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Sara | TheNookWithBooks

@thenookwithbooks

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Book reviews, mostly romance, mostly audio.. all from the heart. ❤️
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Hi 👋 I’m Sara. I have feelings about books. A lot of them.. 📚🎧
Welcome to my little nook💙 by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

Hi 👋 I’m Sara. I have feelings about books. A lot of them.. 📚🎧
Welcome to my little nook💙

Artwork by @inkandlovers by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

Hi 👋 I’m Sara. I have feelings about books. A lot of them.. 📚🎧
Welcome to my little nook💙 by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

150 romance/fantasy books in, and I thought I’d finally put down some of the FMC ideas, storylines and micro-tropes that keep swirling around in my head every time I find myself relating to a character… even just a tiny bit. 🤣

Now, I LOVE my indie and established romance authors, especially the ones who slip in those tiny, observant details that make my heart go 🥹❤️

These are just a few humble (and occasionally unhinged) ideas I’m throwing into the universe for any authors looking for inspiration.

Until my own “Fuck it, I’ll write the damn book myself” moment arrives, I’m happy to share them for free. 💅

And to my fellow readers…

📚 Have you come across books featuring FMCs going through real life struggles… while multitasking how to sword fight ? PLEASE drop your recommendations below…would love to read / listen..

✍️ Tag your favourite romance authors and audiobook narrators! Maybe we can convince someone to bring one of these ideas to life. 👀

💬 And if you’ve got more FMC or plot ideas, the more unhinged or close to real life.. the better, PLEASE share them! I’m always up for discussing fictional people and their very real problems…

#romancebooklovers #romancenarrators #bookstagram #booktok #romanceauthor by @thenookwithbooks

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4 days ago

Kill to Love by @penny_sunday_
🎧 Narrated in Duet by @belletudor, @jacob____morgan , @kaisergruenewald

Set in a dystopian world where people have Soulmates, at the heart of this book is a rich girl / boy from the streets story and how they find their way to each other through increasingly bizarre circumstances.

What I loved -
This book was funny as fuck!! The rapid-fire deadpan banter had me HOWLING!
What made it work so well for me was the way the constant back-and-forth between Delphine and Dig was written…She takes things painfully literally and he refuses to accept a single rejection at face value, turning every conversation into complete nonsensical comedy gold!
Also loved how the world reveals itself slowly. You’re dropped into something strange without being buried in explanations.
Though, underneath all the chaos there’s actually some very sharp satire about violence becoming normalised, people deciding who is “good” or “bad,” and the hilarious human tendency to cling to whatever version of reality lets us keep believing we’re good people.. not a dull moment in the book!
Delphine was such a fun FMC... Rich, absurdly out of touch, sunshine-ish, asking for sunscreen at wildly inappropriate moments… but never weak.
And Dig is the perfect morally grey man + romantically green flag combination. Touch-her-and-die, explicit about consent, endlessly patient, completely obsessed, and never trying to turn her into someone easier to love.

🎧 Narration
This is absolutely an audio-first book for me.
@belletudor is perfect as Delphine. The polished rich-girl accent, the dramatic little ‘helloooo’s & ‘hhwhatt’s, the absolute composure while speaking to criminals🤣
@kaisergruenewald is so much fun with characters like Panty Snatcher and Slashed Artery. And fun fact: Dominic and Annabelle are actually married 🤯 Must have been so much fun working on this one together. 🥰
And @jacob____morgan … (swoons..)
I will admit I originally came here for him, and the man does not disappoint!! He is SO good as Dig. Fantastic comedic timing and banter with tear jerking emotional range! even the little “hunnhh”s and the sneezes.. everything lands perfectly!! by @thenookwithbooks

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11 days ago

Bonfire and Bliss Bookstore by @authorbrittaneenicole
🎧 Duet narration by @meganwicks & @jamescassidyromance

This one is a part of the Hope Harbour Series.. although can be read / listened to as a standalone too..
FMC Penelope owns a romance bookstore.
MMC Monty is a once best selling suspense author. The two are childhood friends, who somehow find their way back in each other’s lives... When he needs help with writing a romance, fake dating becomes part of his training plan while also helping out Penelope with her social image… except these two have been carrying feelings for each other for years. What could possibly go wrong? 😏

What I loved
This book is basically the Professor’s forumula for making the Powerpuff Girls (you know…a pinch of sugar spice and everything nice), but in romance 🥰
All that makes romance readers swoon.. The ‘mine’ growl, tattooed arms, slutty little glasses, masked man fantasy, steaming spice, childhood pining, banter..all inside a sweet small-town romance with found family and cozy Fall vibes..
I especially loved that Monty isn’t already some perfectly trained book boyfriend.
Penelope knows exactly what makes a romance reader swoon, and Monty is taking notes… and some😏 The fact that he’s already gone for her since childhood just makes his training season spicier…
It’s funny, spicy and somehow still ridiculously wholesome.

