Category: Contemporary

Review: The Passing Playbook

Title: The Passing Playbook
Author: Isaac Fitzsimons
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 1, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Love, Simon meets Friday Night Lights in this feelgood LGBTQ+ romance about a trans teen torn between standing up for his rights and staying stealth.

‘A sharply observant and vividly drawn debut. I loved every minute I spent in this story’ – Becky Albertalli

Fifteen-year-old Spencer Harris is a proud nerd, an awesome big brother and a Messi-in-training. He’s also transgender. After transitioning at his old school leads to a year of bullying, Spencer gets a fresh start at Oakley, the most liberal private school in Ohio. 

At Oakley, Spencer seems to have it all: more accepting classmates, a decent shot at a starting position on the boy’s soccer team, great new friends, and maybe even something more than friendship with one of his teammates. The problem is, no one at Oakley knows Spencer is trans – he’s passing. 

So when a discriminatory law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him after he discovers the ‘F’ on Spencer’s birth certificate, Spencer has to make a choice: cheer his team on from the sidelines or publicly fight for his right to play, even if it means coming out to everyone – including the guy he’s falling for.

Review:

Spencer Harris starts at a new private high school in his sophomore year after being bullied and receiving death threats at his old school for being transgender. Spencer is starting this school with a fresh start as a boy, without coming out. He had played soccer in middle school, and was excited to play on the high school team. It gets more complicated when he starts to like one of his teammates, Justice. Spencer is one of the best players on the team, until the coach learns that Spencer’s birth certificate lists him as a female, which would disqualify the team from playing in the final tournament. Spencer has to figure out how to continue being himself while also fighting for queer and transgender rights.

This story had such a cute romance. Spencer and Justice were perfect together. There was a lot of tension in their relationship because Spencer wasn’t out as transgender and Justice wasn’t out as gay. They had to hide their relationship from a lot of people but I was rooting for them the entire time.

There were some devastating scenes in this story. Spencer was lucky to have such a supportive family. They were learning along the way with Spencer, but they made an effort to figure everything out to make his life the best it could be. Even though he had his family’s support, Spencer still had to change schools because he was in danger. Justice was from an extremely religious family who didn’t hide their homophobia. Their school also wasn’t that open to making the school as accessible to queer students, even though they were considered progressive. Spencer’s story was uplifting, but there was a lot of homophobia and transphobia around him.

The Passing Playbook is a heartwarming transgender love story.

Thank you Penguin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

Have you read The Passing Playbook? What did you think of it?

Review: Tell Me When You Feel Something

Title: Tell Me When You Feel Something
Author: Vicki Grant
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: VIZ Media
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 15, 2021
Rating: ★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

The perfect after-school job turns deadly for teens working as simulated patients at the local med school. Everyone has something to hide and no one is safe in this contemporary YA thriller that exposes the dark reality of #MeToo in the world of medicine, for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

It seemed like a cool part-time program — being a simulated patient for med school students to practice on. But now vivacious, charismatic Viv lies in a very real coma. Cellphone footage just leads to more questions. What really happened? Other kids suspect it was not an intentional overdose — but each has a reason why they can’t tell the truth.

Through intertwining and conflicting narratives, a twisted story unfolds of trust betrayed as we sift through the seemingly innocent events leading up to the tragic night. Perhaps simulated patients aren’t the only people pretending to be something they’re not . . .

Review:

Viv worked with her friends as simulated patients for medical students. It seemed like an innocent job, but after a party, Viv ends up in a coma from an overdose. No one can believe that she would have taken drugs on purpose, but there’s a lot about Viv’s life that no one knew. Through the accounts of her friends Davida and Tim, as well as police interviews and Viv’s own narrative, the story of what really happened to Viv is slowly pieced together.

This was an intense and unpredictable thriller. There were lots of twists throughout the story. Every time the narrative switched to a different character, I wanted to continue the previous narrative. I figured out part of what was going on with Viv pretty early. However I couldn’t figure out the connection with the overdose, so that was a surprise.

I don’t want to give spoilers but there were some potentially triggering parts of this book. There was alcohol abuse, drug abuse, parental abandonment, sexual assault, and rape. These parts made the book quite intense and disturbing at times. They were integral to the plot but also potentially triggering.

Tell Me When You Feel Something is an intense young adult thriller!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Window by Amelia Brunskill

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Have you read Tell Me When You Feel Something? What did you think of it?

