Book – Page 5 – World of Bai

Book Review: “When She Returned” By Lucinda Berry

This book has been on my TBR for a few years. It was gifted to me by a friend so it honestly should have been read a long time ago. The synopsis of this book used one of my favorite key words “cult” so I was really excited to be reading this as my first spooky book of the season.

“The problem with having a fairy-tale relationship story was how much other people were invested in keeping the fairy tale alive. It wasn’t just our story—it was everyone’s.”
Lucinda Berry, When She Returned

About The Book

Author: Lucinda Berry

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Published Date: October 15th, 2019

Page Count: 239 Pages

Main Genere: Thriller

GoodReads Rating: 3.97

Format: Physical

“It’s just the small-town mentality of people not liking change and being resistant to anything that doesn’t fall within their traditional ideologies.”
Lucinda Berry, When She Returned

Synopsis

Kate Bennett vanished from a parking lot eleven years ago, leaving behind her husband and young daughter. When she shows up at a Montana gas station, clutching an infant and screaming for help, investigators believe she may have been abducted by a cult.

Kate’s return flips her family’s world upside down—her husband is remarried, and her daughter barely remembers her. Kate herself doesn’t look or act like she did before.

While the family tries to help Kate reintegrate into society, they discover truths they’ve been hiding from each other about their own relationships. But they aren’t the only ones with secrets. As the family unravels what happened to Kate, a series of shocking revelations shows that Kate’s return is more sinister than any of them could have imagined.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Once you’ve told a story so many times, it just becomes the truth.”
Lucinda Berry, When She Returned

Rating

Review

I have read one other book from this author “The Perfect Child” and that book was a 5 star read so I was really hopeful this one would be ranked high. But sadly I was actually wrong.

While I did enjoy the fact that this book was centered around a cult, I did find the plot very predictable.

I was struggling to find enough interest to keep me turning the page. I found my phone more interesting which really sucked! When I sit down with a thriller I am looking for a page turner, a book that I just can’t put down!

We had four main characters whom I liked enough at the beginning and understood the motivations behind them but towards the middle of the book I was finding the characters to be a bit annoying. I felt like we kept having the same conversations over and over again with nothing too exciting to add each time.

The best parts of this book were the “Then” flashbacks we got. I truly didn’t care for the “Now” Sections. Maybe I just want a full on cult book haha. But honestly I haven’t really liked dual timeline books in the past so I guess I am not that surprised.

Ultimately I probably will pick up another book by this author as I hope this was just an outlier in their writing or maybe my busy schedule just got in the way.

“One of the worst things you could do to someone in the midst of tragedy was to give them a cliche because the intensity of the loss was too big.”
Lucinda Berry, When She Returned

Book Review: “Wild and Wrangled” By Lyla Sage

This book is the conclusion to the Rebel Blue Ranch Series and I am so sad about that! We supposedly will be getting 2-3 novellas sometime in the future which is cool but that doesn’t change how sad I am that the main books are coming to a close. This series has really meant a lot to me and will be books that I re-read for years to come. Thank you Lyla for creating such relatable characters.

“I’ll love you until we’re dust, Camille Ashwood.”
Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Done and Dusted Review

About The Book

Author: Lyla Sage

Publisher: The Dial Press

Published Date: April 15th, 2025

Page Count: 368 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.03

Format: Physical Book

“The bravest thing you can do when you love someone is work hard to keep them—to hold on to them with everything you’ve got—and even when you loosen your grip, you don’t let go.”
Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Synopsis

Camille Ashwood had always loved a plan. Her latest was her best yet. She was going to get married so she could secure her daughter’s future, get her overbearing parents off her back, and finally start building her own life in small town Meadowlark, Wyoming. Easy, right?

But when her groom doesn’t show up to the wedding, Cam’s life is turned upside down—she doesn’t even have a place to live. That is, until she finds out the house she’s loved since high school is available to rent. There’s only one problem: the neighbor.

Dusty Tucker has spent nearly all of his adult life running. Running from what, though? More like who: Cam Ashwood. But ever since he returned home last year, the girl who was his first, well, everything has become a woman seemingly determined to keep him at arm’s length. And he was okay with that—at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. She was getting married, after all. But now she’s single and living next door. Dusty wants to show her that they can be friends, and that he can stay put.

Despite her best attempts to stay far away from Dusty Tucker, Cam realizes that being close to him is like slipping on her favorite jeans. Easy. Comfortable. That is until past wounds start to open and feelings—both old and new—wreak havoc. Nearly ten years after they first met, Dusty and Cam begin to wonder if their first love can also be their last. And this time, will it be forever?

