“Wildflowers are strong. Resilient. They can grow under most conditions. I want to be like that.” 18-year-old Salem has just graduated high school but wonders how others have their future figured out because she certainly feels happy with her cat, living at her mom's house and working at her mom's story, with little to no plans in going to college, despite of multiple attempts to hop on the college route by her boyfriend Caleb. A new neighbor named Thayer who is 31 moves next door and seems to be angry at the world, and Salem aims to befriend him by bringing him cupcakes. Salem and Thayer are very aware of their age gap, but that doesn't make the attraction they have for each other vanish. After I finish the book I grew a little anxious with that ending.. I don't understand why authors do this to us!!! Worth to mention that there are a few trigger warnings including abuse, death, and sexual assault. I loved how real this felt, the story was written with characters that have flaws, have a dark past and I enjoyed how everything slowly came about. There is some spicey moments throughout the story but I think what outstands the most is the romance from the characters. Salem and Thayer are both forced to experience trauma in a different way but nevertheless those events mark them for life. I appreciate how there wasn't much of a toxic relationship, and the fact that Caleb and Thayer are both so wonderfully qualified for Salem yet her heart only beats for Thayer and Thayer only. I feel like if I were in Caleb's shoes, I wouldn't have put up with so much but that guy is one in a million. That slow burn was really killing me but what broke me the most was how I can see it being a real possibility that Thayer's actions are justified by grief, I mean it's REAL tough what he went through but really, after everything was fitting into pieces, I just couldn't. Written in Salem's POV, I devoured every second of her relationship with Thayer because he sounds like the perfect man, I feel like if it was written in 2 POV everything would've been predictable. There are a few spoilers, so skip them if you are not into spoilers. *By 28% When the three of them are having dinner (Salem, Salem's mom and Thayer) and Salem just sends her mom up to bed just like that as if she's the parent. And I believe this was way before the mom was showing any signs of illness. *I noticed a typo by 70% "I know, honey." She gives me hand a slight squeeze. I think she meant to say 'she gives MY hand a slight squeeze' *I couldn't get over the "open your mouth" and he spits on her?? Idk? Is that attractive nowadays or am I boring???? Idk, many many thoughts on this lol Rating: 5 Author: Micaela Smeltzer Format: Ebook Genre: Romance

Housemaid named Millie recently got out of prison after spending 10 years incarcerated, she is desperate to land a job that doesn't require a background check though the chances are very low, she finds herself a job as a housemaid at the Winchesters. Nina Winchester is a housewife that appears to be in desperate need of a housemaid, comes off as nice and elegant with a gigantic house. Little by little Millie realizes she's now a moved-in maid to a chaotic family and is often treated badly by Nina and her weird mood swings. The only one that treats her fairly is Andrew Winchester. A twisted read! No way to figure out what is going on until the story starts to unfold the deeper it goes into detail. I love how the writing is easy and flows smoothly. This psychological thriller haunted me with every chapter because the characters are so frustrating and annoying that I wanted to scream. I try to put myself in the shoes of the character and I wouldn't be so naive or easily misled, or so I hope. This is the second book that I read by this author and WOW she was made to write thrillers. I was a bit confused at the end because I wasn't able to understand what was going on, so if you've read this, please clarify because I'm lost with the ending. Rating: 4 Author: Freida McFadden Genre: Psychological Thriller Format: Ebook

WOW! I was not expecting Jennette to be so straightforward while adding humor in her memoir. The audiobook gave it an even extra rawness to the hardships she has had to face at such early age. So much respect goes out to her to tell others that she was given hush money from Nickelodeon to prevent her from saying the truth, and basically putting herself in an uncomfortable position more prone to judgment by the media. With every chapter I felt more and more terrified of the abnormal habits she had growing up because her mom was obsessed with keeping her from becoming independent, I mean the examples were explicit and though for her might've been regular she grows up and grows out of that toxic cycle she was brought into. Jennette put everything on the table and did not care to hurt anyone's feelings in this book, she simply is fed up and needed to speak the truth that many young actors have held back from doing years later out of fear of getting judged, but Jennette said enough. I tried looking for a way to make the pace of her speech slow down but there was none, maybe it was due to the platform I used to listen to the book but I couldn't find any and I found myself going back multiple times but the humor was present at all times and the sarcasm didn't fail either. I can't imagine how hard it must be to realize years later that you were manipulated by your own mother because you really don't expect that from the person that birthed you, let alone expect that person to cause long-lasting trauma. Rating: 4 Author: Jennette McCurdy Genre: Memoir Format: Audiobook