🎧 And if you were wondering whats the Chemical X, its the narration! Megan Wicks & James Cassidy make these two SO believable.The chemistry and banter work beautifully in duet, and when things get spicy… yeah ykwim.. The narrators understood the assignment🔥

Why should you read it?
If you’ve read enough romance to know exactly why ‘mine’, slutty little glasses and masked men have their places up on the list and want something cozy, funny and spicy, this is an easy read / listen for you.(I finished this whole audiobook in one sitting🙈)

Any recs for cozy books, like this one, that you probably listened to in a single sitting?

#bonfireandblissbookstore #romancereader #romanceaudiobooks #spicyromance #romancebookstagram by @thenookwithbooks

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a month ago

Vera Stein Is Fine by @andimjulie
🎧 Dual narration by @therealjoynash & @narratedbyteddyhamilton

📖 Vera is done being someone’s convenient situationship and is starting over at a retirement community alongside her grandmother.
Cue an accidental ex-husband doctor, swinging seniors, and one very real and relatable Bath & Body Works panic buy revelation… the book kicks off one chaotic situation after another, but beneath all the chaos, this book is really about Self Worth… and what happens when you finally realise you’ve been giving too much for too little.

💗What I loved most was how Vera is written with such immaculate details that will make you relate with her immediately. She notices the small things, cares deeply, and quietly looks after people in ways they may never even realise.

🎧 The narration
@therealjoynash absolutely owns this one! Every character feels distinct and alive with amazing levels of variation in the accents, the timing and warmth… She inhabits the book!
And yes, @narratedbyteddyhamilton was great too. I love the man and his voice gives me tingles, but credit where its due, this was Joy’s show through and through…

☀️ Who is this book for
If you’re looking for a book that feels more like a friend than just a romance, this one’s for you. Somewhere along the way, Vera started feeling like the friend I could probably have if I had a social life🙈

@andimjulie, if there’s a group chat for folks like Vera, please add me🙏🤭

#bookreviewer #romancereader #audiobook #audiobookreview #summerread by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

*Audiobook Appreciation Post*

Devil by @thesierrasimone
Duet narration by @jacob____morgan , @meganwicks

This audiobook has its hooks in me!! 😈

The way @jacob____morgan makes Ryan’s words wrap around you *swoons* 🫠
his sighs, his pauses, his whispers… my god his whispers!!
You won’t even know the moment you’re ensnared🐍Poor Birdy never stood a chance. & Neither do you.

And speaking of Birdy @meganwicks makes every breath feel like your own. You’ll feel the dilemma, you’ll be trapped in her mind, and the only way out is to finish the book as fast as you can… all while contemplating whether you should drag it out instead, because there’s no way you’ll ever get to hear it for the first time again.

@thesierrasimone Mother will leave you invigorated and unraveled at once… detangling every dark wish and fantasy while quietly therapising you on why you are the way you are, if you know how to read between the lines😏

A PSA for fellow audiobook girlies:

✅ Listen with one earbud in? Put both in. You do not want to miss Jacob Morgan’s breathy little sighs or the ache in Megan Wicks’ voice.

✅ Doing chores while you listen? Leave them. Sit down. You don’t want a single distraction while you’re in a meditative state with the Devil.

❌ And do NOT for Devil’s sake listen to this one in public.
Because they’ll know. Everyone who looks at you will know.

That the Devil’s got his hooks in you too😈

PS - please read the CW before you dive in.. this one is spicy af and has a ton of trigger warnings.. mental health over everything else!! ✌️

Is it on your TBR? Have you read it yet? What was your favourite part/s..?

#audiobookreview #spicybooks #darkromancereads #romanceaudiobooks #sierrasimone by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

Shallow River by H.D. Carlton
🎧 Duet narration: @jacob____morgan & @michellesparksvoice

CW: I am an evolving dark romance listener/ reader and this is one of the darkest books I’ve read yet.. Please check the full CW on the author’s website before starting.

The premise : River (FMC) escapes her abusive life and is now rebuilding it with a man who seems perfect, until he isn’t. And the only person who sees it is his estranged brother, Mako(MMC) because of his own experiences.

