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Trudy Lynn

@reading_deftly

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DEFTLY, adv. Neatly; dextrously; in a skilful manner.
2026 books: 96
📚 I need to read like I need to eat❤
@the.purple.granny

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People Like Us by @louisastaceyauthor **ARC Review**

Book 96 of 2026 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I received this ARC from the author, and my review is completely my own thoughts.

People Like Us is my first book to read by Louisa Stacey and I enjoyed it very much! It was my before-bed read for 2 evenings.

I love stories about childhood friends and second chances. I'm not a fan of cheating, and I empathized with both Daniel and Melody and how they dealt with it. Louisa did a good job showing their character growth as they dealt with their own issues and also learned how to deal with each other, and relearn who they were.

"Something flickers between us then--a grudging respect maybe. Or perhaps we finally understood that we were just two people standing on the edge of a change that neither of us had asked for."

There were plenty of humorous moments throughout, as well as the more serious. This book has some language, and is low spice (kisses only).

This is the second book (of 3) in the Chemistry In the Cotswolds series, but can be read as a standalone.

Release day November 5, 2026

Book Overview:

When Melody Cavendish discovers her husband is cheating, she blows up her beige, pampered life and impulsively volunteers to manage her family's struggling motorsport circuit, Falcon Ridge. She has no racing experience, a buyout offer from a sleazy competitor breathing down her neck, and an Operations Director who looks at her like she's a personal insult to motorsport.

That would be Daniel Adams — a walking encyclopedia of mundane racing facts who expected the top job himself, and who's nursing a freshly broken heart of his own. He's thoroughly unconvinced the boss's daughter is anything but a liability with a clipboard.

As a ruthless rival circles the failing track, Melody and Daniel must call a truce to save the community they love — discovering that sometimes the best way to heal a broken heart is to build something new together. by @reading_deftly

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3 days ago

Beautiful Promises by @heather_michelle_author

Book 84 & 88 of 2026 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I already shared this ARC review in my September Roundup, but this book deserves it's own post. Preorder now! Available October 16, 2026, and book 2 will be coming out in November.

This is a high school sweethearts love story, and it truly is sweet and tender, but it's so much more than that. It's about friendships, the future, and fate. Darkness and Light living alongside each other. Dreams and secrets. Devastation and hope

Makenna and Reid knew each other from math class but weren't in each other's circle. A party, a police raid, and witnessing a horrifying event aren't a promising beginning to a relationship. But Reid knows enough of the darkness to keep Makenna innocent and safe.

But they get too close one time too many times to that thin curtain that separates their life from the darkness, and everything they had planned is shattered, gone forever.

I read this book in one sitting twice! The suspense and chemistry is so good, the need to know what comes next kept me going. The tears that fell along the way didn't bother me, apparently I read to be emotionally wrecked. When I reached the final page I complained aloud about having to wait for the next part of the story. If you really really don't like a serious cliffhanger, then I advise you wait until the series is complete, and but then all so you won't have to wait

But if you can handle it, then get started now! by @reading_deftly

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7 days ago

A Shot At More Than Friends by Susie Heart

Book 92 of 2026 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫

ARC review, no strings attached, all thoughts are my own. Preorder now for only $0.99! Publishing date October 18, 2026.

This is the first book I've read by @susieheartromance ❤️ I sat down this evening after receiving it and only got up to check on the cat. I enjoyed this story very much!

Miranda and Jonah were best friends in high school, but then they went their separate ways. Jonah continues to pursue hockey, and Miranda turned gaming into a profession.

Six years later they reconnect, and it's like no time has passed. They end up as a Couple for a gaming competition. But will fake dating lead to more? Or will they choose to ignore what they feel in order to protect what they think the other wants?

I loved the banter between the characters, including their friends. And now I'm interested in their stories as well. (This is book 3 in the series) I appreciate it when characters listen to their friends' advice, and self-reflect on their own choices, before realizing they've been stupid and fix it.

One of my daughters is a gamer and she used to do live streaming. Now I understand her a little bit better.

Read this if you like:
Friends to more
Fake dating
Forced proximity
Sports
Sweet no-spice rom-com by @reading_deftly

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8 days ago

September reads! I need to do this before I forget what happened in these books 😄

Multiple captions, so don't forget to read!

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author **ARC review**

Book 75 & 87 of 2026 YES, I read it twice! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I've made a few posts featuring favorite quotes/scenes, please go back and check those out! My thoughts today...

I have so many "favorite" authors, whose books get 4 and 5 stars all the time. Books that become a part of me, teach me more about the world I'm in and the people who walk here alongside me. But there's something truly different about Ashley's stories. They're more personal, they go deeper into my soul. And it's not just because I can relate to some of the characters and what they're going through, because even the storylines that I've never lived speak to me. It all becomes a part of who I am now.

This book contains:
Family, friendship, love
Wonder, adventure
Tragedy, breakdown, devastation
Heartbreak and healing
Confusion and answers
Rejection and acceptance
Home
HOPE

(Don't start with this book, though. Go to the beginning. I love going blind into a book, but if you want to know the plot, or read the content/trigger warnings, then go to Ashley's page and check it out.)

Bacon Pancakes 🥓🥞 by @elisehaynesbooks

Book 85 of 2026, read on KU 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Bacon Pancakes is book 2 in the Rumors of Cape Georgeana series. I read the first, Enemies to Lobsters 🦞 in August, and I need to read book 3, Forest Proximity 🌲🫈 before book 4, Grape Proximity 🍇, comes out in December.

