Review: Her Beautiful Secret - J.S Ellis - September 2026 There's a particular kind of book that gets its hooks into you from the very first page, and Her Beautiful Secret is exactly that kind of read. I picked it up expecting a straightforward thriller and instead found myself curled up on the sofa, tea going cold beside me, utterly unable to put it down. The story opens with Jade, a young woman whose relationship with an older boyfriend brings her parents storming into a hotel room, convinced she's throwing her life away for a man who doesn't love her. What follows is a shocking, visceral opening that sets the tone for everything to come ,Jade's parents are killed, and we're left reeling before the story has even properly begun. We meet Detective Lydia Falzon, brought in to interview Jade, and as the story unfolds through her eyes, we realise this isn't just Jade's story , it's Lydia's too. As Jade speaks, Lydia is pulled back into her own past...

Review: Who I Am - ML Rice - March 2014 You know those evenings when you're curled up with your Kindle, scrolling aimlessly because nothing quite calls to you? That was exactly where I found myself when I stumbled upon Who I Am by ML Rice. It had that quiet, unassuming quality of a book that isn't shouting for your attention and those, in my experience, are often the ones that end up meaning the most. The story centres on Devin, a military kid and a bookworm,  honestly, already my kind of character. After losing her father, Devin and her mum pick up and move to the city, the kind of upheaval that would knock anyone sideways. It's there that she meets Melanie Parker, and the two of them click instantly in that lovely, easy way that feels completely real. Best friends from the off. There's just one complication: Mel's twin brother Jason, who makes it his mission from day one to make Devin's school life miserable. What unfolds over the course of the novel is a co...

Review: Winter Untold - Book #3 Summer Unplugged - Amy Sparling - December 2013 You know those mornings where nothing quite clicks? I started my reading day with a thriller that turned out to be a firm DNF, so I did what any self-respecting bookworm does, I scrolled my Kindle looking for a rescue read. That's when I landed on Winter Untold by Amy Sparling, a book that had been sitting in my library for a while. I knew going in it would be one of those cutesy YA romances ,light, a little fluffy, probably not a lot of substance and honestly? Sometimes that's exactly what you need. The story follows Bayleigh, a teenager navigating the trials of a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend Jace, who's making waves in the world of Motocross. Enter Chase, the adorable new neighbour who's just moved in next door and, naturally, has taken a bit of a shine to her. It's classic YA setup territory, and Sparling leans into it fully. Here's where I'll be honest thou...

Review: The Kiss Bet - #Volume #2 - Ingrid Ochoa - August 2025 There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about curling up with The Kiss Bet – Volume #2 . As I read through this WEBTOON collection, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d stepped straight back into the cosy comfort of those classic late 90s and early 2000s chick flicks I used to adore. You know the ones – She’s All That , Not Another Teen Movie , and all those high school rom-coms that mixed awkward crushes, friendship drama, and that fluttery feeling of first love. This volume gave me that exact same vibe, and honestly, it felt like revisiting an old favourite. Sara Lin is now eighteen and in her final year of high school. She’s got a good group of friends, a dad who thinks he’s still the coolest guy around, and a whole future ahead of her. The only thing she hasn’t experienced yet? Her first kiss. And thanks to her friend Patrick and his relentless betting challenges, that suddenly becomes the one thing everyone seems to be ...

Review: If We Ever Meet Again - Book #1 If Love Series - Ana Huang - June 2020 With the popularity of Ana Huang's Twisted and Kings series, I decided to hop on the Ana Huang bandwagon and of course being the type of person I am, I brought all of her series in its entirety and then what happened is that they ended up on my bookshelf, till the spark occurs to read them. I needed something that felt like a quick romance read as the other ones I had tried were just blah and boring. Ana Huang's If Love series is not too big so I grabbed the first one and started reading. The first chapter was a break-up scene so we already get the idea that this book will not end in HEA and it's a book that we all can relate to as most of us have had that one love that we have fallen hard in, only to be left hurt and the one standing on the sidelines while the other person walks away. The love that should be forever, but for some reason, it can never happen that way.  Farrah and Blake, both met ...

Review: Game Changer - Book #6 The Field Party Series - Abbi Glines - March 2022 This year, I was determined to make my way through Abbi Glines's series The Field Party and I did so well with only one book left :). Game Changer was different than the ones previously as all of the others ended up with the two main character's romances becoming a solid thing and the whole act of foreverness. For Asa and Ezmita their story is one of first loves as the pair meet each other and have an amazing night almost saving each other as she stops him from jumping off a bridge and he tells her to be brave and talk to her parents about college. The pair then due to life's circumstances go their separate ways as Asa heads to New Mexico to stay with relatives and Ezmita gets on with her life and is now dating Brett Duncan. The year is 2020 and a time that none of us will ever forget, a time when a disease struck not just one country but the whole world, a disease that caused people to die, an...

Review: If He Had Been With Me - Laura Nowlin - April 2013 This one had been sitting on my bookshelf and I had heard mixed reviews, but figured last week in my effort to continue to clear my bookshelves, I would pick it up and read it. As I was reading the book, I could see why readers gave it mixed reviews and wondered whether those who hadn't rated it that high, were a bit older and felt that it was too clean for them As for me being in my nearly late 30's, I have read quite a few books with this theme and it gave me the same feels as I had when I read The Fault In Our Stars. That feeling of I was a little too old for this book, as it was something I had read over and over again. But then if I was 14-16 years old and only just discovering this theme and reading it for the first time, it would have packed more of a punch. Compared to a lot of teen reads, though this book does contain sex, romance, mental health, divorce, and death - it was mostly closed door which gives If...