Ladybugs Have Lots of Spots. Sheryl and Simon Shapiro. 2013. 24 pages. Annick Press. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] This is a cute and fun read for younger readers that focuses on shapes. It’s good to read to your child, but is also a fantastic start for emerging readers to try on their own. The rhyming scheme also helps with sounding out words they may not be familiar with.

Big Cat, Small Cat. Ami Rubinger. 2009. 28 pages. Abbeville Kids. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] This is a cute picture book about … cats. It’s filled with contrasting descriptions (big/small; fair/dark, sick/well) of illustrated cats. Although we’re not huge cat fans in my household, we did enjoy the book. The illustrations are extremely colorful, and the details are fun/quirky.

Yummy Addictions. Belle Davis. 2015. 145 pages. BD Books. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] I had so much fun reading Yummy Addictions!  I’m not sure if it was more because of the main characters’ playful, sensual rapport, or the decadence of the Parisienne  vacation the main character is one. Either way, it makes an unfortunately short book more fun to enjoy. Vale is a fun and relatable character.  She’s been burned in the past and has turned over a new leaf in how she looks at herself and her relationships. I feel like I’ve seen parts of her personality and approach to life and love in myself and friends. I also enjoyed how authentic her vacation felt – I was enjoying a French vacation along with her, taking in more common as well as lesser-known destinations. The progression of her relationship with Jason is unexpected, but enticing. I definitely understood her attitude toward him (for better or worse) and caught myself getting excited or apprehensive along with her. I definitely recommend this for a fun, flirty read, and I’m ready to read the rest of this trilogy.

Fire in the Firefly. Scott Gardiner. 2016. 313 pages. TAP books. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] I have mixed feelings about this book. It’s a satire, which is generally a departure from what I read. So while I enjoyed the story itself, the approach missed the mark for me. Julius Roebuck is a very self-assured man, and prides himself in his ability to read and understand women. The entire book follows him as he tries to balance his precarious relationships with the women in his life – his wife Anne, her ovulation-clocking business partner Yasmin, and his mistress, Lily. Insert a maybe-botched vasectomy and you’ve got the makings of an suspenseful story that reminds me more of slapstick humor than anything else.

Hideaway Cove. Anna Sullivan. 2014. 316 pages. Forever. [Source: ARC provided courtesy of NetGalley.] I really enjoyed this book, and now I am going back to read the other books in the series. Hideaway Cove is one of those sleepy towns where the townspeople know everyone and the gossip mill is more pervasive than air. While outsiders try to find the heir to a missing millionaire in the sleepy town, the true heir is in life-or-death danger. Jessie just wants to raise her son Benji to be the good man his father wasn’t ready to be. Along the way, Hold is researching her genealogy, as well as the path to her heart. Add in meddling townfolk who have no problem scandalizing Jessie and Hold, and the resurgence of Benji’s father Lance, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.