'All the Right Reasons' by Bethany Mangle

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"The Bachelor meets Gilmore Girls in this laugh-out-loud young adult romance about a girl who joins her mother on a reality dating show for single parents—only to fall for a contestant’s son.

Cara Hawn’s life fell apart after her father cheated on her mother and got remarried to a woman Cara can’t stand. When Cara accidentally posts a rant about her father online, it goes viral—and catches the attention of the TV producers behind a new reality dating show for single parent families.

The next thing Cara and her mother know, they’ve been cast as leads on the show and are whisked away to sunny Key West where they’re asked to narrow a field of suitors and their kids down to one winning pair. All of this is outside of Cara’s comfort zone, from the meddling producers to the camera-hungry contestants, especially as Cara and her mother begin to clash on which suitors are worth keeping around. And then comes Connor.

As the son of a contestant, Connor is decidedly off-limits. Except that he doesn’t fit in with the cutthroat atmosphere in all the same ways as Cara, and she can’t get him out of her head. Now Cara must juggle her growing feelings while dodging the cameras and helping her mom pick a bachelor they both love, or else risk fracturing their family even more for the sake of ratings. Maybe there’s a reason most people don’t date on TV." 


Review:

This was a cute and fun quick read of a YA rom-com. The talented author, Bethany Mangle, is a Korean-American adoptee and has a disability called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), and it’s wonderful to see the representation in this book; the main character is biracial, and the love interest is disabled with EDS.

It was great fun to watch through Cara’s perspective as her recently divorced Mom becomes the leading lady in a dating show, where single fathers and their children compete to potentially become her new Stepdad and stepsibling. All the wild, unbelievable antics of a reality TV show mixed well with family drama and a mother-daughter relationship.

Readers with strained relationships with a parent should know that Cara’s relationship with her father is justifiably terrible.  

'All the Right Reasons' will be available on February 15, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Long Story Short' by Serena Kaylor

5 stars! 

Book Blurb:

"Beatrice Quinn has spent sixteen very serious years studying to get into Oxford University. Homeschooled and a whiz at statistics, Beatrice knows that she belongs at Oxford, where she will finally find people who understand her. She thought the hardest part would be getting in, not convincing her parents to let her go. They’ve put a halt to her plans until she can prove she’s able to make friends with people her own age and function in social situations. Their solution: Shakespearean theater camp and a detailed list of teenage milestones to check off. She has six weeks to show her parents she can pull off the role of “normal” teenager and won’t spend the rest of her life hiding in a library.

Unfortunately, hearts and hormones don’t follow any rules, and there is no textbook for teenage interactions. When she’s adopted by a group of eclectic theater kids, and immediately makes an enemy of the gorgeous popular son of the camp founders, she realizes that relationships are trickier than calculus. As the summer draws to an end, and with Oxford on the line, this girl genius stumbles through illicit parties, double dog dares, and more than your fair share of Shakespeare. But before the final curtain falls, will Beatrice still feel like Oxford alone is enough?

Serena Kaylor’s debut, Long Story Short, is a fun rom-com with a whole lot of heart about friendship, first love, and learning to take a chance on yourself.''

Book Review:

This heart warming Contemporary YA read put a huge smile on my face. Highly recommended!

Beatrice is a sixteen-year-old genius whose very careful routines help to keep her anxiety at bay. Homeschooling worked out best for her, but now that she wants to attend Oxford University, her parents have concerns about her ability to socialize and be on her own.

They agree that if Beatrice can prove she can have a "normal teenage experience" while at a four-week theater camp, she can attend Oxford. She immediately gains a bestie in her roommate Mia, and Mia's camp bestie, the Nolan, takes her under his wing as well. The relationships between these three gems are truly the definition of #FriendshipGoals.

Comically, she gets off on the wrong foot with the son of the camp's owners, Nik. As lead of the play, Nik is everywhere and Beatrice finds she cannot avoid him, try as she might.

'Long Story Short' hits bookshelves on July 26, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s

'Killer Content' by Kiley Roache

 5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"Knives Out meets One of Us is Lying! In this paperback original thriller a group of famous TikTokers find themselves turning on each other when one member of the group turns up dead at their beachfront Malibu mansion.

35 million followers. One dead body.

The six teenagers who make up the Hype House seem to have it all. A beach front Malibu mansion, millions of TikTok followers, model good looks, and sponsorship deals up to $30,000 per post. Everything's pretty much a Gen-Z paradise. Except that one member of the house has just turned up dead in the infinity pool. And the rest of them are suspects.

When the group TikTok account starts posting cryptic messages about the murder, the police limit their investigation to the members of the house. Now old joke videos are filed as evidence and past rivalries start to look like motives.

