Month: November 2020

Review: Rent a Boyfriend

Title: Rent a Boyfriend
Author: Gloria Chao
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets The Farewell in this incisive romantic comedy about a college student who hires a fake boyfriend to appease her traditional Taiwanese parents, to disastrous results, from the acclaimed author of American Panda.

Chloe Wang is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend, because the truth is, she hasn’t met him yet either. She hired him from Rent for Your ’Rents, a company specializing in providing fake boyfriends trained to impress even the most traditional Asian parents.

Drew Chan’s passion is art, but after his parents cut him off for dropping out of college to pursue his dreams, he became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to keep a roof over his head. Luckily, learning protocols like “Type C parents prefer quiet, kind, zero-PDA gestures” comes naturally to him.

When Chloe rents Drew, the mission is simple: convince her parents fake Drew is worthy of their approval so they’ll stop pressuring her to accept a proposal from Hongbo, the wealthiest (and slimiest) young bachelor in their tight-knit Asian American community.

But when Chloe starts to fall for the real Drew—who, unlike his fake persona, is definitely not ’rent-worthy—her carefully curated life begins to unravel. Can she figure out what she wants before she loses everything? 

Review:

Chloe’s parents are pressuring her to marry their wealthy friend’s son, so she rents a boyfriend to bring home for Thanksgiving. Rent for Your ‘Rents is a company where you can fill out a questionnaire and rent a boyfriend who will fit all the requirements that your parents want in a partner for you. Chloe ends up bringing Drew to her parents’ home. Drew is an artist who is estranged from his family, so he is available to work as a fake boyfriend on holidays. As the Thanksgiving holiday progresses, Chloe and Drew get closer than he usually gets with his clients. Then, they start texting after he leaves. They start to fall for each other, which could become a problem since their relationship was built on lies.

The fake dating trope is one of my favourites so I was so excited to read this story. The tension from the fake dating comes from both people lying about their relationship. There were many secrets and lies in this story. Chloe was hiding Drew’s real identity from her parents. Drew was lying to all of the parents of his clients. Chloe’s parents were even hiding a few secrets of their own. These secrets created lots of tension when they were revealed.

This was a really fun story. There were a couple of tough moments, especially when Chloe’s parents weren’t treating fairly, but most of the romance was so cute. Chloe and Drew were meant to be together right from the beginning. They had similar relationships with their parents, though Drew ended up being kicked out of his parents home and Chloe was still visiting her parents while she was in university. They were both strong young adults, who knew they needed to follow their hearts to be happy.

I really enjoyed this story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

Have you read Rent a Boyfriend? What did you think of it?

TBR Thursday – November 12

TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is Jane in Love by Rachel Givney.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

If Jane Austen had the choice between the heart and the pen, what do you think she would do?

At age twenty-eight, Jane Austen should be seeking a suitable husband, but all she wants to do is write. She is forced to take extreme measures in her quest to find true love – which lands her in the most extraordinary of circumstances. 

Magically, she finds herself in modern-day England, where horseless steel carriages line the streets and people wear very little clothing. She forms a new best friend in fading film star Sofia Wentworth, and a genuine love interest in Sofia’s brother Fred, who has the audacity to be handsome, clever and kind-hearted.

She is also delighted to discover that she is now a famous writer, a published author of six novels and beloved around the globe. But as Jane’s romance with Fred blossoms, her presence in the literary world starts to waver. She must find a way to stop herself disappearing from history before it’s too late.

A modern-day reimagining of the life of one of the world’s most celebrated writers, this wonderfully witty romantic comedy offers a new side to Jane’s story, which sees her having to choose between true love in the present and her career as a writer in the past.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: Tsarina

Title: Tsarina
Author: Ellen Alpsten
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: November 10, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself.

Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?

From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire.”

Review:

In St. Petersburg in 1725, the Tsar Peter the Great is dying. His second wife, Catherine, is by his side, but he doesn’t have a clear heir. As the Tsar dies, Catherine needs to keep his death a secret while she figures out how to rule the country as a Tsarina. This story shows Catherine’s life, from when she was a washing maid, to when she was saved by the Tsar and made Tsarina Catherine.

