Melina's Book Club | #25

I've been reading like crazy, as I tend to do with my reality gets too hectic for my liking. Throughout most of Covid, I've stuck to really easy feel-good novels. I just started a book that Marie from Drizzle & Hurricanes recommended agesss ago, and I can already tell that I'm going to completely love it. The characters are just....I honestly have no words, I just love them already and I'm only 40 pages in!

Currently Reading:

The Law of Attraction | I was Born for This

So the book I was talking about that Marie recommend was I was Born for This. I definitely wouldn't do the book justice by giving a summary right now, so definitely click on the Good Reads link above! All I know in the 40 or so pages I have already read, is that the characters are so diverse and well developed! I didn't even finish, but I already have a strong feeling that I'm going to rate this highly (so thank you so much Marie for introducing this book to me).

What I'm Reviewing Today:

Today we're in for a great set of books! It's been a while since we've had a set of books where the majority (with the exception of one) is pretty highly rated! As always, if you want to skip to a specific review, you can click on any of the book covers above and it'll take you to that part of the review.

Nothing Left to Burn by Heather Ezell - ★★★★1/2

“…I don’t know how to say what I don’t yet understand.”

Heather Ezell, Nothing Left to Burn

It's funny that I'm currently reading a book Marie highly recommended to me, while also reviewing a book not only highly recommended to me by her, but I also won this book in a giveaway she had!

The story follows Audrey, a 16 year-old girl. The morning after she loses her virginity, she gets a surprising knock on her door by firemen telling her that she needs to evacuate, because there's a wildfire. During the 24 hours that she is evacuating, she is filled with nostalgia about her family home, and the volunteer fireman who's she's been dating, Brooks. As secrets about Brooks comes to light, she's not sure if the connection she feels to Brooks is what she thought it was.

Marie was completely right, this book blew me away. It made me feel all the things, and when I was done with the book I was just left with all these feelings and emotions. It's one of those books that really make you sit down and think of everything you just read. I highly recommend this book. If you read any of the books on this list, I definitely think it should be this one!

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti - ★★★ 1/2

“It’s nice to know someone thinks of you as a person, not an opportunity.”

Chelsea Sedoti, As You Wish

In a small town in the state of Nevada, something magical happens when someone turns 18. They get to make a wish. It could be almost anything, and they always come true. Sometimes not in the way the wisher had imagined it, but it does come true.

Eldon has seen some people ask for money, while others have asked for love. He has also seen how their wishes have turned them into broken people. As Eldon gets closer and closer to his 18th birthday, he wonders what would be the perfect wish. A wish where he would end up happy. A wish that could potentially make everyone in the town happy.

The summary for this book sucked me in. I don't think I've ever read a book with this plot, so I was intrigued to see how it was going to play out. I liked the fact that from the beginning I have no idea where this book is going to end up. Throughout most of the book, you as the reader, are left in the dark as to what Eldon is going to do.

Whether you love or hate the outcome of the book, I still think this book is worth reading!

A Shameless Little Bet (Shameless #3) by Meli Raine – ★★1/2

"Alice once told me that the greatest form of art is awareness. Not self-awareness, which she viewed as a form of conceit. Awareness. “Pay attention to everything important, Jane,” she told me then."

Meli Raine, A Shameless Little Bet

This is the third book in the shameless series! I reviewed the first two books in the series in my last post, which you can read here. While the first book in the series was really good, and drew me in, the books declined in plot quality as the you continue to read through the series. By the time I finished this book, I was so over it. I definitely was not a fan. I kept reading, because I had to know how it ends, but I was pretty disappointed. I feel like this series, was extremely drawn out, and could have been finished in one or two books.

I don't really want to get into the summary for this book. I think that you shouldn't waste your time reading this series, where there are many books that are actually really good. Definitely skip this entire series!

I Have Never (First Comes Love #2) by Camilla Isley - ★★★

"All the lost opportunities… to live rather than just behave."

Camilla Isley, I Have Never

Over the course of the pandemic, I have read a lot of cute fluff pieces. Out of all the authors I have read, Camilla Isley has definitely become at least one of my top 5 authors for cute fluff romances! The characters are all very different from one another, but they all belong to the same universe, so sometimes people from other books in the series interact with each other! I've mentioned this at least 1000x, but I'm such a fan of books written by the same author with characters who belong in the same universe.

I have reviewed a few of Camilla Isley's books so far, but over the pandemic, I have finished reading all of her other books! This book follows Blair. Blair has always been a person who has a strict understand on what she should and shouldn't do in order to succeed and reach her goals. When Blair loses her job and gets dumped by her boyfriend, all in the same day, she wonders if maybe she's been living her life wrong all along. She had once made a list of things she definitely should not do, and now that she has nothing to lose, she decides to try to do some of the things she said she would never do.

This is such a cute story, about a girl who thought she lost everything that mattered, but in reality she learned she doesn't have to be perfect, and finds out what she really wants out of life. If you're looking for a cute lil' romance, this is the perfect book for you!

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So this is where I'm going to wrap this post up. I hope you enjoyed learning about some new books. Hopefully you find something new to read. What have you been reading recently? Let me know down below, because I'm always looking for new books to read. As always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night. Sending you love, strength, and positivity xx