Tag Archives: buddy read

Book Review: Funny Story by Emily Henry (May BOTM read with #obsessedbuddyreads)

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Book Blurb:

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A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé Peter told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it…right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: Stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex…right?

My Thoughts:

Let me tell you a Funny Story about Daphne and Miles! This is a refreshing new romance that follows Daphne and Miles, brought together by the fact that their respective exe’s are engaged to each other. Wow! That is a lot to say and think about, the circumstances aren’t ideal, but jealousy and to some extent betrayal, can bring people together in the most unexpected of ways!

Thus begins the Funny Story! Daphne and Miles set out to prove that they are okay without their respective exes and end up spending more time with each other while figuring it out. This is a summer romance that has tropes of opposites attract, roommates (forced proximity to some extent), and friends to lovers. I loved reading this book which was a light, fun and breezy read, another perfect summer romance!

A quick read, I finished the book in one sitting and absolutely loved the banter between the MC’s. There is a little of everything and a whole lot of drama that is just fun to read! This is a wonderful summer read, perfect for fans of light romance and endings which just seem right!

This was a BOTM read for May 2024 with #obsessedbuddyreads!

Book Review: The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

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About the Book:

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Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.

Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.

Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.

My Thoughts:

I read this book as a part of a buddy read and devoured it in a day!

When Anna finds out that she is still legally married to Liam, his request for help is something that she did not expect. Now complicit in a web of white lies, the two main characters have to find a way to convince Liam’s family that they are in love and happily married all this while.

The two main characters will grow on you, their moments together and of getting to know one another are delightful. I enjoyed reading about all the characters and the family dynamics that are brought out on this little island.

What starts off as a small lie, ends up in each character owning their truth and finding their way and even themselves. Though the story focuses on Anna and Liam, the other characters play important roles in the events that unfold in paradise!

I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. It was fun, filled with crazy moments and banter among the characters that just stayed with the reader until the very end! This is a perfect summer read and the kind of light read that makes one smile always.

Book Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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About the Book:

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A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

My Thoughts:

I read this book as a part of the #obsessedbuddyreads Book of the Month for March.

I have read some of Ali Hazelwood’s books and have generally enjoyed them. This book was a welcome surprise in terms of the genre and style of writing. Though this is a romance novel, bringing in Vampyres and Werewolves as well as elements of conflict, corruption, sinister plots makes this a very interesting read.

The author has created characters here who are very different from her usual ones. Having stepped out of the usual, the result is indeed worth reading. The reader steps right into a world where Vampyres, Werewolves and Humans co-exist dealing with treaties and agreements to keep the peace. With Werewolves and Vampyres on the verge of war, what happens when a Vampyre Bride marries the Werewolve’s Alpha? This forms the main thread of the plot that unravels slowly as the story progresses.

I loved reading about Misery Lark and her strong personality, her interactions and decisions as well as her determination. It is inevitable that readers will also fall in love with Lowe Moreland and the connection that he has with Misery. Once the barriers of misunderstanding fall away and they all realize that their goals are aligned, an unexpected truce is formed which paves the way for the rest of this story.

I read this book in almost one sitting, devouring each page until the very end. The author seems to have experimented a little more with her style of writing in this book and it truly brings the reader closer to the characters and the world that she has created. This paranormal romance is truly worth the read and I recommend it to all those who enjoy the mix of genres!