August Favorites 📖💅

Posted on September 2, 2025 by ashareads

As August slips away, we’re still in the middle of a heatwave as September begins, which comes as no surprise. I’ve already got fall on my mind and just need the weather to catch up. Here are two standouts from the past month that brought me joy: a gripping first book in a brand new series by thriller queen Karin Slaughter, and a dazzling Lights Lacquer polish that has me craving fall more than ever.

📖 Favorite book I read: We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Thank you William Morrow for the free advanced copy of We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter.

In the small town of North Falls, the disappearance of two teenage girls during the fireworks proves that no one truly knows each other. Officer Emmy Clifton, burdened by guilt, is determined to find them and uncover the secrets the town has been hiding.

Karin Slaughter is an auto-read author for me so it was no surprise that her latest book, We Are All Guilty Here (the first in the North Falls series), is a 5-star read! This is one of those books you should go into without knowing too many details so you can experience every surprise. This slow-burn police procedural had me on my toes until the very end. I thought I had it all figured out, but twist after twist kept me guessing and I could not put it down. The emotional, deeply flawed characters hit me to my core. Slaughter did an incredible job weaving together two timelines with enough clarity to keep me fully invested. There were moments that felt heavy where I truly sympathized with Emmy or Jude and moments that left me completely shell-shocked. Highly recommend picking this one up. Now I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

💅Favorite Manicure: Lights Lacquer Saddle Up

Saddle Up is part of the Lights Lacquer Headed West fall collection. I’m actually surprised that I chose another red as my favorite given that I don’t really wear red manis that much. I’m obsessed with how this specific shade reminds me of fall. I love how opaque and creamy it is. This will definitely be a repeat mani this upcoming season!

Fall may not be here yet, but my TBR and polish picks are already there.

Review: Kiss Her Once For Me

Posted on December 6, 2022 by ashareads

Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: 11/1/2022

Thank you to Atria Books for the free book in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️

GoodReads Synopsis:

One year ago, recent Portland transplant Ellie Oliver had her dream job in animation and a Christmas Eve meet-cute with a woman at a bookstore that led her to fall in love over the course of a single night. But after a betrayal the next morning and the loss of her job soon after, she finds herself adrift, alone, and desperate for money.

Finding work at a local coffee shop, she’s just getting through the days—until Andrew, the shop’s landlord, proposes a shocking, drunken plan: a marriage of convenience that will give him his recent inheritance and alleviate Ellie’s financial woes and isolation. They make a plan to spend the holidays together at his family cabin to keep up the ruse. But when Andrew introduces his new fiancée to his sister, Ellie is shocked to discover it’s Jack—the mysterious woman she fell for over the course of one magical Christmas Eve the year before. Now, Ellie must choose between the safety of a fake relationship and the risk of something real.

Perfect for fans of Written in the Stars and One Day in December, Kiss Her Once for Me is the queer holiday rom-com that you’ll want to cozy up with next to the fire.

Review: Kiss Her Once For Me is a queer Christmas romance that takes place in Portland, OR. This romance novel contains fake dating, forced proximity, and forbidden romance. I really loved The Charm Offensive so I had high exceptions for this one! I loved the music and pop references in the book. I think there should have been a playlist at the end of the book or something! The biggest part that didn’t work for me was the storyline The plot seemed interesting, but the storyline was an utter mess. There were too many subplots going on and the flashback section was so drawn out. I couldn’t get onboard with Ellie and Jack’s insta-love connection and the miscommunication of it all. There were so many times where one of the characters could have come clean and they didn’t. This wasn’t for me. I’d recommend skipping this one.

Review: Mother Ocean Father Nation

Posted on May 17, 2022 by ashareads

Mother Ocean Father Nation by Nishant Batsha
Publisher: Ecco Books
Pub Date: 6/7/2022

Thank you to Ecco Books for the free advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

GoodReads Synopsis: A riveting, tender debut novel, following a brother and sister whose paths diverge–one forced to leave, one left behind–in the wake of a nationalist coup in the South Pacific

On a small Pacific island, a brother and sister tune in to a breaking news radio bulletin. It is 1985, and an Indian grocer has just been attacked by nativists aligned with the recent military coup. Now, fear and shock are rippling through the island’s deeply-rooted Indian community as racial tensions rise to the brink.

Bhumi hears this news from her locked-down dorm room in the capital city. She is the ambitious, intellectual standout of the family–the one destined for success. But when her friendship with the daughter of a prominent government official becomes a liability, she must flee her unstable home for California.

Jaipal feels like the unnoticed, unremarkable sibling, always left to fend for himself. He is stuck working in the family store, avoiding their father’s wrath, with nothing but his hidden desires to distract him. Desperate for money and connection, he seizes a sudden opportunity to take his life into his own hands for the first time. But his decision may leave him vulnerable to the island’s escalating volatility.

Spanning from the lush terrain of the South Pacific to the golden hills of San Francisco, Mother Ocean Father Nation is an entrancing debut about how one family, at the mercy of a nation broken by legacies of power and oppression, forges a path to find a home once again.

Review: Mother Ocean Father Nation is a literary, historical fiction, LBTQ+ debut novel from Nishant Batsha. Mother Ocean Father Nation explores themes of strained relationships, power, oppression, self discovery, and the meaning of home. The author alternates perspectives from sister and brother, Bhumi and Jaipal. I loved that their perspectives were different and their stories were separate yet interwoven. I also liked how the author touched suppression, immigration, and the feeling of belonging. The plot is intriguing, but the pacing of the story felt either way too show or everything happens at once. The author touches upon some heavy themes in here, but I felt there was too much to dive into and some things were unexplained. It was a good start to a debut that was heartbreaking yet filled with hope. I’d recommend reading this one if you love character/driven stories.

Review: Just One Bite

Posted on June 6, 2019 by ashareads

Just One Bite by Jack Heath

Publication Date: 6/4/19

Publisher: Hanover Square Press (Harlequin)

Rating: 4/5

Disclaimer: I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from Hanover Square Press in exchange for my honest opinion. This has no effect on my opinion, review or rating.

Review: Just One More Bite is the follow up to Hangman. This crime thriller follows Timothy Blake who is at a crossroads of working as a consultant for the FBI and also taking on a job as body disposal for local crime lord. Will he able to keep his two worlds separate or will they come crashing down together?

Wow…Jack Heath does it again! The plot in this book was insane and I liked it as much as I liked Hangman. I loved the author’s fast-paced, dark, and funny at times writing style. I liked how in this book we see how Timothy Blake’s character changes a bit and that we are introduced to new characters as well. I didn’t see any of the twists coming and loved how complex the crime they were solving was. However, I still couldn’t stomach in some of gory scenes which I wouldn’t be able to handle in any book. If you love crime thrillers, this series is definitely for you.