Cackle, By Rachel Harrison ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Alcoholism, Humor, Magical Realism, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 5th, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: A darkly funny, frightening novel about a young woman learning how to take what she wants from a witch who may be too good to be true, from the author of The Return.

All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a teaching position that moves her from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She’s stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is. The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, minus the oddly persistent spider infestation.

Then Annie meets Sophie. Beautiful, charming, magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie, who wants to be her friend. More importantly, she wants Annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself. That’s how Sophie lives. Annie can’t help but gravitate toward the self-possessed Sophie, wanting to spend more and more time with her, despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem…a little afraid of her. And like, okay. There are some things. Sophie’s appearance is uncanny and ageless, her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly, and she does seem to wield a certain power…but she couldn’t be…could she? (Goodreads)

I enjoyed Rachel Harrison’s The Return, so Cackle has been one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and I’m pleased to say that it surpassed my expectations.

Annie spends a good portion of the book dealing with the breakup of her long term relationship with Sam. Some readers may be put off by her wallowing in misery and insecurities, but having gone through something similar, I completely understood the process she went through. Balancing her tendency to rely on alcohol to numb her pain, is her sharp sense of humor which had me laughing out loud more than once. Slowly, over the course of the story, she comes to realize who she wants to be, and I loved watching her journey of self-discovery. Sophie, while seemingly confident and self-possessed, has her own insecurities underneath which come out near the end of the book, but for the most part she turns out to be the best thing that could have happened to Annie.

The story itself is scarce on scares, but full of charm, whimsy, and black comedy. And, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think Ralph the adorable spider has cured my arachnophobia! Seriously though, Cackle is deliciously wicked and fun, and I easily gobbled it up in one sitting. While the ending wraps everything up, in my humble opinion there’s also plenty of material for another book and I’m hoping Rachel Harrison will revisit the small town of Rowan, its inhabitants, and Annie and Sophie. This is coming out the beginning of October which is wonderful because it’s an ideal read for the Halloween season!

A Spindle Splintered, By Alix E. Harrow ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Adventure, Diversity, Fairytale Retellings, Fantasy, Humor, LGBTQ, Science Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 5th, 2021

128 Pages

Synopsis: USA Today bestselling author Alix E. Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered brings her patented charm to a new version of a classic story.

“A vivid, subversive and feminist reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, where implacable destiny is no match for courage, sisterhood, stubbornness and a good working knowledge of fairy tales.” ―Katherine Arden

It’s Zinnia Gray’s twenty-first birthday, which is extra-special because it’s the last birthday she’ll ever have. When she was young, an industrial accident left Zinnia with a rare condition. Not much is known about her illness, just that no one has lived past twenty-one.

Her best friend Charm is intent on making Zinnia’s last birthday special with a full sleeping beauty experience, complete with a tower and a spinning wheel. But when Zinnia pricks her finger, something strange and unexpected happens, and she finds herself falling through worlds, with another sleeping beauty, just as desperate to escape her fate. (Goodreads)

A Spindle Splintered may only be 128 pages, but it packs a heck of a lot of content in that brief span. When I read this was Sleeping Beauty meets Into the Spider-Verse I was initially skeptical, but I knew if anyone could pull this off it would be Alix Harrow. I don’t want to gush, but this just ticked all my boxes.

✨Strong, smart, and relatable female characters

✨Snarky humor

✨Witty dialogue

✨A unique and imaginative plot

✨A fairytale retelling that improves upon the original

✨Loads of diversity

✨A picture perfect ending.

Best of all it gives Sleeping Beauty a long overdue feminist slant that highlights the struggles that women everywhere have to contend with. It’s all about courage, sisterhood, and sassiness, so please take my advice and preorder this immediately or put in a request to purchase at your library. I do want to warn you it mentions rape. It’s something that happened in the past to one of the characters, and it’s not graphic, but I wanted to let you know.

In a year where I’ve been blessed with some truly stupendous reads, this novella will definitely be one of my top ten favorites. I highly recommend A Spindle Splintered to readers who love fairytale retellings and even those who don’t. I guarantee you’ll fall in love with both the plot and its characters, and you’ll easily finish it in one sitting and then be disappointed that it’s over.

