44 Chapters about 4 Men [BB Easton- Book Review]

Rating: 4 Stars

Genre: Memoir

Publisher: Forever Publishing

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. I chose it for the title alone, and then I was even more intrigued when I saw it was going to made into a Netflix series.I knew I was going to dive into this book uninhibited, but I had no idea I was going to stay up until 3 AM reading this book because I became so invested. This is probably one of the best memoirs I have ever read, which is strange because it is the opposite of the majority of the ones I read.

There is just something so addictive about a memoir where someone shares their sexual history and gives a glimpse into what their life is like. It is like a voyeuristic thrill I could not get enough of.

BB Easton has lived an interesting life. This memoir is a collection of her journal reminiscing about her boyfriends before she met and married her husband. I did not expect for the memoir to be so detailed, but she does not hold anything back. It also turns out she wrote fiction about each one of her ex boyfriends, and I was like, wow those are books I will be picking up sometime soon to compare with what I read in this book.

BB Easton talks about her 4 partners in life. 3 ex boyfriends and her husband. She writes the truth about her past, but she also embellishes because she wants her husband to be more attentive with her in certain ways.

Knight was her first boyfriend, and it became this very intense relationship. She holds nothing back as she talks about the sex they had, but she also touches on how tumultuous the relationship was. Knight was the scary first boyfriend who doesn’t know how to let go,, but when her husband reads her journal, it helps improve their sex life. I was a little bothered by her husband invading her privacy, but it seemed to make their life better so I think all things work differently for each person.

The other two boyfriends were Harley and Hans. Harley had gross teeth and weird tattoos. Hans was a musician. She also talks about sex with them, but I was not super interested in these stories.

Talking about her husband and modern life was what appealed most to me regarding this book. BB works as a school psychologist, her husband is an accountant, and they have two kids. I loved the domestic aspect of her life because she is honest in all things. She talks about her relationship not being perfect. But she loves her husband. She talks about how hard it is to have kids, but how they are amazing as well. Yes, this is a story about how she wants to make her husband different to make herself happy. But their relationship grows, and it is apparent they love each other deeply. Despite all of the TMI aspects of this book, I would definitely recommend it.

This book is funny, interesting, and insightful. It reminded me of being young and made me thankful for the person I became. I look forward to the series on Netflix to make a full comparison.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rapid Book Reviews

I have been reading a lot the past few weeks, but I fell behind because of all the panic happening. I need to get back into posting more of my NetGalley books and staying on top of all of this. I think this will be a good solace during all the chaos so if you want to read all about books and chat with me, come here to read my reviews and leave me a lot of comments.

Here are just some short reviews of the last few books I finished over the last couple of weeks:

NetGalley ARC
Contemporary romance

Rating: 3 stars ⭐️

This was super cute, and it was a fast read for sure. I did enjoy the whole rock star and normal person falling in love because that is a dream many of us share. This just did not get more stars because I thought some of the writing was a little juvenile and tedious. I just thought the way Amelia acted around Huck sometimes was someone that was like 18 rather than 34, and I just wanted more of a mature relationship. I did like how they dealt with her anxiety and made it realistic she needed treatment. This is also the third book so you will be spoiled for the first two by picking this up, but you an still read those stories to see how they begin. Overall, this is a sweet romance with a lot of interesting characters and will appeal to those who like the small town stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and given freely.

NetGalley ARC
Contemporary romance

Rating: 3 stars ⭐️

Thank you netgalley and the publisher.

I picked up this book because of the original title. I love cats a lot. This book is pretty cute, but I didn’t fully love the romance.

I appreciate the romantic comedy classification for its effortlessness and consistency. I frequently read them in the middle of heavier books as light help, and this book was no special case. 

The characters were affable, despite the fact that it took me a decent while to warm to Lara. She appeared to be very stand-offish and brisk to respond hot headedly in basic circumstances, yet part of the way through she appeared to relax. Soft/Satchmo was entertaining, he had all the standard haughtiness of a feline yet Tennant kept in touch with him in such an interesting way he truly turned into his own character in the story. 

In case you're in the wake of something agreeable, this book is a decent decision.

You Are Not Alone [NetGalley ARC Review]

You Are Not Alone

Thriller

St Martins Press

Published March 4, 2020

4 stars ⭐️

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are one of my favorite writing teams. When I read their first book, I was in awe. The second book was disappointing, but this one reminds me why I love their writing so damn much. This book is unsettling, shocking, riveting, and unforgettable.

Shay sees a woman commit suicide on a train platform, and she is sucked into the life of the woman by accident. She goes to her memorial service and meets her friends. Amanda had this group of friends, and two of them are sisters. Cassandra and Jane take a special interest in Shay. They start to spend time together and want to help Shay in whatever way they can. But as they get closer, Shay learns Amanda may have known something terrible and it could be a problem for Shay if she gets in too deep…

This book was so unsettling. I was on edge the whole time, wondering what was going to happen. I was shocked by how the sisters acted, and I loved finding out the full story. I was worried the whole time for Shay, and it was like one of those movies where you shout don’t go in there but the person never listens. It was so riveting, and I could not stop reading. I was mesmerized the whole time, and I can see myself reading this again even though now I know the outcome. I highly recommend this to all thriller fans, new and old alike. This writing duo does thrillers with a twist every time that will leave you breathless but needing more.

