Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Title: Daisy Jones & The Six
Genre: Fiction/Historical
Publisher: Ballantine Books/Random House Audio

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Daisy Jones and the Six truly surprised me. I saw it on my audiobook service and, having seen all the hype, I though I’d give it a go. I don’t know why, since I almost never read hyped books and I definitely don’t read books about a 70’s band. But I did and I’m glad.

I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book as much as I did if I hadn’t listened to the audiobook. That’s rarely the case, but this book worked amazingly as an audiobook. The narrators - and there where a lot of narrators (another thing I usually dislike, what’s this book done to me?) - were amazing. It was like listening to a movie. A real documentary.

What's so damn good, then? I don't know! I kept expecting to be bored, getting fed up with the cheating, the booze, the drugs. But the book kept sucking me in, getting me involved in the lives of The Six and Daisy. Camilla was marvelous, but truly - all of the characters' personalities came through even though most of the story revolved around Billy and Daisy. The author made the storyline exciting and, most important, believable - everyone remembers differently, thought differently and that gave another dimension to the story.

Why should it be read? Because it's a beautifully written story with a set of characters you won't get out of your head. If you're looking for a character-driven story set in the 70's, behind-the-scenes of rock music and full of humanity, I recommend you pick this up. Especially the audiobook, if you're into that!

5 of 5 rockstars

/ Denise

Blossoms in Autumn by Zidrou and Amiée de Jong

Author: Zidrou and Amiée de Jong (ill.)
Title: Blossoms in Autumn
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Europe Comics

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Even though this book is rather bleak and a bit more depressing than I would have thought, I truly enjoyed this story about to people finding each other when they didn't really expect it. Ulysses is 59 years old and Mediterranea is 61. He's a widower and a father forced into retirement, she's a former model who's been taking care of her dying mother and owns a cheese shop.

What did you like about it? The illustrations are lovely, for one thing, speaking an entire language of their own. I liked the couple's relationship and their easiness with each other. How they both went from bleakness to brightness, just by being with each other. There's some nudity in this book, which I also appreciate. It's an honest look on aging, on feeling younger than you are and not seeing yourself in your body. But it's also a book that's humorous and sweet, so not everything is depressing.

Why should one read it? If you're looking for a story about aging, trying to find yourself when what you always have known isn't there anymore, finding love when you didn't think it would be possible, you should pick this one up. 

4 of 5 perfectly aged cheese

/ Denise

Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roerig

Author: Caleb Roehrig
Title: Death Prefers Blondes
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

My oh my. If you'd said to me that I would love a book about ass-kicking drag queens, murder mysteries, daring heists, sweet romances and spinning action scenes... I'd probably have believed you. Pick this up, just do it. Also, look at that cover. Total insta-cover-love

Okay, what was so good, then? I don't know. I liked the story, about a spoiled rich girl trying to create some action in her life, ending up loving the action and becoming a thief. Getting in over her head on a job and her personal life crumbling before her eyes. With her band of drag queens. I liked the characters, each one unique in their own way. I loved the friendship. I loved the way the romance was low-key - even though I would have liked to know about the romances around Margo.

Something not so great? Well, if you're going to have multiple points of views, I would love for it to be consistent. Don't tease us with the boys sides to the story and then give us all Margo. That's probably the least good thing about this book. And it's not an awful thing. I just felt... unsatisfied, that's all.

What should one read it? If you're looking for an action-filled, interesting, smart and including rainbow-book with great characters, a mystery to be solved and some deadly outcomes, you should read this.

4 of 5 fabulous drags

/ Denise

Josh and Hazels Guide to not Dating by Christina Lauren

Author: Christina Lauren
Title: Josh and Hazels Guide to not Dating
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Gallery Books

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

I saw that someone described this book as "pure fun" and I have to agree. Hazel is such a wonderful character and I loved how she loved herself. Sure, she was quite adamant that she was a bit loony, but she was also determined not to change for a man. You go, of course you shouldn't change for a man. Be you. Josh is also a great guy, funny, thoughtful and respectful.

