Book – Page 5 – World of Bai

Book Review: “Caught Up” By Liz Tomforde

This is my Review for the third book in the “Windy City” Series by Liz Tomforde. This series has quickly became one of my favorites. The characters are so well written that they have me falling for each and every one of them!

I read this book about a month ago so I figured today, the one year anniversary of its publishing, would be the perfect day to release this review!

“You said it was my choice if I wanted to live up to expectations, and I do. But now, the only expectations I’m going to worry about are the ones I set for myself. And the only expectations I have for myself are to be happy and to chase the things I want.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

My “Windy City” Series Reviews

Mile High – By Liz Tomforde

The Right Move – By Liz Tomforde

Play Along – Liz Tomforde

About The Book

Author: Liz Tomforde

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Published Date: October 10th, 2023

Page count: 408 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.44

Format: E-Book

“How the hell am I supposed to forget what her laugh sounds like? What her lips taste like? I want her. Fuck, do I want her.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Synopsis

Kai

I’m a single dad and starting pitcher for Chicago’s MLB team.
I’m stretched too thin, but I don’t want help raising my son.

Each of his previous nannies only lasted a few weeks before I let them go.
Now, my coach is putting his foot down by hiring the one person I can’t fire—his daughter.

Miller Montgomery is the last woman I should fall for. Too wild, too young, and too unattached.

Chicago is just a quick stop for her. I thought I’d be counting down the days until she left, but summer feels too short when I start thinking about forever.

Miller

As a high-end pastry chef who recently won the most prestigious award in my industry, I’m desperate to prove I deserve it. But with a new title comes new pressure, and I can’t create a fresh and inspiring dessert to save my life.

With only two months to get back on track, I should be focusing in the kitchen, but instead, I let my dad talk me into using my time off to nanny for his star player’s kid.

Kai Rhodes forgot how to have fun, and I’m eager to jog his memory. But when he and his son start to feel like home, I have to remind us both that my time in Chicago ends with the summer.

Besides, I’ve always been a runner, and the last thing I want is to get caught.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Know what’s better than being the best at something you don’t love?
Being mediocre at something you do.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Rating

“He’ll be on his hands and knees most of the time.” “As all men should be.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Review

Possible Small Spoilers Ahead
No surprises here, I of course rated this book Five Stars!

The surprise is that I actually enjoyed a book about Baseball. I am not a huge baseball fan, nine innings is just a tad too much for me. I just don’t find it the most entreating to watch. However, I would much rather go to a baseball game over a football game!

This book is the single dad trope, if I am being honest with you, I have only ever read one other book with this trope and I did enjoy it but this book handled this trope so well! I will be taking recs for any and all single dad tropes from here on out!

Kai only wants what’s best for his son and if that means leaving baseball behind then that’s just what he will do! But of course his team doesn’t want this so they have been very accommodating of his situation, But Kai can not find a nanny he trusts enough with his son. That is until Monty, the head coach, hires his daughter Miller as the nanny and Kai doesn’t have a choice but to let her stay.

Kai can be a bit of a grump but that is exactly why I love him! He might be kind of rough edged on the outside but on the inside he is a true sweetheart! He is everything I want from a male lead! This man is like a walking teddy bear that makes my heart melt. He truly cares so much about every person in his life but because of his past it is really hard to let new people in which made it so much fun to see him let down his guard and see him fall in love with his hot nanny!

Miller was not my favorite character at the start. She is pretty stand off ish so I guess that makes sense haha. She struggles being in one place for too long which we learn from the start so I knew that we would have a rough third act “Breakup” and if you know anything about me its that I hate a third act breakup. Luckily the way it was written I didn’t mind this one. I think the third act break up was more along the lines of this famous proverb , “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If not, it was never meant to be.”

Both of our main characters are highly successful adults who are truly independent people. Kai does have his found family to support him but he makes it clear that he is strong enough to handle his own problems but having someone like Miller by his side really brought out the best in him and ultimately brought some much needed joy to him and his sons lives.

This book really focuses on these characters goals and passions in life but what I love most is that it shows that even if you are passionate about your career you may not be happy with that life style. Miller is constantly trying to prove herself to people but most importantly herself. She sets unreasonable goals and expectations for her career because she is great at what she does but being the best at what you do isn’t nearly as rewarding as stepping back and finding joy in the basics again. Sometimes our expectations for ourselves can ruin our true happiness and you got to remove yourself from those situations and find where your true passion began and let go of some of your unrealistic goals to find yourself again.

