I'm the secret ingredient you're missing: TRULY, MADLY, DEEPLY.

Truly, Madly, Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I always enjoy a good Alexandria Bellefleur book and picked this up for my "June Pride Reads." There's not as much bisexual content as I'd hoped for, though there's a wonderful speech about bisexuality and the idea that society often demands someone be "queer enough" that I loved. That really hit home.

Most of our story is focused on Truly and Colin. Truly, a romance author, is ironically scared of romantic commitment after a brutal breakup and watching her parents--her idols--separate. Colin, a family law (or divorce, per Truly) attorney, seems to have no real flaws and comes across as pretty much perfect in all ways, except to his family, who resent both his bisexuality and the fact that he didn't join the family business (I can't remember, but it's construction or something related... I mean, the guy is a freaking lawyer!). The two meet when Truly comes on Colin's sister's podcast and immediately get off on the wrong foot, yet can't deny that they have instant attraction and chemistry too.

In fact, DEEPLY crackles with chemistry. Colin and Truly's banter flies across the pages, whether it's in person or via their shared texts. The result is a funny and often crazily sexy tale. Truly is certainly... a lot. Her focus on her parents and their love life is overwhelming at times. I could have done with less of that, because the plot related to her romance with Colin is excellent. Colin truly (haha - see what I did there?) is a nearly perfect guy, and I loved how fiercely he loved and felt.

This is a sexy book with a wonderful cast -- quite enjoyable! 4 stars.

View all my reviews

Keep the light still on inside and watch it through to sunrise: NEARLYWED.

Nearlywed by Nicolas DiDomizio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When I picked this up for Pride Month, I was looking forward to a fun, cheesy romance, but NEARLYWED is not really a romance. It's more a story of looking inward at relationships, filled with a lot of thinking and talking about love and connections. For a while, it feels like nothing much happens in the book, as our main character, Ray, pontificates about his past and present liaisons, overthinks everything, and tends toward the dramatic.

In his defense, Ray cannot fully help it: he grew up steeped in his parents' love story, dreaming of having an "earlymoon" (pre-wedding honeymoon) at the same beautiful New England resort his mom and dad did, and memorizing every aspect of their wedding album. He's a hopeless romantic used to sharing his entire life online as a reporter in the digital age. His older husband-to-be, Kip, however, came out late in late, and is a reticent doctor. (Also, can I just say, that I constantly thought Ray was Kip because Ray is the older sounding name?)

Now they're finally on their earlymoon, but things go awry quickly when they both run into people they know (wow, what a coincidence!!) and Ray wonders if Kip is truly ready to be an out, married man and Kip feels as if Ray is pushing him to share too much, too fast, with the world.

The story covers some truly important messages about being gay, being seen, coming out on your own terms--all of which are great. I found myself incredibly frustrated by Kip dragging his feet at fully acknowledging his relationship with Ray, even though I could understand his reasoning. DiDomizio does a good job of showing both sides of the relationship. Still, I found so much of the thinking and and wondering and talking about their relationship too much: I wanted something to happen. The last 10% or so of the story redeemed this to a 3-star read, but I could have done without so much of the earlier bitterness and angst.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in return for an unbiased review.

View all my reviews

Cause you have filled a space I never knew I had: SATISFACTION GUARANTEED.

Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

The second book in my "June Pride Reads," SATISFACTION GUARANTEED was absolutely delightful. Focusing on the theme of learning to appreciate yourself--especially through the eyes of others--this is such a feel-good romance. Reserved, practical Cade inherits her aunt's sex toy shop, thrusting her into the orbit of free-spirited Selena, who runs the shop and lives in the cottage behind Cade's aunt's home. Cade quickly realizes the shop is in financial trouble, and she has a short time to turn it around, or Selena loses her job and her home.

I loved that Cade and Selena felt instant attraction but not love-there's a big difference between the two-and it makes the story feel so much more realistic. They have time to develop stronger feelings, and have wonderful slow burn tension and chemistry. Selena's afraid of failure, worried she's a screw-up, and Cade feels she's a boring stick-in-the-mud with no romantic experience, and it's refreshing to see how, to one another, they are amazing. They are backed by a lovable, fun cast of diverse, queer characters and positive messages about appreciating female sexuality and knowing yourself.

