Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Goodreads blurb: Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “sounbelievably boring.” Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice…and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin. Will–the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security. Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur...
my take: 4.5 This is an adorable follow up to When in Rome. It is sweet and hot all at the same time. Will is a wonderful character and I really enjoyed Annies development. A super cute romance but I do believe you need to read when in Rome first because otherwise it would ge very spoiled.
Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
Goodreads blurb: For twenty-six-year-old Adelaide Williams, an American living in dreamy London, meeting Rory Hughes was like a lightning bolt out of the blue: this charming Englishman was The One she wasn’t even looking for.Is it enough? Does he respond to texts? Honor his commitments? Make advance plans? Sometimes, rarely, and no, not at all. But when he shines his light on her, the world makes sense, and Adelaide is convinced that, in his heart, he’s fallen just as deeply as she has. Then, when Rory is rocked by an unexpected tragedy, Adelaide does everything in her power to hold him together—even if it means losing herself in the process. When love asks too much of us, how do we find the strength to put ourselves first?With unflinching honesty and heart, this relatable debut from a fresh new voice explores grief and mental health while capturing the timeless nature of what it’s like to be young and in love—with your friends, with your city, and with a person who cannot, will not, love you back.
My take: 3.75 out of 5. This book should come with a lot of trigger warnings because it is a hard read, and a thorough exploration of mental heath that can be both triggering and very hard to get through. I had a weird take whilst reading this book. I loved the beginning but struggled through the end of this mental health exploration, and Adelaide’s breakdown and buildup was hard to stomach. It is however a beautiful book and an important topic to discuss. Not everything is pretty, things break down and it is how we lift up that matters and this books highlights this to a T.
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul
Goodreads blurb: A multigenerational saga that traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz. When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions. A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could—and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty. The truth behind Kitty’s ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them. As Elise digs deeper into Kitty’s past, she must also turn the lens upon herself, confronting the gifts and burdens of her own choices and the power that the secrets of the dead hold over the living. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender—and the choices some women make to break free of them.
My take: 4.75 out of 5. I loved this book. Similar to Evelyn Hugo (although Evelyn Hugo it is not, and i use this forum to chastise myself for being stingy way back in the day and only giving it 4.5 stars when it should have been total 5 star read) it is a wonderful exploration of fame and race. I really enjoyed the family dynamics and the unforeseen twists. It poses some strong social questions in the mist of the flash and glamour. I actually don’t know if I like the ending, but I understand it (those who have read it lets discuss!) . Highly recommend picking this one up, a quick, enthralling read that is perfect for the summer.
Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Goodreads blurb: The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.. The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow. Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
My take: 4.25 – This is thought provoking and wonderfully written. Even if you don’t agree with the politics of it all, the presentation of the case is flawless and it really makes you a bit sick as to the poverty situation in the USA. It is actually quite depressing to read, but makes you want to take action to do something even if its just a small step. My friend who recommended it sent me this:
Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
goodreads blurb: In a near-future northern settlement, a handful of climate change survivors find their fates intertwined in this mesmerizing and transportive novel in the vein of Station Eleven and The Power. In the far north of Canada sits Camp Zero, an American building project hiding many secrets. Desperate to help her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother, Rose agrees to travel to Camp Zero and spy on its architect in exchange for housing. She arrives at the same time as another newcomer, a college professor named Grant who is determined to flee his wealthy family’s dark legacy. Gradually, they realize that there is more to the architect than previously thought, and a disturbing mystery lurks beneath the surface of the camp. At the same time, rumors abound of an elite group of women soldiers living and working at a nearby Cold War-era climate research station. What are they doing there? And who is leading them?An electrifying page-turner where nothing is as it seems, Camp Zero cleverly explores how the intersection of gender, class, and migration will impact who and what will survive in a warming world.
My take: 2.75 out of 5. I might have judged it harshly but I disliked the ending on this book so much that it just marred my enjoyment of the whole book. There were however flaws throughout the whole book that I could not fully get into. I do appreciate the post apocalyptic feminist take, and women kicking ass together in the future was a cool concept but the character motivations were quite bizarre. And as female empowered as this book was there was not one female character that I cared about by the end, which is a flaw in my book
Tati's Tidbits 