“Pressure is a privilege, Miller. Expectations are high because you’re successful. If you were average, no one would be waiting on bated breath for you. I think about that every night I take the mound. You just have to decide if your dreams and goals are worth the pressure. If you want to live up to the expectations set for you.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

With every new book I pick up by this author the more and more I fall in love with her writing and character building. I leave each book with a deep love for her characters to the point where I get so sad when I finish her books. I really love that this world is interconnected so I can see everyone’s relationships grow and flourish. I hope you come back for my fourth review for this series “Play Along”, this will be my last review for this author until the fifth and final book comes out in April 2025, so stay tuned!

“I’m not telling you what you should or shouldn’t do with your life. I just don’t want you to be so afraid to fail at something new that it keeps you from finding your happiness when you’re the reason I found mine.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

QOTD: If you had to choose between Football and Baseball, Which do you like more?

“If you ever decide to stop running and make a home…” His eyes are begging, pleading. “Make it with me.”
Liz Tomforde, Caught Up

Book Review: “The Right Move” By Liz Tomforde

This is the Second book in the “Windy City” Series by Liz Tomforde. I loved the first book so much (See my Full Review Here) But I was a little hesitant to pick up the second. The first book was a hockey romance which is something I love but this one was a basketball romance which I honestly was not interested in. This made me not want to read the second book as I don’t understand the appeal of basketball. However, upon further review my first love was Troy Bolton the Basketball Star in High School Musical so apparently it was easy to slip back to that time of my life.

“His quiet love. It’s always the loudest.”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

My “Windy City” Series Reviews

Mile High – By Liz Tomforde

Caught Up – By Liz Tomforde

Play Along – Liz Tomforde

About The Book

Author: Liz Tomforde

Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing

Published Date: February 7th, 2023

Page count: 426 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.41

Format: E-Book

“At some point, I should probably tell her that my love language is whichever one she wants it to be so she can stop guessing. I’ll make sure that girl feels loved however she needs.”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

Synopsis

RYAN

She’s a distraction, that’s what she is.

I’m the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, and the last thing I needed this year was for Indy Ivers, my sister’s best friend, to move into my apartment. She’s messy, emotional, and way too tempting.

But when the team’s General Manager vocalizes his blatant disapproval of my promotion to Captain, referring to me as an unapproachable lone wolf with no work-life balance, I can’t think of a better way to convince him otherwise than pretending to date my outgoing roommate.

The only problem? Faking it feels far too natural.

Having a fake girlfriend wasn’t supposed to be messy but having Indy under my roof and in my bed is complicated, especially when she wants all the romantic parts of life that I could never give her.

INDY

I never imagined I’d be living with my best friend’s brother, NBA superstar Ryan Shay. Even more unbelievable? He needs me to act as his loving girlfriend who’s suddenly changed him into a friendly and approachable guy.

Because, well…he’s not. He’s controlling of his space and untrusting of others.

Our arrangement isn’t one-sided, though. I’m in a wedding coming up, one where every one of my childhood friends, including my ex-boyfriend, will be in attendance, and there’s no better date than my ex’s celebrity hero.

Blurred lines make it almost impossible to separate real from fake. Falling for my roommate was never part of the deal, especially when Ryan is quick to remind me that he doesn’t believe in love.

I’m a romantic and can’t help fantasizing that he’ll change, but soon enough, I find myself questioning if sharing a roof with my best friend’s brother was the right move after all

Synopsis From GoodReads

“This is practically a how-to manual on how to please a woman. How are more men not reading these?”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

Rating

“I know I don’t have your history, but I want your future.”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

Review

Possible Spoilers Ahead

Like I mentioned above, I was not excited to read a basketball romance but this book really surprised me! Maybe I don’t care too much about the sport as I was originally expected. A football romance might still be too much for me though…

This book follows Stevie’s best friend Indy who is down on her luck and needs a place to stay. Stevie’s brother Ryan now has an empty room so he reluctantly lets Indy stay with him while she saves up for her own place.

This was a really cute fake dating read. Ryan is very Type A and Indy is a walking hurricane, realistically these two would hate each other but with a little forced proximity romance was able to grow. They may have had to fake their relationship at first but it didn’t take long before their little crushes on one another overtook their fake dating. Essentially they were only lying to themselves.