What did you like about the book? Well, honestly, almost everything. It's not a complicated story with lots of intrigue, lies, action or anything and that's absolutely perfect. This is a book about Hazel and Josh getting to know each other. Becoming friends. Falling in love. It also has one of my favorite tropes - opposites attract! I adore watching people who are so completely different falling for each other, realizing they are still compatible and respect each other for their differences. I love how natural the entire thing is in this book.

Almost everything? Yes, there was one thing that made me a bit uneasy. How Hazel practically worships Josh. And people, including Hazel, says as much on multiple occasions. Yeah, that was my one negative thing about this book. Josh never took advantage of the fact that she worshipped him and that's what matters, I guess. Oh, I'm not so fond of how things ended, but the epilogue does include a little boy dressed as a Disney-princess, so I'm good.

Why should I read this? If you're looking for a fun, easy read with characters with great chemistry and respect for each other, I'd say - pick this up. Christina Lauren's writing style should be reason enough.

4 of 5 double dates

/ Denise

My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren

Author: Christina Lauren
Title: My Favorite Half-Night Stand
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Gallery Books

Links: Bokus / Book Depository / Goodreads

Okay, so this book has one of my favorite tropes - friends-to-lovers. When done right, it's can be such a fun and sweet read. In this case, the friends are best friends and have such a great relationship, being comfortable with each other, bantering, caring about one another.
But, this book also has one of my least favorite things - lying. I just don't like it. Especially when there's no real good reason. Like in this case, the woman, Millie, is catfishing the man, Reid. This is not okay and I had trouble with it the entire book.
That said, if I had to read a book about lying and catfishing (and, apparently no one had to put a gun to my head), I'd pick this one. Even though the story is important, I find even more important that I love the characters. Millie had her issues (bad decisions, trust issues, workaholic) but I couldn't help but like her. I would have liked to gotten to know her a bit outside the circle of friends and Reid, though. Reid's a decent, lovely, genuine guy without said issues (except the workaholic part), and we get to know him a lot more than Millie, it feels like. The only secondary characters we get more than a glimpse of are the group of friends, which is okay and just a little boring.

What's up, then? The thing about Christina Lauren is that I'm starting to realize that I love their writing style. I adored Autoboyography. Their characters are funny and great and multifaceted, which gives me warm, fuzzy feelings while reading. I'm definitely reading more from them in the future.

About the audio book - loved the female narrator, had to get used to the male one, though. But eventually it worked out okay.

3.5 misspelled its

/ Denise

Muffin Top by Avery Flynn

Author: Avery Flynn
Title: Muffin Top
Series: The Hartigans #2
Genre: Contemporary romance
Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Links: Adlibris / Book Depository / Goodreads

Okay, so I truly thought I would like this book. I read both good and not so good reviews and I went in with that in mind. And... I was disappointed. It wasn't a bad book, really, it just wasn't the kind of book I wanted to read. A lot of little things that became big things that annoyed me kept coming up. The plot was okay, I guess, and the story went along fine. The characters started out promising, but turned out to be the most disappointing, really.

What went wrong, then? Listen, a story about a plus-size (aka fat) woman who's totally badass and confident and the love-interest is a big, muscly firefighter who loves his women, but not enough to stick, going away and spending a lot of time together, fake-dating - it sounds all kinds of great, right? The woman, Lucy, needs to go on a reunion and dreads it. The man, Frankie, is on sex-hiatus and thinks that Lucy is the perfect woman to spend time with, because he feels no attraction to her. Not because she's fat, no no, but because she's a fierce ballbuster with too much confidence (what?), because he's totally attracted to her physically, because she's got great boobs (um?). And not only do we get this somewhat illogical explanation, that I could have overlooked, but we get this told to us multiple times "It's so lucky I'm not attracted to her, because she would eat me alive"-kind of talk. What more, when we're in Lucy's point of view, we first meet a confident, awesome woman enjoying a burger and fries with extra hot hot sauce and I instantly like her. I feel like this is the book I've been dying to read. But no... I can take the self-deprecation and the bad jokes about her size - okay, I understand how it's easier to hide behind humor instead of throwing yourself out there. What I cannot, and will not, take, is the authors need to remind us how fat Lucy wherever we turn. And I also don't need to be told everything in detail multiple times. Let us readers figure it out, please. That's probably one of my biggest pet peeves - books that don't let the reader read between the lines, figure out some stuff along the way.

