*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.
About the book-
Carey Duncan has worked for home remodeling and design gurus Melissa and Rusty Tripp for nearly a decade. A country girl at heart, Carey started in their first store at sixteen, and—more than anyone would suspect—has helped them build an empire. With a new show and a book about to launch, the Tripps are on the verge of superstardom. There’s only one problem: America’s favorite couple can’t stand each other.
James McCann, MIT graduate and engineering genius, was originally hired as a structural engineer, but the job isn’t all he thought it’d be. The last straw? Both he and Carey must go on book tour with the Tripps and keep the wheels from falling off the proverbial bus.
Unfortunately, neither of them is in any position to quit. Carey needs health insurance, and James has been promised the role of a lifetime if he can just keep the couple on track for a few more weeks. While road-tripping with the Tripps up the West Coast, Carey and James vow to work together to keep their bosses’ secrets hidden, and their own jobs secure. But if they stop playing along—and start playing for keeps—they may have the chance to build something beautiful together…
My thoughts-
It's been a while since I have read a romantic comedy that I couldn't put down, but that is exactly what happened once I started (and quickly finished) The Honey Don't List. I am not even a huge HGTV person. I don't care about house renovations shows, although I have been to Magnolia because I live in Dallas and Waco just isn't so far away and it's a beautiful store. I still thought this story sounded interesting and I was right. I was more engaged in the love story between the main characters- the assistants to the big tv star couple- and them trying to get through the sham that they are caught between. I know a lot of people don't like the style of writing that includes flash backs and other types of enhancements, but I have always thought that presenting more than one time frame and other types of media that are expository in nature with excerpts from the news articles and social media outlets really help move the story along and these types of extra information always make the novel feel more whole to me. I absolutely love this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance.
*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.
About the book-
Where do you see yourself in five years?
When Type-A Manhattan lawyer Dannie Cohan is asked this question at the most important interview of her career, she has a meticulously crafted answer at the ready. Later, after nailing her interview and accepting her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, Dannie goes to sleep knowing she is right on track to achieve her five-year plan.
But when she wakes up, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. The television news is on in the background, and she can just make out the scrolling date. It’s the same night—December 15—but 2025, five years in the future.
After a very intense, shocking hour, Dannie wakes again, at the brink of midnight, back in 2020. She can’t shake what has happened. It certainly felt much more than merely a dream, but she isn’t the kind of person who believes in visions. That nonsense is only charming coming from free-spirited types, like her lifelong best friend, Bella. Determined to ignore the odd experience, she files it away in the back of her mind.
That is, until four-and-a-half years later, when by chance Dannie meets the very same man from her long-ago vision.
Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.
My thoughts-
I read a lot of books, like sometimes several a week, and much of the time because of that I have to push through them when I find them to be slow. In Five Years was the exact opposite. I read it in one day, every chance I got to get into the pages because I had to know what happened. This was a beautiful contemporary love story that was both modern but had a classic feel about it. It will pull at the heartstrings (both happy and sad tears were shed), but it will leave you feeling fulfilled. I thought it was going to be an entirely different book than it was, but I was grateful I was wrong because I never could have imagined the story any better than it turned out.
