The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
Goodreads blurb: Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it. So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: stay busy, work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it. And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again. Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future. Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed. After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing. An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.
My take 4.5 out of 5. This was a beauty. I really enjoyed The Dead Romantics, in all its sweetness and weirdness, and was looking forward to what was going to come next. Its weird and its sweet and I was here for it. I have to say at the beginning I was hesitant. I really did not understand the time travel thing and I thought it might be gimmicky. I quickly fell out of that. The romance evolution, as well as their character evolution was a beauty. If you liked the dead romantics, or as we said in book club a little ghost with your romance, this is for you. Also there is so much good cooking in the book, I was hungry by the end!
Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake by Mazey Eddings
Goodreads blurb: Lizzie has made endless mistakes. Kitchen fires, pyramid schemes, bangs (of the hair and human variety), you name it, she’s done it… and made a mess of it too. One mistake she’s never made is letting anyone get closer to her than a single hook-up. But after losing yet another bakery job due to her uncontrolled ADHD, she breaks her cardinal rule and has a two-night-stand that changes everything. Once burned, twice shy, Rake has given up on relationships. And feelings. And any form of intimacy for that matter. Yet something about charming, chaotic Lizzie has him lowering his guard. For two nights, that is. Then it’s back home to Australia and far away from the pesky feelings Lizzie pulls from him. But when Lizzie tells him she’s got an unexpected bun in the oven, he’ll do whatever it takes to be a part of his child’s life… except be emotionally vulnerable, obviously. He’s never going to make that mistake again. Through a series of mishaps, totally “platonic” single bed sharing, and an underground erotic baking scheme, Lizzie and Rake learn that even the biggest mistakes can have the most beautiful consequences.
my take: 3 out of 5. It’s a cute book it just takes predictable to the extreme. I really liked Rake but Lizzie ADHD was a bit much for me during the book. It was stressful and I just got annoyed in multiple parts. But the concept of a one night stand developing into more through a unexpected pregnancy was really adorable. Although the close proximity here was taken way to an extreme, definitely trope after trope
Goodreads blurb: A romance novel–obsessed social media influencer revisits her exes on her hunt for true love in this romantic comedy from the author of Set On You. Romance-novel connoisseur Tara Chen has had her heart broken ten times by ten different men–all of whom dumped her because of her “stage-five clinger” tendencies. Nevertheless, Tara is determined to find The One. The only problem? Classic meet-cutes are dead thanks to modern dating apps. So Tara decides to revisit her exes in hopes of securing her very own trope-worthy second-chance romance. Boston firefighter Trevor Metcalfe will be the first to rush into a burning building but the last to rush into a relationship. Love just isn’t his thing. When his new roommate Tara enlists him to help her reconnect with her exes, he reluctantly agrees. But Tara’s journey is leading him to discover his own new chapter. The more time they spend together, the more Tara realizes Trevor seems to be the only one who appreciates her authentic, dramatic self. To claim their happily-ever-after, can Tara and Trevor read between the lines of their growing connection
My take: 3 out of 5. This was a difficult one for me. On the one side I absolutely loved her obsession with Rom Com tropes and trying to find a meet cute. I agree meet cutes are dead and as any book lover knows, swiping right is not a meet cute that a good book or story makes. However going through all her exes was interesting but a bit crazy, it was definitely in the borderline of maybe i hate this but maybe i love this, so that’s why it is a 3. I really enjoyed all the rom com references.
The Good part by Sophie Cousens
Official Blurb: By the New York Times bestselling author of Just Haven’t Met You Yet, a downtrodden twenty-six-year-old wakes up to the life she’s always wanted, but is it really a dream come true? At twenty-six, Lucy Young is tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, tired of going on disastrous dates, and definitely tired of living in a damp flat share with flatmates who never buy toilet roll. She could quit her job for a better living, but she’s not ready to give up on her dreams. Not just yet. After another diabolical date lands her in a sudden storm and no money for bus fare, Lucy finds herself seeking shelter in a tiny shop, where she stumbles upon a curious wishing machine. Pushing her last coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with everything she’s got: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life. When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and storybook perfect little boy and baby girl, Lucy can’t believe this is real—especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead to the future she’s always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? And as Lucy begins to embrace this new life and new relationships, she’ll have to ask herself: Can she go back, and if so, does she want to?
my take: 4 out of 5. This was a modern version Groundhog Day meets time travel romance. It is adorable in its weirdness and I really enjoyed this book. I love the concept of seeing what your life would be 20 years from now, would you want to stay there or go back? Would you want to know? I think my favorite part was the kids, I love how they are always the voice of reason in supernatural events.
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Goodreads blurb: Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. But lately it’s been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who’s fresh off a journalism master’s program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect co-hosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it’s this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it’s not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.
my take: 3.25 out of 5. I had heard a lot about this book, so I finally got to it. The conclusion was that I liked it but I was a tad underwhelmed. The whole premise of the book was flawed in my mind. They could have just changed the name from the not-even created show from the ex talk to a hate talk, or venus/mars take and we could have saved ourselves 300 pages of misunderstandings. Because them getting from enemie to lovers was always going to be a good idea, but it did not need the extra crinkle of the extreme lying
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