I really really enjoyed this book! It’s perfect fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Frankly in Love! There’s fake dating, and you will absolutely love it! I couldn’t get enough of this book!
Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534462458, 11/10/2020)
Reviewed by Brittany Bunzey, Read With Me, A Childrens Book & Art Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina
I really enjoyed this read! I blew through it and actually read most of it on New Years Eve! What a perfect way to ring in the new year! This is perfect for your younger readers who are reading up, and honestly it can be enjoyed any time of the year!
New Year’s Kiss by Lee Matthews (List Price: $9.99, Underlined, 9780593179857, 12/1/2020)
Reviewed by Brittany Bunzey, Read With Me, A Children’s Book & Art Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina
I really enjoyed Last Chance Books! This book has a quirky main character who full of emotions as her indie is about to go out of business! Perfect for fans of Tweet Cute and Recommended for You, this book will keep readers hooked with witty banter, business-to-business competition, and enemies to lovers!
Last Chance Books by Kelsey Rodkey (List Price: $17.99, HarperTeen, 9780062994462, 5/18/2021)
Reviewed by Brittany Bunzey, Read With Me, A Childrens Book & Art Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina
I adored this fun and impressive debut! Quinn is one of the few black students at a prestigious private school; she finds refuge in writing and making lists in her journal. Her journal goes missing and someone begins to blackmail her with her deepest and darkest secrets. Quinn freaks out, and has to begin working with Carter, a fellow black student who she has never gotten along with. Soon, the hate the hate they had for one another dissolves as they connect to retrieve her journal while being forced by Quinn’s blackmailer to complete Quinn’s lists. This book is about facing your fears, being honest, and falling in love.
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney (List Price: $17.99, HarperTeen, 9780063024793, 5/4/2021)
Reviewed by Deanna Bailey, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
Thea is having a terrible Valentine’s day. She and her husband are splitting up because he’s been cheating on her…with one of her friends. And she’s just been let go from her job. So when an uncle she doesn’t remember dies and leaves her his estate in Scotland, she decides to head up there and sort it all out, with a plan to sell. But once she gets there, she decides that she’ll stay awhile. She gets a job with the grumpy bookstore owner while she takes her time in sorting out the estate.
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser (List Price: $17, Ballantine Books, 9780593355657, 5/4/2021)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia
It’s hard to follow up a book that was as good as Beach Read, yet Emily Henry has done it again! She really knows how to suck you in with her characters and get emotionally involved. If you enjoy the opposites attract, friends-to-lovers and slow burn romance, you will definitely enjoy this!
People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry (List Price: $16, Berkley, 9781984806758, 5/11/2021)
Reviewed by Deanna Bailey, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
Dramatic and soapy in the best way! This face-paced sequel to American Royals took turns I wasn’t expecting, and I enjoyed every second. After finishing Majesty, I’m even more obsessed with the initial premise of this series–American Royals, yes please!
American Royals II: Majesty by Katharine McGee (List Price: $18.99, Random House Books for Young Readers, 9781984830210, 9/1/2020)
Reviewed by Asia Harden, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
I couldn’t put this book down! (I stayed up until 6 AM to finish it.)I thoroughly enjoyed these two lost souls thrust into an arranged marriage as well as interplanetary politics and intrigue, mixed with an intriguing dose of cultural anthropology (the deft touches of cultural differences amongst the different planets). Crossover appeal for Romance readers, for sure
Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell (List Price: $17.99, Tor Books, 9781250758835, 2/2/2021)
Reviewed by Angela Trigg, The Haunted Bookshop in Mobile, Alabama
Better Than the Movies is such a joy of a book! You’ve got enemies to lovers with a main character who has the energy of Jack Black’s character in The Holiday–goofy and sweet, full of love and loss, and of course, a deep, nerdy love for movie soundtracks. Better Than the Movies will have you squealing and swooning, and you definitely need this on your shelves!
