One of our reading goals is working on our Netgalley feedback ratio. Eventually we want to get it to 80%. And to help motivate us we decided to do this new post every week. We pick three of our eARCs and based on the first line, paragraph, or page we decide which one we’ll read next. Let’s take a look at today’s picks!

Maggie Moves On – Lucy Score

Can these opposites turn up the heat… without burning down the house?

House-flipping sensation and YouTube star Maggie Nichols can’t wait to dig into her next challenge. Arriving in tiny Kinship, Idaho, with only a cot and a coffeemaker, Maggie is prepared to restore a crumbling Victorian mansion in four months or less. She has her to-do lists, her blueprints, and her team. What she doesn’t have is time for sexy, laid-back landscaper Silas Wright.

The man takes flirtation to a whole new level. And he does it shirtless…sometimes pants-less. He and his service school-dropout dog are impressively persistent. But she’s not interested in putting down roots. Not when fans tune in to watch her travel the country turning dilapidated houses into dream homes. A short-term fling on the other hand could fit nicely into her calendar. After all, Maggie remembers what fun is like. Vaguely.

As their summer gets downright steamy, Silas manages to demolish the emotional walls she’s spent years building, sending Maggie into a panic. He’s the wrench in her carefully constructed plans. With the end of the project looming, she has a decision to make. But how can she stay when her entire career is built on moving on?

“Did you consider just setting a pile of money on fire instead?”

 

Out of the three books I chose for this week’s Netgalley next, Maggie Moves On, is the longest with a little over 400 pages. And in this case I don’t need to look at more then just the first line to get the feeling Maggie Moves On will be amazing. That’s an amazing first line. Lucy Score is also an author I’ve been meaning to try for quite some time now. This will definitely be a good contender.

Booked on a Feeling – Jayci Lee

Jayci Lee’s romcom Booked on a Feeling features an overachieving lawyer. A failing bookstore. A childhood friend. And the chance of a lifetime…

Lizzy “Overachiever” Chung, Esq. has her life mapped out neatly:
* Become a lawyer. Check.
* Join a prestigious law firm. Check.
* Make partner. In progress.

If all goes to plan, she will check off that last box in a couple years, make her parents proud, and live a successful, fulfilled life in L.A. What was not in her plans was passing out from a panic attack during a pivotal moment in her career. A few deep breaths and a four hour drive later, Lizzy is in Weldon for three weeks to shed the burnout and figure out what went wrong. And what better place to recharge than the small California town where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend, Jack Park.

Jack Park didn’t expect to see Lizzy back in Weldon, but now he’s got three weeks to spend with the girl of his dreams. Except she doesn’t know of his decades-long crush on her–and he intends to keep it that way. She’s a high-powered attorney who lives in L.A. and he’s a bookkeeper at his family’s brewery who never left his hometown. He can’t risk their friendship on a long shot. Can he? When Lizzy decides that the local bookstore needs a little revamp, of course, Jack is going to help her bring it back to life. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore there might be more than just friendship among the dusty shelves and books…

Sometimes the path to the rest of your life has been in front of you all along.

“The slumbering city below held no answers for Lizzy Chung, but she nevertheless stared out her office window as she sipped her black coffee. The subtle shifts of color in the sky hinted at approaching dawn and painted downtown Los Angeles in muted gray tones, leaching the impressive city of its color and vitality.”

 

Just the title caught my attention. I’m a big fan of books that have any type of bookish content in the story. Such as bookstores or characters that have fandoms, etc. Booked on a Feeling is a little over 300 pages, so that would be a pretty fast read. All I think after reading this first paragraph is that Lizzy either got to her office really early or she stayed there the whole night. Other than that the first paragraph isn’t very catchy. I am interested in this story though.

The Charmed List – Julie Abe

After spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to take some risks and have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower List—thirteen items she’s going to check off one by one. She’s looking forward to riding rollercoasters, making her art Instagram public (maybe), and going on an epic road-trip with her best friend Lia.

But when number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong—revenge on Jack Yasuda—she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list—fall in love—may be happening without her realizing it.

In The Charmed List, Julie Abe sweeps readers away to a secret magical world, complete with cupcakes and tea with added sparks of joy, and an enchanted cottage where you can dance under the stars.

“The warm summer air swirls in a cooling breeze as I bike down one of the side streets of downtown Palo Alto. There’s some no-so-techy parts to my hometown, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs swear that their best ideas were created sitting at the corner table of a certain cafe, and that startups are formed during walks through the Stanford University Campus, as sunlight flows down through the leafy green oaks. Some visitors swear that there’s a hint of vibrant energy in the air. People call Palo Alto a little quirky ot even yuppie…”

Out of the three books I chose today this is the only YA book on here. The Charmed List is also a little over 300 pages, so not that long! Out of all three of the books I chose this one is pulling me in the least I’d have to say. The story still does really interest me, but the first paragraph doesn’t have me asking for more yet.

 

Okay, so if I look at the three books I chose for today’s Netgalley next, Maggie Moves On is the one that has me wanting to sit down and read right away. Lucy Score seems to be a very loved author and I’m excited to give her book a try. Hopefully I’ll have read the book before my Netgalley Next in two weeks and I’ll be able to share my review.

If you look at these three choices, would you have made the same decision as me? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.