Review: Play For Me by Libby Hubscher

 

Play For Me by Libby Hubscher

Publication Date: June 20th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 368

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Sophie’s life implodes when her decision to keep the star pitcher out of the game ends with the Red Sox losing the World Series. Sophie is fired, and her boyfriend breaks up with her, kicking her out of his apartment. Her name is mud in Boston, so her best friend suggests she take up a job at her old boarding school in New Hampshire for a change of scenery.

However, things are not all bad, as Sophie is a glass-full kind of gal. The boarding school, Monadnock, is beautiful and so is the location. She has a closet sized bedroom in the apartment she shares with three other men, and all are nice except for one: Jonas Voss. The handsome but grouchy music teacher seems to take an immediate dislike to her, but Sophie’s determined to make the best of her situation.

As they cohabitate Sophie begins to see another side to Jonas and he seems to soften towards her, here and there. Sophie discovers her training may be able to help Jonas get back on the career path he had to abandon, and they start working together. Sparks fly, although Sophie’s not sure Jonas feels the same.

Play For Me was a wonderful, slow-burn romance, but there was so much more to this lovely story! Both Sophie and Jonas had their dream jobs taken away and the story examined the repercussions and whether a job alone brings happiness. I was delighted to see both Sophie and Jonas help each other to recognize they had value and could find happiness in many different ways and that there wasn’t just one career path that could bring joy. They had complicated issues, but they supported each other through them, and I just loved that!

4 Stars

Book Description:

When her new job takes her to a New England boarding school, she’s surprised to find her roommates are all men – including a very handsome one who plays by his own rules. 

Sophie Doyle has her dream job as the head athletic trainer for her favorite baseball team (go Red Sox!), a handsome boyfriend, and easy access to the finest cannoli in Boston. When she loses all three and the World Series to boot, she’s forced to apply for the open trainer position at an arts-focused boarding school in New Hampshire. The only available room is a glorified closet in an apartment with three guys: Jonas Voss, the aloof and attractive orchestra teacher, and his two rambunctious roommates.

Sophie knows that training a bunch of privileged high school kids whose idea of a play is A Chorus Line instead of a walk-off homer is going to be a big change from the pro athletes she’s used to. She wasn’t expecting that these students would have big-time talent and even bigger-time problems. Sophie has troubles of her own—Jonas is a full-fledged grump who clearly doesn’t want her near him or the precious piano he never plays.

With sunny optimism, Sophie sets out to win over Jonas and help the kids she’s growing attached to. But when her relationship with Jonas moves to the major leagues and plans change at the end of the season, they have to choose whether they are playing for keeps.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2023 to-read List

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader where each week they post a new top ten list and ask fellow bookish folk to share their lists on that topic. 

This week Books on My Summer 2023 to-read List

I'm so excited for each and every one of these books! How do I choose which one to start first?!! A bookish dilemma!

Click on cover for Goodreads link:

Remember Me by Mary Balogh

I love her historical romances! This is book two in the Ravenswood series and can be read as a standalone in a pinch. 

A Fatal Illusion by Anna Lee Huber

Book 11 in the Lady Darby Mysteries and should be read in order. This series is excellent! I highly recommend the audio version narrated by Heather Wilds. All voices and accents are perfection!

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins

Her brand of womens fiction usually strikes a cord and hits me emotionally. Plus, she usually adds a little bit of romance.

The Cafe at Beach End by RaeAnne Thayne

I scoop up every new release by Thayne! Love the setting of this series, too! It's book 5 in the Cape Sanctuary series, but can be read as a standalone.

A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor

Book 4 in the wonderful Maggie D'arcy series. A police/crime procedural with a new mystery with every book, but should be read in order because of the ongoing relationships and history. 

Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh

Psy-Changeling Trinity #7. Each installment is a must-read for me. Such a great mix of fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal romance! Each book is focused on a romantic couple, but it should be read in order for the ongoing story arc.

Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates

Darcy Coates is famous for her ghost stories, but this seems to be a straight thriller and it sounds good! 

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

Her romances are top notch! I have an e-copy and an audio, but I'll be buying the hardcover for my shelf! She's an another auto buy for me. 

Magic Claims by Ilona Andrews

So excited they are writing more Kate Daniels! I have an e-copy but I'm sure I'll be buying the audio bundle when it comes out of Magic Tides and Magic Claims and be listening as a re-read. 