The banter was amazing with these two! I was swooning practically every page, especially when they would talk about Indy’s romance books. Ryan is the walking/breathing book boyfriend that Indy had always dreamt of. Maybe this is why I really liked the book, I am a sucker for a man with book boyfriend potential!

My favorite part of this book is the list they made for one another to help them better themselves. Indy has issues being alone but being left by the man she thought she would marry really had her shook so Ryan was determined to help her learn how to be alone and think of herself for the first time in her life by creating her a list, top of the list was sleeping in her bed alone without a wall of pillows beside her acting as a makeshift person. I love that Ryan was so willing to help Indy even in the beginning when he wasn’t sure he wanted her in his space.

Overall, this book really had me hooked from the beginning and I was truly shocked at how much I loved it! I truly am a sucker for all the characters in this world and I can’t wait to read the rest!

“How else would you get to live a thousand lives in the span of only one? The beauty of fiction is that it makes you feel things on a visceral level. You can cry with those characters, laugh with them. It teaches you to look at another’s perspective, to have empathy. In nonfiction, you simply learn about something instead of feeling it.”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

QOTD: What Sports do you like to read about in your Sport Romances?

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest.”
Liz Tomforde, The Right Move

Book Review: “Mile High” By Liz Tomforde

This is a the first book in the Windy City Series which has taken Booktok by storm! I kept seeing this book all over my FYP for months! I told myself its probably over hyped and does not deserve my time… Man oh man was I wrong!
This book along with the next three in the series are all currently on Kindle Unlimited if you would like to give them a try!

“That maybe one day I will love this woman, and maybe somehow, she will find a way to love me.”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

My “Windy City” Series Reviews

The Right Move – By Liz Tomforde

Caught Up – By Liz Tomforde

Play Along – Liz Tomforde

About The Book

Author: Liz Tomforde

Publisher: Golden Boy Publishing

Published Date: June 4th, 2024

Page Count: 488 Pages

Main Genres: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.09

Format: E Book

“Being vulnerable and authentic is scary, man. Terrifying. But to the people who matter to you, the ones you’ve shown your true self to, they love you unconditionally. Why not let others love you unconditionally too? At least give them a chance to.”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

Synopsis

ZANDERS

Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me – everyone’s favourite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons, or if it’s more than that.

STEVIE

I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d seen it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again . . . no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“There’s only so much oxygen on an airplane. I don’t want his ego to suffocate the rest of us. You know, safety and all that shit.”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

Rating

“It hurts a whole lot less to be hated when you’re not being yourself than it does not to be loved for who you are,”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

Review

**Small Spoilers Possible**

This book was wonderful right from the start! I have been really into hockey the past year so following a hockey player was right up my alley but the part that surprised me the most was how much I enjoyed following the point of view of a flight attendant. This was a really great dynamic that caused forced proximity and I just ate it all up!

Stevie is quite insecure about her body which I would say is a trigger warning to be aware of. A lot of the book focuses on her thoughts and perceptions of herself and what others are going to think about the way her body looks. I think the book handles this insecurity very well but regardless it was hard to read these parts at times. Her mother plays a huge part as to why she has these insecurities which makes me so sad! You should love your children despite of the way their bodies look.

Stevie may have some insecurities about her body but Zander loves every inch of it! The fact that he practically worships this woman despite of her insecurities really had me swooning for him! But Zanders is not free from his own troubles. His family life is also not so great coming from divorced parents which causes his own insecurities in relationships. He needs a woman who is going to pick him and stay with him but how can he trust that they won’t up and leave him much like his mother did in his formative years.

Both of our characters are struggling in their own ways and the way Liz Tomforde wrote these struggles really worked! I felt like I could feel every emotion as if I were the characters themselves. This is a very big reason why I fell in love with this book. The struggles they each have felt like things typical people would face which in turn makes the book relatable.

I really hope you guys give this book and series a try if you haven’t already!

“Stevie,” Zanders says. “You following me?”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

QOTD: Do you plan on picking this series up? – or – if you have read it already what did you rate it?

