Books Added
Books Read
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Well it was always going to be a bad week for acquisitions as it straddled the end of the April Kindle deals and the start of May’s. As that was a given I’m pretty impressed I kept my total down to 12, I can normally bust that on a normal week. With only 2 freebies and 3 books read though, you’ve probably guessed that I’ve been pre-occupied elsewhere. I’m hoping that things will improve going forward but this week several issues hit at once and continuing ones were having to be dealt with.
That said, I was more than happy with the books I read. I managed to complete the Lucky River Ranch series by Jessica Peterson, catching up with Wyatt and Sawyer which I have enjoyed. The latter was probably my favourite as I’m a sucker for single dad romance. They’re both on the spicy side for those of you who prefer a more closed door approach, but I’m more than happy to spend time with a sexy cowboy, and this family is full of them! Sadly, I have to wait until December until the next in the series is published, never mind, it’s not as if I don’t have anything else to read.
You may have spotted what for me, is a surprise inclusion, with In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan. This was my book club read, and as I’d originally suggested it last year, hot on the heels of a visit to the Harrogate Crime festival, I felt duty bound to read it. It was winner of the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year 2024, as well as the CWA ILP John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger 2024. Happily, I can say, it’s worth all the hype and plaudits. I read it over 2 days and loved it. Lock, the AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) was a revelation and not what I’d expected it/he to be. It twisted the detective duo trope and certainly played with my mind. It’s a great police procedural, but the AI element is thought provoking and takes it to another level. As a debut novel it was impressive and once I’m done with cowboys and hockey players I’ll be adding book 2 onto my reading list.
As we said goodbye to April, it’s my opportunity to use my new found Storygraph graphics to round up my month of reading. It was a good month, though maybe I should leave the cowboys alone for a while, they’re spoiling me for other book boyfriends! As I’ve started a mini review of most of my reads in my weekly Balancing the Sheets posts I won’t bore you with them again here, you can always flick back to anything that catches your eye.
On the stats front, a very pleasing 16 books in total, with an average book length of 365 pages, resulting in 5796 pages in all. A pleasing average of 2 days per read which given everything that’s been going is brilliant. I also had two rare, for me, 5 star reads in This Disaster Loves You and The One Before the One, the latter is currently only 99p if anyone is tempted. In the Blink of an Eye was also highly rated. Needless to say, Romance was still the over-riding genre and I didn’t read anything that I wasn’t happy with. My little Romantic soul has soared this month and I couldn’t wish for more than that. So I’m looking forward to seeing what May brings, though it has already started with a cowboy!!
Books Added
The Fisherman’s Gift by Julia Kelly (99p)
The sea stole him from her. Could it bring him back?
The spellbinding story of a lost boy, a tragic love affair and a seafaring community’s buried secrets finally coming to light.
Winter, 1900. A little boy washes up on the beach of a small fishing village in Scotland, barely alive. He bears an uncanny resemblance to teacher Dorothy’s son, lost to the sea many years before.
When the village is snowed in, Dorothy agrees to look after the child until he can be returned home. But, as the past rises to meet the present, long-buried secrets in this tight-knit community start to come to light. And Dorothy finds herself thrown together again with the reclusive fisherman Joseph, after years of keeping their distance…
The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida (99p)
Welcome to Tenderness!
A quaint seaside town in Kitakyushu, Mojiko is full of hidden delights. And one unexpected treasure is the 24/7 convenience store, Tenderness.
At first glance, it’s a store like any other.
Sure, it’s a bit odd that the handsome manager has his own fan club. And perhaps the customers are somewhat eccentric. But there’s a warmth about Tenderness that draws you in.
The bright lights are always on. The employees know you by name. And the shelves are stacked with delicious treats, from strong hot coffee to sweet parfaits, egg sandos to ramen, crispy fried chicken to refreshing soba.
