Where I Left Off

Reading Recap 7 - Peyton Corinne, Emma St. Clair, Lynn Painter, and More!

• Kristen Bahls • Season 2 • Episode 57

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Welcome back for another romance themed Reading Recap! 

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For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.

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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome back. I'm Kristen Balls, and you are listening to Where I Left Off, a Bookish Podcast. And as funny as it is, today is another reading recap because I am actually in between episodes. So here's kind of your update. I have a bunch of author episodes coming up, and I knew that this was a chance to be able to squeeze in at least one last reading recap for the year before I post all of those author interviews. And not to say that maybe I wouldn't have a Christmas reading recap, but I don't know if I will get to it. I don't know that that's going to work out. So I wanted to guarantee that you at least got one more reading recap for the year from me. And so that is what today's episode is. My only problem is, as far as reading goes, is that I've been reading the books for those specific authors. And I don't typically review books when I'm going to be interviewing that specific author. I read the book as research for that author's episode, but I'm not going on a reading recap and talking about that book, basically. So because of that, I've been reading those books and it hasn't left a lot of room for other books. And also, I think I might have kind of a like curse of sorts. And basically, uh whenever I specifically try to do something. So for example, if I am specifically trying to find a list of my favorite Christmas books, or oh my gosh, don't even get me started about like a year ago. Whenever I tried to come up with the list of like my favorite fall books, I could not find a good fall book to save my life. I didn't like any of them because I was trying to find some to put on a list. Same with this. I was like, I would just love to really round out this episode with like one or two, like one or two more really good books. And I just DNF'd a book 170 pages in. That is where we are, because I said I needed to fill in this episode. So because of that, uh, I it's a little bit on the lighter side because I haven't had as much time to read uh other books that are not for specific episodes. So anyway, um I just wanted to let you know that this is a slightly lighter reading recap episode, maybe than some of the others, uh, because I didn't do one that long ago. So yes, but I do have an arc that I got and some books that I am very excited to tell you about. Also, another reason why I have not been reading as much, of course, we all go in those periods of time where we don't read as much. It's kind of chaos right now with like the Thanksgiving kind of holiday-ish season. Anyway, I am also in the middle of drafting book two before it goes off to beta readers, and then of course off to my editor after I fix that to start the treacherous rounds and rounds and rounds of edits. So it's kind of funny because I feel like many authors lately, like I don't know, just some that I follow on Instagram or even some that I've talked to or anything like that. I feel like they've all just said how much they hate drafting, but to be honest, I love a blank page. It is all fun and games, and you can literally do anything that you want. It doesn't matter. You don't even have to second guess anything because that's what edits are for. When you get to edits, you're going to question all your life choices and you're gonna feel like your book is absolute garbage. But in the drafting process, it is all fun and games, and you could just type, type, type away and do whatever you want. But anyway, while I was editing book one, I think I shed like more than a few tears like while at my keyboard. I it was it was bad. I was I was not having a good time. Unfortunately, um, it ended up honing the story that I wanted to tell, and it's made me a better writer and possibly a better person because I feel like I learned how to persevere through like one of the most difficult things I've ever done. Uh so anyway, all that to say is that editing is a lot for me and it is not my favorite. So I am soaking up every moment in the drafting phase right now. Um, and yeah, drafting is going really well, and I am just having a blast. And yeah, I am writing away. I am going faster than I thought I could, and I'm writing more words at one time than I definitely was the first time. So I feel like I'm definitely getting better and I'm writing quicker, and I like where my story's going, I like where my characters are taking me. Anyway, it's going great. So I am just enjoying that. So, anyway, between podcast editing and squeezing and writing every second and every spare minute, and of course my full-time job, uh, that the thing that's always gonna fall to the wayside when I have really busy periods in both of those is reading. So, yet again, that's kind of why this is a slightly lighter episode. But I did want to warn you, most of this episode is it's almost exclusively hockey romance. And I was doing research for the hockey romance episode that you just listened to, and I got myself on this hockey track that I couldn't get myself off of, to be honest. I did want to make sure to recommend a couple non-hockey sports romance books to kind of round it out about here. And I do talk about what I'm currently reading, which