Tag: heartwarming books

Reviews

Legend

Caley Kapowski

A heart to protect. A debt to repay. A game to win.

After being swept up in the magical world of Caraval, Donatella Dragna has finally escaped her father and saved her sister, Scarlett, from a disastrous arranged marriage. The girls should be celebrating, but Tella isn’t yet free. She made a desperate bargain with a mysterious criminal, and what Tella owes him no one has ever been able to deliver: Caraval Master Legend’s true name.

The only chance of uncovering Legend’s identity is to win Caraval, so Tella throws herself into the legendary competition once more—and into the path of the murderous heir to the throne, a doomed love story, and a web of secrets…including her sister’s. Caraval has always demanded bravery, cunning, and sacrifice, but now the game is asking for more. If Tella can’t fulfill her bargain and deliver Legend’s name, she’ll lose everything she cares about—maybe even her life. But if she wins, Legend and Caraval will be destroyed forever…

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . the games have only just begun.

I started reading the Caraval series last month as a buddy read and we all enjoyed it so much that we agreed to read the next book together. We were supposed to wait until next month to read book three together but we’re pulling it forward because this series is so good! So I can’t feel too guilty about not making much progress in my existing series as while I have started a new series, I’m going to finish it this month.

I absolutely loved this book. Yes, it was the second book in a series but if you wanted to jump into book two without reading book one, it could work as a first introduction to the world. Although I’d highly recommend starting with book one as a be more of this world, the better! This book was told entirely from Tella’s point of view and I enjoyed getting to know her a lot better as she was a side character during the first book.

This time it was Tella’s turn to participate in Caraval and she had a secret task. It turned out that she had a secret and had made a deal. A very risky deal!

I loved that we got so much more of characters that had been introduced in book one, Tella and Dante took leading roles. Jacks, The Prince of Hearts was also introduced and he is my favourite character in Once Upon a Broken Heart so I was delighted! I loved the relationship between Tella, Dante, and Jacks. Morally grey brooding characters were very enjoyable to read about.

I feel like a lot of questions from Caraval had been answered and more questions asked. I found this to be such a fast based and exciting adventure.

The book took place in a gorgeous and opulent empire which had various quarters. I enjoyed this new area and I’m a sucker for a creepy castle setting which did get introduced.

There’s a new baddy introduced in this book. The Fates. Previously locked away but they wanted to be released. I enjoyed learning more about the fates and what had happened to them.

There wasn’t a lot of Scarlett or Julien in this book, they had taken the lead roles in book one so it was strange seeing them as side characters. I feel like they didn’t really have a lot going on this time but I was still happy to have the other characters get their turn in the spotlight.

This world was just fantastic and I loved being brought back to it. This was a thrilling adventure and I was gripped! This was a buddy read that we had intended to read over a week…I read it in 5 days and some of my pals read it quicker. Very few of us lasted the full 7 days without reading ahead. I think that’s a sign of a beloved book. I’m so excited to read the next book and see if some questions I have will be answered. I may have found a new favourite series!

Reviews, Scottish Reads

The No Attraction Agreement

Caley Kapowski

ASHLEY

I didn’t ask to be a bridesmaid. And I didn’t expect it meant co-ordinating with my best friend’s uptight lawyer brother.

But I’ll do anything to make it perfect. Which means smiling even when I want to scream.

Until my psycho ex decides it’ll be fun to start stalking me, and Matt agrees to be my fake boyfriend to put him off.

So I guess he’s not all bad. But falling for the best man-or any man- is not on my agenda.

I think.

MATT

Thanks to my sharp instinct and work ethic, I’ve been successful in life. Except in relationships.

Ever since my perfect woman dumped me I can’t look at anyone else. But she’s coming to the wedding, and I can’t let her see me alone.

When I find my sister’s bridesmaid crying under a table, I figure out a way we can help each other. After all I’m a lawyer and I know how to draw up a contract: pretend to date without cuddling, kissing, or falling for each other.

It sounds simple enough, but I’m tempted to break my own terms.

