Playground of Randomness

The Ex by Freida McFadden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This book was creepy and I had no idea what was going on.
I LOVED IT!

“The Ex” has two timeslines- one that follows perfect Joel’s psycho ex and one that follows his new girl, Cassie.

When Cassie meets Joel she thinks he is perfect. But Joel has just gotten out of a long-term relationship with Francesca.

Everyone loves Francesca. She was beautiful. She was great at cooking. She was elegant. She was everything Cassie is not. Cassie starts to feel insecure but surely if Francesca was that perfect she and Joel would still be together?

But then someone starts to follow Cassie and she soons realises that Joel’s ex might not be as far away in the past as she thinks.



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A Cross-Country Wedding by Courtney Walsh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I picked this up immediately after “A Cross Country Christmas” and I could NOT wait to rejoin these characters.

Except…this book focuses on two new characters that I fell in love with immediately.

Chaotic Maddie drags her best friend Simon into her other best friend’s wedding road trip.

Maddie has just been through a break-up and while she is excited about Lauren’s wedding, a part of her wonders if she will ever find her happy ever after.
Meanwhile everyone else- myself included- can see how absolutely perfect she and Simon are together.

I wanted to bash Maddie over the head- she was SOOO CLUELESS. But I was really excited to see Lauren and Will again. The two of them are adorable but so are “besties” Maddie and Simon.

Best friends romance isn’t usually my thing but this book did that trope so beautifully.

BRB, have to go finish all of Courtney Walsh’s books.



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A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When Lauren’s brother begs her to come home for Christmas, she reluctantly agrees.

Lauren hates Christmas and she isn’t a fan of her family either. But she loves her brother and wants to be there for him. Unfortunately, her decision to go home was made a little too late and she is left with no other option for transport except her brother’s best friend, Will.

Lauren hasn’t seen Will in years but the two of them have history…History that Will doesn’t seem to remember.

Will doesn’t understand Lauren’s animosity towards him and Christmas but he is determined to make her love Christmas before the end of their road trip.

This was a really well-written book that restored my love for Christmas so I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a cute Christmas read.



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Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Can I say that I thought this book was perfect? Because that is really the best way to describe it.

“Faking Christmas” follows Olive who is spending Christmas with her family at a resort her best friend found.

When Olive finds out her mother has invited her ex-boyfriend in the hopes of restarting a relationship between him and Olive, she decides to invent a boyfriend. It’s fine because her family will never meet this boyfriend. Olive gives her fake boyfriend the name Miles- the name of her nemesis at the school she works at.
Except Miles shows up at the resort and now Olive has to pretend that they’re in a relationship.

This book had it all. Fun Christmas vibes, witty banter, interesting characters and a fake relationship that I couldn’t help but cheer on.

I would love to read more books set in this world because I was so sad to leave it all behind.



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The Gift by Freida McFadden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It’s Stella’s first Christmas with her husband.

She is broke and she doesn’t have a gift for him. When a creepy lady offers to help her find a gift, assuring her that they can trade and Stella won’t need to worry about money for this gift, Stella agrees.

But the gift comes at a really high price. The kind of price that Stella might be paying for years.

I kind of thought the story was going one way and then thought it was going another and of course like all good Freida McFadden books, this one just shocked me at the end. I was left sitting there slack-jawed.
LOVED IT!

This is a super quick read that you can read in one go. Just maybe don’t read it around Christmas the way I did.



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Love & Letter Charms by Rachel Morgan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Shy Aurelise has been exchanging letters with a stranger for a while now. She finds comfort in his words but the two of them have never met nor do they know each other’s names.

When she is picked with other fae ladies to move into the castle and form a Selection-style (Bachelor-style for those who haven’t read the Selection) competition for Prince Ryden’s heart, Aurelise starts to panic. While she knows she doesn’t like the prince and will make a horrible consort, the program itself is alot for her to handle.

Prince Ryden quickly realises that Aurelise- his best friend’s sister- is the lady he has been corresponding with. But Aurelise has made it clear to Prince Ryden that she does not want to live in the castle and doesn’t even want to stay through the competition. Prince Ryden makes it his mission to show Aurelise everything that she is capable of.

This was a really sweet book that I enjoyed immensely. I read it in one sitting and cannot wait for more books in this series.





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Deals & Dream Spells by Rachel Morgan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I struggled to connect to this book for my first few tries (i.e I read the first few pages repeatedly. It didn’t catch my attention and I gave up repeatedly before pushing through because the sequel seemed appealing).

Once I committed to finishing the first chapter though, I WAS OBSESSED (Like low-key want to go track down the author and insist she finishes it instead of spending the holidays with her family. This is a very normal reaction to a book).

“Deals and Dream Spells” follow Mariselle and Evryn- two rivals who accidentally end up activating an enchanted contract. Their families have been feuding for years but no one knows the real reason. Mariselle and Evryn need to restore a magical attraction, Dreamland in order to fulfil the terms of the contract. The two of them pretend to be attracted to each other and with time, start to see each other in a new light.

I love the worldbuilding in this series and I especially enjoyed seeing another side of Mariselle. If you’re looking for a fantasy romance that is easy to read with an immersive world, give this a try.



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Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I love a good mystery hidden in a picture-perfect life.

April Masterson is a YouTuber whose recipes are incredible! But someone keeps texting her revealing secrets that she thought she had long ago buried.
April seems like an absolutely angel but as the book goes on, it becomes clear that she isn’t as perfect as she seems.
When a new family moves in, April’s life starts to unravel bit by bit. Her son is accused of things he didn’t do, her popularity dwindles and she is even involved in a murder case.
Did April do it? Or is her stalker framing her?

One way to find out- read the book.



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The Surrogate by Freida McFadden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Abby wants a baby. Her own baby. But when years of trying AND infertility treatments fails, she finally agrees to adopt.
But then that doesn’t work out either. Abby gives up but she is heartbroken.
And then her assistant offers to be her surrogate. Monica is intelligent, detail-orientated and a great help to Abby on the daily. Abby agrees. Who better to carry her child than someone who knows her in and out?
But as time goes on, Monica’s behaviour starts to change. She starts to develop a friendship with Abby’s husband and they start to have lunch together. Abby misses meetings and deadlines for important projects.
Does Abby really know Monica? Is Monica sabotaging Abby? Read this book to find out.
This was a really gripping read. I had no idea what was going on but I knew I did NOT trust Monica.



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