bookrecsbyjess's reviews
982 reviews

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of Rules for Second Chances by Maggie North. All opinions are my own. 

I chose to read this book because the synopsis sounded cute. I haven’t read many romance books with the marriage in crisis trope, but the ones I have read, I enjoyed. Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. 

The idea of this book is unique and interesting, but the execution was not great for me. I ended up only reading 60% of this book and just couldn’t make myself finish it. 

I think my biggest issue was the characters in this story. 

Liz and Tobin had such a weird marriage. On one hand, they seemed to know certain things about each other that no one else knew. On the other hand, they often acted like they didn’t know each other at all. They didn’t feel like a married couple, so I had a hard time rooting for them. The chemistry just wasn’t there, and they didn’t really suit each other. 

None of the other characters really stood out to me except Liz’s sister, which I really disliked. She was so mean to Liz all the time even though Liz did so many things for her. 

Also, while I think the improv idea is unique, it ended up feeling very weird reading about it. 

Side note: one thing that always pulls me out of a story and makes me angry is when characters are bad pet owners. I did not like how Liz and her family treated their cat and were so irresponsible with it. 

The narrator for this story was fine, but the narration didn’t stand out to me. I was able to easily understand them while listening at 2x speed though. 

Overall, I think some readers will really enjoy this story, but this book just wasn’t for me. 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center. All opinions are my own. 

I’ve read a few books by Katherine Center, but this is definitely my favorite book of hers! It’s so good! I ended up staying up way too late just so that I could finish reading it. 

The Rom-Commers is about forgiveness, growing, not giving up on your dreams, and making the most of the life you have. It was such a beautiful story. 

I loved the characters in this story. While Charlie Yates started off a bit rude and arrogant, he quickly became such a sweetheart who’s thoughtful and maybe not as confident as you’d expect him to be with the fame and awards he had. 

Emma was an absolute delight and so funny and charming without even trying to be. She was constantly putting others first, which was lovely, but I also liked the moments when she did things that she enjoyed. She learned to let others help even when it’s hard to give up that control. 

The friendship that formed between Charlie and Emma was so wholesome. They got along so well and really complemented each other. Their conversations were entertaining, and I just loved how quickly they became comfortable with each other. 

Emma’s family was really sweet, but I loved that they weren’t perfect. They didn’t always say or do the right things, but it was clear how much they loved each other. Emma’s dad was a total sweetheart, and I loved that he didn’t let grief and his health hold him back from life. 

The premise of this book was also so interesting and unique. I haven’t read any other books about screenwriters, and I thought it was fun to learn more about that. It was also adorable to see Emma teach Charlie all about rom coms (especially the kissing!). 

Also, I read this book as an audiobook, and it was fantastic! Patti Murin did an amazing job with her character and with her dialogue with Charlie. She fit Emma perfectly, and I definitely need to read more audiobooks that she narrates. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone! It was an easy five star read for me, and I can see myself re-reading this book many times in the future. 

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC and Penguin Teen for the ARC of On the Bright Side by Anna Sortino. All opinions are my own. 

On the Bright Side is a great coming of age story with romance and an exploration of disabilities. 

As an adult, I am not the target audience for this book, but I do think I still got a lot out of this book. If I had read it as a teenager, I might have loved it more though. 

I really appreciated the dual points of view in this story because Ellie and Jackson had such different upbringings and situations they were going through. I think I enjoyed reading from Jackson’s POV a little more though because he was just so sweet and likable. 

I didn’t dislike Ellie, but I found her a bit irritating at the beginning of the story. She acted as if everyone was against her without even knowing people very well. I do think she grew as a character throughout the story though. 

Ellie’s family was terrible, and I felt bad for the lack of support she received at home. No one should ever feel lesser than because of their disabilities. 

Jackson’s parents were a little better, but I hated how they kept dismissing Jackson’s health problems. It did such a disservice to him, and it made it feel like they didn’t know their son at all. 

I appreciated the friendship between Ellie and Jackson. I liked that they didn’t let other’s opinions affect their opinions of each other. Even though they had such different lives, I think they really complemented each other. 

In the past, I’ve read several other books with deaf protagonists. While there are definitely similarities to those books, I liked the author’s approach in this story and how she talked about disabilities as a whole. The stigma associated with various disabilities was discussed, and I found it interesting to read about someone who was new to their disability versus someone who was used to it. 

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and really enjoyed the narration. I also appreciated the sound effects that denoted when a character was signing versus speaking verbally. 

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA contemporary stories.