Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Goodreads blurb: After a wild bet, gourmet grilled-cheese sandwich, and cuddle with a baby goat, Alexis Montgomery has had her world turned upside down. The cause: Daniel Grant, a ridiculously hot carpenter who’s ten years younger than her and as casual as they come—the complete opposite of sophisticated city-girl Alexis. And yet their chemistry is undeniable. While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere” ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people. Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she can’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?
My Take: 4.75 out of 5. Obsessed. I really loved this book. I discovered Abby Jimenez during pandemic and catching up on her books gave me such joy. I recommend The Happy Ever After Playlist a lot! and this new book will fight for the top spot of my Abby Jimenez favorites and that’s a tall order. I enjoyed that this wasn’t clear cut as to how it was going to end. It wasn’t neatly tied in a bow. There’s trauma, family drama, different lives and different geographies and yet it all kind of makes sense. A must for your beach reads over the summer and Alexis might be one of the best Romance novels characters in a while!
Meet me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson
Goodreads blurb: Savannah Cade is a low-level editor at Pennington Publishing, a prestigious publisher producing only the highest of highbrow titles. And while editing the latest edition of The Anthology of Medieval Didactic Poetry may be her day job, she has two secrets she’s hiding.
One: She’s writing a romance novel.
Two: She’s discovered the Book Nook—a secret room in the publishing house where she finds inspiration for her “lowbrow” hobby.
After leaving her manuscript behind one afternoon, she returns to the nook only to discover someone has written notes in the margins. Savannah’s first response to the criticism is defensive, but events transpire that force her to admit that she needs the help of this shadowy editor after all. As the notes take a turn for the romantic, and as Savannah’s madcap life gets more complicated than ever, she uses the process of elimination to identify her mysterious editor—only to discover that what she truly wants and what she should want just might not be the same. Melissa Ferguson’s latest—a love letter to books, readers, and romance—will leave fans laughing out loud and swooning in the same breath.
My take: 3 out of 5. It’s a cute romance, its just not the best romance in my books. I appreciated the book loving environment, it being set in an editorial house. Also how can one not rejoice to a You’ve Got Mail inspired plotline, I will always we game to a in writing love vs an in person reality storyline. Savannah’s whole book notion was that she wanted a normal person to be a heroine in a romantic nook (Which really nowadays is not a novel thing at all its all the norm), and her being this normal person makes a very quaint parallel story. Yet I was not interested in Savannah an i think that’s the problem. She wasn’t as compelling as you want her to be.
Sister Stardust by Jane Green
Goodreads blurb: In her first novel inspired by a true story, Jane Green re-imagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging ’60s
From afar Talitha’s life seemed perfect. In her twenties, and already a famous model and actress, she moved from London to a palace in Marrakesh, with her husband Paul Getty, the famous oil heir. There she presided over a swirling ex-pat scene filled with music, art, free love and a counterculture taking root across the world.
When Claire arrives in London from her small town, she never expects to cross paths with a woman as magnetic as Talitha Getty. Yearning for the adventure and independence, she’s swept off to Marrakesh, where the two become kindred spirits. But beneath Talitha’s glamourous facade lurks a darkness few can understand. As their friendship blossoms and the two grow closer, the realities of Talitha’s precarious existence set off a chain of dangerous events that could alter Claire’s life forever.
My take: 4.25 out of 5. This was something a bit different from Jane Green but I really enjoyed it. A bit Historical Fiction a bit romance and a lot to like. I really did not know where it was going from the start of it, but once it got to the meat of it I could not put it down. I was enthralled by the characters and the lifestyle and it made for quite a read. I also ended up in wikipedia quite a bit after reading it to know which characters were real and which were not, I wanted to know more! The characters are all so well developed, it really works even if the ending is a bit bitter an less sweet than what you would want.
Tati's Tidbits 