After a while, you get the feeling that whatever you need might just be waiting for you here…
Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams (99p)
Two feuding second-grade teachers find themselves as unlikely allies (and neighbours) in this rivals-to-lovers romance.
Maybe it’s time for a plot twist . . .
Emily Walker hates anyone disrupting her carefully curated life, especially her legendary nemesis, Jack Bennett – the exact opposite of the wonderful heroes she dreams up in her double life as a romance writer. But now Jack’s back in town after a failed engagement and he’s here to stay . . . as both her colleague and her neighbour.
Jack is glad to be back, eager to renovate his house and work on the next mystery novel under his bestselling pen name. Until, that is, he realises he’s now neighbours with the one woman who has always pushed his buttons.
With their red-hot animosity at an all-time high, Emily makes a mistake that could reveal her secret literary identity. Frustratingly, she needs Jack’s help to make it right. Will their unlikely alliance put an end to their rivalry? Or could it lead to a steamy plot twist they never saw coming?
The Phoenix Ballroom by Ruth Hogan (99p)
ITS NEVER TOO LATE TO SPREAD YOUR WINGS…
Recently widowed Venetia Hamilton Hargreaves is left with a huge house, a bank balance to match and an uneasy feeling that she’s been sleepwalking through the last fifty years.
Buying the dilapidated Phoenix Ballroom and with it a community drop-in centre could be seen as reckless, but Venetia’s generosity, courage and kindness provide a refuge for an array of damaged and lonely people.
As their stories intertwine, long-buried secrets are revealed, missed opportunities seized and lives renewed – the Phoenix lives up to its name.
Loving Romeo by Laura Pavlov (99p)
Demi Crawford is Magnolia Falls royalty. I’m the boxer from the wrong side of the tracks. We couldn’t be more different.
Her family is enemy number one, and it made her guilty by association. I despised her before I even knew her. It was easier that way.
But now she’s moved in next door to me, and she’s everywhere I turn. She is beautiful and honest and sweet. Everything I know I shouldn’t want.
They say there’s a fine line between love and hate, and I don’t know when I crossed over. She is the right hook I never saw coming. But the secrets between us will threaten to tear us apart.
Lucky for her I’m a born fighter. And she is definitely worth the fight …
The Forgotten Book Club by Kate Story (99p)
Life can begin with a single story. You just have to Bring Your Own Book…
For three decades, Grace supported her husband Frank’s passion for books, despite not being a reader herself. Since his passing, their shelves echo longingly, and Grace’s heartache has only grown.
When Grace’s grandson suggests joining Frank’s old book club to feel closer to him again, Grace reluctantly agrees. Yet, upon arrival, she discovers this isn’t a typical book club: here, members settle in for an hour of reading… in silence.
Disappointed by the sparse attendance and confused by the lack of chatter, Grace flees. But when fellow member, Annie, convinces her to stay, Grace is determined to ensure that neither Frank – nor his beloved book club – are forgotten.
And as she breathes new life into the group, Grace might just find this is where she truly belongs. Because this next chapter of life could just be the beginning of her story…
The Second Chance Book Club by Stephanie Butland (99p)
September was adopted when she was fifteen months old. She knows nothing about her early life, but she grew up safe and loved. Now, though, it’s just September and her feckless boyfriend Shaun. And she’s at her wits’ end. There’s never enough money, and she has nothing to look forward to.
Then a letter comes. September has inherited a house – and Shaun can see endless opportunities if she sells it. But, almost as soon as she sets foot in the garden, September knows she cannot let this home go. And she longs to find out more about the mysterious Lucia who left it to her.
When the members of Lucia’s book club arrive, for the first time September hears stories of her mother, of the aunt who adored her, and of the secrets that broke the family apart. And she begins to make new friends.
September feels safe here. But money alone can’t bring contentment. September is at the start of a journey full of surprises, shocks – and opportunities, if she’s brave enough .
Hope Street by Mike Gayle (99p)
The greatest adventure is coming back home.