one of them is not hockey, so I it's not all hockey, but it is a majority hockey. I am so sorry, that is just how this turned out. But I would say that sports romance is probably my favorite sub-genre of contemporary romance. Is it always the most realistic to the sport? No, no, it's not, but it's so fun, it's action-packed, and I just feel like I'm getting more FaceTime in the male main character's point of view with the variety of communication between him and his teammates, whether that's in practices, whether that's like during practices or games, or some of the group chats that they have and group text, or sometimes it's just like a quick little talk in the locker room. So because I get more communication, I just feel like the team seems more like a family than maybe some of the MMCs and like the other books, and they're all closer to each other. So therefore, I'm just rooting for the other characters in the series, and I feel like I have more enthusiasm to like pick up the next book. So I think that's ultimately kind of why I enjoy sports romance. But my picks, okay, so I'm gonna give you a little bit of football and just a hint of baseball, so that way it's it's not all hockey. So my picks for football romance two are, and you've heard me talk about these before, but I'm gonna talk about them again, are the playbook series by Alexa Martin and then the cheat sheet by Sarah Adams. So again, Alexa Martin, I I've said it before, but I need to say this needs to be said because it really does help round out why I love uh this particular series. So if you're looking for something that's a little bit more realistic and football heavy, you're gonna want to go with the playbook series by Alexa Martin because Alexa wasn't an FL wife, married to Derek, who was a safety for the Ravens. And the reason that I point this out is because, like I said, if you are a true football fan, if you're looking more for like accuracy, then this series is going to be for you. Because not only does it include Alexa's writing style, which it just always makes me laugh. It's so fun and it's so snappy, and she always has a lot of like references to pop culture, which are just really fun and they just make it a good time. But this is definitely one of the more realistic takes. So, for example, there's like talk about the significant others helping with pregame rituals, and then there's the whole like divide between the wives and the girlfriends that is explored in the books, and then of course, like all of the things that are required of the wives and the girlfriends, and all the things they help with and do behind the scenes that you may not hear about um not having like gone through it, so you kind of get more of a firsthand account on that. And and then also I thought it was really cool how um all of the wives and girlfriends or wags, whatever. I mean, I know they're called wags, but uh there's just so many abbreviations of this episode. I was trying to lessen that. But anyway, so the WAGs all have ESPN updates on their phones, and so sometimes, like in the books, things would break before they could talk to their partner because they're like keeping up with things in real time, um, and all their phones would go off at the same time and they would be like, oh no, what's happening? So anyway, I thought that was really cool. Um, and it's just a great series and it's really fun. And if you're not like a huge, huge football fan, I still think you would enjoy the series. But if you are looking for something that's a little bit more realistic, then I think that this one is for you. On the other end of that spectrum, a little bit, the cheat sheet by Sarah Adams, I would definitely classify this as maybe more of a romance with a hint of football. And it's cheesy, it's funny, it's and it's somewhat like goofy. And I I just I laughed the whole way through. And I've listened to this on audiobook, I've read it. It's just one of my favorite Sarah Adams books. And honestly, I kind of love how like unserious this book is, and Nathan and Brie are just absolutely adorable. They get into this like fake dating arrangement after a journalist records what Brie thinks is a private private moment, and Nathan he is determined to use the fake dating to convince his childhood best friend Brie to make it real, and he ends up enlisting the help of the entire team, and it's just so cute. Uh, also, the rule book is like the companion novel to this, and it is also included in this series. So if you wanted a follow-up, once you fall in love with the characters, which you will, then the rule book is also an option. Um, I do, I would like to point out that I still think Jamal should have gotten his own book. I'm just saying I will not let it go. I will not let it go. I love Jamal. He's like one of my favorites. I mean, I love Nathan, but I also love Jamal. And he just, I wanted him to get his own book. A novella, anything, Sarah. Please give me an extended scene with Jamal. I will take anything. Anyway, he was my favorite character, and I am still sad that he did not get his own book, novella, or exclusive scene. I I would have taken, honestly, any of those. Um, oh, and also I did want to point out so the playbook series is open door, the cheat sheet is closed door, and then the companion book, the rule book, is um open door, but it has modifications in the author's note. So throwing all that out there, uh, just so that way you know as well. Also, because you know, can't always talk about football, going with baseball before we get into all of the