#92 of 2026

 And Now Back to You by BK Borison

A year or so ago, I read the first book in what is now a duology (hopefully, there will be more to follow), First Time Caller. That one was a slow start for me, but I ultimately ended up enjoying it. I put it on hold with Libby ages ago, and it finally became available last week. 

This one is about Delilah, the weather girl on a small, local station in Baltimore, and Jackson, the weather guy on a small, local radio show in Baltimore. Initially, Jackson finds Delilah to be irritating. He leaves passive-aggressive notes on her car because he doesn't like the way she parks. It doesn't help that when they've met in person, she's been dressed as a chicken and also as a turtle. Jackson is very straitlaced, buttoned up, and orderly. He's raising his teenage twin sisters, and he has to be the constant in their life. 

Delilah, on the other hand, is a little bit more of a free spirit. Her Alzheimer's ridden grandpa is a large part of why she loves being a weather girl. It was something they bonded over when she was a child, but also, her being on the news every day, even though he doesn't always recognize that she's his granddaughter, brings a little sunshine into his life.

It's winter, and a big snowstorm is about to hit western Maryland. Delilah and Jackson are on assignment together to cover it, mostly so folks in Baltimore will see how it might affect them. Being that they are polar opposites, this starts out rocky, but as they spend more time together, they find there are things they like about each other. 

Between Keith at the station trying to make Delilah look bad, Jackson's mother trying to come back into his sisters' lives, and Grandpa ending up in the hospital, somehow Delilah and Jackson handle it all. Will there be a happy ending? Only one way for you to find out. 

Book #91 of 2026

 I know it's weird to resume the blog I've neglected for nearly three years with the 91st book I've finished this year, but here we are. 

It's been a while, I know, and I've read a lot of books since my last post. Some fantastic, some less so. I've also been listening to a lot of audiobooks, which is wild to me, since I was so resistant for a long time. While I've been away from the blog, I've been keeping book journals, but I just filled the last empty one I had, so I thought I'd come back to the format I love. Whether anyone reads this or not is a whole other story. 

So, book #91 was The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren. I need to take a look at my Goodreads logs, but I am pretty sure I have read most of the books by this duo. With the exception of Love and Other Words, I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every one (I know! The one I didn't love is the one everyone gushes over). This was no exception.

The premise of this one is that Emery and Luca are married. It was literally love at first sight (or first laugh, but whatever), and they were irreparably in love from the very first moment they met. Emery is a doctor, but also she has developed this compound that can essentially aid in resurrecting a deceased individual. Her job is very secretive, and she has put it before everything, including her marriage to Luca. 

On the night of their 3rd anniversary, she's late meeting Luca for their celebratory dinner. In fact, he'd changed the reservation 2-3 times before canceling it completely. When Emery realizes how late she is, she calls Luca, who's out running to clear his head, and he tells her to meet him at a corner near their home. As she is getting ready to pick Luca up, a car comes out of nowhere, striking Luca. Luca dies in front of her eyes. Luckily, she has the compound she's been working on in her car, so she injects him with it and takes him back to the lab. 

While at the lab, Emery's best friend, Annie, helps her get Luca inside and into this machine that will begin healing him, as well as bring him back from the dead. There's just one catch: Luca has no memory at all. So, this book is about Luca and Emery finding their way back to each other. It's a beautiful story that left me in tears more than once. 

This is a sweet, contemporary romance, and although there's a little spice, it's on the mild side. You definitely read this one for the story and not the sex. 

One of my favorite quotes from the book is this one: “On paper, we still don’t make sense, but it turns out love doesn’t happen on paper.” I think that's true for a lot of people.

Anyway, this one is definitely worth your time. 

Oh, and it's nice to be back to the blog!

A Lot to Keep Straight

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

One day at the gym, Sam picks up a bag that she thinks is hers, but it isn't. In it is a Chanel jacket and Louboutins. She ends up wearing the items and having an amazing day at work. That same day, Nisha grabs a bag she thought was hers, and it wasn't. It had peasant shoes in it, if you will. A little later, Nisha's husband tells her he wants a divorce and cuts her off literally everywhere. Her husband has made it clear that in order for her to get any kind of divorce settlement, she has to bring him the shoes. What happens next is a series of events to get the shoes back. 

