Tuesday, 3 November 2026

TMST

 



11/3/2026 What's your proudest achievement?



Hmm, you know what, giving birth! I created a human being inside me and then painfully, very painfully pushed it out. How the eff does the human body even do that?




Second, eh writing that boring 80 page masters thesis






Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.




If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.





11/10/2026 Which emoji do you use the most?


11/17/2026 Which tropes do you enjoy the most?


11/24/2026 Which books are you looking forward to reading this Winter? (Dec-Feb)


12/1/2026 If you had to delete all but three apps off of your phone, which ones would you keep?


12/8/2026 Have you ever won a contest?


12/15/2026 What's your least favourite holiday and why?


12/22/2026 Gifts: do you prefer several small gifts or one big item?


12/29/2026  What are your favorite books/audiobooks that you read in 2026? 



Monday, 2 November 2026

Best of October

 


Adios October!!! Helllllooooooo November!

Here are our faves for last month.



Best Book of the Month:

"Interesting fantasy murder mystery."





"The story is always good, but the voice acting in this version was just soooo good."







Best Movie of the Month:

Carole -  Obsession (2025)
"So messed up but you can't look away!"





Blodeuedd - Vaiana (2026)
"I went to see Vaiana with my kid. If you want to know why it's not called Moana in Europe google at your own risk..."




Best TV show of the Month:


Blodeuedd - Haunted Hotel (s2), The Rookie (s7), Below (2026), & Ghosts (s5)
"Binged Rookie s7. I watched Below, creepy! And haunted Hotel s2 cos it's the season. And Ghost s5!!!" 









"Such a fun show! I am soooo bummed it was canceled after season 2."







Best Cover of the Month:

B's pick

























C's pick



Sunday, 1 November 2026

Pumpkin spice and not so nice


Narrated by: Stefanie Kay


Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins


Release date: 10-13-22


Publisher: Monson Publishing LLC


Romance/audible






I...do not remember anything anymore. Even as I was listening I was drifting. No shade on the narrator, she did well. But this story was a bit, dunno really.




Also some reviews make me dull, some hating on it cos it is named pumpkin spice and they expected spice. LOL. It is a Fall book, I never thought anything else.




Anyway, Jenna has bad luck with me. She meets someone that she is coaching cos he is not a talker. They slowly...slowly! fall in love. And her family has a pumpkin farm. Very forgettable





If I were ever to write a memoir, it would be titled, Jenna Peterson’s Guide to Dating Emotionally Unavailable Men. I’m like a professional at it. I’m so good, I can take any dysfunctional man and turn him into Prince Charming, just in time for him to dump me and then go on to marry the next woman he dates. I’m about ready to give up on loving real men and focus on lusting over fictional men in the Turkish dramas I can’t stop devouring.




But then... I find a mysterious 50-dollar bill with a handwritten note on it that was donated to my family’s pumpkin patch by accident. And wouldn’t you know it, the mystery man it belongs to is emotionally unavailable, albeit freakishly attractive. I keep telling myself to walk away, but there’s something about Aidan St. Claire that makes me want to unravel all his secrets. All I know is he sure can heat up the cozy fall nights. I can’t help but think that maybe this time I’ll get to keep Prince Charming for myself.


Friday, 30 October 2026

The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn


Format: 283 pages, Paperback


Published: June 18, 2013 by 47North


Horror/borrowed




It started sort of slow. A group of friends heading to a remote luxury cabin. Lots of talking. Two siblings, their friend, his new girlfriend. Blah blah. BOOOM!!!!




Then it got scary, It started to build. See it was not scary as others on that mountain died, but then it got close, and then it was too late. Wtf was out there! First shadows, then showing to be creepy humanlike beings that hunt the house that they now can not leave.




And it gets bloodier, and gore, and omg I am not going up a mountain or into the woods in winter. That is some scary stuff out there!




Also the end, omg, omg, omg.




SO yeah ended up liking it.





They only come when it snows, and nobody ever gets away.


A group of close friends gathers at a secluded cabin in the wintry mountains of Colorado for a final holiday hurrah. Instead, it may be their last stand. First a massive blizzard leaves them marooned. Then the more chilling realization: something is lurking in the woods, watching them, waiting...




