Welcome to another Sunday post. It’s a late one today as as I spent most of yesterday feeling like death. Met up with a friend for a few drinks Friday night and I don’t know what happened but my few drinks gave me the absolute worst hangover. I haven’t felt that bad since nights out at uni where I drank a whole heap more but maybe that’s getting older for you. Unlucky on my part as it meant a whole day was lost of a three day weekend. I spent it sleeping and watching lots of TV before going to my moms… and I only did that because I’d feel less guilty buying a takeaway if I was with. My brother did bring Milo round for a visit. The dog has been round before but always whines and waits at the door. He was happy to see me, even if he spent most of his visit eating the small amount of grass in my back garden.

Yesterday was meant to be gardening and tidying day so that’s what I’ve spent my morning doing before I began my usual blog catch up and blog hopping. And so many blog comments to reply to. I got given some garden tools this week so I really did have to tackle the jungle of weeds I’ve developed. It was exhausting, required way more heavy lifting than I expected has left me a little sick and ready for a nap but that’s a whole other issue. I’ve a sort of before and after picture for you, although the before was several weeks before but it’s looking pretty good if I do say so myself. The cleaning will continue this afternoon but luckily for me my vacuum battery needs recharging which put a pause on things.

But the rest of my week was pretty dull. All work and no play makes Becky a dull girl. Can’t even share my good news as more delays! But some of the guesses I’m like do you guys even know me? No baby (don’t do babies). No secret boyfriend (I like the suggestion I had a hot Latin lover, though). I think I’ve hyped it up now and you guys will be so disappointed. It’s work related which I feel makes it really obvious but next week for sure I will tell you.

What I’ve Been Reading

Not a lot of reading done this week. Just a lot of Buffy watching and hanging around my moms. I’ve listened to two Katherine Center books and I am totally thanking Sam for bringing this author onto my radar. There is romance in them but much more fiction than romance and they were just perfect for work audiobook listening.

New To Me

Just a bunch of library books this week which I won’t show you in case I don’t get to reading them (it’s often a habit of mine) and 2 more books from Words & Kisses when they were having a sale. I actually think these arrived last week but I forgot about them, which is not a sign I have too many books just that I have a terrible memory for featuring stuff.

What have you done this week? Any new books and please give me all all gardening tips I’m completely lost and have no clue what I’m doing but know I hate weeds.

This weeks review post has a couple of ARCs I meant to review forever ago. I read them and loved them… and then The Slump we really need to stop talking about. So let’s talk about a couple of amazing books which I should have been shouting about weeks ago but I’m all about being late to the party.

Published: 23rd June 2020

Source: Netgalley, Purchased

Genre: Contemporary, romance

My Rating:

Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes viral...

Danika Brown knows what she wants: professional success, academic renown, and an occasional roll in the hay to relieve all that career-driven tension. But romance? Been there, done that, burned the T-shirt. Romantic partners, whatever their gender, are a distraction at best and a drain at worst. So Dani asks the universe for the perfect friend-with-benefits—someone who knows the score and knows their way around the bedroom.

When brooding security guard Zafir Ansari rescues Dani from a workplace fire drill gone wrong, it’s an obvious sign: PhD student Dani and ex-rugby player Zaf are destined to sleep together. But before she can explain that fact, a video of the heroic rescue goes viral. Now half the internet is shipping #DrRugbae—and Zaf is begging Dani to play along. Turns out, his sports charity for kids could really use the publicity. Lying to help children? Who on earth would refuse?

Dani’s plan is simple: fake a relationship in public, seduce Zaf behind the scenes. The trouble is, grumpy Zaf’s secretly a hopeless romantic—and he’s determined to corrupt Dani’s stone-cold realism. Before long, he’s tackling her fears into the dirt. But the former sports star has issues of his own, and the walls around his heart are as thick as his... um, thighs.

Suddenly, the easy lay Dani dreamed of is more complex than her thesis. Has her wish backfired? Is her focus being tested? Or is the universe just waiting for her to take a hint?

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I read Take A Hint, Dani Brown during my slump and let me tell you, this was brilliant. I saw Vera review it and she also read it during a slump so it impacted her enjoyment, for me it was the exact opposite. I hadn’t been able to properly concentrate on most books but this one I couldn’t stop reading. I mean, I was one chapter in and had already written a note that Dani was a goddess and a woman after my own heart with her sass. There was never any doubt I’d love this one.

This book is about Dani and Zaf. Dani is Chloe’s sister, from the first book Get A Life, Chloe Brown, so you knew Dani would be aces. She was a woman committed to never being in a true relationship and was single minded in pursuing her work at the university. It was impressive, I admired her work ethic and loved how fun she was. I did worry about her though, her last relationship was purely physical with a friend and the pair fell out when Dani was unwilling to let emotions get involved. Then there was Zaf, a gruff ex rugby player who was working at the university on security. He was friends with Dani and most of the university were scared of him but he was a total softy. I mean, we first meet him listening to a romance audiobook, how could you not fall for a man who is a fan of romance? Once we learnt there was more to Zaf and there was a reason he was a squishy cinnamon roll, well I was in love. I was ready to fight everyone to keep him from harm.