Under the Whispering Door, By T.J. Klune ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Fantasy, Grief, Humor, LGBTQ Relationships, Romance, Suicide

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 21st, 2021

384 Pages

Synopsis: Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy with TJ Klune’s signature “quirk and charm” (PW) about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love withWhen a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy. (Goodreads)

Last year I saw numerous rave reviews for T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, and while I still haven’t had a chance to read it, I did finally purchase it. I’ve also enjoyed the first two books in his Extraordinaires series, so I was quite excited to be approved for an eARC of Under the Whispering Door. I’m writing this review after just finishing it and I am happy to say this ticked off all of my boxes.

The characters were wonderful, starting with Wallace. Before he died he was a cold-hearted, selfish man who didn’t appear to have an empathetic bone in his body. But after his death, when he meets sassy Mei, a reaper, and she brings him to Charon’s Crossing Tea and Treats, where he’s introduced to Hugo, a ferryman, his road to redemption begins. Also residing in this strange weigh station are Hugo’s deceased dog, Apollo, and his grandfather, Nelson. It’s a quirky little family and they take hold of your heart almost instantly. The Manager is a little more frightening, as he’s very much an unknown, although near the end even he undergoes a transformation of sorts. The setting of the tea shop and its quirkier attributes is very visual and I could easily picture it in my head. This isn’t what you’d call an action-packed story, but then it’s not meant to be. By turns it’s a whimsical, heartbreaking, and thoughtful exploration of death, grief, and letting go. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read and I can honestly say I fell in love with both the characters and the story.

Under the Whispering Door is an absolute treasure of a book that by turns will have you laughing out loud, and sobbing into a tissue. Most of all, it will leave you sad when you’ve come to the end and will remain in your mind even after you’ve moved on to other books.

Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche (Enola Holmes #7), By Nancy Springer ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Historical Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Suspense, YA Fiction

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books/Wednesday Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 31st, 2021

272 Pages

Synopsis: Enola Holmes is the much younger sister of her more famous brothers, Sherlock and Mycroft. But she has all the wits, skills, and sleuthing inclinations of them both. At fifteen, she’s an independent young woman–after all, her name spelled backwards reads ‘alone’–and living on her own in London. When a young professional woman, Miss Letitia Glover, shows up on Sherlock’s doorstep, desperate to learn more about the fate of her twin sister, it is Enola who steps up. It seems her sister, the former Felicity Glover, married the Earl of Dunhench and per a curt note from the Earl, has died. But Letitia Glover is convinced this isn’t the truth, that she’d know–she’d feel–if her twin had died.

The Earl’s note is suspiciously vague and the death certificate is even more dubious, signed it seems by a John H. Watson, M.D. (who denies any knowledge of such). The only way forward is for Enola to go undercover–or so Enola decides at the vehement objection of her brother. And she soon finds out that this is not the first of the Earl’s wives to die suddenly and vaguely–and that the secret to the fate of the missing Felicity is tied to a mysterious black barouche that arrived at the Earl’s home in the middle of the night. To uncover the secrets held tightly within the Earl’s hall, Enola is going to require help–from Sherlock, from the twin sister of the missing woman, and from an old friend, the young Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Basilwether. (Goodreads)

After eleven long years, the indomitable Enola Eudoria Heddassa Holmes returns in Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, and oh my goodness, what a glorious, spectacular return it is! Whereas in the previous books the feisty younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft was at odds with her brothers, in this go around the fifteen-year-old and Sherlock team up to solve this latest mystery. If you haven’t read the previous six books, never fear, Sherlock’s prologue sums everything up quite succinctly. As for longtime fans of the series, you will be happy to see that Enola continues to grow both as a person and as a detective who, if this series continues, may just wind up outshining her older brothers. While she still is inclined toward getting herself into trouble due to her impulsive nature, she manages to outdo Sherlock more than once, and you can see that future promise there.