What stayed with me : This book doesn’t romanticise the trap. River is strong AND she contradicts herself by staying trapped too long. As a reader, I was frustrated and wanted to shake her awake.. But for her, leaving means burning down yet another life she built for herself. And Mako here doesn’t do the saving.. he just stands beside her until she saves herself. And for those who know, that one person who sees the truth is what makes the difference.

And the narration. My god🫠
@jacob____morgan voices 3 men, three completely different registers, and he makes you FEEL all of them differently. I have listened to this man make me fall in love with morally grey men over and over and I did not know he could make me genuinely hate someone. Ryan’s charm curdling into menace mid-sentence, the way the warmth drains out of his voice when the mask slips … it’s genuinely frightening work. And then he turns around and gives Mako this steady, unshowy tenderness that becomes the safest sound in the whole book. And that terrifying Billy guy..i had goosebumps!!
@michellesparksvoice carries River through the fear, the fury, the slow rebuild and never once lets her sound like a victim being narrated. She also brings the FMC’s mother to life making us believe that the people who fail us are drowning in the same water.
Im probably late in saying this, but Both the narrators deserve every award for this book because it was so so well done!!

If you are into any of the above tropes, my personal suggestion is you listen to the audiobook..But please check the content warnings, mental health is more important than thrills. by @thenookwithbooks

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2 months ago

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3 months ago

Trouble Brewing by @walker_rose_books
🎧 Dual narration: @duran.troy & @michellesparksvoice

Crossroads Ranch Book 1 is small town, enemies to lovers, and exactly the kind of grown-up romance I reach for these days. MMC, Calder is a successful self-made guy, back to sell the family brewery… FMC, Meredith’s the woman running it. Sparks, obviously🔥

The way Walker has written Calder’s inner monologue made me pause what i was doing and just get lost in his words…The man has a hundred questions about her. Does she fish? did she get any sleep last night ? Did she wake up looking for me ?…. And I finally figured out why that hits so hard.. curiosity is the purest form of being wanted. Not desire, not grand gestures.. but just someone quietly wanting to learn you, treating your inner life as worth studying😭🫠

And here’s the other thing I loved, Meredith doesn’t sacrifice her life to be loved. The love is added to her, not traded for.. Honestly, I think this is part of why so many of us gravitate toward romance… it’s a world where the woman gets to come first and still be chosen. It’s a little sad that this feels more common in books than in real life… but that’s exactly why it stays motivating💛
Other things worth mentioning that i loved :
- The age bracket is my sweet spot too.. 2 people old enough to know what they want and going after it.
- The spice was top-notch, rough and gentle in all the right places.
- The male banter had me grinning, there’s the start of a found family..
- And a genuine suspense thread leaves you on a hook for the next book

The narration: @duran.troy in a softer contemporary might be a whole new sweet spot me that im just now uncovering 🤭. And @michellesparksvoice makes me a bigger fan with every single book… she has such command over the feelings and emotions, it clearly shows.

Read / listen if you are into-

🤠Small-town enemies to lovers
🍺Self made MMC x Ambitious local girl
🤠FMC who keeps herself AND gets the love
🍺Grown-ups who know what they want
🤠Spice that’s rough & gentle
🍺Beginnings of a found family
🤠A suspense hook for the series by @thenookwithbooks

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3 months ago

A Sanctuary for Sin by @madisonlawson
🎧 Duet narration: @jamescassidyromance
@akalucyrivers

The 2nd book in the Saints of Purgatory Series..is Grumpy(James) x Sunshine(Sadie) done exactly the way I like it… This book had motorcycle club chaos, revenge plots, emotional damage, witty banter and the thing that stayed with me most was the love for snacks and tonnes of pop culture references. 🤭

The duet narration absolutely delivers!! James Cassidy gives James Hartley’s gruff exterior just enough softness, while Lucy Rivers brings so much warmth and humor to Sadie that every joke lands and every emotional moment feels absolutely earned!

Read/listen if you you’ve ever been the strong friend, the cliff face everyone else jumps off of..Sadie’s story will do something quiet to you. Book 2 of the Saints of Purgatory is Sadie’s book. And Sadie absolutely deserved this book!!

🖤 Grumpy × sunshine done with real balance
💜 Morally Grey characters
🖤 Motorcycle club romance
💜 Found family
🖤 Banter that actually makes you laugh
💜 Dangerous men folding for kind women
🖤 Snack-related love languages

Which trope has you in a chokehold lately?

#romancereader #audiobookreview #motorcycleclubromance #foundfamily #grumpysunshine by @thenookwithbooks

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3 months ago