This book centres on Dani and Zaf pretending to be in a relationship to help boost the profile of the non-profit Zaf runs and when Dani and Zaf find there is a definite attraction between them getting to explore their sexual side as well was a bonus. I was nervous about their fake relationship, though. It may be my favourite romance trope but. Zaf was a total sweetheart and I could see him getting hurt in that situation. I didn’t want to hate Dani because she hurt Zaf. He did get hurt, but so did Dani and the grand romantic gesture which followed was worth it.

As I said, this was a sequel to Get a Life, Chloe Brown and I loved the small glimpses into Chloe and Red’s domestic life. I forgot how much I loved Red as well, he was total prepared to murder Zaf at Chloe’s request because they thought he hurt Dani (the request was soon retracted when they found out Dani wasn’t the only injured party).

This book was fantastic and I could go into all the ways of how but I don’t want to spoil things for those of you who haven’t read it yet. Just trust me, it was brilliant. If you’re a fan of strong women seeking success and soft men in touch with their emotions and out to support the woman they love then you will love this. It was such a great book and many bloggers have probably explained why much better than me. Just read it, ok?

Published: 26th May 2020

Source: Netgalley

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+

My Rating:

A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn't come at a worse time--threatening Emma's promotion and Jo's new movie.

As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a "source" is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is "no comment".

With the launch of Jo's film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all...but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I’ve said it in the comments of other’s reviews for Something To Talk About,  I’d overlooked this book because I am not in love with the cover. Illustrated covers can be great but this one did not catch my eye going in. It looked quite serious and so I didn’t look at it properly. But when I learnt it was Berkley’s first F/F romance I looked at this book again and knew I needed it in my life. Especially when I found it was slow burn! I am a sucker for a slow burn and it was written so well here. You can imagine my excitement when I found this was being published here in the UK (yay for the UK finally acknowledging the brilliance of romance and purchasing rights for some fabulous books). When I saw it on netgalley to request I did instantly. I had this review all typed up and ready to go weeks ago but it’s fine, always good to wait a little while to talk about books I love.

Let’s get into the book, this focuses on Emma and Jo, and amazing couple who I would totally fight for. Jo is a former child actress who has transitioned into being an amazing writer in Hollywood and Emma is her assistant who is amazing and supportive and can just intuit Jo’s moods and what she needs on a day to day basis. Jo is in line to write the script for a big Hollywood film and there is a lot of chat surrounding her, it’s award season and she invites Emma to the SAGs to run interference and to just be a friendly face. Instead, they end up having a photo on the red carpet which makes them look a lot closer than employer/employee and the rumours start. And I loved them. Emma was far more heart on her sleeve earnest in her feelings, probably due to the fact she was younger, and Jo was much more restrained. This was partially due to her being closeted, but also because she had been in the limelight at a young age and seen betrayals and what happens with fame, how quick folks are to turn on you. But she brought herself back through writing shows and being amazing at it. The pair were opposites but they perfectly complemented one another.

I was shipping this pair from the start. They were so cute together. When Emma was there panicking over dress prices and dresses being too low cut and then when she came out in the perfect dress and Jo was practically speechless, I knew I was on to a winner. That kind of chemistry takes skill to write and it only carried on developing throughout the book.

I actually grew to like Jo more than Emma as I was reading. I think I understood her and her reserved nature a little better. I got why she held stuff back from Emma, usually because she assumed other’s would reveal it first. She both liked Emma and held her at a distance as she struggled to understand her feelings. I know Jo should have been smarter but she hadn’t truly let herself grow close to someone in years, she was a little rusty. I got that level of reserve because putting yourself out there is scary. And more importantly she was Emma’s boss! It never got fully addressed but that kind of power imbalance in a relationship is difficult. Jo couldn’t pursue Emma, it would be unprofessional, and the only reason this relationship worked is because it was clear from the star Emma would be moving on in her career and wouldn’t be working for Jo anymore.

Emma, I struggled with. I liked her, she really was so lovely. She was open and kind and I loved how much she cared for Jo even before she realised her own feelings. She did little things to make sure she ate and left her office on time. But I think I struggled with some moments of Emma’s immaturity. I understood why she was angry with Jo later in the book, even respected her that she didn’t let Jo off of the hook with a half arsed apology, but her behaviour in the workplace? She was so immature. There’s being annoyed with someone you work with and then there’s letting it impact your job. Her role was to assist Jo and sometimes while she was annoyed it acted as a hinderance. I know it all got addressed, they aired their feelings but it was something which bothered me about Emma. Once she realised her feelings and how they had made her act, though, then I liked her a lot more. I did respect her for wanting to ask for more respect though. She deserved that, I’d just wished for slightly more professional workplace behaviour. It was a minor niggle, though.

As you can see, I loved the characters in this. And not just the main ones, the secondary characters were amazing too. Emma’s sister was brilliant and made me hungry with all of her baking. And Jo’s best friend? Loved her and how she was ready to call out Jo on things and support her when she needed it. Ugh, this book had a full cast of characters that was great to read.

Honestly, it was a really great romance that worked to remind me there aren’t enough F/F romances being published and certainly not by big publishers. It’s great to see more LGBT+ romance coming out and I’m working to expand my reading horizons. I already want to read more books from authors of colour but it’s about time I tried to read more diverse romance in general. Romance has been straight and white for too long, there are still plenty of romances like that which are amazing, but it’s good to see romance recognising there is more out there. And let’s get off my soapbox telling you stuff you already know and just say check this out if you haven’t already.

