Cassie DeNisco

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The Luckiest Girl Alive Review!

I definitely am late to the party on this book since it’s already a movie, but The Luckiest Girl Alive review has been on list for so long! I’ve committed to 50 books again this year and this was book 3 for me.

I actually didn’t previously watch the movie not because I wanted to spoil the book but I honestly was super interested in it. It didn’t look really great to me but I am definitely going to be checking it out now.

The Luckiest Girl Alive

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the luckiest girl alive review

Trigger Warning: SA, School Shooting

I won’t lie, this one started out slow for me. For some reason I couldn’t quite get into it and was almost just like confused at where it was going. Once the flashbacks started it slowly started to piece together and make sense. I really liked looking at Ani’s life in the present and how she got there.

This book has the NYC girl boss feels with twists and turns towards the end that you’ll never have guessed. When Ani is asked to do a documentary about an incident that happened in her Pennsylvania private school, the reader doesn’t find out about the incident until the end.

You almost think you know what it is about and then there’s another turn that twists even more. I loved that you got to see a sneak peak into her glamorous current NYC life juxtaposed to her less rich and exciting high school life.

There are definitely heavy topics that this book dives into which is why I listed the trigger warnings above. I really liked this book because you just didn’t expect the ending so it kept me on my toes. Sometimes thrillers miss the mark and are too easy to guess but this really was it for me.

I hope you enjoyed this Luckiest Girl Alive Review! I would rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars so I definitely recommend to read it! You can check out my January book of the month post here!

Best Books to Read for 2023!!

I LOVE writing this post every year! I take a look back at my Good Reads for the year and share some of my favorite books I’ve read!! These best books to read for 2023 are truly the books I fell in love with this year!

Some of my best performing posts for the year were my book reviews and it was such a fun year to share what I read with you! We’ve read everything from mysteries to romance and some Colleen Hoovers in between. I even met my Good Reads goal of 50 books in 2022 so I’ve definitely read my fair share of books this year! Here are some of my favorites!!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

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books to read for 2023

Talk about a transformative book! This love story is epic and will absolutely set the tone for your summer if you read it in June! The writing was fantastic and I just really appreciated the cozy small town vibes. It’s based around these summer houses and kids who fall in love when they’re young but reconnect as they get older. You cannot go through Summer 2023 without reading this book!

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

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books to read 2023

Luckily I was able to read all 3 of these books before the Prime series came out! I fell in love with these books and the show only added to that. Another summer read but honestly I feel like these characters and what they go through is relatable. This leans more on the young adult side so it was a quick read for me but I really recommend it if you love the show!

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover

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This is the sequel to It Ends With Us by Co Ho so definitely read that first. This book really gives more layers to the characters and continues the story laid out in the first book. I love this series for so many reason but this book solidified for me this story. Essentially at the heart it’s a love story that two people get reconnected in. It’s so good and this book really did it for me after reading the first one!

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

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I originally read the Guest List by Lucy Foley and really loved the thriller vibes so I knew this would be the same. The books aren’t connected but this author just has a way of writing that instantly grabs you and makes you read. I got through this in one sitting because it was a true page turner that kept you on your toes!!

The Confidence of Wildflowers by Micalea Smeltzer

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This had been on my good reads for quite sometime! I finally got around to reading it this year and I really loved it. I’m starting to see a theme that I like books about neighbors but oh well lol!! This book deals with loss and grief but also just has this amazing story to it that I really appreciate. The writing was so good and I’m just mad I didn’t pick this up sooner!

Here are my other book reviews from this year!

January– It Happened One Summer

February– The Light We Lost

March– Death by Disseration

April– Reminders of Him

May– The Most Beautiful Girl In Cuba

June– The Christie Affair

July– The Northern Spy

August– Reputation

September– American Royals

October– Ugly Love

November– The Last Thing He Told Me

I hope this book wrap up really helped you find some good books to read for 2023 !! I am looking so forward to continuing these posts so be sure to subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a post!!

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover Review!

I can hardly believe that I’m sharing October’s book of the month! This month I went back to Colleen Hoover and gave her book Ugly Love a try! Colleen Hoover books are always so good when you feel like you’re in a book rut.

They always help me get back into reading because they’re so good! Her books are usually complex love stories with a twist at the end. I seriously love her writing style and wasn’t surprised when I loved this book!

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover- Shop Here

ugly love

Ugly Love was my last read of the summer and it definitely did not disappoint! I loved the writing between current Tate and flashbacks to Miles’ past. It helped to paint a picture of who these people are and how they got to the places they’re in.

Tate first meets Miles drunk and crying in her brothers apartment. They don’t speak of that night again but it leaves this lingering feeling that Miles isn’t telling the entire truth to Tate. He essentially just wants to be friends with benefits but as we know, feeling started to evolve.

