Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
Goodreads blurb: Questions linger about Theo, a pleasant but mysterious stranger, after his arrival in the southern city of Golden.
Who is he, and why is he here?
He arrives early one spring and by chance – or is it? – he visits a coffee shop where 92 framed pencil portraits are on display. Inspired, Theo sets out on a mission of purchasing all the portraits one at a time and quietly bestowing them on their ‘rightful owners.’
Stories are told; friendships are born; and lives are changed.
Theo of Golden is a beautifully crafted story about the power of creative generosity, the importance of wonder to a purposeful life, and the far-reaching possibilities of anonymous kindness.
My take: 4.5 out of 5. It was a slow start but I’m glad I powered through (the audio narration was not my favorite, I highly suggest physical over audio for this one) because this was a gorgeous art and community story. It was heartwarming and fulfilling and I had many a tear in my eyes by the end. I Thought I had figured out what was going on, but the twist and turns got me and I was very happily surprised and content with the end. If you love the Correspondant you will love this book.
One & Only by Maurene Goo
Goodreads blurb: In Five Years meets a millennial The Joy Luck Club in the adult debut from the author of YA Reese Pick Throwback— a funny and fresh love story of a woman thrown a curveball by fate, and the family secret that will make her question everything.
She’s seen what her happily ever after looks like. And it’s not him.
Cassia Park believes in soul mates. Fated love stories. It’s her family business, after all—for centuries, from Korea to Los Angeles, the Park women have peered into clients’ past lives to find their one true love, their “fated”. This magical secret is why One & Only Matchmaking has a 100% guarantee … for everyone but Cassia.
Afraid of ending up like her mom, Cassia asked to be told her fated—ten years ago. Now she’s days from turning forty and she still hasn’t found him.
Enter Ellis. He’s twenty-eight, indecently handsome, and not destined to be the love of her life. But destiny has more than one curveball ready, and her surprising connection with Ellis might be the key that unlocks finding her fated—and reveals a family secret that will make her question everything she’s ever her family, her belief in love, and truth itself.
Cassia will have to decide if she’ll follow her fate … or make her own.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4.5 out of 5 . I absolutely adored the first 50% of this book, it went by in an flash and the second half it wasn’t adoration but I really liked it. This is a true love triangle and I was here for it. Usually a love triangle is very evident who is the one to choose but this one felt strong and complicated. Also the whole concept of do we make our fate or are things fated for us is one I really grapple with day in and day out so I loved how much it’s explored here. An absolutely gorgeous romance with some intense family dynamics. If you love romance and family dramas this is your book
So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder
Goodreads blurb: Six Friends. Five Parties. Twenty Years…
How did we get So Old, So Young?
From Grant Ginder, the bestselling author of The People We Hate at the Wedding, comes a novel of impending millennial middle age that is part love story, part tragic comedy. Five parties over the course of two decades bring six college friends together, exploring the ways we can run from and cling to our friends in love, life, and death.
For Marco and Mia, Sasha and Theo, Richie and Adam, the one constant in life after college together has been change. New jobs. New cities. New spouses. New children. Through it all, one thing they thought would always stay the same is their friendship. But time has a way of breaking even the strongest bonds and testing what we thought we knew. From East Village apartment parties and disastrous destination weddings to fortieth birthdays and suburban backyard barbecues, Grant Ginder’s resonant, funny, and deeply moving novel is a story about the growing pains of the millennial generation, and a celebration of how love can shift, stumble, and grow into something bigger than we ever could have imagined.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4.5 out of 5. I don’t know if I loved this book because it was great or that it felt like it was a book meant for me and took me on a full on nostalgia tour that felt so personal. Regardless, I enjoyed it immensely and the remembrance was also enclosed in a pretty great story telling device. The phrase so old so young is just so perfect and I feel it could not state my current life any better. That so much content and emotion could have been expressed in just 6 life events or parties its quite impressive. I loved that device and how much we saw through it. My only qualm is I wish I was more emotionally invested in all the characters, some were just not as developed. I loved how time, kids and life affect us all and as the friend without kids in my group I felt some of the story. But now for the personal, and why was this such a nostalgia tour for me? (and Why i recommended this to every single person in my college friend group). Well first of all the group of friends mostly graduate from Penn in 2005. Having graduated from Penn in 2024 a lot of the references were very relatable and we go to Smokes, they Mention the Daily Pennsylvanian and not Penn state Tshirts. I have to say the biggest nostalgia moment was when they mentioned the page 237th of your autobiography essay to enter into school, I still have nightmares about that and 25 years later still remember what I wrote. They also went to live to NY after, which I also did and Enjoyed the Marque and The Box references. And to top it all off one of the characters had just come from Bogota, so another batch of relatable references right there.