What’s this? Me reading another romance novella? Yes it is! It’s February, I had to read another romance. Nicki Bell is my go to author for a happy ever after.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book, I got my grumpy/sunshine romance. Grumpy/romance is one of my favourite romance tropes! I found the relationship between Ashley and Matt was so cute and had me cheering for them.

Of course there was some conflict which felt very realistic and I just felt for the characters.

This was a short and sweet romance and I just ate it up. I really enjoyed it, it was cute and fun. The book was predictable but not in a bad way, I got the ending I hoped for and I really like knowing I will get a happy ending from this author.

This book was an exclusive story available by being on the author’s mailing list so while I did get this book for free, I wasn’t obliged to review it (or like it! But I did)

Reviews, Vlogs

Legends and Lattes

Caley Kapowski
I had such a delightful time with this book

Finally! I finished a book this year and I loved it. It took me a while to get into my reading groove for 2023 and I’m so glad that this was my first read of the year. What a start!

I got this book in my office Secret Santa last year and I’ve been looking forward to reading it ever since. Yes, I was my own Secret Santa and I chose well because I had a brilliant time with this book.

I can see me reading this book over and over as it was such a comforting and cosy read. The hype definitely was real with this book!

Reviews, Scottish Reads, Vlogs

The Shadow Glass and Right to Remain Silent

Caley Kapowski

In this Vlog I read two utterly fantastic books. I am so giddy about how amazing this month has been for books so far…I’m also scared that I’m overdue a duff book. Statistically I should have had at least one but I’m trying to just enjoy the excellent month so far.

Any excuse to share my festive cheeseboard

My plan was to read The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning. It was a 400 page book so I assumed it would take me the full 3 days to read. However, I finished it in about a day and a half. This left me time to read Right to Remain Silent by Nicki Bell which was a sweet romance novella. I heartily recommend both of these books!

Reviews, Scottish Reads, Vlogs

The Edinburgh Skating Club

Caley Kapowski
My review and some of the festive sights of Aberdeen

I bought The Edinburgh Skating Club a few months ago and put it to the side for December. It felt like it should be read in December or at least winter, when there’s snow and ice because the book heavily features ice skating on a frozen loch. Well this week we have had a very cold spell and got some snow and ice and it felt like the right time to pick this book up.

I feel like I haven’t seen anyone talking about this book which is such a shame because I really enjoyed this. This was a lovely wee read and such a quick one too.

Please note that in the review I use the character names from the blurb in order to avoid giving any spoilers.

Scottish Reads, Vlogs

Reading Scottish- November Wrap Up

Caley Kapowski

This month I have been in a bit of a reading slump. In spite of this, I still managed to read three books by Scottish authors. I’m absolutely delighted as I also thoroughly enjoyed each of my Scottish reads this month.

My wee Scottish vlog

I think that these three books could all become firm favourites and that’s more than I could have hoped for! I’m now extra excited to see what next month brings!

Reviews, Scottish Reads

Nothing Left Unsaid

Caley Kapowski

GLASGOW, 2019. Sharon has rushed home at the news her mother has been admitted to hospital. It’s clear Senga’s life is coming to an end. As Sharon gathers family and friends together to say goodbye, Senga, as always, does things in her own mysterious way. She instructs Sharon to find the red diary she kept in the 1970s and to read it. There’s something Senga needs to talk about while she still has time. The journey into her mother’s past is both shocking and surprising, forcing Sharon to re-evaluate her own childhood, her marriage and what she wants her own future to hold.

GLASGOW, 1976. Life in the tenements of Shettleston is a daily struggle. You need your wits about you to survive, and your friends. Senga has both in spades: she is part of the Shettleston ‘menage’ alongside her friends Bunty, Sandra, Philomena and Isa, and whatever life hands to them – cheating husbands, poverty, illness, threats and abuse – they throw something back just as hard. These women are strong because they need to be. And they never, ever walk away in times of crisis – as Sharon is about to find out.