Tate and Miles end up falling for each other and we realize Miles has a traumatic history with being in love. This makes us understand why he is so against being in love with Tate and how important it is that he might actually be ready to move on.

Ugly Love is one of those books that makes you realize just how complex love can be. It does show that it is so worth it to find your person that helps you to work through your issues and create new happiness.

I truly believe you can just never go wrong with a Colleen Hoover book. No matter which one you choose they are all so good and make you want to just keep reading!

You can read last month’s book review here!

The Christie Affair Book Review!!

As we approach the warmer months, there’s nothing better to me than a good mystery book in the sun! I was excited to get my hands on The Christie Affair after hearing about Agatha Christie’s mysterious few weeks being missing.

I love any book from Reese Witherspoon’s book club so I had very high hopes for this one. If you’re interested in purchasing this book, I have an affiliate link below which means I earn a small commission. No pressure to purchase though!

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont- Shop Here

the christie affair

This book follows the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of Agatha Christie. This is about the true story of Agatha Christie’s car being found abandoned on the side of the road. And how she reappears days later far from it.

Christie’s marriage wasn’t the greatest. It has allegations of cheating from her husband so Nina de Gramont writes this book from the point of view of the mistress. I think it’s a very interesting take on the story and gives it a new perspective.

Christie’s disappearance was actually a way for her to try to save her marriage and get the mistress to go back to her ex boyfriend. I think the story line had a lot of potential with twists and turns but to be honest, it was hard to follow.

The story of Christie is one I already know so I was looking for more of a mysterious adventure, not a revenge plot. I also felt like there was too much emphasis on the mistress when the book is marketed as what happened to Agatha when she disappeared.

This might be the first book of the month that I actually wouldn’t say run to read. It is well written but just did not live up to the hype . I seem to be leaning more and more into historical fiction so this just didn’t do it for me.

Final Thoughts

I really just did not love this book. It wasn’t what I thought it was and I just feel like I wouldn’t want to recomend it. I’m super interested to hear if you read this and liked it though!

To be apart of the book club, subscribe here so you don’t miss a post! Check out some of my other book picks here!

Reminders of Him By Colleen Hoover -Book Review

I am so happy to be sharing our 4th book of the month with you- Reminders of Him! This month I went with a newer release by one of my favorite authors, Colleen Hoover. Colleen Hoover books are the best because she’s able to write a really wide variety of pieces.

I initially was introduced to her through Verity, which is an absolute must read if you haven’t already. It Ends With Us, also by CoHo is a completely different vibe but another must read. Colleen Hoover books are always so good so I was happy to get my hands on this one when it came out!

Reminders of Him–Shop Here

reminders of him

The cover of this book immediately draws you in, so I knew just from the outside this was going to be good. This book follows Kenna and Ledger, both dealing with the grief of losing someone they both love. We learn Kenna is a single mother, who was actually in the accident with her boyfriend Scott died.

Kenna went to prison for the accident and was never able to see her child. Scott’s parents blamed her for the accident and the after math. When she got out, Kenna goes back to the small town. She wants to see if she can meet her daughter for the first time.

Kenna meets Ledger, the bartender at the local pub and they hit it off. It gets a little steamy between them until Kenna realizes Ledger is Scott’s best friend who she never got to meet. With this beginning alone, it really draws you into the book.

The details surrounding the accident are not what they seem but everyone in the small town wants Kenna to go, except Ledger. As he learns more about her and the day of the accident, he realizes how terrible Kenna was treated due to everyone’s grief. By the end of the book, Ledger helps to make it possible for Kenna to see her daughter and they end up falling in love.

Final Thoughts

I really liked how Kenna got a happy ending. You could feel how much pain she was in throughout the book from the accident. It was great to see that Ledger ended up helping to create a relationship between her and Scott’s parents.

Ledger lost his best friend but was able to see what Scott saw in Kenna. Ledger took care of Scott’s daughter like his own so this book was just so heart warming and a great read. It wasn’t as heavy as some of her other books.

I hope you enjoyed this book review of Reminders of Him! I have been loving this book club we created so be sure to subscribe to my list here so you don’t miss one! You can read last month’s, Death By Dissertation here!

Books to Read this Summer 2021!

One of my favorite posts I share each year are the books to read this summer. I love reading. It has become so relaxing to me over the past year and I have read a lot of books. Continuing with that theme, I have a huge list of what I am reading this summer. I thought it would be great to share some of my book recommendations for you to start your list of books to read this summer!

For all of you book worms, I’ll break this up into categories based on book genre so that you can get right to the books you love.