“You don’t have to love your body every single day. That’s unrealistic to expect, but I’ll be here loving it for the days you can’t.”
Liz Tomforde, Mile High

Book Review: “The Grandest Game” By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Inheritance Games series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes have been some of my favorite books this year. Wow, it’s crazy to think I have read all of those this year… this is unheard of from me.. Anyways, its just proof that her books are amazing! When I found out the first book in her break off series “The Grandest Game” was being released I was so stoked! I went and picked it up the week it came out. It may have taken me a few weeks to actually pick it up and read but I read this in two sittings leaving me to finish the book at 1 AM on a work night! Yet another unheard of thing for me, as I love my sleep!

Ok, lets save some of my feelings for my actual review haha.

“Trying to write trick questions backfires if the person taking the test knows how to look for tricks.”
Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Grandest Game

About The Book

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Little Brown Books

Published Date: July 30th, 2024

Page Count: 384 Pages

Main Genres: Mystery, YA

GoodReads Rating: 4.04

Format: Physical Book

“Some people can make mistakes, make amends, and move on. And some of us live with each and every mistake we make carved into us, into hollow places we don’t know how to fill.”
Jennifer Lynn Barnes , The Grandest Game

Synopsis

Seven tickets. An island of dreams. The chance of a lifetime.

Welcome to the Grandest Game, an annual competition run by billionaire Avery Grambs and the four infamous Hawthorne brothers, whose family fortune she inherited. Designed to give anyone a shot at fame and fortune, this year’s game requires one of seven golden tickets to enter. With millions on the line, those seven players will do whatever it takes to win.

Some of the players are in it for the money. Some for power. Some for reasons all their own. Every single one of them has secrets. Amidst it all is Grayson Hawthorne, tasked with a vital role in this year’s game. But as tensions rise and the mind-bending challenges push the players to their limits—physically, mentally, and emotionally—it soon becomes clear that not everyone is playing by the rules.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Sometimes, in the games that matter most, the only way to really play is to live.”
Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Grandest Game

Rating

Review

I don’t want to cause any spoilers so before I move on just know that I recommend reading “The Inheritance Games” Series in full before starting this break off series. As many of these characters are returning characters with a few newbies sprinkled in. I will do my best not to spoil anything in my review but this is you warning to only go on in this review if you are ok with very mild spoilers.

Ok now that the formalities are over, lets begin this review!

I loved nearly every part of this book! I am used to the Inheritance games swapping POV’s so I expected that of this book going into it. However, I was not ready for three POV’s one of which being a new character we briefly even knew existed. Because we weren’t following Avery or one of the Hawthorne boys this book started off a bit slow for me. It took time for me to get used to these newer characters and their stories so the begging of the book did drag a bit for me. But once we actually got into the book and The Grandest Game actually started I was hooked!

Each characters POV brought something new and exciting to the story. They each had their own reasons to win the games and even grew to understand one another’s reasons, starting out as enemies but ending, in some cases as friends. I say ending as if the story is over… Little did I know this book would end in a cliffhanger! This was only part one of the games…

With every twist and turn this book presented our characters were faced with new challenges that just kept the book moving! The chapters were short but always ended in a place that left you wanting to know more. This is a huge reason why I was able to read this book so fast! I had to know how all the puzzles were solved and where the drama would take us next.

I found myself trying to figure out the riddles before they could answer them which gave me like 6-10 (Short) chapters to find the answer. Did I ever solve one? No, I did not, not even close haha. But when they solved the riddles I was like “Oh wow, that makes so much sense!” Jennifer Lynn Barnes really knows how to write a mystery book, she has really taken her place as one of my all time favorite authors!

I hope you guys will give her books a try as they are totally worth it! This is coming from someone who doesn’t read YA much anymore because I feel like it reads too young. But her writing is so well done that sometimes I even forget it’s YA! Let me know if you have already read these books as I would love to chat with someone about these.

“I have spent my entire life being fine when I wasn’t. I know the price. I know what it’s like to bear that prince with every cell in your body. It isn’t worth it.”
Jennifer Lynn Barnes, The Grandest Game

QOTD: What is your favorite YA?

Book Review Battle: “The Last Mrs. Parish” By Liv Constantine Vs. “The Housemaid” By Freida McFadden

Welcome to my First ever Book Review Battle!