I don’t want to shock anyone but I preordered this book and read it during the month in which it was received. I’m feeling very proud right now. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gave it a hearty 4 stars (4.5 on StoryGraph because I love a half star).

I am a huge fan of Janey Godley and I enjoy her comedy a great deal. She, to me, feels like a natural storyteller and this made me feel a little apprehensive about reading this book. I wasn’t sure if a skill for storytelling on social media would translate to fiction and I feel like it really did.

I can’t resist a dual narrative tale. It’s very much something that I really enjoy. This was sort of dual narrative as the chapters flipped between Sharon in the modern day and Senga’s diary entries from the 1970s. It’s so long since I’ve read a book that relied on diary entries and this brought me back to my youth when I enjoyed Adrian Mole. I didn’t expect to get the warm and fuzzy glow of nostalgia from this book but the diary format gave me just that.

This was a very quick read. It was written in a very conversational way which made it so easy to read 100 pages before realising that you’d just read 100 pages. While it’s not important for me to enjoy the characters in a story, I loved the characters in this book. I especially loved all of the women from the 1970s diary entries. While this book was filled with moments of laughter, it also had moments of sadness with the women experiencing great difficulties such as poverty, domestic violence, alcoholism etc. This book could so easily have been a very depressing read but it felt full of hope. Those women were just so strong and supportive of each other and this made my heart so happy.

I really enjoyed the way that the diary seemed to help Sharon deal with her marriage coming to an end. I would like to say that if you’re on a break and your husband is off getting romantic with a yoga teacher, that’s probably more of a break up than a break. It was basically like accidental therapy for Sharon.

I loved the element of mystery that arose from the diary entries. I did see the reveal coming but I didn’t mind that because I enjoyed the journey to the reveal. It wasn’t a huge spoiler (to me, from me).

I am very much a fan of having old lady characters in fiction. Perhaps because I never had grandparents, I just love a wee old lady character! This book was filled with them and this made me so happy.

I have never read any fiction by this author before as this was their first fiction book but it was a really enjoyable, at times, emotional read. I’d definitely read more from them. Also, the diary was written in a big red book…and the hardback, when removed from the jacket (I can’t read a hardback while in it’s jacket) was also red! Coincidence or design? I’m not sure but I loved that!

Reviews

Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl

Caley Kapowski

Monique is a preacher’s daughter who detests the impossible rules of her religion. Everyone expects her to wait until marriage, so she has no one to turn to when she discovers that she physically can’t have sex.

After two years of trying and failing, her boyfriend breaks up with her. To win him back, Monique teams up with straight-laced church girl Sasha–who is surprisingly knowledgeable about Monique’s condition–as well as Reggie, the misunderstood bad boy who always makes a ruckus at church, and together they embark upon a top-secret search for the cure.

While on their quest, Monique discovers the value of a true friend and the wonders of a love that accepts her for who she is. Despite everyone’s opinions about her virtue, she learns to live for herself, inspiring us all to reclaim our bodies and unapologetically love ourselves.

This book was an absolute delight to read. When I started the book, I wasn’t too sure about it as the mum and boyfriend seemed to be just awful, like your classic mean mum and manipulative boyfriend. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to get past that. I needn’t have worried as by 8% I was hooked and I realised that first impressions of some of the characters were not accurate.

I absolutely loved Monique and how much she grew as a character. I really liked Sasha and totally understood her character and she felt super relatable. Reggie was silly and fun and I think 17 year old me would have wanted to be his friend. I loved the friendship story and it felt so authentic and was really supportive and sweet.

The amount of strong female representation in this book made me just so happy! Monique’s mum didn’t make a good first impression on me but by the middle/last third of the book I was cheering her on. I also absolutely adored Monique’s auntie and Reggie’s mum, it was so nice having their friendship along with the teenage friendship.

I got so annoyed during this book as some of the actions of the characters were so terrible yet were so realistic. I was enraged by Monique’s father. Monique’s (ex) boyfriend was a sleazy sleazebag and I could see that straight away. I think that’s the perk of being an adult reading Young Adult, I can see situations with my adult eyes when I know 100% I fell for some ridiculous lines in my teens (and 20s).

