sfbookgirl's reviews
412 reviews

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

After learning that It Happened One Summer is based on Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek, I knew that I had to read it. Piper Bellinger is a popular fashion influencer who goofs up and finds herself in jail one night. Piper’s stepfather takes matters into his own hands and sends Piper to the fishing town of Westport where her biological father and mother met. 
 
While living in Westport, Piper meets the mysterious sea captain Brendan. Despite the fact that Piper is dead set on getting out of Westport as soon as possible, Brendan catches her eye and the rest is history 🔥 It Happened One Summer is The Simple Wild (K. A. Tucker) meets Schitt’s Creek. While the storyline didn’t super wow me, I loved being transported to a beach town interwoven with some spicy romance. I also recommend taking a few precautions as the level of steam is higher than your average romance book 😆 
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Fault Lines by Emily Itami

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Perfect for fans of Sally Rooney, Fault Lines is a fall debut that you don’t want to miss. I wanted to pick this book up after watching the Olympics, as both the games and the book are set in Tokyo, Japan. The main character Mizuki is a Japanese housewife who caters to her husband’s and her children’s needs. One rainy night, Mizuki meets restaurateur Kiyoshi and their relationship evolves into a secret love affair. 
 
Mizuki, ultimately has to choose one man to keep in her life. Fault Lines is a quiet, yet powerful debut novel that provides a portrait of Japanese female identity and self-reflection. It’s best to read this one slowly to appreciate the sights, smells, and heightened feelings the author Emily Itami incorporates into her stunning debut. 
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Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Definitely don’t read Crying in H Mart while hungry. Zauner’s memoir is about her experience moving back to the west coast as a young 25-year-old to take care of her mother with cancer. Interwoven with delectable descriptions of the food that Zauner learns to make to feel closer to her mother, Zauner reflects on her the few months leading up to her mother’s death. 
 
Zauner’s emotional debut is for anyone that has lost someone, specifically a parent. What makes Zauner’s memoir special is that it is a story to which many can relate. Zauner’s own perspective as a bi-racial Korean American while grappling with navigating the music world as a young artist and learning to connect with her heritage through food. I really recommend picking this one up if you’re in the mood for a telling, powerful memoir. 
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Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy was, unfortunately, a miss for me, but fans of historical fiction may enjoy this new novel. Centered in the town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, nineteen-year-old Sherri Taylor auditions to become a bunny at the town’s Playboy resort. Sherri receives an offer and is immediately infatuated with the glamor of being a bunny.
 
While I enjoyed learning about the ins and outs of working at a Playboy resort in the 80s, the characters felt one-sided. 40 years later, we learn about Sherri’s present life, with no explanation of how she gets there, and what she has learned in the process. I think I would have rather seen the story written from the perspective of Sherri’s fierce, and best friend Roberta. I didn’t really enjoy Clancy’s first novel either, so it could be that I am not the biggest fan of the author’s style.
 
Content warnings: sexual content, sexual abuse, death, death of a parent, grief, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, drug use, domestic abuse, cancer 
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The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Bachelor fans, I have a new must-read for you! I absolutely loved The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun. The book begins with Dev, one of the show’s producers who is assigned to be the Bachelor’s, Charlie’s, right-hand man. Charlie is a quiet, tech guy from Silicon Valley and finds the whole show uncomfortable. 
 
As Dev urges Charlie to connect with the contestants, Charlie realizes he has more chemistry with Dev than he does with the 30 women pining after his heart. Cochrun perfectly intertwines the typical Bachelor environment with serious conversations about mental illnesses like anxiety and depression. I loved reading this book so much that I purposely put it down so I wouldn’t ever have to finish it. Of course, I did eventually finish it, but The Charm Offensive is one that definitely earns a spot on my favorite books of 2021 list. 
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In the Quick by Kate Hope Day

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed the book for the author’s ability to vividly capture the main character’s experience of isolation and the fear of the unknown. Female astronaut June begins her space career as a young adolescent by enrolling in the National Space Program at the age of twelve. Six years later, she achieves the title of engineer. 
 