Lila Metcalfe is a trainee journalist in Derby and she’s very used to being given the stories that no one else wants. So, when her editor tells her that the city’s Cossington Park development is being held up by a solitary resident on Hope Street who is refusing to leave, she knows she is going to be the one sent to find out more. And that’s how she meets Connor.
Twenty-something Connor is the sole resident of Hope Street and he is not at all what Lila is expecting. And he has a very clear reason not to move: he is waiting for his mum to come home.
The Ghosts of Rome by Joseph O’Connor
February 1944. Six months since Nazi forces occupied Rome.
Inside the beleaguered city, the Contessa Giovanna Landini is a member of the band of Escape Line activists known as ‘The Choir’. Their mission is to smuggle refugees to safety and help Allied soldiers, all under the nose of Gestapo boss Paul Hauptmann.
During a ferocious morning air raid a mysterious parachutist lands in Rome and disappears into the backstreets. Is he an ally or an imposter? His fate will come to put the whole Escape Line at risk.
Meanwhile, Hauptmann’s attention has landed on the Contessa. As his fascination grows, she is pulled into a dangerous game with him – one where the consequences could be lethal.
Chaperoning the Billionaire by Laurie Baxter (free)
One ex-boyfriend/current business partner making things difficult, even if he doesn’t mean to. One man she’d like to get to know, if only she could keep up with him. . . . And one irresistible bad boy who could screw it all up for her without even trying.
After her breakup with Noah Prince left her emotionally bruised and publicly humbled, Victoria Ashby is resolved to make a fresh start. The man she’s currently (almost) involved with cancels their first big public date, but it’s just a minor setback. Enter Ryder Prince, Vicky’s ex’s notorious older brother.
Ryder Prince is the big, bad black sheep of the wealthy and revered Prince family. He’s been the thorn in his family’s side for years, and they’ve made sure he knows it. But what can Ryder do? He’s got a reputation to live up to. Case in point: crashing the super-prestigious and stuffy Pink Heart Ball.
But when Vicky intervenes and stops Ryder’s fun, he doesn’t mind so much. He’s always liked Vic . . . even if she does need to loosen up a little. Can he help it if that means they end up a gossip column scandal?
Good thing it’s nothing a little fake relationship can’t fix. Although they didn’t bargain for the front-row seats to Noah’s current romance. Or how fake dating might disrupt their current lives. Or how good they are together . . .
Just the Two of Us by Ryu Hyang (free)
A heartwarming story of two people who were meant for each other.
Soohyuk: a pediatric emergency medicine specialist. A man who never eats something someone else gives him.
Soohyuk, the tyrant who rules S University Hospital’s pediatric emergency room. He only cares about treating sick children, whether or not that gets in the way of advancing his career. He, a grouch to everyone aside from the patients, suddenly starts noticing a woman: the woman who feeds him.
Yuna: a chef who makes boxed lunches. A woman who panics and collapses whenever she meets a man, due to trauma from her past.
Wanting to do what she likes rather than going off to college, Yuna opens up her own business that specializes in boxed lunches, A Tasty Meal. She gets scared when one day she sees the tall Soohyuk standing outside her restaurant, but she soon learns he is only drawn to the delicious smell. And, somehow, she comes to be in charge of his everyday meals.
When Soohyuk meets Yuna, a confident, surefooted woman who gets startled and scared when he comes near, he wants to know everything there is to know about her.
A Refiner’s Fire by Donna Leon (99p)
When two teenage gangs are arrested after clashing violently in one of Venice’s campi, the son of a local hero is implicated. But when Commissario Guido Brunetti is asked by a wealthy foreigner to vet this man, Monforte, for a job, he discovers that Monforte might not be such a hero after all.
This seeming contradiction, and a brutal attack on one of Brunetti’s colleagues by a possible gang member, concentrate Brunetti’s attentions. Soon, he discovers the sordid hypocrisy surrounding Monforte’s past, culminating in a fiery meeting of two gangs and a final opportunity for redemption.