This idea came accidentally. I personally never wanted to read “The Housemaid” due to alleged Plagiarism allegations that I have heard from Booktok and Booktube, I had no clue what the original book was when I first picked these up, it was just happenstance that I read “The Housemaid” and then Immediately picked up “The Last Mrs. Parish”. Only a few chapters into “The Last Mrs. Parish” I realized I was basically reading the same book as the one I had just finished. I went to my favorite Booktuber @HaileyHughes and watched her Freida McFadden Taste test Video and she mentions the comparison. Let me just tell you that the comparison is a bit uncanny and I am here to tell you all my thoughts and opinions.

This blog post may be one of a kind here but if I find other similar books I may do this again. Send any recommendations that you have!

Spoilers Ahead

About The Books

Publisher: Harper

Published Date: October 17th, 2017

Page Count: 400 Pages (Kindle)

Genre: Thriller

Format Read: E-Book

GoodReads Rating: 3.97

Publisher: Bookouture

Published Date: April 26th, 2022

Page Count: 338 Pages (Kindle)

Genre: Thriller

Format Read: E-Book

GoodReads Rating: 4.33

“The Last Mrs. Parish” Synopsis

Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn’t have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

Synopsis From Goodreads

“The Housemaid” Synopsis

“Welcome to the family,” Nina Winchester says as I shake her elegant, manicured hand. I smile politely, gazing around the marble hallway. Working here is my last chance to start fresh. I can pretend to be whoever I like. But I’ll soon learn that the Winchesters’ secrets are far more dangerous than my own…

Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.

I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.

I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.

But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.

They don’t know what I’m capable of…

Synopsis From GoodReads

Disclaimer

I want to start my review of these two books by saying once again, These are my opinions and any talk about similarities/plagiarism is all alleged. I ask that you take what I say with a grain of salt and make your own opinions through your own research and reading.

Thank you

When reading the synopsis of both books I don’t feel like you see too many similarities. The biggest similarity is that a seemingly down on her luck girl makes acquaintances with a rich family and ultimately intertwines her life with theirs. At that point it sounds more like a similar trope. You may pick up “The Housemaid” because you really enjoyed “The Last Mrs. Parish” or vice versa hoping to read a book that has a similar vibe only to get 15% into the book and realize that something feels oddly familiar. By the time you make it 50% of the way through and you hit part two in both books you will realize they both flip to the wife’s perspective and she lays out her whole plot line that reveals the big twist!

The character motivations are almost Identical for each character. Why don’t we break them down one by one.

Amber (Main Character in “The Last Mrs. Parish”) is an ex convict who finds a new rich best friend and convinces her to get her a job within the husbands company so she can work with him directly and make him fall in love with her. Millie (Main Character in “The Housemaid”) is an ex convict who needs a job to stay afloat in her life, she ends up working for a rich family and just so happens to fall in love with the rich husband.

These characters are probably the most different out of the ones I will be discussing.

They both end up as the victims in these books but the big difference is how they ultimately found their way into this trap. Amber knew she wanted Jackson, she studied him and his family and basically targeted them all so she could be the wife of the rich CEO and live a lavish life that she felt she deserved. Whereas, Millie was just looking for a good job so she could afford to live somewhere that wasn’t her car and ended up being handpicked by her employer knowing that Millie would end up falling in love with her psychopathic husband and ultimately take her place as his victim.

I never felt bad for Amber but Millie on the other hand really deserved better! Amber is immediately coming off as the villain while Millie is just down on her luck and finds herself in a sticky situation.

Daphne (Wife in “The Last Mrs. Parish”) is A nice woman who marries the wrong guy and has to find a way out of her marriage to protect her and her children. She comes off as a really great friend who has a hidden agenda. Nina (wife in “The Housemaid”) is A seemingly horrible woman who in the end is actually a very nice lady who had to act horrible to save her and her child from her horrible husband.

The difference with these characters is the way they initially present themselves. Nina comes off crazy but really it is all an act to get Millie to take her place as Andrews Wife/victim. Whereas, Daphne is a sweet woman who realizes she’s being used by Amber so why not get something out of it and help Amber and Jackson get together so she can finally be rid of her abusive husband. Ultimately these woman had the same motive just different ways to accomplish their plans.

Jackson (Husband in “The Last Mrs. Parish”) is A Seemingly perfect husband and father who owns his own company and turns out to be a psychopath. Andrew (Husband in “The Housemaid”) is A Seemingly perfect husband and father who owns his own company and turns out to be a psychopath.

These are the most identical characters between the two books.

