When I travel, I always look forward to reading. I pack my Kindle and pre-download several books to keep me occupied, especially when waiting around in an airport. During my two-week trip to Europe, I read three books. It helps that our trip had five different flights, so lots of downtime to read books. I wanted to share the three books I read, along with my thoughts on each book.

Love, Theoretically – Ali Hazelwood

Elsie Hannaway is an adjunct professor, racing around different campuses to teach her classes. To supplement her income, she’s a “fake girlfriend” on a dating website. She attends one of her client’s family gatherings and runs into Jack Smith, the brother of her client. Jack wrote a scientific paper discrediting Elsie’s field of study, so it’s safe to say that she hates him. Elsie is trying to get a job at MIT, and guess who’s on the hiring board? Jack Smith. Elsie has to interact with Jack throughout the MIT hiring process, and Jack may be a lot of things; maybe Elsie misjudged his original intentions.

I can’t objectively review any of Ali Hazelwood’s books because I love them so much. I love reading about academia and the science that each book focuses on. I will say that Ali Hazelwood has a pattern, and I would love to see her deviate from that. I want to see a new type of protagonist. How about a chemist who owns a brewery and doesn’t have rock-hard abs. I rated Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood five stars on Goodreads.

A Curious Beginning – Deanna Raybourn

Veronica Speedwell is free to do as she pleases. After planning her aunt’s funeral, she is planning her next move. When she returns home, she catches someone robbing her house. After fleeing from this person, she meets a German Baron who convinces Veronica that she’s in danger. The Baron leaves Veronica with his friend, Mr. Stoker. Before the Baron can collect Veronica, he’s murdered. Stoker instantly realizes the danger of the situation and takes Veronica away into hiding. Veronica and Stoker are forced to work together to figure out who killed the Baron.

This was the perfect book to bring with me while in Europe. I loved the setting in London. Veronica is a character who honestly doesn’t care what other people think of her, which is especially important since the book is set in 1887, and women at that time were expected to be married. I liked her partnership with Stoker. Stoker carries a lot of anger and trauma with him, and Veronica starts to grow on him throughout the book. I rated A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn four stars on Goodreads.

A Court of Thorn and Roses – Sarah J. Maas

Feyre is hunting in the Forest to feed her family when she kills a wolf that approaches her. As it turns out, the wolf that Feyre killed was really a Faerie, and killing Faeries is strictly forbidden. Feyre is found out and is taken by Tamlin, one of the Faerie high lords, to his kingdom, where she will live for the rest of her days. Feyre is taken back by Prythian but starts to enjoy her routine. As she learns more about Prythian, she sees that there’s a dark underbelly to the land. Something is happening, and it could lead to the end of humankind.

This was perhaps the most hyped book on my Goodreads TBR shelf. I have heard nothing but positive things about this series, so I feel that I went into reading this book with a more critical lens. With that being said, I liked this book for the most part. I liked Prythian, the world the fae live in. I liked the darker creatures that Feyre hunts or interacts with. The romance between Tamlin and Feyre was okay. I wasn’t entirely sold on it, especially when the curse was revealed. One of the things I didn’t like was the latter half of the book, when Feyre is imprisoned by Amarantha. Feyre is tormented and abused, and it’s difficult to read. It feels like Sarah J. Maas threw a bunch of abuse in there, and I don’t think it was entirely needed. I can understand why everyone liked this book, and I did like it. I rated A Court of Thorn and Roses by Sarah J. Maas three stars on Goodreads.

I haven’t fully decided what I will read next. I have a few options as I’m trying to dwindle my TBR before buying any more books, and I have a book on hold at the library. I’m sure it will be something dark and spooky, as it’s officially spooky season.

I have two Kindles. One is my mom’s older version, which she doesn’t use anymore, so she gave it to me. The other is my husband’s, and he gave it to me because he wasn’t using it. In general, I prefer reading a physical book versus an e-book on a Kindle; however, whenever I travel, I always bring my Kindle. I hate carrying around a book that I already finished, and a Kindle is perfect to pack while traveling. I recently turned on my Kindle and wanted to share a few books I have yet to read.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I feel like the book community is going to come for me when I say that I have never read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. I hear nothing but good things about this book series. This is going to be my top priority read for the books that I have on my Kindle.

I don’t know much about this book, except that the protagonist, Feyre, kills someone and then is transported to a magical world. This seems like an interesting premise.