This seems faster-paced than the first. A lot happens in a short period of time. But there are 4 years of backstory that make it believable. You might get some sad feels, but I can guarantee you'll laugh more. If you need a wholesome, fun read, pick this up. It can be read as a standalone, imo.

Marlow 's life is a mess. Disasters upon stupid things keep happening, but August is always there for her. She has secrets. She thinks hiding them protects her and those she loves. She has a timeline for getting through the hard part of life and then she can breathe and be happy. Boy, is she wrong about so much!

"Sweet. Savory. Slightly unhinged. by @reading_deftly

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10 days ago

The Christmas Yes List by Melissa Ferguson @ourfriendlyfarmhouse (the first 2 chapters) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I just finished this sneak peek and couldn't put it down because of all the great laughs. There are some ideas for self-reflection as well (are you a people pleaser? Or the opposite?) I'm looking forward to the full version of this, because I can see where this is going 😎 (strong vibes of a favorite rom-com movie 🎥). Read this if you love small town Christmas, what-the-heck-is-even-going-on-right-now, strangers to friends to more (I know that's where it's headed).

The book is coming out in October, and the movie (on TV) in November!

Thanks to a post I saw this morning @closeddoorromance for the encouragement to just get those reviews done, they don't need to be long or fancy. by @reading_deftly

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21 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 9 of 9! of ARC review)

How much can one couple go through and still find their way back to each other? For Peter and Sarah it was a lot, but they did it. (And don't tell me that's a spoiler! You just need to read it to see How they get their HEA.)

For some of us, real life doesn't always look like we get a "happily ever after", at least not the way we hope for.

But there's that word Hope again. It's the word that fills my soul every time I read one of Ashley's books. Even amidst my own life messes and pain I have Hope. Because I know this world is not my Home. I have the blessed hope of eternity with my Savior in a place far more beautiful than this world He created for us. by @reading_deftly

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23 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 8 of ARC review)

And then ... I'm not telling you! 😄 (Spoilers!) This is one of my favorite moments in the book, where I actually cheered aloud. 🥳 So you're just going to need to trust me, get this book, and Read It All from start to finish. That's pretty much all I have to say about that.

🎵 Find Out Who Your Friends Are
🎵Count On Me
🎵 I'll Stand By You
🎵 Lean On Me
🎵 You've Got a Friend In Me by @reading_deftly

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23 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 7 of ARC review)

Peter said he needed space. Away from Sarah. How hurt she was! She was falling apart trying to figure out who she was without him, and could she go on. And then she saw how he was on the opposite trajectory, (seemingly, at least) getting his life together, becoming happy. Without her by his side.

Why? Why does it hurt so much to see the ones we love and desire thrive when we step out of their lives? We want to be everything to them. Their joy, their passion, their comforter, the one they Need like air. Because that's what they are to us.

But are we supposed to be everything to each other? I'm learning the answer is No. Even in the healthiest and happiest of relationships we need to keep our own identity, and learn to receive what we need from ourselves or others. Have some independence within being dependent. Give and take honestly. by @reading_deftly

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23 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 6 of ARC review)

We are so good at lying to ourselves, aren't we? And then we think we can convince others of the same thing. We are fools.

Peter's dad is so full of wisdom and good advice. And they had the kind of relationship wherein Peter could be honest with his dad, and actually Hear his advice. It's a great thing when families actually love each other and treat each other with honesty, respect, and can also deliver a good kick to the backside when needed.

Sarah also got plenty of love and support from this family, and great advice (and that needed kick) from an unexpected source.

🎵 Lies, Lies, Lies by Morgan Wallen
🎵Fair To You by Vincent Lima
🎵Make It Rain by Riley Green
🎵 My Old Man by Zac Brown Band by @reading_deftly

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23 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 5 of my ARC review)

We all keep parts of ourselves hidden away. The things we're embarrassed about. The things that have hurt us. The secret longings and dreams. It's hard to open up to others, it's scary! Will they ignore? Will they judge and reject? Will they laugh and scoff? Will they use it to hurt us more?

But what if... What if they see? What if they acknowledge, weep, protect, and hope alongside us? What if they Love us?! Learning how to be open and honest, being vulnerable, unravels the things that bind us, so that we can truly be free.

This quote is from one particular character in the book, but there are several who go through the same process. And it's because of those unravelings that the healings can come.

This is book 3 in the series, and they really do need to be read in order to get the full impact of who each character is, and the journey each one goes through. All 3 are available now, and Ashley has promised we'll get the final book sometime in 2027. 💖 by @reading_deftly

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24 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (post 4 of ARC review)

When you finally have no choice but to accept what's right in front of you, the hurtful words, the harsh actions, the cold withdrawal of affection, all that's left is a broken heart. And trying to figure out where to go from here.

I completely relate to Sarah in this book. I'm nearly a year past my own heartbreak, so it's easier for me to now see that she wasn't the only one broken.

Peter was broken first, not by her but by life, and it was his own pain that allowed him to hurt the one he loved the most. by @reading_deftly

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25 days ago

We Drank the Dawn by @ashleydill_author (Post 3 of ARC review)

This part right here is like Ashley read my mind and heart, stepped into my situation, and put it all in words that could be understood. But there's really no understanding what's happening when your heart is being destroyed, when the person you love the most is also the one hurting you the most.

You don't want to believe what you're hearing, he can't really mean it. You want to ignore what he's doing, because surely you misunderstood. So you hold onto the past happiness, the shared experiences, the words of love, the hope of the future you dreamed of together...or was it really only you? You want to save the Us that is the only thing you've ever wanted, and so you keep reaching out... by @reading_deftly

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25 days ago