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Showing posts from July, 2025

ARC Review: Riptide by Meg

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 Thank you to LoveNotesPR and Meghan Hollie for allowing me to read an ARC of Riptide! My thoughts: This book surprised the hell out of me. I only apply for ARCs that I am interested in reading so I always expect to like them at least a little bit but I am shocked by how much I loved this book. The depth of the characters and the chemistry between them is amazing. I loved the way Meghan Hollie wrote grief - this book covers grieving someone who has passed away and grieving for people that are still alive but are no longer in the life of one of the main characters- both forms of grief are so valid and I loved reading as these two acknowledged their grief and worked to heal from it. I loved that Finn and Foxx don't fix each other - they fix themselves with the support of the other, they fix themselves knowing that the other is going to be there to hold them afterwards. I got nervous near the end when the ex-husband of Foxx showed up but I loved how it turned out. It was amazing to re...

Top Ten Tuesday: Re-Reads

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Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. July 8: Books I’d Like to Re-read (Share either your favorite books that you enjoy re-reading or books that you’d like to read again!) I love rereading books - it's like visiting an old friend and being able to pick up right where you left off.   

ARC Review: Not Looking by Alaina Rose

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Thank you to Love Notes PR and Alaina Rose for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. My thoughts: I am an absolute sucker for two people chatting online while also unknowingly knowing each other in real life - it's at the very top of my favorite trope list. I like when one character is torn between this online person that they know they get along really well with and this person in real life that they've just met but have a connection with. I like the moment of realization that it's been the same person the entire time. I think over all, I just love the idea that two people are so meant to be that they met on the great big internet and in real life. Alaina Rose nails this trope in Not Looking. It's made even better by Susan not wanting to like Dillon - she's set in her ways as a 39 year old single mom and Dillon throws her for a loop with his cheery fun uncle ways. I liked how much they had in common and how easily they fit into each others lives - they have a sh...

2025 Second Quarter Favorites

We are 6 months into 2025, and it's honestly been the worst 6 months - I'm not even talking personally, I am talking politically. I have been reading a crazy amount to keep myself from reading the news and I am at a personal record of 106 books read so far this year. I am on track to read over 200 books this year which I have never done before - I am calling it my unhinged reading era.  There are my favorite reads from the second quarter of 2025.  1. Alive and Wells by Bailey Hannah. It is no secret that I like Cowboy Romances lol. I've read two more Bailey Hannah books since this one and I am obsessed with how she writes men - like the way her MMCs love just hits different - I don't even know how to fully explain it. 2. A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander. Check out my review of this Queer Historical Romance here . 3. Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao. As an Asexual Aromantic, this one had me in my feels. 4. Second Edition by Cleo White. A trope that hits different is Sin...

Mid Year Review

January through June, I read 106 books & 30,472 pages.  76 of the books were physical copies and 31 were e-books. I got 36 of them from the library and 12 of them were ARCs.  My most read genres were Romance (79), Contemporary (34) and Fantasy (33). The top moods were Lighthearted (53), Emotional (52) and Funny (45). The top tropes were Monsters (18), Workplace (12) and Age Gap (10). My most read authors so far are Ali Hazelwood (if you had told me last year that she was going to be my most read author of any part of 2025, I would not have believed you), Clio Evans and Elsie Silver. My favorite reads so far are: 1. Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister. My first read from this author & my first five star read of the year.  2. Beartown by Fredrik Backman. The writing is so good, poetic and says things in a way that really made me stop and think about life. There were also lines that knocked me on my ass with how much I related to them. The actual plot pissed me o...

Book Haul: June

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I try to hold myself accountable and read books that I own instead of buying new ones but truthfully, I often fail. In June, I bought 10 books but I read 6 that I already owned and unhauled 5 that I no longer wanted to read so this month wasn't a total fail. Thought it would be fun to share the 10 books that I bought. Have you read any of these? If you ever wanna shop my shelves, I do put a lot of books for sale on PangoBooks. You can check out my shop here  and you can use code 'BIBLIOPHILEBREE' for $5 off your first purchase of $10 or more.

June Recap

 Happy July! June was a slower reading month for me as far as number of books finished but I still read 18 books, down from May's 20 and April's 21. How many books did you read in Junes? Let me know in the comments.  Reading Recap: My Daring Texan by Dakota LaCoy | 3 Stars - I felt like the love story in this got the short end of the stick as the book was too busy introducing us to the small town and it's quirky cast of characters. Rare Vigilance by M.A. Grant | Whitethorn Agency Book 1  | 4 Stars - I loved this slow burn vampire bodyguard romance! A Requiem For Fallen Stars by Hazel S Wilkes | 3 Stars - While wonderful for a debut, this book didn't stick the landing when it came to the end. Crooked Shadows by M.A. Grant | Whitethorn Agency Book 2 | 3.5 Stars - While I didn't enjoy it as much as book 1, I am still really liking this series and I can't wait to read the final book soon. The Girl From The Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag | 4 Stars - This is a lovely grap...

ARC Review: Love Beyond The Veil by Emerie Spark

 Thank you to Tales & Teacups and Emerie Spark for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. My thoughts: This novel is a love letter to online gaming and streaming. We have Lucy - a popular streamer who has been able to come out of her shell as a person due to streaming a video game called The Veil and Elgin - a creator and developer of The Veil whose studio was recently bought out by a bigger studio. They meet and begin to work together, slowing falling in love as they test The Veil's next expansion. Things get bumpy when The Veil's new studio threatens to pull the new expansion due to it not fitting the path they want to go down. I really liked the way that Lucy and Elgin supported each other. He helped her find her "spark" in the gaming community and she helped him to believe in himself and The Veil again. I also liked the way that the group found a way to stick to the man and get out from under the thumb of the new big studio.  It took a majority of this novel...