Now a weekend of family, friends, and fun has turned into a test of love and loyalty in the face of inhuman horrors. The only hope for those huddled inside is to fight—tooth and nail, bullet and blade—for their lives. Otherwise, they'll end up like the monsters' other victims: bright pools of blood on glittering snow, screams lost in the vast mountains.


Wednesday, 28 October 2026

Stay in the light by A.M.Shine


Series: The Watchers (#2)


Format: 320 pages, Paperback


Published : October 15, 2024 by Head of Zeus


Horror/own





This one was not as thrilling and creepy as book 1. I was honestly sort of bored because nothing happened.




Mina was hiding from The Watchers. Madeleine who showed to be a Watcher is keeping an eye out for her. And somewhere in Ireland there is a archeological dig and somethings should stay buried.




But yes there lie the boring part. Mina is worried, the dig is slow....




After 3/4 things finally pick up and that last chapter...DAMN IT. Now I NEED MORE.





After her terrifying experience at the hands of the Watchers, Mina has escaped to a cottage on the west coast of Ireland. She obsessively researches her former captors, desperate to find any way to prolong the safety of humankind.




When Mina encounters a stranger near her home, she fears the worst - for she knows the figure is not what it seems. Soon, people she has encountered start to disappear.




Mina knows the Watchers' power is growing. She flees for her life, but when she reports her fears she finds her sanity questioned. Can she convince people that the Watchers are real, and ready to strike - or will she suffer the fate she has dreaded since she first encountered those malevolent beings?


Tuesday, 27 October 2026

TMST

 




10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?



Real people? No one!



People I do not know? Someone who knows the woods and knows how to survive. I also need a doctor that can help out. I am thinking Mr Woods guy does not know everything so I need some sort of McGyver type too. Oh and someone who is great with hand to hand combat, knives and the works. Everyone who can help me survive.





Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.




If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.







Monday, 26 October 2026

Carole Monday: Mate



Author: Ali Hazelwood

Narrator: Ellie Gossage & Teddy Hamilton
Title: Mate
Series: Bride #2
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Format: Audiobook
Published: October 7, 2025
Where I Got It: Library


Summary: 
Serena Paris is orphaned, pack-less, and one of a kind. Coming forward as the first Human-Were hybrid was supposed to heal a centuries-long rift between species. Instead, it made her a target, prey for the ruthless political machinations between Weres, Vampyres, and Humans. With her enemies closing in on her, she has only one option left if he'll have her.

As Alpha of the Northwest pack, Koen Alexander commands obedience. His authority is so absolute, only a fool would threaten his mate. It doesn't matter if Serena doesn't reciprocate his feelings, nothing will stop him from keeping her safe.

But power-hungry Vampyres and Weres are not the only threats chasing Serena. Sooner or later, her past is bound to catch up with her and Koen might be the only thing standing between her and total annihilation…


Review:
Been meaning to read book 2 for a while now. I enjoyed book 1 so much. But you know how it goes...things get...well...forgotten and put on the back burner. 

Okaaaayyyyy. Here we pick up around-ish where we left off, but now we are following Serena. She is a half-human, half-were. She didn't know it until now. She is the first of her kind, and people either see her as a threat or a way for relations to heal between the species. She wants to be left alone in her cabin, but with her enemies closing in around her...Koen brings her to his pack. 

Awwww I adore Serena sooooo much. I feel so bad for her. She has not had a good time of it in her life, but she is so kind and loving. 

OooooOooo Koen is a rough one, but he will worm his way into your heart, especially after....a certain scene LOL. 

This world is sooo fun. I want to learn more, but it sounds like we are only getting these two books....not even a spin-off! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT!? AUTHOR NOOOOO! I want more. There are some friends I want to see find love. Find happiness. GAH. 

I loved watching the progression of this love story. It is a super, duper slow burn because Koen can't and won't allow her to get close. Rules are rules, baby. No further explanation/spoilers coming from these lips...aka fingers....

