Barbara Rachel's Reviews

I loved this book. ⭐️ Overall Impression ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ 🔍 ADD Ease Of Focus: 🔍 🔍 🔍 🔍 🌶️ Spice Level: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️  🌶️ 🖤 Darkness Level: 0/5 🎤 Audio Quality 🎤 🎤 🎤 🎤  📝My review: Ethan and Taylor have immediate chemistry complicated by forced proximity, forbidden romance and both MC’s have a background of hurt, Ethan from losing his marriage to his ex’s career ambitions and Taylor from neglectful parents.  What I ❤️ This is such a sweet romance, the chemistry between the 2 MC’s is off the chain. It was spicier than expected and most surprising was the adult ADD rep. It was so on point and accurate — especially behaviors that in the past were attributed to being space or unfocused.  What I 💔👎🏻 The narration on the audio was a little too fast. Had to re-listen to most chapters. 📗 📗 🏷️ Tropes: Forced Proximity, Forbidden Romance, Love at First Sight, Age Gap 📗 📗 #IAmAnUnapologeticNerd #ADDFriendlyBookReviews #BookLoverAndReviewer #ADDisMySuperpowe...

Sweetest in the Gale by Olivia Dade My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love all three short stories included in this book. My only complaint is that I wanted each story to be longer. As always, I love the characters, their development and the diversity rep in Dade’s books! Another winner! ⏰ I read it in a few days. 🌶️ very spicy/mature/adult #ShortStoryCollection #ContemporaryRomance #RomCom #BodyDiversity #spicy🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ #womenwhowerentbornyesterday #iFeelSeen

A few pre-spoiler notes: Read. This. Book.  Loved it. I love everything Olivia Dade writes, even her newsletter emails because she makes me smile and I need more of that, believe me.  It takes place on the eastern shore so - that was so fun for all of us that live or have lived locally in D.C., as I do. This is bodice ripping spicy 🌶️ so if that is not your cup of tea, best move on. It is a slow burn but it gets there. Several times.  There is a rather unusual fetish of some adjacent characters, but it leads to so much hilarity, bring it on I say.  Okay I never do spoilers but this book had my favorite line of the year so far, and it is kind of a big reveal line so if you do not want a spoiler. Stop. Don’t read further. ⚠️ ______________ A for sale sign that reads. “1 Broken 🖤. No need to buy. It’s always been yours. I’m so sorry.”  Come on Olivia Dade?!? How is one supposed to continue read the remaining 20 odd pages through never ending tears? Okay this is m...

Heat Wave by T.J. Klune My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was the #audible version. Up front, let me just get to it - this is more of a love letter to the series than a real review. So if you are looking for a real critical review - move on to someone else.  As an ADHD reader I love feeling seen in the characters I read and Nicholas Bell (also known as the Extraordinary, Guardian) has a brain much like my own. I love him for it. He is messy, and almost annoying except he is so endearing. This is really the book where he comes of age and grows. #ADHDonthePage #WhyAreWeThisWay. We return to NovaCity for this YA, LGBTQ+, superhero fantasy (The Extraordinaries Series) finale. I do not like to give spoilers    so I feel like I cannot say too much about the plot here. My recommendation is if you read the first 2 books - read this. It was fantastic.  Part of my #ADHD life is accepting I do not like to finish anything and when I do not w...

Okay so, I love love love the characters - especially Nicholas Bell  - he such a wonderful messy ADHD teen angst with BIG FEELINGS character. I love how Seth and he compliment each other in all the ways. I am also totally here for this type of super hero story - diverse, queer - with supporting roles filled by cis-straight parents - may we all go live in that better universe soon. I also appreciated the way Nick has to wrestle with conflicting feelings about his father and the police, although in this universe the ***spoiler*** police are distinctly moving away from being on the hero side and moving to the villain side. It is all very no-shades-of-grey, as one expects from a Hero Genre story. I did find Nick to be a bit drawn out with his anger towards his dad, but he is in high school, so that tracks. I also felt it maybe took too long to build up to ***spoiler*** Nick’s powers and the big reveal at the end, which kind of made the prom scene and a few others more predictable becau...

  This was to be the first installment of the three books that I have now read completely out of order.  # ADHDlife.  Despite this,  Sara Desai again does not disappoint.  Returning to the characters from the San Francisco Bay area that I have come to know in the previous two books,  this book really has everything: a big, loving, noisy family with all the aunties, romance, adventure, baseball, bar fights.. . The romance between Layla and Sam is exciting and fresh.  Once again, for three out of three books, I did not want to put this down. As in the other two books, there were multiple laugh out loud moments and who doesn’t need that in their lives right now? Without giving too much away, in addition to the ending, which was fantastic, my absolute favorite scene involves a bathroom at one of the auntie’s shops and shapewear. Totally spicy and absolutely hilarious at the same time.  Hands-down, I recommend this book, and I certainly recommend ...

 Read. This. Book. Okay, I am, admittedly, a die hard T.J. Klune fan. So there is my bias out in the open. But this book was so beautiful. A tremendous love story and fantasy. The main character is a total mess, and has such a transformation.  It speaks to living life to our fullest. It speaks to taking a chance with love. And it was hilarious too. This was such a different book - meaning - so original in the story and the directions it went in.  I loved it.  I hope you do too.

  Who am I? I am not a professional writer or reviewer. I do insist on trying to be a renaissance woman: I love to write, create, draw, sing, and do everything I can to enjoy my life.   So how did I become a reviewer? I am, professionally, a medical provider and while on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, I discovered, due to intense pressure and stress, that I have ADHD, inattentive type, with several other associated neuro-diverse features. I have always had these things BUT previously, I just got by in life suffering through school, using a combination of tutors and yelling at myself to do better. Turns out I have multiple learning challenges and have had them all along. So now….with this discovery, and getting the help I need, I have learned, that I actually love to read. It just used to take me 6 months to read a book (except Harry Potter). Now that I love to read, I am making up for lost time - reading all I can: fiction, non-fiction, romance, mysteries, horr...