Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
goodreads blurb: Where the lovelight gleams … A pasture of dead trees. A hostile takeover of the Santa barn by a family of raccoons. And shipments that have mysteriously gone missing. Lovelight Farms is not the magical winter wonderland of Stella Bloom’s dreams. In an effort to save the Christmas tree farm she’s loved since she was a kid, she enters a contest with instafamous influencer Evelyn St. James. With the added publicity and the $100,000 cash prize, she might just be able to save the farm from its financial woes. There’s just one problem. To make the farm seem like a romantic destination for the holidays, she lied on the application and said she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Only … there is no boyfriend. Enter best friend Luka Peters. He just came home for some hot chocolate, and somehow got a farm and a serious girlfriend in the process
My take: 3.5 out of 5. a super sweet , yet absolutely predictable Christmas Romance story. I had this in very high expectations as my bookstagram world had recommended it very highly. I really enjoyed it and my Christmas loving heart was very happy, its just not the best romance Ive read. Its in the very solid, glad I read and had a blast doing so category. My main issue with this book was that I did the audiobook and half the narrations felt mechanical. Like it was a computer. I don’t know why it was, because half the book felt ok but it was just not the most enjoyable listening experience.
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth
Goodreads blurb: Gabe and Pippa Gerard have just moved into their dream house: a cliffside cottage in a sleepy coastal town outside Melbourne. It’s a fresh start to their marriage, and the perfect place to raise their two young daughters. But the house’s perfect façade hides something more sinister: The Spot, where the tall cliffs have become a popular place for those wishing to end their lives. After talking someone down from the ledge, Gabe becomes a local hero, saving person after person… until one night, he doesn’t. And Pippa sees Gabe the moment after it happened, standing alone at the cliff’s edge, arms outstretched, palms facing out. The death is ruled a suicide— Gabe said it was a stranger devastated over her husband’s infidelity. But when Pippa discovers that Gabe knew the victim, she has more questions than answers. Plus, the woman’s husband swears she wouldn’t have jumped. Why would Gabe lie about not knowing her? Why would she have been at The Spot, if not to jump? And did she really jump… or was she pushed? As Pippa works to uncover the truth, the foundations of the life they’ve built begin to crack and their deepest secrets start to unravel. The Soulmate is a twisty domestic suspense novel that proves nothing—and no one— is ever as it seems.
My take: 4. 25 out of 5 – another great one by Sally Hepworth, it keeps you guessing right to the end. They leave enough breadcrumbs that you think you know what is up and then it all gets turned on you and I loved it. The characters were well written and engaging in their messiness which was all to real to believe. The descriptions are divine, I can picture this crazy house in my head.
More Than You’ll Ever Know by Katie Gutierrez
Goodreads blurb: Lore Rivera was married to two men at once, until on a baking hot day in 1986, one of them found out and shot the other. A secret double life, a tragic murder. That’s the story the world knows. It’s not the story that fascinates Cassie Bowman. Carrying the weight of her own family tragedy, true-crime writer Cassie wants to know more about the mysterious woman at the heart of it all, Lore. How did one woman fall in love with two different men? How did she balance the love and the lies? To her surprise, Cassie finds that Lore is willing to talk. To finally tell her heartbreaking story – about how a dance became an affair; how a marriage became a murder. As the two women grow closer, Cassie finds she can’t help but confess her own darkest secrets. But when she slowly starts to realise that there might be more to the night of the murder than anyone has realised, can either woman face up to the thing they’ve been hiding from: the truth?
My take: 4.75 out of 5. A police, journalistic thriller, totally addictive and I loved it. It got me hooked very quickly and i could not put it down. The dual narrative was also very engaging as their two perspectives were very different yet you could trace such interesting parallels between their lives and could start to see how messy this was all going to get. You think you have everything figured out but it turns a different corner. Read this! P.S. this would make a great TV show.
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