hockey. Um, okay, so for baseball, I really enjoyed The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson. And for me, this is just miscommunication done in the most like out there fun way. Like, I don't even really like miscommunication, but if you're gonna do it, do it like Alicia Thompson does it. She just is so great. And anyway, um, it's about it's that book, I've talked about this before, where she gets a divorce um and her husband really wanted the baseball tickets, so she takes them from him. So Daphne is like, I'm gonna take those baseball tickets, yes, please. So she goes to a baseball game knowing absolutely nothing about baseball, she gets drunk and she heckles a player and she ends up making him cry. And then whenever she goes to apologize um and DMs him, then he doesn't realize that it's her, and so they end up striking up this conversation, and it's it's the most like wild, fun ride. So anyway, I really enjoy the art of catching feelings. I am trying to find more baseball books, but I haven't had that much luck finding like really good baseball books. So honestly, if you have any sport, I'll I'll take really any sport. Um, yeah, please, sports romance rex that you know I haven't talked about, or even if you think I have, go ahead and hit that send us a text button and let me know some sports romance rex because yeah, I I feel like hockey, it's easy to find a lot that are great, but I've struggled with some of the other sports to find a lot. And I would like to round out my picks so that way I can experience, you know, other sports romances that are not hockey. So, anyway, also before we get into what I recently read, I did want to say that because it's about that time of year where I can shout at you to read two of my all-time favorite Christmas books: Faking Christmas by Cindy Steele and The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Allie Carter. Faking Christmas by Cindy Steele, two teachers who dislike each other who have to fake date. What more can I say? I love this book so much. I listened to it on audiobook last year, I think, and I immediately purchased the physical book and I page flagged it up. And this year I actually have the special edition of Faking Christmas. She has like annotations in um, I think footnotes. I don't think they're in the margins, I think they're in the footnotes. And she talks about like some of her research and her process and like kind of what was going through her head whenever she wrote the book, and it has a really pretty cover, and I think it has a bonus scene. It may not, I think it might have a bonus scene in there. Anyway, I am stoked to read the special edition of Faking Christmas, and I'm so glad that I got it. Like, that is how much I absolutely love this book. I don't own that many special editions, but that is just what happens. And a kind of funny aside about special editions, so I was in this local bookstore and I have a friend who is obsessed with the Cruel Prince. I was not the biggest fan of the Cruel Prince, the first book. I did like the other two, but the first book wasn't my favorite, but she is like obsessed with it. So she collects special editions of The Cruel Prince, right? So I see it in the bookstore and I'm like, that's what I'm getting her for Christmas. I buy the special edition of The Cruel Prince and I send her a text. I'm like, hey, do you have the one that is and I start describing it, and she's like, oh yeah, I already have that one. I'm like, oh man. So now I am the owner of a special edition of The Cruel Prince. And like I said, I don't even have that many special editions. So it makes me laugh every time I look at it, knowing that I have a special edition of a book that I didn't even really like that much. But it's so pretty, and the art inside is so pretty, and it's like velvet on the top. Anyway, it's really cool, but it yeah. Anyway, just saying that for me to buy a special edition, I do not want to buy a second book if I already have it. Like, even if it's a special edition, I don't, I don't know. I on some level I struggle to buy two of the same book. So for me to buy Faking Christmas by Cindy Steele, I just think that that says it all. So I wanted to point that out. And then on The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Allie Carter, Knives Out Holiday Rom-com. What more could you want? And that one is also really good on audiobook or physical book. I liked both. Yeah, I liked both. And on that one, I have been begging all my friends to read it. So I in our friend group, we kind of have this thing where we'll be like, this is required reading, basically, like for everyone else. Like, I love this so much that this is required reading. So I think every one of my friends has um required reading, and we're trying, we're like making our way through. Um, and so the most wonderful crime of the year is definitely required reading in my friend group. And so I was with my friend at a bookstore and I held up that book, um, and I just like didn't say anything, and I just held it up to her, and I just smiled and she was like, fine, I will get it, I will get a copy. So, anyway, she did. So she can thank me later. So, just so you know, I do I am as loud about the books that I talk about on this podcast in real life as well. I I really love these two. So, if you need a Christmas book, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ellie Carter and Faking Christmas by Cindy Steele, you're welcome. They're all fantastic. Anyway, on to the books I have recently read. First up. First up, we have Unbound