Was there anything good? Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't read the entire book (only about 3/4). I just couldn't finish it - maybe I will at some point when I'm not a mess and can distance myself from my irritation. But, okay, the kind of good things. Lucy is not portrayed as someone who's not capable. She can and does do everything she sets her mind to, she wears what she wants and eats what she likes - yeay for that. Also, Frankie seems to honestly give zero thoughts to her ample body if it's not in a sexual, horny, attracted sort of way and he, as well, doesn't see any reason to limit her. This should obviously be as natural as breathing, but unfortunately the world is not always awesome, so it was nice to read it. Also, the friends were nice.

Should I read this then? Yes, if you're looking for a plus-size romance with hot bods and steamy sex somewhere down the line, but also is not afraid of reading about a great woman reject herself multiple times. I hear a lot of readers relate to Lucy and her thoughts, so I am very possibly wrong in all my words. Read it for yourselves, yes.

No real rating, since I didn't really finish it. I really like the cover, though.

/ Denise

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Author: Jen Wang
Title: The Prince and the Dressmaker
Genre: Graphic novel/Historical
Publisher: First Second

Links: Adlibris / Book Depository / Goodreads

A beautiful, sweet story about growing and accepting who you are. And not be afraid to reach for what you want. 
This book has everything I want in a graphic novel (apparently) - great, fitting art, interesting characters, a story that keeps my attention and an ending that makes me want to cry because it's so great.

Wang tells a story about a prince, Sebasitan, who feels more like himself when he's wearing beautiful dresses. When he can be his alter-ego, Lady Crystallia, he feels powerful and capable. Too bad it's not possible for a prince to show his people that he is a man who wears dresses. Frances, his dressmaker and friend, helps him in his secret, but grows more restless as her dresses makes the talk of the town and she can't even tell them that they are her creations.

What was so good about this? Like I said, the art was so great for this story. It's not only a story about being who you are, but also about friendship and love and trust. About prejudice and acceptance. And gorgeous dresses. This story had not been made justice if it would have been a regular novel. We needed these dresses in our lives, really. I also like the details around the book, the backgrounds, the way Frances is following her dream and the way a look says more than a thousand words (yes, no, that doesn't only go for pictures).

This is a book that makes you smile and you should definitely read it just so you can read and appreciate the ending.

5 of 5 butterfly dresses

/ Denise

Band Sinister by KJ Charles

Author: KJ Charles
Title: Band Sinister
Genre: Historical romance
Publisher: KJC Books

Links: Adlibris / Book Depository / Goodreads

This was a delightful read. Yes, delightful. I'm a fan of KJ Charles writing since reading the A Murder of Magpies-series and was hoping to have a similar experience now. And I did, I really did.

What did you like then? Well, the plot, for one thing. An innocent (or are they), sheltered pair of siblings having to spend time at the house of a notorious rake with his hellfire club of questionable behavior. And then they turn out to be not rakes at all (well, except some) and the hellfire club is actually quite marvelous and, oh, the man they're supposed to hate is really quite lovely and kind and have the most amazing... Right, okay, where were we?

The characters, talk about the characters! Yes, yes, if you insist. Yes, the characters. Guy was so likable, so fiercely loyal to his sister, Amanda, afraid of a lot but braver than most. Philip, such a loving man, with so much to give. And Amanda, Miss Kickass. And all the members of the Murder (it feels like some of them appear in other books? I have to read these) that we met were kind, humorous and loving. Guy's and Philip's relationship is really sweet, the talk is very Jane Austen-ish (no, I haven't read much classic literature, forgive me) (with a lot more pricks and the word "spend" involved) and I just liked it. I stayed up two hours past my bedtime to finish the damn book, so there you go in greatness. I absolutely love the way Charles writes romance, the relationship and the connection between the lovers. I loved it in the Magpie Lord (with followers) and I loved it now.

Something you didn't like, then? Well, I had a bit of trouble following the secondary characters - you'd think that would be no problem since everyone stayed in one house for almost the entire book, but yeah, I had to think more than once "Who is this fella?"And I guess Charles's way of writing isn't for everyone. The conversations can go on for a while and the dirty talk is... Well, it is, just... Different, I guess.