Have you read either of these? And what was the last book you read where the cover put you off?

Another week ends and I once more haven’t posted as much as I wanted and I feel like it has been a week! 

This week has been filled with work being blergh. So many stupid questions and so much change. Change isn’t a bad thing, but lots of change with no explanation behind it so I don’t understand why it’s happening  is not great. Basically, this week has been exhausting and I feel it in my bones. Honestly, I’m still tired writing this on Saturday and I was in bed early last night! It’s meant less blogging and blog hopping though which does suck. Just not had the energy for too much more work. I think I’m about ready for some serious time off of work, we have a bank holiday at the end of the month to look forward to and I do have some days off next month so you know I’ll be recharging my batteries.

Pretty much the only thing I’ve been doing in my free time is reading a bit of fanfic, watching Buffy (season 4 was when the show picked up because no Angel and more fun), and hanging out at my mom’s because seeing the dog cheers me up on bad days. I’ve needed some cheering up, not that days have been bad bad, but more they have been a bit exhausting and very frustrating so some fun time catching up with the dog has been the best. See picture below to show Milo’s cuteness, also bonus cat picture of Widget out to distract me on the day I decided to work from my mom’s. Miss my pets a lot at my house but always have happy faces when I pop round (best decision I made to live so close to my mom’s).

Still can’t tell you my news. I think the waiting for final confirmation on it is putting me in a bit of a pouty mood as well. They told me why the wait, I expected it but I really want to tell everyone. It’s not quite the same when only your family and a couple of friends know. 

And I should probably mention the iPad keyboard! Did I mention it last week? I forget, but either way totally a worthwhile purchase. My iPad has become like a little mini laptop for blog hopping and writing post drafts and basically it’s aces. I didn’t buy the really stupidly priced Apple keyboard but I think this one is even better. It does make my iPad stupidly heavy to cart around with me but whatever. It’s totally worth it. In fact, this whole post was drafted on the iPad and even edited on new blogger. Yep, not hating new blogger… I occasionally can’t find things but layout is way better on devices which aren’t a computer. 

What I’ve Been Reading

Loads of reading has not been done. Like I said, mostly fanfic and watching TV but I did finish a couple of books. Finally finished Hawke and Sienna’s book, it was very good and I really enjoyed it. Stayed up too late reading which should probably been a sign of my week being all about being tired. I also finished the last of the novella’s in Wild Invitation, it was all about Lara and Walker and was so sweet seeing their little family. I loved seeing Walker play a big part in Kiss of Snow. I listened to a couple of audiobooks this week, Scribd refreshed and Polaris Rising became available on audiobook. I started reading that book last year (I know) and get halfway in never finished. I think I was slumpy at the time  so just stopped. I decided it was time to give it another shot because I’d liked the idea of a sci-fi romance, I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed it and I remembered why I wanted to read it in the first place. I then listened to Tweet Cute, I almost didn’t keep listening as when I sped up the audio the female narrator was a little chipmunky (obviously my fault not bad audio) but the story interested me enough that I kept listening. It was cute, I love romances like this and between the tweets, the anonymous chat app, and them becoming friends IRL it was an adorable book. I have started another book… but I won’t mention it yet as I’m only a couple of chapters in.

New To Me

One purchase inspired by a review by Sam, a freebie and an ARC I forgot about last week. It’s a few books but I am trying to clear the shelves. 

What have you been doing this week? Anyone else just had one of those weeks? And why is it audiobooks are just easier to focus on than reading?

Nothing like a discussion post to mix things up on your blog. This is the first discussion I have written in a long while. A while back now I read a post Amber write about how blogging has changed over time and it got me thinking about my own blog. Especially as I’ve been going through a bit of a slump lately. Returning to blogging has made me feel like a bit of a newbie and it’s really got me thinking about how I blog and what I blog about. I started looking back at posts, from features I did religiously and those that popped up once or twice and died a death.

Currently, the main posts you see from me are weekly updates in the form of my Sunday Summary posts, reviews and mini reviews, and monthly wrap ups (which have been few and far between of late). During my years of blogging posts and features have come and gone and I’ve certainly changed during that time and I thought it was interesting to look at what’s changed and consider why.

Top Ten Tuesday

This feature is still going strong out there for Top Ten Tuesday, although the host of it has changed to The Artsy Reader. But I stopped writing these posts. This feature is simple, a theme is chosen for each week and you write a post and choose books etc to fit them. It’s fun and it’s always great to have a post which guides you in what to write about. My blog probably needs more features like it, but I won’t be doing it. I stopped because it became way too stressful thinking of new and interesting books for the feature. I stopped enjoying it. I found myself spending every weekend trying to rush finishing the post for the next week and it was honestly a chore so I stopped. I thought I’d take a break and go back to joining up each week later, but I never did and I honestly don’t miss it. I love reading everyone else’s posts for this but you won’t find me doing it (even when there is a really good theme for the week).

Looking Forward

Do you guys remember this feature? Looking Forward was me talking about the releases I was excited about for the coming month. It was great. I got to check out upcoming releases and it really helped me sort out my shopping list and I normally discovered a couple of new and interesting releases during my search. This one drifted off simply because I found myself adding too many books to my TBR and it became a bit unwieldy. I really loved this feature and might resurrect it sometime soon. We all love checking out new releases don’t we?