A Refiner’s Fire is Donna Leon at her very best: an elegant, sophisticated storyteller whose indelible characters become richer with each book, and who constantly interrogates the ambiguity between moral and legal justice.
Books Read
In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan
In the UK, someone is reported missing every 90 seconds.
Just gone. Vanished. In the blink of an eye.
DCS Kat Frank knows all about loss. A widowed single mother, Kat is a cop who trusts her instincts. Picked to lead a pilot programme that has her paired with AIDE (Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity) Lock, Kat’s instincts come up against Lock’s logic. But when the two missing person’s cold cases they are reviewing suddenly become active, Lock is the only one who can help Kat when the case gets personal.
AI versus human experience.
Logic versus instinct.
With lives on the line can the pair work together before someone else becomes another statistic?
Wyatt by Jessica Peterson
Roping horses leads to riding cowboys in this sexy friends-to-lovers, fake-dating, lessons-in-seduction romance by Jessica Peterson.
Wyatt Rivers is the perfect no-strings hookup—a cowboy Casanova who rocks a Stetson, looks smokin’ hot in his Wranglers, and never rests his head on the same pillow twice.
He’s exactly what I’m looking for. If only Wyatt wasn’t also my best friend…
I’m back in my hometown of Harstville, Texas, for a few months while I wait for my dream job to start thousands of miles away. While I’m here, I hope to end an epic dry spell in the bedroom, preferably with a local cowboy. If the rumors are true, they really do ride harder and stay on longer.
Wyatt and I have been best friends since second grade, and I’ve been in love with him for almost as long. But he’s as wild and untamed as a colt that can’t be broken—not to mention, totally out of my league with his good looks and heartbreaker reputation.
Then I get to thinking: since Wyatt is such an expert, why doesn’t he teach me the ropes of how to find a hookup? He begrudgingly agrees, and a little fake flirting suddenly leads to fake dating, which leads to real kissing, which leads to real…well, everything else.
And let me just say, the rumors are absolutely true.
Now, I want so badly to be Wyatt’s last rodeo. But I’m leaving town, and even if I wasn’t, I’m not sure Wyatt would ever change his playboy ways.
I know cowboys can’t be tamed. Apparently, neither can hearts…
Sawyer by Jessica Peterson
Dirty dancing leads to a chance at forever in this sizzling single parent, found family, small town romance by Jessica Peterson.
As a recently divorced single mom, I have zero interest in flirting with guys while on a rare girls’ weekend away with my sisters. I just want to have fun, celebrate my new job, and listen to live music at a honky tonk.
But when I literally stumble into the most gorgeous guy ever on the dance floor, those plans go up in smoke. Growing up on the barrel racing circuit, I’ve seen my fair share of sexy cowboys. But this particular one is hot as hell: Sawyer’s got a mustache, tattoos, and a very filthy mouth.
Needless to say, we end up naked in his swanky hotel room. It’s the best sex of my life. And the way Sawyer treats me like a queen? A girl could get used to that kind of adoration.
Good thing he’ll only be a one-night stand I can look back on with a smile. I’m rebuilding my life from scratch, and I need to focus on my three-year-old daughter and the dream job I just landed.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I move to Hartsville and run into a tattooed cowboy with an adorable daughter of his own. Now, Sawyer wants more than the occasional playdates between our girls. But the closer we become, the more determined this sexy single dad is to keep me forever.
As much as I’m falling for Sawyer, I’m terrified. I’ve been down this road before with my ex, and I wonder if I can trust this cowboy. Will he rope the moon for me? Or is my heart destined to be trampled all over again?
The Verdict
| Books Purchased | 12 |
| Books Read | 03 |
| Imbalance | 09 |
| Balance brought forward | 42.78 |
| Weekly budget | 10.00 |
| Total Spent | 09.99 |
| Balance carried forward | 42.79 |
