Kaelie's Reads

All the Way by Kendall Ryan His protective streak runs a mile wide. She won't let her past define her. If you're in the mood for EXPLOSIVE CHEMISTRY, soul-mate deep love and tons of feels, get yourself a copy of this standalone romance today! I know it’s time to move on from my rocky past and get back out there and start dating again. It’s just that every time I think about it, I get all nervous and sweaty. Good thing I have a secret weapon to help me—my best friend, professional hockey stud Owen Parrish. He’s the king of hookups, and promises he’ll be my guide through the world of online dating. With his help, I know this won’t be as hard. • • • I’ve never been this hard in my entire life. My friend Becca wants my help hooking her up with some douchey guy from a dating app. I said I’d help her—but now I’m noticing all kinds of things I can’t ignore, like how pretty she is behind those baggy clothes and messy buns. I want to be the one to help her, to show her the...

Playing for Keeps by Kendall Ryan Elise Parrish, my teammate's incredibly sweet and gorgeous younger sister should have been off-limits, but my hockey stick didn't get that memo. After our team won the championship game, and plenty of alcohol, our flirting turned physical, and I took her to bed. I knew it was wrong to punch her V-card, but when I mess up, I’m apparently a  go big or go home  kind of guy. Shame sent her running the next morning from our catastrophic mistake. She thinks I don't remember that night—but every detail is burned into my brain so deeply, I’ll never forget. The feel of her in my arms, the soft whimpers of pleasure I coaxed from her perfect lips… And now I’ve spent six months trying to get her out of my head. Which has been futile, because I’m starting to understand she’s the only girl I’ll ever want. I have one shot to show her I can be exactly what she needs, but Elise won’t be easily convinced. That’s okay, because I’m good under pre...

Bombshell by Jen Frederick My brain exploded at the supermarket. One minute I was arguing with my three-month-old about how many grapes she could stick in her tiny mouth and the next minute I was staring at the face of the father of my child. The guy ghosted me after I told him I was pregnant. I sent him texts, called him and even posted a certified letter but received zero response. While he was down for the baby-making activities, he had zero desire to accept the consequences. So I did what any other like-minded woman would’ve done in my position. I reached into my cart and started hurling things at him. To my surprise, he not only paid for the damage but followed me home. Now, he’s telling me he never got my messages or my letter and that he’s ready to be a father. He’s patching drywall, doing the laundry, and carrying the trash to the curb, and I’m remembering what it was like when he was loving me every night. A few heated stares and a few brushes of his hand against...

Wish by Barbara O'Connor Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all. From award-winning author Barbara O'Connor comes a middle-grade novel about a girl who, with the help of a true-blue friend, a big-hearted aunt and uncle, and the dog of her dreams, unexpectedly learns the true meaning of family in the least likely of places. This title ...

Moonshot by Alessandra Torre Baseball isn’t supposed to be a game of life and death… The summer that  Chase Stern  entered my life, I was seventeen. The daughter of a legend, the Yankees were my family, their stadium my home, their dugout my workplace. My focus was on the game. Chase... he started out as a distraction. A distraction with sex appeal poured into every inch of his six foot frame. A distraction who played like a god and partied like a devil. I tried to stay away. I couldn’t. Then, the team started losing. Women started dying. And everything in my world broke apart. My  Review: Mood?  lighthearted Pace?   medium Plot- or character-driven?   A mix Strong character development?    Yes   Loveable characters?   Yes Diverse cast of characters?   N/a Flaws of characters a main focus?   Yes This book is very great and long  the kindle edition is 400 pages long. it does start with the main character as a teenage...

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon Risk everything . . . for love. What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In  Everything, Everything , Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken. My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For ex...

Return to the Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz There's no place like home. Especially if home is the infamous Isle of the Lost. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay haven't exactly turned their villainous noses up at the comforts of Auradon after spending their childhoods banished on the Isle. After all, meeting princes and starring on the Tourney team aren't nearly as terrible as Mal and her friends once thought they would be. But when they receive a mysterious invitation to return to the Isle, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay can't help feeling comfortable in their old hood—and their old ways. Not everything is how they left it, though, and when they discover a dark mystery at the Ise's core, they'll have to combine all of their talents in order to save the kingdom. My Review:  Mood?  lighthearted Pace?   Medium Plot- or character-driven?  A mix Strong character development?  It's complicated Loveable characters?  Yes Diverse cast of characters?  N/A Fl...

Save The Date by Monica Murphy Caroline Abbott knows her way around bridezillas. Working at a stationery store means helping engaged couples pick out the perfect save-the-date cards and invitations for their dream weddings—a dream job. Until the bridezilla of the day belongs to her first kiss, Alexander Wilder. He’s all grown up now, running his family’s luxury hotel chain, and even hotter than she remembers from that scorcher of a smooch. So when Caroline catches his fiancée half-naked with another man, she has to tell him. And Alex has to break it off. And of course, the ex-bridezilla goes completely bonkers. Good thing Caroline has plenty of experience—and friends to help save her. She also has the sudden interest of Alex, who has a proposal of his own for her. Is it just a rebound for him, or does he also feel the same spark that drew them together all those years ago? My Review: Mood?  lighthearted Pace?   medium Plot- or character-driven?   A mix...

Fake Date by Monica Murphy Sarah Harrison is used to strange customers. Working at a lingerie store, she helps bored housewives, spicy sorority girls, repentant husbands -- and everyone in between. Yet no one sparks her interest more than Jared Gaines, the ultra-rich, ultra-sexy businessman who frequents her shop, buying delicate little "gifts" for the women in his life. But one day, Jared sends her a gift from Bliss. Then another--and another. It doesn't matter how thoughtful he is, or how well-chosen the gifts are, or how sexy he is. It's inappropriate, and Sarah is determined to put a stop to it. Or at the very least, she wants to know why. It's the oldest one in the book, of course. He needs a fake girlfriend for the weekend while attending his brother's engagement party. It's a terrible idea. She's certain it could even get her fired. So she absolutely takes him up on it. Next thing Sarah knows, she's in San Francisco, pretendin...

  My TBR for April 2021 There’s no place like home. Especially if home is the infamous Isle of the Lost. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay haven’t exactly turned their villainous noses up at the comforts of Auradon after spending their childhoods banished on the Isle. After all, meeting princes and starring on the Tourney team aren’t nearly as terrible as Mal and her friends once thought they would be. But when they receive a mysterious invitation to return to the Isle, Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay can’t help feeling comfortable in their old hood—and their old ways. Not everything is how they left it, though, and when they discover a dark mystery at the Isle’s core, they’ll have to combine all of their talents in order to save the kingdom. My disease is as rare as it is famous. It’s a form of Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, but basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in fifteen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. B...