The Connelly's of County Down by Tracey Lange

 

My Rating: 4.6

When Tara Connelly is released from prison after serving eighteen months on a drug charge, she knows rebuilding her life at thirty years old won’t be easy. With no money and no prospects, she returns home to live with her siblings, who are both busy with their own problems.

Despite this dealing with some heavy issues, it was actually very light and easy to read. It felt part beach read and part romance...and I loved it! 

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

My Rating:4.6

Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art. Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet. Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.

This was a light, fluffy, easy romance with a few twists - and absolutely the perfect antidote to these crazy times! I loved Tiffy and Leon and the varying chapters told in each of their voices. The audio version was excellent.

Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My Rating: 3.2

Having recently moved back to L.A., Hannah goes out on the town with her best friend Gabby. She reconnects with her old boyfriend Ethan. Then the plot splits into two storylines - like Sliding Doors. In one version, she goes home with Gabby and in another version she goes home with Ethan. It goes back and forth between each version of the story.

This is a fluffy easy read and follows the author's format of her early books. It doesn't compare with her current books (Daisy Jones & The Six or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo ) which I hope are indicative of the new direction she is going with her writing but, it was a fun light read.

Things You Save In A Fire by Katherine Center

My Rating: 4.7

Cassie is one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse. She's a total pro at other people's tragedies, but when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own. Cassie reluctantly decides to move and embarks on a new firehouse, a new relationship and a new journey.

At times, this was a little off the meter for me on the romance scale but, overall I enjoyed it. I felt that it brought the firehouse to life and I really enjoyed that. Although Cassie's relationships - with her mother, with the rookie and others - was rather predictable, it wasn't so cheezy as to lose me. A very enjoyable read.

One Day In December by Jose Silver

My Rating: 4.0

Laurie is on the bus and at a stop, she makes eye contact with a man that she knows is 'the one'. She spends almost a year with her best friend Sarah looking for 'bus boy'. She is trying to come to terms with never finding him and instead is thrilled that Sarah has met the man of her dreams - Jack. When Laurie finally meets Jack, he is 'bus boy'.

Part of me loved this. I fell in love with Laurie, Sarah and Jack and the many twists and turns of their lives. I loved that this was told from all three of their perspectives (I definitely saw Hugh Grant as Jack!). Another part of me felt this had a cheezy Harlequin Romance feel but thankfully that was only for a very small part of the book. This was a sweet endearing story of star crossed lovers, friendship and fate. Definitely recommend the audio version.

Side Note: this is my first and only book I have added to the 'romance' category.