I was at the edge of my seat! So much going on from a simple carjacking that turned into a deadly encounter. I was slowly starting to have doubts as to who is behind all of the chaos. The Bennetts are tailgated and held at gunpoint causing Allison to get shot. At first, I thought this will be a sad story of how the family moves on and the grieving that takes place after your daughter dies but I was very wrong. There is so much corruption going on stemming from that carjacking incident that multiple layers start to come off and like a puzzle piece, everything starts to be put together. The story is told from Jason Bennett POV which helped me understand his train of thought on how he slowly tracked everything on his own despite the brutal corruption going on. There was not a second where I felt bored or uninterested because there is A LOT that happens. I also learned about the witness protection program which I had no idea even existed. I love a book that educates me. Rating: 4 Author: Lisa Scottoline Genre: Mystery Format: Audiobook

"I close my eyes and press my face into my hands, trying to decide if my detachment is because of my upbringing or if I was born broken." Beyah was brought up with an addict mother who eventually gets consumed by her addiction and leaves Beyah alone, with only one solution which she desperately did not want to arrive at but she does and reaches out to her long-distance-never around father. Beyah keeps secrets to herself as she doesn't want others to get credit for how she got out of that damaged world her mother raised her in. Eventually, she lands at a nice house and has unlimited food compared to where she used to live in Kentucky and slowly starts shedding off some pent-up anger. Beyah is so used to the loneliness that when the opposite starts to happen she doesn't feel like she fits nor act around others. Colleen Hoover has no business in hurting my feelings and making me sob at 1AM when I have to be up early in the morning. I was so heartbroken it doesn't make sense how words can take someone's feelings and turn them upside down but this book really got to me. After 80% I was just teary-eyed because I felt everything tumbling down as the story started falling into pieces. There are so many important topics that are highlighted in this love story and I find it so eye-opening because despite the many options I came up with on how someone's lives could've been better when they had nothing, it all goes back to falling through the cracks of the system. The fact that Beyah shows that she's dealing with grieving and the ongoing burden of having to become an adult at a young age. She was smart and found opportunities through her pain and situations. Beyah is layered with resentment and anger from all the hardships she faced and despite all of that she was still able to polish off and see really see through Samson's heart. I loved how the story felt so real because it was slow paced but also rushed by Beyha's school journey and I appreciate romance stories that are well-formed with both characters and take their time to slowly grow feelings for each other. “If there’s nothing inside a heart that can break, why does it feel like mine is going to snap in half when it’s time for me to move next month? Does your heart not feel like that?” Samson’s eyes scroll over my face for a moment. “Yeah,” he whispers. “It does. Maybe we both grew heart bones.” Rating: 5 Format: Ebook Author: Colleen Hoover Genre: Romance

Brooke Sullivan moved back to her hometown with her 10-year-old son, shortly after her parents passed. Brooke was forced to leave her hometown because of an incident that took place about 11 years ago but now as a nurse practitioner, she lands a job at a maximum security men's penitentiary. She was hoping to leave her past behind but on her second day at the job she encounters the man who tried choking her to death 11 years ago. This could've been a solid a 5-star rating but I felt like everything just happened really fast without that much detail given to the reader. But listen, I devoured this story in one day because it was so addicting and suspenseful, I was not letting my boyfriend leave my side, I was way too creeped out. I think Freida is utterly talented because her writing is easy to understand, no weird lengthy words, just straight to the point, and left me going in circles the whole time. I got to say that my friend Brooke is a little slow on picking up red flags because how can you be so naïve back then but also not learn from the past? I mean, idk she stressed me out countless times. The Inmate is a page-turning book and hard to put it down because what you think is your regular thriller story as it unfolds doesn't turn out to be it. As soon as you want to believe you are reaching a conclusion on who killed those people given the description and tiny bits of memory left after 11 years, you are swerved back into confusion. The story is told from Brooke's POV, until the epilogue, and written in both present and past (11 years ago). Rating: 4.5 Author: Freida McFadden Genre: Suspense/Thriller Format: Ebook

Not sure how to feel about this one because I love the author but this one didn't turn out to be what I had anticipated mentally. Compared to the other books by this author which tend to be voiced by an older adult but in this story, it is from the POV of a brilliant seven-year-old year. In my opinion, I believe the author can flex real good with older grumpy characters, I think he's a genius at that but in this story I was lost with all the imaginary fairy tales going on, bored and unmotivated to keep going. I couldn't keep up with the labels that Elsa had created for places and things like calling the car by its make rather than just car, and the land of Almost Awake,etc. This doesn't mean I will stop reading more of Fredrik Backman but specifically, this book wasn't the best. Rating: 2 Author: Fredrik Backman Genre: Fiction Format: Audiobook

