Book Review: Snowflakes over Starr's Fall

📚 Book Review: Snowflakes over Starr's Fall 

Kate Hewitt

🗓️ Publication Date: August17, 2025

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 My Review: I adore Starr's Fall! This is a cozy small-town romance with just the right touch of holiday magic. I really enjoy the author’s warm, engaging writing style—it made the snowy Starr’s Fall setting sparkle on the page! Jenna and Jack’s opposites-attract banter was fun to watch unfold, and though it's still summer here, the cozy winter wonderland brought such a festive charm to the story. A sweet, heartwarming read that feels like a cup of cocoa by the fire!

Thank you to Boldwood Books via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚Goodreads Synopsis: Jenna has lived in Starr’s Fall for most of her life, and has run the general store for over ten years. Secretly she might dream of love and romance, but she’s happy as she is. Really.

That is, until Starr’s Fall’s newest resident—ex-New Yorker, millionaire investment banker—Jack Wexler breezes into Jenna’s store, seemingly furious they don’t stock smoked salmon. Jenna is as amused as she is annoyed. Who is this ridiculous guy, and doesn’t he realize he’s not in Manhattan anymore?

Jack meanwhile can’t believe he lost it in public. But ever since being forced to leave his high-flying career to focus on his health, he’s not been himself. What’s more, the last person he’d expected to be attracted to is the shrew of a storekeeper he’s just encountered… which he might have called Jenna, in a moment of temper…

Neither of Jenna or Jack’s ideal of romance includes these sorts of furious sparks flying. But when they’re both roped in to organizing the town’s Winter Wonderland parade, they’re forced to work together. And as Christmas approaches – will two opposites merely attract? Or, in magical Starr’s Fall, could they fall in love for keeps?

Book Review: what She Left Behind

📚 Book Review: What She Left Behind

Brianne Sommerville

🗓️ Publication Date: August 12, 2025 - Out Now!

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 My Review: This was the first book I’ve read by this author, and I really enjoyed their writing style. The pacing kept me engaged, and I especially liked the unique diary entry format which gave the story a fresh, layered feel. I also had fun recognizing some of the city references that were woven into the narrative, which made the setting feel more real. I enjoyed the mystery itself, and the character dynamics kept me turning the pages. A solid, compelling read that makes me curious to check out her first book! Add this one to your list if you like slow burn mysteries!

Thank you to Rising Action Publishing via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚Goodreads Synopsis: In a home where the past lives on, can the truth ever really be buried?

Recently fired and adrift, Charlotte Boyd agrees to oversee renovations on her parents’ small-town summer home that holds a tragic past. After discovering an enthralling diary hidden amidst junk the previous owners left behind, Charlotte connects with the author—a troubled teen named Lark Peters who died by suicide at the house sixteen years ago. 

When an unsettling incident forces Charlotte to seek refuge at the local pub, regulars, including the police, warn her of Lark’s older brother, Darryl, who has become a recluse since Lark’s death, and may know more than he’s letting on. But Charlotte sees a side of Darryl others don’t, being an outsider herself. 

In a search to uncover the truth, Charlotte must question those closest to Lark and reconcile her own past trauma. Because if Lark was actually murdered, then whoever is responsible might be lurking in Charlotte’s own backyard.

Book Review: Who We Used to Be

📚 Book Review: Who we Used to Be

Caitlin Weaver

🗓️ Publication Date: July 29, 2025

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

📚 My Review: This is a novel exploring grief, friendship, and learning to take back control of your life. Dana’s journey, from letting others lead to finding her own strength, is honest and compelling. Her friendship with Padma is the heart of the story: deep, messy, and deeply human. Watching it crack under pressure was heartbreaking but so believable and real.

Ian and Meave’s paths to self-discovery added another interesting layer to the story. The pacing is just right, and the writing style drew me in from the very first page. A thoughtful, emotional read that stays with you.

Thank you to Storm Publishing via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚Goodreads Synopsis: Dana Blair has spent her life letting others take the wheel, from her relationship with her husband to her business. Now, with her marriage unraveling, her son in crisis and her career on the verge of collapse, Dana is left wondering whether she ever really had control of anything at all.

Padma Paulsen is the a brilliant, fiercely driven ER doctor who’s given her all to her career. Her friendship with Dana has been the one constant in her high-pressure life.

But then a tragedy on Padma’s watch leaves Dana’s daughter in critical condition and their bond in tatters.

As Dana fights for justice for her daughter, grief turns to blame. Soon she’s forced to make a decision that could either save her family or destroy the most important friendship of her life.

Book Review: Greenwich

📚 Book Review: Greenwich

Kate Broad

🗓️ Publication Date: July 22, 2025 - OUT NOW!

