Under the Whispering Door

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Website | Twitter | Instagram Publication Date: September 21, 2021 Publisher: Tor Books Pages: 384 ISBN: 9781250217349 Genre: Fantasy | Romance Source: Own Add to Goodreads Available for Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Synopsis: Wallace has lived his entire life in the office dedicated to his work. When he finds himself in a nearly empty church at his funeral talking to the Reaper he has a hard time believing that he is dead. Acceptance starts to set in when the Reaper takes Wallace to Charon’s Crossing, a way station for crossing over. There he meets Hugo, the ferryman that will help him cross. That’s when reality starts to set in and Wallace must come to terms with the fact that his life on earth is over but his journey is just beginning.

Review: What a heartfelt story! I thoroughly enjoyed the way this book explores grief. There is so much complexity to it and it takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. There is so much goodness in this book but don’t be fooled, it tackles some incredibly heavy topics surrounding grief and loss, including suicide.

"It's never enough, is it? Time. We always think we have so much of it but when it really counts, we don't have enough at all." - TJ Klune, Under the Whispering Door

Klune’s books always make me ugly cry and have all the feels. I’ve never read anything like this before and I’m glad I picked it up when I was in a good headspace but the topic also made me revisit feelings and memories of those I have lost. It’s a very emotional read.

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Part of Your World

Part of Your World (Part of Your World, #1) by Abby Jimenez Website | Twitter | Instagram Publication Date: April 19, 2022 Publisher: Forever Pages: 400 ISBN: 9781538704370  Genre: Romance | Contemporary | Adult Source: Own Add to Goodreads Available for Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Synopsis: Alexis Montgomery is an ER doctor carrying on her family's legacy which has never been a choice but instead was an expectation. Recently divorced and returning home from a family function she finds herself stranded on the side of the road in a small town, thankfully the Mayor sees her and stops to help.

Daniel Grant is not only the Mayor of the town, he is also a talented carpenter and the innkeeper of his family's historic home. Daniel may be 10 years younger than Alexis, but their age gap doesn't stop their attraction to one another.

Review: Why did I wait so long to read this?! This ended up being my favorite Abby J book to date, it's so good! I hated having to put this book down, it brought me so much happiness and my heart felt like it was bursting with joy at the turn of every page.

While this book is full of so many sweet and heart-gushing moments, it also covers some difficult themes around emotional abuse, physical abuse (side character), and anxiety. I enjoyed following along with Alexis's personal growth and self-discovery. She's an older character, in her 30s who is recently divorced and trying to find her way forward while dealing with the expectations of her wealthy family and the career they have planned out for her.

"She'd taught me this, primed me for my relationship with Neil. Made me believe that this was what love looked like. Bri was right. I'd been taught to placate assholes. I'd been taught by Mom." - Abby Jimenez, Part of Your Wrold

If you love a good small-town country boy/city girl romance or reimagined fairytales, then look no further. It's got loveable side characters including a deaf dog and baby goats in jammies!!

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Just His Barista

Just His Barista (Southern Roots, #5) by Donna Jeffries Website | Twitter | Instagram Publication Date: March 28, 2023 Publisher: Indie Pages: 420 ISBN: 9781638762294  Genre: Romance | Contemporary | Adult Source: ARC Add to Goodreads Available for Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

 

Synopsis: Macie and Coy are co-owners of the coffee shop that has been in his family for years. The odd thing is, they don't exactly get along with each other. A few months ago they shared the most amazing kiss but that was a mistake and something Macie refuses to talk about. Now Macie is looking for a date to her friend's wedding Coy offers to go with her. Instead of saying yes right away, Macie convinces Coy to try out dating to see if a relationship would even work between them.

Review: I went into this book completely blind. I didn't read the description and I have not read any of the other books in this series. It can be read as a standalone but I am wondering if I would have enjoyed it and rated it higher if I had read the others. I was on the fence when I started it and the further I read, the more turned off I became. Macie's behavior and attitude were a real sour spot for me. I tolerated it at first but then it began to annoy me and leave me frustrated. I rolled my eyes at her so many times, and I truly found it hard to believe Coy would be in love with someone like her for so many years. She acted like a petulant child.

There was one point in this book when a couple of chapters were told from the perspective of various characters from the previous books. While the idea of it was cute, it was quite disruptive to the flow of the story. The story also felt fragmented. Perhaps this was because I didn't read the previous books but a lot of background information seemed to be missing.

Things I enjoyed: I loved the overall plot of this book. Coy was a great character and I found his personality to be enjoyable. There were also a lot of funny moments in the book that made me laugh out loud.

I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
 

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