A Cowboy To Remember [NetGalley ARC Review]

Rating: 2/5 Stars ⭐️

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: NetGalley eARC

I requested this book because I really liked Xeni, which was the only other book I have read by this author. I was hoping for a really good cowboy romance, which is one of my favorite things. But this book was not it at all. I just cannot put my finger on what it was, but this book lacks the storyline and characters I expected from Rebekah Weatherspoon. I would suggest reading Xeni, and I have heard good things about Rafe. But this book just falls flat in a lot of places.

This the story of famous celebrity chef, Evie Buchanan. She is pushed down the stairs by a rival chef, and she loses all of her memories. There is nowhere she can go except the ranch she grew up on to recover. It is the only place where she can stay anonymous to avoid the media finding out she has lost all of her memories.

I thought this was going to be a riveting book, but I did not really care about what was going on when i was reading it. There was nothing really interesting about the story or the way the romance was supposed to unfold. I was so shocked this because Xeni was so rich in comparison. This book is about Evie trying to get her memories back and learn how to be a chef once more. There is also her history with Zach and they want to be like close to each other even though they haven’t spoken for like ten years. I think you are just supposed to accept all of their history as enough for a romance, but like there was no chemistry or anything exciting about when they’re together.

Okay, there is also so many side characters and sometimes you get their POV but I don’t know why. There was nothing really added to it, so I was wondering what was going on with that whole thing honestly. Her friends seemed cool, and I would like books about them. But the rest was just so meh. I was waiting for a reason to care about anyone, but there was no one who really stood out. They are just rich black people with a ranch (which is so awesome because i think there needs to be more stories like this), but no one is exciting or anything. There are just tall guys who wear cowboy hats and that is supposed to be enough to be a personality trait, I guess. Wearing a cowboy hat does make a dude hot, but its not enough to fall in love with in my opinion.

Also, it was so odd that Evie had amnesia until like 87% way through the book and then she was like magically better. She has no idea what’s going on t he whole time and then she is magically cured, and she wants to go back o her own life. Also, the whole thing where she suddenly doesn’t want to be around Zach was lame. I was just like yeah ok especially with just around 10% of the book left, this makes for a rushed and terrible story. The only good thing was the grandma who was a pioneer for black women in the entertainment industry. I would read a story about her. Like her whole life. She was awesome. This was so disappointing, and i hope the next books are better but I am not sure i will be picking them up.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Absolution [NetGalley ARC Review]

The Absolution by Yrsa Sigurdardottir

Crime Thriller

NetGalley EARC

3 stars ⭐️

I really wanted to like this book because it is blurbed by Karin Slaughter, and she’s one of my favorite authors. I’m not sure why, but this book was a big disappointment to me. I liked the beginning parts about the crimes, but it went downhill.

Stella is taken from her job at a movie theater and murdered. There’s a 2 under her body, and no one knows what this means.

Hudlar is the detective assigned to the case, and there’s also Freyja, the child psychologist. Both are working from different angles to see what happened to Stella. The police search through footage, but they are no closer to finding the killer. Freyja is interviewing classmates to see if anyone knew what could have happened to Stella. Her classmates actually saw the murder on Snapchat, but no one has answers.

Then they find out Stella was a terrible bully. She was setting up a horrible website about a classmate and even trying to sell her classmate online like a sex worker. Her phone shows up in the mailbox of a woman, but she says she has no idea why. Clearly, she’s connected somehow.

Then a teen boy goes missing and his body is found with a 3. There’s also Snapchat messages sent out about him as well. They contact someone who specializes in bullying, but there aren’t clear answers yet.

Normally I like police procedural books, but this one got so boring. I didn’t care about the characters and their lives. All the minute details of their lives were so boring to me, and I had a hard time finishing the book with all the extraneous details about everything. None of the characters were interesting, and I was annoyed that apparently Huldar and Freyja become a couple because there seems to no be no chemistry.

It was interesting to see how bullying interwove all the events, and I liked the gruesome parts. Not sure if I’d read more from the series, but I did like the gruesome. That was the only highlight for me. I ended up skimming towards the end. I will say the ending was super creepy, and I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Reckless Runaway [NetGalley ARC Review]

Genre: Historical Romance

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review copy graciously provided by NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first historical romance. I saw it being noted as available on netgalley, and I went for it. I’m glad I did because I enjoy the manner of writing Jess Michaels uses in this genre.

Anne is being forced to marry Harcourt, but she doesn’t love him. Luckily, Ellis Maitland is going to take her away and marry him. Except he leaves her stranded on an island with his cousin, Rook. Once it’s established Ellis is a slimy jerk, Rook becomes the hero! Or not because he’s got a terrible past of crime and horrible things he has to keep from Anne.

