Category: Contemporary

Title: One True Loves (Happily Ever Afters #2)
Author: Elise Bryant
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 4, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure.

She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go—they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet.

When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore’s in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn’t happen in real life. At least not to girls like her.

Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He’s a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a ten-year plan. In short, he’s irritating as hell.

But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, he may be able to help her find something else she’s been looking for, even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself: love.

Review:

Lenore Bennett was a star artist at her school, trying all different forms of art. She’s set to go to NYU to study art history in the fall, but now she’s questioning if that’s the right major for her. After having her heart broken at prom, Lenore has given up on love. But when her and her family go on a Mediterranean cruise, she meets Alex Lee. They get off to a rocky start but their parents become close friends so they spend a lot of time together. Lenore wonders if she could find her one true love in Alex, but she’s wary of getting her heart broken again.

This book is the sequel to Happily Ever Afters. Most of it takes place during Lenore’s family vacation. This was a clever way of telling another character’s story while she is away from her best friend Tessa, the main character of Happily Ever Afters.

I like that the romances in these stories aren’t always an ideal relationship. Both Tessa and Lenore dated boys who made questionable comments, but they brushed them off at the time. A boy that Lenore dated made a racist comment to her, but she pretended like it didn’t happen. It’s easy to brush off a comment that makes you uncomfortable, to avoid a confrontation, especially if you care for the person. However, it’s important to stand up for yourself and remove yourself from any toxic situation or relationship. This is a side of high school relationships that I don’t see portrayed often in books, so I appreciated that it was addressed in this series.

One True Loves is the perfect summer romance story!

Thank you HCC Frenzy for providing a copy of this book.

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• Happily Ever Afters

Have you read One True Loves? What did you think of it?

Title: XOXO
Author: Axie Oh
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Library
Format: Audiobook
Release Date: July 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

Review:

Jenny, a cello prodigy, has dreams to attend a prestigious music conservatory after high school. One night at her uncle’s karaoke bar in Los Angeles, she meets a boy named Jaewoo, who she allows to pull out of her comfort zone for the night. Then, he disappears without a trace. Three months later, Jenny and her mom have to travel to South Korea to stay with her sick grandmother. Jenny signs up to attend an arts academy that also trains K-pop artists. Jaewoo is a student there, and he’s a member of one of the biggest up-and-coming K-pop bands called XOXO. Jenny has finally achieved her dream of attending a music school that can propel her career, but she’s never liked someone as much as she likes Jaewoo. A relationship could derail his K-pop career too. They have to decide if they’re willing to risk everything for love.

I’m not a huge fan of K-pop music, but I love novels about K-pop singers. The K-pop industry is so rigid and strict that it makes a tense setting for a romance novel. There are many rules that the singers have to follow, both while training to be a singer and when they finally become stars. This one showed more of the fun side, though there were some serious moments. The students weren’t allowed to be in a romantic relationship with each other, because that would ruin their clean image. Some rules like that can be life changing, but the stakes weren’t quite that high in this novel.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and I loved it. I appreciated hearing the Korean names and words, rather than reading them. When I’ve read novels with words of other languages, I never know how to pronounce them. It was helpful to hear these words. I also appreciated that the narrator did different voices for the different characters so I could differentiate them. This was a very well done audiobook!

XOXO is a fun K-pop novel!

What to read next:

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

Title: Happily Ever Afters (Happily Ever Afters #1)
Author: Elise Bryant
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 5, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Jane the Virgin meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before in this charming debut romantic comedy filled with Black Girl Magic. Perfect for fans of Mary H. K. Choi and Nicola Yoon, with crossover appeal for readers of Jasmine Guillory and Talia Hibbert romances.

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson has never felt like the protagonist in her own life. She’s rarely seen herself reflected in the pages of the romance novels she loves. The only place she’s a true leading lady is in her own writing—in the swoony love stories she shares only with Caroline, her best friend and #1 devoted reader.

When Tessa is accepted into the creative writing program of a prestigious art school, she’s excited to finally let her stories shine. But when she goes to her first workshop, the words are just…gone. Fortunately, Caroline has a solution: Tessa just needs to find some inspiration in a real-life love story of her own. And she’s ready with a list of romance novel-inspired steps to a happily ever after. Nico, the brooding artist who looks like he walked out of one of Tessa’s stories, is cast as the perfect Prince Charming.

But as Tessa checks off each item off Caroline’s list, she gets further and further away from herself. She risks losing everything she cares about—including the surprising bond she develops with sweet Sam, who lives across the street. She’s well on her way to having her own real-life love story, but is it the one she wants, after all?

Review:

Sixteen-year-old Tessa Johnson is a romance writer, but she’s never experienced a true romance herself or seen herself in the pages of published romance novels. When she moves to Long Beach and starts attending an arts high school, Tessa experiences one of the worst things a writer can have: writer’s block. Her friend from her old town has the perfect solution. She suggests that Tessa find her own romance to give her inspiration to write. Luckily, one of the students in her class looks like the dreamy main character in one of her stories. However, as Tessa spends more time with that guy, she starts to turn into a different person, lying to everyone around her. Her neighbour, Sam, is someone who she’s never afraid to be herself with, but he isn’t her type. Tessa has to figure out what her real love story is so she can get her writing groove back.

I loved this book so much. I could relate to Tessa. I also loved to write as a teen. I didn’t know much about writing back then so I wouldn’t have been able to do a program like Tessa did, though I would love it now!

Tessa experienced some realistic relationship problems in this story. There were a lot of red flags with one of the guys that Tessa liked. I recognized these red flags right away, but Tessa tried to brush them off. I would have and did try to ignore some of the problematic things that friends or boyfriends did, so that I could still be with them, but now I realize that was harmful to myself. I loved that this aspect of problematic and toxic relationships was explored in this book, because I wish I had learned that lesson sooner in life.

Happily Ever Afters is a great YA romance! I can’t wait to read the sequel!

What to read next:

Other books in the series:

• One True Loves

Have you read Happily Ever Afters? What did you think of it?