Sam and nephew Danny are so comfortable, her relationship with Joe struggles to match that same energy. This was an easy read, and a cute 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