Alright, this book starts out slow. I wasn’t really loving it at first because I didn’t care about how Anne is a triplet or her family. I get it... triplets are a miracle during this time. Anyway! But once the tension starts building between her and Rook, this book is just one to be devoured.

The romance is lovely. The steamy scenes are excellent. The entire story is superb. Though this is the second book so I was a little lost but they explain it well enough. I still plan to read the first one, and the prologue has made me so eager for the story of the final sister.

I can’t recommend this enough to anyone who loves historical romance or just romance in general. Once you begin this book, it’s impossible to not race to the end to get the happy ending. I find it’s worth the time and swoon factor though. I love this book and this new to me author!

NetGalley ARC Reviews [A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Scammed, and Cracked Up to Be]

All three of these published on February 4th, and I decided I was going to put all of the reviews together because it saves my sanity. I enjoyed reading all three of these books, and I highly recommend checking them out since they’re out now.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

YA Thriller

5 stars ⭐️

I love thrillers so much. Usually I read adult thrillers, but I’m so happy to see YA having more thrillers happening recently. They are among one of my top genres, so I can’t help but want to read all the ones I can possibly get my greedy hands on. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder has become one of my favorite thrillers I’ve read in a long time, and I hope Holly Jackson will consider also writing adult thrillers so she can get even more intense with her writing. Please.

Everyone in this book is so well written and interesting. This reminded me of like a true crime podcast and the whole Adnan Syed serif thing. So that was what was in the back of my mind the entire time. Pippa is such a strong character, trying to find the truth and do whatever it takes. She reminds me so much of a lot of the podcasters who got above and beyond to get the story, and I just couldn’t help but really love her immensely. Even the secondary characters have depth and breadth, genuinely contributing to the story and making it even better.

This is about suspense of what’s going on with Pippa looking for the truth interwoven with the crime of what really happened to Andie Bell. It’s addictive from the start and complex to the core. There’s so many pieces of the puzzle, and it just gets more shocking and interesting as time goes on. I was hooked
From the start and couldn’t put this book down. I loved this book so much. It may go down as one of my top thrillers of the year.

Thank you to Random House Childrens, Holly Jackson, and NetGalley for providing me with this Arc in exchange for my honest review.

Scammed by Kristen Simmons

YA mystery

4 stars ⭐️

Probably one of my most anticipated reads of this year. But the cover change didn’t make me happy.

Brynn is still at Vale Hall, but this time the stakes and cons are higher. I loved this book just as much as the first one, I was shocked the whole time.

It was awesome to see the other characters I hadn’t seen before in depth, and I liked them to be actual people instead of just fillers. I’m sad there wasn’t more with her friendship with Charlotte, I think the series would be stronger with a female friendship and not just a romance I’m not exactly invested in.

Simmons just writes in a way which makes me unable to put the book down. Her characters are well written and worth the page turning. I haven’t been this into a series for awhile. I’m already ready for the third book.

I recommend this to anyone who enjoys boarding school stories and shocking reveals.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for the advanced review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own,

Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers

Contemporary YA

4 stars ⭐️

I honestly am unsure of how to write this review because I have never read a book like this. I saw it on NetGalley, and I knew I needed it. I pretty much sped through it because I was ready for all of the answers this book was going to give me. Still, there are still some things I’m not sure of regarding this book. But that’s okay, I think.

Courtney summers states in the introduction she writes characters dealing with trauma. Already I’m like, alright this is going to be different. I skimmed over the intro at first, but I went back to it when I was deeper into the book and I appreciated it so much more. Just read this book is all I can say definitively.

Parker isn’t doing well. She’s gone from being perfect and popular to someone being watched and told she needs to be careful. She was drinking on school property and doing dangerous things. It came down to a suicide attempt and now she’s back in school on a tentative basis, talking to the guidance counselor and being monitored by her friends and teachers.

Parker is mean. She’s honest and states she hates people. She treats her friends so harshly and doesn’t even care about the consequences of her actions. She’s told again and again, she’s a bitch. She admits she’s a liar. Parker is a lot of bad things, but there’s also some issues she’s not dealing with. There are flashbacks to a party and the mystery of what happened to her best friend. It’s just so much happening… and it’s so real. I don’t think I’ve read anything this real in a long time, but I couldn’t help devouring it.

This book deals with some heavy topics. Trigger warnings for suicide attempt, drinking, rape mention, and animal death. It’s a very real book, and I don’t think it’s for everyone. But I definitely thought it was great. The ending wasn’t phenomenal, but I think the rest of the book makes up for it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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I loved all of these books a lot, and I’m so grateful to all of the kind publishers who allow me to read all of these wonderful books. You have no idea what it means to a bookworm like me. As a kid I would devour books like crazy, and now I’m lucky enough to be able to read so many early and share my thoughts with the world.

Have you read any of these books? Or maybe you would want to since reading my reviews? I’d love to know either way.