Books – April 2025

Book reviews from April, better late than never! I will have a May/June post up soon! I really enjoyed a few of these and highly recommend. Let’s get into it.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

There isn’t an Abby Jimenez book that I don’t love. And this one hits all the feels. Samantha and Xavier meet and things don’t start off well. But then they get a second chance…at the worst time. Taking the journey with them and all the hits that came after them was quite the ride. There is so much more going on here than a love story. Xavier’s parents are total shit. He has commitments at the clinic he owns and runs. Samantha’s mom has dementia. Taking care of her and everything that entails is hard. There is family drama with her siblings and her dad. There is a lot of depth here to unpack. I flew through this one, it was very engaging the entire time. I consumed via audiobook and the narrators were fantastic.

Bottom Line: Read it.

The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi

I have made it my mission to be educated on all things perimenopause and menopause. I feel like I hit my 40’s and been slapped with symptoms and feelings I was never warned about. Why did our mothers and grandmothers not talk more about this phase of life?? Why are so many doctors completely uneducated on this topic and have little to nothing to offer in terms of help. I appreciate Dr Mosconi’s research and sharing her knowledge in this book. There were many great chapters on the science and health of our bodies and what is going on, suggestions to make it more tolerable, etc. But I will say, the social mess that is written in the text is eye roll inducing. And an entire chapter written on gender-affirming care in a menopause book for WOMEN is beyond ridiculous. I just skipped right on over that.

Bottom Line: While I found lots of useful information in this book…I feel like The New Menopause was better if you only have time for one. As I state, I skipped over an entire chapter in this book, and also rolled my eyes several time at the buzzwords used. I prefer a book stick to facts.

Love Walked In by Sarah Chamberlain

ARC – Book comes out September 2, 2025

I enjoyed the first part of this book, but I will say, when it started getting steamy…it started getting cringy for me. I also felt like the book dragged some. There was a lot of over explaining inner monologue happening for both characters. And some stretched believability with some of the things that happen throughout the book, I wont detail as to not spoil if you plan to read. Overall it passed the time fine, but I can promise I will forget this book in a month or so and have a hard time recalling anything about it.

Bottom Line: Passes the time fine, fun London setting, forgettable overall.

**I received a copy from Netgalley and am writing this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own. **

Not Up for Debate by Emma Norman

Jane and Noah met during a debate in high school, and they somehow end up working for the same company, for the same client, and end up on the same island. But Jane has never gotten over this thing that Noah did to her. Which we dont find out right away. And when we do find out, I really have to be honest and say, it was a bit underwhelming and dramatic. Basically a misunderstanding. That caused a grudge for all these years. But the banter and chemistry between these two was fun, and it made for an enjoyable read.

Bottom Line: Read it.

I received a copy of Not Up for Debate from Book Funnel and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Another must read author for me. I loved the setting of this one, as Katie fumbles her way around paradise, pretending to know how to swim so she can follow around Hutch the rescue swimmer. I can appreciate that the author gave us a character with body image issues, but I am not sure I love how it was handled in the book? It wasn’t in a bad way, just maybe sort of weird and surface level? I absolutely loved Rue and the gals, but I hated Cole and the boss. I hated the whole Cole situation so much once he arrived on the island. The big lie/conflict of the book was not my jam. What did work for me was the dog.

Bottom Line: Overall, it wasn’t my favorite from the author, but still an interesting read and I had a hard time putting it down…wanting to see what would happen next.

**I received a copy of The Love Haters from Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

Maid for Each Other by Lynn Painter

Abi is a maid for Declan, and when she has to find temporary housing for a little while, she decides to move into one of her clients apartments who is always out of town. Except, he comes back and somehow they immediately enter into a fake dating scenario for convenience on both ends. This is a pretty predictable read, but it was still a fun way to pass the time. I felt like maybe it wasn’t as deep as a few others of Lynn Painter though. I was a little annoyed by the constant bashing of Declan by Abi. Just because he has money, doesn’t mean he is a shitty person and to assume such constantly was exhausting.

Bottom Line: This was a fun read, a lighthearted romance and decent beach read material.

**I received a copy of Maid for Each Other from Netgalley and leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.**

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

I absolutely loved this one. It was so refreshing to read about a woman in her 40’s, as I felt I could relate to the judgy school moms, aging parents, and that weird balance of being very much an adult but also feeling young and unsure inside. I also really liked that we got Lila’s daughter Celie’s perspective throughout the book, and a small peppering of her deceased mothers. I wish we could have heard Gene and Bills perspectives as well, as they were both intriguing characters in the book. All characters were developed so well. I really hated Lila’s ex-husband for awhile, but even that storyline with his wife was interesting and compelling. Overall a great read.

Bottom Line: Read it!