Nancy Springer brings 1889 London and Surrey vividly to life with the prose, clothing, settings, and social norms, all which seemed to me quite accurate. There are also some darker, disturbing scenes involving the mental institutions of the period and how easy it was to have women locked up on the most absurd of pretexts. There aren’t many twists to this mystery, but that doesn’t matter because the story and characters are so entertaining. Further livening up the plot are the numerous instances of humor which more than once had me chuckling out loud. The ending sums everything up perfectly and Sherlock’s epilogue leaves the door open for an eighth entry.

While Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche, like the previous books in this series is technically written for tweens and young teens, if you’re an adult who loves rollicking, well-written historical mysteries with strong female characters, witty banter, and fast, entertaining plots, I honestly can’t sing this book’s praises highly enough! While I thoroughly enjoyed the Netflix adaptation of Enola Holmes, and I’m looking forward to the sequel, I hope Springer’s upcoming book heralds a continuation of this brilliant series.

Upcoming Challenges To Exercise Routine

Tags

Exercise, Humor, In the Heights, Loki, TV Binge

For the last six weeks my daily exercise routine has consisted of 2-3 mile walks followed by an hour long swim. And despite the ongoing pain it’s been worth it because I’ve lost 15 lbs. But this week my willpower will face it’s biggest challenge yet with the arrival of Loki on Disney Plus on Wednesday, and In the Heights on HBO Max on Thursday. Check out the latest trailers and you’ll see what I mean.

Never fear I shall persevere! I’m determined I won’t even look in the direction of the tv until I’ve completed my workout routines for the day. And just in case I’ve got a couple of backup plans:

Never Saw Me Coming, By Vera Kurian ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Humor, Mystery, Psychopaths, Rape References, Thriller

Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: September 7th, 2021

352 Pages

Synopsis: Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a legging-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Never Saw Me Coming is a compulsive, voice-driven thriller by an exciting new voice in fiction, that will keep you pinned to the page and rooting for a would-be killer. (Goodreads)

Without a doubt, the premise for Never Saw Me Coming is decidedly different. Seven students diagnosed with psychopathy, given full rides to a Washington D.C. college with the only catch being that they have to participate in a psychological study in hopes that it will enable them to better understand their condition and be able to better function in society. Unsurprisingly, things veer off track quickly as two participants are murdered.

While Chloe is definitely the primary character, the reader also hears from Charles, a privileged, but abused student, and Andre, who is hiding a major secret. Chloe is the one who fascinated me the most as she’s part of two storylines: the mystery of who’s behind the murders, and her quest for vengeance against Will, (here’s my one spoiler) a childhood friend who raped her when she was twelve. There aren’t any graphic details about the assault, but you know it happened and certain readers might still have a problem with this. Chloe may be a psychopath and I found myself terrified, yet reluctantly liking her at the same time, despite her emotional detachment from others. Highly intelligent and self-aware, she has a snarky sense of humor that had me chuckling at times. Given how reprehensible Will is, my inner vigilante even wound up rooting for her. Charles is also interesting with his dysfunctional relationship with his abusive father, and his romantic one with his girlfriend Kristin. And Andre, well I can’t say much without revealing any spoilers, but while he starts out way over his head, he plays an integral role in the investigation.

The plot is fun and suspenseful, although the big reveal and climax was a bit chaotic. I also found it surprising that three such highly intelligent individuals so easily walked into a trap. That’s my only quibble though and I thoroughly enjoyed Never Saw Me Coming from beginning to end. Although the conclusion wraps everything up, it leaves an opening for a sequel, which I’m hoping for because I’d like to revisit these characters.

The Last Chance Library, By Freya Sampson ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Humor, Libraries, Romance

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 31st, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: June Jones emerges from her shell to fight for her beloved local library, and through the efforts and support of an eclectic group of library patrons, she discovers life-changing friendships along the way.

Lonely librarian June Jones has never left the sleepy English village where she grew up. Shy and reclusive, the thirty-year-old would rather spend her time buried in books than venture out into the world. But when her library is threatened with closure, June is forced to emerge from behind the shelves to save the heart of her community and the place that holds the dearest memories of her mother.

Joining a band of eccentric yet dedicated locals in a campaign to keep the library, June opens herself up to other people for the first time since her mother died. It just so happens that her old school friend Alex Chen is back in town and willing to lend a helping hand. The kindhearted lawyer’s feelings for her are obvious to everyone but June, who won’t believe that anyone could ever care for her in that way.

