Tips for Tuesday - Books: My Best Friend's Honeymoon, All We Lost Was Everything, & Parents Weekend

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Books: My Best Friend's Honeymoon, All We Lost Was Everything, & Parents Weekend 

Me - My Best Friend's Honeymoon by Meryl Wilsner is a spicy friends-to-lovers book. It follows Elsie and Ginny, who go on Elsie's week-long honeymoon together after Elsie ends her engagement.

Elsie and Ginny had strong chemistry from the start but their transition from friends to lovers felt extremely abrupt. Each of them had spent years fearing that their friendship might be ruined if they acted on their romantic feelings and afterwards holding off for such a long time, that it felt unnatural for them to just fall into bed together like they did.

In a similar vein, this book contains a lot of sex that's described in vivid detail. In fact, the sex scenes overpowered any emotional connection the characters might've had, leaving their romance lacking.

That said, the romance did have some cute moments, and the story was atmospheric, making the reader feel like they were on a tropical vacation along with the characters.

If you're looking for a spicy, easy-to-read, summer romance without much substance, you might enjoy this, but otherwise it may not be the book for you.

Mom - Today, I recommend All We Lost Was Everything by Sloan Harlow.  When River's house burned down, her father was killed, and she lost all her earthly possessions. Then, someone mysteriously donated two million dollars to her GoFundMe page. The only person she was sure didn't do it was her co-worker, Logan. He made it obvious that he couldn't stand her, at least that's what she thought. However, there was a lot she didn't know about Logan, and he wasn't the only one with secrets.

This book is an extremely compelling read. It quickly grabs your attention and holds it. It is full of one shocking revelation after another, but happily, none are completely out of left field; rather, all of them make complete sense within the story. The plot is so full and so interesting that the mystery of who donated the money isn't even that important to the story, and by the time it is revealed, it hardly feels like it matters. 

Even with everything that has happened to her, River is a strong, feisty, and admirable character. She seems to have a lot of great supportive people in her life. The fact that it turns out that hardly anyone in her life is exactly who they seem makes the entire story even more intriguing. 

Logan seems like a really great guy once he reveals his sweeter side, and he and River seem like a really great couple. Her best friend, Tawny, is fiercely loyal and always there for her, albeit at times in a somewhat controlling way. Even her ex-boyfriend, Noah, really seems to care about her and to be desperate to be a part of her life again. 

Her most touching relationship may be with her aunt, who, in the wake of her own mother's disappearance, is like a mother to her. Their relationship is especially warm and loving. Plus, her aunt is the one person in her life who is exactly what they seem. However, everyone else's secrets only serve to make the book that much more exciting and the ending even more of a shocker.

Today, I am also recommending Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay. This book is about a group of students who disappear on parents' weekend. It is really quick to get into and remains interesting throughout. There are a lot of characters, however, and it is not always so easy to keep track of them or remember who goes with whom. Also, it feels like the parents are more fleshed out than the students because the latter only come into the book late in the story. Before that, they are mostly seen through the eyes of other characters.

The mystery is intriguing, even though it becomes clear who may have taken the students and why well before it is actually revealed. However, there is so much more to the story than the who and the why; there is the how they got to that point. That part of the story is even more interesting than who took them and why.

The story is surprisingly thought-provoking. It makes you think about how quick we are to judge one another based on hearsay and innuendo, without fully understanding what is going on with another person before judging them.  It actually makes you want to be a better person and be more careful before forming opinions of others, 

And that's our view. My Best Friend's Honeymoon was released today. All We Lost Was Everything and Parents Weekend will be released next Tuesday, May 6.

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

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