Synopsis From Goodreads

“You know,” I said, “there are very few things that a mid-range chain restaurant can’t fix—especially one with chips and salsa and a sizzling fajita situation.”
Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Rating

“Dusty was my first everything, but not in just a first love way. He was my first real friend. He was the first person who cared enough to get to know me, who peeled back the layers I had drawn around myself and liked what they saw. He made me want to like myself, too.”
Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Review

This series has been one of my all time favorites that I have read in the last year. With that being said I was so upset that I just didn’t vibe with this book.

The more I read of second chance romance, especially ones that started in high school, I am just finding that this trope is not for me.

I personally found the romance lacking. I wanted to cheer them on but ultimately I found Cam kinda annoying which was strange to me because I really liked her in the few appearances we got of her in previous books.

Dusty was the star of the show in my eyes and did not deserve any of this. I loved his slutty crop top and just adore a man who is comfortable in his own skin. The care he also showed to Riley was precious!

By the time the ending of the book came around I was honestly shocked that there wasn’t more to the story. We got to see flashbacks of them growing up but didn’t really see or feel the romantic chemistry as much as I would have liked as they were adults. I think this is probably a very unpopular opinion but oh well.

“A mark on your heart and soul that refuses to fade, no matter how much time passes or how much you think you’ve changed.”
Lyla Sage, Wild and Wrangled

Book Review: “Say You’ll Remember Me” By Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez has quickly solidified herself as one of my all time favorite authors. I have listened to four of her books via audio now and they have all been amazing. Abby really knows how to pick some great narrators. One day I will get to her backlist!

“Good people attracting other good people.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

About The Book

Author: Abby Jimenez

Publisher: Hatchet

Published Date: April 1st, 2025

Page Count: 416 Pages

Main Genre: Roamnce

GoodReads Rating: 4.26

Format: Audio

“think we grow up and we either get harder or we get softer on our parents. We realize how fucked up they actually were or we give them a pass because adulting is hard and now we get it. They’re people and they make mistakes.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

Synopsis

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…

. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“You think that it’s the big memories you should be chasing—and it is in a way. Birthdays and vacations and special occasions. But the small memories are the fabric of your life, the ones so inconsequential that you don’t even remember them. You just remember how you felt when you were making them.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

Rating

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“I’d like to look back on my life and remember every single thing. But if I don’t, I hope I remember that it was a love story. And that the love story was about you.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

Review

I seriously devoured this Audiobook. I read it in one sitting which is usually really hard for me to do with audiobooks. The narrators were fantastic so I will for sure be looking for more things narrated by them.

This story was super cute and honestly quite informative. As sad as the topic of dementia was in this book I was really glad to see it represented here. I haven’t read any other book that talks about dementia that I can remember off of the top of my head so I don’t think it is widely represented and I think she did a pretty good job with the subject matter. It is really hard to see someone you love and care about slowly decline to the point where they don’t even remember you and this book really showed how this can affect the family dynamic. Nothing about dementia is easy or fun and if you and your family don’t work as a team then you can’t truly give your loved one the care they need.

Both characters had their own life struggles they had to go through whether it was present day or the things in the past that shaped them into the humans they are now. It was refreshing that both characters understood one another’s positions in life and that this didn’t cause any contention between the two of them. It felt really mature which was refreshing.

An a happier note, I loved that our main male lead was a vet! I am a sucker for animals and so his character really pulled at my heart strings. Honestly I think he could be a new front runner for a book boyfriend! The fact that he was willing to drop anything and everything to be there for her when she needed it despite the amount of distance between them had me swooning!

The long distance relationship trope is one I have not read before and I think Abby handled this really well. I honestly didn’t think I would have liked it as much as I did so I am going to be looking for more like this.

I really do recommend this book and I hope you guys love it just as much as I did!

“She couldn’t make more memories with me. But I could still make memories with her. I would be a witness to her life, even though she was done witnessing mine.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

QOTD: Have you read anything from Abby before? If so, what was your favorite one so far?

“There is nothing more beautiful than being a witness to someone’s life. To know them inside and out and be with them through everything, share the same memories. Memories are everything, I want that.”
Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me

Book Review: “Zodiac Academy: Heartless Sky” By Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

This series is probably a bit longer than I would like haha. I have switched to listening to the audios for the last few books and honestly this has helped me a ton!

This series has me in constant sorrow and heartbreak which honestly sucks but I am so far in that I can’t stop and DNF the series. I truly do need to know how this ends as you can’t go through this much trauma and not know if we have a semblance of a happy ending.

“I call it loving you with the intensity of the sun and the devotion of the moon because you are my end, baby.”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

About The Book

Author: Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Publisher: Dark Ink

Published Date: December 18th, 2021

Page Count: 991

Main Genre: Romantasy

GoodReads Rating: 4.20

Format: Audio

“I’ll love you ‘til the world is dust,”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

Synopsis

The winds of fate are shifting, and it finally seems like they’ve been twisted in our favour.