Nisha is able to track down Sam, and they end up friends. There is so much more to this story, but I am afraid to share too much lest I give it away. Suffice it to say, Moyes has written another fantastic book, and this one is very much worth your time. 

A Fictional Hallmark Movie

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

I bought this book for two reasons. One, I was drawn to the cover. Two, I have enjoyed Julie Murphy's young adult novels, so I was excited to read an adult novel. 

This book takes place in Christmas Notch, Vermont, which is pretty much a town from a Hallmark movie, but real. Teddy, a porn producer is producing a movie for the Hope Channel. Right before filming is set to begin, the leading lady and several members of the staff are injured in a freak tusk accident. In a pinch to recast, Bee Hobbes, a plus-size porn star, is cast opposite Nolan Shaw, former bad boy boy band member. Nolan is using this as a chance to clean up his reputation and earn some cash to take care of his manic-depressive mother. Bee is using this as an opportunity to get into mainstream movies. For their own reasons, they have to be celibate during filming, which sounds good in theory. The problem is, Bee is Bianca Von Horney, Nolan's fantasy girl. He's, obviously, attracted to her, and Bee finds that she is attracted to him. They try to keep from hooking up, but can't. They have amazing sex, sneaking around so no one knows.

You're left wondering if they manage to keep things a secret and if they actually develop feelings for one another. There were many times I was on the verge of tears-both happy and heartbreaking.  I really liked this one. I liked it so much, in fact, that I bought the sequel.

Tudor Mother and Daughter

Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter Who Changed History by Tracy Borman

This is another audiobook. I had heard this was coming out and was excited to read it because I love all things Tudor. I put it on hold on Overdrive, and it became available the other day. The problem was there was no way I was going to be able to read it in the time frame I would've been given, which is why I used an Audible credit.

For what it's worth, this wasn't a bad listen. The thing is, I am fairly well-versed in both of these historic ladies, so I didn't really learn anything new, which was disappointing. This basically goes over Anne's place in history, her background, etc. Then it does the same about Elizabeth. It wasn't as in-depth on either of them as other books I read, but that was ok. I wanted to read this because I was hoping for some hidden tidbit, and I was disappointed.

All of that said, I did learn that Queen Gertrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet was based on Katherine of Aragon, so that was cool.

If you don't know much about Anne Boleyn or Elizabeth I, this is a good place to start.

How Was This The Book Of The Year?

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Sometime in 2022, summer, I think, I got this as my book club selection. As it turns out, that was a waste for me. I thought it would be good. The characters were roughly my age and it was about video games. I didn't read it right away because, as you know, my TBR is a mile long and there's always something I want to read more. After this was named Book of the Year by both Book of the Month Club AND Barnes and Noble, I was excited to read it. Yet, I still put it off. It wasn't until last week that I started and finished it, and that is only because I listened to the audiobook, as there's no way I'd have stuck to this.

This is about Sam and Sadie, who met in the hospital when Sadie was there with her sister and Sam was there as a patient. It chronicles their lives from then until the present day. Sadie is a video game programmer, which brings others into their sphere. This had such potential, but it ended up being 13+ hours of these people's lives. People I felt no connection to. People I didn't care about. And it was mundane things too. It was clear that Sam was on the spectrum, but I don't remember that being mentioned at all. 

At any rate, I wish I had passed on this.  

Not the Jackie O I Know

 Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah

I love Paris and Jackie Kennedy Onassis is a cultural icon, so I really thought I was going to love this. I didn't and I hate that I spent the money to have this as an add-on for my book of the month and that I used an Audible credit for it. 

This book is about the year Jackie spent in Paris. She was completely immersed in the language and culture and attended the Sorbonne. She met someone and fell in love, but that didn't work out for complicated reasons. 

What struck me about this book was how mundane it was. Even when it was about the communists it was not exciting. The only time I perked up even a little was when Jackie had sex with Jack Marchand, but that gave next to nothing with regard to detail. 

In short, this book painted Jackie O as a boring woman, and I don't believe that was true. Unlike most historical fiction books, this one did not inspire me to research more. This was time and money I won't get back.