As investigators dig into these influencers' lives beyond their glossy internet personalities, they discover all five had reasons their lives would've been easier with Sydney Reynolds dead. But only one of them killed her."


Review:

Fast-paced and captivating, 'Killer Content' was so good that I didn't want to put it down. Chapters flew by as I devoured the events of the hours after Sydney's death, and eventually learned details about the days leading up to it, and how each remaining member of the house came to have a motive. Chapters and narrators are clearly marked, as each person from the Lit Lair collab house shed light on what happened, the friendships and relationships between them all, and the lavish lifestyle they lead while in their beach front Malibu mansion.

Grab 'Killer Content' on November 30th!

#KillerContent #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s

'Love from Scratch' by Kaitlyn Hill

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp coastal air. She's landed her dream marketing internship at Friends of Flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in Seattle. The only problem? Benny Beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing culinary intern--and her main competition for the fall job.

Reese's plan to keep work a No Feelings Zone crumbles like a day-old muffin when she and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet's newest ship. Audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at Friends of Flavor are happy to deliver. Soon Reese and Benny are in an all-out food war, churning homemade ice cream, twisting soft pretzels, breaking eggs in an omelet showdown--while hundreds of thousands of viewers watch.

Reese can't deny the chemistry between her and Benny. But the more their rivalry heats up, the harder it is to keep love on the back burner..."

Review:

Really enjoyed this slow burn, friends to lovers YA Contemporary. We follow Reese as she and Benny (the other network intern) have their summer responsibilities broadened into a cooking show together. The episodes are full of food puns, witty interactions, and denied chemistry between the two, and so is their off-camera time. Though we do not get to read Benny's perspective, he is a delightful and supportive ray of sunshine. Reese though, tries her best to appear just as delightful on at work while battling sexism and gender double standards, both from network management and what she has internalized through her life experiences.

I highly recommend this PG-rated YA Contemporary to all YA readers, and think many will find it as incredibly relatable as I do.

Grab 'Love from Scratch' on April 5, 2022!

#LovefromScratch #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Cinder the Fireplace Boy' by Ana Mardoll

 
5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"Once upon a time there lived... a beautiful prince who kissed a frog. A cinder-smudged child who hid a secret. A princess who climbed a long braid of golden hair for love. A thumb-sized boy with the courage of a giant. And a valiant little tailor whose wit was as sharp as her needle.

These stories and many more await you in this delightful collection of classic fairy tales, lovingly retold and featuring characters who receive wonderfully queer happily-ever-afters! Let these new takes on the Brothers Grimm warm your heart and nurture your yearning to see yourself reflected in beloved favorites.

Features eight original illustrations by artist Alex Dingley."


Review:

I greatly enjoyed this collection of fairy tale re-tellings!  Some stories were retold with transgender, gender-fluid, or non-binary characters, and others with gender-swapped characters.  Some stories included loving, supportive parents, and others did not.  Some stories included loving, supportive parents, and others did not.

This collection was inclusive and very well put together, with a great range of LGBTQIAP+ representation. Before each and every tale, each character's pronouns are listed, as well as any applicable content notes, which I think is a wonderful idea.

'Cinder the Fireplace Boy' will be available on January 4, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s. 

'One for All' by Lillie Lainoff

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"An OwnVoices, gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.

Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.

With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.

This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love."

Review:

Really enjoyed this #ownvoices gender-bent spin on 'The Three Musketeers' in which Tania, our main character, has the POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) sub-type of Dysautonomia, just as the author does. I loved the disability rep, and also the LGBTQIA+ rep and the friendships between the lady Musketeers.  

'One for All' releases on March 8, 2022.  Grab a copy here!

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Spin Me Right Round' by David Valdes

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"From lauded writer David Valdes, a sharp and funny YA novel that's Back to the Future with a twist, as a gay teen travels back to his parents' era to save a closeted classmate's life.

All Luis Gonzalez wants is to go to prom with his boyfriend, something his “progressive” school still doesn't allow. Not after what happened with Chaz Wilson. But that was ages ago, when Luis's parents were in high school; it would never happen today, right? He's determined to find a way to give his LGBTQ friends the respect they deserve (while also not risking his chance to be prom king, just saying…).

When a hit on the head knocks him back in time to 1985 and he meets the doomed young Chaz himself, Luis concocts a new plan-he's going to give this guy his first real kiss. Though it turns out a conservative school in the '80s isn't the safest place to be a gay kid. Especially with homophobes running the campus, including Gordo (aka Luis's estranged father). Luis is in over his head, trying not to make things worse-and hoping he makes it back to present day at all.