This was quite a “rags to riches” story. Catherine was born in a small hut, where she was later sold as a washing maid. She was abused, but after many attempts to escape this life, she stumbled onto the Tsar’s war camp. Her life was changed when she caught the Tsar’s eye and began a romance. It is mostly based on Catherine’s real life, though some parts had to be filled in for the story.

Some of scenes in this story were graphic and disturbing. There was rape, domestic violence, abuse, and murder. The women in the story experienced every kind of pregnancy complication, including most of the twelve children that Catherine gave birth to dying either at birth or shortly after. There were plenty of these scenes, which could be disturbing, but they showed how dangerous life was for a woman during that time period, no matter her social standing.

This was a long story that gave many details about Catherine’s life. However, by the end, I was glued to the page and wanted to keep reading more. The ending was intense and surprising to me because I wasn’t familiar with this time period.

I enjoyed this historical fiction story. It would be great for anyone interested in Russian historical fiction.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

The Lost Queen by Signe Pike

About the author:

ELLEN ALPSTEN was born and raised in the Kenyan highlands. Upon graduating from L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, she worked as a news anchor for Bloomberg TV London. Whilst working gruesome night shifts on breakfast TV, she started to write in earnest, every day, after work and a nap. Today, Ellen works as an author and as a journalist for international publications such as Vogue, Standpoint and CN Traveller. She lives in London with her husband, three sons and a moody fox red Labrador. Tsarina is her debut novel.

Have you read Tsarina? What did you think of it?

‘Waiting on’ Wednesday – November 11

This is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. In this post we highlight a book that’s highly anticipated.

The book that I’m waiting on this Wednesday is Admission by Julie Buxbaum. The expected publication date is December 1, 2020.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes an of-the-moment novel that peeks inside the private lives of the hypercompetitive and the hyperprivileged and takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country.

It’s good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer. She’s headed off to the college of her dreams. She’s going to prom with the boy she’s had a crush on since middle school. Her best friend always has her back, and her mom, a B-list Hollywood celebrity, may finally be on her way to the B+ list. It’s good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer–at least, it was, until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal. Chloe, too, might be facing charges, and even time behind bars. The public is furious, the press is rabid, and the US attorney is out for blood.

As she loses everything she’s long taken for granted, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat for her? What did she know, and when did she know it? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean to be complicit?

What books are you waiting on this week?

Review: Cone Cat

Title: Cone Cat
Author: Sarah Howden, Carmen Mok (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s, Picture Book
Publisher: Owlkids
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: August 15, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

One day, Jeremy wakes up at the vet’s with a giant cone around his head. In a momentary existential crisis, he resigns himself to his new role as clumsy, smelly Cone Cat. That is, until the cone becomes instrumental in lapping up the last few bites of cereal on the breakfast table.

Surprisingly, Cone Cat can do a lot of things old Jeremy couldn’t. He can hunt spiders with ease, collect stuffing from the couch, and disguise himself as a bowl to steal a scoop of ice cream at a birthday party. When the cone is removed the next day, Jeremy starts to miss it. Will he ever get another chance to indulge in the tricks he pulled off as Cone Cat? It doesn’t take him too long to find out …

With lively illustrations and plenty of wit, this hilarious picture book about adapting to seemingly im-paw-ssible situations is sure to please kids and cat-lovers alike.

Review:

When Jeremy wakes up at the vet’s office one day, he is wearing a cone. He realizes that he is no longer Jeremy. Now he will be known as Cone Cat. He can’t do the things he’s used to doing, like hunt bugs around the house, scratch the furniture, or eat from his dish. He feels strange in the cone, until he realizes he can do things differently with the cone. He can tip a bowl into the cone to eat inside it. He can scoop the bugs into his cone so that he doesn’t have to hunt them. Life is different with the cone, but he figures out a way to adapt to it.

This is such a cute picture book! Anyone who has a dog or cat who has had surgery or an injury, has probably had to use the cone, or as we call it in my house “the cone of shame.” It’s sad to see how depressed the animals get while wearing the cone, but it is for their own good so they can heal.

