This book is a sequel to Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley.

I listened to this audiobook of short stories on Libby after it popped on my radar as a July Indie Next pick. This is a collection of 11 tales set in the south that cover a lot of content: pregnancy, violence, sex and intimacy, church, hair, Blackness and more. Nearly all of the vignettes felt forgettable and most seemed unresolved in my opinion. The narration was solid but the stories didn’t captivate me. My hands-down favorite from the bunch was “How Does Your Garden Grow?” which is a memorable and unique depiction of fibroids.

Funny. Especially the ghost pepper part!

I like everything about this book.

Not one of his best…started off strong but then got too confusing!

2.5 stars. I listened to this audiobook in one sitting as it’s quite a quick read, clocking in at 4 hours. I picked this up because I was looking for books that would satisfy a “two books with the same titles” bingo square, and there’s at least three other Forget Me Nots that I have/will read. As an Oregonian, I was intrigued by the historical romance set in Baker City. I don’t often read Christian fiction, but it’s also nice to mix it up. In this second chance romance, Julia and preacher Seth rekindle their former flame after seven years apart. This book’s first turn-off was how Julia went from not recognizing this apparent love of her life to instantly feeling infatuated as if no time or intervening events had passed. I really struggled with the Chinese immigrant representation. It felt so stereotypical with too much emphasis on the white savior. Maybe the stilted broken English speech on the audiobook exaggerated the effect, but I felt there was a missed opportunity to humanized these underrepresented characters. I appreciate what the author is trying to do (as evidenced in the author’s notes), but I think she misses the mark in execution. Maybe this book would be better as a full-length novel in which their story gets fleshed out a bit more. I almost rounded this book up on the rating because I think the intentions are good, but as it currently stands, I would recommend skipping this.

This book is like a warm chocolate chip cookie- warm, sweet and brings a smile to my face! This is my favorite full-length Ali Brady book, which I listened to on audio via Libby. If you’re a fan of You’ve Got Mail and Book Lovers, read this great feel-good romance. Josie manages a literary fiction bookstore while Ryan manages a romance bookstore. The mutual owner merges the spaces and forces them to compete for the sole managerial role. Rivalry ensues and chemistry starts crackling! I enjoyed this quite a bit.

I enjoyed reading this book. The story is really interesting and touching my heart too. The book is also illustrated nicely. I like the wonderful design of the characters in the book and the abundant details and colors.

This book is really entertaining and good!!!

3.5 stars. This book kept popping up on my radar as an emotional romance that I ultimately listened to on audio via Libby. The strengths of this book are in FMC Nadia’s clear voice and the lupus representation. I struggled with the believability of Marco’s character. While I was interested in the time-limited romance of dating just for the month of May, the love story felt a bit too intense for the rather playful premise and came off as instalove at times.