samharlow85's reviews
459 reviews

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

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adventurous funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Hookup Dilemma by Constance Gillam

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! Rashida is a food critic in Atlanta, who is working to save her grandmother’s neighborhood from gentrification. Elliot is an architect who is helping his stern and distant father, who just suffered a heart attack, with his struggling real estate business with a building purchase in Rashida’s grandmother’s neighborhood. Rashida and Elliot have a one night stand that shows their undeniable chemistry, though they’re on opposite sides of this neighborhood battle. This was a cute, though slightly slow paced, OWN voice romance. I really liked Rashida and her family’s relationship, and her care and love for the neighborhood that was being threatened with gentrification. I would recommend this book for people who like contemporary romance, OWN voices, and the setting of Atlanta. 
Barbarian Mine by Ruby Dixon

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I started reading Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarian series this summer, and I enjoy picking one up about once a month for a lighthearted romantic, adventure journey onto a cold, not-capitalist world, where the khui living in the alien and human bodies keep them alive and cure them of all ailments from earth - cancer, infertility, etc. I think Dixon does a good job making these books oddly relatable, though it's a very different world, and very steamy and fun. I am hooked - will continue the series. This story was Harlow and Rukh. Harlow had a brain tumor on earth and is finding her way on Not Hoth, and Rukh raised himself alone in the wilderness. Fun times, enjoyed, will continue reading :)
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I Hate You More by Lucy Gilmore

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ruby is a former beauty queen working in a nursing home, when she volunteers to help a resident enter her dog Wheezy into a dog show. Spencer is a veterinarian, judging the dog show where Ruby is competing, and they clash at first meeting. Ruby and Spencer then fall in love over the course of trying to train Wheezy. This is a very cute, charming, quick read, and the dogs and side characters add fun and comedy to this steamy romance. I will definitely be reading Gilmore again - this was a delight!
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A Certain Appeal by Vanessa King

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

This is a contemporary, burlesque retelling of Pride and Prejudice. The side characters are great, with there being some great changes to the original story that work really well: Jane and Charles are gay, Liz Bennett's family is a made family of friends from the burlesque club, Will Darcy's snobbery comes from misunderstanding burlesque, and more. I recommend for a fun retelling of this classic romance story of misunderstandings and slow-burn chemistry. 
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Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Maybell loves to live in a fantasy world, living in her imagination where she owns a coffee shop while finding love. In reality, she works as a cleaner for an event space in Pigeon Forge, TN, when she finds out she's inheriting her aunt's farm. She quits her job to move to the farm, to find out she's inheriting the house with the landscaper Wesley, who is grumpy and shy. 

This book is really nice, like a warm hug, and it's single POV from Maybell, whose own shyness and fantasy world lend this story a nice tone. Wesley is very charming and sweet, as you find out he's not really grumpy, just extremely shy, with anxiety. The ending somewhat surprises me in how they handled it, which was a pleasant surprise. I liked also the idea of quitting your job to pursue your bliss - something we all need more of right now. 
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The Fastest Way To Fall by Denise Williams

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I really loved and connected to the story of finding yourself and the joy of exercise for people of all sizes, as well as the sweet romance that builds over the book. Britta is a black woman and writer for a lifestyle website, who is assigned to review a fitness app in a competition with a coworker for a promotion. Britta gets placed with Wes, a personal trainer for the fitness app, as well as the CEO. Neither knows the positions of power they are coming from in terms of how their budding romance affects their work life. This book does have a good amount of content warnings on addiction, eating disorders, exercising, and dieting, but the author does a good job setting the scene with an author’s note at the beginning of the book. I really enjoyed the chemistry and affection between Wes and Britta, and I also enjoyed Britta’s journey of loving exercise for the power it gave her to love herself. As a mid-sized fat woman who exercises regularly, but not to lose weight, I really appreciated this part of the story. I also have multiple family members who are recovering addicts, so I think that part of the story is really well done. I enjoy William’s writing style: she does a great job with pacing of the plot, likable characters and depth, and treating hard topics with care. I recommend this book for anyone who likes romance, slow burns, health at every size, and good writing. 
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Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Meg is a famous hand letterer in New York City. Reid, a wall street analyst, is a former client who broke off his wedding, and noticed that she had hidden a secret message in the wedding programs. Reid and Meg form a friendship over their love of letters, numbers, and games while they walk around New York City looking at lettering signs. This was a very sweet romance, with a somewhat surprise ending. I liked the sweet slow build of their trust in one another. I also enjoyed the love of New York City through their walks, and thought Meg was likable and relatable with her wanting to avoid confrontations at all cost. 
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The Donut Trap by Julie Tieu

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! This book snuck up on me and ultimately surprised me in the end, becoming a great story about growing up and finding your way. Jasmine (Jas) just graduated from college and is feeling lost after returning to work at her family donut shop. The donut shop is in trouble with a rental hike, and Jas’s refugee parents are relying on her help more than ever. Julie connects with Alex, who was a college crush and also from an immigrant family, and they feel an instant connection. This story is a romance, but really I thought it was actually more about finding your way after college, as well as navigating complicated family relationships and trust issues as a first-generation Asian, young person in Southern California. The romance between Jas and Alex is sweet and nuanced, but I thought the relationship between Jas and her family were the real winners of this book, including the challenges, pressures, and joys of being raised by refugees and immigrants in modern America. This book took a little bit to grow on me, but I ended up loving the ending and the sweetness and empathy between all the character’s as you learn more about each of their complexities. I recommend this story for lovers of closed door romances, American immigrant and refugee family dynamics, and coming of age fiction. 
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Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Merritt is a widow, running her late husbands shipping company. Keir is Scottish, in London to sell his whisky from Isla. Merritt and Keir have an immediate attraction, leading to a whirlwind, regency romance while trying to uncover why someone is trying to kill Keir. This was a fun, steamy romance, and my first from Lisa Kleypas, who I will definitely be reading again.

I liked the lightness and the chemistry between Merritt and Keir, but I didn't like how they treated the plot line of infertility so flippantly, having her immediately get pregnant. Also the revenge plot of Keir's inheritance felt forced, and resolved too quickly.
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