Bebe Rachel's Whimsy and Reviews

An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen My rating: 5 of 5 stars Okay. I needed a minute to approach this review.  The easy part first: Loved the book. Could not put it down. It was giving beshert will find beshert the whole time. Did I mention I could not put it down? It was not spicy at all but it was so intriguing that I did not care. Loved it.  If you are here just for a book review, I recommended you move on. But I have something else to say about what happened to me while reading this book.  This book killed me. Just gripped the sorrow right out of me.  So backstory of the part of the book I am referencing: the FMC was born Jewish and is, as an adult, choosing a frum or religiously observant Jewish life, after a lifetime of being secular. Part of her is doing this to feel safe and found. She assumes these two things are not asking too much. She assumes wrong.  I don’t know Naomi Ragen’s story but when I say that the writer nailed the experience of coming to

  This was my first novel by Nicholas Sparks but I have seen a few of the movies and he certainly has a formula. While I really enjoyed the story and the especially the outcome, it was more of a slow burn than I usually like, with most of the action saved for the end—a blueprint that is common enough but it seemed to take a long tome to get to the payoff. I really liked the characters, especially the teenaged daughter. The older man, Jasper, had a bit more tragedy than I thought was necessary though. Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I have written an honest review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley and the author as well as the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. ⏰ I read it in a few days. 🌶️ it is low spice —mild 🏷️ trigger warning: parent that lost children #ContemporaryRomance #womensromance #NicholasSparks #SecondChanceAtLove #NetGalley #bookstagram 

  OK, first of all what I liked: I appreciated the characters and their depth, including the villains—with a few exceptions most of the characters were very multifaceted. The story itself was super engaging and a real page-turner.   What I didn’t like:    some parts seemed underdeveloped and rushed, particularly transitions in relationships. Also, unless I was missing some deeper nuances, it seemed a missed opportunity to pull in the themes of some of the banned books into the storyline.  Overall, I really liked the story—it was intriguing. I just wish some parts of it were fleshed out more. And that there was more of a point to the banned books component of the story other than to illustrate the main    female character’s strength and personality. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and MIRA for the opportunity to review this ARC. I was given this ARC free of charge, but the review opinions I express here are my own. ⏰ I read it in a few days 🌶️intimate but not over the top  🏷️ trigg

The Au Pair Affair by Tessa Bailey My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews Okay, there is so much I loved about this book... But, some of the dialogue was eye roll inducing. So much of this story was smart, funny and touching. And then... there times the conversation fell flat, did not support the story or was just cringe inducing - not because of the alpha male and the age difference... not issues for me. I mean if you are coming to a Tessa Bailey Party, don't expect anything less. I am here for all that. Just sometimes, maybe in an effort to make Burgess out to be a meat head, the conversation just seemed needlessly uninspired. Sorry Tessa Bailey - not that you will ever read this - I am a huge fan and just bought a pile of your books - I am here for the long haul. I just expected a little more.  The audio book was well read and produced. I purchased it through Barnes and Noble. The actor was wonderful and took you right