April Quick Reviews

Here are some mini-reviews for a couple of the books I read in April!

Wasted Words by Staci Hart (2016)

Two roommates (a big, brawny ex-football player and a tiny, delicate bookworm) friend-zone each other until they finally admit their feelings.  This was a cute, fluffy romance, and sometimes you just need that!  If you love bookworm characters like I do, you'll love Cam.  Tyler was the perfect book boyfriend, manly but also a softy at times.  I think this book had some good messages about how having a "type" when it comes to relationships can make you miss out on someone great, although at times it relied heavily on cliches and stereotypical characters, and Cam's self-doubt when it came to Tyler was too over-the-top.  Overall, though, a fun friends-to-lovers romance!  4 stars

 I'm Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagán (2019)

Penelope is overwhelmed with her life - two rowdy children, a career she's good at but doesn't love, and a husband who's perpetually underemployed.  When tragedy strikes her best friend's family, she realizes she needs to make changes in her own life.

I found this book to be so relatable.  I think many of us are just kind of getting through the daily grind, and too often it takes something momentous to make us really take a hard look at our lives.  In the wake of tragedy, Penelope realizes she needs to make honesty a priority in all areas of her life, deal with her issues, and find out what makes her truly happy.  I love Pagán's writing; it's so readable that the pages just fly by.  Although this book was a little darker and deeper than I expected (especially from the cover), I found the story to be smart and thought-provoking.  4 stars

A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier (2017)

Seventeen-year-old Sophie is an intern at a luxury hotel in the Swiss Alps.  She's just trying to get her duties done (and maybe flirt a little), when she gets swept up in the lives of the guests and finds herself on a bit of an adventure.

I thought this was a super cute book that would be perfect to read on a snowy day.  I loved the hotel setting and learning a little about the ins and outs of working at such a place.  There were quite a few characters, between the employees and the guests, but it never really got confusing - each character was very unique.  I felt like this trended towards the younger end of YA; Sophie and a lot of the other teenage characters acted very young, from the childish bullying and name-calling they used.  The pacing was, unfortunately, pretty bad.  I kept waiting for something big to happen, and it took until nearly the end of the book. But, if you're looking for an easy, quick, sweet read, try this one.  4 stars