the_boozy_baking_bibliophile's reviews
1163 reviews

3-3.5 🌟 for me. Loved the concept of a woman grabbing someone else’s coffee while waiting forever for her order and immediately spilling it on a super hot dude. And then running to said hot dude immediately afterwards on her first day at her dream job. And then finding out that he is, in fact, her new boss. 😬 

And yet they have chemistry that radiates through the pages and witty banter for days. And super solid 🌶️ scenes too. 

My only real issue is that it was a bit too insta-love and a bit unrealistic in my mind how a staunch rule follower would go so far against the grain and risk their job for someone they barely know. Felt a little contrived in that sense. 

Overall a super fun read - an enjoyable palette cleanser. 

Why oh why did life get in the way of me being able to finish this absolute gem of a romcom? I would have finished it in a day or two had work and kids not been so dang needy. 

In a meet cute to end all meet cutes Ada and Jack encounter one another in the lobby of a London hotel, both stranded after their respective flights have been cancelled. After some very heavy flirting, they head upstairs for a little more action. 

It’s about to be on when they come to the shocking realization that they were headed to the same wedding…to be the MOH and best man, and both of them had told their people that they were rushing into marriage. Awkward. 😬 

What comes next is a whirlwind of travel mishaps, witty banter and so much chemistry that there’s going to be an explosion. 💥 From getting locked in a public bathroom to missed trains to baby making blankets and flat tires - this book delivers everything I look for in a romcom. 

Super cute and kitschy - those really was like Paris Hilton starred in Only Murders in the Building. 

Pomona Afton is a hotel heiress who has always led the most charmed life possible. Yes, her parents are assholes and everyone infantilizes her and treats her as if she is stupid - but she’s rich AF dammit! 

Until her ice queen grandma and family matriarch is murdered in their flagship hotel and her will states that until a the murderer is caught all the assets are frozen. All of the assets. Meaning Pom and her entire family are kicked out of their familial home at the hotel and have zero money that was tied to the estate. From princess to pauper in 30 minutes, Pom sets out to solve her grandmothers murder - discovering along the way that she is more than a sunglasses model who can dance on tables with the best of them - and maybe finding real friendship and a backbone in the process. 

A quirky and unique romcom for those who love a solid Hating Game vibe but with more heart and soul. 

Will and Anna are both columnists at a small paper - she is recently divorced with two kids and no desire to get back out there and start dating. He is a food writer with aspirations of more - and is a bit of a man about town. Regularly offering unsolicited advice about her column and grammar, Will drives Anna nuts - but not as crazy as she feels when they are pitted against one another as relationship column writers trying to attract a younger demographic.

Anna turns to desperate measures after online dating crashes and burns - like letting her children pick her dates based on people they either already know or meet in public. Will writes his own dating columns based on his online dating experiences while tying the themes to the people that Anna Is seeing. Let the games begin! 

Was I expecting to pick up a Grady Hendrix horror novel and find myself crying at the end? No, I certainly was not. 


Told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl in a home for unwed mothers in 1969/1970 - this one doesn’t delve into the supernatural/horror genre until almost halfway in. Unless you count the treatment and inhumanity that these girls received on a regular basis…

Leaning more into women’s empowerment and regaining freedom than pure terror, Hendrix manages to create a storyline that is too close to the reality that could exist in the USA again if some have their way. 

I found this to be a cautionary tale for those who choose to mess with women too much, lest they find themselves burnt at the stake (ballot box) 

Well, that was definitely something. 

I remember reading Carlyle’s first book and thinking “well that was convoluted AF.” I mean, I finished it. It was an ok read. 

This one, on the other hand, takes convoluted to a whole new level. I’m not even sure I completely understand what happened here because it moved at a pace that was so breakneck that it was hard to keep straight.  Chaos and half baked ideas and preposterous scenarios. And the stereotypical gotcha twist at the end that isn’t even shocking. 

Fucking pink spotted geckos 🦎 

Let me preface this with - this is not a bad book. It was, in fact, a pretty good read. Three stars is my rating for something I enjoyed, would pass along but simply can’t rave on like a rabid hyena about. 

The Project is about a cult and its enigmatic leader Lev. It’s about two sisters who have been through more tragedy than anyone should ever live through and the eldest being drawn in by Lev - eventually being pushed to abandon her previous life, along with her 13 year old sister who is otherwise an orphan and suffering from the car accident that killed their parents. It’s about that younger sister never giving up hope that she could find her sister and bring her back from the cult that took her away. And herself getting caught in the tangled web of deceit, lies and empty promises that Lev offers. 

It was a slow start - partially due to time jumping back and forth and numerous characters/POV - but it built over time. I became increasingly invested in the main character Lo and her dog with a bone attitude and spirit. However, parts of the book were clunky and felt like enormous character shifts within a short time period, making it feel unbelievable based on who we already had established the characters to be. 

However, I stayed in it through the end and felt it had a solid wrap up - albeit a tad vague about what really happened when Lo danced with the devil, so to speak. 

No matter what - worth a read. 

Ok Megan Collins - keep dazzling me with your unreliable characters and messy plot lines that leave me guessing nonstop about who is good and who isn’t. I’m fine with having mini anxiety attacks throughout your books like it’s nbd. 

A heart transplant recipient reaches out to the husband of her donor anonymously through the match program and begins a conversation that soon turns flirtatious. Except it’s not really anonymous because she knows he’s a famous writer and that she got his wife’s heart based on the timeline of the woman’s death. As their messages get deeper and deeper - she is drawn to him and pictures herself with him, a dangerous game seeing that many people believe it was he who killed his wife, not an accident. 

Infatuation. Obsession. Murder. 

Except who is the real author of this twisted narrative? The actual writer? The love struck girl with a new heart? Or someone much more involved than anyone could guess?

This is only my second Cavanaugh book and my first Flynn! Now I feel like I need to go back and read his whole origin story because I’m hooked on this conman turned defense attorney storyline. 

This one was a crazy journey because the witness to the murder was way more screwed up and dangerous than the actual murderer - which made this as twisted as they come! 

I just adored this quirky book that had me cackling out loud at the accuracy of working in corporate America (or Canada in this case!)

Writing emails with secret messages detailing how you really feel about your coworkers - changing the print to white of course - but then getting found out and being put in a mandatory HR Harassment class. And having your internet and email restricted - except someone screwed up and now you can see EVERYONE’S emails and messages. 

How would you handle this newfound power? Would you choose good or evil? 😈 

At the end of the day this book had more than corporate BS and TPS reports - it had heart and soul and actual character growth. Well done!