Review: Always Only You - Book #2 Bergman Brothers Series - Chloe Liese - August 2020 As someone who considers themselves neurodivergent, I love reading Chloe Liese's books and enjoyed them even before I thought about this as I remember reading her debut novel many years ago. From then on, I have followed her books and one of the main things I love is that she represents disability inclusion #ownvoices and writes them in a way that shows people and readers that having a disability or illness doesn't have to stop your way of living and the biggest thing Chloe's shows readers through her book characters is that it doesn't have to be a weakness as it is what makes us - ourselves - special and unique. Always Only You is the love story of Frankie and Ren. Frankie is a sports PR agent and also suffers from Rheumatoid arthritis and autism. Ren is one of the many Bergman brothers who play Ice Hockey and looks like a jock, but underneath those layers is a sensitive theatre mis...

VBT# Ben and Beatriz - Katalina Gamarra - August 2022 I have always had a thing for renditions and Shakespeare's plays are ones I have enjoyed reading or watching set in today's world. Ever since I first watched The Best Men - a 1994 movie based on Hamlet or 12-year-old me watching the movie 10 Things I Hate About You on the big screen and it becoming one of my all-time favorite movies. So, whenever I see a new book based on a classic etc. I always try and give it a go. Ben and Beatriz surprised me with how easy the story flowed and how much I enjoyed it as I wasn't expecting a lot as hadn't heard much about this story. I think why this book stood out more is that it is set in the year 2016/2017, a world where Trump has just made President over Hillary Clinton and declared his distaste against people of colour. A world before Covid, but a world where racism was becoming very clear-cut. Our male character Ben is white and belongs to the "rich upper-class" and ...

Review: Vinegar Girl - Anne Tyler - June 2016 Now that I have finished my pile of books from the library, I have decided to finally hit my bookshelf and try to make a dent in clearing it. This is one book, I have had sitting on my shelf since 2016. In 2016, a group of authors joined a project called The Hogarth Project where each author was given one of Shakespeare's plays to write into a modern-day tale. One of my favorite of Shakespeare's stories happens to be "The Taming of the Shrew" and one of my all-time favorite movies is the late 90's/00's hit "10 Thing I Hate about You'. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler was not only an amazing cover with its simplicity and flowers which made it striking but a great read. The book starts with our eldest daughter Kate whose father Louis Batista is a scientist at the local university and the youngest daughter Bunny who is 15, in high school, and quite impressionable. Mr. Batista is about to lose another intern as his ...

Two Winters Lauren Emily Whalen Publication date: September 14th 2021 Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult The winter of 1997 is a tragedy waiting to happen. Small-town life isn’t easy for seventeen-year-old, bisexual and closeted Paulina, especially when her best friend Mia becomes pregnant. A devout Catholic, Mia doesn’t want to tell her parents, see a doctor, or even tell the baby’s father, Paulina’s other best friend, Tesla. Meanwhile, Paulina’s secret relationship with volleyball star, Ani, is about to go public in the worst way. It all comes to a head one fateful night, and everything changes forever. Fast forward to the winter of 2014, where Perdita, bi and proud in Chicago, is weeks away from turning seventeen. Her life is perfect–well, almost. She loves her two moms, but why do they refuse to tell her anything about her adoption? When Perdita meets Fenton, her handsome improv coach who’s taking a gap year before college, she discovers both a kindred soul and a willing a...

Review: Twelfth Knight - Book #1 Shelfbrooke Academy Series - Jessica Bucher - April 2019 One of my favorite tropes to read is renditions of classics and fairytales as well as boarding school novels. Twelfth Knight is based loosely on the play by William Shakespeare of Viola and her twin brother Sebastian.  The twins have managed to get a scholarship to the prestigious Shelfbrooke Academy. Sebastian for his Rugby and Violet for her academics. When she arrives though, she learns that they gave away her room instead of her brothers and now she must have a single in the boy's dorm thanks to a hunky rugby player - Owen Duke. Duke has just split up from his girlfriend Lily Thorn, though he wants her back badly. As the book goes on, Viola as Sebastian starts chatting to both Owen and Lily and Lily starts to fall head over heels for Sebastian as Violet is for Owen. The thing, however, Owen hasn't moved on from Lily and just sees Violet as a friend and she is heartbroken....

Review: Speak Easy, Speak Love - McKelle George - September 2017 I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George, all I knew was I had a cover crush on the book. It was also a reimagined version of Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing. Speak Easy, Speak Love is set during the time of the prohibition and follows the lives of six teenagers during what they would view as possibly the best summer and times of their lives. We have Beatrice who has been kicked out of her high-school and shipped off to live with her Uncle at their Bed and Breakfast Hey Nonny which also doubles as a speakeasy. Beatrice dreams of one day becoming a female doctor. Hero, whose parents own Hey Nonny who is the type of Diva who dreams of a better life. Benedict, who is a rich preppy boy who would instead trade in his silver spoon for this life and wants to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald or Charles Dickens. Claude - one of his schoolmates whose along for th...