firewhiskeyreader

This is so fun to be able to bring you a review of a book you can pick up right now (Two Secrets to Surrender), a book you can pick up in two days (Left of Forever), and a book that doesn’t come out until August (Heart Strings). Is that too far away to tell you about it? Maybe, but honestly, I read it in March, so I feel like I need to tell you about it now regardless of whether that’s too far away. That said, thank you to the respective publishers for the ARC copies via Netgalley! And so now, we are just going to jump right in to these reviews!

Two Secrets to Surrender
by Grace Callaway

Grace Callaway is truly just such a delight. Even if I don’t always rate her books a full five stars, I always have a fun time with her books and this one is no exception. Two Secrets to Surrender is about Gigi, a Lady who is determined to make the town of Chudleigh Bottoms thrive, and as part of this goal, she is helping her friend renovate this spa that had been in the friend’s family for a long time. Meanwhile, super rich Conrad Godwin is determined to bring down Chudleigh Bottoms. Unfortunately for both of them, they have an immediate attraction when they have a chance encounter in the woods and then once they figure out who the other person actually is, they realize their goals are in opposition. And yet, they can’t seem to resist one another.

I love the plot of this one. It was so much fun. I like the way Callaway plots her romances, actually. They’re almost always fast moving and she does a great job weaving in character development as well. I devoured this book in one night when I was so tired, but not yet ready to go to sleep, and it was the perfect book for that mood/state I was in. This one was really wonderful and I would definitely recommend! (Also, I’m obsessed with the sense of building community happening in this series and I can’t wait for more.)

Left of Forever by Tarah DeWitt

Left of Forever is about a divorced couple falling back in love. They got married too young and a few years ago, they officially divorced, but now they are going to road trip together after dropping off their son at college. I don’t want to tell you much about the plot, honestly, because I really didn’t know what exactly I was getting into when I picked the book up beyond I knew I was obsessed with the glimpse of Wren and Ellis that we got in Savor It. So, without telling you anything about the plot, let me tell you why you should pick this one up:

• You want to read a romance with a lot of depth, emotions under the surface, a couple with a past that they need to excavate to figure out where they went wrong and how to keep it from happening again.
• You want to read a book that will still have you giggling and kicking your feet even while it puts you through an emotional ringer.
• You want a book with a man who goes to therapy on his own because he wants to be the best version of himself.
• You want a book with adventure.
• You want a book with family dynamics and friendship and the small town vibes without being in a small town.

Y’all, I literally cried in the epilogue because I’m actually so attached to these characters. Like, I think they’re real people. Allegedly they’re fictional, but I’m not convinced. Truly just want them to be real so I can be their friend. Anyway, definitely read this book if any of that sounds appealing. Also! The audiobook? I loved it. The narrators did a fantastic job. I really liked both of them. And it falls somewhere between dual and duet, in that they read their own texts, but the conversations are just done by whoever is narrating that perspective. Anyway, a million stars. I loved it!

Heart Strings by Ivy Fairbanks

Heart Strings is a second chance romance between a man who got famous as a singer-songwriter and a woman in medical school set in Ireland. I love basically all books with a musician because I love anything that talks about the art of creating a song and I’ve really come around to loving second chance romances. In this case, the second chance is coming about because Aiden is back in town for the wedding of his best friend who is marrying Lo’s cousin (the couple from book one, Morbidly Yours). The reason the two had split up originally is because Aiden needed to move to London and also go on a tour for his career and Lo was not willing to risk a long distance relationship because of her past.

One of the things I found really interesting about this book is that the second chance requires both Aiden and Lo to try and figure out how/if they want to give their relationship another shot given that they’re both still in the same position. Aiden is still pursuing his music career and Lo is still in medical school. But neither of them has been able to let go of one another and so even though the situation hasn’t really changed, both of them have come to recognize the importance of the other. But even with that being said, especially for Lo, there’s so much internal emotional work that needs to be done, for both of them.

In addition, I did enjoy a lot of the plot surrounding the wedding and I think these two wound up in some interesting situations. I think they have excellent chemistry and I found myself really anxious about how they were going to make it all work, but so hopeful for them to get it together. Ultimately though, I do think the situation was something that was hard for me to truly wind up believing these two will be together forever, but I really did like it!

I want to make a note that Lo survived cancer in her childhood and she has a scan during this book and without spoiling anything about the plot of that, I just want it noted so that if cancer is a trigger for you, you can go in prepared. DM me if you need a spoiler about how the scan resolves itself.

Closing Thoughts

All in all, three super successful books, though Left of Forever is going to be a new favorite of the entire year (maybe my life), but I definitely recommend all three books if any sound appealing! If you’ve already read one or are interested in it, let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

xx