Review of Meet Me in Italy by Brendan Novak

Brief Summary Courtesy of MIRA

In the wake of her debut novel’s breakout success—and a very painful public divorce—Charlotte Williams-Jackson has something to prove. With her second novel overdue, she’s scrambling to hold it together. But her focus is rocked when she discovers that her childhood wasn't as it seemed—and she has a tween half-sister who's been orphaned in Italy.

Alongside her best friend, Sloane, and Sloane’s charming brother, Julian, Charlotte ventures to the Amalfi Coast to meet her sister. She would never turn her back on family, especially since this girl doesn’t have anyone else, but between her looming deadline and her entire identity being flipped upside down, it’s a lot. Determined to rebuild her life, Charlotte must confront the relationships she’s held dear—and the loss of those she thought she had but didn't—forcing her to question everything she understood about herself and the bonds that shape a family.

My Review

I am an avid read of Brenda Novak's books and have been for about 10 years now. When I heard that she was going to be releasing a new book based in Italy I was excited because was it something totally new that she hadn't done but it was taking place in one of my bucket list countrys that I want to go to. I think that her overall storyline was well written and that the characters were also very well developed because she gave you enough about them to understand their background but not go overboard. 

If there was any area of opportunity that I could have seen changed is to have less smaller storylines going on. I felt at times all the smaller storylines pulled away from the main one which was Charlotte's. 

I always really enjoy that Brenda is able to mix romance with the hard hitting storylines that pull at your heart strings but also throw in a little laughter as well. 

I recommend that if you love to travel and a book with. a mix of romance and dynamic storyline that will pull at your heart strings then I highly recommend this book. 

Review of "The Night We Met" By Abby Jimenez

Brief Summary Courtesy of Little, Brown Book Group

In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything...

For Larissa, it came when choosing who to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great friends, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.

But she didn’t choose Chris to drive her home all those months ago—she went with his best friend, and he became her boyfriend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. How can something that feels so right be absolutely impossible?

My Review 

This is my third book by Abby Jimenez that I’ve read and the second one I’ve read in this series. Going into this book, I had high hopes because I really enjoyed the first book in the series that I read, so I was excited for this one. I did read the disclaimers beforehand and was okay with most of the content.

Without giving away too much, I personally felt like this book was a bit too predictable. Larrisa was hard for me to like because of her “poor me” attitude, and Chris was also difficult to connect with because he didn’t stand up for himself. I could have chosen to DNF the book, but I really enjoyed the audiobook version, with Teresa Palmer and Zach Webber narrating from Larrisa and Chris’s points of view.

I do appreciate that Abby provides disclaimers at the beginning about aspects that some readers may find difficult. I think everything she warned readers about was accurate.

I will still continue to read Abby’s books because I did enjoy her earlier ones. I would say that if you have a hard time reading about emotional cheating or characters dealing with substance abuse issues, I would recommend staying away from this one.

Review of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' "And the Crowd Went Wild"

Brief Summary of Book Courtesy of Avon 

After a mortifying—and very public—humiliation, Dancy Flynn is desperate to find sanctuary far from the crowd. But where can a washed-up sex symbol hide? How about making an unannounced appearance at the secluded lake house of the sweet, sensitive high school boyfriend she hasn’t seen in almost twenty years?

But Chicago Stars quarterback Clint Garrett is no longer the kid Dancy remembers. Now he’s a gridiron superhero, still holding a massive grudge against her for breaking his teenage heart. With no room in his life for either complexity or distractions, he banishes Dancy to a refurbished old railroad caboose tucked away in the woods…and out of his sight.

Except Dancy’s not good at staying invisible. Her efforts to rebuild her career clash with Clint’s desperation to regain his focus, all made more challenging by a rescue dog, a local woman in trouble, a meddling mother, an ex with an agenda…and the sizzle of rekindled emotions.

As Dancy attempts to get her life on track and Clint tries to get his groove back, can these two one-time lovers navigate their rocky pasts and complicated present to find themselves…and each other?

Tropes include:

second-chance romance
enemies to lovers
forced proximity
childhood sweethearts

My Review 

Having read the previous book in this series called, Simply the Best I was excited to see that Susan had another book come out in the series and that it was Clint's. I really enjoyed how she seamlessly made this book a continuation of the series with previous characters integrated but also made it so that if this was your first book that you read it was no issue. She did a great job of giving you the right amount of history through the story to help with the continuation but didn't go overboard. 

Regarding characters and their development I felt that she did a great job of that. I really was rooting for Dancy the whole book and enjoyed seeing her continue to gain more confidence as the book continues. In addition, I also enjoyed watching Clints heart open up. Not going to give much more than that without giving away spoilers. 

Overall I really enjoyed the plot, scenery and characters and I am excited to see what she has next in this series if she continues it or for her next book! I recommend this book for readers who love contemporary romance, comedy and sports fiction!