North of Nowhere by Allison Brennan

This sounds like a heart pounding thriller! Kids on the run from their murderous father crashing in the wilds of Montana so now not only are they on the run from trackers, but also a deadly storm. Can't wait!

What do you plan to read this summer?

The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis

 

The Sweetheart List (Sunrise Cove #4) by Jill Shalvis

Publication Date: June 13th 2023 by Avon

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Harper needs a change. Her fiancé dumps her, her job fails to bring joy, and her father barely acknowledges her existence. So, she decides to take life by the horns and move to the last place she was happy: Sunrise Cove, a town by Lake Tahoe. She’s going to go forward with her dream of running her own bakery and as luck would have it one of the downtown shops is up for lease. It’s a little run down but with some work it will be quaint and cute. Harper doesn’t expect help, doesn’t expect to make friends so quickly, but she’s but she’s gifted with both.  Romance is far from her mind, but of course when you least expect it is when you fall hard.

Bodie, her landlord isn’t looking for romance either, he’s just home to run the family bar after his dad’s unexpected death. But sweet and kind Harper is hard to resist.

Ivy, a teenager with a mission, has nowhere to stay so she sneaks into Harper’s shop for a night to sleep safe and out of the cold, thinking the place empty. Instead, she’s surprised by Harper who doesn’t kick her out. Harper’s an unexpected refuge and friend.

I love the thought of picking up and moving if a place is not bringing you happiness. Something I did a year ago, and coincidentally, to a place very close to the setting of Truckee/Lake Tahoe! I kept picturing downtown Truckee because it sounded so like the cute downtown area described.  

There were some bumps in the road from Ivy’s past and just from being a teenager! I thought she was pretty darn lucky because Harper and Bodie were so lovely to her.

The Sweetheart List was a feel-good romance full of love, friendship, and laughs! Loved that little surprise twist in the epilogue!

4 Stars

Book Description:

What makes life sweet?

-Freshly baked bread
-A cool lake on a hot summer day
-The comfort of a cozy bookstore
-Second chances and new beginnings

When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery.

With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets…

When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.

Sunday Post #211

 

The Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated reviewer book blog, and is a post to recap my bookish and non-bookish things from the last week. I'm also linking up to The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance @Readerbuzz.

It's been a quieter week. I went in an extra day at work because we were real busy at the hospital. 

It's been hot the last couple of days, but we still haven't had to turn on the air conditioner. I went on three runs this week and have been in the garden constantly. Planting, watering, weeding.

Butterflies love the Dahlias

 

Wild garden daisies

My zucchini plant is producing so we've been using our zucchini recipes. My favorite is battered air fryer zucchini (recipe HERE) rounds with ranch dip. I substitute heavy cream for the milk and set the oven to air fry at the same temp. Delicious!

My husband and I went to lunch in town yesterday, explored some shops, and did some did some wine tasting at a local wine tasting room. A fun day.

Read:

(Click on cover for Goodreads link)

I had a great reading week with one 5 star, one 4.5 star and two 4 star reads. Love, Theoretically is my favorite Ali Hazelwood to date. The Island Villa was an emotional journey of a mother and her two daughters mending fences and finding happiness. The Sweetheart List was a sweet, low drama romance. I picked up Sworn to Silence, the first in the Kate Burkholder mysteries because I grabbed her latest through a "read now" Netgalley offer and wanted to at least get to the first book in the series. I think I'll manage to read a few more before tackling the latest. It was riveting mystery, but boy was it brutal and tough to stomach in parts! Still, I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Received/Purchased/Library Lend:

Four library lend audios and two review copies. Pray For Silence is the second in the Kate Burkholder series. I'm currently listening to A Rip Through Time and had the my hold of the second one, The Poisoner's Ring come through a few days ago. Need to listen to both before my library lend expires. I have a print copy of A Love Catastrophe, but requested a library audio and it came through this week. Vanishing Edge was on sale at Chirp, but it was available through my library so I borrowed it instead. I've got a lot to get through before they expire!

Instagram:

My current giveaway.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rachel (@wavesoffiction)

How was your week?

4 Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller Book Giveaway!

 Happy Friday! Or TGIF? I am constantly acquiring books so if I don't want to start on the road to a hoarder lifestyle I need to purge.  

Today I have 4 Hardcover Books in the Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller genre. 

I usually hoard any Karin Slaughter book, but I ordered Girl, Forgotten on BOTM and then won a copy as well. Now I have two copies and I'm handing one off. 

