A Summer Escape and Strawberry Cake at the Cosy Kettle

This was an enjoyable listen. I admittedly had not read the first book in the series, but that did not impact any bit of the story, this can definitely be read as a standalone. When Flora discovers that her husband of 20 years is having an affair, she leaves her apartment and decides to stay at her bookshop. There is an attic with an uncomfortable bed in it. Anything is preferable to being near her adulterous husband. Her bookshop is located in the tiny village of Honeyford and it's loads different than living in Oxford. Since purchasing the bookshop she has struggled to fit in with the locals, maybe now that she's living there she can start to assimilate better. When a nosy shop owner overhears Flora's husband barge into the bookstore and demand she come home, she announces that Flora is living with her. Luna owns a mystical shop and she can see that Flora's aura can do with some healing. Desperate to escape the spider's in the bookshop attic, Flora takes Luna up on her offer to lodge a Starlight Cottage, and finds herself having a rather different summer than she intended. Cozy and cute, although completely predictable. Good fluff. As an added bonus the narrator has a British accent to help bring the story alive. 

Alchemised

EMOTIONAL WRECKAGE! And I loved every second of it. I fear this is about to set me on a path of reading exclusively Dramoine fan fiction til the end of the year and I'm not even mad about it. Alchemised is a retelling of Manacled which is a reimagining of dark, slow burn enemies to lovers fanfiction romance set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter and starring Draco and Hermoine. It is so so dark, and I am obsessed with it. I can't even write a review on it, because you just have to read it yourself. It starts a little slow, but by the end of part one I was INVESTED. Even though it was over 1,000 pages it didn't feel like it (well my wrists felt it, this was a damn heavy book!

Life

I love a good devotional and I really adored this one. I love that Lisa Harper didn't offer vague generalities -  she shared stories from her life, lessons she's learned, failures, and many, many joys (often involving her adopted daughter). Each devotional opened with a few lines from scripture and then shared a story from her life that tied in to the scripture. The stories were candid, insightful, and didn't always make her look the best (which is INSPIRING - we aren't all perfect!). Following that there were three questions to help the reader will dig in deep and reflect on what was just read and make a plan on how to incorporate a lesson or a mindset into their lives. Wonderful! I need to read more of her books! 

The Shippers

This was such a cheesy, fluffy book and it came at the right time! This book is... 100% predictable. Cheesy. Over the top. Wonderful. No part of this book is believable, but did that stop me from enjoying it? Absolutely not. It was so cliche and romantic and I didn't even care! JoJo walked away from her fiancé at the alter (more like fake fainted) and while she is glad that she dodged that bullet, she is unmoored. What comes next? Her older sister's wedding is mere weeks after JoJo's failed wedding and JoJo is dreading it. It's a cruise ship wedding and her whole family and neighborhood friends will tease her mercilessly at her botched attempt at love. When her sister informs JoJo that her childhood crush will be attending the wedding and that he's newly single, the sisters make a plan to steal his heart and remake JoJo's image. What could possibly go wrong? When JoJo's best friend also shows up on the cruise, she makes him go along with her plan and makes him pretend to flirt with her to make her crush jealous. But what if they're not pretending? Predictable, charming, fluff. 

Wrath of Poseidon

This series is fun and I liked that this one was a prequel of sorts. Wrath of Poseidon goes back to how Remi and Sam met and their very first adventure together. Is it cheesy? Yes. Did I still thoroughly enjoy it? Also yes. Remi was young and inexperienced at the ways of the world (gun handling, scuba diving, etc.) but luckily for her Sam has already made it through DARPA training. Despite her lack of "skills" she showcases her quick thinking and adaptability. The only thing that troubles her is how "easy" it was for Sam to kill a man in self-defense. Can their budding relationship survive when bodies are hitting the floor? This isn't going to win awards anytime soo but it was fun and I plan on reading (aka listening) to the next installment whenever it comes out. 

The Mash Up

This was such a cute, feel good novel for millennial women. It' a little over the top, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. Ruby Wynne likes to play it safe. She and her boyfriend Conner are as beige as they come and they have everything mapped out. On Ruby's 35th birthday, her best friend presents her with a remnant from the past. A rediscovered MASH game. According to her younger self, her dream future included marrying her twin brother's best friend Penn (yuck!), driving a tie-dyed jeep, owning a roller rink diner, and so much more. Ruby can hardly remember that idealistic and over the top girl. When her boyfriend tells her, he's moving to NYC later that night - Ruby is aghast. Her carefully planned future is destroyed. After a few too many drinks she falls, hits her head, and wakes up in her MASH future. In this world, everything is as young Ruby envisioned it, down to the multiple pools, mansion, and roller rink diner. But what about Penn? And how on Earth is she supposed to get back to reality? This will be of most fun to girls who grew up in the 90s. It's a nostalgia overload and super cheesy but it works. Excellent debut! Make a Hallmark movie of this already! The witty banter was amazing! 

Fight Oligarchy

Concise, easy to read, well stated, ESSENTIAL! I read this short manifesto in under 90 minutes and man it packs a punch and gets you mad. Bernie Sanders has been fighting the oligarchy for decades so he knows what he's talking about and he knows what's effective at disrupting it. At no point in our country r world's history has so few people held all the money and power. It's disgusting, disruptive, and dangerous. This book is perfect for anyone, regardless of political affiliation (he craps on the democrats too!), because it is a cliffs note book on what is wrong in our country, how it got that way, and how to fix it. Very impactful, I've already passed this book on to someone else to read!