Self-Help

The Defining Decade is definitely a great book for your 20s. I’m not usually big on self-help books. I find them hard to get into because I would much rather read fiction books but this was really inspirational. This book was easy to relate to in so many ways because all of the people Meg Jay talks about are having the same feelings I am having. From work to love, this book helps you to realize you shouldn’t waste away your 20s. This is a decade that can set you up for the rest of your life.

As you can tell I actually don’t have Untamed yet and haven’t read it. I have heard great things about it and I am looking forward to getting my hands on it this summer. From what I gather, it seems this book has Girl Boss vibes which was one I really loved reading. Recently, I’ve been into reading about other people’s lives that are relevant to mine and this book really just spoke to me when I saw it.

Similar to Untamed, Atomic Habits is also one I haven’t read yet but literally have heard great things about. From what I gather, this book is all about making small changes that turn into habits. I love books like these because I feel like they can really show you what small changes can do. I can’t wait to read this book this summer.

Romance

99 Days by Katie Cotugno instantly became one of my favorites. This is definitely YA but that made it easy for me to read in one day. This book follows a girl in love with two brothers and it seriously is so great. I love how honest the main character is with readers and there is actually a sequel to this which will make you happy once you get to the ending. Highly recommend you getting your hands on this guy ASAP.

I haven’t read Love and Gelato yet but I was looking for a series similar to 99 days. This is actually the first book in a series of 3 and I’m excited to get started. This book has travel which is something I think that we’re all looking forward to doing. I love a good quick read like this and I think this is a perfect summer series read.

I just purchased The Proposal and found the back of the book so cute. Also, pro tip: any books with Reese’s Book Club on it are generally so good. I always love the book she recommends so I know that once I read this I’ll love it. Jasmine Guillory also has a few other books that I’m interested to read so I am excited to read my first book by her.

books to read this summer

Thrillers

I left this book alone in this category because Liv Constantine does not write a bad book. Every thriller by her is just as good as the other. The Wife Stalker is her most recent and I could not put it down. I read this maybe in like 1 day because it was just that good. I love The Last Mrs. Parrish and The Last Time I Saw You. If you love books with a twist, this author and these books are literally for you. Probably my highest recommendation!!

books to read this summer

Best Beach Reads

This last genre is for my best beach reads. Mark Kay Andrews writes the best books for when you’re on vacation. I’ve read a few by her so far but not Sunset Beach. She writes about people on vacation with a mystery they have to solve. These books aren’t heavy but are so interesting. I love making sure I have one by her for my vacations!

books to read this summer

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I cannot wait for summer and creating this book list seriously got me so excited. I hope you enjoyed these recommendations. Let me know if have any other book recs for me. I literally go through books so fast so I am always open to new books and authors!

You can read my other book posts here.

Books You Have to Read for Fall

Back by popular demand is another book recommendations video! These books you have to read are all different genres and are perfect to cozy up with for fall. If you’re looking for more books you have to read, check out my last book post here!

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Best Books for Summer 2020

Although it might not feel like it, summer is right around the corner. Whether we’re still stuck at home or on vacations, there is always time to curl up with a great book. This summer, I’ve put together the best books for Summer 2020 just like I did last year. Here’s that post. I hope this list of best books for summer inspires you to put down your devices and check out a good read.

Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

best books for summer

If you’re looking for a great book to motivate you to get things done, then this is for you. Year of Yes not only encourages you to step out of your comfort zone to try new things but it also gives a look into the life of Shonda Rhimes. She’s the creator of some of my favorite shows like Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, and How to Get Away with Murder. She shares with her readers a guide to saying yes and not letting fear get in your way.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger

best books for summer

I am obsessed with this author and equally as obsessed with this book! Last summer I read When Life Gives You Lululemons and it is just as great as this book. I love how Lauren Weisberger creates characters that are so relatable. As I read her work, I think about how similar it is to Gossip Girl, one of my favorites, but an adult version. Chasing Harry Winston chronicles 3 girls dating journeys at different stages. It’s a great read for the beach because you won’t want to put it down.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

best books for summer

Read this book if you’re looking for something you won’t be able to put down!! Based in Connecticut, this book is about a woman trying to insert herself into another woman’s life. I loved this book because it was so fascinating. Every page had me captivated and the author is amazing at writing. The author is actually a sister duo writing together which I found even cooler. Love this book and definitely will read more by the author!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

best books for summer

This is on my list to read this summer! I have heard great things about this author and book so I am excited to get started. This book was also recommended by Reese Witherspoon which is all the more reason to read it! Based on the back of the book, it seems like a murder mystery coming of age story and I am hooked. This one really seems like it might be the best books for summer!

I hope this list of best books for summer inspires you to find a good book and get to reading. One of my all time favorite things to do is lay out in the sun and read a good book. Let me know what’s on your list of best books for summer and share it below!

