en-US Mon, 31 Jul 2023 20:11:08 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 38097007 170 Kate Stradling 1947495038 JS 5 4.41 2018
author: Kate Stradling
name: JS
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: fairy-tales, rrc2023, squeaky-clean, ya, short
review:
Loved it. Accidentally wrote my review on a different page, and now I will eventually get to adding it here. But this was exactly what I wanted from this book without knowing it.
]]> 6456297 184 Tristi Pinkston 1599553082 JS 0 3.73 2009
author: Tristi Pinkston
name: JS
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/04
shelves: romance, rrc2023, suspense, squeaky-clean
review:

]]> 52610687 In this charming rom-com, two enemies find something they never expected in one another—taking "all's fair in love and war" to a hilarious and heartwarming new level.

Actress Bree Leake doesn't want to be tied down, but just when it's time to move on again, Bree's parents make her an offer; hold steady in Abingdon for one full year, and they will give her the one thing she's always wanted—her grandmother's house. Her dreams are coming true... until life throws her some curve balls.

And then there's her new neighbor. Chip McBride.

For the first time in her life, she's met the person who could match her free-spirited air—and it's driving her to the ledge of sanity. She would move heaven and earth to have him out of her life, but according to the bargain she's struck, she cannot move out of her house and away from the man who's making her life miserable. So begins Bree's obsessive new mission: to drive Chip out of the neighborhood—and fast.

Bree isn't the only one who's a wee bit competitive, and as Chip registers what Bree's up to, he's more than willing to fight fire with fire. But as their pranks escalate, the line between love and hate starts to blur.

Good fences make good neighbors—and sometimes love and hate share a backyard.]]> 336 Melissa Ferguson 0785231048 JS 3
Still cute, still a fun story, still a good narrator too. And I'll definitely go seek out more books by this author.

Oh, another thing I really enjoyed again: the sense that the characters had some beliefs that I jived with but didn't feel hit over the head with. When it comes down to it, Chip has some pretty great wisdom about life and dealing with hard things and how nothing here is perfect. So two thumbs up for that.

Rating: G, super squeaky clean.]]> 3.36 2020
author: Melissa Ferguson
name: JS
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/05/11
shelves: rom-com, romance, rrc2022, squeaky-clean
review:
Didn't like this one as much as Meet Me in the Margins, but it was still cute and fun. I didn't like it as much because I thought the characters were kind of horrible to each other. I know that's part of the story, and I know some people really enjoy those stories and relationships, but I don't. (Same reason I don't like Northanger Abbey; Tilney is kind of a jerk.) So while I liked them sometimes, I just couldn't cheer for them as much.

Still cute, still a fun story, still a good narrator too. And I'll definitely go seek out more books by this author.

Oh, another thing I really enjoyed again: the sense that the characters had some beliefs that I jived with but didn't feel hit over the head with. When it comes down to it, Chip has some pretty great wisdom about life and dealing with hard things and how nothing here is perfect. So two thumbs up for that.

Rating: G, super squeaky clean.
]]> 58429255 The Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance imprint in the country, has requested to see the manuscript Savannah's been secretly writing while working as an editor herself—except at her publishing house, the philosophy is only highbrow works are worth printing and commercial fiction, particularly romance, should be reserved for the lowest level of Dante's inferno. But when Savannah drops her manuscript during a staff meeting and nearly exposes herself to the whole company—including William Pennington, new publisher and son of the romance-despising CEO herself—she races to hide her manuscript in the secret turret room of the old Victorian office.

When she returns, she's dismayed to discover that someone has not only been in her hidden nook but has written notes in the margins—quite critical ones. But when Claire's own reaction turns out to be nearly identical to the scribbled remarks, and worse, Claire announces that Savannah has six weeks to resubmit before she retires, Savannah finds herself forced to seek the help of the shadowy editor after all.

As their notes back and forth start to fill up the pages, however, Savannah finds him not just becoming pivotal to her work but her life. There's no doubt about it. She's falling for her mystery editor. If she only knew who he was.]]> 309 Melissa Ferguson 0785231072 JS 4
At first I was concerned that the neurotic first-person narrator would drive me mad (not generally a big fan), but I got used to it and it toned down a little bit from some of the scenes in the beginning, and I just thought it was sweet.

A fun, charming read. I listened, and I thought the narrator was also enjoyable.

Another thing that sets this book slightly apart is that the author clearly has a moral stance but for the most part doesn't feel preachy. Well, doesn't ever feel preachy, just has characters who are willing to talk about their own values. I liked it, I appreciated seeing a character who I at least sort of related to in that regard.

Rating: G, very squeaky.]]> 3.59 2022
author: Melissa Ferguson
name: JS
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/05/11
shelves: romance, rrc2022, rom-com, squeaky-clean
review:
A very cute, super squeaky clean rom com. Okay, I'm a writer, so I'm a little biased in stories about authors and editors, but I found this one delightful. It's also a retelling of The Shop Around the Corner, which I'm a fan of.

At first I was concerned that the neurotic first-person narrator would drive me mad (not generally a big fan), but I got used to it and it toned down a little bit from some of the scenes in the beginning, and I just thought it was sweet.

A fun, charming read. I listened, and I thought the narrator was also enjoyable.

Another thing that sets this book slightly apart is that the author clearly has a moral stance but for the most part doesn't feel preachy. Well, doesn't ever feel preachy, just has characters who are willing to talk about their own values. I liked it, I appreciated seeing a character who I at least sort of related to in that regard.

Rating: G, very squeaky.
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