by Peyton Corinne. So this is an arc, and this book comes out April 7th, I believe, of 2026. This is romance, this is open door, and this is a part of the Undone series. Unsteady is the first book, Unloved is a second book, and this is Unbound the third book. Okay, so I got an arc of this book, which by the way, is one of my most anticipated reads of 2026. So I was absolutely stoked. I will say on the rating scale, I liked it. I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go into detail. You have heard me wax poetic about unsteady and unloved. I do not shut up about those books. They're so good. And this is, like I said, this book three, a four. Um, I know she said there are four books in the series. She's working on Torin's book right now. So this book, Unbound, is Bennett and Paloma's story. And then book four, she's already said, is gonna be Torrin and a character that you're gonna meet in Unbound. I didn't want to ruin it by saying her name because I wanted that to be something that you come across in Unbound. So, book four, we do know will be Torin and an unidentified character. That I am, I'm just not gonna spoil that for you. But you will meet said character in Unbound based on everything she's posted. Okay, so I'm gonna get into my thoughts, what Unbound is about, all that stuff in a minute, but I'm also going to do a little bit of a deep dive too after um of this kind of theory that I have. And my friend also got an arc of this book, and we have talked about it, and we're pretty sure that we're right. But we don't know. This is all just us like theorizing. So I'll give you a summary of what we're kind of thinking is going on here. But anyway, so this book, Unbound by Peyton Corinne. This was the uh emotional equivalent of being hit by a bus, but Peyton warned us that this was her angstiest book yet. I do think, based on what she said, that she is going to surpass it with book four, and book four will be her like angstiest, saddest book yet. But I yeah, she definitely meant it when she said that. Um, and yeah, I do think that book four is gonna be even more emotionally devastating. So bring it on, Peyton. Bring it on. That's her books are fantastic, so I I'm here for it, but just you gotta be here for it with a pack of tissues, is the whole thing. So Bennett, he is having family issues, and he's seeing what feels like the entire hockey house with their girlfriends, and that just makes the chasm of his loneliness feel really vast. And add into that the perfect recipe with his OCD and his anxiety, and it just really sets up for the heartbreak that weighs heavy throughout almost the entire story. There is an undercurrent of heartbreak the entire time. So he's been in love with Paloma Blake since freshman year when they actually secretly dated, and he will drop anything and everything for any speck of her attention. And honestly, Paloma is not faring any better here. She has deep set trauma, distrust, and she is determined to punish herself any chance she gets. So she basically beats herself up emotionally and uh is completely convinced that she is not worthy of Bennett, even though she is also still in love with him. Will they be able to work through the past to have a future? You are going to have to read and find out in April of 2026. So this is the saddest, spiciest, angstiest book in the undone series. And for me, it kind of feels similar to how Beg, borrow, or steal by Sarah Adams was in the Rome Kentucky series, because, or is it Win and Rome series? The practice makes perfect, Win and Rome like those. Um, but anyway, I think it's called Rome Kentucky. Now I'm blanking. Anyway, you know what I'm talking about. So I feel like it's similar to that, uh, to Beg, Borrow, or Steal, in the fact that it's kind of a little bit of a series outlier, and it has a completely different feel than the other books. So like it's still in the series, but it just feels different. And for me, Beg, Barrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams felt different than the rest of the books in the series. And I think that Unbound feels different than Unsteady and Unloved, and it has this completely different cover, which uh my friend was talking about made a good point that she thinks it matches because of kind of the way that this book kind of sets itself apart from the rest of the series, even though it is technically included in it. So, anyway, just throwing that out there is that if you're expecting, you know, unsteady or unlove squared, that's not what you're gonna get. This book has a different feel to it. And I think if I I'm trying to put this into words without like spoiling things, so it's kind of hard. But I think what put the other books for me in the loved it category is that yes, they are still full of emotional depth and character growth, but like in Unsteady, you have the playlist sharing and the meeting up for the ice time, and it kind of like broke up some of the devastating parts because you have, you know, other things that they're doing, so it's like, yeah, they're devastated, but you're not hearing about that the entire book. And kind of the same with Unloved, like you have the tutoring sessions and the hockey games that kind of broke up some of the heavy parts. However, with Unbound, I feel like all of that is just stripped down, and we're pretty much left with a book of just the heavy stuff. So this book is extremely heavy, and it's a dual timeline, so you get to see their relationship freshman year, and then you also see them in present day, and it constantly uh goes