Week of July 28, 2025

By the time you’re reading this it’s August. Mentally, I feel like I operate on an academic year basis rather than a calendar year basis. Anyone else? Being a student for 16 years and then a Mom of students for 18 years, the majority of my life was spent planning things around the academic calendar. When August would roll around, that was when my days would start to be mine again. Once the kids were on the bus, I had some freedom to focus on me, even if it was just a few hours a day. I had my own time to go to the gym or go for a run without worrying about their schedule at all. August still triggers that feeling for me - it’s like turning the page in a new school notebook that’s thrilling and scary all at once. And I love it. And now that the calendar is rolling over to August, I look forward to getting back to my routine, whatever that may be. A routine is healthy and necessary, and I’ve been out of one for far too long now. It’s time. Stay tuned!

• 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. The Murder Between Us, by Tal Bauer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 302 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM Romance, suspense

   I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: I love Tal Bauer’s books. I don’t think I’ve read a single one that I didn’t like. I like ones like this one that have a good sub-plot, especially when the characters are so likable. Noah and Cole are both FBI agents who meet up randomly in Las Vegas and hook up for an evening, but end up working together on a case shortly thereafter. There are many complications between their personal lives and their work lives, but these two make it through. I enjoyed this a lot and will definitely read other books in their series.

2. Worship, by Ella James ⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 158 pages

3. Adore, Ella James ⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 262 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance

   These two books are read as a duet, and there’s even a 3rd book to this series, but I don’t think I need to go there. This duet didn’t work for me. I had a hard time following the dialogue in the book, I didn’t care for how Vance was portrayed, calling everyone “bro” or “dude” all the time. This series just all-around missed the mark for me. The religious component to the book didn’t bother me at all, but it just didn’t land for me.

4. One Italian Summer, by Rebecca Serle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 268 pages

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary fiction, romance, summer read

   Very good read, especially for anyone that currently has, or ever did have, a mother 🙂. Rebecca Serle seems to like this sort of fiction where the concept of time isn’t an anchor of reality, but it works for her. The way she paints the visuals of Positano, Italy are beautiful and I immediately want to go there and stay for the rest of my days. And the way she describes Katy’s relationship with both her mother, Carol, and with her husband, Eric, are so vivid and poignant, it was incredibly relatable. Solid 5⭐️ summer read, and this is definitely on my favorites list.

5. Not What I Expected, by Jewel E. Ann ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 342 pages

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary romance, enemies to lovers

   Was this a literary masterpiece? Absolutely not. Was it exactly what I wanted to read right now? 1000% yes. I can’t give it that extra half a star ONLY because Kael is ridiculously perfect and completely unreal. But I think I highlighted more in this book than I’ve highlighted any book I’ve ever read. It spoke to me in so many ways. Elsie’s story of marrying the love of her life when she was young and then falling out of love from her husband is a story I’ve been seeing everywhere. My TikTok algorithm is filled with this right now too - I suppose it’s the stage of life that I’m in. Women are wondering: is this it? What now? The author handled this so well, with women in a grief support group all coming together and sharing not only their grief at the loss of their spouses but also their frustrations with them. The humanity in this book was great and it was another great read from Jewel E. Ann. Bravo.

6. Voices, by Joey Parker ⭐️⭐️

   Kindle Unlimited, 429 pages.

   Genre/tropes: MM romance, sports romance, mental health

   This book could have been half the length that it was, and it would have been fine (in my humble opinion.) I’ve said that I’m a sucker for a broken MMC, but Charlie was way too broken. I’m not belittling his trauma but it went on and on and on without any sense of him ever opening up to Shane or even to Lily about the on-going abuse the he was forced to endure. And he never seemed to be able to help himself in any meaningful way, which made it hard to root for him - I wanted him to lash out at the incredible injustice and fight back and assert himself! It was hard to embrace him as a full character. And Shane babied him so much - yes, it was sweet, but it was a way over the top. To carry him around and to physically feed him? Enough. I see a lot of positive reviews about this book, and for some I suppose this level of need and trauma resonates with readers. For me, it’s a no.

7. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, by Christina Lauren ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

   Kindle Unlimited, 320 pages

   Genre/tropes: Contemporary Romance, friends to lovers

   Christina Lauren knows how to write a good romance book. Hazel was such a charming character, and her self awareness and refusal to shrink herself to fit into a relationship should be a lesson to all women. For that alone, I really loved this book. But when Josh found himself captivated by Hazel’s quirks rather than being embarrassed or repelled by them, you knew he was her person. And it was really cute to see it all unfold. Their friendship was perfect and they way they connected through their crazy world of not dating was even better. This was a really fun book.

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