Review: The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh

The Birds, the Bees, and You and Me by Olivia Hinebaugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: 2019

Lacey Burke is a senior in high school. She plays the viola and is in a band with her best friends Theo and Evita. When her high school takes an abstinence approach to sex education, it's too much for her to handle. She feels her classmates should be educated about options they have when it comes to their sexual health. But Lacey is a virgin and even though she has never had sex herself, her mother has always been open with her about sex. Lacey soon becomes the resident expert on the subject at her high school, but not everyone is so happy about that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When I saw this book I had to read it. As a person who was also taught that abstinence was the only way, I would have liked to have a friend like Lacey Burke in my life. Someone who I could talk to without judgement about what was going on in my sex life. I think that if I did, I might have made different choices in my life.

Lacey really enjoys being in a band with her best friends Theo and Evita who also used to date. When their senior seminar class starts to discuss sex education, she has a different idea of what should be taught and she enlists their help in order to do so. Holding office hours in the girls bathroom during lunch and handing out condoms to classmates, Lacey is determined to make sure everyone in their school can be comfortable talking about sex and not stigmatizing it. When her actions get her in trouble with the administration and may jeopardize her future, her friends and family rally behind her to get things changed in their school.

This is a great YA book that I think most teens will enjoy and get a lot of information from it as well.

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Review: Bad At Love by Sterling Keyes

Bad At Love by Sterling Keyes (Shimmer Point Series #2)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Published: 2018

Eve Quinn is having fun with Justin Glenn, but this relationship is much different than the typical casual relationships she is used to. Could she possibly be falling in love with Justin and does he feel the same way? Justin is having as much fun with Quinn as she is with him. Being away from Shimmer Pointe during the week may have something to do with it, or is it something more. When they are both given a shock during Eve's birthday party, they have to decide what the next step for them will be.

Thank you to Sterling Keyes for the opportunity to read and review her book. This is the second book in the Shimmer Pointe series and it was just as good as the first. The stories are short(I read this one in less than an hour) and grab you right from the start.

Even though this book is short, it is chock full of interesting stuff. Love, kids, the beach, food, and even a hostage situation. There is never a dull moment in Shimmer Pointe. I'm intrigued to find out what is going to happen next with Eve and Justin as well as Charlotte and Theo. Will their love grow to marriage and growing families, or is this where their story ends. We shall wait to see.



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Review: The Beach House by Sterling Keyes

The Beach House by Sterling Keyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Charlotte Winters returns to Shimmer Pointe Beach to settle her father's affairs, she's not sure what she is going to do next. Not only with the stuff in his house, but also with the rest of her life. She has just filed for divorce from her husband of 10 years after she caught him cheating. She's not sure if she will stay in the family beach house or return to life in Seattle. But when Charlotte meets Theo, things get even more confusing. She's not ready to start another relationship, but she also can't imagine her life without Theo in it.

Thank you to Sterling Keyes for the opportunity to read and review her book.

This book was a short romance that had me hooked from the start. Immediately I wanted to be Charlotte's friend and help her through her difficult time. Imagine living on the other side of the country from your family and slowly losing the closeness you once had. Losing them would be a tragic event, but even more tragic is deciding what to do with all of the things they have left behind. Finding a man while completing this task was the last thing on Charlotte's mind, but Theo was a good friend and companion to her father, so they couldn't help coming together.

Theo is not looking for a relationship either, but when he meets Charlotte Winters, things are very different. Not only is she the daughter of his friend who is now gone, but there is something about her that he just can't seem to resist.

These two were brought together for a reason. Love is the reason.

I highly recommend this short love story to all my romance lovers!!

Author Interview

ME: Where is your favorite place to write?

STERLING: Right now, I don't have a dedicated office. So, I am writing on my living room couch (At least it is comfortable!)  My dream is to one day have a nice office where I can close the door and write in peace and quiet.  I think when you have a dedicated space, it makes it easier to focus.  But, we do what we can, with what we have, and that's ok too.

ME: Which is your favorite book right now?  Of all time?

STERLING: I'm a sucker for Nora Roberts.  I love anything that woman writes.  I also really like Meredith Wild.  My favorite book of all time has to be books I read as a child, such as: Nancy Drew and Mrs. Frisby & The Rats of Nimh.  Those books really stuck with me as I grew up and helped make me want to write my own stories, they fueled the fire. 

ME:  What inspired you to become a writer?

STERLING: I think I was born with the desire to want to write stories.  I was writing stories and making little books as early as 5 years old.  It was just something I always wanted to do.  It's my passion and I am really trying to make it my full time career. 

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