Barbara Rachel's Reviews

  Olivia Taylor returns home to the Hamptons to sell off her family home and take stock of her life after finding out her husband was having an affair. And of course the one that got away is front and center in her home town . This was book was delightful! Embarrassing side note - I was 60% in when I realized this was a Persuassion retelling. It was so richly developed and stretched the formula so much I was not convinced how it would work out for our heroine until the end, even knowing Persuassion well. Summer After Summer was incredibly satisfying: engrossing plot lines, very spicy romance and characters with depth and layers. I absolutely enjoyed this book and could not put it down. I look forward to see what the author produces next. Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I am writing this honest review voluntarily ⏰ I read it in a week 🌶️🌶️🌶️ The intimacy scenes are very spicy. Nothing over the top, by my standards, but I will not be recommendinnng this to my young ...

The Holly Project by Angela Pearse My rating: 5 of 5 stars This was such a fun book! Holly is a Christmas hater, and is trying to flee town after a social media post starts going viral. Bailey is a Rudolph sweater wearing Christmas lover that Holly cannot stand. Just add a transportation failure, a horrible inn and a warm and loving family to complicate everything for Holly. I love a good Christmas themed romance and this was a fun story with a wonderful grumpy-cheerful theme as well as the classic close proximity trope. Holly’s tough exterior and underlying history brought more depth to this story than I expected. It was funny, so well written and the characters were compelling. I loved the book and highly recommend it! Thank you Book Sirens, Clamp Publishing and Angela Pearse for the opportunity to review this book. I did receive this advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. ⏰ Read in one day! 🌶️🌶️🌶️ Once it go...

A fresh take on the Camelot legend, this LGBTQ+ young adult romcom is funny, gripping and was the Arthurian remix I did not even know I needed. Honestly, I am always drawn to an Arthurian retelling but at first I was put off by the oddness of this book. Once I got over myself, however, I fell in love with all of the characters: Arthur, Gwen, Gabriel, Bridget and Sidney. I could not put this book down. This is a 5 star for me: so well written… I laughed, I cried, and frankly it’s what I really needed to read right now. I adored this book and would love to see a part 2.  Note, I did receive this ARC for free; this review is my honest feedback and has been submitted by me voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s press and Lex Croucher for the opportunity to read and review this book. ⏰ a quick read - because I could not put it down 🏷️ #ArthurRemix #CamelotRemix #LGBTQ+ #enemiestolovers #youngadult #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #LexCroucher #GwenAndArtAreNotInLove

 A once jilted woman, Catalina Martin knows she cannot go home for her sisters wedding and face her ex-fiancée as the best man without a man on her arm. Enter her work enemy, Aaron Blackford. As much as she loathes him, he may be her only hope for the (fake) boyfriend she told her family would be her date. Okay so first of all, I loved how messy Catalina was. I mean she could take a shit show and make it 10 times worse than you could even imagine. Her hare-brained schemes land her on a plane back home to Spain with Aaron….who happens to be gorgeous of course. The sparks between them are undeniable, except to Catalina who is too busy being messy to see what is right in front of her. She blurts out what she is thinking, scrambles to cover her tracks and underneath it all, it comes out what keeps pushing her forward… she is a survivor. She is also sassy as hell, a cover for what she really might be feeling and want to deny. She is also her own worst critic - relatable.  I really ...

The Bodies Keep Coming: Dispatches from a Black Trauma Surgeon on Racism, Violence, and How We Heal by Brian H Williams My rating: 5 of 5 stars A trauma surgeon offers his reflections on his own journey as a clinician, particularly as an African American. Dr. Brian Williams examines the foundation of violence on which his career is often based, particularly as he works primarily in large metropolitan areas, He also happened to be the attending trauma surgeon the day of the deadly attack on police in Dallas on July 7, 2016. This audio version of this book was provided to me at no charge; I am offering my honest review of my own volition. I would like to thank NetGalley, Broadleaf Books and the author for this opportunity to review this book. Honestly, as a medical provider myself, I fell this is really a must read for any clinician who is open to looking squarely at the racism faced by our colleagues and patients. There was well researched back...

Sorry, but this was not my favorite. I love the Thistle Grove series but… Delilah Harlow is a witch struggling to regain her power after a spell was cast against her. She decides to use some forbidden magic to attempt to restore her previous powers.  The problem I had with this book was Delilah. Her thoughts seemed to be word salad from a thesaurus.   The attraction between her and Cat fell flat for me as they both kind of come off as terrible people.  I just did not feel this one.  I felt bad at the end as the author’s discussion about the book seemed really heartfelt.  I did enjoy the end when some of my other favorite characters joined up to help Delilah. ⏰ was a fairly short book 🌶️🌶️🌶️ fairly spicy 🏷️ #thistlegrovewitches #LGBTQromance #saphicromance #witchesrule

  My honest opinion - this book deserves every bit of five stars. I was drawn to this book because    the main characters are living in Paris - love this - and are working chefs in an up and coming restaurant. The book has so many of my favorite tropes: opposites attract, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and retribution, but there are twists to each, giving them a fresh take. A nice touch was that each chapter started with a food description that is featured within the story. I adored the main character, Claire, her back story and the dynamic between her and her boss, James. What I really appreciated is the two main characters - they were so endearing they really pulled me into the book.  I recommend this book absolutely and I am blown away it is a debut.  Please note, I did receive this ARC for free; I am writing an honest review voluntarily. ⏰a few days - could not put this one down 🌶️ it’s swoony but without anything too expicit ⚠️ narcissistic parent, s...