We made it to Friday y’all. And it is kind of a weird day filled with lots of memories for many of us. Be extra kind and gentle with yourself today. But on to the books. Here is a smattering of books I started and finished recently. I even put them in order of how much I liked them, because why not?
You Had me At Hola by Alexis Daria– This book was so good I am not sure I have the words to properly explain it. Beautifully written and engaging from page 1, Daria tells the story of two actors who fall in love. Jasmine previously worked in Soaps and gets a job on a telenovela for a streaming service. Her co-star, Ashton, is a notoriously private actor from Spanish speaking telenovelas and he is getting his first big English speaking part. As they fall in love, we get to meet their loving families and get to know them better.
There is a thing that happens that I didn’t love. It never quite made sense to me. But because I loved almost everything else about the book, I am willing to forgive it. I heard there are more books that will be about Jasmine’s cousins and I look forward to it.
Like Lovers Do by Tracey Livesay– Friends to lovers is one of my FAVORITE tropes and I think I don’t read enough of it. Livesay’s book has strong themes of female friendship, which I want more of in all romance novels. Nicole and Ben are good friends and then she agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend for a weekend trip. It’s too complicated to explain but if you like fake relationships and “there’s just one bed” so ahead and pick this up if you haven’t already.
At the core of the love story is a man who sees a woman for who she is and isn’t interested in changing her, he just wants to be by her side and compliment her as she compliments him.
This is part of a series but can absolutely be read as a stand alone.
I really enjoyed it. And Tracey’s note at the end brought me to tears.
Fearless by Katie Golding– The blurb for this does not accurately reflect what this book is about. The story opens with a couple, Billy and Taryn, who are broken up. The story is told in alternating POVs- Billy (present) and Taryn (past) and the story slowly unfolds as to why they broke up and how Billy is making amends.
I really liked this book but I will admit that it took a few chapters for me to really get into it. Billy and Taryn are both motorcycle racers so that was a new world for me. Billy is/was also a bull rider so there were a few things happening there that had me a little confused.
The basics of this story is two people who love each other deeply and need to make amends for hurts and find their way back to each other.
There is a scene where Billy and Taryn go to church for Christmas eve service and it just really struck me as so heartfelt. I have a complicated relationship with religion and church but Christmas eve service has always been one of my favorites. The music is the best and it has always felt restorative to me. And it felt like it was for Billy and Taryn as well. It gave me all the feelings.
I was very invested in Taryn and Billy forgiving each other and recommitting to their love and I was rewarded. This book was not perfect but I think if you are willing to give it a try you will enjoy it. I am excited to read future books by Golding.
The Mall by Megan McCafferty– I like to pretend I am going to give YA a try. I bought a few YA books in print lately and I remembered I had this on my Kindle. The blurb sounded cute with it’s mentions of being a teen in the 90’s and going to the mall. The book starts out with a breakup. And just went downhill from there. There were too many mentions of slutty clothes. **whisper yells** what does slutty clothes even mean? Anyway, I gave up when I saw another one and decided to move on with my life.
This entry hasn’t dissuaded me from continuing to give YA a try.
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