[REVIEW] The Little Bookshop on the Seine

title: The Little Bookshop on the Seine (The Little Paris Collection #1)
author: Rebecca Raisin 
genre: adult, contemporary, chick lit
published: January 7th 2020 by HQN (first published October 16th 2015)
my copy: paperback, 416 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

It’s The Holiday on the Champs-Élysées in a great big love letter to Paris, charming old bookstores and happily-ever-afters! 

When bookshop owner Sarah Smith is offered the opportunity for a job exchange with her Parisian friend Sophie, saying yes is a no-brainer—after all, what kind of romantic would turn down six months in Paris? Sarah is sure she’s in for the experience of a lifetime—days spent surrounded by literature in a gorgeous bookshop, and the chance to watch the snow fall on the Eiffel Tower. Plus, now she can meet up with her journalist boyfriend, Ridge, when his job takes him around the globe. 

But her expectations cool faster than her café au lait soon after she lands in the City of Light—she’s a fish out of water in Paris. The customers are rude, her new coworkers suspicious and her relationship with Ridge has been reduced to a long-distance game of phone tag, leaving Sarah to wonder if he’ll ever put her first over his busy career. As Christmas approaches, Sarah is determined to get the shop—and her life—back in order…and make her dreams of a Parisian happily-ever-after come true.

bookshop, romance, and Paris.

I got this book generally because it involves a bookshop and don't we all just grab every book that involves books and bookish people?

[REVIEW] How to Find Love in a Bookshop

title: How to Find Love in a Bookshop

author: Veronica Henry
genre: adult, contemporary, chick lit
published: July 10, 2018 by Penguin Books (first published May 19, 2016)
my copy: paperback, 352 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

"Absolutely delightful." --People 

The enchanting story of a bookshop, its grieving owner, a supportive literary community, and the extraordinary power of books to heal the heart 

Nightingale Books, nestled on the main street in an idyllic little village, is a dream come true for book lovers--a cozy haven and welcoming getaway for the literary-minded locals. But owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open after her beloved father's death, and the temptation to sell is getting stronger. The property developers are circling, yet Emilia's loyal customers have become like family, and she can't imagine breaking the promise she made to her father to keep the store alive. 

There's Sarah, owner of the stately Peasebrook Manor, who has used the bookshop as an escape in the past few years, but it now seems there's a very specific reason for all those frequent visits. Next is roguish Jackson, who, after making a complete mess of his marriage, now looks to Emilia for advice on books for the son he misses so much. And the forever shy Thomasina, who runs a pop-up restaurant for two in her tiny cottage--she has a crush on a man she met in the cookbook section, but can hardly dream of working up the courage to admit her true feelings. 

Enter the world of Nightingale Books for a serving of romance, long-held secrets, and unexpected hopes for the future--and not just within the pages on the shelves. How to Find Love in a Bookshop is the delightful story of Emilia, the unforgettable cast of customers whose lives she has touched, and the books they all cherish.

bookshops are not just bookshops.

The title of this book and the bookshop setting are what caught my attention. I mean who wouldn't want to read about bookshops? Don't we all?

[REVIEW] The Dirty Book Club

title: The Dirty Book Club

author: Lisi Harrison
genre: adult fiction, chick lit
published: October 10, 2017 by Gallery Books
my copy: paperback, 313 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

You know you want to join. 

M.J. Stark's life is perfect. But behind her success, there is a debilitating sense of loneliness. So when her boyfriend offers her a new life in California, she gives it a try. Once there, M.J. is left to fend for herself in a small beach town, with only the company of her elderly neighbor, Gloria. 

One afternoon, M.J. discovers that Gloria has moved to Paris to honor a fifty-year-old pact. And in lieu of a good-bye, she's left an invitation to a secret club--one that reads only erotic books. Curious, M.J. accepts and meets the other members: Addie, who avoids responsibility at all costs. Britt, an overworked mom who's feeling lonely and desperate. And romantic Jules, whose fairy-tale life is slowly unraveling. As they bond over naughty bestsellers and the letters they inherit from the original club members, the strangers start to divulge the details of their own lives... and as they open up, they learn that friendship might be the key to rewriting their own stories.

[REVIEW] The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

title: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

author: Kelly Harms

genre: adult, chick lit
published: May 1st 2019 by Lake Union Publishing
my copy: kindle, 328 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.

Usually grounded and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a life filled with culture, sophistication, and—with a little encouragement from her friends—a few blind dates. When one man in particular makes quick work of Amy’s heart, she risks losing herself completely in the unexpected escape, and as the summer comes to an end, Amy realizes too late that she must make an impossible decision: stay in this exciting new chapter of her life, or return to the life she left behind.

But before she can choose, a crisis forces the two worlds together, and Amy must stare down a future where she could lose both sides of herself, and every dream she’s ever nurtured, in the beat of a heart.

it's about finding oneself and realizing that you don't have to take the world alone.

