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Review // They Wish They Were Us

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Hi! I’m Sarah / @thehireader. Welcome to my space for book reviews, recommendations, and bookish discussions.

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Featured – Reviews

Review // Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Review // Twice Shy

Review // You Had Me at Hola

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@thehireader

Book mail is the best mail ✨ thank you to all th

Book mail is the best mail ✨ thank you to all the tagged publishers for the gifted books! I’m so excited for all of these.⁣
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[image description: stack of books on a white quilt. Books from top to bottom: Hang the Moon, Geekerella, Bookish and the Beast, the Princess and the Fangirl, So We Meet Again, Fight for Her, the Ones We’re Meant to Find, and Rock the Boat]

⁣ #Ad ✨ Now that I’m working from home perma

⁣ #Ad ✨ Now that I’m working from home permanently and from an apartment in the city no less, having a good pair of headphones has become essential. Thanks to my friends over at @sudio, who gifted me a pair of their ETT headphones, I’ve found my new go-to pair. Whether I’m using them for work calls, audiobooks, or listening to music, they’re fantastic. ⁣
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Not only are these SO pretty (I had the hardest time deciding which color to get, they’re all gorgeous) but they’re also noise cancelling which is a complete lifesaver now that I’m dealing with all of the noises that come with living in a big city. ⁣
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The ETT are currently on sale until May 13th! Plus, you can use my code THEHI15 for an extra 15% off of your order at checkout!⁣
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[image description: white ETT headphones from Sudio on the bed with two books in the background]

Happy #PubDay to JUST LAST NIGHT by @mhairimcf! ✨ Thank you so much to @williammorrowbooks for the gifted copy. ⁣
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This is actually my first Mhairi McFarlane book and I can’t wait to dive in. I consistently see wonderful reviews for all of her books. Have you read any before? Any that you recommend?⁣
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[image description: Sarah holding Just Last Night in her living room with a plant and couch in the background]

Just a few of the books I’ve picked up recently

Just a few of the books I’ve picked up recently during my (clearly) super successful book-buying hiatus✨ my self control is truly a force to be reckoned with 🙃⁣
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[image description: book stack featuring (from top to bottom) Second First Impressions, The Princess Trap, The Intimacy Experiment, Meet You in the Middle, and Shipped]

ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN by Talia Hibbert⁣
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☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆⁣
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It’s taken me a few tries to write this review because society tells me that “DROP EVERYTHING AND READ THIS, I’M OBSESSED” doesn’t count as a legitimate review, which, okay, fine, I’ll try to think of some other ways to convey my potent enthusiasm for this story. It’s going to be hard, though, because this was, hands down, my favorite of the series.⁣
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I love Eve and Jacob so much, they’re definitely one of my favorite rom-com couples. While on the surface, the two couldn’t seem more different—they are the epitome of grumpy/sunshine—they understand each other on a visceral level and offer each other acceptance and safety, something that neither of them is used to. Jacob, especially, offers Eve something she’s rarely experienced: respect.⁣
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Despite the book’s title, ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN is not about Eve growing up, it’s about her growing into her own; it’s about her learning to value her skills and abilities in spite of her family’s focus on more traditional accomplishments and careers. I found Eve’s struggles with feeling optional, with feeling how she always liked folks more than they liked her, to be particularly relatable. And I loved that, despite all of her insecurities, she still wore her heart on her sleeve and was hilarious and optimistic and caring—she made people feel cared for and seen, even if she didn’t always feel that way. ⁣
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Hibbert’s writing is a delight to read and she’s one of the funniest and wittiest authors out there. I’m always impressed with her ability to infuse humor and levity into her scenes without ever invalidating or taking away from her characters’ emotions. And, alright, I’m just going to say what we’re all thinking—she writes some of the best steam, period. I loved the steam in the first two, but EVE BROWN was hot on a whole other level. ⁣
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Equal parts intoxicating, quick-witted, and emotionally resonant, ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN is one of the best romances I’ve ever read.⁣
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You can find my full review up on my blog (link in bio)!⁣
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[image description: Act Your Age, Eve Brown held up in Sarah’s living room]

TWICE SHY by Sarah Hogle⁣ ⁣ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

TWICE SHY by Sarah Hogle⁣
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☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½ ⁣
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Okay, I’m going to need Sarah Hogle to just hurry up and write allll of the books because I can’t handle waiting for each one to come out. ⁣
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If you enjoyed her debut, YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER, you’ll enjoy TWICE SHY. That being said, keep in mind that they’re two different books. Where YDEO was more humorous and quick, TWICE SHY was more emotional and sentimental. (TWICE SHY was still very funny!)⁣
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Maybell was painfully romantic, sensitive, and quirky. I generally don’t gravitate towards those types of characters; I’m still working on my post-manic-pixie-dream-girl-era anxiety and I tend to find quirky, daydreamer types to be too much (of what, I don’t know, I just often find them to be too much). Still, I adored Maybell. Unlike so many of the quirky-girl, MPDGs of the (thankfully) bygone 2000s, Maybell was whimsical but she was also earnest and relatable. Ultimately, I think this is one of my favorite aspects of Hogle’s writing—her ability to convey relatable and resonant emotions in the loveliest of ways. ⁣
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If you’re looking for a sweet, earnest, and slow-burn romance, with enough humor to keep it from feeling too saccharine, you need to read TWICE SHY. Wesley and Maybell were so dear that, on multiple occasions, I wanted to just grab them up in the biggest hug (and I’m generally NOT a hugger, so that’s really saying something). ⁣
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You can find my full review up on my blog (link in bio)!⁣
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[image description: Twice Shy held up in front of a tree with Elliott Bay in the background]

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