As per usual, I am so behind on reviewing my ARC copies so also as per usual, you can already pick these books up if you’re interested in any of them! Today I’ll be reviewing Scandal of the Summer by Alexandra Vasti, In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto, and Riding the Line by Emma Lucy. I think this is a really fun set of books to be reviewing for y’all today. I did read the e-ARC copies of In Stormy Weather and Riding the Line, but I also listened to Riding the Line with some of my Spotify audiobook hours. I fully listened to Scandal of the Summer via Hoopla, despite the e-ARC’s presence on my kindle. Thank you to each the publishers, St. Martin’s, Pan, and Avon for the opportunity to read and review each of these. I will say that I should have a copy of In Stormy Weather on its way to me shortly, that I spent my own money on. It’s been ordered for over a month at any rate.
Scandal of the Summer
by Alexandra Vasti
Vasti truly has such fun, bonkers plots that she is almost filling the void in my heart from Tessa Dare’s absence. (No one can actually replace Tessa Dare, but this is very high praise from me, I need you to understand.) Lady Ruby is an expert at things from Ancient Greece/Rome and so it’s really not her fault that she embarrasses the host of a party by informing him that he has spent a fortune on a fraudulent statue. The problem? The scammer artist is also at the party and her dad is so embarrassed of her. Lady Ruby wants out of London so she creates a scheme with two of her friends that they’re going to pretend to be ladies in waiting at a princesses home in the countryside that she doesn’t use so they can escape. When they arrive though, the princess’s home is occupied by the scammer artist and his motley crew. So obviously, scammer artist has a heart of gold and eventually, after many shenanigans occur, Lady Ruby and Malcom Archer live happily ever after.
If you’ve not read a Vasti before, this is a perfect one to start with because it is so perfectly showcases her humor and a way to bring hijinks and genuine emotion together. She is truly excellent at writing the emotional journey of an outcast finding a place to belong and this story showcases that with aplomb. I had such a great time and I am so excited for the next books in this series because I want her friends to find love quite desperately. Also, for what it’s worth, the audiobook was well done and such an enjoyable listening experience. Mhairi Morrison is the sole narrator and she does a great job.
In Stormy Weather
by Chelsea Curto
If you’re looking for a man obsessed, banter filled book, In Stormy Weather is for you. I had a lot of fun with this book, the way that I always do with Curto’s books. I love Quincy being a badass meteorologist who is underestimated by all these terrible dudes and the way Sebastian clocks them for it. I love that Quincy has these two friends who understand so little about the science behind the weather but they support her so much. I do find it absolutely crazy that people go storm chasing in general though. That’s wild to me. But I liked getting to see this aspect of the world that I will absolutely never experience for myself. I’m basically the user who commented on one of her videos saying something along the lines of “I guess I should go get water then?” Speaking of, I really liked the way this book brought in those social media comments because it gave a level of realism to the book and was a nice way to just get to see a little more of the world.
But let me actually tell you what this book is about instead of just rambling about the things that I loved about it. Essentially, Quincy has a doctorate in meteorology or alternatively, whatever the study of the weather is actually called. Nonetheless, she is making her living by teaching people about the weather from her own social media pages while living in Florida. Sebastian is one of her best friend’s older brothers, but they were also in the same grade and were academic rivals. They do not get along. Sebastian is a prime time nationwide meteorologist and he’s actually lost his love for that. He has convinced ABC to let him come to Florida to spend the summer storm chasing for purposes of making a documentary. This means that he and Quincy are back in one another’s orbits and it is so much fun. Truly. Anyway, I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
Riding the Line by Emma Lucy
Riding the Line is the second book in the Willow Ridge series by Lucy, but can definitely be read as a standalone, which is what I did. Do I wish I had read it in order? Yes, because I always enjoy knowing everything about everyone and the side characters bring a small town to life in a way that I think works best when you read an interconnected standalone series together. But I do not actually think that reading this one first left me confused in any way. Setting that aside, this book is about Cherry and Duke. Duke is Cherry’s older brother’s best friend and he feels real conflicted about growing romantically closer to Cherry as he helps her tackle her list of life to-dos. Meanwhile, Cherry is so tired of her family being so overprotective that they won’t let her live. She has seizures, but it’s been a bit since she had one and she just wants to live her life. She and her best friend come up with a list of things she wants to tackle over the summer, but it’s Duke that winds up helping check many of those items off the list.
I found the beginning of this book so engaging, but then I ultimately felt like it was hitting one note the whole way through and so my interest waned a bit the longer I was reading. I don’t think it’s a bad book though and I actually think might just have been my mood at the time. I tried listening to some chapters via Spotify audiobook hours and while I think both narrators did a good job, my issue is that the narrators speeds don’t match. So in Cherry’s chapters, I wanted to speed the book up, but then that would be too quick in Duke’s chapters. Regardless, I think it’s a solid small town installment, but there could have been more horses involved in the actual book based on the cover art. I’m just saying. If you’ve read the first one in the series, let me know if I should go back and pick it up!
Closing Thoughts
I hope these reviews have been helpful! I’m looking forward to slotting In Stormy Weather onto my physical bookshelf, but I am really glad I read all three. Scandal of the Summer definitely kicked off a series I want to continue reading and I’m reserving judgment for the Willow Ridge series. I would love your input. Let me know your thoughts!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 