Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist

If you're a lover of small-town romances, fake dating and friends to lovers tropes then this is for you!

We are introduced to Nick who has returned from serving in the army and coming home early to surprise his family. Noel his best friend, has lost her parents at a young age and Nick's family took her in. Nick is looking forward to seeing his girlfriend Amber but is met with an unexpected break up. Noel, all his friends and family start letting him know they didn't like Amber all that much. Amber is onto the next guy when Nick decides to go to local pub to catch up with friends. Noel, in an attempt to make Amber jealous, starts flirting and kissing Nick. And this is where the feelings start coming up for both of them. Can they really be more? Noel has been closed off ever since her parents died and hasn't let anyone in. Will she get hurt if she pursues a relationship? Is it even something that she wants?

I enjoyed the dual perspective in this story and both MCs. There are quite a few side characters and I liked each of their personalities. Amber was always going to be a problem and the rivalry between her and Noel was fun to read. I was looking forward to what snarky comments they were going to make to one another. Nick was just an all-round nice guy and I loved how he would help anyone if needed. The trauma of Noel's past was a good focal point of the story. As she faced her fears, she really started thinking about what she wanted in life and how closed off she had been. It was stopping her from truly pursuing something deep and meaningful. Accepting that her parents would have wanted her to be happy was such a major step, which I think Nick really understood and supported her in.

Looking forward to the other books in this series

For anyone that has suffered a loss of a parent and may have an annoying and/or manipulative ex, these are the trigger warnings I can think of.

The Hemsworth Effect

I loved that this was set in Australia and there were many pop culture references. I do have mixed feelings on this book and it was a bit too slow paced for me.

The story follows Aimee who is a cranky Byron Bay local. She hates the influencers that have plagued her town. She calls it the Hemsworth effect where celebrities and, in this instance, Chris Hemsworth has boasted about this coastal town causing and influx of tourists taking over a once quaint locality. Her fiancé Tim has asked to take a break to see if they should really get married and that they should see other people. Aimee's landlord just passed away and the daughter wants to sell the building in which her bookstore is situated. It's tough as she has no savings to save it. She's protesting about a reality show the Brats of Byron Bay being filmed, only to find out her niece Fleur is going to feature on it. Aimee gets turned into a meme "Byron Karen" which goes viral and is then the produces see this as a golden opportunity to have her on the reality show too. With money tight, she goes against her own values to star on this show with the type of influencers she hates, only to find out one of them is dating her fiancé. With the support of her friends, she can survive, but will anything go right?

Is it bad that I loved the side characters more than the MC. I especially loved Rob as she was so funny and witty. If the best friends of Charlie and Rob weren't there and Aimee was soloing this story, I probably would have DNF. I wanted so hard to relate to Aimee, though I felt like she was making poor choices and didn't really accept responsibility in making good changes in her life. From her situation with Tim, then her bookstore's building being sold, to making money on the reality TV show with the type of people she hated, not letting people in when they were trying to help... yes, it was one thing after another in her life, but was I meant to be frustrated with her the whole time? Was that the point? Also felt like the ending left some parts unresolved... especially with Tim - I wanted a deep and meaningful conversation. Should Aimee have fixed her trauma over her sister's death? Could she have confronted Rozzie? I wanted more of a conversation with Heath.

What I did enjoy was how over the top Brooke was. She made me laugh with all the cringe worthy moments she created and it was like how I imagine some influencers to be - creating drama for the sake of the camera. I thought what happened on the reality show was funny and Addie and Luna with their outgoing personalities, especially on the podcast was hilarious. I thought the relationship with her niece Fleur was sweet and how she had to mum her because she loved her. The moments with Tim and his fedora made me cringe a lot but in a funny way. The time spent with Jules and Heath really did spark some change in Aimee and it definitely opened her up to trying new things.

Overall, I am 50/50 and if the book was shorter without repeated dialogue and description, I think I would have liked it more.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for having this available as an ARC. This will be available 30th November.