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 My Review: This book pulled me in with its moody summer setting and plot full of tension, emotion, and quiet drama. I found the writing to be really vivid, and I liked how the author captured the confusion of growing up and the thrill (and danger) of first love. The characters felt real, with secrets simmering just beneath the surface, and the stakes slowly building until everything came to a head! It was a gripping, emotional read about loyalty, truth, and the moment everything changes.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚 Goodreads Synopsis: Summer, 1999. Rachel Fiske is almost eighteen when she arrives at her aunt and uncle’s mansion in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her glamorous aunt is struggling to heal from an injury, and Rachel wants to help—and escape her own troubles back home. But her aunt is oddly spacey and her uncle is consumed with business, and Rachel feels lonely and adrift, excluded from the world of adults and their secrets. The only bright spot is Claudia, a recent college graduate, aspiring artist, and the live-in babysitter for Rachel’s cousin. As summer deepens, Rachel eagerly hopes their friendship might grow into more.

But when a tragic accident occurs, the family turns on Claudia in a desperate bid to salvage their reputation. Caught between her upbringing and her feelings for Claudia, her desire to do the right thing and to protect her future, Rachel must make a pivotal choice. She’s the only one who knows what really happened—and her decision has consequences far beyond what she could have predicted.

Book Review: Hot to Go

📚 Book Review: Hot to Go

Kristen Bailey

🗓️ Publication Date: July 18, 2025

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

📚 My Review: This was such a fun read with the perfect mix of sunshine, and slow-burn romance. I loved the witty banter, the awkward (but hilarious) school moments, and the undeniable chemistry between Suzie and "not-Carlos". The writing had an easy, breezy flow that made it impossible to put down. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if your vacation fling followed you home and then sat next to you in a staff meeting... this book is for you! A perfect escape with just the right amount of spice and swoon.

Thank you to Storm Publishing via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚 Goodreads Synopsis: The vacation ended. The heat didn’t…

Meet Suzie French teacher, newly single, newly heartbroken. After an awful break-up, she heads to Mallorca for a much-needed holiday with her cousins, expecting sun, sangria, and siestas.

She isn’t expecting to fall in love – especially not with the handsome Spaniard who rescues her when she gets separated from her group during an ill-judged midnight skinny dip.

But what starts as a steamy holiday romance built on white lies and mistaken identities turns into something more complicated when “Carlos” shows up at the school she works at.

Except his name isn’t Carlos. It’s Charlie Carter, and he’s the new Spanish teacher.

Now they’re stuck in department meetings pretending they haven’t seen each other naked, both feeling thoroughly duped, both wondering if that hot holiday fling can exist in real life? But when they’re thrown together again on a school trip to Seville, the heat between them proves impossible to resist

Book Review: Haley Hope is Gone

📚 Book Review: Haley Hope is Gone

Michele Dominguez Greene

🗓️ Publication Date: July 10, 2025 - OUT NOW!

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 My Review: This was a solid mystery with an eerie small-town setting and a dark, slow-burning plot. Emily Ray’s return to Lake Arrowhead brings emotional depth, and the tension builds nicely as she digs into a case no one wants reopened. The stakes felt real, especially with her father’s declining health adding urgency. That said, some of the twists were a bit easy to see coming, and the pacing seemed slow to me in spots. Still, the underlying mystery and themes of long-buried secrets kept me interested to the end and I'm invested enough to go back to read the first book!

Thank you to Storm Publishing via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚 Goodreads Synopsis: Every small town has its secrets. Lake Arrowhead’s run bone-deep.

After closing the case that nearly destroyed her career, Special Agent Emily Ray is placed on mandatory leave and retreats to Lake Arrowhead with her father—a mountain town where she spent childhood summers. A peaceful vacation is just what she needs—until she learns about Hayley Hope, a fifteen-year-old girl found drowned in Papoose Lake. When Emily meets Hayley’s best friend Lillian Knox, the teen is convinced it was murder.

The local sheriff’s department dismissed it as a tragic drowning, case closed. But when threatening messages appear, she begins to unravel the small community’s web of silence and complicity. As Emily investigates—despite explicit orders not to—she uncovers a web of corruption. Young girls have been disappearing for years—vulnerable teens whose voices were silenced.

With only Lillian’s testimony and scattered clues to guide her, Emily races against escalating threats. Evidence vanishes, witnesses disappear, and her father’s deteriorating health puts him at risk as shadowy figures close in. Emily must uncover the dark truth behind Hayley’s death before another girl disappears.

Book Review: Party of Liars

📚 Book Review: Party of Liars

Kelsey Cox

🗓️ Publication Date: July 1, 2025 

📚 My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📚 My Review: A glitzy fast-paced spin on the classic locked-room mystery. A Sweet Sixteen in a possibly haunted Texas mansion? YES, please! I loved how secrets unraveled and the motives surfaced. I also really enjoyed the multiple POV twisty writing style and oh! So much drama! This is perfect for fans of juicy whodunnits with a dark, glamorous edge.

Thank you to Minotaur Books via netgalley for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

📚 Goodreads Synopsis: A lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel — serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin…

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.