Discussions

Why don’t I write more discussions? I used to take part in the Discussion Challenge, hosted by Nicole and Shannon, every year. I’ve no good reason for not taking part this year apart from the fact I’ve been on/off blogging slumps a lot lately. I got burnt out with blogging and life and just stopped. Which is crazy really, discussions are the most popular posts I do (apart from Sunday posts because it seems everyone loves a quick life catch up) so discussions should be given priority. But they take so much time to write! And I found myself repeating discussions and having nothing new to say. Yet I miss writing them. There is nothing better than feeling like you can have a true discussion in your comments on a post and they’re so much fun.

I Post Less Often

Like everyone, I felt like I had to post a million times a week. Every day I was trying to think of new things to post. I had my own little mental blogging schedule I rarely kept to. I even created a blogging calendar where I tried to map out what I was doing each day but it turns out when you work 40 hours a week and have a social life there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to post as much as I thought I had to. Instead you’re lucky to have 3 posts a week off of me and that’s cool. I take things at my own speed and it’s made blogging a lot more fun taking the pressure off.

Have you looked back on your own blogging at any point? How has your blogged changed over the years? And are there any features you used to have which you miss?

I may have been going through a blogging and reading slump but I read some good books before my slump and a few good ones during which sadly didn’t quite shift it. As such I have review back logs! I know, unheard of. Now, some of these reviews are older than others. Also, some books are fresher in my mind than others so we'll see how this goes.

Also, does anyone else forget what they have and haven't reviewed? I know I've not been blogging for a while but I had to go through and check my posts as I couldn't remember if I'd reviewed something before The Big Slump and simply forgotten about t. Book amnesia turns into blogging amnesia?

Meet Cute Club – Jack Harbon

Published: 5th May 2020

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, LGBT+

My Rating:

Jordan Collins doesn’t need a man.

What he needs is for his favorite author to release another one of her sexy supernatural novels and more people to sign up for the romance book club that he fears is slowly and steadily losing its steam. He also needs for the new employee at his local bookstore to stop making fun of him for reading things meant for “grandmas.”

The very last thing he needs is for that same employee, Rex Bailey, to waltz into his living room and ask to join Meet Cute Club. Despite his immediate thoughts—like laughing in his face and telling him to kick rocks—Jordan decides that if he wants this club to continue thriving, he can’t turn away any new members. Not even ones like Rex, who somehow manage to be both frustratingly obnoxious and breathtakingly handsome.

As Jordan and Rex team up to bring the club back from the ashes, Jordan soon discovers that Rex might not be the arrogant troll he made himself out to be, and that, like with all things in life, maybe he was wrong to judge a book by its cover.

Swoon.

Meet Cute Club was such an adorable read. I knew it was gonna be cute from the cover. I mean it's in the name! But it still surprised me how enjoyable it was. I ended up reading it in one evening! This was partially because it wasn't the longest book but also because I wanted Jordan to get his happily ever after. I was invested!

I will say I think if I'd have stopped reading and finished the next day (which would have been sensible as the next day I was like a zombie and had a video call with my friends) I might have found it a little cavity inducing to come back to. It was borderline too much but honestly, at the moment I read it it was perfect. And I enjoyed it. I can't say a bad word against it really, it being too cute? That's not a bad thing but very much mood thing on my part.

Jordan was an organised individual who liked to escape into romance during his free time. He loved the romance between the characters and sensibly acknowledged they were empowering. I think he also liked there were set rules for a romance and they always ended with a HEA (or happy for now ending as any decent romance should). And Rex was the douche at the bookstore who teased him about his purchases. Jordan gave him some sass back and thought that was the end of that but Rex's interest was piqued. He wanted to know what was so good about romance it had Jordan all wound up and ready to fight him on it? And that was how he read his first romance and joined the book club Jordan ran.

I loved the spark between these two. Jordan needed that teasing from Rex to keep him on his toes and Rex needed Jordan to show him how romance worked and prove that he can stay and be loved.

This wasn't too drama filled. And really when I think about it there wasn't that much story. There was the romance plot and then there was an exploration of Jordan trying to build up the book club and pursuing a new career. There was also a little Rex family drama. But I liked that the plot wasn't too heavy, it made this a great soft read to lose myself in. The cover should show it all, this a soft book... But don't let that fool you into thinking it's not good.

I haven't read that many M/M romances, but I hadn't realised I'd not read many F/F romances either. I definitely need to expand my reading. What was interesting is this was a romance written by a man, I don't read many male authors as it is but it was interesting to have romance from a male perspective.

40-Love (There's Something About Marysburg #2) – Olivia Dade

Published: 18th June 2020

Source: Author

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

My Rating:

This match is no game.

When a rogue wave strips Tess Dunn of her bikini top, desperate, half-naked times call for desperate, please-cover-me-kids-are-coming-closer measures. Enter Lucas Karlsson, AKA that flirty Swede in the water nearby. When he prevents her bare buoys from being exposed to fellow vacationers, even an ocean can’t drown the sparks that fly.

Lucas, a former top-level tennis pro now giving lessons at the resort, fled there after the abrupt, painful end to his injury-plagued career. But he’s finally ready to move on with his life—and after a few late-night, hands-on sessions with Tess, he’s eager to prove he’s the ace she wants.

