Kris Bryant

An artsy age gap love story between two women who find love when they weren't looking.

Josie, a new college graduate, lands an artist-in-residence opportunity in a beach town where she can focus on her art for a few months before going into the real world. There she meets one of her art idols, Olivia, who is as gorgeous as she is talented. But will Olivia's tragic history get in the way of a new happily ever after?

I think Josie came across as an optimistic college graduate ready to discover what life has to offer, and that was done really well. I don't think Josie and Olivia's relationship had much substance on page. There was a lot of telling about what they did together or what Josie felt but not a lot of showing their relationship actually develop. I loved the support from the Wellingtons; their friendship seemed absolutely on point. Overall, a good read.… (més)

When I saw the blurb for Home, I thought I would immediately fall in love with the book. Second chance romance and a stray dog! And an adorable kid! Unfortunately, none of what I had hoped for was actually there.

I mean, yeah, the two women shared a kiss when they were seventeen but they had no relationship or history together beyond that kiss. Yet they each never forgot it and one of them measured each first kiss since by that standard and thought about the other for that long? I wanted to buy it but couldn't.

The sweet dog story arc was nice until, for me, it went too far.

I think I expected too much and set myself up for disappointment. I will say that the tension-building part that was used to solidify the family was different and interesting. But beyond that, I was mostly left wanting more.

2.5 with a round up to 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and BSB for the ARC!… (més)

I thoroughly enjoyed this romance. While we didn't get to know too much about Hope, Lily's character was well developed and watching her grow and blossom was definitely satisfying. And the chemistry between the two was great.

All in all, I really liked the author's style and storytelling.

My only issue is that there were several words and phrases that were repeated way too often. I'm fully aware that most people don't have a problem with this and many won't even notice. But I do and my brain gets hung up on them so I get pulled out of the story. Still, I had a lovely time hanging out with Lily and recommend Listen to anyone who enjoys a sweet romance with a touch of angst and lots of music.… (més)

After such a good experience with [b:Serendipity|61439347|Serendipity|Kris Bryant|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657789771l/61439347._SY75_.jpg|96972009], I decided to find another Bryant book to read. And then I remembered that I had Forever in my TBR from NetGalley. I'm a mood reader so sometimes it takes me a long time to be in the right mental space to read certain books. I stop and start books a lot...

Full disclosure: I've never watched any of the Bachelor/Bachelorette shows because I don't care for the idea of a bunch of people vying for the attention/affection of a single person in such a way. It makes me feel bad for the group of folks who are competing for that one person. And all of my bad feelings about those shows came out while reading Forever. But the relationship between Lauren and Savannah was a nice journey and made all the other stuff worth it. They had good chemistry and their interactions felt genuine and drew me in.

I almost forgot to mention that I nearly quit reading the book immediately because it's done in first person POV and I wasn't really feeling it. (mood reader, remember? Anything could set me off...) and while I do wish I had gotten more of Lauren's side of things, Savannah did a fine job. I'm glad I took a breath and kept on going.

I'm discovering with each of Bryant's books that she has a knack for capturing the essence of her characters. They feel real, the interact in realistic ways, and they make me want to get to know them and cheer for them. And miss them when I'm done with the story.

I'd go 3.5 if Goodreads allowed it but rounding up because I enjoyed Lauren and Savannah so much.

Big thanks to BSB and NetGalley for helping to feed my addiction.… (més)