Hi everyone! It’s officially spring! With that in mind, I thought I would write my winter hopefuls wrap up. My goal was to read 8 winter-themed books or ones I’ve wanted to read for a while. I was able to read seven of them and I’m so happy about it! I finished The Nightingale on the last day of winter, which is also technically the first day of spring, but I’m still including it because I think it counts! I’m very much a mood reader, so I’m happy I was able to read almost all of them! I hope you enjoy my winter hopefuls wrap up!

Synopsis: Stella Bloom has been dreaming of owning a magical Christmas tree farm ever since she visited Lovelight Farms. When it becomes available to buy, she jumps at the chance to live her dream. However, since the moment she purchased the farm things have been going wrong, a pasture of dead trees, shipments that have mysteriously gone missing, and a family of raccoons causing mischief. With nothing to lose Stella enters a contest by an Instagram influencer that includes added publicity and a chance to win $100,000, which would significantly help her finances for the farm. She’s picked as a finalist, but there’s one tiny problem. To make the farm seem more romantic she lied on her application to say she owns Lovelight Farms with her boyfriend. Except there’s no boyfriend in the picture. Enter Luka Peters, Stella’s best friend, who agrees to be her fake boyfriend. Stella is worried they won’t be able to come back from this, but she’s been dreaming of kissing him since she met him. Maybe this might be just what she needs to tell him how she truly feels.

I loved this book! It was the perfect book to finish out 2023 and the holiday season! I loved the friends to lovers troupe! And it was set on a Christmas tree farm, which I thought was magical! It was quite predictable in my opinion, but it didn’t make it any less of a cute story! If you’re looking for a cute holiday read, add this one to your list!

I didn’t end up listening to a playlist with this book.

Synopsis: “Calla Fletcher was two when her mother took her and fled the Alaskan wild, unable to handle the isolation of the extreme, rural lifestyle, leaving behind Calla’s father, Wren Fletcher, in the process. Calla never looked back, and at twenty-six, a busy life in Toronto is all she knows. But when her father reaches out to inform her that his days are numbered, Calla knows that it’s time to make the long trip back to the remote frontier town where she was born. She braves the roaming wildlife, the odd daylight hours, the exorbitant prices, and even the occasional—dear God—outhouse, all for the chance to connect with her father: a man who, despite his many faults, she can’t help but care for. While she struggles to adjust to this new subarctic environment, Jonah—the quiet, brooding, and proud Alaskan pilot who keeps her father’s charter plane company operational—can’t imagine calling anywhere else home. And he’s clearly waiting with one hand on the throttle to fly this city girl back to where she belongs, convinced that she’s too pampered to handle the wild. Jonah is probably right, but Calla is determined to prove him wrong. As time passes, she unexpectedly finds herself forming a bond with the burly pilot. As his undercurrent of disapproval dwindles, it’s replaced by friendship—or perhaps something deeper? But Calla is not in Alaska to stay and Jonah will never leave. It would be foolish of her to kindle a romance, to take the same path her parents tried—and failed at—years ago. It’s a simple truth that turns out to be not so simple after all.” (goodreads.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! However, I didn’t realize it was a series until I was about halfway through the book. I ended up only reading this book, as the ending tied up nicely, but if anyone has read the whole series let me know if it’s worth reading! Honestly, I’m writing this review about two months after I read this, so I don’t remember a lot of the specifics that I liked. However, I do remember that I loved the enemies to lovers storyline and the setting in Alaska. This book also had a great plot that wasn’t completely centered around the romance! If you’re looking for a small town romance, this is a great one!