back and forth. And for me, the timing of the chapters, because sometimes okay, so the timing of the chapters would kind of take away for me some of the momentum of the pacing. So for example, and again, I'm giving you a very broad example so as not to spoil, um, but there would be several like past chapters in a row, like freshman year, freshman year, freshman year, and then it would jump to the present, and it was almost kind of slightly jarring because we would spend like so much time in the past. Um, and there's another example that I'm specifically thinking of on the pacing that kind of threw me off a little bit, but I can't spoil it, so I can't talk about it with you. So, anyway, I did like the book. It is just very emotionally devastating. Um, it is very stripped down. There is not the emotional devastation takes center stage. So just know that going in. Like this is going to be a really heavy book, so just make sure that you're in the mindset to read it, and I think you will enjoy it. But if you're expecting Unsteady or Unlove Squared, then this may not be for you. I would still suggest reading it because I think you really need this book to tie in the rest of the series and where book four is gonna go, because I think book four is gonna continue to kind of take a slightly different direction than books one and two. So I think this is almost kind of like a bridge book that you're gonna need to get to book four. So I would recommend reading it, but I'm just letting you know uh that it is very different from the other books in the series. Okay, so deep dive time. Are you ready? So I will also make this spoiler-free, so it's kind of gonna sound a little bit vague, but that's because I don't want to spoil this for you. So, based on the language in multiple instances in this particular book, I'm wondering if it's more of an MMF romance. Uh, book four for book four, Torrence book. I don't know this for sure, but this is purely a conjecture, but it seems like it's leaning MMF. If this is the case, I mean I have to read Torrent's book because I've been looking forward to it, but I will be skipping the spice scenes, so I will not be able to give you a review on any of the overall spiciness of the book, and I will not be able to compare them to the other series because I I I can't. I can't. That goes beyond my spice level. I I can't. So, um, I will still read the book, but we'll just skip those scenes. So just just throwing that out there, but I do think it is leaning, I think it's leaning that way. So, okay. This is yeah, we were me and my friend were having this conversation. We're like, I think it might be leaning this way. Anyway, um the other thing that's kind of confusing, and I don't know if Peyton's trying to throw us a curveball or what? I can't tell. I can't tell. So I'm very excited to find out. I'm I'm really excited to find out. So anyway, on her Instagram, and yes, if you haven't been able to tell by this, I I follow her on threads, I follow her on Instagram, so I'm reading all of her updates um and all the little teasers and clues that she kind of gives on current books, future books, all that stuff. So I'm very into this series. Um, again, I think that Peyton's a genius. So of course I'm gonna follow her and I'm gonna analyze every little like hint and stuff because she'll put maybe like a little quote here or a hint here. And so anyway, I I couldn't even find it to go back and find this post again. I don't know why I couldn't find it, but I know I saw it. So at some point she made this post. I I wonder if she took it down or maybe I just couldn't find it. Anyway, um, she had the heights of the characters, and it was the like MMC versus the FMC. And so the last one is clearly torn because it's book four, and he was something ridiculous. Like, I don't know, he was 6'5 or up. So I don't know. He was some he was really, really tall. Anyway, he was super tall, and then the FMC is 4'11, so that is how I got my clue of who I think the FMC is in book four, and it makes sense based on like how they interacted with each other, but that was my first like telling clue, kind of my alarm bells ringing of who I think that's going to be. So anyway, she is 411. So, and it it was clearly, yeah, it had height of Torin and then her. So that makes it seem like it's ruling out the MMF part and it's just going to be traditional MMC and FMC. But maybe it is FMC and MMC, but maybe that's where some of the trauma comes in. Like it, you know, it starts out MMF and then it ends up FMC and MMC. I I don't I don't know. Is is that like the trauma of them trying to figure it out and then who ends up together? Cause wait a minute. Oh no. Now I'm thinking about this too hard. Um now I'm like, wait a minute, is was that Torrin's height or was that well she keeps saying it's Torin's book, so I assumed that was Torin's height. So I'm assuming that he's gonna end up with someone. Oh no, no, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Anyway, um, I feel like now I've theorized this too much to where I am I more confused? Maybe. Maybe I am, but ultimately, I have no idea where she's going with this, but I appreciate her marketing acumen to keep us in the dark, keep me guessing, because honestly, it's kind of driving me crazy, and I feel like I'm thinking about it way too much, which is exactly what I should be doing for her series. So congrats to Peyton on amazing marketing because I this I want to know so bad. And I'll have to wait a while because I know that she's in edits with this book because she posted that she