Marsupial Literature

Sweet as Pie Author: Alicia Hunter Pace Publisher: HARLEQUIN - Carina Press ⭐⭐⭐ Sweet as Pie follows the relationship between longtime friends Evans and Jake and......it's complicated. Evans runs a small-town pie shop and is happy with her life just the way it is. When Jake comes back to town to join a new local hockey team, they once again become a part of each other's live. Evans and Jake must choose between staying stuck in the past or starting over new. Sweet as Pie has a great premise: a small-town setting, local pie shop, and complex love story. The relationship between Evans and Jake has a lot of baggage, and they hit many twists and turns on their journey back to each other. I liked their story as a whole, and stayed curious to read what would be the outcome of their relationship. The book had a tendency to drag a times, and it took longer for me to read it than I expected. Still.....I'm a sucker for books with a food theme to them, and I stayed hooked reading about

Meant to Be My Cowboy  Author: R.C. Ryan Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing) ⭐⭐⭐💫 Meant to Be My Cowboy is the third book in the Wranglers of Wyoming series and centers around Jonah and Annie. Annie is in Wyoming to escape her past and start fresh, without any relationships to get in the way. But when her troubles start to follow her, Jonah is there to try to protect her. Dempseys and Merricks don't necessarily get along (to say the least), but that does not stop their relationship from developing. Meant to Be My Cowboy is the first book I have read in the Wranglers of Wyoming series and it can be read as a stand alone novel. I found it pretty easy to get engaged in the story, and enjoyed reading about both Annie and Jonah. The romance aspect develops well, and there are enough twists and turns in the book to keep the reader turning the pages. It is clear with the supporting characters that there is a good amount of back story, so if the reader likes Meant to Be My Cowbo

The Seaside Cocktail Campervan  Author: Caroline Roberts  Publisher: HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter  Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Seaside Cocktail Campervan is the sweet story of two travelling food vans. Lucy runs a pizza van business with her best four-legged friend by her side, and Jack serves drinks out of his cocktail campervan. Sparks begin to fly when the two work at the same events, no matter how hard they try to keep things friendly. The Seaside Cocktail Campervan is a fun book and a great summertime read. Travelling to different parties with a pizza van and cocktail campervan? Sign me up. I enjoyed both Lucy and Jack's characters, and liked reading along as their relationship developed. The setting can't get much better, and the reader will enjoy the brief escape to each event. Also, having the invites introduce the chapters was a nice touch. I would recommend The Seaside Cocktail Campervan for any romance novel enthusiast looking for a good late summer read.  Thanks to Netga

You Again Author: Nick Spalding  Publisher: Amazon Publishing UK Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ You Again? follows divorced Amy and Joel on a trip to the Maldives with their current partners. What luck that they are travelling to the exact same place at the same time! Needless to say, emotions run high as the couples are constantly thrown together and unresolved issues are brought to the surface. You Again? is a good book for one main reason: it is laugh out loud funny. Seriously, the antics that Amy and Joel get caught up in are ridiculous and hilarious to read. I enjoyed reading the backstory in Amy and Joel's marriage, and had the will they or won't they feelings throughout the book. And I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in finding Ray to be such a lovable character (and in not loving Cara so much). You Again? is a good pick for readers looking for travel fiction with some heavy handed humor.  Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary revie

Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP Author: Mirin Fader Publisher: Hachette Books  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP is the biographical story of Giannis Antetokounmpo from childhood to his current time in the NBA. The book chronicles his early life in Greece and all of the struggles he faced, including poverty, racism, and his fight as an immigrant to even get noticed for his basketball skills. All aspects of his time in the NBA are covered in great detail, from getting drafted and adapting to life in America to leading the Bucks to the playoffs and his back to back MVP awards.  Wow, wow, wow, what a fantastic book. As a basketball fan with moderate general knowledge of the NBA, I was immediately interested in this book and was incredibly impressed. The book took great care to respectfully tell Giannis's backstory in a way that showed how difficult it really was for him to have a chance to get drafted. His humility and loyalty to his family and his team is we

Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop  Author: Rebecca Raisin Publisher: Harper 360 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Thank you to Netgalley and Harper 360 for this ARC in exchange for my review. Rosie is a sous chef who has her whole life planned out. That is, until her boyfriend admits to having an affair and dumps her on her birthday. After his accusations of her never being spontaneous, she awakes from a drunken night to find herself the proud new owner of a campervan, which she decides to take on the road to sell tea and pastries. This book was sweet and fun to read; about halfway through I realized I had trouble putting the book down because the story was so engaging. Rosie's travels and adventures (along with the delicious descriptions of Rosie's tea and food creations) make this story a draw for people wanting a mental escape from their current situation. The characters she meets along the way really compliment her story. The ending and other parts of the book felt a little rushed, but as a whole I enjoy

