WHEN the weather is as cold as it’s been there is honestly nothing better than snuggling up with a feel-good book, a hot-water bottle (or cat) and a mug of something warm and delicious. Now a feel-good book can be anything from hero catches the villain and everything in the world is right again, to finding true love, or a lovely story about a beloved pet. Others use their words to transport you to destinations that have far better weather than you, and the words alone can warm you from your head to your toes.
A Taste of Italian Sunshine ( Words to transport you to warmer destinations)
Leonie Mack
This was such a great, easy, and comforting read, one that made me want to pack my bags and immediately fly to Milan and wait for a bus to take me to Veneto.
I absolutely loved the mistranslations the characters said, and how sometimes the mistranslation was even more fitting than if the character had said the correct word, Nonna was especially cute with hers.
I love how Tiziano was like a familiar song to Jenn, how she couldn’t resist him and loosened up around him and the absolute raw magnetism between Jenn and Tiziano just made the story perfect, her formal, prideful persona vs his relaxed, easygoing one, you really couldn’t get more opposite to each other. But the way they just brought out the best in each other and opened new worlds and sides to themselves, they either previously ignored or didn’t know were there.
The character growth of Jenn, and her quite staunch upbringing, made her who she was, but Tiziano, her polar opposite, showed her what she didn’t know she needed in her life.
Leonie’s words create such a sensory explosion, with vivid descriptions of sights, scents, and flavours that take you right into the story. The ending gave me goosebumps, and I really didn’t want to leave Tiziano and Jenn. I think this was my favourite book by Leonie.
Little Lost Dolls (Hero catches the villain)
MM Chouinard
This good and proper freaked me out. The idea of being watched and followed and feeling vulnerable just scares me.
This was a book that seriously kept me guessing right to the shocking reveal, I kept changing my mind about who the killer was and why! I love how Jo is so invested in her cases and puts her whole heart and soul into solving the crimes, even when it’s slightly personal and close to home like in this book. And any protagonist with a cat is ramped up on my list of favourite characters.
While this is book 7 in the Jo Fournier series, it could be read as a stand-alone, but it certainly adds to the story to have a bit of history. I really like Jo Fournier, Bob Arnett, and Lopez – she is hilarious!
If you like strong female protagonists and mysteries that keep you guessing, then you’ll love this series! I can’t wait for the next in this series!
The Meet Cute ( A cat and some romance, what more can I ask for)
Jessica Hatch
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The meet-cute is exactly how it sounds, a chance meeting in an unexpected place physically while emotionally Chloe isn’t in the best place. I love how awkward Chloe is and her internal dialogue and the embarrassing things that happen are hilarious and so relatable! Palmer is the best mix of dorky and sweet. The meet-cute proves that sometimes good things can come out of messy or unfortunate times. And one aspect is based on true life events and stars an inspired version of the author’s own cat!
Lacey’s story (A loyal dog)
W. Bruce Cameron
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lacey is a special dog who after an accident has a cart with wheels to assist her hind legs which were injured. Lacey loves her human girl Wenling and her best doggy friend Cooper. This is her story.
My 7-year-old son and I reviewed this together. I read it out loud to him. Lacey is a wonderful character and quite a ‘Super-dog’. Anyone who is familiar with the author knows that his books are told from the perspective of a dog and this book is no different. There is no shortage of action, events and surprises throughout the book and of course, some cliff hangers, which makes for an engaging read where it’s said ‘Just one more chapter! ‘ after every chapter! The human and canine characters all face some challenges but manage to solve problems and overcome the obstacles in their way.
We both thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be adding more books by the author to our collection. This book is aimed at middle grade but can definitely be read to slightly younger kids and adults should enjoy it too.
Ten dates (Second chance at love)
Rachel Dove
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Fate wasn’t just a cruel mistress, it was a vindictive bi***”
Imagine losing a whole chunk of your memories, the memories where “friendship ” develops into love and you have no idea how you came to love someone. Where your heart remembers, like muscle memory how to feel but your head just hasn’t caught up yet and you feel like you’re living someone else’s life.
This was absolutely sweet, I’m in love with Callum and I don’t often do ‘book boyfriends’ I adore the thought, effort and wholeheartedness he put into his relationship with Alice and the way he recreated their first dates together to try to help Alice regain her memories.
The banter between Alice and Callum is something else. They are friends/frenemies to lovers, and their knowing each other goes all the way back to childhood, and the history they share can’t be matched.
I could relate to Alice wanting her independence and hating relying on people and recovering after an injury. This was a moving book, that made my heart twinge.
If you enjoyed 50 first dates or The Vow, where characters have to show love and start over, get a second chance then this is the book for you.
I haven’t read any of Rachel Dove before, but she’s certainly on my bookdar book radar) now.
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