Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
Goodreads blurb: From the award-winning author of Songs in Ursa Major comes an epic, decade-spanning love story that blazes through the worlds of acting and comedy, and charts a connection so powerful it might just break space and time itself.
In the summer of 2000, AJ Graves dreams of writing for SNL; instead, she’s stuck working in a video rental store, with slim odds of escaping her Massachusetts small town and large family. Then in walks Noah Drew, the enigmatic and intense scion of the Drew acting dynasty, and her life changes forever. Despite wildly different upbringings, the two forge a deep, cosmic bond first as friends, then as acting partners—until one day, Noah disappears without a word.
Seven years later in New York City, AJ is shocked to find herself cast in the same intergalactic TV production as Noah, by then a well-known Hollywood heartthrob. As their on-screen characters grow closer every day, the lines between reality and acting begin to blur. Unable to stay away from each other, AJ and Noah are forced to confront the truth of what happened years ago—and the devastating secret that will send their lives careening apart, even as fate continues to draw them together.
Blending unforgettable characters, explosive chemistry, and devastating emotion, Into the Blue is a journey unlike any other—one that asks: What does it mean to diverge from the script to forge your own story?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4.75 out of 5. I’m in love with this book. I don’t know what it was but i fell for it hard. It was a bit like Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow where I didn’t really know what it was but i was in love by the end. Its such a weird genre, you have comedy, improv, romance, drama and it somehow worked. It also flew by reading for what is a very significantly long book. The romance in this book is such yearning, one of the best written relationships i have read in a while, and the fact that it spans such a long time just makes the yearning even more. I laughed, I cried (A lot) and I did not want it to end even after the million of pages.
Tropesick by Lauren Okie
Goodreads blurb: In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.
Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.
Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League-educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.
As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic It’s clear their love story is unfinished. This time, though, they’ll fight for their happy ending.
Heart-wrenching and tender, Tropesick is a love letter to the romance genre. With a wink and a nod, Okie has packed the novel with listeners’ favorite
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 4 out of 5. I did enjoy this book but does any book rally have like 6 tropes to choose from? Even the moist cliches one stop at a few less. however it made for fun chapter titles and hilarious moments. There are many things that are absurd about this book but surprisingly it actually works. I suspended my disbelief, went for it and actually was happy for the ride (it is not what it seems in the weirdest of ways)
This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum
Goodreads blurb: Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different “against all odds” survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy’s experience with severe narcolepsy, they’ve been the best friends everyone wants to befriend—and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy’s husband, Xander, they’ve built a lucrative empire.
The problem is, their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy and Xander’s one morning to record, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. The one clue shedding light on the couple’s disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy’s memoir. Benny will stop at nothing to find them, even as the police zero in on him as their prime suspect.
Millions of devoted listeners think they know the “real” Benny and Joy. But as the hours tick by, and the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive, not even the most devoted fans could guess the terrible secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world—and from each other.
My take: 4.25 out of 5. This book was a fun ride. I really had no clue whilst reading what had happened and how it is shown to us is brilliant. The twists were worth while. Also I thought the ending was so good in its greyness, this is not a black and white book. I loved the audio version and the way it was narrated, if you can I highly recommend it in audio as the podcast format shines.
American Fantasy by Emma Straub
Goodreads Blurb: From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.
When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous 1990s boyband, and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them for thirty years.
Newly divorced and with an empty nest, Annie is on board as a lark to appease her sister. Once a diehard fan of the band as a teen, her tastes have matured, and she feels out of place amid the sea of bedazzled, air-brushed t-shirts bearing the singers’ faces. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing before her, something is unlocked. “Maybe that was nostalgia after all, the music a direct vein to her childhood, the least complicated part of her life. A short cut to happiness.” Between the slushy alcoholic drinks, the music of her youth, and the thousands of middle-aged women acting like lovesick teenagers, Annie finally reconnects to a long-submerged part of herself. By the time she befriends one of the band members — not just a celebrity but someone also in need of a friend — she feels like anything is possible. But a lot can go wrong on a ship ruled by hormones and hope, frustration and fantasy.
Packed with wisdom, heart, and laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, youth, nostalgia, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured, uplifting story about the magic of revisiting youthful feelings, and the even greater magic of starting anew.
My take: 2.75 out of 5. This fell a bit flat for me. Like I think i did not understand the point of this book. Maybe we had way too many characters that we were following so you end up not really caring for any. But by the end of this book i really did not see what was the point of the last couple of hours. I don’t even know what genre it is, its like a drama that pretended to be a romance. A psychological discovery? it says its irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult – but really no ones teenage fantasy comes true, it obviously is a very ironic american fantasy but i just didnt care by the end
Don’t Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon
Goodreads blurb: What if the person you love the most is the one you can’t have?
Grace has loved Jackson since she was fifteen – when they spent every childhood summer exploring France’s breathtaking Ardèche region together. They were best friends, until life took its course and Jackson married someone else.
Years later, Jackson re-enters Grace’s life with an irresistible her dream job in the very town where their story began. And he’s newly single.
As memories from those idyllic summers flood back, Grace encounters an old friend Étienne, who proposes a plan to help make Jackson jealous. But as their scheme unfolds, Grace finds herself questioning if the sparks between them might not be so pretend after all…
Unbeknownst to Grace, Étienne is harbouring a secret that could shatter her world.
Will learning the truth finally set her heart free?
Or is this the beginning of a love story bigger than she ever imagined?
This is an ARC review thanks to a gift from the publisher.
My take: 3.5 out of 5. It was cute but the twist I would see coming miles away . But since it’s nots thriller but a lovely love story it doesn’t matter – I kind of love that the love triangle build up is slow and not obvious and you get to navigate her feelings real time in a beautiful way. The locale descriptions feel lovely and I want to go to the river (and if I was into kayaking, take a swing at that through it). This is one where I really want to see a picture of the bottle image I have an idea in my head but it feels so wearied
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