Lovely War
Julie Berry
It's 1917 and Hazel, a young pianist meets James at a dance a few days before he's about to be deployed and it's love at first sight. Meanwhile, Harlem ragtime genius Aubrey, a member of the first black regiment of the US army, is excited to be finally getting to fight in the war but when he meets Belgian orphan Collette while stationed in France a new love story starts to blossom. Both of these relationships are doomed to fail but with the watchful eye of Aphrodite and her acquaintances, who knows what will happen! The greek gods are facing some challenges of their own and use these stories of Hazel and James and Collette and Aubrey to show just how love can burn brightest in a time of war and how in the end, love will always win.
Ever since I heard Hailey talk about this book it was on my radar. I'd seen it compared to The Diviners which is one of my favourite series of all time and then it was also compared to Salt to The Sea by Ruta Sepetys which was one of my favourite books from last year. So with those two comparisons, it's needless to say that I was HYPED for this book. I did absolutely love this book, it hurt me and I cried a lot but I think because I had hyped it up so much in my head it just didn't quite meet my expectations. I've found in the past that my five-star reads have been the ones that have taken me by surprise and not necessarily my most hyped ones because they always have more to live up to. I still definitely recommend checking this book out though because it's just so wholesome and there's just something about a sweet love story set against a backdrop of a time and situation that is anything but that just does it for me.
Today Tonight Tomorrow
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rowan and Neil have a rivalry, a deep-seated rivalry that started in a ninth-grade writing competition. Now, Neil has just been announced as valedictorian and it's time for the traditional final day of school competition which is a scavenger hunt meets assassins all around Seattle and Rowan is determined to beat Neil one more time. However, as a plot to take them both down emerges they end up teaming up and discover that maybe they don't hate each other as much as they thought.
I hadn't actually heard of this book or seen it talked about anywhere. until I did an Epic Reads quiz about baked goods and it recommended this one and once I read the blurb I knew it had to go on my tbr! So when it was one of the titles dropped on Libby I knew that it was meant to be read this month along with all my other romance reads. When this book opened with a Much Ado About Nothing quote I knew we were on to a winner! You guys I am so soft for this book I found myself literally melting into my bed with joy on approximately fifteen occasions as I was listening to it. I just mentioned that my five-star reads tend to come unexpectedly to me and this is one of those cases. I just absolutely adore everything about this book and if you're after a super soft, super sweet romance then this is the one!
Get a Life, Chloe Brown
Talia Hibbert
When Chloe Brown almost gets hit by a car she decides that it's about time that she actually did something with her life and so her 'Get A Life List' was born. She's moved out of her family home and she decides that the new superintendent is the perfect person to help her to tick some things off.
I'd heard so many good things about this book and I'd had it on my Kindle for a while so if I was ever going to get round to reading it, it was going to be during my February romance readathon. To be honest I really didn't vibe with this book which is really sad because I so wanted to love it! I totally appreciate what the author was trying to do with the sentiment that just because someone is chronically ill doesn't make them any less desirable or mean they can't experience life and pleasure and I actually really liked that aspect of the novel along with the representation of a man recovering from abuse but on the whole, it just wasn't really for me! I didn't feel the enemies to lovers vibe and I wanted more build-up and it was just a little too steamy for my personal tastes. Romance novels are such a personal thing, and I totally appreciate why so many people love this book. I think it's possible that Rowan and Neil from Today, Tonight, Tomorrow had set my expectations too high but it just didn't work for me!
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Tweet Cute
Emma Lord
Pepper is an over-achiever, top of every class and captain of the swim team and her parents just so happen to own Big League Burger, one of the biggest fast-food joints in the country! Jack is the class clown and is constantly living in the shadow of his perfect twin brother and their parents own a small family-run deli. When it appears that Big League Burger have stolen a recipe from the deli Pepper and Jack end up in a viral Twitter war but as the war on Twitter is raging, Jack and Pepper are growing closer together in real life too.
This book has been on my radar ever since it came out at the beginning of last year but I never actually got around to reading it! I've had such a great month for YA contemporaries after a long spell of not loving them. This book felt like a massive hug and I love Jack Campbell with my whole heart! This book is just so so wholesome and also made me very hungry because of all the talk of food! I loved the dynamic between Pepper and Jack so much and as I mentioned the whole thing was just delightfully wholesome.
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
The Bennett family live at Longbourn and Mrs Bennett is adamant to secure the futures of her five girls by securing suitable marriages for them and when Mr Bingley arrives in the area and takes a liking to the eldest Bennett sister, Jane. Mrs Bennett is obviously overjoyed but never too far away from Mr Bingley is the forboding Mr Darcy who a certain Elizabeth Bennett takes a strong disliking to almost immediately upon meeting him. But by spending more time together Elizabeth discovers that maybe her initial impressions of Mr Darcy weren't quite correct and that there is more to him than there appears.
I mean it's a classic! I did a personality quiz that matched you with fictional characters and I ended up with 3 different characters from Pride and Prejudice in my top 20 so I decided that it was about time I sat down and read this book. I think I'd started it before in the past but had never gotten through it. I haven't even seen an adaption (I mean I've seen Pride and Prejudice and Zombies but I don't know if that really counts! On the whole, I understand why this book is so universally beloved there's no denying Austen's talent for crafting characters who leap of the page and the relationship between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy that has lasted throughout the generations - they truly were the blueprint for enemies to lovers. It took me a while to get to grips with the language but I decided to read this both on audio and the physical copy simultaneously which really helped me get through it. I felt some sections dragged a little and I found some of the characters SO irritating (I get that's the point of them but still I wasn't overly fond of constantly hearing them). I'm so glad I finally read this book and I'm definitely hoping to read some more classics. I asked on Instagram which ones people recommended and so many people said Sense and Sensibility was their favourite ever so maybe I'll have to read it next!
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You And Me On Vacation
Emily Henry
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and Penguin General UKPoppy and Alex were best friends, after meeting at college they did everything together, including travel the world but when something went wrong on one of their holidays two years ago they stopped being friends - but now as she's working for a high-end travel magazine Poppy is fresh out of inspiration and knows just the thing to get her excited about travelling again. One last trip with Alex. Told in a last five years esque manner we get to experience each of Poppy and Alex's summer trips while simultaneously following them on their latest.
After reading Beach Read last year I knew that I was interested in picking up Emily Henry's next book. A book about travel was always going to be my thing, but a slow burn friends to lovers book about travel, I was positutely OBSESSED! The relationship between Poppy and Alex was so real and honest and I felt their connection leap off the page, you truly were rooting for them from the beginning! I also found I related a little too much to the character of Poppy, I'm not 100% sure that Emily Henry hasn't been following me around because some of the very specific character traits were all too relatable. I don't think this releases in the UK until the summer but definitely keep it on your radar because this may possibly be one of my favourite books of the year!
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