Review: Instamom

Title: Instamom
Author: Chantel Guertin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 29, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fans of Lauren Weisberger and Emily Henry won’t want to miss this funny, sexy, and emotional novel that looks at modern relationships, modern choices, and redefining—not to mention rebranding—your dreams, through the eyes of an Instagram influencer. 

A PopSugar Beach Reads Selection

In this #funny, #wise, #emotionally compelling look at modern love and finding your true path, a proudly kid-free influencer meets the ultimate #dealbreaker . . .

It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.

Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?

Review:

Kit Kidding is a Toronto influencer who promotes brands and her child-free lifestyle. She’s created a community for women who choose to not have children. When she meets Will MacGregor, a local chef, there’s an instant attraction. They end up working together on a brand promotion. However, when Kit learns that Will has a daughter, she second guesses their relationship. Being seen with a child would ruin Kit’s no-children brand. Even though his daughter, Addie, is smart and lovable, Kit is reluctant to be in a relationship with a man with a child because she doesn’t want to be a mother. Kit must decide if she will choose love or keep up her brand that she’s outgrowing.

Kit Kidding created a community for women who don’t want to have children. I think that it’s crazy that people think they have the right to judge people, particularly women, for their choice not to have children. I’ve heard it so many times, but it’s not anyone’s business if a woman has a child, whether by choice or not. Kit had to create this community so that women had a safe place to go to be with people who also chose not to have children.

Kit was also an Instagram influencer, so this story showed the positives and negatives of influencer lifestyle. Kit got to go to exclusive events and meet lots of people. However, she also had to promote brands that she didn’t want to use. She didn’t cook, but she had a contract to promote a food kit brand. Will solved this problem by cooking the food for her. It can make influencers lose their credibility if they promote brands just for the money and not because they actually like the brand. Kit had to figure out how to adjust her brand so that it suited the person she grew into by the end of the story.

Instamom is a fun contemporary romance!

Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

She’s Faking It by Kristin Rockaway

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley

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

Review: The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow

Title: The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow (The Okay Witch #2)
Author: Emma Steinkellner
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Contemporary
Publisher: Aladdin
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: July 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this hilarious and heartwarming sequel to the bestselling and critically acclaimed graphic novel, The Okay Witch, half-witch Moth Hush uses magic to boost her confidence with disastrous results—perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Molly Ostertag!

Moth Hush is starting to settle into her newfound witch heritage and powers, but life at school continues to be rough. Even her best friend, Charlie, doesn’t entirely understand what it’s like for her to always be the one who gets mocked, and things only get worse when Moth’s mom starts dating one of the dorkiest teachers in the school! Then Moth gets hold of a mysterious charm that can unleash another version of herself—one who is confident, cool, and extremely popular. What could possibly go wrong?

Review:

Moth Hush is a witch, but she’s not allowed to do magic at school. She gets teased at school, and it would be easier if she could just use a spell to make herself more likable. The bullying gets worse when her mom starts dating one of her teachers. Then, Moth discovers a magic charm necklace that can make her popular. But every kind of magic has a price.

This graphic novel started out with a recap of the first book. I was really glad to see that because it’s been a while since I read the first book. It was told by her talking cat, Lazlo, who is a hilarious character. I appreciated seeing this brief recap at the beginning of the book.

Moth faced bullying in her school. Her classmates were quite mean. Moth felt like an outsider since she had just discovered she was a witch, but she couldn’t tell anyone except for her best friend. Using a magic charm didn’t solve her problem. It masked it for a while, but it ended up causing a bigger issue in the end. Rather than fighting back or changing what kind of person she was to please her classmates, Moth had to learn how to be herself.

The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow is a great middle grade graphic novel!

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

What to read next:

Just Pretend by Tori Sharp

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag

Other books in the series:

Have you read The Okay Witch and the Hungry Shadow? What did you think of it?

Review: Blackout

Title: Blackout
Author: Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Quill Tree Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 22, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories that shine a bright light through the dark.

A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…

A first meeting. 

Long-time friends. 

Bitter exes. 

And maybe the beginning of something new.

When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.

Beloved authors—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—celebrate the beauty of six couples and the unforgettable magic that can be found on a sweltering starry night in the city.