The narration was fine. I wasn't crazy about the formatting. It is all in Serena's POVs, but we get like a sentence or two of Koen's POV at the beginning of each chapter. And the male voice reads all the male dialogue. Mmm. Not crazy about it for sure. MORE KOEN PLEASEEEE.

But yes, I enjoyed this, and I want more of this world and these groups of people. I feel like there are sooooooo many stories that could be told. Sadly, there isn't a Book 3 anytime soon or at all. Maybe the author will hear my prayers. 

4 stars from me. It would be 5, but the narration format didn't sit well with me. I read a physical book for book 1, so I have zero idea what they did with that. 







Reading Challenges
- Audiobook #46
- Library Love #27

Visa citerad text

Sunday, 25 October 2026

The Killing Time by Elly Griffiths


Series: Ali Dawson (#2)


Format: 352 pages, Hardcover


Published: February 12, 2026 by Waterstones UK 


Mystery/Crime/From library





No more time travel. Her coworker is stuck in the 1850s. Life goes on.




Ali gets a new cold case and that takes her into contact with a medium. Who says strange things. There is also the fact that she has proof that she will travel back in time again. And then her cat goes missing! Ok, this sounds weird when I write it, but dang I would do anything for my cat too.




Ali is mean to have an affair in the past so will that happen now? Wink wink? Will she ever find her cat? And can the medium really see ghosts as he knows things?




I enjoyed it and I like Ali, she is 40+. Been married 3 times and takes no shit.






Ali Dawson is a police detective who leads a unit that investigates cases so cold her team must travel to the distant past to solve them. But Ali and the team haven't been allowed to time-travel ever since their technical expert, Jones, got stuck in Victorian London, never to be seen again.




To distract herself from meaningless tasks, Ali decides to look into a present-day case - a series of apparent suicides, all young men who fell to their death from high places. She believes the deaths are linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, who convinced the boys they could fly. Ali goes to one of Power's shows where he claims to be in contact with Jones.




When Ali notices that evening that her cat, Terry, has gone missing, she decides to go back in time just long enough to prevent Terry from escaping through his open cat flap. A dangerous plan which backfires, and she finds herself once more in Victorian London, where she meets Jones, as well as Power, and the darkly mysterious Cain Templeton with whom Ali has unfinished business from her previous visit to the past . . .


Friday, 23 October 2026

A New Start at the Happily Ever After Bookshop by Emma Bennet


Series: Book 1, Castle Cove


Release date: 08-27-26


Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins


Publisher: Audible Studios


Narrated by: Clare Corbett


Romance




I was looking at audible freebies and found this one. It was cute and fun and the bookshop drew me in.




Carrie is a single mum and then her aunt asks her to look after her bookshop by the seaside for a month. First she is all no, but then she realises, that she and her kid needs this.




Cute bookshop! A happy kid. A resident bookshop cat. And most of all, a handsome neighbor called Micheal.




Nice narration and a cute book. I enjoyed it




Single mum Carrie Worsley doesn’t need another disappointment — she needs a fresh start. So when she’s offered the chance to run her great-aunt’s romance bookshop in the Cornish seaside town of Castle Cove, she packs up her six-year-old daughter and takes the leap.




Secret beaches. Golden sunsets. And The Happily Ever After Bookshop — a pastel-pink sanctuary filled with stories of second chances. But it’s only temporary.




Until she meets Michael — the quiet, brooding, local bookbinder with kind eyes and an adorably chaotic dog!




Michael isn’t looking for forever. Carrie doesn’t believe in it anymore. But stolen glances turn into slow-burn tension. Friendly coffees become lingering touches. And suddenly the chemistry isn’t just fictional — it’s undeniable.


Between sea-salted evenings, cinnamon-scented mornings, and long afternoons lost among the shelves, Carrie begins to wonder . . .


What if this time, the love story is hers?


Wednesday, 21 October 2026

Snake-Eater by T.Kingfisher


Narrated by: Elena Rey


Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins


Release date: 12-01-25


Publisher: Brilliance Audio


Paranormal




I did not know what to expect from this one, and this was not it. Ha, it was fun.




Selena is running from a relationship. She has anxiety issues, and he is holding her down. So she runs to an aunt in the desert. An aunt who is dead and now she has her house. But there are gods and spirits in the desert. And her aunt seems to have hooked up with one.