But this match comes with challenges: She’s forty, and at twenty-six, he’s barely old enough to rent a car. Worse, they only have two weeks together before Tess returns to her assistant-principal life in Virginia. During that brief time, they’ll have to play hard, take a few risks, and find out whether their chemistry is a one-shot wonder…or whether they’re meant to be doubles partners for life.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Who doesn't love an age gap romance? And with the woman being older? Even better!

I always enjoy books from Olivia Dade, she just sweeps me up in her romances. I mean Teach Me? Still a favourite of mine. So it was great to see Marysburg again, even at a distance since this was all set in Florida while Tess was on vacation.

It was safe to say I loved every moment of this book. I mean, it began with boob jokes and puns and just carried on making me smile. I loved how Tess was so fine in her body and with herself. She was turning 40 and she was overweight but she was cool with that. I mean, when it came to her weight she acknowledged this may have led to her knee pain, but she was happier eating whatever and not having time to exercise rather than being miserable and thinner. She could still play a decent game of tennis so it’s not like she was unfit. I loved that message of being chill with yourself and prioritising your happiness and weight not being the be all and end of all of who you are.

Anyway, I loved Tess and she was even better when she was with Lucas flirting. I liked Lucas from the start, yes he had a dude-bro persona he projected but I could tell he was a genuinely good guy. He always let Tess set the pace but made his intentions known and he always checked in with her when he thought he was putting too much stress on her. Yes, he did learn to show more of himself, he had issues with not speaking enough about himself. But he knew his mind and what he wanted and I admired that, I didn’t have that kind of knowledge at his age… still don’t. I also liked that, for him, age was never an issue. He started his career young. He had to grow up at a young age and so yes he was younger than Tess but he is far more mature than many.

I liked that the age difference was always Tess’s issue and never Lucas’s. In fact, he fought her on it and it was a central issue Tess had to overcome in the book.

Basically, this was aces and you should all go out and buy. You’ll also really want to start playing tennis after reading (except, tennis looks hard so maybe not). It also made me want to rewatch the film Wimbledon, only for tennis related reasons obviously.

Finding Joy – Adriana Herrera

Published: 22nd June 2020

Source: Author

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+

My Rating:

As his twenty-sixth birthday approaches, Desta Joy Walker finds himself in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the one place he's been actively avoiding most of his life. For Desta, the East African capital encompasses some of the happiest and saddest parts of his life--his first home and the place where his father died. When an unavoidable work obligation lands him there for twelve weeks, he may finally have a chance for the closure he so desperately needs. What Desta never expected was to catch a glimpse of his future as he reconnects with the beautiful country and his family's past.

Elias Fikru has never met an opportunity he hasn't seized. Except, of course, for the life-changing one he's stubbornly ignored for the past nine months. He'd be a fool not to accept the chance to pursue his doctoral studies in the U.S., but saying yes means leaving his homeland, and Elias isn't ready to make that commitment.

Meeting Desta, the Dominican-American emergency relief worker with the easy smile and sad eyes, makes Elias want things he's never envisioned for himself. Rediscovering his country through Desta's eyes emboldens Elias to reach for a future where he can be open about every part of himself. But when something threatens the future that's within their grasp, Elias and Desta must put it all on the line for love.

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Finding Joy was my first book from Adriana Herrera but it won't be my last. It was just so beautiful. I was in such a reading funk when I started, both because I'd just finished 40-Love (which was fantastic) but also my head just wasn't there with life stuff really getting me down and stopping me from wanting to read. Thankfully, I started reading this all the same and it honestly was perfect. I needed to read this to both put my real life problems into perspective but also because this romance was beautiful.

Desta was a little lost before he arrived in Addis Ababa. He had come out of a 2-year relationship he had put all of the work into only to find his boyfriend never viewed him as anything more than someone to sleep with. This was also the first time he had come to Ethiopia since he was young. The country his father had in fact died. It was a country of his childhood even though his memories of that country were fuzzy at best. And it was also a place where he intended to make some life choices about what was next. I'm so glad he went there because then we got to meet Elias. Let me tell you I was swooning as hard as Desta was for him and I loved their friendship which slowly developed before they ever admitted their feelings. I didn't realise that homosexuality was illegal there and the tension which built between them because they had to keep their feelings on the DL was brilliant.

This book was an excellent romance (although Desta needed some strong words spoken to him when he was messing Elias about because he did not deserve the cold shoulder) but it was also a celebration of such a wonderful country. When I read the author's note at the end I smiled because I could already tell there was a strong love for Ethiopia, you could feel it in how it was written, but I was so pleased to see that was because Herrera herself had such a strong love for it from her own experiences there. This was not an impulsive setting but instead a celebration of a brilliant country and the people there but also a chance to show we shouldn't be those ex-pats assuming the saviour role but instead be celebrating the loud and proud voices of those who live there.

***

And there are my reviews, anyone else read any of these? Do you have a favourite or have I introduced you to something new to read?

I cannot believe it’s August and I’ve hardly posted. When even was the last time I did a Sunday Summary post? I actually debated skipping it because I don’t have much to say but I feel like these Sunday posts are tradition at this point. I’ve got blog posts for next week to draft (yep, my organisation hasn’t improved) but let’s spend a little time catching up and allow me to procrastinate for a while.

