Hi, friends! I want to direct you to NGS’ blog today, as I was lucky enough to guest post for her 20th Blogiversary. I talked about what it’s like to be a 30-something single, so I hope you hop on over there to read it, and then subscribe to Engie’s blog because she’s a gem!
Zorrie by Laird Hunt (★★★★☆)
Audiobook • Library • Historical Fiction • 2021
Short synopsis: Spanning an entire lifetime, a life convulsed and transformed by the events of the 20th century, Zorrie offers an intimate portrait of the life of one tenacious woman who experiences love, loss, and new beginnings.
I heard about this book on Currently Reading, and Meredith talked about how it was a quiet, slow, contemplative novel. There’s not much plot; it’s just about one woman’s life in the mid-20th century. I was looking for a quick audiobook to listen to right before I left for vacation and this one was just 4.5 hours—perfect! I really enjoyed this novel and I think listening to it on audiobook was the perfect way for me to consume it. There was a lot to dig into in this book (at one point, Zorrie finds work at a radium processing plant and it’s very interesting to see the way that job reverberates throughout her life), and I really enjoyed Zorrie’s character. She was a sympathetic character to root for. This book won’t change your life, but it’s a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
Planes, Trains, and All the Feels by Livy Hart (★★★★★)
E-book • Library • Contemporary Romance • 2023
Short synopsis: When Cassidy gets stranded at an airport in what feels like the middle of nowhere, she never dreams that she’s going to end up sharing a rental car with her nemesis, Luke. They met in the airport parking garage when he stole her spot and then found themselves seated near each other on the plane, and they can’t stop bickering with each other. But then they get stranded when their plane has to make an unscheduled landing and with only one rental car available and no flights leaving for their destination anytime soon… it seems like the only option is to road trip together.
Gosh, I really loved this romance! The enemies-to-lovers trope will always be one of my favorites, and I really love the way the author brought these two people together and helped them break down their walls with each other. There were some crazy twists and turns this book took that I was not expecting, but it all worked to bring these characters closer together, so I was okay with them! The novel’s dark moment felt really true and authentic, not shoved in just to create some drama. It made sense with everything the author had been building up to, and the way everything resolved was so sweet. I loved these two characters a whole lot and when I finished the novel, I wanted to start it all over again because I didn’t want to let Cassidy and Luke go!
Love Irresistibly by Julie James (★★★★☆)
E-Book • Owned (Amazon) • Contemporary Romance • 2013
Short synopsis: Cade Morgan, assistant U.S. attorney, needs the help of Brooke Parker, general counsel for an upscale restaurant group. In order to take down a corrupt politician, he needs to bug a table at one of Brooke’s restaurants. While they work together on this sting operation, sparks fly.
This is a reread for me, as I’m working my way through Julie James’ backlist for the second or third time. I love her books! This book was fun, sexy, and heartfelt. She really played with this idea of being someone “married” to their job and if they can really have it all: the career and the relationships? Not just romantic relationships, either, because Brooke started to notice how her friendships started to take a huge backseat to her career. I love the way Cade and Brooke learned to care for one another and how doing so allowed them to reevaluate their own priorities and figure out what really mattered. It was a fun romance!
What are you reading?
The Pop Sugar Reading Challenge has an enemies-to-lovers prompt this year and I generally don’t love that trope (So. Much. Bickering.), but I put Planes, Trains, and All the Feels on my TBR to help me finish that prompt up. We’ll see if I can hack it!
I will be very curious to know how you feel about that book, as I know we are book opposites!
I loved your guest post! I am very happily married but something miss my single gal days at times. I get a little taste of it when I travel for work so that is one upside to having to travel. Today I fly to NYC and I plan to go for a run in Central Park after work and I can’t wait. I also love eating alone at the bar.
I finished ‘the secret book of flora Lea’ which I really enjoyed. If my grandma was alive, I would recommend it to her. Before that I read ‘Yours Truly’ based on your rec and I loved it! It was fun to read a book set in the twin cities. I checked out her new release, too. The conflict aspect of romances still stresses me out – how do you get over that part of a book as an enneagram 9???
Now I am reading ‘the people we keep’ which I think you gave 5 stars. I like it but am a little disturbed by the protagonist’s age!! I wish she was 18… my enneagram 1 is coming out hard core when I read it.
Hm… I think what helps me with the conflict aspect of romances is that I know it will all be resolved at the end. The formula of a romance is comforting to me – I know the dark moment will happen and I know it will get resolved, so it doesn’t stress me out as much as it does for you.
Oh, I just loved The People We Keep. I understand what you’re saying about her being so young, though. That was hard for me to get past at first!
I’m reading Momfluenced, which is very interesting – and the writing style is super informal which makes it easy to read.
I’ve been seeing that book everywhere lately!
You really got me on the review of Planes Trains! I just checked Libby, and it was available now! Don’t mind if I do.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Planes, Trains, and All the Feels sounds perfect for me. Thank you for the rec! I could not read that last one – too close to work with USAO being one of my clients LOL.
I am trying to read The Fifteen Lives of Harry August again.
I hope you enjoy Planes, Trains, and All the Feels as much as I did. It was such a cute romance!
Wow what a great reading week. So many high rated books. I will have a look at Zorrie and see if my library carries the audiobook. I often need one of those quick easy books to listen to when I clean or cook or just have a commute some place.
And now I’ll hop of to NGS’s blog to read your guest post.