To help her she has her dog Copper, her neighbor Grandma, oh she was a hoot. And slowly gaining friendships she did not think she was capable of. Which is what you get from years of trauma by her mother and boyfriend.




There are scary roadrunners and a god called Snake-Eater. Selena is in for more than she bargained for.




I liked it. It took me somewhere I did not know I was going. The narration was great too. A good experience






With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt’s house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.




Because in Quartz Creek, there’s a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena’s ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena’s house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn’t ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can’t begin to imagine. And when Selena’s search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new It’s the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as “Snake-Eater,” who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.




Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he’s hell-bent on collecting everything he’s owed.


Tuesday, 20 October 2026

TMST

 




10/20/2026 If you could have any office supply in unlimited quantities, what would it be?



I have pens, so many pens, I am a bit of a free pen hoarder so not that. Paper would have been good but these days, nah, not so much drawing going on.



Someone is gonna come up with smth really smart and I am gonna be all I should have thought of that!




Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.




If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.








10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?


Monday, 19 October 2026

Carole´s Monday: Dracula

 



Author: Bram Stoker

Narrator: Ella Purnell, Jonathan Bailey, & full cast
Title: Dracula
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Classic
Format: Audiobook
Published: October 1, 2026 (this rendition)
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)


Summary: 
When her fiancé vanishes in Transylvania, Mina pieces together letters, diary entries and chilling testimony to hunt the predator stalking those she loves — only to discover he's already hunting her. Dracula lurks in shadow, slips into dreams, and casts no reflection. To nearly all, he defies beyond what the eye can see, and what the mind can comprehend. When her closest friend Lucy succumbs to his thrall, the enigmatic Professor Van Helsing is summoned to wage war on this unfathomable threat. But it is Mina; her intellect, her resolve, her gift for drawing the unseen lines between clues, who may hold the key to stopping this ancient scourge. If he hasn't already found his way inside her mind…


Review:
Love me some Dracula. Esp Dracula remakes. And when I heard the cast of this one, I couldn't resist checking it out!

Mina's fiancé vanishes, and she is trying to piece together the letters, diary entries, and chilling testimony to figure out what happened. He returns, but he isn't the same. At the same time, her childhood friend is dying, and they do not know why. They bring in Professor Van Helsing to combat the threat. However, it is Mina who will connect all the dots and figure out that they are being hunted by an ancient scourge. 

The original story is good, but man, was this cast amazing. They really did a wonderful job breathing fresh air into this story. Fabulous. I was so invested. I listened to this during a long drive down to Florida, and I was in Tennessee by the time I finished it. I was surrounded by trees and darkness. Such a great way to listen to this. I was so scared by the end. I ran to the hotel to check in. 

I would listen to this rendition again. It really just flushed out the story and made me love the story all over again. I haven't read the original since 2012, and I remember it seemed to drag on and on. I didn't feel this way with this narration. They just brought this to life so well. 

5 stars, 100%. 




Reading Challenges
- Audiobook #43




Saturday, 17 October 2026

Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst


Series: Spellshop (#3)


Format : 384 pages, Paperback


Published: January 1, 2026 by Pan Macmillan


Cozy fantasy/library





I like this series, it is so sweet and cozy. Sure the Empire has fallen, the king was thrown out an window. But we do not really see all of that. Instead we have Marin, she left a bad marriage, her parents equipped her ship and now she is doing jobs between islands.




Dax is the golden composer. The city is falling apart but he knows nothing about that. They have met before and then she helps him flee.




She has a sea dragon friend and a talking plant as crew. Dax has never left his safe little bubble. She has debts to pay, he has dined with the king.




They have adventures, they get closer and they will get that happy ending. And we meet people from previous books, yay. I think these islands will be just fine.




I enjoy these, fun times





Her boat. Her rules. His music. Their hearts . . .



Marin has always belonged on the great blue sea. Betrayed by love, she lives and works as a supply runner, sailing from island to island, delivering an array of goods with Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub as her crew.