The biggest difference in these characters is that Andrew literally locks his wife, and later on Millie, in the attic and forces them to do punishments in order to be let out. Whereas, Jackson mostly just emotionally abuses the women and occasionally will hold a gun to their head. So yes, there is a slight difference in the escalation these men take throughout the book but the root of the problem is having a perfect wife/life and if the women don’t live up to these expectations then they will be punished. Both men in these books had their wives committed to a mental health institution for supposedly causing harm to their children when truthfully they are both good mothers.

I ended up rating both of these books exactly the same, 2.5 Stars, because they both fell short in my opinion. I do think “The Housemaid” had a better plot twist but in my opinion the writing felt very repetitive and I was quite bored with the book till the 50% mark came along and the plot twist was revealed. With “The Last Mrs. Parish” I thought the writing was great and I was interested in the first 50% of the book but the plot twist didn’t quite live up to “The Housemaid” which ultimately dropped my rating significantly. This leads me to believe that if I had read “The Last Mrs. Parish” before I had read “The Housemaid” I probably would have rated it higher which is unfortunate because it was written first and was ripped off by “The Housemaid” in my honest opinion.

I advise you to read these and make your own opinions as you may not agree with me and that is ok. Everything mentioned here in my article is based on my own opinion and all plagiarism suspicions are alleged but I will not be swayed from this and will not be reading any more Frieda McFadden books no matter how great people tell me they are.

Thank you for reading this, I appreciate you!

Book Review: “Bridgerton: The Duke & I” By Julia Quinn

I am not a historical reader at all but all the hype over the TV show got me really excited over the idea of reading historical romances. I ended up finishing the first two books while I was on vacation and spoiler alert, I loved them! This honestly surprised me haha.

“Men are sheep. Where one goes, the rest will soon follow.
-Lady Whistledown”
― Julia Quinn, The Duke and I

About The Book

Author: Julia Quinn

Publisher: Avon Books

Published Date: January 5th, 2000

Page Count: 384 Pages

Genres: Historical Romance, Historical Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.8

Format: Physical

“And if you say that’s because you lot barged into her home like a herd of mentally deficient sheep, I’m disowning all three of you.”
― Julia Quinn, The Duke and I

Synopsis

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable… but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule…

Synopsis From GoodReads

Book Rating

Season One TV Rating

Review

First thing I want to talk about is that this book has a trigger warning near the end of the book that I was not ready for. It was a rape scene that truly took me by surprise and left me feeling uneasy, I wish that I would have looked up any possible triggers before reading it as this book probably could have been 5 stars if I knew to expect that trigger. Take care of your self when reading books and look up triggers before you pick one up.

I really loved Daphne and Simon, I felt like the fake dating in the book played out really well and had me rooting for them from the start. Where as season one of the TV show I actually didn’t care for the couple at all, I didn’t really feel them falling in love in the show and I think that was based on some of the changes they made for the adaptation. I also think its super hard to really grow a connection with characters in only 8 Episodes. Lets start a petition to bring back longer TV Seasons!

Now this isn’t me saying I didn’t like the first season of the TV show but I really have to think of them as separate things as I liked the book and I liked the show but I don’t like them when I compare them against one another. I feel like the TV show really helped expand on the other characters in the book rather than only focusing on the lead couple which I truly enjoyed. The book just left the side characters with hardly any story and I guess that’s because each sibling gets their own book but I would have loved to hear more from Eloise and the Featheringtons in the first book.

I really enjoyed the overall character arch’s for these main characters. Daphne wants to be loved and have a big family while Simon doesn’t want any of that all out of spite for his father. At first neither could give one another what they wanted but overtime as their love grew you could see their walls come crumbling down and overall help one another in their struggles. This is why I loved the book, Julia really made you feel their love and desire for one another and showed that if you love someone your entire life can change.

Lastly, I love Lady Whistledown! I think having this Mysterious Author is such a fun bit of gossip to keep you on your toes. I love that the books keep her identity a secret. I was not expecting the show to tell us so early on who Lady Whistledown was and that kind of upset me if I am being honest with you but this opinion may change as I continue with the books.

I do recommend reading the books before watching the TV show as I would with any other adaptation but at the same time it may leave you feeling conflicted as both are good in their own ways.

“There were rules among friends, commandments, really, and the most important one was Thou Shalt Not Lust After Thy Friend’s Sister.”
― Julia Quinn, The Duke and I

QOTD: Who is your Favorite Bridgerton Character?