August 2023 Mini Reviews - part 3

 Beach Rivals by Georgie Tilney

Published: 20th July 2023 by Penguin

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.

I haven't really heard anyone talking about this book, but I thought the premise of an enemies-to-lovers romance set in an island bookshop sounded ideal, and I definitely enjoyed it! I wasn't convinced by Jack as a love interest in the beginning, as I didn't find him charming at all, and actually just felt he was unnecessarily rude, but this did change as he warmed up to Clare and her ideas for the bookshop. Even then, I did find their romance to come somewhat out of the blue if I hadn't been anticipating it from the start. The actual plot concerning the revival of the bookshop and the community that grew through their efforts was sweet, and the whole 3-month timeframe did allow momentum to build up throughout the course of the book. I enjoyed Adam and Celestina as secondary characters, and I wish they were utilised a bit more, especially Adam, as I felt his sudden involvement towards the end was a bit unexpected. Overall a perfectly decent summer read!

3 stars

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

Published: 1st July 2023 by HarperCollins

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.

This book has been a highly anticipated romance debut for a lot of people, myself included, and on the whole, I think it definitely lived up to expectations! I think a wedding setting is always fun in a romcom so the fact that Ama was a wedding planner was perfect, and I liked how Elliot, the love interest, was brought into the story through their working together, with him owning a flower shop, which I also really enjoy in cute stories like this. I liked Ama as a protagonist almost immediately, but found Elliot harder to warm up to - however, I knew some big reveal was awaiting me and I'm glad I stuck around for it as it explained a lot. Their chemistry was great, thanks to Soto's strong writing, and while the story was very easily digestible, it wasn't made too simplistic - I would certainly read more from her in the future.

3.5 stars

My Husband by Maud Ventura

Published: 27th July 2023 by Cornerstone

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.

This was such a pleasant surprise - this is a French novel that came out a couple of years ago that has been translated into English this year, and I've been wanting to read more translated fiction, so this seemed perfect, and it was great! I really liked the writing style, and the narrative voice of our unnamed protagonist in particular as she goes about her days obsessing over her husband. The lyrical quality to her narration really helped the book to flow, as did the length, which felt perfect as it spans a week in the life of her neurotic overthinking of her relationship with her husband, and father of her children, who she idolises to a clearly unhealthy extent. At times almost unbelievable in its reveal of her deepest, darkest, thoughts, especially those towards her own children, Ventura portrays a protagonist whose unhinged paranoia and delusion makes for truly great reading. A lot of authors try to write within this genre of uncomfortably authentic women, but few succeed like this one.

4 stars

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published: 30th August 2022 by Cornerstone

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.

Coming off of the back of the monumental success Daisy Jones and Evelyn Hugo has received, the newest book following a public female figure from Jenkins-Reid was very highly anticipated for me, and this finally felt like the perfect time to read it as summer comes to an end. The match-playing sequences in this are unlike any sort of situation I have come across in a book before, but Jenkins-Reid writes these action plots with the same high level of quality as the rest of her prose, which I find so impressive. I loved the father-daughter dynamic, and seeing Carrie's circle slowly expand. This was honestly such an enjoyable reading experience for me, as all of her other books have been - the writing doesn't feel dumbed down at all but is hugely palatable and has this addictive quality to them that allows me to fly through them.

4.5 stars