was in edits with book four, Torrent's book. So I don't know how the series is gonna end. Obviously, I'm here for the ride, and I will continue to follow it and continue to follow Peyton and whatever series she writes after that. Again, Peyton's an auto-by-author. If she writes it, I'm gonna read it. That is Unbound. I know that was really long, but I had I had to. I had to. And oh, I forgot to say, yeah, I said Unbound was the spiciest book. It is very spicy. It is like I don't I don't know that it was quite as spicy as Deepened by Allie Hazelwood, but it was along those lines. So there you go. Anyway, moving on. Next book that I recently read is Just Don't Fall by Emma St. Clair. This is contemporary romance, uh, this is hockey romance, and it is closed door. So, going on different spectrum here, read a closed door. Okay, this series. Me and this series, I have a little bit of a history with it. So I've heard nothing but rave reviews from the series, and I know that I am so late to the party. I feel like everyone has read it, and I am just so late. But every time I looked up the series, I got really confused. So here's a little bit of background to just kind of explain what I think I figured out from reading the series and looking into it more. So basically, it's the Appy series. Technically, this is the Appy series, but a okay, here let me. Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor write books in the series. So some books are from one author, Emma St. Clair, and some are from Jenny Proctor, but they are still in the same series. So this book, Just Don't Fall, is technically book one in the Appy series, which is the name of the hockey team. They're called the Appies, but a few of the books in the Appy series are also fall themed and technically in the Sweater Weather series. So personally, I am reading them in the order of the Appy series, which covers different members of the hockey team. So instead of reading it in the order of the Sweater Weather series, I'm reading it in the order of the Appy series. So I just wanted to point that out. So the fact that there were two different authors and the fact that it was kind of like interconnected in two different series, I was just so confused what book to start with that I just didn't start. So now that I did, I am so glad that I started the series because I am loving it. Amazing. I was smiling and I was giggling as soon as I turned on the audiobook, which was so well done, by the way. I love calling out a good audiobook, and this was great. So in this book, Parker has had a longtime crush on her brother's best friend Logan, and even though he basically left them out of the blue and cut ties, kind of around the time his hockey career took off, she still kind of holds a candle for him. Logan has been in the NHL, and after an injury and incident with a fan, a double ammy, he gets demoted to an AHL team called the Appies. And they are known for their dancing social media videos and overall performance-based presence. If that sounds familiar, it should. So the Appy's social media manager who catapulted them to viral fame is none other than Parker, the female main character. So when Logan and Parker reunite, they both have their guards up. However, a scenario that requires fake dating ensues, and they have to grapple with the not so fake feelings that are steadily growing between the pair. And this book, it was so sweet, it was so fun, it was so unique, and I I fell in love with the team. The appies are great. And this is just another book that proves that closed door hockey romance can pack the same punch as an open door hockey romance. And I just love either one, open door or closed door. I like them both, but sometimes it can be hard to find closed door books that you feel like pack the same kind of punch. That is really well done, and I enjoyed a lot. So highly recommend Just Don't Fall by Emma St. Clair. And of course, that led me to the second book in the Appy series, which is Absolutely Not in Love by Ginny Proctor. So this is covering another member of the team, and it is Felix. He is the kind of shy, introverted goalie, and he ends up falling for his neighbor, and her name is Gracie, and she uh plays the cello in a symphony, and she teaches music at the middle school level. Yes, I was just trying to think about that. Yes, and so anyway, they she Gracie does not like him at first, she does not like hockey players, she does not date hockey players. You will find out why. And it takes a while for you know Felix to wear down her um resistance and show her what an amazing guy he is and their neighbors, so there's a lot of forced proximity in this one, and I did really like this one. Um, I I just I loved the first book in the series, and I liked this book, so it wasn't was not bad by any means. Oh my gosh, no, they were great. It's just I loved the first book, and I really enjoyed the second book, but the first book was my favorite, and I think I'm in the middle. I'll I'm okay, I'll skip around a little bit. I'm in the middle of A Groom of One's Own by Emma St. Clair, because the third book is by Emma St. Clair, and that is a marriage of convenience story, and I think I'm getting close to like 25% through that. Uh, I'm currently listening to the audiobook, and it is so, so good. It is so good. Anyway, with that one, I think what I've determined now being on the third book of the Appy series, is that I think I slightly, ever so slightly, uh lean towards Emma St. Clair's writing style a little bit more, but I do still like Jenny's writing style