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz-Hardcover copy

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter-Hardcover copy

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz-Hardcover copy

The Bride Wore White by Amanda Quick-Hardcover copy

The giveaway is open to US Residents only. Fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

 

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

Publication Date: June 13th 2023 by Berkley & Penguin Audio

Pages: 368

Audio Book Length: 12hrs 33min

Narrator: Thérèse Plummer

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Elsie is barely making ends meet as an adjunct teacher, so she takes on a side job being a fake date for those in need.  However, there’s light at the end of the tunnel because she’s interviewing for her dream job. To her horror Jack Smith, the brother of one of her fake-date customers is on the panel set to interview her. Jack knew her as her brother’s librarian girlfriend, suspiciously perfect, but finding out she’s one of the physicist interviewees and lying to his brother puts his back up. Thankfully, this farce doesn’t go very far.

I adored both Elsie and Jack and rooted for their romance! They had such an intense connection right from the beginning and I loved that neither played games! After years of adapting herself to please others, being with Jack, who wanted her honesty, was refreshing and a relief to Elsie. These two brought out the best in each other!  And my goodness, this romance was spicy! But, thankfully, not just sex, sex, sex either. Their interactions were so fun, so delicious, I just couldn’t put this story down!

Love, Theoretically is my favorite Ali Hazelwood to date! My review doesn’t do the story justice. I’ll just tell you that I absolutely loved this romance so hard! One of my favorites of 2023!

I alternately read an e-copy and listened to the audio version. Thérèse Plummer’s performance, as usual, was excellent! Both her female and male voices were wonderful! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed. A definite recommend!

5 Stars

Book Description:

Rival physicists collide in a vortex of academic feuds and fake dating shenanigans in this delightfully STEMinist romcom from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis and Love on the Brain.

The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she’s an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By other day, Elsie makes up for her non-existent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.

Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?

Review: Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay

 

Summer Reading by Jenn McKinlay

Publication Date: May 16th 2023 by Berkley

Pages: 438

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Sam quit her job after being passed over for a promotion as head chef she suspects is due to her dyslexia.  Now she’s spending the summer at Martha’s Vineyard to watch her younger half-brother, Tyler, while her parents are off on a European vacation. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. She can figure out what her next move will be while getting to know her younger brother.

On the ferry ride out she has an unfortunate accident with Ben, who she finds out is the library director. A man she’ll be seeing daily thanks to the Tyler’s robotics program taking place at the library where Ben works. There are sparks of attraction, but Sam wonders how a relationship would ever work when she has such issues with reading and Ben’s so very bookish. They end up thrown together over and over, and Sam offers to help Ben with his search for his father, and while Ben helps Sam write a cookbook with all the recipes her beloved grandmother shared with her.

Summer Reading was an easy romance to settle into and enjoy. I didn’t realize the hurdles some with dyslexia have to navigate and I appreciated learning about it through Sam’s story. My heart went out to her and the insecurities she struggled with because of it. I loved how Ben helped her realize how talented and smart she was and how wonderfully she coped with her disability. He was a sweetheart and a bookish hottie! Hard to resist!

Besides that, Sam was a spunky extrovert and a lot of fun! I enjoyed seeing her get to know her younger brother more, bond bring him out of some of his teenage angst. I really liked Em, Sam’s best friend, and enjoyed seeing them reconnect. Em’s story is next, and it sounds like a good one! Set in Ireland at a bookstore, I’m so there!

4 Stars

Book Description:

When a woman who'd rather do anything than read meets a swoon-worthy bookworm, sparks fly, making for one hot-summer fling in New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay's new rom-com.

For Samantha Gale, a summer on Martha's Vineyard at her family's tiny cottage was supposed to be about resurrecting her career as a chef, until she's tasked with chaperoning her half-brother, Tyler. The teenage brainiac is spending his summer at the local library in a robotics competition, and there's no place Sam, who's dyslexic, likes less than the library. And because the universe hates her, the library's interim director turns out to be the hot-reader guy whose book she accidentally destroyed on the ferry ride to the island.

Bennett Reynolds is on a quest to find his father, whose identity he's never known. He's taken the temporary job on the island to research the summer his mother spent there when she got pregnant with him. Ben tells himself he isn't interested in a relationship right now. Yet as soon as Sam knocks his book into the ocean, he can't stop thinking about her.

An irresistible attraction blossoms when Ben inspires Sam to create the cookbook she's always dreamed about and she jumps all in on helping him find his father, and soon they realize their summer fling may heat up into a happily ever after.