To save the place and the books that mean so much to her, June must finally make some changes to her life. For once, she’s determined not to go down without a fight. And maybe, in fighting for her cherished library, June can save herself, too. (Goodreads)

You see, libraries aren’t just about books. They’re places where an eight-year-old boy can have his eyes opened to the wonders of the world, and where a lonely eighty-year-old woman can come for some vital human contact. Where a teenager can come for some precious quiet space to do her homework, and a recently arrived immigrant can find a new community. Libraries are places where everyone, rich or poor, wherever they come from in the world, can feel safe. Where they can access information that will empower them.

I was drawn to The Last Chance Library for obvious reasons, but little did I suspect how taken I’d be by the story and its delightful cast of eccentric and quirky characters! I completely connected with June and her desire to help people, which was at odds with her shyness, insecurity, and crippling fear of public speaking in any form. It was a joy to watch her slowly climb out of her shell and come into her own. The rest of the cast are wonderfully drawn, and I had a sense of deja vu from my working with similar library patrons during my twenty-six year career as a children’s librarian. Seeing these colorful personalities and learning their backstories is a lesson in not judging people based on first appearances.

The battle for this small village library is representative of the ill-formed decisions to close so many libraries in England over the last several years. So many people just don’t realize the important and necessary functions of libraries in their communities. While free and easy access to books are of course an integral part of it, as the above quote says, they’re a safe place for everyone who walks through their doors. Not to be dramatic, but you close a town’s library and you cut the heart right out of it. Freya Sampson does a marvelous job illuminating why it’s so important that these sanctuaries remain open, and she does this with laugh-out-loud humor as well as tear-inducing heartbreak. The ending, while happy for the most part, doesn’t take the easy way out either, which I quite appreciated.

The Last Chance Library is a charming love letter to libraries, their patrons, and bibliophiles everywhere. It truly is a must read that will make you laugh and cry, and remind you that:

It’s never too late to find your voice.

A Good Day For Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2), By Darynda Jones ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Humor, Mystery, New Mexico, Romance, Suspense

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: July 27th, 2021

416 Pages

Synopsis: Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff—and even fuller-time coffee guzzler—Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with a coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunshine’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer, and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps underneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls “four cents short of a nickel,”  that pesky crush she has on Levi that seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunshine’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy. (Goodreads)

Welcome to Del Sol, Home of Something…Or Somebody Famous…Someday…Maybe…

I’ve been a fan of Darynda Jones since I read, First Grave on the Right (2011), and I know when I pick up one of her books I can always count on: captivating storytelling with characters I want to be friends with in real life, red hot romance, side splitting humor, and suspenseful mystery. A Good Day for Chardonnay is the second entry in her Sunshine Vicram series, and I think it just might be her best yet (which is really saying something)!

If you refer to your librarian as your dealer, this is the place for you. – Sign at Del Sol Public Library

Unlike the Charley Davidson series, there’s no supernatural woo-woo going on here. Instead, there are two main mysteries to be solved as well as the personal one involving Sunshine’s abduction. In less talented hands, multiple storylines as well as a large cast of characters could result in one hot mess, but Darynda Jones skillfully juggles all without breaking any eggs. The chapters alternate between Sunshine and her adorable teen daughter Aurora, who’s a mini version of her mom. I love their close bond and the teasing that goes on between them. In addition to the two separate mysteries, the relationships between Sunshine and her soulmate Levi, and Auri and her heartthrob, Cruz, progress further, and I have a difficult time saying which one I’m more invested in right now. Auri and Cruz are in the beginning stages of first love and it’s sweet without giving you a toothache. In contrast, the romance between Sunshine and Levi is definitely heating up and at times I had to check my Kindle to make sure it wasn’t smoking!

If your housekeeping style can be best described as ‘There appears to have been a struggle?’ Let us help! – Sign at Del Sol Cleaning Service

Both central mysteries are interesting and twisty, and I can honestly say I was surprised at their resolutions. The revelations regarding what happened to Sunshine fifteen years earlier weren’t quite as surprising thanks to the bread crumbs that led to them, but it was nice having most of my suspicions confirmed. The pace of the story is extremely fast and the ending came all too soon. While I was laughing through most of the book, there were parts that were nail biting, and a couple that were downright heartbreaking. The two main mysteries were satisfactorily wrapped up, and more questions were answered about Sunshine’s abduction when she was seventeen, but there’s obviously more to come.