Playlist listened to on Spotify: the simple wild: jonah and calla

Synopsis: “Irene Steele’s idyllic life-house, husband, family-is shattered when she is woken up by a late-night phone call. Her beloved husband has been found dead, but before Irene can process this tragic news, she must confront the perplexing details of her husband’s death. He was found on St. John island, a tropical paradise far removed from their suburban life. Leaving the cold winter behind, Irene flies down to the beautiful Caribbean beaches of St. John only to make another shocking discovery: her husband had a secret second family. As Irene investigates the mysterious circumstances of her husband’s death, she is plunged into a web of intrigue and deceit belied by the pristine white sand beaches of St. John’s.” (goodreads.com)

This book was very interesting! I picked this up at a used bookstore last year and thought it would be a perfect read for wintertime. Although I did not realize this was a series until I started reading it. However, when I made it to the end of the book there was quite a big unresolved issue, which makes sense because it’s a series, but I didn’t enjoy the book enough to want to finish reading it. So I just looked up how the other two books went and have a decent understanding of the big unresolved issue. If you don’t mind not knowing how the main storyline resolves, give this book a read! Otherwise, I would recommend reading the whole series.

I didn’t end up listening to a playlist with this book.

Synopsis: “People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected. Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.” (goodreads.com)

Oh my gosh, this book! I have never felt such fury and angrily screamed into a pillow so many times while reading. I can only count a handful of books that have made me feel this much emotion. Honestly, I think this one is now on top! I think this is one of the best books I’ve ever read! The way this story and the characters just sucked me in and consumed me was incredible! It was a little confusing at first because the story is told from multiple different perspectives, but once I knew each character it was easy to catch on. I HIGHLY recommend it! Do check the trigger warnings first before reading though.

Playlist listened to on Spotify: beartown by fredrik backman

Synopsis: “When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s? Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place? Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.” (goodreads.com)

This book was alright. I thought the storyline was interesting, but the whole time I was reading I could not get past the fact that the main character lies basically the whole book. I get that she wanted to keep her mom’s secret, but there were so many opportunities to tell the truth. However, I loved the romance and the flirty scenes between the main characters! But then the ending was just one note, it didn’t really make me feel happy about the resolution. I gave it 3.5 stars because I loved the setting, the storyline, the romance, and the supporting characters, but I just could not get behind rooting for Iris for the majority of the book.

I didn’t end up listening to a playlist with this book.

Synopsis: “Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached. Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie? Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.” (goodreads.com)

I loved this book!! This is the second book I’ve read by them! I loved both of the main characters, the reality show storyline, and the ending! I kind of caught on to what was going to happen early on in the book, but I still enjoyed every second of it! If you’re looking for a friends to lovers, dual-point-of-view read, I highly recommend this one!

I didn’t end up listening to a playlist with this book.

Synopsis: “France, 1939: In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says good-bye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gaëtan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.” (goodreads.com)

Oh my gosh, this book! I’m kicking myself for not reading it sooner! To everyone who kept telling me to read this, you were right, and I’m sorry it took me so long to read it! It did take me a little time to get into the story, but then I got sucked in and could not put it down! I enjoyed the dual point of view between the two sisters and the two different timelines. Often, I don’t read the reading group guides in the back of books, but I did for this one! I enjoyed the Q&A between the author, which then led me to look up the history of the women of World War ll. If you’re looking for a historical fiction novel set during World War ll, I highly, highly recommend this book! It is heavy at times, so do take account of that before you dive in.

Playlist listened to on Spotify: The Nightingale | Kristin Hannah

What I’m Reading this Spring

I picked eight books for my spring TBR. Most of them have been on my TBR for a while, and some new additions! I also carried over Wicked from my Winter TBR because I did start it, but then picked up a different book and never went back to it. I also picked two books from my “The” challenge reel I made over on Instagram, which featured books on my physical TBR! I’m very much a mood reader, but I’m hoping to read all eight! I read seven of the eight winter TBR books, so I’m hopeful!

I hope you enjoyed my winter hopefuls wrap up! Leave me a comment below about the books you read this winter! Check out the Books category on my home page for more book reviews and recommendations. Please give me a follow on Instagram or Facebook to stay updated about when I post! As always, thank you for your continued support!

Take care and stay safe,

Renée