What’s been going on lately? Work? Last week everyone who was confirmed as redundant had their final day (there were tears in my spare room with all of the goodbye emails which were being thrown about) so this week was a strange one. We know who has left from our team but no idea from other departments until you go to email someone and they’re gone. It’s been a frustrating week of finding out who is left and getting to know our new managers. I do have something work related which has been going on which I won’t talk about yet. I don’t want to jinx anything. It could mean good things for me though. I also spent a couple of days working from my mom’s for a change of scenery which was nice.

While we’re on work things I’m also currently working with a 2 screen set up which is weird for blogging. I work on my own laptop for work so when they said getting a second screen would help me be more productive I ended up getting my little TV out of the bedroom and hooking that up. It’s weird blogging with 2 screens, seems a bit excessive. I am tempted to do a little Sims playing on my second screen and see how it looks, though. I have invested in a new keyboard for my iPad, its the Logitech Combo Touch case so comes with trackpad so it will make my iPad a little laptop. It’s not arrived yet and I’m worried the keyboard will be US English in which case it’ll have to go back (I can’t function without a £ sign!) but we’ll see. I’m hoping that case will mean I’ll blog more when I’m sat on the sofa watching Netflix.

Apart from work it really has been slow. We went out for a meal Wednesday which was good. Seating was spaced out, staff had masks on. Hand sanitiser everywhere. It was a touch busier than I might have liked but infection numbers are reasonably low by me so I feel like I’ve got to stop staying at home and hating it and start going out a bit more. Things aren’t back to normal but they’re better than they were. I’m liking a small return to some semblance of normality. I feel like this pandemic has really shown us what our limits are and shown us that it’s ok to set our own boundaries of what we’re comfortable with (had a whole conversation about that with a friend of mine a week or so ago). We also had a barbecue at my mom’s Saturday which was good. Sun was out, loads of food was cooked and it was honestly a really nice day. Need more good days like that since it feels like we all lost 4 months of our lives to lockdown.

The only other event was Milo going to the vets! He’s been a little off so we were thinking to get him in the vets soon anyway and then my mom noticed blood in his urine. She got him booked in and he went for his first solo trip to the vets. You aren’t allowed in. You call when you‘re outside and they come collect him and then call with what they found and return him in the parking lot. He was a brave boy and was told he’s a very happy dog. Got some antibiotics for a UTI and some anti itch tablets as he got some sores on his feet. Stressful, though, never fun going to the vets and couldn’t even stay with him. Milo was half the reason I worked at my mom’s, it meant I got 2 days with him.

What I’ve Been Reading

A slower reading week this week. I finished my review copy in time for Thursday’s post (yay) then continued the Psy/Changeling series. I loved Drew and Indigo’s book and then read the Cooper short story in the collection I bought and now I’m on to Hawke and Sienna’s book which I know will be good. And then I’ll have finished my 10 book Psy/Changeling collection and will have to start buying the individual ebooks again (they’re pricey).

New To Me

I want to claim some kind of defence for my book buying but I have nothing. I’m a sucker for a Kindle deal. I will say Boyfriend Material is a physical copy I bought because I found a UK based online romance bookstore, Words and Kisses. They also have a subscription box for new releases I am so tempted by but I buy so many romance books already I don’t want dupes. But yeah, I discovered the store and new I needed to buy something from there. I also got a shiny new romance book mug, see below (not my photo). It went out of stock but she put me on the email list to give me advance warning and it’s love. I feel determined to try and read all of the books on the mug now.

How has your week been? Any exciting book purchases or good news? And am I the only one accepting a small return to normality (with face masks and social distancing) or are you waiting to see if there’s fall out first?

The Secret of You and Me - Melissa Lenhardt

Published: 4th August 2020

Source: Publisher

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, LGBT

My Rating: 

You always come back to your first love

Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she left home, and her broken heart, far behind her. But now tragedy calls her back, where she must finally come face to face with ex-boyfriend Charlie, and best friend Sophie. Only now will she be able to confront her past—and reconcile her future.

Sophie seems to have everything. Married to Charlie, with a wonderful daughter and a successful career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. A secret that ripped through their town and destroyed her friendship with Nora. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.

But first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites and old feelings resurface. As the forces that once tore them apart begin to re-emerge, both Nora and Sophie must accept that true love is something worth fighting for.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Let me just say this is the first review I've written for a while which I actually expect people to read so sorry if I'm all over the place but I go where the words take me! Also, this how my brain works and it is messy!

First off, this book is a Persuasion retelling! Persuasion is one of my favourite Austen novels so you just know that's a point in its favour. But this is a lesbian retelling of Persuasion about childhood best friends, Sophie and Nora, who fell in love in a small town in Texas. Best friends who had a massive falling out and then Sophie married Nora's high school boyfriend and stayed in said small town. Yeah, I know, it's a lot. It had all kinds of drama going on and that is what made it fun to read.

I had no expectations going into this. It was marketed as an LGBT romance which immediately drew me in. That's all I knew, I read the book's summary and that's it. I wasn't certain it would be a usual romance (the romance waters are getting murky with women's fiction sneaking up in there) but I am here for supporting more LGBT romances and I wondered how this book would pan out with that weird love triangle alluded to in the summary. Thankfully, this book was excellent and no, I still wouldn't call it a usual romance. I mean, the romance between the main characters, Sophie and Nora, was beautiful. They went through so much and seeing them slowly come back together and learn to trust one another was lovely, but there was a lot of there stuff happening, their romance was just part of it. I think with all the other story happening it meant the romance was brilliant but not completely the sole focus. This was about Nora discovering the secrets of her small town and coming to terms with her father's death as well as realising the importance of love and family. It was also about Sophie reconciling with the fact she was a lesbian and the damage keeping that secret has had on herself, her family, and her relationship with her daughter. It was about the two of them admitting the mistakes of their past but also accepting that their past is behind them and they have no regrets with their choices because it allowed so many good things to happen in their lives despite what they might have missed out on.

