Book Review - More Than Maybe

From Goodreads: Growing up under his punk rocker dad's spotlight, eighteen-year-old Luke Greenly knows fame and wants nothing to do with it. His real love isn't in front of a crowd, it's on the page. Hiding his gift and secretly hoarding songs in his bedroom at night, he prefers the anonymous comfort of the locally popular podcast he co-hosts with his outgoing and meddling, far-too-jealousy-inspiringly-happy-with-his-long-term-boyfriend twin brother, Cullen. But that’s not Luke’s only secret. He also has a major un-requited crush on music blogger, Vada Carsewell.

Vada's got a five year plan: secure a job at the Loud Lizard to learn from local legend (and her mom's boyfriend) Phil Josephs (check), take over Phil's music blog (double check), get accepted into Berkeley's prestigious music journalism program (check, check, check), manage Ann Arbor's summer concert series and secure a Rolling Stone internship. Luke Greenly is most definitely NOT on the list. So what if his self-deprecating charm and out-of-this-world music knowledge makes her dizzy? Or his brother just released a bootleg recording of Luke singing about some mystery girl on their podcast and she really, really wishes it was her?

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My Thoughts: Oh Erin Hahn, how do you capture music loving teens so well? I adored You'd Be Mine and was looking forward to More Than Maybe from the moment I heard the synopsis. It did not disappoint!

Vada and Luke are such perfectly written characters. They're complex but realistic, driven but still insecure, they feel real but still like characters you can aspire to. They're surrounded by side characters you genuinely end up caring about and spend so much time in a place I want to be. Someone take me to the Loud Lizard now!

Basically what I'm saying is this, if you love fun, real, authentic characters who love music, their people, and the dreams they've made for the future then this book is for you. Order it now and thank me later.

I received a review copy from the publisher but all thoughts are my own.

Book Review - Sunshine on Silver Lake

From Goodreads: Welcome back to Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina for a heartwarming second-chance romance between a quirky café owner and a handsome park ranger.

With summer just around the corner, Emma St. James is eagerly planning a 5K run at Sweetwater Springs National Park. But first she needs the help of one charming, rugged, and handsome park ranger. Her brief high school romance with Jack Hershey may have ended in heartbreak, but Emma can't deny that he still gives her butterflies. So when Jack responds to her request with an all-too-tempting plea to pretend to be his girlfriend for the summer, how can she say no?


Jack would do anything for his sister -- even pretend to give up his bachelor life to care for his nephew. Passing his days with his high school sweetheart guarantees one long, hot summer -- but only because every moment together leaves him wanting a real relationship. He can't imagine spending another season without Emma by his side. Can he convince her to give their love a second chance before the summer draws to a close?

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My Thoughts: It's so great to be back in Sweetwater Springs! Annie Rains has created such an amazing little town, filled with amazing characters you can't help but love. It was so great to get to dive deeper into Emma's life after seeing her as a supporting character in the other books in this series. It's nice to have a little bit of an idea of who someone is and then get to see them open up and show you their whole story. And it was fantastic getting to meet Jack and learn about the history between these two and get to watch them try to figure out how they wanted to navigate having each other in their lives while figuring out all of the other details of their lives.

Annie has another lovely, fun, sweet hit on her hands with this one!

I received a review copy from the publisher but all opinions are my own.