On one of her routine trips to the capital, Alyssium, Marin finds a revolution underway - and a friend in the line of fire.




What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a member of her crew if he pretends to be her boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.




But against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile - and realizes that perhaps she isn't saving him. Maybe it's the other way around.


Thursday, 15 October 2026

Audio: After Anne by Renata McMann and Summer Hanford


By: Renata McMann, Summer Hanford


Narrated by: Benjamin Fife


Series: Pride and Prejudice Variation


Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins


Release date: 09-08-26 by Tantor Media


Categories: Literature & Fiction




PP variation time!  In this one Lizzy gets to know Anne a bit better, but no one else knows. Darcy still asks Lizzy to marry him and that goes badly. And here is where it takes a new turn, Anne grows a backbone and just ups and leave. The whole place is in an uproar! Where is Anne!?




And Lady Catherine gets this crazy idea and hires Lizzy as her companion, tells Darcy he must come too and they set off to find Anne. And Darcy and Lizzy must spend a lot of time together trying to find Anne, and no one must know she is missing.




It will be awkward, but it will also give them the time to come to terms with their feelings as she learns he is not the man she thought he was.




Wickham is an ass as always. But he will learn his lesson.


Anne is awesome, I liked that she learnt to take what she want.


Darcy was humbled, I liked that.




I enjoyed this variation. It has its twists and turns and you know they will get there in the end.




The narration was well done and I do not know if I have listened to this narrator before, but he does it well





Elizabeth Bennet cannot believe the effrontery of Mr. Darcy's proposal to her, but before she can firmly decide to despise him, he hands her a letter. Unsure what he could possibly have to say to redeem himself, she sneaks off to read his words, only to witness the flight of Miss Anne de Bourgh. Now, despite the array of turbulent emotions between them, Lady Catherine de Bourgh insists that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy form a team to search for her daughter. Though Lady Catherine has motives of her own, being thrown together may help Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth better understand each other, all while they go after Anne.


Wednesday, 14 October 2026

Itch by Gemma Amor


Format: 352 pages, Hardcover


Published: October 9, 2025 by Hodder


Horror/borrowed




Ohh I like weird. Josie left her ex after said ex put her in a coma. She went home with her widowed dad, she works at a pub, and life is just pretty shitty. Then she finds a dead body and everything becomes effed up.




It itches, the ants from the dead body are inside her. There is an legend from the woods that there is something there, something that demands offerings.




But it is also a murder mystery. As she is spiraling out of control she tries to figure out what happened to the dead woman.




I liked it. Messed up, creepy and good






Something moves on the forest floor...


Josie is at rock bottom. Burned out, heartbroken and recovering from an abusive relationship, she lives a haunted existence after returning to her isolated hometown on the edge of the Forest of Dean.




But the tall, dense pine trees are not the only things casting shadows across her skin.




Josie's hopes of a fresh start are horribly derailed when she stumbles across a dead woman's decaying, ant-infested body in the woods. The grim discovery sends her into a downward spiral, forcing her to face uncomfortable truths about the victim and her own past - all whilst battling the swarming black ants that seem to have burrowed into her mind... and her flesh.




As Josie struggles with infestations of all kinds, she scratches the surface of an age-old mystery - a masked predator stalks the forest around Ellwood, a place deeply gripped by ancient folklore and strange customs. So when the village dresses up for its annual festival, Josie gets closer and closer to unveiling a monster, and begins to ask




Are these dark crawling insects leading her to uncover the truth?

Or is she their next victim?


Tuesday, 13 October 2026

TMST

 




10/13/2026 What animal do you think best represents your personality?



Hmmm, a cat? A cat will spend time with those it likes, but be rather aloof with others. They go their own way and do not give many effs. A cat hates making mistakes and will totally pretend that stumble did not happen. And they like sleep, and warmth




Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.




If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.






10/20/2026 If you could have any office supply in unlimited quantities, what would it be?


10/27/2026  Who do you want on your team during the zombie apocalypse and why?


