Month: August 2023

When Tessa Talman first meets Simon Fremont, not only is she attracted to him, she is intrigued by how different his life is from hers. He’s a dedicated scientist, practical and grounded. She’s a “live-in-the-moment” romance author. Simon is in a hurry to settle down, but Tessa is enjoying her freedom and her success. Neither is willing to give in, but as each goodbye gets harder, Tessa begins to wonder whether fame is the path to happiness, or if she has everything she needs in Simon.

My Goodbye Girl by Anna Gomez is a cute romance with an “opposites attract” couple in the creative Tessa and the analytical Simon. They encounter bumps along the way during their long-distance romance, among them different lifestyles and backgrounds. For the most part, the book is well-written and engaging. I will admit that I raced through the middle chapters to find out what happened next.

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, I found Tessa a slightly unlikeable character. I wanted to root for her, but I found it maddening how many obstacles to happiness she created for herself.  Her refusal to commit to Simon over and over became repetitive to me. I understand that there was trauma in her background that made Tessa rather flighty, but she just came across as shallow as a character. In addition, after Tessa and Simon experience a tragedy that could drive them apart, I felt that the book kind of rushed through those events. Once again, we don’t get to experience Tessa as a full character and her story comes across as a bit thin, and not fully flushed out.

I still found the book enjoyable and would recommend it to anyone that loves to read romance novels. Thanks to LibraryThing, Anna Gomez, and Rosewind Books for providing a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Jael Quinlan is a freelance exorcist based in Australia. Uriel is the angelic guardian that watches over and guides her. “The Exorcist and the Demon Hunter” is a book with two distinct stories. The first story follows Jael as she battles to remove a demonic invasion in Melbourne. She is helped by Uriel and, much to her surprise, exorcists from the Catholic Church. The second story follows Jael and Uriel, in addition to Mychal and Gabriel, in an epic battle against the Devil himself to save humanity.

This book is on the longer side. With the two distinct stories, the author could have chosen to make this story two books instead of one. That being said, the plot is well-crafted and it progresses nicely. The story does slow down a little at the start of the second half, but it does not last long. The writing is wonderful – the dialogue was very natural (including humor), bringing life to the characters and their interactions.  The story was suspenseful and kept me guessing as to what would happen next. The ending wrapped up the story in a satisfying manner while still leaving the door open to more adventures with Jael and Uriel.  

Thanks to LibraryThing, Amy Kuivalainen, and BHC Press for providing a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