Review:

One night, in New York City, the power goes out during a heatwave. Six teens are trying to get across the city to a party in Brooklyn. With chaotic traffic and no subways, it’s nearly impossible. On their journeys to the party, they each have a romantic encounter. Some fall in love while some fall out of love. Others discover what they really want in life and how to get it. Throughout the course of the night, each main character has a life changing experience.

I was so excited to read this book when I heard about it. It’s written by six of the best young adult authors of today. The book is made up of six interconnected stories that are woven together. The characters and stories are all related in some way. It was written during the pandemic, which had a similar feel to the blackout in the story. The teens in the story were left without the ability to travel and even communicate with each other sometimes, so it was reminiscent to the feelings of loneliness and disconnect during the pandemic.

Each story in this book had distinct characters and plot. I loved all of these characters and I would love to see more of them! I can’t imagine how difficult something like this would have been to write, with coordinating six different authors and stories taking place during the same time in the same place. However, I would love to see more of these characters again!

Blackout is an amazing new book that I can’t recommend enough!

What to read next:

A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton (editor)

A Phoenix First Must Burn by Patrice Caldwell (editor)

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

Review: We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This

Title: We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 8, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn, a skilled harpist, confessed a crush on Tarek in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response. She’s been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing
the harp for her parents’ meticulously planned weddings. 

After witnessing so many grand displays of romance, she’s become jaded, and while her parents assume she’ll join the family business after college, she wants to forge her own path, even if she has no idea what that might be yet. 

When pastry-chef-in-training Tarek shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. As Quinn’s parents push her to take on more responsibilities, she’s thrown together with Tarek more often than she’d like, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman. Their wedding hijinks spark a tentative new friendship, though she can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence and opens up about her own fears.

Maybe love hasn’t been the enemy—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing she’s ever done.

Review:

Quinn Berkowitz’s family has a wedding planning company. They often work with Tarek Mansour’s family’s catering company. At the end of last summer, before Tarek went to college, Quinn sent him an email telling him that she liked him. But they haven’t spoken since. Now, he’s returned for the summer, which is Quinn’s last summer before she starts college. She’s nervous about seeing Tarek again after sending her email. Quinn has trouble believing in love when she’s seen her parents struggle in their marriage and seeing marriages fall apart after the weddings. She doesn’t want to follow her parents’ dream for her to work at the family business, but she’s scared to admit that to them. Since her family is also busy planning her sister’s wedding, Quinn gets more involved in weddings, which also pushes her to spend more time with Tarek. Being so surrounded by love and romance, Quinn has to figure out if she’s finally falling in love.

I loved Quinn’s character development throughout the story. She had a valid reason for being suspicious about love. She had experienced the marriage problems her parents had when she was a kid, and she knew that not all of the weddings they planned ended in forever marriages. Quinn also had to figure out what she wanted to do in life. She knew she didn’t want to do the same work as her family, but she didn’t know what would make her happy. This is a relatable theme for an older young adult book.

One aspect of this story I really appreciated was the discussions about mental health. Quinn had OCD and anxiety, and Tarek had clinical depression. Their mental health was discussed openly and honestly, but it wasn’t a big deal. They both sought treatment in therapy and medication, but it was just a small aspect of their characters. I liked that this was a casual part of the story. Quinn and Tarek didn’t make a big deal about their mental health because it didn’t take over their lives. I appreciate this kind of representation because it shows that you can struggle with your mental health, but with proper treatment, it can be properly managed.

We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is a fun summer young adult romance!

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

What to read next:

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Misfit in Love by S.K. Ali

Have you read We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This? What did you think of it?

Review: Instructions for Dancing

Title: Instructions for Dancing
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.

As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he’s only just met.

Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?

Review:

After her parents got divorced and she found out her dad cheated on her mom, Evie Thomas gave up on her belief in love. Then, one day she sees a couple kiss and has a vision of their entire relationship, including how it will end. She has these visions when she sees a couple in love kiss, even if they’re her best friends. Evie is led to a dance school by a book she finds called Instructions for Dancing. She’s partnered up with a boy called X, and they’re trained to compete in an LA ballroom dance competition. As they get closer and Evie starts to believe in love again, she has to decide if love is worth it in the end.

This story was a quick read. The chapters were short and the timeline of the story flew by. Even though it was fast, the story was complete. I fell in love with the characters right away, starting with Evie. She had a valid reason for not believing in love anymore, but I was rooting for her and X the whole time.