Monday, 12 October 2026

Carole´s Monday: A taste of magic

 


Author: Tricia O'Malley

Narrator: 
Siobhan Waring & John Hartley
Title: A Taste of Magic
Series: The Scottish Charms #2
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Format: Audiobook
Published: August 25, 2026
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)


Summary: 
She’s hexed. He’s her ex. And if they can’t bake in harmony, Briarhaven’s big cooking competition might just go up in smoke.

Lyra MacGregor’s magic is as unpredictable as her love life—especially when her spellwork starts misfiring during the filming of Briarhaven’s favorite reality TV Bewitching Bake-Off. Even worse? She’s paired with Rabbie Campbell, her high school sweetheart turned heartbreak.

He’s never baked a thing in his life. She turns spoons into hedgehogs when he’s nearby. But with the cameras rolling, the curse deepening, and old sparks reigniting, they’ll have to cook up more than just a winning cake to survive. Because in Briarhaven, baking is spellwork, and love is the trickiest recipe of all.


Review:
I finished book 1, and I had to get my hands on book 2. I'm loving this town and this family. Plus...I had to know what the heck is up with Rabbie and Lyra. What happened between them the last time they were in town?

Lyra and her family have been back in town for about a year now. It is her turn to finally get her powers and lift her part of the curse. However, things are interrupted when a Baking Show picks Briarhaven to host the Christmas special. This is the chance Lyra has been dreaming about! She finally got a job at the bakery, but maybe this competition will help blast her Baking show to new heights. However, she is having issues with her magic, and now she's being partnered with her ex....

I really loved this one. I loved watching them go from enemies to baking partners to friends to being in love. It felt real. They finally are forced to TALK and hear each other out. *chef kiss*

Lyra is adorable. 

Rabbie is cranky and cute. 

Gimme all the hedgehogs. 

I just wanted to eat all the yummy desserts mentioned. 

This is a second chance, and I get scared of them, but the reason why they broke up was an easy fix once they matured, especially when they realized it was all a misunderstanding. 

The ending was lovely. 

The narrators were perfect. 

I loved this. So much fun. I want book 3!!!!

5 stars. 




Reading Challenges
- Audiobook #42
- Reading Romance Challenge #20 (MC Works in the Food Industry)



Sunday, 11 October 2026

The Stand-in by Lily Chu


By: Lily Chu


Narrated by: Phillipa Soo


Release date: 07-15-21


Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins


Publisher: Audible Originals


Contemporary romance





Gracie has a terrible boss and no where to turn. Her mother is in a home and Gracie needs money for a better one. Then she is stopped and asked to be a stand in for a famous Chinese actress called Wei Fangli...




Good money! But can she do it? I did not really understand why Gracie had such a hard time with the lie. It was like she thought people would think she came up with it herself and she went around pretending to be Fangli. But then she does suffer from anxiety and she writes these lists to keep herself calm. So the whole pretending thing is hard for her.




Oh and Fangli has a super hot friend called Sam and they do start with butting heads but something grows.




I enjoyed this one and I will def look for more on audible.




Great narration. I enjoyed it





Gracie Reed is doing just fine. Sure, she was fired by her overly “friendly” boss, and yes she still hasn’t gotten her mother into the nursing home of their dreams, but she’s healthy, she’s (somewhat) happy, and she’s (mostly) holding it all together.




But when a mysterious SUV pulls up beside her, revealing Chinese cinema’s golden couple Wei Fangli and Sam Yao, Gracie’s world is turned on its head. The famous actress has a proposition: due to their uncanny resemblance, Fangli wants Gracie to be her stand-in. The catch? Gracie will have to be escorted by Sam, the most attractive—and infuriating—man Gracie’s ever met.




If it means getting the money she needs for her mother, Gracie’s in. Soon Gracie moves into a world of luxury she never knew existed. But resisting Sam, and playing the role of an elegant movie star, proves more difficult than she ever imagined—especially when she learns the real reason Fangli so desperately needs her help. In the end all the lists in the world won't be able to help Gracie keep up this elaborate ruse without losing herself... and her heart.


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I am young Finnish woman lost in a world of books.

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I review from most genres on this blog, and those genres are: fantasy, urban fantasy, YA, historical/+romance, contemporary romance and literary fiction, horror, thrillers. + some other genres read by my guest reviewers.

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