The romance between Sophie and Nora was really wonderful to read. They were meant to be together. I loved the slow discovery of everything which happened in their pasts. They had so much history together. It's sad to think they lost so much time together because of their choices, but they wouldn't have been the same people without their years apart. If they had been braver or if the world they had lived in had been more accepting they might have pursued their romance with pride but instead, they took their time, learnt who they were and missed out but there wouldn't have been a great book to read otherwise.

I really loved that the author's note said that this story happened because she had been trying to write the romance for Nora and felt like no one was deserving of her apart from Sophie and that it all grew from there. What's even better is the author asked for help and advice from the LBGTQ+ community as she is neither a lesbian or bi (Nora identifies as bisexual and there is a clear acknowledgement that attraction both sexual and romantic is a varying spectrum for bisexuals. Excellent rep on that front). So she did want to do them justice and write authentic experiences and struggles for her characters. Not only did she take the time and out the work in to give her characters more authentic voices. She knew how to write falling in love, that experience is universal, but she did want to show the impact of being closeted in a small town. And the really great part? A portion of the royalties for this book are going to the It Gets Better Charity as the author doesn't want to barrel in and take one but show support to the community and write a love story which we can enjoy and help others feel seen. How could I not want to support an author who honestly seems like they want to help too?

And the secondary characters in this! This is a small Texas town, you know the types of people you will get here, but there was more to them and they helped give this story depth. There was Kim with her daughter looking to Nora for help. There was Nora's aunt Emmadean who was a marvel. And Nora's sister and brother in law! Her sister, Mary, should have been a total bore with her complaining and hard done by act but she added some light humour to events and you couldn't help but smile a little at her antics. And Mar's husband, Jeremy? He was a saint for putting up with her but he did reveal there was another side to their relationship Nora wouldn't have been privy to. And Sophie's daughter, Logan? Yeah, she was a badass kid who you couldn't help but like.

And that is my attempt at writing a review for a book which came as a total surprise. I had no expectations and it meant I went on a lovely journey with characters I couldn't help but like. I was in small-town Texas with the gossips and the rumours, where high school really doesn't end. It was fun and sweet and really an excellent summer read.

Have any of you read this? What did you think? And please tell me any and all good Persuasion retellings you can think of, I feel I am lacking on that front.

I often ask myself how many ‘sorry I disappeared’ posts I can write in a single year yet here I am ready to write up another. I took far longer out of blogging this time around, though. This coronavirus pandemic has really been kicking my mental health's butt. I’ve appreciated the downtime. Apart from the 200+ blog posts I’ve not read from you guys, it’s been great. I feel very out of the loop now, though. It’s like trying to figure things out when you first get into blogging all over again.

I don’t want to do another life catch up, since my life has been very dull lately (I did go to the cinema for the first time in 6 months the other day which was interesting). I won’t fill you in on my TV watching and the repetition of daily life currently as that will be dull. Instead, I got a little introspective during my downtime (since I wasn’t reading) and decided to talk about the things I’ve learnt about myself while being stuck at home.

When I’m Stressed My Blogging and Reading Suffer 

I figured we would start off with the big stuff. I think it’s obvious I’ve not been blogging, but I’ve also not been reading a whole heap (it’s picking back up). I never realised it before but my blogging and reading take a major hit whenever my real life is getting particularly stressful. As I told you before, I got told I was going to be made redundant a couple of months back and the stress of figuring out how to deal with that meant that I pretty much stopped reading altogether and since I wasn't reading I felt like a fraud blogging. It didn't help all of my free time was being used to find and apply for jobs. My company did a total 180 with my job about three weeks ago and now my job is safe (I’m still salty about it, I’d accepted redundancy and so was angry they changed their minds) and so money worries are gone and my stress levels are back down to normal ‘we’re living through a pandemic’ level rather than full panic stations. Things are picking back up and I can remember I used to do other things other than look for a job and worry (still browsing for jobs but don’t have to apply for everything I see now). I definitely missed blogging.

Audiobooks and Podcasts are Awesome 

I kind of have Vera to thank on this front. She told me about The Magnus Archives podcast and I started to listen to that while I was working from home and the rest is history (if you haven’t already, listen to that podcast, we’re on the last season and it’s killing me). I never really got into podcasts before, I just didn’t get them. The same way I’ve always struggled with audiobooks. The only podcast I’ve really listened to is the Smart Bitches one and that just adds to my continually expanding romance TBR list. Never listened to a fictional podcast with a story and everything. So TMA was eye-opening. I’ve yet to listen to anything quite as good yet. I also recommend David Tennant’s podcast (very funny and interesting) as well as Louis Theroux’s podcast which was crazy informative. He spoke with such interesting people over lockdown, I hope he does more things like that as there’s only so many of his documentaries to watch. But I also mentioned audiobooks. I struggled to find audiobooks I liked and hated how on Audible you’re limited to one a month and then remembered both about borrowing them from the library (limited selection there) and also remembered that Scribd had a big selection to choose from. I’ve got myself a free trial and so far it’s going well, I've been using it for about a week or so and I've already finished two audiobooks. I do know Scribd can put some caps on you and such but now I've found contemporary YA audiobooks work perfectly for me while I'm working I'm hoping to clear some stuff off my TBR shelves. I'm still new to audiobooks, I do have to be in the right mood to listen to them, but it stops me being too lonely at home and stops me listening to the silence or the shattering of the silence when I can hear my neighbours kids.