Aria's Travelling Book Shop  Author: Rebecca Raisin Publisher: Harper 360 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Aria’s Travelling Book Shop is the follow-up novel to Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop, and focuses on Aria's story. Aria has been living the van life since before the untimely death of her husband. Surrounded by her favorite things in life (books!), Aria travels around Europe with her best friend Rosie. Aria has sworn to never love another man again....but her attraction to Jonathan may just change that plan. After previously reading and very much enjoying Rosie's story, I was thrilled to see that Rebecca Raisin wrote another novel from Aria's perspective. The descriptions of van life were just as fun as the first time around, and this book was another adventure. I found Aria's character to have a great amount of depth, and I was drawn into her story. Her struggle to move past the death of her husband was heartbreaking, especially as she read from his journal, and the reader can feel her

The Second Chance in the Mediterranean  Author: Liz Alden Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Second Chance in the Mediterranean is the third book in the Love and Wanderlust series and follows the second chance encounter between Marcella and Seb. Marcella's time on the Eik is over, and she is starting a new job on the Themis yacht in Montenegro. She doesn't expect to run into Seb again, especially after their first time around resulted in her losing her job. Will she be able to stay focused on her new head chef position, or will the forced proximity make staying away from (and keeping her hands off of) Seb impossible? I picked up my ARC of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean at the end of a very stressful weekend, and it was the perfect book for a brief mental vacation. After previously being introduced to Marcella in The Hitchhiker in Panama, I was interested in reading what was next for her, and it was yet another great adventure. Once again, love and wanderlust perfectly describes the plot;

A Feeling Like Home Author: Haleigh Wenger Publish Date: August 3, 2021 Publisher: Sword and Silk Books Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Feeling Like Home is the story of Paige, who has a tendency to act out when things get too difficult to handle. Her father's illness, a recent break-up, and the fear that she may also be sick become too much for her, and her parents send her to spend the summer in Texas with her sister. Will the change of scenery, a home building project, and a potential love interest be enough to turn things around? A Feeling Like Home is a thoughtful story with a lot of heart behind it. The author mentions in the afterward drawing inspiration from her own struggles with chronic illness, and it is well represented in the book. I thought this book did a good job balancing the heavier subject matter with lighter moments, especially with the growing bond between Paige and her sister/sister's family and the romance aspect of the book. The story is written in a true to the characte

21 Questions  Author: Alexandria Rizik Publish Date: August 3, 2021 Publisher: SparkPress Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 21 Questions is an opposites attract YA novel. Kendra is serious surfer, who finds solace in the sport after the unexpected drug-related death of her brother. Needless to say, Brock, whose family is strongly involved in the drug world, is the last person she would seem to fall for. Kendra and Brock play a game of 21 questions to find out more about each other, and their relationship grows from there. I was unexpectedly impressed with 21 Questions, and often found myself not wanting to put this book down. The story went a bit different than I thought it would just by reading the book summary, but in a good way. The book is a dual narrative, switching between Kendra and Brock's voice and it lends itself well to the story. Both characters had a good amount of depth, especially Brock's relationship with his family and drugs.....it broke my heart over and over again. I selfishly wa

Under the Bayou Moon  Author: Valerie Fraser Luesse Publish Date: August 3, 2021 Publisher: Revell Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Under the Bayou Moon is set in the 1940s in a small town in Louisiana. Ellie recently accepted a new teaching job in the town of Bernadette and quickly becomes very beloved in the town, despite their general distrust of outsiders. She is tasked with teaching children often left behind, fighting politicians with ulterior motives, and may even find love along the way with local fisherman Raphe. Under the Bayou Moon is a breath of fresh air and a welcome change from many of my recently read books. Ellie is a lovely main character, and her journey as a teacher in her new town is a joy to read. I liked her relationship with Raphe and how is progressed throughout the book. The real star of the book is the setting: the author does a great job of really transporting the reader to the bayou. Pick up a copy of Under the Bayou Moon if you are looking for a clean Southern fiction read. 

Buried Beneath  Author: Kelly Ann Hopkins  Publish Date: August 3, 2021 Publisher: GenZ Publishing Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Buried Beneath follows Shelly, a seemingly typical New Jersey teen that harbors a difficult secret: her mom has a hoarding disorder. Shelly's home is filled to the brim with all of the things that her mother cannot part with, and the filth is making Shelly physically sick. When her father sends her a ticket to stay with him in Florida, Shelly jumps at the chance, but is also terrified of the possible outcomes of leaving her mother. Buried Beneath is an incredibly powerful book and one that I could not put down. I liked that the story is not only a depiction of hoarding, a condition that is not often talked about outside of the context of the television show, but also focuses on the impacts the disorder has on the family members. Shelly is great main character with a lot of depth; the reader will quite literally feel all of her struggles. She loves/hates/blames both of he