Jeremy the cat learns to adapt to his new life wearing the cone. He had to look on the bright side and figure out how to live his normal life. For example, he couldn’t drink from the cereal bowl on the table, but he could tip it into his cone and drink it like that. Jeremy didn’t know that the cone wouldn’t last forever, so once he got used to it, his owner was able to take it off and he could return to his old life as Jeremy.

I loved this adorable cat picture book!

Thank you Owlkids for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Cracking the Case of the Missing Egg (Farm Crimes!) by Sandra Dumais

Catkwondo by Lisl H. Detlefsen, Erin Hunting (illustrator)

Have you read Cone Cat? What did you think of it?

Top Ten Tuesday – Book Titles That Would Make Great Song Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Book Titles That Would Make Great Song Titles. Here’s my list:

1. Lies, Lies, Lies by Adele Parks

2. A Phoenix First Must Burn by Patrice Caldwell (editor)

3. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

4. Waiting for a Star to Fall by Kerry Clare

5. Tell Me My Name by Erin Ruddy

6. The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

7. Smash It! by Francina Simone

8. The End of Her by Shari Lapena

9. He Started It by Samantha Downing

10. The Boy Toy by Nicola Marsh

(All photos taken from Goodreads)

What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?

Review: Duck Days

Title: Duck Days (Slug Days Stories #3)
Author: Sara Leach, Rebecca Bender (illustrator)
Genre: Children’s, Contemporary
Publisher: Pajama Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: October 13, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Synopsis:

The third title in the collection that began with USBBY Outstanding International Book Slug Days. Lauren, a third-grade student who has Autism Spectrum Disorder, takes on the challenges of sharing her best friend and persevering when a classmate mocks her bicycle’s training wheels.

Irma is Lauren’s best friend. Irma knows all the strategies Lauren uses when her Autism Spectrum Disorder makes it hard to “go with the flow.” Lauren helps Irma learn English words and understand unfamiliar customs. So why does Irma suddenly want to introduce Lauren to her mountain-biking, litter-dropping neighbor Jonas? Why is Irma calling Jonas her friend? 

As if sharing Irma weren’t bad enough, Lauren also has an alarming new problem at school. Their teacher has announced a mountain biking day when the students will learn to ride their bikes on an obstacle course. But Lauren still uses training wheels. She just can’t face the teasing she will get when her classmates see them. She isn’t brave like Irma. She can’t go with the flow like Dad. How can she possibly face this challenge?

Review:

Irma is Lauren’s best friend. Irma has immigrated from Sweden, and she is still learning to speak English. Lauren is on the Autism Spectrum, so while she helps Irma with her English, Irma helps Lauren with techniques to cope with her Autism. One day, Irma introduces Lauren to her new friend, Jonas. Lauren gets upset that Irma now has a new friend. Jonas wants to teach them some bike riding tricks, which intimidates Lauren because she still uses training wheels. When her teacher schedules a bike riding activity, Lauren has to find the courage to ride her bike with training wheels in front of her class.

I loved the Autism representation in this story. Lauren had a lot of visual techniques to help figure out the world around her. She would make hand signals with her father to signal how she was coping with the current situation. Her teacher taught her with flash cards with emotional cues in facial expressions so she could try to read the emotions on the faces of other people. Lauren’s Autism also meant that she liked to have everything scheduled, so when Irma brought another friend over to play with them, it threw her off. Lauren ended up liking Jonas too, so the experience wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, even though it changed her planned schedule.

Lauren helped Irma with her English, which showed some representation of the immigrant experience. Irma had to go to school and learn a language that she wasn’t familiar with, but she had the courage to do it every day. Lauren would correct Irma’s language, but at least Irma was trying to speak, even when she got it wrong. They were both brave little girls.

This is a great children’s book!

Thank you Pajama Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Slug Days by Sara Leach

Megabat by Anna Humphrey and Kass Reich (illustrator)

Other books in the series:

  • Slug Days
  • Penguin Days

Have you read Duck Days? What did you think of it?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? – November 9

This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I just finished:

This weekend I finished Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers.

What I’m currently reading:

I’m currently reading Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten.

What I’m reading next:

Next I will be reading Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao.

What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?

Jill’s Weekly Wrap-Up – November 8

Here are my reviews for the week with my ratings:

I did 8 weekly blogging memes:

How was your week? What did you guys read?