June’s story revolves around the missing spacecraft named Inquiry that disappeared when she was twelve years old. Now as an eighteen-year-old, June is haunted by the mystery of the spacecraft and is determined to find out what happened to the missing crew. Filled with easy-to-understand spacecraft terminology and the momentum of exploring the unknown, In the Quick is an excellent story for space lovers and for readers who enjoy the thrill of adventure rooted in a not-so-distant future. 
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The Siren by Katherine St. John

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adventurous dark mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

After loving Katherine St. John’s first novel, The Lion’s Den, I couldn’t wait to pick up her second book, The Siren. The Siren is unique with its mixture of beachy vibes and heart-thumping thrills. On the picturesque beaches of St. Genesius, a Hollywood film is being filmed starring the famous actor Cole Power and his ex-wife. Three very different women, Coles ex-wife Stella, film producer Taylor, and Stella’s assistant Felicity all have an agenda to execute. 
 
When a strong hurricane brews offshore, each woman finds herself trapped on the island, united against a common enemy. I really enjoyed the perfectly executed mixture of beach vacation vibes with a suspenseful underlying tone. The Siren has a juicy plot with ample drama but isn’t what I would consider a mystery. The big secrets are relatively easy to guess, but what Katherine St. John does well is writing an addictive story that keeps you turning pages. 
 
Thank you Grand Central Pub for a gifted copy! 
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We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I went into We Are the Brennan’s book a bit hesitant about the story, so it’s no mystery that I finished the book on less than positive terms. This very white, family drama revolves around 29-year-old Sunday Brennan and her family’s troubles. After getting into a car accident in LA, Sunday moves back to her family’s home in New York to gain some clarity about the life she left behind five years earlier. 
 
Overall, I am not the biggest fan of family dramas, but I know those that are may really enjoy this one. Each of the family members have a secret, but there isn’t much of an event when the secrets are revealed. We Are the Brennan’s is filled with unlikeable characters, which normally is fine in my book, but I truly did not love any of the characters. Regardless, Lange executes the choice to use multiple POV’s well and I enjoyed the story for its consistent pacing.
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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The reviews don’t lie; this book is PHENOMENAL! I sensed some Ninth House (Leigh Bardugo) vibes relatively early on and was pleased that it didn’t feel too similar. Dark fantasy academia is my favorite genre so I knew coming into Legendborn that there was a 99% chance that I would love it. The book is about a high school student named Bree Matthews who enrolls in an early college program at UNC-Chapel Hill a few months after her mother’s death. After witnessing a magical demon attack on her first night at UNC, Bree discovers her own magic and is eager to determine if this is at all tied to her mother’s death.

Legendborn is Tracy Deonn’s first novel and I can’t wait to read what else Deonn writes. The character arcs, family histories, and legacies are so spectacularly executed and bring forth important issues like inherited grief, slavery, and racism. It also speaks about the power of Black women, strength, and self-discovery. Because Legendborn loosely revolves around the legend of King Arthur, I suggest brushing up on that story before diving into the book. And while it’s a hefty 500 pages, I never found Legendborn to be slow; it caters perfectly to my preference for plot-based stories. I can’t wait for the sequel! 
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The Guncle by Steven Rowley

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is an absolute delight! I picked up The Guncle at a Little Free Library while walking around Oakland last week and was beside myself that I managed to score the book everyone has been talking about this summer. Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP) is a semi-retired sit-com artist who resides in the very warm, but beautiful Palm Springs. When Patrick’s sister-in-law tragically dies of cancer, Patrick is asked to take care of her children, Maisie and Grant, for a couple of months while Grant’s brother deals with some health issues of his own. 
 
GUP, while unfamiliar with all-things children, easily falls into of a pattern with Maisie and Grant that involves  slathering on sunscreen, answering obscure questions, and taking the two kids to see the sights of the desert. Through this experience, Patrick learns to grapple with his own grief while helping Maisie and Grant understand the grief and loss of their mother. This sweet, touching novel is one I will cherish and is perfect for fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea.
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