Meet Me in Paris by Kristin Harmel
Goodreads blurb: Nine Americans in Paris. Seven intertwined love stories. One City of Light.
Love Actually meets The Notebook in a tale of love, loss, and finding your way home, all set over the course of one life-changing week in Paris.
Julia Glover has brought her twenty-three-year-old daughter, Piper, to Paris for the first time—but they know it will also be their last trip here together. Julia is dying, and as the mother and daughter desperately try to make memories together as the clock ticks down, the world opens up around them. Piper meets a cute French witer, who might just understand her better than anyone she’s ever met, and Julia meets a man at a dive bar and struggles with how to tell him the truth about her future.
Rock star Jackson Quick’s glory days are behind him. He had a handful of hit songs thirty years ago, but he hasn’t toured in a decade. This week, he’ll launch his reunion tour in Paris, the city where it all began. But he wants more out of life than being defined by fame. When he meets a woman who finally sees him for who he is at his core, the ground shifts beneath his feet.
Henry McGee has been writing hit songs for decades—including Jackson Quick’s biggest hit, City of Light. But his secret is that every love song he’s ever written is for a woman named Celeste, whom he loved a lifetime ago, when they were both teenagers in Paris during World War II. He has spent eighty years believing she died—but when a letter arrives telling him the opposite, he’s on the first flight to France. Can he break through the haze of her dementia, using the songs he’s written all these years, to remind her of who they once were to each other—and to tell her he came back for her?
Henry’s granddaughter, Melody, has just discovered that her husband of twenty years, Gilles, a French cosmetics executive, is having an affair. When she confronts him, he tearfully apologizes and begs her to forgive him. But can she? And, perhaps even more importantly, does she want to? Or is there a different kind of life out there for her if she chooses to be alone?
These intertwining stories—plus several others—unfold over a few breathtaking spring days, as an unforgettable group of Americans in Paris must find their way to their own versions of happily ever after in the City of Light.
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher. Book comes out on July 28th
My take: 3.75 out of 5. I love the concept, A Love Actually style inspired book set in Paris? I could not read it any faster. However as cute as I thought it was, and it is, I think the premise was better than the full story and it just felt a bit below my expectations. My biggest pet peeve of the book? Why are all these foreigners on a few days in Paris hanging out in a British Pub? I loved the Music aspects of the story and the interconnections.
First a warning, this is a departure from Kristin Harmel usual Historical Fiction fare and I kind of feel this would have worked better if it was a bit historical and not set in current time? For example some of my issues with the book were some There are some faulty timelines and a complete irritation of people not exchanging numbers. Like meet me here at this time but I will not give you my number? This is a perfect plot device in the pre cellphone world but in our current times it feels sloppy.
My favorite line of the book : A love doesnt have to end in happily ever after to change your life forever.
Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey
Goodreads blurb: #1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey is back with an all-new marriage of convenience, friends-to-lovers sports romance about a baseball catcher and the burlesque club owner he can’t get out of his head.
Madden Donahue, the newest catcher for the Yankees, has been in love with Eve Mitchell since high school, but for some mysterious reason, the burlesque club owner always turns him down. That never stopped him from being her self-appointed protector. Case in point, now that Eve’s sister has left Eve with her two children indefinitely, Madden steps in with a proposition—marry him for the much needed health benefits.
Eve has secretly harbored feelings for Madden all along, but there’s one problem—her best friend Skylar called dibs on him when they were fourteen. Eve has always put their friendship above all else, and she’s not willing to risk losing Skylar over a man. Raised by the local strip club owner, Eve is woefully short on friends and treasures the ones she has. But with Skylar happily paired off, Eve finds herself accepting Madden’s proposal—on the condition that their marriage remains strictly private. She’s not about to let her unique profession and maligned reputation destroy Madden’s shiny new career.
Madden won’t let Eve get away that easily, though. What starts as a marriage of convenience soon ignites into something much hotter, and now it’s up to Madden to convince Eve that their connection is far more than a business arrangement. As the passion builds, can their fake marriage become the real deal?
MY take: 2.5 out of 5. I think this is when I stop reading Tessa Bailey? As BRADs, her sports series is light but fun, sexy reads that have some cute plot point, some sports and some great chemistry. This one however just did not hit the mark for me and I just could not with any of the characters. I really wanted to like it more but it just did not hit the mark. It was trying to hard, and a bit too depressing for the light and sexy I was expecting.
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