As y’all may know, I’m terrible at reading my ARCs on time, though I do my best to make sure they’re read during the calendar year that they are released. Sometimes though, I fail. And these are three books that are INCREDIBLY overdue. First up, we have Always Her Cowboy by Addison Fox, which came out in 2023. Then we have Love at 350 by Lisa Peers that came out in 2023. And finally, we have I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War, which came out in 2024. So let us finally get some reviews posted, shall we?
Always Her Cowboy by Addison Fox
This book is so interesting because the blurb says that Charlotte and Chance are antagonists, which must be some kind of thing that exists in the two earlier books in the series because in this book? I sure couldn’t find any antagonism. They weren’t best friends at the start of this book, but they surely weren’t enemies and it also wasn’t giving hate to love. What it is giving is silent pining on Chance’s part that he would one day somehow prove himself to be good enough for Charlotte. But for Charlotte, she doesn’t really understand why Chance would think he wasn’t good enough for her.
I really want to be able to give you a full review and explain this book and why I think you might like it, but ultimately, this book didn’t give me a lot. It left me feeling nothing, which for me is not good. I want a book to really stomp on my feelings and this one didn’t. But I could SEE the ways in which Fox was trying to make me feel something for these characters. Ultimately, without having read the first two books, I can’t say for sure if this one would have landed harder if I had read the first two, but I hope so. Maybe one day I’ll go back and try reading the other two books to see if they land better for me than this one did.
Love at 350 by Lisa Peers
I loved the baking competition in this book and think that it was mostly very fun, though undeniably not as cozy as watching GBBO. My issue is that risking your job for a person you don’t know yet is SO STRESSFUL. Now, if I had less stress and anxiety in my life, I think this book would have worked so much better for me, which means, I really do think it will work for so many people.
Specifically, this book follows science teacher and home baker, Tori, whose teenagers nominate her for this baking show without telling her and she is selected to be on it. One of the judges, Kendra, has been told that she needs to be softer this season, which is actually annoying, but also, whatever. Anyway, the two of them are both intrigued by the other fairly quickly, but there are obvious rules against fraternization. So we see this very slow and deliberate get to know you type situation unfold as we watch Tori go through the competition and then we have scenes outside of the show of each of their personal lives. Ultimately, I think I wanted a little more romance because the forbidden nature of their relationship left me feeling like the two of them weren’t really spending that much actual time together. But I would read more from Peers in the future!
I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War
I Did Something Bad is the kind of book that I should really like. I grew up reading and loving Nancy Drew and The Boxcar Children and then later Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series. And I still love to watch some mystery type things on tv. Even today, I love Finlay Donovan and I’m enjoying Ally Carter’s adult romances. My problem is, if I’m in the wrong mood (aka my anxiety is high), I can’t read a book where people make illogical decisions that could lead to them going to prison. I have in fact learned that through the reading of Finlay Donovan. Anyway, I think I read I Did Something Bad at the wrong time is my point, which is hilarious considering I waited two entire years to read it.
Let me explain the plot right quick though. Essentially, Khin is a journalist who lands an incredibly big job of spending a month with Tyler Tun, movie star, to write a profile for Vogue Singapore. On their first day on set, Khin is attached and her attacker winds up dead. Instead of, idk, calling the police, Khin and Tyler agree that they’re going to keep quiet and hope no one tracks this murder down to them. Meanwhile, the two of them keep getting closer, but they definitely can’t have a relationship because that would be a huge no no as the person writing his profile.
I want to be clear, the fact that Khin is nervous to call the police is not just a simple plot point, but something that does make sense in the context of who she is as a person. But for me, I was like, girl!!!!!! Never leave a dead body behind, you know? There are way too many possibilities for things to go wrong. Anyway, overall, I do think this book balanced the intrigue of whether they were going to get away with murder well with the romance. I felt like the end was a bit of a letdown though. Not the romance ending though, that one was fine. I’m not being very articulate, but my point is, if you can handle books where people make decisions that you would not make, definitely pick this one up!
Oh, I also received the audiobook of this book as well as an ALC, which is actually how I read it. I thought the audiobook narrator did a really good job with this one. I would listen to her again.
Closing Thoughts
I didn’t have a book in this set of three that left me mad at myself for waiting so long to read it, but I know that there are definitely books I’ll feel that way about lingering on my Netgalley shelves. I look forward to figuring out what books I’m going to pick up next. Have you read any of these three? I’d love to know!
xx