Did you accidentally go shopping on an empty stomach and are now the proud owner of aisle 4? We can help! – Sign at Del Sol Fitness & More

Darynda Jones is one of my favorite authors and she never disappoints. I can sing her praises all day, but rather than give you all a headache, let me just say this: A Good Day for Chardonnay is rather like a box of your favorite chocolates, or in Sunshine’s case, pizza and coffee. Once you start, just try not to scarf the entire thing down in one sitting!

Hell of a Book, By Jason Mott ~ 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Bullying, Humor, Metafiction, Police Shootings, Publishing Industry, Racism

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: June 29th, 2021

336 Pages

Synopsis: In Hell of a Book, an African-American author sets out on a cross-country book tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives Hell of a Book and is the scaffolding of something larger and more urgent: since his novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.

Throughout, these characters’ stories build and build and as they converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, there always is the tragic story of a police shooting playing over and over on the news.

Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour and what kind of a world will he leave behind? Unforgettably powerful, an electrifying high-wire act, ideal for book clubs, and the book Mott says he has been writing in his head for ten years, Hell of a Book, in its final twists truly becomes its title. (Goodreads)

Hell of a Book definitely lives up to its title! I started this Tuesday night before bed, thinking I’d get a few chapters in and before I knew it, it was 2:30 in the morning! This is metafiction at its best. Mott’s characters: an unnamed African-American author who’s on a book tour to promote his bestselling novel, Hell of a Book, and a young ten-year-old Black boy known only as The Kid, who may or may not be a figment of the author’s imagination, and young Soot, bullied unmercifully because of the darkness of his skin. There’s obviously a connection between them, but it’s quite a journey to get to what that is. To be honest it’s difficult to go further into the story without giving anything away. I will warn you that it explores quite a few themes that certain readers may have trouble with including: bullying, racism, and police shootings. There are some flashes of humor, especially regarding the publishing industry, but for the most part this is a reminder that we live in a country where people are judged by the color of their skin and Black families have to sit down with their children and have The Talk, to explain how to react if they’re stopped by police. It truly is a quirky, at times perplexing, yet always thought-provoking read that is perfect for book groups and upper high school and college literature classes. I guarantee that if you try Hell of a Book, you won’t soon forget it!

If the Shoe Fits (Meant To Be #1), By Julie Murphy ~ 5.0 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Diversity, Fairytale Retellings, Humor, Romance

Thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 3rd, 2021

304 Pages

Synopsis: After just having graduated with a degree in shoe design, and trying to get her feet on the ground, Cindy is working for her stepmother, who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favorite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion.

Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she doesn’t expect? That she may just find inspiration—and love—in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own. (Goodreads)

If the Shoe Fits is the first book in the Meant To Be series, and what a spectacular kick-off it is! This is the Cinderella retelling I didn’t know I needed. Brimming with diversity including the enchanting plus size Cindy, this gives plenty of nods to the original while giving it a perfect modernization.

Cindy is a wonderful role model for positive body image. While acknowledging the shortcomings of society and the fashion industry in regards to the way plus size women are viewed and treated, Cindy is completely comfortable in her own skin. She’s smart, funny, and is officially my new favorite fictional heroine of 2021. The romance between her and Henry is sweet and charming. Cindy’s relationship with her family is equally wonderful and I especially loved the friendship between her and her stepsisters. I can’t stand reality dating shows, but because of the interesting characters which included a librarian, I actually enjoyed the fictitious Before Midnight. The ending was a satisfying happily-ever-after, even though Cindy and Henry had to go the extra mile for it.

From what I’ve heard, each book in the Meant To Be series will be written by a different author. I don’t know who they’ll be, but after Julie Murphy’s offering, they have some pretty big shoes to fill. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone looking for a clever, unique, imaginative rom-com, filled with likable, diverse characters and a fabulous twist on a fairytale classic!