and I enjoy all of the books in the Appy series, but I think I favor Emma's just a teeny tiny bit more. So I am really listening enjoying listening to that. Last book that I'm gonna talk about before I tell you the other book that I'm currently reading, because I'm currently reading a Christmas book, so I had to tell you about it because I just started it today, but a book that I absolutely loved, you heard me talk about it in the hockey episode is Fake Skating by Lynn Painter. So this book, oh, and if I did not, yeah, if I didn't say specifically, the Appy series has been closed door so far, all of them have been closed door. Um, and then with Fake Skating by Lynn Painter, this is a young adult romance and it is closed door. Um, there are a few intense-ish kind of makeout scenes, but it is it is still closed door. And with Lynn Painter's books, uh, again, they are YA. They do tend to have a decent amount of cussing in them. Um, so I feel like because of that, or just something about her writing style, or maybe it's because Lynn just puts a lot of like music references or something. I don't know. There's something about her books that they don't really feel super YA. And so I I've just heard of more people that don't typically read YA really enjoying Lynn Painter's books, um, her YA books. So if you typically don't like YA, you may still give Lynn Painters YA a chance because they just they don't feel super YA-ish, if that makes sense. Um, so anyway, just throwing that out there. But fake skating is so cute, and it's fake skating because it's a fake dating, and there's skating because it's hockey, and anyway, it is super cute, it's two childhood friends. You know, she moves back into town, and he is not super happy at first because their friendship took a really abrupt turn several years ago, and it is ultimately uh they blame each other, and they I'm trying to think of the way to say it, they kind of blame each other for it. Um, and so they're both a little bit frustrated when they first get there. Uh, it's not all roses and daisies, and they kind of have to work through their feelings, and then there is an opportunity to fake date, and so that that ends up happening too. And I do think that fake skating is like my new favorite Lynn Painter, which I know I've read better than the movies and nothing like the movies, so I know that's a tall order putting it ahead of those, but I just I loved fake skating, it was so cute, it was so cute. So, anyway, fake skating was so fun. I read it so quickly, I absolutely loved it, and that was by Lynn Painter, so I would highly, highly, highly recommend checking out that book. Last up, what I am currently reading, my two focuses are like I said, I was listening to the third book in the Appy series, A Groom of One's Own by Emma St. Clair. And then on my Kindle, I am reading Since We've No Place to Go by Kate Watson. And okay, so I told you how I was trying to find the perfect book, and I DNF'd that book like 170 pages in. Well, my friend Mac or Michaela, who has also been on before, um, she like our book taste is so similar. I think I've talked about this before. I think I might have talked about this several times, but anyway, our book taste is so ridiculously similar that when she gave me a recommendation for this book since I had seen it, and I think I asked her about it, and she was like, I loved it. I should have just taken that. I shouldn't have even tried, but I was like, ah, I have books on my shelves, and that one's on my Kindle, and like let me read a book that's on my shelf instead that I have a physical copy of. And that was just the wrong move. I should have just gone with the book that she recommended in the first place and just started there to fill out this episode, and I probably would have already had it done by now. But anyway, that's neither here nor there. So currently I am very early on, but I am reading since we've no place to go, and it is so good so far. Again, Mac wins. I have not had a book that she has recommended to me that I have not liked. So it should just be the Mac gives me book recs for an entire episode content or something because she is great with her book recs, um, and I really trust her opinion, and it is yet again proving right. And this book has baseball in it. It does. Anyway, it is so funny. The banter's really cute, and um, this book is going to be closed door. I'm really enjoying it so far. Like I said, the banter is very cute, and I feel like it's just fun, it's Christmassy, and it has some baseball tied into it, and I I can't wait to see where it's gonna go. And of course, whatever reading recap comes next, eventually, eventually, somewhere, somehow, some way, I will update you on my thoughts on the book whenever I'm done with it. But since we've no place to go, it has captured my attention from the jump. It is really funny and really great, and I also trust Mac's book taste, so I'm going to just make the claim that I am sure it is going to be a fantastic book. So I would check it out if I were you. Don't trust my recommendation. Trust Max recommendation. So, anyway, uh that is it for today. I gave you a bunch of book recs, as per usual. Coming up soon are a bunch of author interviews. I hope you enjoy, and I really enjoy getting to talk to all of the authors. I enjoy all the guests that I have on, uh, whether it's friends that I get to talk to, authors, or if it's just me doing an episode like this with the reading recap. So, anyway, that is it for today on Where I Left Off, a Bookish Podcast. I will see you next time.