What a week for great books! I devoured some of my favorite books of the year this week, and that’s saying a lot considering I’ve read over 200 titles in 2021! Six 5-stars, a 4-star, and a 3-star read this week. Let’s recap!

First, I went back and read Melanie Harlow’s Bellamy Creek Series: Drive Me Wild, Make Me Yours, Call Me Crazy, and Tie Me Down. I accidentally read Make Me Yours in December 2020, not realizing it was part of a series. I love this group of four best guy friends, who each find their happily ever afters. This series brings real life struggles with book-ish romance. From being broke and working really hard to keep the family business afloat, to the loss of a spouse, to crazy Italian Catholic families and infertility, to best friends, to abandonment issues, these four books remind the reader what it’s like to be consumed by love. With friends that are family, these stories really hit you right where you feel it. In addition, each leading lady added something new and beautiful to their love stories, bringing their complexities and own failures to their relationships. Plus, I love that all the ladies are strong in their own way.

Rating: Overall, this whole series gets a solid 5-stars. I would pick up each book and read them again tomorrow if my TBR list wasn’t so long. All of these books are available on Kindle Unlimited!

Next, I read Fake by Kylie Scott. This book is a really sweet story about Norah, a waitress, and Patrick, an actor, who enter a relationship of convenience to clean up Paddy’s reputation. What starts as a working relationship slowly transforms into a relationship with real care for one another. Norah’s just the dose of reality that Patrick needs to keep him grounded, and Patrick’s busy lifestyle gets Norah out of her routine.

Rating: This was a 5-star read for me. I fell in love with the balance between these two characters. Every girl dreams of being swept off her feet by her famous crush, but Norah brought the maturity of a 30-year-old to the equation. I could easily insert myself into this story and found myself really appreciating the adult responses to some pretty out-there events (a stalker, a red carpet, a famous affair, just to name a few). This is the start of a series for Scott, and I couldn’t be more excited for the next installment!

Once again, I jumped into a series mid-book with The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez. Another Celebrity-Falls-For-Normal-Girl book that I simply loved. Jason’s dog, Tucker, nearly gets hit by Sloan’s car somewhere on the streets of L.A., and then literally hops through the sunroof. Talk about the cutest meet-cute. Sloan repeatedly calls the number on Tucker’s collar, leaving message after message, day after day, until the voicemail box is full. It turned out that Jason was exploring New Zealand, trying to find his musical muse while working through some song-writer’s block. By the time Jason turns his phone back on, Sloan’s had two weeks to bond with Tucker, who quickly drags Sloan out of a rut by helping her to heal from the death of her financé near the two-year anniversary of his death. Sloan makes Jason prove his love for Tucker before Sloan agrees to return him. Over the course of phone conversations and text messages, Jason gets Sloan to agree to a meet-up, which leads to dating, which leads to taking this relationship on tour… oh yeah, Jason’s a rock star. Both characters show a deep love for one another, sacrificing needs and wants for the other person. These two shine in their ability to show selfless love, not only to each other, but to their friends and family.

Rating: This is a 5-star read for sure. I originally ordered this on sale for my Kindle, but ended up buying a paperback copy during Prime Days because I loved it so much. I also scored the first and third books in this series and can’t wait to read about the other characters!

I devoured Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne in a day. I loved The Hating Game, so I had high hopes for this novel. Ruthie is a live-in office administrator in a fancy retirement community, where no one judges her for dressing like a 90-year-old woman who runs an online forum for the 90s television drama Heaven Sent (a.k.a. 7th Heaven!). Raised by a reverend herself, Ruthie struggles to get over some of the limitations from her past. Her boss leaves on vacation, which means Ruthie’s in charge of the entire retirement community. On one outing for a pair of residents, Ruthie saves a tall, dark, and handsome, man-bun-wearing, motorcycle driving, tattooed stranger who happens to be the son of the new owner of Providence Retirement Community. Theodore moves on-site to live rent-free in the other half of Ruthie’s duplex. Ruthie finally has friends her own age and is able to come out of her shell, and she learns to thrive by being herself. I loved the breakthrough she experienced to see the world through her 25-year-old eyes.

Rating: This is a solid 4-star read. It’s got a sweet storyline and loveable characters.

My final read this week was actually a re-read of Perfect For You by Kate Perry. This is a 3-star read for me. Published in 2013, I really enjoyed this book the first time through, but it left something to be desired this time. The characters needed further development, and I felt like there were feelings that the reader didn’t experience through words or actions.

What are you reading this week?