Playing for Love by Jeevani Charika

I’m not sure how this one ended up on my TBR, but when I was looking for my new Kindle book, it was available on Libby, so I nabbed it. (Still so many holds in my queue!)

I liked that our London-based heroine was not white (she’s South Asian) and not a traditional rom-com career (she got laid off and started her own business). There were some cultural dynamics with her family that took me a minute to understand, but the gaming aspect was much more opaque to me. Sam loves to watch YouTube streams of people playing video games, particularly one named Blaze. She started doing this when she was a kid with one of her brothers after her mother died, so she’s been following this gamer for a while.

From Italy With Love by Jules Wake

I’ve read this author’s work before under the pen name Julie Caplin in another series that I’m hoping to go back to (if the Nook book ever comes down to a reasonable price). I’ve probably had this book in the Nook app for just as long, but never took the time to dig in.

This one started out a little too British (or maybe too Hallmark) for me when our heroine accepts the out-of-the-blue proposal from her obviously-wrong-for-her boyfriend because she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings. Luckily, it gets better. Laurie is left a vintage Ferrari by her eccentric uncle with the stipulation that she has to drive it from England to Italy on a prescribed route, meeting various people and sending postcards to verify along the way. And she’s not going alone – her uncle’s former business partner (?) is along for the ride. Did I mention he’s hot and can wear a pair of jeans??

Secrets and Seashells at Rainbow Bay by Ali McNamara

I broke my Kindle reading streak again yesterday after 32 days. And though I have borrowed another book from my long TBR on Libby, I thought this might be a great time to get into one of my many Nook books that I’ve been neglecting. I won a B&N gift card at work and went straight to buying digital copies of novels by my favorite authors that I can’t get at the library, starting with Ali McNamara.

And folx, she’s done it again! I’m not sure I remember a novel of hers that I haven’t loved, but this one was delightful. I seriously couldn’t put it down and finished it in one day. What would you do if you found out you inherited a castle on the coast of Northumberland? That’s the question of this book and it’s delightful!

Subpar Parks: America’s Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share

My mom got this book for me for Christmas a couple years ago, but I hadn’t cracked it open until now. I’d heard about the Instagram account and even seen some of the humorous reviews, but I figured, because of that, I had kinda already seen what this book was about. My mom’s not as “online” as I am (and that’s a good thing) and she knows I love National Parks, so I see her point of its appeal.

However, the conceit grows stale if you read this like a book. In order to make her art, the “negative reviews” have to be short, so most of them are like “not impressive” or “there were bugs.” And then the author is like, “how dare there be nature in nature?!” Or what do you mean you don’t find “insert national park feature here” impressive? And sure there are a few one-star reviews that are kinda funny but for the most part, it’s just people not vibing with a park and taking it the extra step of leaving a negative review.

The Proof of the Pudding by Rhys Bowen

I spent the 10 days after finishing my last book diving into a book about Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was incredibly interesting, but very dense. I was only about halfway through when my Libby loan was going to expire, so I turned it back in and got back on the waitlist.

In the meantime, two more books became available (why do all the 10 week waits suddenly become available at the same time?!), so I snatched them up, knowing I could get through them quickly while I wait for the other book to become available again. All that to say, I finished this book in 2 days and it was lovely. After 17 books in this series, you know what you’re getting and I like that.