Rewatching and Rereading (and Fanfiction) help with Stress 

Honestly, until I saw a tweet about how many who suffer from anxiety prefer to rewatch shows than see something new I did not realise that is something which I do all the time. I wouldn’t say I have anxiety but I would say that high-stress times make me want to delve into the familiar. It means I’ve rewatched a lot of romcoms, rewatched Firefly and now have started a rewatch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer the past few months. The familiar is just easier right now. I’ve turned to a couple of old favourite books to help both with the reading slump and because my brain just can’t handle the tension in waiting to find out what happens next with a story. And I have been rereading so much fanfiction I’ve favourited it’s unreal. I am reverting back into 16 year old me. I am slowly pulling out of the world of the familiar but turns out if I'm stressed out or really emotional I want the TV and reading equivalent of a hot chocolate and warm fuzzy blanket and to delve into the comfortable for a while and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

I Used to Think I Was An Introvert (I Was Wrong) 

I have never hated my own company as much as I have during lockdown. I used to like spending time alone. I could relax best and recharge my batteries with a couple of days at home. Now? I spend most evenings at my mom’s just to say I’ve spoken to people that day. I haven’t spent a whole day at home alone in a few weeks. Pretty much ever since our lockdown was eased enough that we were allowed to spend time in other people’s houses. I mean, ever since I was allowed to form a ‘support bubble’ with my mom’s household really. I have hated being alone during lockdown, it was probably the worst time to move out because I was both in a new house getting familiar with its quirks and then I was stuck alone while doing it. I hadn't even got round to getting a pet because I wanted to get settled first! I think it’s why I’ve not caught up on your blogs as well. I just don’t want to be at home alone right now so I've not sat at my computer for a while. Things will obviously change as we can go out more and maybe even return to the office, I will see more people and will want that alone time again. But until then my introvert status will be under review.

Working From Home Isn't As Fun As I Thought

I think you can tell from my other points I've not enjoyed being at home as much as I thought. And part of that is working from home hasn't been all that fun. I don't think it helped we thought we were all losing our jobs during that time. And we've had to do more work with fewer people due to staff being furloughed. Work has been stressful lately. Being sat in the same house for nearly 4 months does build a little resentment to your own home. It's made even worse that my company never provided me with equipment to work on so I'm working on my own laptop every day. When I finish work at 5 I don't really want to sit at my desk any longer blogging, it's another reason I'm behind on blog posts. At the start of lockdown, it was great, I spent loads of time at my desk, I played loads of Sims... now, not so much. I don't want to spend more time in the same seat. I actually debated getting the expensive apple keyboard for my iPad and blogging on there instead because then I can associate my laptop with work and my iPad with free time. I'm still undecided but I need to do something so my desk doesn't fill me with dread whenever I sit at it as it makes me think of work right now. I need to get good desk associations and that's not happening when I'm working 40 hours a week here.

I Thought I'd Be So Productive

And the big thing has been beating myself up I've not done more in lockdown. All that free time? I thought I'd get loads done but turns out I was wrong. I didn't blog, I didn't finish loads of boxsets. I didn't finish loads of books. My house is messier now than when I first moved in. My garden needs some serious TLC. I have not been productive. But then I remind myself it's probably one of the most stressful things we could have gone through. The uncertainty of a global pandemic with no cure, no vaccine, no real understanding of how it's spread. I can kind of get why I've been a little distracted. Life has been tough lately. And all those people posting on social media saying they're thriving in lockdown... I don't need to compare myself to them because social media is just a small snapshot of people's lives. I mean, I wasn't the most productive person before I was forced to stay home every day so why did I think that would change? I'm still lazy, messy and the queen of avoidance. And that's cool. I've managed to hit a 104-day streak on my Duolingo German lessons. I've learnt how to cook new things I would never have tried if I wasn't at home so much. I've discovered I like podcasts and audiobooks when I was adamant they weren't for me. I've figured out I really enjoy eating fruit but put a chocolate bar on my desk and I will always eat that first. I know I drink loads of water, but only when I'm sat at a computer, all other times I will forget about my need to drink until I'm dehydrated. So I may not be insanely productive in ways that might impress others, I've still figured out new things about myself and really I'm the only one that matters, screw everyone else.

***

And there are some lessons in introspection while I’ve been stuck at home. Do you feel like you’ve got to know me better? Think I'm a little crazier than you originally realised? Great, we’re practically best friends now then. Don’t worry, a review post is coming up next so it’s not loads of me rambling at my screen about how life is hard. I’ve started reading again, I have loads of books to review and I might get crazy with a discussion post! But for now, I'll be sat here nervous about posting this crazy rambling post for my return back, it seemed like a good idea at the time!

What have you learnt about yourself during this pandemic? And how are you occupying your time?