Tag Archives: Aubrey W.

Review: Boyfriend Material

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Boyfriend Material
by Alexis Hall
4 stars

There are some tropes I just love, and a “fake relationship” rates pretty high. Our main character, Luc, works in PR for a non-profit (Save the Dung Beetles!…no seriously, that’s the cause). Because his estranged father was a famous rock star, poor Luc occasionally finds himself in the tabloids. When an exaggerated story gets him labeled as a drunken party boy, he needs to clean up his image. Dating upstanding lawyer Oliver is the perfect way to clean up his image for his boos before their big fundraising dinner. This is a romcom, so it is no surprise that Luc and Oliver will find that their fake relationship is feeling all too real.

Nearly all of Luc’s problems come from his extreme lack of self esteem and he compensates with a spectacular amount of dry, snarky British humor. I saw a lot of reviews comparing this to Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. They do share some basic elements, but I didn’t find the similarities distracting. The main characters’ relationship was fantastically supportive and sweet. #goals

 

Read alikes:

Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert

Well Met by Jen Deluca

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

 

Review: A Taste of Sage

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A Taste of Sage
by Yaffa S Santos
4 stars

I am a sucker for magical realism…and for books about cooking, so this was perfect for me!  Lumi is a chef who loves to cook the Dominican style food that she grew up with.  She can also read people’s emotions when she eats their cooking.  When her own restaurant goes under, she gets a job as a sous chef in a stuffy traditional French restaurant.  (Of course the head chef is a dreamy redhead, even if he comes off as a jerk)  Lumi and Head Chef Julien butt heads immediately and Lumi vows to never eat anything he cooks.  But this is a romance, so I’m pretty sure you can see where the story is heading.

I admit that I am not familiar with Dominican food specifically, but all of the food described in the book sounds fantastic!  And I always love books that come with recipes in them!  Especially ones that include instructions like ‘Best served without bad juju.’  At one point in the book she adds apples to a traditional ratatouille recipe, which sounded intriguing.  Later there is a recipe for an all apple ratatouille that I am definitely going to have to try.

 

Read alikes:

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

 

Review: Empire of Sand

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Empire of Sand
by Tasha Suri
4 stars

This one is a little hard to describe.  This epic fantasy story is inspired by the Mughal Empire period in India.  There is a race of people descended from desert spirits, a powerful religious leader intent on using them for their power, and a girl who just wants to survive and find out who she is.  I loved the imagery in this book.  I haven’t read a lot of Indian inspired fantasy, but I may have to search more out based on how much I enjoyed this one.  I loved the characters and was fascinated by the world building.  The pacing is a little slow, but so worth it as you get to immerse yourself in this world of desert magic, rebellion, and sweet romance.  Empire of Sand can be read as a stand-alone, but there is a 2nd book that takes place a few years later and focuses on a different character.

Read alikes:

City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

 

Travel the World from Your Living Room

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Going a little stir crazy?  Want to go to Scotland?  Or Japan? Or India?  Me too!  Lucky for all of us, you can travel the world from the comfort of your couch.  And all of these titles are available to download from Libby or Hoopla.  Enjoy!  And we are all looking forward to seeing you guys soon!  

 

Scotland

The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan

Available on Libby and Hoopla

Returning to her family’s Scottish island town in the aftermath of her mother’s death, a London girl-about-town opens a cafe when she discovers that her father and brothers are not quite up to the task of running the family farm..

 

China

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Available on Libby

Explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter, who has been adopted by an American couple, tracing the very different cultural factors that compel them to consume a rare native tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for generations.

 

India

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Available of Libby

In 1921, Bombay’s first female lawyer, Oxford graduate Perveen Mistry, investigates a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in strict seclusion who become subject to a murderous guardian’s schemes for their inheritances

 

Spain

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

Available on Libby

Sponsored by the poet Pablo Neruda to flee the violence of the Spanish Civil War, a pregnant widow and an army doctor unite in an arranged marriage, only to be swept up by the early days of World War II.

 

Nigeria

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Available on Libby

Realizing that her beautiful, beloved younger sister has murdered yet another boyfriend, an embittered Nigerian woman works to direct suspicion away from the family, until a handsome doctor she fancies asks for her sister’s number.

 

Canada

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Available on Libby 

A modern Muslim adaptation of Pride and Prejudice finds a reluctant teacher who would avoid an arranged marriage setting aside her literary ambitions before falling in love with her perpetually single cousin’s infuriatingly conservative fiance.

 

Mexico

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Available on Libby

A dark fairy tale inspired by folklore is set against the Jazz age in Mexico’s underworld, where a young dreamer is sent by the Mayan God of Death on a life-changing journey.

 

France

The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel

Available on Libby

The author of the international best-seller The Room on Rue Amélie returns with a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II.

 

Ireland

The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

Available on Hoopla

Traces the experiences of a librarian on the scenic west coast of Ireland who searches for a way to rebuild her community and her own life in the wake of local estrangements.

 

Japan

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami

Available on Libby

A portrait painter deals with the upcoming divorce from his wife by moving into an old house in rural Japan that used to belong to a famous artist.

 

 

Great Britain

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Available on Libby and Hoopla

Emerging from a life-threatening illness, a fiercely organized but unfulfilled computer geek recruits a mysterious artist to help her establish meaning in her life, before finding herself engaged in reckless but thrilling activities.

 

 

Review: Red, White & Royal Blue

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Red, White & Royal Blue
by Casey McQuiston
5 stars

Alex and Henry have a tense and antagonistic relationship.  Which causes trouble because Alex is the First Son of the US and Henry is the Prince of England.  When their issues come to a head at a royal wedding (including the destruction of a $17,000 wedding cake), the 2 must paste on diplomatic smiles and fake a friendship for the sake of American/British international relations.  The fake friendship gradually becomes real as they open up to each other about the pressures of living in the public eye and that friendship turns into something more.

This book was originally marked as Young Adult, but it definitely falls into the Adult/New Adult categories (the characters are 20 and 22 when the book begins).  This is probably my favorite book of the year (yes, I know it’s early).  It had me bouncing between giggles and swoons, and sometimes both at once.  It was smart, diverse, and inclusive in all the best ways.  And there were multiple references to Alexander Hamilton, Harry Potter, and others!

 

Read-alikes

The Royal We by Heather Cox

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Royals by Rachel Hawkins