The Rom- Commers by Katherine Center
Goodreads blurb: She’s rewriting his love story. But can she rewrite her own? Emma Wheeler desperately longs to be a screenwriter. She’s spent her life studying, obsessing over, and writing romantic comedies—good ones! That win contests! But she’s also been the sole caretaker for her kind-hearted dad, who needs full-time care. Now, when she gets a chance to re-write a script for famous screenwriter Charlie Yates—The Charlie Yates! Her personal writing god!—it’s a break too big to pass up. Emma’s younger sister steps in for caretaking duties, and Emma moves to L.A. for six weeks for the writing gig of a lifetime. But what is it they say? Don’t meet your heroes? Charlie Yates doesn’t want to write with anyone—much less “a failed, nobody screenwriter.” Worse, the romantic comedy he’s written is so terrible it might actually bring on the apocalypse. Plus! He doesn’t even care about the script—it’s just a means to get a different one green-lit. Oh, and he thinks love is an emotional Ponzi scheme. But Emma’s not going down without a fight. She will stand up for herself, and for rom-coms, and for love itself. She will convince him that love stories matter—even if she has to kiss him senseless to do it. But . . . what if that kiss is accidentally amazing? What if real life turns out to be so much . . . more real than fiction? What if the love story they’re writing breaks all Emma’s rules—and comes true?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. it comes out June 11, 2024
My Take: 5 out of 5. My first 5 star read of the year and so well deserved, Pre – order this book, and have it be one of your top reads for the summer this year. i do not know if it is that great or if it was just perfect for me, but i devoured this read in a single Saturday and when I finished I can honestly say my heart was happy. It had completely fulfilled me. I had laughed, I had cried, i had gone through a roller coaster of emotions and I was awash in lovely HEA. It is so well written, the development of their relationship and their development as characters is just too good.
Why did I choose it: all of Katherine Center books are spectacular. They are great rom coms, to quote the title, but they always have just a little bit more depth than could have been expected, as well as truly engaging and real characters
Read this if you like(d): Of course any of Katherine Centers books or One more with Feeling. For lovers of enemies to lovers, lovers of rom com movies, especially of the Meg Ryan / Tom Hanks vein. Also if you are a fan of Nora Ephron, this is for you.
Technically Yours by Denise Williams
Goodreads blurb: Seven years ago, he fell in love with a stranger he couldn’t have—today, she’s back in his life and the sparks between them threaten to set her career on fire. Pearl Harris has learned the hard way to be careful in work and in love. When she is appointed acting director of OurCode, a nonprofit aimed at inspiring high schoolers to code, she has a chance to make lasting change for the organization, but a scandal has put their reputation at risk. Further complicating matters, Pearl didn’t expect the one man she hasn’t stopped thinking about in seven years to be the newest member of her board of directors. Cord Matthews fell for Pearl when they met in an elevator seven years ago. She’s just his type: smart, capable, and makes him laugh, but when she broke his heart, he decided love wasn’t for him. After five years with no contact, their connection is immediate despite the many roadblocks in their way and Cord must consider breaking his ban on serious relationships. But going public with a romance between them might derail Pearl’s career and the progress she’s made at OurCode. Pearl and Cord both are hesitant to trust their feelings and take a risk as they grow closer, but it becomes impossible to keep ignoring the electricity between them. Cord is a skilled programmer, but a workplace romance might spell disaster for both of them, and love isn’t easily debugged.
My Take: 3. out of 5. I do not like miscommunication tropes and this more than even miscommunication trope is a stubborn and stupid beliefs trope that was just driving me up the wall, which meant I really could not fully get into the romance of it all because their issues were a bit self inflicted. I actually liked the characters a lot, I just couldn’t believe they lost all that time. I was waiting for this book so much because I love Denise Williams, but this was not my favorite of her. Very middle of the road. I did appreciate that it was set in a mildly realistic business setting
Why did I choose it: It’s Denise Williams and all her books are great. My favorite might have to be how to fail at Flirting
Read this if you liked: Previous Denise Williams Books, cute romances and very long burns
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
Goodreads blurb: You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again. Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball—and yet clinging to her sense of humor. Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who’s determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor. When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free? The Last Love Note will make listeners laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart—and in love itself.
My Take: 4.5 of 5. This was such a beautiful book. so many themes being explored here. The way they travel through the process of loss is respectful , lovely and powerful. There are so many wonderful easter eggs through the narrative and how it all incorporates in the end was just so good. What seemed like a light romantic read was so much more than that, it was not only enjoyable but enriching.
Why did I choose it: I’m a sucker for a good romance and this had been recommended by various people in the bookstagram community so I figured I would give it a go. Bonus points, the libby wait time was low!
Read this if you like(d): Me Before You, One True Loves and if you like your love stories to involve some kleenex action
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
Goodreads blurb: A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help us start anew. It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamt of coming for years―she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe―which makes it that much more surprising when the women can’t stop confiding in each other. In turns uproariously, absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is a look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined―and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. it comes out July 30, 2024
My Take: 4 out of 5. This is a book that is hard to fit into a category. Lets leave it at literary fiction, and in that its a great exploration of character. All these characters are so flawed yet quite endearing and the growth they do together is lovely. It’s a bit weird, a bit emotional and a quick read. Along with my obsession with the Gilded Age, this book is reiterating my need to go check out Newport, as I’ve never been! TW: there is quite a bit of mental illness that could be triggering, so proceed with caution.
Why did I choose it: It’s been on a number of most anticipated books of 2024 list, and Net Galley very kindly gave me an Advance Review Copy
Read this if you like(d): I don’t think there is a book that I can relate very directly, but definitely read this if you like wedding for the gossip of it all!
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
Goodreads blurb: At seventeen, Lenora Hope
Hung her sister with a rope Now reduced to a schoolyard chant, the Hope family murders shocked the Maine coast one bloody night in 1929. While most people assume seventeen-year-old Lenora was responsible, the police were never able to prove it. Other than her denial after the killings, she has never spoken publicly about that night, nor has she set foot outside Hope’s End, the cliffside mansion where the massacre occurred.
Stabbed her father with a knife
Took her mother’s happy life It’s now 1983, and home-health aide Kit McDeere arrives at a decaying Hope’s End to care for Lenora after her previous nurse fled in the middle of the night. In her seventies and confined to a wheelchair, Lenora was rendered mute by a series of strokes and can only communicate with Kit by tapping out sentences on an old typewriter. One night, Lenora uses it to make a tantalizing offer—I want to tell you everything.
“It wasn’t me,” Lenora said
But she’s the only one not dead As Kit helps Lenora write about the events leading to the Hope family massacre, it becomes clear there’s more to the tale than people know. But when new details about her predecessor’s departure come to light, Kit starts to suspect Lenora might not be telling the complete truth—and that the seemingly harmless woman in her care could be far more dangerous than she first thought.
My Take: 4.75 out of 5. This book is a total ride and I was there for all of it. My friend used the best word to describe it, and I’m going to quote her here: “this book consumed me”. you will read it very quickly because you will not be able to put it down, and most importantly you will not know what is what until you close the book. I don’t want to give spoilers, but you will definitely be fooled many a times, and whatever you think is going on, just know that there might be something else happening. It kept me on the proverbial edge of my seat until the final page. A book when you need to just immerse yourself in a book, or get out of a reading slump.
Why did I choose it: We chose it for a book club. I’ve also heard quite a bit about it.
Read this if you like(d): Thrillers that keep you guessing until the last page. Fans of Lisa Jewell and Lucy Foley will definitely enjoy.
Tati's Tidbits 