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

I love Ali Hazelwood. I love that her books are romances with different protagonists in different scientific fields. I feel that Ali Hazelwood has gotten criticism because her books are very similar, yet here I am buying every single book. I hope that this book feels different enough from The Love Hypothesis.

Elsie Hannaway is a theoretical physicist. She works as a professor and also is a “Fake Girlfriend,” where she pretends to be someone’s partner at weddings, dates, etc. She ends up running into Jack Smith, the older brother of a client of hers. Jack sits on the hiring committee at MIT, which is where Elsie wants to apply for a job. Jack may also have ruined her mentor’s career. Elsie and Jack are forced to work together and find that maybe they were both wrong about each other.

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn

One of the book bloggers I follow loves this series. Our reading tastes are very similar, so if she loves it, chances are I will too.

Veronica Speedwell is ambitious, as she is planning on traveling around Europe. She is almost kidnapped and then saved by a German baron. The baron offers her shelter and mentions how he may know more about where Veronica came from. Unfortunately, the baron is murdered, and Veronica teams up with Stoker, a historian and friend of the baron. Together, they must work together to figure out who killed the baron.

Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte

With September quickly approaching, I want to add as many spooky-themed books to read.

Selene Warren is a witch, but doesn’t take herself too seriously. That is, until her grandmother is viciously attacked. Selene needs to grow up and figure out who attacked her grandmother.

I’m excited to start going through all the books on my Kindle. The good thing about eBooks is that they don’t take up space on my already overcrowded bookshelf.

I mentioned this before, but I have been regularly using my local library’s app. I love how I can request holds from my phone and pick them up at the library when they’re ready. I had A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson on hold for a while, which makes sense since this book series is pretty popular. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is definitely a page-turner, but I have no interest in reading the rest of the series.

CW: Animal Death – I can’t believe none of the other reviews mention this. There’s a family pet that’s taken and is later found dead. There are no specifics about it. I wish I had known it was coming beforehand. This happens on page 287 (or somewhere in the 280’s), and by page 300, it’s over.

Pippa Fitz-Amobi is a high school senior who needs to pick a Capstone project. She decides to investigate the murder of Andie Bell, a senior who mysteriously disappeared in her small town five years ago. Sal Singh, Andie’s boyfriend, was listed as the murderer after he committed suicide following Andie’s disappearance. Pippa works with Ravi, Sal’s brother, to review the evidence and determine if Sal is truly guilty.

My reading interests have changed throughout the years, and I tend not to read a lot of YA (Young Adult). With that being said, I did enjoy this book. I found myself captivated from start to finish. I found that whenever I had a break in my day, I would read a chapter or two. I finished this book last Saturday because I couldn’t move on to anything else. I have been vocal about my reading slump this year, so it feels nice to find books that I truly can dive into.

As far as the characters, Pippa wasn’t someone I wanted to read about. She is typecast as being the stereotypical good girl who always finishes her homework and doesn’t drink with her friends. I find that Pippa is judgmental of her friends at times, whether she means to be or not. I have seen this trope in other YA books, and I’m over it. I don’t need to read about teenage drinking, but I felt that Pippa had the idea that she was better than everyone else. Ravi was my favorite character throughout the book, as I think he supported Pippa throughout her investigations and was there for her. I would have liked to hear more about Ravi as a character because I don’t know much about him other than him being Pippa’s partner.

I think the biggest thing I noticed about this book is the implausibility of it all. For Pippa to collect the evidence she needs, she does some questionable things. This book is fictional, so maybe I’m being too critical, but I thought the way things played out was a little too convenient. Additionally, I find that A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder plays into a lot of tropes that I see in other books of this genre. One example includes a teacher sleeping with a student. I have seen this appear in other YA mysteries, and again, I’m over it. I’m not expecting new things from every book I read, but for how hyped this series is, I held this book to a higher standard.

I mentioned earlier how I have no interest in continuing the series. I was reading spoiler tags for the other books in this series, and this series gets really dark. Additionally, it seems like Pippa completely changes into an entirely new character (as long as the spoiler reviews are correct). Since I know this now, I’m going to pretend that this book is the only book in the series. It’s interesting because I don’t see the need for this book to be a series. I feel that A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder could have been a great standalone book.

I went back and forth on how I wanted to rate A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I liked the book, and I have no regrets about reading it. However, I think the book is slightly overhyped. I finally ended up rating A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder three stars on Goodreads.