This book covered some very serious topics and raised awareness of a condition that affects many people who don’t even realise that it is a thing. I genuinely think that this book could change lives. I think that the way that this book discussed sex was really healthy. This is a book that I would definitely encourage my step kids to read when they’re a little older as it was a really good story about attitude towards sex and knowing your own body.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book and will be looking out for more books by this author as I lived their characters and their writing left me feeling warm and fuzzy. I also happy cried during this book.

Reviews, Scottish Reads

Vicky Romeo Plus Joolz

Caley Kapowski

Enter Vicky Romeo: lover, actor, bullshitter. Romeo is a slick, serial heartbreaker who is determined to land the lead in an all-women rendition of The Importance of Being Earnest. She thinks she has life figured out, but then she falls in love…

Enter Julie Turner aka Joolz: sexy, sarcastic, femme fatale and a cheerleader to boot. Stamping on hearts and traditional stereotypes she plays girls like Vicky Romeo at their own game.

Set in Glasgow in 2001, our heroines and their cohorts take on the world one incredibly gay step at a time.

I picked this book up when I was in Category Is Books, in Glasgow, at the start of the month. I’m still basking in the pride of reading a book in the month that I bought it. This has very much been the month for it but I have no faith in my ability to keep that up. I absolutely adored this book, I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads but it would have been 4.5 if Goodreads allowed halves.

This book was prefaced by a statement from the author who said that the book was written in 2001 which is the year that it was set. The attitudes and terminology used are that of the scene at the time and the book would have been totally different were it written today. I appreciated this because otherwise I’d have probably been a bit put off by some of the attitudes. As this book was about a community that I wasn’t part of in 2001, I’m taking the author’s word.

I absolutely loved that this was a story about a romance between Vicky Romeo and Julia Turner as I loved the nod towards Romeo and Juliet. While there is drama in this book, it’s very much not a rewrite of Romeo and Juliet. It was very much it’s own romance. It was a quite sweet romance which I really enjoyed.

At first I didn’t really like either of the main characters. I thought that Vicky Romeo was arrogant and reminded me so much of an old flatmate who used to boast about never being turned down by a romantic partner…and then one time they were and they were a wreck as they’d never faced rejection. However as the book went on, I could see through their shell and she was a sweetheart who just wanted to love and be loved and really wasn’t as confident as they appeared. Joolz annoyed me at first as they seemed to be playing games with Vicky despite saying they weren’t their type. There was a great deal of her being hot one moment and blanking her the next. Although I had to remind myself that these characters were 20/21 .

I really liked the strong parental role models in this book. I loved Mama Romeo and Sam! There were a lot of side characters that I did get a bit confused with. I enjoyed Kat but I didn’t like the other flatmate.

There were a few twists and turns in this book that I just did not see coming. They were very well done and really helped to make the characters feel real. I feel like I could have been friends with these people, I’d have gone to see their play!

I absolutely loved the setting of 2001 Glasgow. I loved the references to Nokia phones and a whole bunch of scenes in an Internet cafe. It was very nostalgic in places.

This was my second book by Ely Percy and it won’t be my last. I’m adding them to my autobuy author list! I’m so glad that I didn’t wait too long to read this book because I really did enjoy it.

Reviews, Vlogs

A Week of Reading and Disliking a Hyped Book 🙀

Caley Kapowski

Last week I decided to start my bookclub book a little early. This was due to my bookclub book being a memoir, Educated by Tara Westover. I expected that this book might be a little upsetting so I decided to sandwich it between some books that felt likely to spark joy. I have a large collection of books that sound like they might be heartwarming and last week they got a chance to shine.

This week I read:

Empress and Aniya- Candice Carty-Williams

Call Me Maybe – Cara Bastone

Educated – Tara Westover

You Should See Me in a Crown – Leah Johnson

I really think that this is the perfect way for me to read books that are potentially sad or distressing. I need to read books that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.