On the run and cast out from society, we’ve been forced to hide from the mad man who stole our throne. But as more secrets come to light and my sister and I work harder than ever before to reach our potential and claim our birth right, the end is finally drawing closer.

There is no turning from this path now. The curse chases on our heels as time rushes by and the blood drenched destiny of the man I love looms ever closer just like the monster who stole our throne.

We must prepare for the final battle, but three things are clear now.

The cards have already been dealt.

Blood will spill for a new future to rise.

And the stars themselves can’t help us.

The fight for the throne is upon us. All hail the heartless sky.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“I love you, Roxanya Vega,” I said, my voice raw with the truth of that. “No matter what happens with this fate, the war, my father, the throne, all of it pales beside my love for you. And I know I’m not good enough for you but that just makes it all the easier for me to worship you the way you deserve because I won’t ever stop trying to live up to being the man you deserve to have. Not until my dying breath and beyond that too if it’s what you want.”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

Rating

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“You snuggle with Darcy and Darius all the time. But where’s my snuggles, Lance? Where’s. My. Snuggles?”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

Review

*** Spoilers Ahead! ***

This series is honestly a bit too long for my taste. I feel like this book especially had a timeline that was hard to follow. I couldn’t tell how much time was passing or had passed between chapters. It felt like it all moved way to fast and yet way too slow all at the same time. The ending to this book made me cry… I am very upset about Darius dying but his mother’s death hit me even harder I’d say. She was trying to save her new found family and her sons but also refused to go back to her abusive, controlling and overall horrible ex husband… her and her new love killing themselves was so sad yet so powerful! Darcy and Orion getting to their fated mate moment was kind of underwhelming to me… I was excited for it to happen but it wasn’t as touching of a moment as I would have hoped.

Darius and Tory getting married was great! Sad they didn’t get to live any of that marriage together though… Gabriel being taken as Lionel’s seer makes my heart sink.. but hopefully he can sit on that seer throne and get some real shit done! Lionel taking Xavier’s wings breaks my heart! Xavier deserves so much better than what he’s going to wake up too in the next book. Overall the writing kind of sucked but and the book wasn’t perfect… but here I am still invested.

“That when we stood before each other and he saw a queen, I saw a king staring back at me.”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

“You are meant for the sunlight, Lance Orion. So you’ll stand with me in it or else we’ll stay in the dark together,”
Caroline Peckham, Heartless Sky

Book Review: “Consider Me” By Becka Mack

I found this book at Target and ultimately picked it up because I though that the cover was pretty! I honestly did not know that it was even a hockey book so that was a pleasant surprise for me! I ended up not reading the physical book though and grabbed the audio book as it was free with my Audible membership and I am actually really glad I did this.

“I love you through the perfect moments, and there are so many, but I will always love you through the imperfect ones too.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

About The Book

Author: Becka Mack

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published Date: March 22nd, 2022

Page Count: 544 Pages

Main Genre: Romance

GoodReads Rating: 3.91

Format: Audio Book

“If your love was all I had for the rest of my life, that would be more than enough.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

Synopsis

Carter Beckett is the NHL’s best player—both on and off the ice. His career is at its peak, his friends are performing better than ever, and there’s no shortage of women to spend the night with. What more could he want?

Olivia Parker isn’t new to professional hockey players, thanks to her best friend’s boyfriend, but she has no interest in dating one herself—no matter how hot he is. And anyway, she loves working as a teacher and hanging out with her best friend, drama-free. Why would she want to spend her time stroking the ego of an arrogant athlete?

But once Carter meets Olivia, he can’t think of anything else. Too bad for him, Olivia is hellbent on keeping him at arm’s length, with no intention of giving into his charms. Perhaps it’s time for Carter to up his game…after all, nobody said he had to play fair.

Sparks will fly as Carter does whatever it takes for Olivia to consider him.

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Demanding? That’s because I am. I refuse to be without you. Absolutely refuse, because that’s the last place either of us belongs. You’re mine. My best friend and my lover, my only version of forever, and I don’t intend on ever letting you go. My only intention is to legally bind you to me for the rest of our lives.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

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“I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. So many. But you, Ollie? You’re the first thing I’ve done right.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

Review

I tried to read this book physically at the same time I listened to the audio as I think this usually helps me pay closer attention to the book and helps me remember more details. However, The audio book was different than the physical book. Meaning the audio had added paragraphs and words that weren’t in the physical book or too away what the physical copy had. It was really distracting so I did only audio after a few chapters.

I love a book where the guy falls first but I think I am looking more for a guy who isn’t as cocky and self assured. I wanted to like our male lead and I tried really hard, I would forget that I didn’t care for him at times cause he could be super sweet but my guy… you are so full of yourself. Also his character changed tunes way too quick for my liking, the first scene we had he was literally having relations with a girl who he couldn’t even remember the name of and now all of a sudden you are just ready to be with one woman the rest of your life? It just made it hard to believe his intentions even when in his own mind.

