Happy Monday, friends! I had a lovely weekend of shopping with my mom and enjoying game night with the fam. I haven’t seen my brother in weeks and it was so nice to catch up with him! And, of course, there was plenty of time for naps, cat snuggling, and reading. I mean, that’s a given, right?
Last week, I finished four books. Astonishing! Having two days off during the week definitely helped me knock out some books. 🙂 Let’s dive into the reviews.
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord (★★★★★)
One-sentence synopsis: It’s been a year since Paige’s boyfriend, Aaron, died in a freak drowning accident and she has a plan to move forward: join a club and get the cutest guy at school, Ryan, to be her boyfriend.
YA love stories are my sweet spot, and this one was no exception. I could not put this book down for anything and it just made me happy-sigh constantly as I was reading. I loved the exploration of grief in this novel, especially the grief over losing someone you had only known for a short time. Paige and Aaron had only been dating for two months when he died, so she’s not as emotionally devastated as, say, his best friend but she’s still grieving—grieving the boy she knew and the man he wanted to be and the plans they’d never make. However, this book isn’t a sad one. It’s hopeful and fun and sweet, as Paige learns to move forward with her life. The love story was beautifully written and the emphasis placed on Paige’s relationships with her girlfriends was inspiring. A good novel to pick up if you need a “palate cleanser” after reading a bunch of heavy books.
Applied Electromagnetism by Susannah Nix (★★★★★)
One-sentence synopsis: Coworkers Olivia and Adam aren’t too fond of one another, but they’re going to have to learn to get along when they’re paired together for an offsite work project.
Oooh, I just loved this contemporary romance! Susannah Nix has been very hit-or-miss for me so I truly wasn’t expecting much from this novel, but it far exceeded my expectations. It combines the tropes of enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity, giving me a novel that was so hard to put down. Olivia and Adam were so easy to like and so much fun together that I was rooting for their romance from the start. Plus, there was a really interesting exploration of sexism in the workplace, particularly as a woman in the STEM field, that I found inspiring. Such a fun book and I’m so glad I didn’t give up on Nix after a few lackluster novels in this series!
The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict (★★★☆☆)
One-sentence synopsis: A fictionalized retelling of the life of Hedy Lamarr, a Jewish woman who escaped Austria in 1937 and went on to become a Hollywood starlet.
I think one of my sweet spots is fictionalized retellings of a real person’s life. They aren’t novels that will get five-star, glowing reviews from me but I do find them comforting to sink into. This novel was no exception, as I loved getting an insight into the Holocaust from an entirely different perspective. Hedy Lamarr was married to Friedrich Mandl, Austria’s most infamous ammunition manufacturer who eventually sold weapons to Hitler. Hedy is Jewish, although her husband kept that fact a secret from the many men he dealt with. Hedy ends up escaping from her husband and becoming a famous Hollywood actress as well as an inventor. What a life, huh?! I enjoyed this novel, although I thought the writing was a bit lackluster and I felt like the ending was rushed and anticlimatic. But I appreciate all the research that went into this book and getting to know Hedy Lamarr, who was such an interesting person.
Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare (★★★★☆)
One-sentence synopsis: Rafe has one week to convince his soon-to-be sister-in-law that marrying his brother is the right choice, although the more time he spends with her, the more he’s convinced HE is the right choice.
What a fun historical romance! I loved Rafe and the heroine in this novel, Clio, who was sweet and witty and so much fun to root for. She was a good juxtaposition to Rafe, who was described as a brute many times. Rafe is a prizefighter who has been out of the ring for some time and his brother, the man Clio is engaged to marry, is more of the classic Regency hero: a peer, someone with means and a more noble job, etc. This novel was all about the expectations a family can place on a person, as well as the expectations we place on ourselves to live up to our family’s ideal of us, and the way Tessa Dare dismantled these notions was perfection. I was rooting for Rafe and Clio to make it from the beginning, and ugh, I just loved this novel so much!
What I’m Reading This Week
- The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, edited by Jesmyn Ward – I’m reading one essay a day in this essay collection with a wide range of Black voices. It’s excellent so far.
- Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova – I’ve had this book on my TBR for five years now, and I’m finally picking it up! It has rave reviews from friends so I’m looking forward to digging in, although a little apprehensive since the subject matter isn’t exactly light.
- Once in a Lifetime by Jill Shalvis – A Jill Shalvis romance is usually exactly what I need to power through an emotionally heavy read. I’m excited to start this one.
What are you reading?
Our bookclub read “Inside the O’Briens” several years ago and loved this book. One of the girls in our group is a genetic counselor so she really added the conversation about the book. I love Lisa Genova books! It’s clear she was a neurologist before becoming a writer as she imparts so much info in the narrative of her books!
I finished “Strike Me Down” which I felt very meh about, “The Second Home” which is set on Cape Cod and was a fast read for me thanks to pregnancy insomnia (womp womp) and I started the “Lost Art of Mixing” which is the sequel to “The School of Essential Ingredients.” I can tell it’s going to be a fast read, especially if this pregnancy insomnia keeps up (I really hope it doesn’t – it’s annoying to be awake in the middle of the night!).
Shopping! Did you get anything for your new place? I am so glad game night is back. I think that’s really fun and I miss playing games in person with our friends!
Grief from losing a romantic partner from a YA perspective sounds really interesting – I wonder if many other books follow that theme! I just finished the YA romance we both had in our TBR and I think you would like it better than I did! 🙂 <3
I saw I gave three stars to The Only Woman in the Room too, and could not remember why! But I think it was the writing and I found the parts in Germany more interesting. If you like fictionalized retellings of real persons life you will like Fast Girls for sure!
I am reading Followers, which I saw on Goodreads and put in Libby a LONG time ago and am not sure what it's about, but that's kind of how I like to read a book, anyway. Ha.
You’re still doing SO much reading! Mine has really tapered off this year…