This Time It’s Real is a YA celebrity romance that focuses a lot on identity and fitting in. Eliza Lin’s mother is a corporate crisis manager, and as a result of her mom’s career she’s spent her childhood living all over the world. Now she’s in Beijing, and even though she’s Chinese, she doesn’t feel like she fits in at her new school any better than her last one. Eliza’s passion is writing, and for … Continue reading This Time It’s Real by Ann Liang →
Two Wrongs Make a Right is inspired, very loosely, by Much Ado About Nothing. It lacks most of the conflict of the play, but has its own charm. What you really need to know is that this is a cute book with neurodivergent characters and a fake-dating romance that is endearing if not fully believable. For each thing I liked about this book there was something I felt grumpy about. Here we go! Our heroes … Continue reading Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese →
TW: Sexual Harassment The Stand-In is a celebrity romance that also celebrates female friendships, openly discusses the stigma against mental illness, and allows the main character the space to explore the complexities of being bi-racial. It does all of that without feeling unbalanced or taking away from the romance that’s the center of the plot. I listened to this on Audible and the narrator, Philippa Soo, does a wonderful job of delivering the story. Gracie Reed … Continue reading The Stand-In by Lily Chu →
I’m So Not Over You is a m/m contemporary romance about two men living in Boston who rekindle a relationship during a “fake dating’ weekend. I had a hard time connecting with the story, but Shana liked it a little bit better. Tropes include second chance romance, a wedding, fake dating, and ‘there’s only one bed’, and we know those are gold for a lot of readers! Unfortunately, it also has problems with the structure … Continue reading I’m So (Not) Over You by Kosoko Jackson →
Off Script is a Hollywood enemies-to-lovers romance, where the heroine has good reason to hate the dude she’s fake dating. She forgave him, but I couldn’t. Jada is an actress who’s been struggling to land another role since getting kicked off a tv show for a love triangle with a co-star. Her luck changes when she’s cast as the sidekick friend in a time travel romance. The only problem? Her character’s BFF is played by … Continue reading Off Script by Ashley Marie →
I have been talking about wanting to read D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding for ages! Tara has been very patient with my desperation to read this book. A lesbian rom com about a wedding reality show? Girl, sign me up! Anticipating a book for years usually leads to crushing disappointment, but this book lived up to the hype for me. It’s so good, y’all! Tara, what did you think? Tara: Patient, *snort*. Shana, you … Continue reading D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins →
Shana and I both read While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory and we had thoughts! Anna Gardiner is an actress who is going to appear in an advertisement campaign for a new mobile phone. Ben Stephens designed the campaign and will be working closely with Anna during filming. Ben is a self-admitted playboy who is open that he’s only looking for fun, nothing serious. Anna is focused intensely on the next phase of her … Continue reading While We Were Dating by Jasmine Guillory →
I was initially skeptical of the newest installment in Rai’s Modern Love series. The main character, Jia, is a social media influencer who creates videos about make-up. I tend to avoid novels about models, and wasn’t sure that I was millennial enough to appreciate this romance. But First Comes Like might be my perfect pandemic read. It has a more lighthearted, fluffier tone than Girl Gone Viral, with a heroine whose thirstiness made me smile, … Continue reading First Comes Like by Alisha Rai →