I loved our female lead though! She put this man in his place and I really appreciated that! I also felt like she was real, she had a real job and a poor girl car, I loved that she was relatable even in her insecurities. Her chapters were my favorite ones to listen too, to the point where I almost wish this book wasn’t dual POV which is a wild thing for me to say haha.

I am normally not a third act break up kind of girl and I did have some issues with the way this one went down at the start. However, I liked how they took real space from one another and didn’t act like complete children as we see more often than not. I may not agree with the situation that made the third act break up happen but I also was not surprised by it happening.

I adored the side characters so much that I am afraid my rating is only as high as it is because of them haha. After writing this review I think I should have rated the book lower but its a pain to change it in all the places I keep track of it so oh well..

– End Spoiler –

I Hate how he proposed to this woman! I don’t think anyone should propose to someone at someone else’s wedding even with permission from the bride and groom… I get he wanted it to be flashy and with the people they love the most but come on… You are a Stanley Cup Champion you could do literally anything!

I don’t think I will continue with this series.. I would like to see who Adam ends up with though cause this man deserves the world but I just don’t think I love the series enough to keep going. We shall see.

“One day, some girl is gonna walk into your life and flip your whole world upside down and you’re not gonna know what the fuck to do with yourself except drop to your knees and beg her to never leave.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

QOTD: What is a series you wish you could have fallen in love with?

“When you show me the type of love you need, I learn how to give it to you.”
Becka Mack, Consider Me

Book Review: “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches” By Sangu Mandanna

This has been a very talk about book ever since it was released a few years ago. I think I personally have owned this book for at least a year with full intentions to get to it “soon”. Well, I finally made time for it thanks to an unused Audible credit and no other books being on the top of my mind. I am honestly surprised it took me this long to read but I do think it is a bit overhyped…

“We’re part of the earth below us and the sky above us. Our veins echo the patterns of rivers and roots. There’s sunlight and moonlight in our bones.”
Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

About The Book

Author: Sangu Mandanna

Publisher: Berkley

Published Date: August 23rd, 2022

Page Count: 318 Pages

Main Genre: Magical Realism

GoodReads Rating: 4.07

Format: Audio Book

Synopsis

As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don’t mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she’s used to being alone and she follows the rules…with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously.

But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tangled up in the lives and secrets of not only her three charges, but also an absent archaeologist, a retired actor, two long-suffering caretakers, and…Jamie. The handsome and prickly librarian of Nowhere House would do anything to protect the children, and as far as he’s concerned, a stranger like Mika is a threat. An irritatingly appealing threat.

As Mika begins to find her place at Nowhere House, the thought of belonging somewhere begins to feel like a real possibility. But magic isn’t the only danger in the world, and when a threat comes knocking at their door, Mika will need to decide whether to risk everything to protect a found family she didn’t know she was looking for….

Synopsis From GoodReads

“Trust is earned.”
“It is. But that’s only possible if someone’s willing to give you a chance.”
Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

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“It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall. I can’t step off the ledge for you. It’s something only you can do.”
Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Review

I listened to this book via audio and I do think that I would have liked the book more if I had physically read it. The narrator was good just not for me.

I think this book was written really well! It was beyond cozy and kept me entertained which I really hope for when I read an audio book. In fact I almost finished this book in one whole sitting which is really rare for me and audio books.

I think I may have an unpopular opinion about this book but I kind of wish it was more young adult or even middle grade. I would have really enjoyed this book if we saw it from the girls perspectives or if we didn’t have the romantic connection between out FMC and MMC. The romance took a back seat in this book which I appreciated but honestly I felt like it just wasn’t needed. Either I blocked most of the romance out or their was so little of it that there was really no point in having it there? I think what I am trying to get at is that it could have been a cute found family story without the romance sub plot.

I think the character growth was really prevalent in this book and I think that was what I appreciated the most from it. You saw pretty much every character that was mentioned throughout the story change and grow which was done in a cozy way that left you feeling so happy and relieved for everyone involved.

I thought the magic system was easy to follow and grasp which is what I would expect from a cozy fantasy book. However, I always do struggle with magic realism books as I am trying to imagine this happening in our world and finding a lot of things that come up just so unrealistic. This is for sure a me problem as you are supposed to suspend your disbelief for these books anyways.

Overall, I do recommend this book if you are wanting a quick and cozy read in between all of your romantasy books as a much needed pallet cleanser.

“It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong. Sometimes we need to make that place.”
Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

QOTD: DO you have a favorite book about Magic Realism?

“Niceness is all about what we do when other people are looking. Kindness, on the other hand, runs deep. Kindness is what happens when no one’s looking.”
Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches