Tag Archive for: Contemporary

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One Night On The Island

One Night On The IslandTitle: One Night on the Island
Author: Josie Silver
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Spice: 1.5 / 5
Format: Audio
Pages: 368
Length: 10h 21m
Narrator: Davis Brooks, Eleanor Tomlinson
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I ended up really enjoying ONE NIGHT ON THE ISLAND. I thought it was a thought-provoking story about love, life, and consequences. I loved the setting. Even though it took place in winter and seemed so stormy and frigid, I’d love to go to Salvation Island and stay there for a while. The residents seemed amazing. 

At first I didn’t like Cleo very much because I thought she was really whiny, but she grew on me. I loved her determination to figure out what she wanted in life and go in an opposite direction than she was. I thought it was interesting that she didn’t see how shallow and vapid her friends were in London until she was away from them. It beautifully illustrated that sometimes being too close to a situation doesn’t allow you see if properly.

I loved Mack. I felt for him and I don’t blame him for going to Salvation Island under the circumstances he was in. While I’d never date or fuck someone I was still legally married to, I don’t feel like he cheated on Susie because they were separated and she was already in another relationship. I felt bad for his wife in the end, but I also understood that she didn’t want him around until she realized he was falling for someone else. She couldn’t have it both ways.

I loved the audiobook so much. Eleanor Tomlinson was amazing as Cleo. I love her voice. And, I thought Davis Brooks did a great job as Mack.

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Every Beat After

Every Beat AfterTitle: Every Beat After
Author: Sara B. Larson
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Spice: 1 / 5
Format: Audio
Pages: 384
Length: 12h 25m
Narrator: Lauren Pope
Reason Read: Just Because
Rating:

My Thoughts

I adored everything about EVERY BEAT AFTER. I haven’t cried this much reading a book for a while. There’s so much emotion packed in this heart-wrenching / -warming romance. The story’s definitely not for the faint of heart (pun intended) as the characters battle fear, anxiety, grief, guilt, shame, betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness. Larson’s masterful execution of the messy-mates-to-lovers (iykyk) trope had me staying up late to finish Liv and Hunter’s story. I saw the big twist coming a mile away but it didn’t lessen the impact and cheapen the story for me. It actually made it sweeter and did a great job bringing the two together in the end.

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The Last Anniversary

The Last AnniversaryTitle: The Last Anniversary
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Audio
Pages: 388
Length: 12h 39m
Narrator: Heather Wilds
Reason Read: Book Club Backlist
Rating:

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed reading THE LAST ANNIVERSARY. I loved the family drama and mystery. Liane Moriarty does a great job of writing about family dysfunction, sometimes with lovable characters and sometimes not. I think her stories are always very intriguing.

I really liked Rose, Sophie, and Grace. I felt for both Rose and Grace (as well as Enigma and Laura) with each of them suffering through postpartum depression. I’m especially glad Grace got help in the end. I’m sad she pushed Callum into Sophie because now all three of them have unresolved feelings, but I think things are looking up. Hopefully, they all can have a good life despite what happened. I figured out the reveal with Jack and Alice, but I thought the other reveal regarding the breadboard murder was such a great ending.

I didn’t like the audiobook narrator very much. She was okay when she voiced some of the characters, but her Veronica was super annoying and I cringed each time she spoke.

The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry

The Storied Life Of A.J. FikryTitle: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Contemporary
Format: Audio
Pages: 260
Length: 7h 3m
Narrator: Scott Brick
Reason Read: Recommended
Rating:

My Thoughts

THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY is a beautifully written bittersweet story about love, loss, grief, healing, and second chances. At first, I didn’t really like A.J. He was too curmudgeonly for my taste, but he grew on me. I loved his relationship with Maya and Amy, his friends, and his patrons. I loved his enthusiasm for books and reading, even if his tastes were a little too hoity-toity for me. I loved reading his character growth.

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits

The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest HitsTitle: The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Genre: Contemporary
Format: Audio
Pages: 377
Length: 15h 32m
Narrator: Dakota Fanning
Reason Read: Book of the Month
Rating:

My Thoughts

The longer THE GRIFFIN SISTERS’ GREATEST HITS went on, the angrier I got. I thought the concept was interesting but if the author mentioned that Cassie was the ugly fat sister one more time, I was going to scream. I get that the author wanted the reader comparing Cassie and Zoe to show that beauty isn’t the only value a person has. I just felt like she beat us over the head with it and it really irked me.

I also hated that Cassie wasted her life after Russell died because Zoe was too selfish to admit that he didn’t love her (Zoe). I also hated that she had coerced him into marrying her, then cheated on him and was pregnant with Tommy’s baby, and flogged Russell into depression for cheating on her with Cassie. And, most of all, I hated that when the reader finds this all out, there are still nearly 100 pages left to read. 

The one saving grace was Dakota Fanning’s narration. I also liked the ending (it just took way too long to get there).