1st Light - Dawn Reads and Reviews

Holding On to Chaos by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Fine Art of Faking It by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

The Last Second Chance by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Because I realized I didn’t have to change everyone else in my life to make me happy. I just had to remember who I was.” “Don’t ever let anyone make you feel less than, and that includes yourself” “When you’re not honest about shit, shit comes back to bite you in the ass” “But, my God, how do you forgive stupidity like that?” And my favorite - “Because they aren’t just a piece of you. They are a human being learning how to survive and thrive in this world. And if you clean up every mess and bandage every scrape and shield them from every hurt, you take that self-reliance away from them. And that is what turns children into good men and women.” 🌅They say you never really get over your first love, and Joey Greer knows that all too well. Once inseparable from her childhood best friend-turned-high school sweetheart, Jackson Pierce, Joey had her world turned upside down when Jax walked away without e...

Not Part of the Plan by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Don’t be afraid of pain, or less-than-perfect, daughter of mine. That’s where the real joy comes from. Life gets its color from challenges and adversity. You can’t plan your way to happiness, you know.” 🌅 What happens when a tightly wound brewery manager collides with a broody, motorcycle-riding photographer who’s lost his creative spark? Welcome to Blue Moon, where chaos, chemistry, and meddling neighbors are guaranteed. Emma Merrill has carved out a carefully controlled life, managing the Pierce Brewery and keeping her family close. Love isn’t on her to-do list, especially not with Nikolai, the infamous New York bad boy and Summer Pierce’s best friend. But Niko, burnt out on the city and in search of inspiration, finds himself captivated by Emma from the moment he sees her. What starts as a reluctant friendship quickly morphs into something neither of them can deny, and soon Emma’s...

Fall into Temptation by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars “Between the highs and the lows, what keeps you going, what keeps you coming back together, is knowing that your heart beats for that one person.” Review: Fall Into Temptation by Lucy Score 🌅 Small towns have a way of magnifying both love and gossip, and in Lucy Score’s  Fall Into Temptation , that charm and chaos take center stage. Another Pierce brother and another heart swoon from Lucy Score. Beckett Pierce, Blue Moon’s lawyer and mayor, is the definition of a good guy. He prioritizes family and community, carries the weight of responsibility following his father’s passing, and possesses the kind of steady, protective energy that makes him immediately likable. Enter Gianna Decker (Gia), a strong single mom who moves to town with her two kids for a fresh start and opens a yoga studio. Their attraction sparks instantly, but between his public role, her determination to prioritize her children,...

All the World Can Hold by Jung Yun My rating: 3 of 5 stars 🌅 I saved this novel to read in September. I thought it was fitting to recall the prevailing attitude of the country and the world during that time, over two decades ago. However, reflective as it was, I expected 9/11 to play a more significant role. This novel wasn’t above fireworks despite the story taking place during the aftermath of 9/11.  All the World Can Hold  lent itself more to quiet introspection. Jung Yun sets her characters adrift, literally, on a five-day cruise to Bermuda, just one week after the 9/11 attacks. The backdrop is striking: a ship suspended between destinations, mirroring passengers who are suspended between the lives they have and the lives they long for. The book follows three central perspectives: •  Franny , a Korean American woman navigating tension with her family during her mother’s 70th birthday cruise. •  Doug , a washed-up TV actor reluctantly...

In Time With You by Kristin Dwyer My rating: 5 of 5 stars 🌅Having recently lost someone, I’m very well acquainted with grief, and grief is a tricky thing; it reshapes you, blurs your choices, and sometimes makes you wonder what you’d give up to rewrite the past. In Time With You  by Kristin Dwyer captures that ache with devastating clarity. The novel follows Nieve Monroe, whose life shatters when her boyfriend, Carter, dies saving her from drowning. Consumed by guilt, she withdraws from everyone—including Max, Carter’s best friend, who blames her too. Then one morning, Nieve wakes up not in her grief but a year earlier, with the chance to undo everything.  Determined to keep Carter safe this time, she makes different choices. But the more she tries to keep him safe, the closer she drifts to Max, a boy she thought she hated. What begins as an impossible attempt to protect Carter turns into something far messier: a story about love, lo...

No More Secrets by Lucy Score My rating: 4 of 5 stars View all my reviews

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison My rating: 5 of 5 stars 🌅So many good quotes – “How often have I felt like I’m just drifting from one thing to the next? How hard has it been for me to muster enthusiasm for… anything?” “I don’t want to settle for something just to say I have it.” “Love and romance seem like a fairy tale now, something we tell kids to help them sleep better at night. Something we tell ourselves too.” “I can still be a confident, independent woman and till want someone to hold my hand. To ask about my day.” Some romances are pure comfort food, and  First Time Caller  delivers that rare mix of charm, wit, and emotional depth that makes you smile even when your heart aches a little. The story follows Lucie Stone, a single mom whose daughter dials into a struggling Baltimore romance hotline hosted by the grumpy yet magnetic Aiden Valentine. What begins as a sweet on-air connection quickly snowballs into a full-on radio s...