Why should I read this then? If you're looking for a sweet historical romance with humor, loyalty, so much love and friendship, with two men falling in lust and like and love, I believe you need look no further. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go neglect my duties as a mother/wife/sister/employer/student and binge-read KJ Charles books.

4 of 5 dirty latin books

/ Denise

Deke by Eden Finley

Author: Eden Finley
Title: Deke
Series: Fake Boyfriend #3
Genre: Romance/Sports romance/MM romance
Publisher: Independently published (I think?)

Links: Amazon / Goodreads

It's official. I am an Eden Finley-fan. There's not much to do about. This book was great and even though I'm way not into sports, Finley makes even those parts interesting.

I loved the chemistry between Ollie and Lennon and the humor with which everything was met. But there are also serious parts and those never feel dreary or melodramatic (let's face it, melodrama is way too frequent in romance novels). And let's not forget the steamy parts. We like the steamy parts. So, yeah, an all round good story with great feels, mushiness, humor and steamy sex.

What's it about then? Deke is a hockey player who's known he's gay since he was fifteen, have a supporting family except for the fact that he doesn't want to come out to the world - they don't understand. Lennon is a sports journalist with a thing for jocks and a heart of gold (really). They met, sparks fly, misunderstandings (or omitted truths) happen, laughs are laughed and asses and muscles are ogled.

Why should I read this then? I've read four or five books by Finley now and I like the way she writes, how she tries to include and how the stories feel real and interesting. Deke is no exception. If you're looking for a light book about two men in the sports industry (okay, there aren't all that much sports talk in this), who fall for each other, the fake boyfriend-trope, large big brothers and sweet sexual acts - then you'll probably like this.

4 of 5 hockey clubs

/ Denise

Waves by Ingrid Chabbert

Author: Ingrid Chabbert
Title: Waves
Genre: Graphic novel
Publisher: Archaia

Links: Adlibris / Bokus / Goodreads

This made me cry so much. First when they lost their child and during most of the rest of the book. Telling the story of two people trying to conceive a child, succeeding and spending their days in happy bliss while waiting for the baby. Then, things go wrong and there won't be a child and the way this was portrayed, the sorrow and the hollowness of the parents-to-be - especially the one carrying the child - it broke my heart. But the rest of the book gave me hope and I love how the author made told the story through very little conversation and more through the illustrations and the colors. The mood of the characters were truly reflected in how the book came alive.

Who should read this? Anyone who have lost a child, have someone close who have lost a child or anyone who wants to try to understand the pain and how you move on. They way this is told is open and makes it possible for people, like me, who haven't lost a child or had trouble conceiving, to at least try to understand the emotions and the way life does and doesn't move on.

This is published May 7th 2019. 

5 of 5 waves

/ Denise

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

Author: Casey McQuiston
Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Genre: Romance/New Adult
Publisher: St Martin's Griffin

Links: Adlibris / Bokus / Goodreads

Oh my God. This was a rollercoaster of emotions. I instantly fell in love with Alex. He's a hard working, loving, caring and funny character. He's a bit too stuck in his head sometimes and he has problems with going all in on something, even when he probably shouldn't. They way he's portrayed is believable - the humor, the love, the issues. He's the son of the president and he handles it really well. Until, you know, a certain prince comes along. This isn't really a hate-to-love story. It's more like a one-sided-hate-to-friendship-to-doing-it kind of story and I can't tell you more, because it'll spoil everything.

Okay, what can you say then? I can say that this book is full of great characters. Everyone has their wonderful personality - the sisters, the best friends, the bodyguards, the parents and everyone who's on page brings their own thing to the story. This is an accomplishment - to not have characters who are superfluous to the story. I can also say that even though this story was told solely from Alex's point of view, Henry's personality shone through more than enough. Oh, sweet Henry. I just wanted to hug him and tell him he's so awesome.

Why should you read this book? Um, because you're a living, breathing human being? No, but seriously. If you want to read a book with a great set of characters, a story about two people growing, loving, being and finding themselves, shock full of humor and also love letters and want your heart to melt into a mushy puddle - read this. I can't say much more, because I don't want to ruin the story.

(Oh, and this comes out May 14th. Sorry..) Also, look at that cover - I love it!

5 of 5 historical love letters

/ Denise