"Why not sit back and wait for something to happen? You never know, the person you’re meant to be with might be right in front of your face." JP seems to have a strong interest in Kelsey but Kelsey isn't fond of one-night stand guys let alone the guy who is always a jerk to her. The fact that they both have to see each other at work start to become an issue because Kelsey is forced to get to know him more and realizes JP isn't the jerk she had initially thought he was. They both encounter a lot of arguments and hilarious situations that only strengthen their attraction for each other. At the beginning I was afraid to DNF this book and really took me a while to get into the story because it was a very slow start up until 30 ish % where the story swept me off my feet. This is a second book to a series from Meghan Quinn and the first book was much better than this one, not to say this wasn't great but a few things threw me off. The spiciness is there, present, yes yes but there is so much lack of communication that I felt irritated because both characters were portrayed as not afraid to speak their mind nor hold their tongue when unpleased but hellooo why can't they just sit down and talk it out and use that same energy into communicating what they're feeling. I loved the idea that the author emphasized how low self-esteem can affect our mood and our confidence especially when a man rejects sexy time, it was very realistic. Again, it was a very slow start but I liked how both characters get to know each other little by little and slowly become a thing. With a dual POV, I understood both Kelsey and JP's emotions. This can be read as a standalone and will make sense just fine. Rating: 4 Author: Meghan Quinn Genre: Romcom Format: Ebook

“Another dead body at the amusement park,” she said. “Wholesome family fun at its finest.” It's been 2 days since I've finished reading this book and I still think about how creepy and entertaining the entire story was. The fact that it took place in an amusement park was so scary yet I couldn't put my Kindle down because the suspense left me wanting to know more. It's totally action-driven and every minimal clue can be significant to discovering who the killer is. Every character had personal baggage that they bring to the story which includes corruption, abuse/rape, etc. This page-turning story is about a new deputy named Vanessa Castro who has recently moved to Seaside and finds herself learning about a few cases that have gone unsolved for a few years. Vanessa is also widowed with two kids and is trying her best to balance work and home life. Vanessa begins revealing all the missing pieces and the corruption that underwent behind closed doors to keep up with Wonderland's reputation. I will be checking out this author because the story was a very addicting thriller. Rating: 5 Author: Jennifer Hillier Genre: Thriller Format: Ebook

I don't know what it is about Fredrik Backman but he has a way of placing humorous encounters that turned into emotional outcomes. My second book by this author and I want to read all of them. This story wasn't just hilarious, sarcastic, and informative but also inspirational. You will not run out of ways to try and approach the situation that these people are experiencing because they somehow have something in common but are total strangers. I find it fascinating how an author can be able to make you die of laughter and also sob like a baby and even both. A group of people is held hostage by a bank robber and everyone is forced to engage with each other and little bits of their past are shared with every obstacle they encounter. When the story goes in depth to each character, you get to learn more about their past, background and why they are even at a open house viewing for an apartment that's up for sale. I slowly started to like every single character because everyone in a subtle way was going through something. Rating: 5 Format: Audiobook Author: Fredrik Backman Genre: Fiction

The story takes place at Lancaster Prep, a boarding school full of rich kids that are spoiled brats and find virginity to be a rarity. Crew is the typical guy that is an asshole to others, doesn't believe in love or relationships has always been curious about Wren and why she proudly wears a promise ring. Wren is charming, and well-liked by everyone but the only thing that makes her stand out so much is that she is a virgin and is open about it. Both are paired up to work on a psychology project which leads to finding out more about each other, leading to a spicey relationship. I have seen this book here and there and the book cover was giving me lovey-dovey vibes so I went into the story blindly. Listen, I will be honest and I wanted to DNF the book so bad in the beginning, my interest in the story was up and down all the way up to 50% of the book, and while it had its wonderful spicey moments I 10000% devoured, I was right back into neutral. The moment Wren and Crew had their first intimate encounter, I became highly invested in what those two will develop into. I wasn't a fan of how everyone in that school was so childish to shame Wren that she was a virgin as if she was a black sheep. There is an event that made me look at a lollipop in a different way and has mentally damaged me because WTF lol I mean really, is that even possible in real life or should that only stay in book stories? Got to read the book and find out! Rating: 3 Format: E-book Author: Monica Murphy Genre: Romance

From the book cover, I wasn't expecting this book to carry such a meaningful story behind it. I felt impacted by the idea that the story conveyed and the importance of living life with no regrets. There are tons of philosophical references tied to life that really made me realize how valuable our lives are. Nora Seed lives a mundane life and one day everything seems to be going down hills. She happens to either have bad luck and event after event tumble down bad news, from her cat dying, to getting fired, she is overwhelmed and sees no meaning in living. At the tipping point of suicide, Nora opens her eyes and finds herself trapped in the Midnight Library and is instructed by Mrs. Elm to select a life from one of the many books and try them out. Nora also comes across a book of regrets where it is written everything she once wanted to become such as a mother, Rockstar, swimmer, etc. There is a powerful meaning behind this story and I would recommend everyone who may seem like they need a push or a bit of motivation to keep going to read it. I felt a bit disinterested after she tried a few lives but nevertheless, I will always remember this story so fondly. Rating:4 Format: Audiobook Author: Matt Haig Narrator: Carey Mulligan Genre: Fiction/Fantasy