[40] Finding Mr. Purrfect by Codi Gary
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, saw in Blue House Books and ACTUALLY PURCHASED, paperback

Synopsis: Charity and Will can’t stand each other (for reasons I don’t exactly understand since I didn’t read book 1?), and after one night together, decide they definitely aren’t right for each other. But when Charity tells her family she is dating Will to get them off her back, he goes along with the fake dating act, to make his own mother happy as well.

Why I Bought this Book: So, I bought this book in the bookstore because it had a cat on it and Charity’s character co-owns a cat café. I tried to get Goodreads to load at the bookstore to read reviews but had no service, and figured, hey, I’ll support a small business. Then when I checked it later it had a 3.54 average rating and one of the reviews said no smut. Wah! And I saw it was part 2 in a series. I stuck with it though.

Review: There was just no depth here. I wonder if Charity and Will were built up more in the first book? I kind of doubt it, since the first book focused on their two best friends. I just didn’t buy them as a couple, and the conflicts they had with their families and work life weren’t very interesting. I was happy to leave this book in Val’s Little Free Library.

Recommend: Absolutely not

[41] Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold
Reverse Harem Romance, Courtney and Anita told me about it in the same week LOL, Kindle

Synopsis: Layla is in her late 20s and has never had a boyfriend. The last guy she went on a date with climbed out of a bathroom window just to get away from her! Her three male best friends, who rent the apartment across from her and host a relationship advice podcast, offer to help her out by “fake” dating her, and featuring it as a segment on their podcast to boost their ratings and advertise for her lingerie company (of course she designs lingerie).

Review: Did you catch the part where this is a reverse harem? This book is just a loose story to get you from sex scene to sex scene, and the sex scenes have multiple partners. It was fun to read something different, but the story in between was actually pretty annoying and I was like “really?!” at the ending.

Recommend? If you’re looking to feel randy, yes, if you’re looking for a good story, no

[42] The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
Fiction, saw available on Kindle Unlimited, Kindle

Synopsis: Ella has lost her entire family – her parents and grandparents are gone, and her brother is in the Special Forces overseas. It’s just her and her 5 year-old twins, and the staff of the rustic bed and breakfast she runs in Telluride, CO. When her brother Ryan asks her if she will be pen pals with his best friend Chaos, another soldier in the Special Forces, she doesn’t expect anything, but they develop an instant connection. Then (slight spoiler) months later, Ryan dies, and left a “last letter” for Chaos asking him to go to Telluride and take care of Ella and her kids, one who has cancer. Chaos goes, but doesn’t tell her Ella he’s the one from the letters (she never knew his name), and lets Ella assume Chaos died. Blah blah blah they fall in love, etc., you know how this goes. Or maybe you don’t. This book was a ride.

Review: I was really into this book. It was almost unputdownable. I loved Ella and Chaos (aka Beckett) even though Chaos wouldn’t freaking tell her who he was. This book is absolutely heartbreaking though, FYI. The ending will throw you, and it feels like it came out of nowhere, and I don’t think how the characters reacted was as raw as it would have been in real life (not that I wanted to read a more realistic version). I would also argue this book does NOT have a HEA, even though the epilogue tries to tie it all up.

TW/MAJOR SPOILERS: Childhood cancer, loss of child, lots of death

Recommend: Yeah, if you want the emotional rollercoaster