I found most of the story fun and light hearted. The parts where Evie and X were learning to dance and getting to know each other were so fun. I used to dance so I could relate to their lessons. I had read in a review that this story was heartbreaking, and I found it hard to believe that until the end. It was definitely heartbreaking but I also want more of their story.

Instructions for Dancing is another beautiful and heartbreaking Nicola Yoon story.

What to read next:

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

Have you read Instructions for Dancing? What did you think of it?

Review: Misfit in Love

Title: Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)
Author: S.K. Ali
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Salaam Reads
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook, Paperback arc
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this fun and fresh sequel to Saints and Misfits, Janna hopes her brother’s wedding will be the perfect start to her own summer of love, but attractive new arrivals have her more confused than ever.

Janna Yusuf is so excited for the weekend: her brother Muhammad’s getting married, and she’s reuniting with her mom, whom she’s missed the whole summer.

And Nuah’s arriving for the weekend too.

Sweet, constant Nuah.

The last time she saw him, Janna wasn’t ready to reciprocate his feelings for her. But things are different now. She’s finished high school, ready for college…and ready for Nuah.

It’s time for Janna’s (carefully planned) summer of love to begin—starting right at the wedding.

But it wouldn’t be a wedding if everything went according to plan. Muhammad’s party choices aren’t in line with his fiancée’s taste at all, Janna’s dad is acting strange, and her mom is spending more time with an old friend (and maybe love interest?) than Janna.

And Nuah’s treating her differently.

Just when things couldn’t get more complicated, two newcomers—the dreamy Haytham and brooding Layth—have Janna more confused than ever about what her misfit heart really wants.

Janna’s summer of love is turning out to be super crowded and painfully unpredictable.

Review:

Janna Yusuf is busy preparing for her brother, Muhammad’s wedding to Sarah. She’s been staying at her father’s lake house, where they are holding the wedding, so she’s excited to be reunited with her mother for the wedding. Janna is also excited to be reunited with her childhood friend, and crush, Nuah, who she is finally willing to tell that she likes him. However, Nuah treats her differently when she arrives. To add to the wedding drama, Muhammad has made choices for the wedding that his fiancée doesn’t like, Janna’s dad is acting strangely, and her mom has a new male friend who she has brought to the wedding. Add in charming Haytham, Sarah’s cousin, and mysterious Layth, the nephew of her mom’s friend, and Janna has a drama filled wedding weekend!

I was so glad to return to the world of Saints and Misfits! I loved that book when I read it years ago. This story was more light hearted but still dealt with some important issues. Janna discovered that someone close to her was racist and prejudiced. It was disturbing to her to realize this, which others had noticed before. There were a couple of instances of prejudice against someone’s culture. Most of the characters were Muslim, but from different countries and cultures that some others found hard to accept. This wedding was the joining of two people, from different cultures, but that was all that mattered in the end.

Love was a major theme in this wedding story. Love is universal, and doesn’t discriminate against race, nationality, or culture. It was nice to read a story where love was the centre, after a senseless hate-motivated attack on a Muslim family in an Ontario city. I don’t understand how things like that can happen in this world. This story proves that despite our differences, deep down we are all the same. We can all join together in celebrating love, like the wedding of Muhammad and Sarah in this book.

Misfit in Love is the perfect sequel! I hope there will be another book in this series!

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

What to read next:

Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Other books in the series:

Have you read Misfit in Love? What did you think of it?

Review: Of Princes and Promises (St. Rosetta’s Academy #2)

Title: Of Princes and Promises (St. Rosetta’s Academy #2)
Author: Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 8, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi comes the second installment in a brand-new series set an elite boarding school that’s a contemporary spin on fairy tales, this one a delightful, romantic twist on The Frog Prince.

Caterina LaValle is determined to show she’s still the queen of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Sure, her crown may be slightly askew after her ex-boyfriend, Alaric, cheated on her, but she’s a LaValle. She’ll find a way to march right back in there, her hands clutching the strings to the whole puppet show. This time, she’s going to be untouchable.

Rahul Chopra knows that moment he shared with Caterina LaValle at the winter formal meant something. Surely she feels it, too. He’s a little uncertain how someone like him (socially inept to a point way past “adorkable”) could fit into her world, but he’s loved Caterina for years. He knows they’ll find a way.