This is one of those books I picked up on Kindle Deals because I was thinking, "why not?" It sounds okay and it really seems like something I can speed though. It's not a story I can relate to given the single mother aspect but why not?

[REVIEW] Sorry I Missed You

title: Sorry I Missed You
author: Suzy Krause
genre: women's fiction, chick lit
published: June 1st 2020 by Lake Union Publishing
my copy: eGalley, 316 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

A poignant and heartwarming novel about friendship, ghosting, and searching for answers to life’s mysteries. 

When Mackenzie, Sunna, and Maude move into a converted rental house, they are strangers with only one thing in common—important people in their lives have “ghosted” them. Mackenzie’s sister, Sunna’s best friend, and Maude’s fiancé—all gone with no explanation. 

So when a mangled, near-indecipherable letter arrives in their shared mailbox—hinting at long-awaited answers—each tenant assumes it’s for her. The mismatched trio decides to stake out the coffee shop named in the letter—the only clue they have—and in the process, a bizarre kinship forms. But the more they learn about each other, the more questions (and suspicions) they begin to have. All the while, creepy sounds and strange happenings around the property suggest that the ghosts from their pasts might not be all that’s haunting them... 

Will any of the housemates find the closure they are looking for? Or are some doors meant to remain closed? 

Quirky, humorous, and utterly original, Sorry I Missed You is the perfect read for anyone who has ever felt haunted by their past (or by anything else).

a good read on finding closure, confrontation, and moving on.

I feel like I'm really getting back into women's fiction books and I'm so happy about that. I remember that there was a time where I'd just grab any Lake Union Publishing books that I can because why not they sound good. BUT yeah, when I read the synopsis, I thought it sounds light and fun and takes on a topic I'll enjoy.

[REVIEW] Well Met

title: Well Met
author: Jen DeLuca
genre: adult, romance
published: September 3, 2019 by Berkley Books
my copy: Paperback, International Edition, 319 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

All's faire in love and war for two sworn enemies who indulge in a harmless flirtation in a laugh-out-loud rom-com from debut author, Jen DeLuca.

Emily knew there would be strings attached when she relocated to the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland, for the summer to help her sister recover from an accident, but who could anticipate getting roped into volunteering for the local Renaissance Faire alongside her teenaged niece? Or that the irritating and inscrutable schoolteacher in charge of the volunteers would be so annoying that she finds it impossible to stop thinking about him?

The faire is Simon's family legacy and from the start he makes clear he doesn't have time for Emily's lighthearted approach to life, her oddball Shakespeare conspiracy theories, or her endless suggestions for new acts to shake things up. Yet on the faire grounds he becomes a different person, flirting freely with Emily when she's in her revealing wench's costume. But is this attraction real, or just part of the characters they're portraying?

This summer was only ever supposed to be a pit stop on the way to somewhere else for Emily, but soon she can't seem to shake the fantasy of establishing something more with Simon, or a permanent home of her own in Willow Creek.

cute and quick!

I read this because I had the sudden interest to read chick lit romance after loving One Day in December (although it's exactly a chick lit romance?).

Well Met follows Emily who arrives at the small town of Willow Creek, Maryland after a disastrous relationship. She's there to help out her sister, April, as she recovers from a car accident. While Emily helps out her sister, she was pushed to join the local renaissance fair as a guardian to her niece where she plays the role of a wench and meets the serious and somewhat rude head of the fair, Simon.

[REVIEW] P.S. From Paris

title: P.S. from Paris
author: Marc Levy; Sam Taylor (translator)
genre: chick lit, romance
published: September 1, 2017 by AmazonCrossing
format: paperback, 288 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

From Marc Levy, the most-read French author alive today, comes a modern-day love story between a famous actress hiding in Paris and a bestselling writer lying to himself. They knew their friendship was going to be complicated, but love—and the City of Lights—just might find a way. 

On the big screen, Mia plays a woman in love. But in real life, she’s an actress in need of a break from her real-life philandering husband—the megastar who plays her romantic interest in the movies. So she heads across the English Channel to hide in Paris behind a new haircut, fake eyeglasses, and a waitressing job at her best friend’s restaurant. 

Paul is an American author hoping to recapture the fame of his first novel. When his best friend surreptitiously sets him up with Mia through a dating website, Paul and Mia’s relationship status is “complicated.” 

Even though everything about Paris seems to be nudging them together, the two lonely ex-pats resist, concocting increasingly far-fetched strategies to stay “just friends.” A feat easier said than done, as fate has other plans in store. Is true love waiting for them in a postscript?

Cute romance between an actress and an author!

Romance aren't my usual read that's why whenever I find myself involved in a romance novel, I get so excited! This one is clean and funny and cute romance between an actress escaping her lousy marriage and an author who's unusually selling well in South Korea.