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My Summer Favorites

I can hardly believe that summer is half over but we still have plenty of time to check things off of our bucket lists. Today I am bringing you my top 7 products/favorite things that I haven’t been able to live without this summer!

  1. EOS Lip Balm

This is by far my favorite lip balm of all time but I love it even more in the summer. It’s super moisturizing and it really lasts all day. Highly recommend buying the stick version because its more convenient to throw in your bag then a ball is! Hawaiian Tropics Dark Tanning Oil

2. Neon Bikinis

Neon swimwear is a huge trend this summer. If you go on any website like Zaful or Revolve, you can see that neon is the major trend. For me, I’m not super into neon so I wanted to be trendy but not spend too much. I found these super cute bathing suits on amazon and I love them so much!

3. When Life Gives You Lululemons

Not only is this book title super cute, I am loving the storyline. This book is a part of the Devil Wears Prada series, which is a great movie/book series. What I love most is that this is such an easy read that it’s perfect to take to the beach and just get lost in the story.

4. Apple Watch

I love going on walks early in the morning in the summer and I seriously have been loving my Apple Watch. I originally purchased it for when I was teaching class so I didn’t have to lug my phone around but I’ve found that now that I have it, I am way more accountable of my workouts and I track what I burn so easily. The watches are definitely pricy but the series 3, other than the fact that it’s not water proof, is the same as the new series 4.

5. Coach Mini Backpack

If you ask any of my friends, I was literally all set to buy the Louis Vuitton Palm Springs Mini Backpack. I loved the size of it and the style but wasn’t too sure if I was going to love it enough for $2,000 and let’s be real, I’m just a college student on a budget. When I found this Coach backpack, I literally fell in love because it’s the exact same size/still of the Palm Springs Mini but without the hefty price tag. I’ve also found that carrying around this bag is so convenient and actually really comfy.

6. It’s a 10 Leave-In Conditioner

This leave in conditioner is something that I use on and off throughout the year. Sometimes I’ll use it and sometimes it makes my hair too greasy. I have religiously been using it this summer because I find that it really gives your hair back the moisture it loses in the sun. Now I realize this product is pricy, but it’s literally SO worth it. It leaves my hair exactly how it says it will on the package which is why I keep coming back to it.

7. Method Body Wash

Getting sunburn is awful but I love coming in and taking a good shower afterwards. I’ve found that Method body wash is literally great and really cools and moisturizes your skin. I especially love the green tea one because I find it counteracts my redness and just soothes my sunburn. Not to mention, it smells AMAZING.

I couldn’t imagine my summer without these products. I seriously love them and they make live so much easier. Let me know in the comments below if you have tried any of these or if you have any summer favorites that I might have missed!

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What I’m Reading this Summer

I always have been such a huge reader but there is just something about summer time and reading that sparks a huge desire to read even more. To me, there is nothing better then laying out in the hot sun on a beach with a great book . This post is dedicated to some of the books I’m planning to read this summer or have read but may reread because they’re just that good.

My first book should be no surprise if you saw my GOT review. I am absolutely going to be started the Game of Thrones books series with the first book, A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I am really looking forward to taking the time to site and read this book and find all the hidden foreshadowing of the finale’s events that I missed in only watching the TV series. Most of the time, I do read the books before I watch the TV or movie versions but for some reason GOT just didn’t seem that appealing to me until I saw the series. I have only heard great things about the books so they are definitely my top must read for the summer.

One genre that I have really found myself loving as I have gotten older is self-help. I think a lot of people probably shy away from it because the name seems like a turnoff but I think these types of books really provide great guidance and motivation as I grow older. One book series that I LOVE is the You Are a Badass collection by Jen Sincero. I have read the yellow one about how to stop doubting yourself but this summer I have my sight set on the green one called You Are a Badass at Making Money. I just loved her first book so I am sure that this one will be just as insightful and provide the guidance I am looking for.

Staying in the realm of self-care, I really recommend reading Eat Pretty by Jolene Hart. I know I mentioned it in my Skin Secrets post but I think if you are like me it’s totally worth the read. The summer is the best time to pursue your goals and if cooking more and living a healthier lifestyle are on your list this book is right up your alley. Not only is this book broken down into seasons of the year to tell you what fruits and veggies to eat for what you’re looking for but it also gives you recipes on how to incorporate them into your diet. I am just so obsessed with this book and I reread it at least once or twice a year because its basically a food bible.

A few other books that are on my must read list are When Life Gives You LuluLemons, Make Your Bed, and of course The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Every time I walk by these books in Barnes and Nobles I am so tempted to pick them up but I just know I already have such a long list of books to read. If you have an book recommendations leave them in the comments below.

Happy Reading! – C

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