When Caterina finds out Alaric is taking a supermodel to the upcoming gala, she knows she cannot arrive without the perfect date. But the thought of taking another superficial St. R’s boy exhausts her. The solution? Sweet-but-clueless Rahul Chopra and a mysterious pot of hair gel with the power to alter the wearer into whatever his heart desires.

When Rahul tries it, he transforms instantly into RC—debonair, handsome, and charming. But transformation comes with a price: As Rahul enjoys his new social standing, the line between his two personas begins to blur. Will he give up everything, including Caterina, to remain RC? Or will this unlikely pair find their way back to each other?

Review:

Caterina LaValle is the queen of St. Rosetta’s Academy. Everyone wants to be her friend and will do anything to be close to her. When Rahul Chopra comforted Caterina at a winter dance following her breakup with her boyfriend, Rahul fell in love with her. Now, they’ve returned to school after their winter break, and Rahul is hoping his relationship with Caterina can begin. When Caterina finds out that her ex-boyfriend is bringing a supermodel to a gala, she has to find a date quickly. She decides to transform Rahul into the perfect date. With some magical hair gel, Rahul becomes the confident and charming RC, who dazzles everyone at the party. Rahul loves this new persona and thinks he has to keep it up to be with Caterina. When his two identities begin to merge into one, he has to decide who he really is to win Caterina’s heart.

I wasn’t very familiar with the story of the Princess and the Frog before reading this story. I knew that a Princess kissed a frog, turning him into a Prince, but I haven’t read or watched any adaptations of that tale so I didn’t know what to expect from this story. I love how this series has a touch of magic in these fairytale retellings. Most of it could take place in the real world, except for the magical hair gel that literally transforms Rahul into RC. That brings a fairytale element into a contemporary story.

I was surprised at the twist at the end of the story. I knew one character was acting a little strangely, but I didn’t know why. I couldn’t have predicted the twist, so it made the ending tense and exciting. There was a bit of a teaser for the next book in the epilogue. I hope there will be another St. Rosetta’s Academy book because I love this setting and the characters.

Of Princes and Promises is another fun Sandhya Menon book!

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

What to read next:

The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Other books in the series:

Have you read Of Princes and Promises? What did you think of it?

Review: The Road Trip

Title: The Road Trip
Author: Beth O’Leary
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

goodreads-badge-add-plus-71eae69ca0307d077df66a58ec068898

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two exes reach a new level of awkward when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller The Flatshare.

What if the end of the road is just the beginning?

Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since.

Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland–he’ll never get there on time by public transport.

So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart–and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

Review:

Addie and Dylan met four years ago while staying at a friend’s villa in Provence. They had an instant connection and a whirlwind romance filled with miscommunication. Now, they have been broken up for a year and a half. While on the way to a mutual friend’s wedding, they end up having a car accident, totaling Dylan’s car. Dylan and his friend Marcus don’t have any other way to get to the wedding, which is an eight hour drive to Scotland. Addie and her sister Deb end up offering to drive Dylan and Marcus, along with Rodney, who is another guest who needs a ride to the wedding. As Dylan and Addie are forced to spend this road trip together, they must re-examine their relationship and figure out what went wrong.

This is another wonderful romance by Beth O’Leary. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Addie and Dylan. They’re both such passionate people in their own ways. Addie loves fiercely and Dylan is a hopeless romantic. Deb and Marcus were great contrasts to Addie and Dylan, both ready to shut the other down if they think they’re making the wrong choice. Rodney was also a hilarious random addition to the road trip.

This story alternated between Addie’s and Dylan’s perspectives, and between the timelines of their past relationship and the road trip happening now. I found the road trip to be a hilarious comedy of errors. Things kept going wrong in the best ways. These kinds of road trips are only funny in hindsight or when they aren’t happening to you, but they are fun to read about. The other narrative of their past relationship had a much more serious tone. There were lots of heavy feelings, like when they fell in love and when they broke up. There were also some tougher storylines, such as alcohol abuse and sexual assault. I kept finding myself waiting to get to the present narrative because it was more comedic. With the serious tone balanced with the funny moments, this story has something for everyone.

The Road Trip is the perfect summer read!

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

What to read next:

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

Talk Bookish to Me by Kate Bromley

Have you read The Road Trip? What did you think of it?