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter (List Price: $18.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781534467620, 5/4/2021)
Reviewed by Brittany Bunzey, Read With Me, A Childrens Book & Art Shop in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raffy LOVES cosplay. So, he’s been furiously working on an entry for a local convention with his friend May. But he has several obstacles, not the least of which is an unsupportive mother and his ex, Luca, who has entered with one of their other friends. But Raffy is a natural with a sequin and he’s sure he can pull this one off. This delightful romance-meets-cosplay book from Ryan La Sala is perfect timing for those of us with the blues from missing our favorite conventions this year.
Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala (List Price: $17.99, Sourcebooks Fire, 9781492682691, 1/5/2021)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser, Inc. in Roswell, Georgia
Wild Rain is great historically representative, slow burn romance between a lady rancher and a city slicker reporter. I loved seeing the diversity of the West as it really was, and the chemistry between the two leads sizzled. When can I get more of this series?
Wild Rain by Beverly Jenkins (List Price: $7.99, Avon, 9780062861719, 2/9/2021)
Reviewed by Lizy Coale, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida
Take Pride and Prejudice and set it in the mid 80s at a high school in Texas and you’ve got Pudge and Prejudice. Elyse and Jayne Nebbit have moved to Texas with their parents and three younger sisters. Their new school is obsessed with football and their star quarterback, Billy Fitz. And Elyse finds herself a little obsessed with Billy herself. We’ve all read retellings where the changes are obnoxious and make the story too far in tone and theme from the original. I’m glad to say that one is true to the original, while still updating it for 1980s Texas. This was a sweet, fun story about teens, but which works well for preteens as well.
Pudge and Prejudice by A.K. Pittman (List Price: $15.99, Wander, 9781496442833, 1/12/2021)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser, Inc. in Roswell, Georgia
Tessa and her family have just moved 400 miles south from her best friend and all she knows. Her dad got a promotion a d Tessa got a spot at an Arts magnet high school and she’s simultaneously excited and petrified. Tessa has always loved to write. But the only person she’ll show her words to is her best friend. She feels like her romance writing isn’t nearly good enough for her new school. But there are upsides. At her old school, there were only a few black kids, but this new school has a big mix of races and that thing that usually happens where people self-segregate based on race? It’s not happening here. That’s not to say that there aren’t problems though…This sweet story was a fun read. The author included many issues in Tessa’s story and integrated them I a very real way. Tessa makes mistakes, but don’t we all.
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant (List Price: $17, Balzer + Bray, 9780062982834, 1/5/2021)
Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser, Inc. in Roswell, Georgia
I enjoy the series with the Paranormal content. It is very interesting and does not engulf the characters or the plot, so if it is not your thing you will still have a great plot and suspense. North has some issues with questions that remain about his Grand Fathers loyalty, a strange and sudden onset health issue, but in every other aspect has his life well ordered. He excels at his job, lives in a home he enjoys and is challenged intellectually. Sierra is his opposite in so many ways, raised in a free spirited fashion by non-conforming parents, she has started another career path after many failed attempts. North has a high priority job and not much time to find local help, Sierra is available and selected for him, not a comfortable situation.The seriousness of the situation does not leave time for finesse or subtlety on either end. What follows is an intricate plot to try and understand what may have fallen into the wrong hands in the past. The location and exploration of the closed Fogg Lake labs has just begun, so they have no idea how much danger is ahead. This is a great and entertaining series. Lots of suspense, twists and good character development.
All the Colors of Night by Jayne Ann Krentz (List Price: $27, Berkley, 9781984806819, 1/5/2021)
Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
A. K. Wilder creates a delightful world of savants and phantoms: creatures made to serve those who call them. Ash is a non-savant who somehow gets the attention of phantoms that aren’t even supposed to acknowledge her when she doesn’t have a phantom of her own. Marcus is the heir to the throne Ash serves and she follows him to the mysterious island of Aku where he must tame his own powerful phantom. Their guide to Aku, Kaylin, has his own secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
Crown of Bones by A.K. Wilder (List Price: $18.99, Entangled: Teen, 9781640634145, 1/5/2021)
Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia
