Part of Your World - Abby Jimenez

Title: Part of Your World
Author: Abby Jimenez
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4 Stars 

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After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable.

While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

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This book was the cute romcom i needed.  I absolutely loved every moment of this book. 

The characters were so fun (Except Jessica and Gabby - you'll see what I mean if you read it.)  I LOVED Alexis and Daniel.  They were both fantastic characters and they were so well developed and well written. Alexis started out not really being very self aware, but she grew so much throughout the book. It was great to see everything she learned about herself, her family, her ex, Daniel, and what she really wanted from life. It was wonderful to see her realize her family and her ex sucked and that some of the people she spent time with were not good people.  She realized a lot about herself that helped her change and grow into someone who actually wanted to help people and do good things. Daniel was able to look at who he was as well and learn that he was worth more than what he believed. He learned to be confident in his abilities and learn that he had value. 

I feel like the whole story was very well written and well developed. And in true Abby Jimenez fashion this book was absolutely hilarious. There were obviously some down moments (life isn't always funny, after all) but there were so many moments were I literally laughed my ass off.  Not only was the story well written but the characters were as well.  Also, there was clearly some GREAT chemistry between Alexis and Daniel - more than she ever had with Neil. 

The plot, like all romances, had the usual meet cute, romantic buildup, and the big event that made them wonder if they should really be together - and all those things worked so well together.  It was wonderful to watch these characters fall in love, and realize that they actually were in love, and fight for that love through some pretty shitty obstacles. Abby Jimenez did a really great job of writing characters that were well developed and who grew and learned about themselves throughout the course of the book.  They learned what they were willing to do, and Alexis learned that it was okay for her to stand up for herself and what she wanted instead of being bullied around by her dad.  

I will give a warning - this book covers the topics of both emotional and physical abuse.  If you feel like you can't read a book that has those topics in it, I would suggest skipping this book.  I appreciate that the author weaved those topics in with such sensitivity.  Getting out of an abusive situation can be hard, and it was great to see that both the characters who were abused were able to get the help they needed and to get away from their abusers.  If you are in that type of situation, please don't be afraid to get help.  It's not always easy but there are people out there who want to and will help in any way they can. 

This is definitely a book I'd recommend to all people who love rom-coms.  It's adorable and sweet.  If you've already read the book, drop me a comment and let me know what you thought of it! 

Bout of Books - A Review

 

Hi Reader Friends - I hope you're having a delightfully bookish week.  I've been reading a lot this week, go figure.  AND here's what I've accomplished so far for that dear old friend called Bout of Books 

I finished 3 books that were already in progress: 

- Count Your Lucky Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur 
- Inconvenient Wife by Natasha Boyd 

I am having a massive fibro brain fart right now, and can't remember what the third book was that I finished!  Anyway, after completing those books, I started: 

- Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez 
- Long Story Short by Serena Kaylor 

So far, I've listened to 1.5 hours of audio and read over 300 pages, so I feel like it's been a pretty bang up week.  

If you're doing Bout of Books, how has everything been going for you?  If you're not doing Bout of Books - WHY NOT.  Ok, I'm slightly joking - but for penance you have to tell me the top 5 books you've read so far this year. 

Bout of Books 35

 

Hey reader friends!  GUESS WHAT?!  It's almost time for Bout of Books 35.  Yep, I said 35.  

Bout of Books 35 starts next Monday August 15 - and I'm totally joining in, of course!  

If you've never heard of Bout of Books, here's a little description of it from their blog: 

The Bout of Books readathon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It’s a weeklong readathon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 15th and runs through Sunday, August 21st in YOUR time zone. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are reading sprints, Twitter chats, and exclusive Instagram challenges, but they’re all completely optional. For all Bout of Books 35 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I hope you'll consider joining in - it's very, very fun! 

I have no list prepared for what I want to read - but when I make up a BoB TBR I'll keep you in the loop, reader friends! 

Romance Review Roundup

 

Hi reader friends!  Welcome to a mini romance book review.  I have three reviews for you for some very fun rom-com's you've got to read!  

Title: Sweet Talk
Author: Cara Bastone 
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 3 Stars 

Sweet Talk was a sweet cute book similar to Call me Maybe in the sense that the two main characters don't know who the other is in real life until the end of the book.  I should rephrase that - She knows who he is.  He has no idea who she is until the end of the book. And that's part of the fun!  

Both Eliot and the lady (whose name I forgot because it's not revealed until the end of the book) are both insomniacs. One night she accidentally drunk texts Eliot, which leads to the two of them getting to know each other via text message.  Their messages and conversations are filled with humor and candidness that makes it obvious they are interested in each other and have a good romantic connection. 

I loved the phone only contact they had that gave them a chance to develop a connection and get to know each other in a different way that worked for them.  I liked that she saw him dancing before they actually met face to face, and had the chance to see him and how he interacted with other people in a public setting.  I loved really the entire cute aspect of the book, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet cute rom-com to read.

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Title: The Break Up Artist
Author: Erin Clark and Laura Lovely
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 3 Stars 

Zelda had a little wine drinking adventure with her best friend one night, and they ended up hanging up posters all over town advertising an anonymous break up service ran by Zelda.  She made up an email address and people who wanted an impersonal letter written to the person they wanted to dump would email her - and she'd send said letter to the dumpee.  Great idea, right?  I don't think so, but it did lead to Zelda meeting a man. I had mixed feelings about this book. I loved that Zelda had a sweet romance, but I hated that she built her little outside of work hobby on breaking couples up. There's some stuff we find out part way through the book that makes you see why her little side hobby is devastating for people.  

Anyway, I loved that this book featured a disabled MC, and that it showed that disabled people are just like everyone else.  Things you can learn from this book:

* Wheelchair users are not different from the rest of us.  They can do a lot for themselves, and if they need help, they will let you know.

* Wheelchairs are an extension of a wheelchair users body - don't touch them unless you have permission!

Overall, this was a fun one time read. 

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Title: Call Me Maybe 
Author: Cara Bastone
Format: Audiobook
Rating: 4 Stars

This was THE CUTEST book!  I loved it so much   It definitely is my favorite out of the three in this post.  

Vera, frazzled and upset because her website keeps crashing, calls customer service and meets Kal, customer service rep extraordinaire!  They spend the next several days talking on the phone A LOT regarding her website.  During their chats, they order each other food, laugh about silly things that happened to them throughout their days, and generally flirt with each other in a very adorable way.  

I loved the way that Kal and Vera talked to each other.  They had this instant chemistry, even through just conversations. They both just had this vibe that fit with the other person.  

There was a lot of comedy throughout this book - tons of cute one liners, and the two MC's jabbing at each other a bit.  I felt like that added to the overall fun vibe this book had. It just fit with this book and really added a lot to what was going on. 

Watching the characters develop feelings for each other and then finally meeting in real life was so fun! I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves rom-coms.

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If you've read any of these books let me know what you thought of them in the comments!