Maid for Each Other | By Lynn Painter

 

Publication Date: July 15, 2023

Abi Mariano is a student and working two jobs as a barista and house cleaner. She has to move out of her apartment for one week due to an infestation. She can't afford to stay in a hotel so she takes is upon herself to stay in the penthouse of one of her clients. He is supposed to be out of town so imagine her surprise when she wakes up to his parents in his apartment! They assume she is their sons girlfriend and she doesn't correct them. 

Declan Powell is a busy man and owns the penthouse Abi spent the night in. His main focus is on his career and not a love life. He's made up a girlfriend named Abby to keep his parents and others from nagging him about his love life. So when his parents tell him they met his girlfriend he is shocked!

Declan quickly discovers who the real Abi is. She needs a place to stay. He needs a pretend girlfriend so they make a deal. She will pretend to be his girlfriend for $40,000 (the amount of money she owes on her student loan).  

Abi and Declan discover that they have something between them but keep up the facade that it's just transactional. Like most RomCom's the relationship builds and readers see what's going on between before the characters do. 

Lynn Painter has written another good read. The characters are well developed and the story is told from dual point of views. I am becoming obsessed with Painters books and characters.

** I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

All the Men I've Loved Again | by Christine Pride

 

Publication Date: July 8, 2025

Do you remember the hit songs of 1999 and early 2000s. Can you hear a few of them in your head? If you were alive and loving music back then  All The Men I've Loved Again pull you back into the nostalgia.

I could "hear" the music being pumped off the pages.

 Cora Belle is a shy and sheltered young woman who is starting college. She's going to have to break out of her shell and find her people and place in life. She's a daddy's girl who has had advantages in life that others haven't which is going to mean that she's going to have a few eye opening moments.

Cora finds herself in a sticky situation in which her heart and that of two men are at risk. It's been twenty years since she found herself in the Lincoln/Aaron love triangle and it's about to resurface. 

This book starts of strong and had me vibing. Cora's voice and perspective is strong. Her friendships are real and her relationship with her dad is beyond sweet. The story holds until the second half and then I slowly disintegrates. Something was missing or maybe there was too much. Expect some potential triggering subjects. This book is a bit like reading someone's diary in that it has some good juicy stuff and some mundane things. Expect steam and a bit of character development confusion. 

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Out of the Attic (Dollanganger #10) | by V.C. Andrews

Out of the Attic gives a look into the marriage and life of Corrine and Garland Foxworth. Garland is obsessed with his home and Corinne needs permission for everything. He wants it to remain as it looks and Corinne is treated more as a decoration and possession than a person. Her life is lonely but the fire that lives in her is about to ignite.

We also get to learn what a young Malcom Foxwoth is like and the complicated relation he has with his mother. Garland refuses to allow Corinne to nurse and employed a full time nanny for Malcom. This results in a distance between him and mother. Corrine doesn't have motherly instincts and in many ways has remained a selfish girl however Garland's emotional neglect increases her need for a life outside the mansion. 

Dara Rosenberg brings the story to life. I recommend the audiobook over reading it. I read this in 2022 and wasn't terribly into the book this time I found it much more interesting and worth my time.

Atmosphere | by Taylor Jenkins Reid

It's the summer of 1980 and Joan Goodwin has been selected from a pool of applicants to train at Houston's Johnson Space Center. Joan has been obsessed with the stars and space since childhood. She is a professor at Rice University in physics and astronomy. The opportunity to be an astronaut and train is going to be a challenge and taunting.  Joan and other candidates will have to decided to be friend or foe and unlikely friendships form. 

Atmosphere will put you on an emotional ride. This is one fast paced story that has well developed characters, dual timelines, romance and lots fun NASA insights. It also gives a look into what life was for women especially those in male dominated fields in the 1980s.

 At times I felt as though I was being pulled back into emotional scenes from the movie Apollo 13. There is suspense, character growth and anxiety inducing moments. Joan has a niece that is her heart and life. I was able to resonate with that relationship and I think a lot of other aunties will too.

The last book that I loved from Taylor Jenkins Reid was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and this new book is a close second. In fact I keep flip flopping on which book I loved more. 

I listened to the audiobook and also read sections from the book. They are both entertaining however the audio version has a stronger emotional punch, 

Beneath the Attic (Dollanganger #9) | by V.C. Andrews

 

I read Beneath the Attic back in August of 2019. I was indifferent back then but I was given an opportunity to listen to the audiobook and I have a new apprecia
tion for it. I looked past the modern feel of the book and really paid attention to the story. 

This book focus's on the original Corinne Foxworth. Corinne Dixon is a young woman who is enjoying her life and then she meets the handsome, rich and older Garland Foxworth. Corrine is naive and falls for Garland's antics. Corrine gets pregnant and Garland thows a lavish wedding. Corinne quickly discovers that the Garland she thought she knew is nothing like the Garland she married,

The audiobook is incredibly entertaining and Dara Rosenberg gives an engaging and emotional performance. She made me like a book that I have previously felt eh about.