In a story that's fresh, intersectional, and wickedly funny, David Valdes introduces a big-mouthed, big-hearted queer character that readers won't soon forget."

Review:

Fantastic, well-thought-out LGBTQIA+ inclusive YA Contemporary with time travel and nods to several of the greats, including 'Back to the Future' and 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.'  

Luis' narrating was top-notch; fun and easy to follow. It's also really easy to root for him and his friends, both in present-day and 1985. Cannot recommend highly enough!  

Highly recommended for Young Adult and time travel fans!  Grab 'Spin Me Right Round' on December 7, 2021.

#SpinMeRightRound #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'When You Get the Chance' by Emma Lord

5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"An effervescent, endearing, joyful contemporary romance of one young woman searching for her birth mother one summer, by New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord.

Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?

Joyous, heartfelt, and brimming with emotion, WHEN YOU GET THE CHANCE is a novel about falling in love, making a mess, and learning to let go that will have you happy-sobbing and cheering all the way to the end."

Review: 

Author Emma Lord knocks it out of the park again with this fantastic YA Contemporary!  While there are gender-swapped 'Mamma Mia' aspects, YA readers who are unfamiliar with the musical will not be lost at all.  

'When You Get the Chance' is a highly entertaining enemies-to-lovers YA rom-com. Millie is wonderful narrator and lots of fun to follow.

'When You Get the Chance' releases on January 4, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'Awakened' by Ciara Duggan

 4 stars!

Book Blurb:

"After losing her parents in an accident only she survived, Hannah is desperate for answers. Haunted by the events of that tragic night, she struggles to move on, yearning for some deeper truth about her loss.  

But when it comes time to turn a new page and move cross country for college, she vows to leave the past behind. After all, Bellcliff University is a thousand miles away from the ghosts nipping at her heels.

Yet when Hannah accidentally awakens a handsome witch from a hidden cave near campus, she realizes he isn’t the only thing stirring out of slumber. Hannah has roused all magic…including the devil herself.  

As if spells, curses, and college jitters weren’t enough, this witch claims to know Hannah from four centuries prior—and their connection is more than casual.  

Thrust into a world of sorcery and monsters, Hannah must fight to keep the magic she’d unleashed from claiming a price far too steep for her to pay."

Review:

A solid entry in the Young Adult Paranormal genre, 'Awakened' has some 'The Vampire Diaries' vibes, which I enjoyed. We follow the main character, Hannah, as she tries to get a fresh start at a college across the country and move forward, away from grieving her parents' death. The combination of an Anthropology class project and her searching every religion for answers as part of her grief, brings her to a magical grimoire and she unknowingly awakens a witch who knew her in a past life. As they work together to stop the devil who was also accidently awakened, Hannah grows closer to this cute witch, Callan.

Highly recommended for Young Adult Paranormal fans!  Grab 'Awakened' on September 7, 2021.

#Awakened #NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.

'A Brush with Love' by Mazey Eddings

 5 stars!

Book Blurb:

"Harper is anxiously awaiting placement into a top oral surgery residency program when she crashes (literally) into Dan. Harper would rather endure a Novocaine-free root canal than face any distractions, even one this adorable.

A first-year dental student with a family legacy to contend with, Dan doesn’t have the same passion for pulling teeth that Harper does. Though he finds himself falling for her, he is willing to play by Harper’s rules.

So with the greatest of intentions and the poorest of follow-throughs, the two set out to be “just friends.” But as they get to know each other better, Harper fears that trading fillings for feelings may make her lose control and can't risk her carefully ordered life coming undone, no matter how drool-worthy Dan is.

Blood, gore, and extra-long roots? No problem. The idea of falling in love? Torture."

Review:

Really enjoyed being part of Harper and Dan's world as they got to know each other. Absolutely loved how much detail was shared about Harper's anxiety; her daily routines, sometimes all-consuming anxious thoughts, occasional panic attacks, and the ways in which anxiety impacts her life on a daily basis. It was all so realistic and relatable (to someone with an anxiety diagnosis) and though it affected all of Harper's interactions, her anxiety did not negatively impact the story at all. Dan has his own struggles, and it was wonderful to see Harper and Dan support each other.

This wonderful rom-com can be enjoyed by Adult Contemporary and Romance readers, and also upper Young Adult Contemporary readers. Though the characters are in their mid-twenties, this is set at a college (dental school), with family expectations and interference by hilariously nosey friends.  

'A Brush With Love' releases on March 1, 2022.

#NetGalley - I voluntarily read a Review Copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely my own and no one else’s.