Legendborn

I’d seen so many people mentioning on TikTok how awesome this read is and I managed to see spoiler free reviews. Bought it off Amazon and did this as a buddy read, which was awesome because I could chat to someone about this amazing book after we read each part.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this read! To have the author’s notes at the end explaining her own grief and how Bree was created, really gave this story so much of a personal touch. I loved the integration of King Arthur legends with the rootcraft Tracy created for this story. The interwoven history of one of the greatest western legends and black history is nothing I have ever read before. It’s so unique!

The book was well paced to really build the magical system which had a long standing history since King Arthur, Merlin and the knights of the round table. Bree is basically thrust into this world of magic as her mum kept it from her, whilst she battles her own grieving process after losing her mum. I liked that through her lineage, there was various aspects of magic that coursed through her veins - a lot of it having a dark history, though I really feel that she can change it all for the better. Bree just needed to be in the right place at the right time to be awakened. She has the power to really shake things up.

Now, I thought her growing love for Nick was cute, but I was secretly hoping that her and Sel would be together. I’m still hoping for it! Just from that first touch and the moment she can feel his stare on her. It seems more intriguing than her bond with Nick. Unless she ends up loving them both? That scene in Sel’s room was raw and real. When Sel broke down, I really felt his pain in that moment and in turn when Bree finds out the “truth” about her mother and Sel wants to comfort her… That’s got to count for something!

I’m excited for the next book! I can’t wait for it! It’s going to be an awesome read! I just know it!

The Stand-In

This book was all over audible when I first joined. It is also available now in written format in paperback or e-book. I was flipping between the two to see how each would fare and thought either one works well.

We are introduced to Gracie who is sexually harassed by her boss Todd and takes a sick day to seek a lawyer for advice. The lawyer asks why she didn’t approach HR first and she mentions that she didn’t think it was a good avenue to explore. After the meeting she grabs a coffee at a local cafe and notices photographers snapping her photo. She doesn’t think too much of it.

Gracie gets to work the next day and Todd knows she wasn’t really sick, showing her the photos of her from the paparazzi mistaking her for international famous actress Wei Fangli. She gets fired and this starts some stress and worry. Gracie is wanting to get her mum into a good nursing home as she is being cared for her Alzheimers. In comes Wei Fangli with an offer of a lifetime. Can Gracie stand-in for Fangli at public events? Since the paparazzi already mistook her, it could work. Fangli’s closest friend and pretend boyfriend Sam Yao (also internally famous for acting) thinks it’s a bad idea. Gracie really wants the money to help her mum and decides what’s the harm in pretending to be famous for awhile?

I loved that we had representation in this book. The MC is biracial and so is the author. The concept of the book was funny and I don’t know that I could fake being someone famous as Gracie put in a lot of hard work to pull it off. It wouldn’t be the easiest job and there were moments that she could have easily been caught out.

What I loved about this book was that the characters didn’t realise they needed each other until they crossed paths. They each had a hand in each others growth and that to me was special. I didn’t love Sam at first and thought he was a bit of a rude d%*k to Gracie, but when they had their truce, they started to really understand one another. Recognising similar traits in herself, I liked how Gracie was able to assist Fangli get the help she needed for her depression.

There was a twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming, because I just wasn’t expecting it and it worked so well in the story. It was a sweet ending where everyone got something unexpected out of this bizarre set up.

Found

Are you aware of the messages the universe is sending to you?

If you're trying to tune in, are you aware of the opportunities coming your way? Are you aware of what's going on in your environment? Are you able to take notice if you haven't before? It can come in the form of messages in music, a TV show you watch, maybe it's something you read in a newspaper or book, maybe you're seeing repeated numbers or even it's advice from someone you know, but you haven't really been paying attention or being open to receive.

They say the universe works in mysterious ways. Could there be repeated patterns that you're not aware of? If you start to pay attention, what answers could be within your reach? These answers could set you on the right path in whatever you're trying to achieve in life.

Sometimes we are working against the natural flow of events the universe is trying to convey. We can work against our intuition and instincts when there are signs the universe is sending for us to embrace change.

Be aware of your surroundings, dreams and time spent in meditation. Pay attention and see the opportunities around you. The universe is trying to subtly let you know, there are ways to have a steady flow on your path if you work with it. Don't stand in the way of natural events occurring that will set you in the right direction.