Author: Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Brandee & Linda’s Excellent Reading Challenge Adventure ~ Mid-Year Update

Brandee & Linda’s Excellent Reading Challenge Adventure ~ Mid-Year Update

Here’s how we’ve done in the first half of 2021: From the Read Harder Challenge: Read a book you’ve been intimidated to read. I Know Why The Caged Birds Sing by Maya Angelou Read a non-European novel in translation.  Read a memoir by a Latinx author.  Read a historical fiction with a POC or LGBTQ+ protagonist.    From the Reading Women Challenge: Read a cookbook or foodie memoir by a woman of color.  Read a book by a neurodivergent author. Your Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor Read a book with a biracial protagonist.  Read a book with a female protagonist over 50. Gray Hair Don’t Care by Karen Booth. (The heroine is 47 at the beginning, […]

Posted 19 July, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments
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Review ~ Homecoming Heartbreaker ~ Joss Wood

Review ~ Homecoming Heartbreaker ~ Joss Wood

I quite enjoyed my initial visit to Moonlight Ridge with Homecoming Heartbreaker. I love the setup for the entire series and look forward to seeing how these brothers, and their dad, end up ensnared by just the right woman. 😉 Homecoming Heartbreaker focuses on Mack, the oldest Holloway brother, and Molly Haskell, the girl he left behind. With Mack’s dad being ill, he’s back to run the business (a luxury resort) for a while. He’s determined to clear the air with Molly so they can move on, leave the past in the past, and work together amicably (she stayed on a Moonlight Ridge and is an integral part of the business.) However, Mack’s willpower to stay away from Molly is […]

Posted 15 July, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 3 Comments
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Audio Review ~ The Duchess Deal ~ Tessa Dare

Audio Review ~ The Duchess Deal ~ Tessa Dare

I was giggle-snorting in the first few minutes of The Duchess Deal. Between Emma’s antics and Ashbury’s reactions to them, I knew I was in for an entertaining romp. Mary Jane Wells once again impressed me with her narrating skill. All in all, this was an aural delight! Emma Gladstone, a seamstress, has darkened the doorstep of the Duke of Ashbury in order to demand payment for the wedding gown of his former fiancee. Emma is rather in dire straits, as her rent is due and her cupboards are bare. She happens upon the Duke at a serendipitous moment as he’s just determined he’s in need of a wife with a few qualifications. All of which Emma meets – most […]

Posted 13 July, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 5 Comments
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Audio Review ~ A Secret for a Secret ~ Helena Hunting

Audio Review ~ A Secret for a Secret ~ Helena Hunting

A Secret for a Secret finishes off the All In trilogy and it was a more than satisfactory ending. The fact that the narrators, Stella Bloom and Jason Clarke, were able to keep the story perfectly paced while breathing life into these characters only enhanced the experience. Ryan “King” Kingston is a character I’ve been eager to get to know better if only because I knew there was more to him than met the eye. 😉 King’s a good guy. Always there for his friends, a rule-following, milk-drinking, adorable guy. He’s taken some hard hits lately, though, and not on the ice. So the one night he decides to loosen up and have a little fun would naturally be life-changing. […]

Posted 6 July, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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Blogger Wife Chat Review ~ Dream Spinner ~ Kristen Ashley

Blogger Wife Chat Review ~ Dream Spinner ~ Kristen Ashley

Dream Spinner was a highly anticipated installment in the Dream Team series for me. Let’s start at the surface level before we delve deep into Hattie & Axl, shall we? Yes, let’s do that! I have to admit that I’ve been looking forward to Hattie and Axl’s story from the beginning – or at least since we met them. There seemed something a little deeper about these two and I was keen to explore it. KA had hinted at Hattie’s history so it wasn’t a surprise. Finding out she had indeed suffered abuse – both emotional and physical – at the hands of her father was sickening. Add to that her previous relationships…bad news. That she continued to expose herself […]

Posted 28 June, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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Review ~ The Love Interest ~ Kayley Loring

Review ~ The Love Interest ~ Kayley Loring

The Love Interest was such a sweet story. It was the perfect listen – the right balance of humor and heat. And the narrators really brought the characters to life! This was my first read/listen for both KLoring as well as ALL the narrators and it will NOT be the last! (If you have recs for listens with Teddy Hamilton, Shane East, Connor Crais, and Mackenzie Cartwright, please leave them in the comments ;)) Fiona has come to NYC all the way from sunny California to pursue her writing career…and to take advantage of photo ops with her 4ft metal cock, Goliath. LOL But that’s more for her mom. I adored Fiona’s sunny disposition – she refueses to let grumpy […]

Posted 23 June, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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Review ~ Mafia King ~ CD Reiss

Review ~ Mafia King ~ CD Reiss

Oh my! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Mafia King and CD Reiss didn’t disappoint. This part of Santino and Violetta’s journey found them at a fork in the road and the two of them at odds over which direction to take. The decision, however, may have been taken out of their hands. At the end of the first installment Santino and Violetta are clashing over a secret Santino’s been keeping. Watching them work through this issue, especially since Violetta’s assumptions about the secret are far-fetched – was compelling. I didn’t understand why Santino wouldn’t just come clean. Things were illuminated. Santino doesn’t believe he’s a good man or that he deserves Violetta. It’s up to Violetta to […]

Posted 21 June, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 2 Comments
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Review ~ The Poet X ~ Elizabeth Acevedo

Review ~ The Poet X ~ Elizabeth Acevedo

This. Was. Amazing. I have no words. At least no words as eloquent or as powerful as EAcevedo or The Poet X. But here’s my attempt at a worthy review… The Poet X is the first novel I’ve read written entirely in verse. I wasn’t certain how I’d feel about it but I needn’t have been nervous. EAcevedo delivered Xiomara’s story with passion and eloquence. And I love every moment. Xiomara is 15. She’s the daughter of Dominican immigrants. She and her twin brother, Xavier or “Twin”, share a bedroom in the apartment where they live with their parents. Things they share besides a bedroom: difficult parents – their dad isn’t present and their mom dotes on “Twin” while being […]

Posted 16 June, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 5 Comments
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Review ~ Birthday Girl ~ Penelope Douglas

Review ~ Birthday Girl ~ Penelope Douglas

Birthday Girl proved yet again how much I enjoy PDouglas’s writing style. Complex, well-drawn characters, genuine-feeling storyline, angst and romance all combined to make a hell of a story. One I was loathe to put down. Jordan hasn’t had many people she could count on in her life. Her mom left her, her dad’s a drunk, and her first boyfriend beat her. It’s her birthday when we meet her and her current boyfriend, who was supposed to pick her up from work, is nowhere to be found. She takes herself to a midnight showing of some 80’s horror flick, and she meets a man. One that intrigues her. One that makes her comfortable and confident. One she’d like to get […]

Posted 14 June, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 4 Comments
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Review ~ Credence ~ Penelope Douglas

Review ~ Credence ~ Penelope Douglas

Credence blew me away. If my body didn’t require sleep, I would have finished it in one sitting. It’s been awhile since I read PDouglas but I was immediately reminded of how much I admire her writing when she grabbed me by the throat and pulled me into Tiernan’s story. But it isn’t only a story about Tiernan. That’s a reason I love PDouglas. And make no mistake…I loved Credence! Tiernan is a few months shy of 18 when her parents die suddenly. She’s sent to live in a remote mountain town with her step-uncle and 2 male step-cousins, none of whom she’s ever met before. Tiernan has spent her life being raised by everyone but her parents and as […]

Posted 26 May, 2021 by Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 0 Comments
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