Review: The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews

Can it even be summer without a new Mary Kay Andrews book? The answer is no—no it cannot! I started reading some of MKA’s books a couple of years ago and they are always good as a beach read or a quick read on a plane on the way to your latest vacation destination! I picked this one up and read it in a matter of days which is what I expect when I pick up any of her books.

This book featured both a romance and a little bit of a murder mystery and I just loved that combo. If you love beach reads you no doubt have read MKA and know how great of a writer she is. She is the Queen of Beach Reads and I cannot dispute that. She is a prolific and seasoned writer who knows exactly how to craft a well written novel.

If you haven’t read MKA before, you really can’t go wrong with any of her books so just grab one and dive in and if you have managed to read this far I would encourage you to just grab this one because it’s another classic MKA book and if you haven’t read anything by her then this one is just as good as any so why not grab it!

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Review: It Had to Be You by Georgia Clark

Any book that has a similarity between Love Actually noted in the title gets a yes from me to read! I love that movie and when I saw that this book featured a similar braided narrative that also included a wedding planner and all the best parts of various rom-coms, well I simply needed to make room on my review calendar for it.

Lately I have had good luck with some well done rom-coms and this one was just begging for me to read it. It looked so so good and I loved the cover. I haven’t read anything by this author before, but after checking out some of her other titles it looks like she has written a couple of other rom-coms that were well received so I was really looking forward to reading this one.

I did read this one in a day and a half. I could have read it in a day but I did have to take a break to do life things but it was a super fast read for me and entertaining as well. I don’t know that it was a five star read but it was a good book that left me excited for more of her works. If you are a rom-com fan than this book really needs to be on your radar!

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Review: I Thought You Said This Would Work by Ann Garvin

This is my first ever Ann Garvin book but I have certainly seen her other books on best seller lists and I was interested in checking this one out. I also belong to the Tall Poppy Bloggers group and I love getting Ann’s email newsletters. They are always so funny and well written so I was excited to get this book to read knowing her humor would shine through!

To be honest I was worried this book would be a little heavy and that Ann’s great humor would be overshadowed by some of the heavier topics in the novel, but I wanted to read one of her novels so much and I was totally open to seeing how this one unfolded!

As they say, trust the process right? The second I started the book, I knew I was reading something special. Heavy emotional topics—check. Well timed humor—-check. Entertaining—-check. I was so glad I didn’t let the heavier topics make me wary, this was an excellent read and one that will likely stay with me for a while now that I am done with it.

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Product Review: Simplicity Teas

C.S. Lewis said it best, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” Like most readers and writers, I have my go to reading and writing snacks and drinks. While I love coffee as much as the next person, I switched to drinking tea more often a few years ago. I absolutely love tea and have at least 2-3 cups a day now. I am always on the look out for new teas to try but I hate when I order a tea and it just isn’t what I was expecting. I have picked up a few teas in my local grocery store too and some have been great while others have been hit and miss. That is why Simplicity Teas sounds like a great option for someone like me.

Simplicity Teas is a monthly subscription box where you can try out a couple of their teas in a smaller version before committing to a larger amount of the tea. They have both a subscription box and fully stocked shop with infusers and full orders of tea. I opted for the subscription box so I could try a couple of different types of tea. My tea box came with an adorable strawberry infuser and enough tea for a month! I had 4 different teas to pick from, two black teas and two herbal teas. One of my black teas was decaffeinated, which was actually perfect. One of the things I hate about drinking tea is I never remember to buy decaffeinated. In the afternoons I like to have a nice cup of tea, I usually don’t because I will never sleep with the caffeine.

I was thrilled to try the loose leaf lavender lady black tea first for that very reason. This tea has a pleasant lavender flavor that isn’t overpowering but yet has enough flavor to feel fortifying. I followed the directions using only 1 teaspoon and let it seep for about 3-4 minutes with boiling water. I added a little bit of Nutpods creamer which gave it a really nice creamy flavor. I don’t drink sugar in my tea and I don’t think this tea needs any sugar either. It had great flavor and since it was decaf I can drink it all day long! I also tried this tea to make my own version of a Starbucks London Fog latte.

I made the tea like normal with the same ratio, 1 teaspoon and seep for 3-4 minutes. In a separate sauce pan, I put about 1 cup of milk (I used regular milk but I think any would work just as well) and then I added 2 teaspoons of brown sugar and a splash of vanilla extract. Once it was barley boiling I mixed it with the tea that was done brewing. I thought it came out pretty good. The tea had enough flavor to support the extra milk liquid but I think next time I might add a little more tea just to give it a little more flavor since I prefer it a little stronger when there is more milk involved. Overall though the lavender of the Lady Lavender came through really tasty.

I have a couple more teas to try in my box from Simplicity Tea so be watching for my review on those but I was really impressed with the variety and quality of their teas. I love that there is enough tea in each monthly box to get me through the month and to try something new before I commit to buying a whole tin. You can cancel or skip at any time and you can even make a gift of the subscription box—I mean Mother’s Day is coming up and this would be a great treat for mom!

Review: The Social Graces by Renee Rosen

Renee Rosen is an author who has been on my radar for years but one of her books just hasn’t found it’s way onto my nightstand yet! Last spring I was part of the cover reveal for this one and ever since then I have been dying to read this one. That cover is absolutely stunning and I love a well done historical fiction novel.

The historical fiction genre is flooded with books set in WWII and the Tudor period so a book like this one stands out as unique simply for the time period it’s set in. Plus the lush backdrop of the uber rich promises something entirely different and feels like a decadent read. I haven’t read a lot of books on the Vanderbilts or the Astors but I of course know the family names and some of their history.

I was eager to check this one out because I hoped to read something that was fairly historically accurate about families that I know some history about but that might dive in deeper to their lives. Plus I won’t say no to a high society gossip read! I sat down to read this one, that was slightly on the longer side (400 ish pages) and was transported. I read it in a couple of days and enjoyed all the Gilded Age had to offer in this one!

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