Overall, this is a fun-spirited romance with some great messages. 4.5 stars.

View all my reviews

All around your island there's a barricade: YOU, AGAIN.

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

YOU, AGAIN has a cheerful cover, but is actually a rather angry, emotional book instead of a happy, go-lucky romance. Our leads are flawed characters. We have Ari, who is post-breakup from her one real relationship, and who avoids serious relationships like the plague, and Josh, an anxious guy suffering from an intensely personal career failure who requires perfection in relationships.

The book chronicles Josh and Ari's encounters over a span of time, showing them to be self-centered, depressed, and fragile people. In many ways, this is refreshing. Instead of some picture perfect romance, we see two people living actual, real life. The author said she was inspired by When Harry Met Sally and it shows. The idea of two people who can't get over their own issues (versus the concept of forced external plots) is fun for a romance. Once accustomed to the book's tone, I found this enjoyable and more real than the artificial situations of some love stories.

And, Ari and Josh have an excellent simmering, angry chemistry that permeates the story. The book is filled with so many bitter but funny moments. Yes, it could be bleak at times, but also really hilarious. It's a very NYC story, focusing on landmarks and settings in the city, making you feel like you're there with the characters.

Overall, this was a different sort of story, but an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars, rounded up.


View all my reviews

And it's just a dead end road at the end of the day: SAFE AND SOUND.

Safe and Sound by Laura McHugh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another superbly written story from Laura McHugh, dropping you directly into a small Missouri town. The residents there know they are born in the local hospital and live and die in town, ending up buried in its cemetery. Grace dreamed of getting out--and she wanted that for her young nieces, Amelia and Kylee, too. But then Grace disappears, with just a trail of blood left behind, and the two girls are stuck.

As she ages, Amelia wonders what happened to Grace, poking around the corners of her secretive town. McHugh does an excellent job creating an atmosphere of claustrophobia, flashing back to Grace's story and her own feelings of being trapped, and then Amelia's deep desires to get out. The whole book feels stifling, overcome with the brittle feeling of no hope or prospects. McHugh's writing is crisp, starkly portraying her teenage characters with clarity and realism.

Sometimes things even feel too real--this book can feel awfully hopeless. The ending is a bummer, without a lot of closure. But the story is well-written, with nuanced characters, and it perfectly captures that oppressive small town feeling.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Random House in return for an unbiased review.

View all my reviews

All my roads, they lead to you: THE PARADISE PROBLEM.

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This is a typical fun, free-spirited Christina Lauren romance, as we watch Anna Green and Liam Weston live out a somewhat "fake" dating scheme, despite being, in fact, legally married. Anna and Liam marry in university--on paper only--to secure cheap housing. Unbeknownst to Anna, they remain married: she fails to read detailed papers from Liam that she thinks are for their divorce. Liam, the son and heir to a wealthy grocery store chain, knows he'll inherit his trust if he fulfills its weird clause: marry and remain so for five years.

But when Liam's family somehow finally force him to bring his wife to a family event (his younger sister Charlie's wedding), he has to turn up at Anna's apartment, come clean, and beg her to travel with him to a secluded island and play happy couple. Broke and recently unemployed, Anna reluctantly agrees, since Liam will pay her a hefty sum. (I get that Liam was on the outs with his family, but seriously, no one thought it was weird not to see his wife for nearly five years?)

Of course, once on the island, the two discover that, despite their differences, they have a mutual attraction. There's much drama with Liam's family, most of whom are pretty awful, and a lot of craziness related to the legal aspects of the trust. Watching his family spend obscene amounts of money isn't all that fun (even if the book sometimes tries to make that exact point). Liam and Anna have crackling chemistry, but the whole thing always feels a bit weird, since he's paying her a lot of money to be there.

This is a cute romance, with some fun sexy scenes and playful banter, though some of the premise feels a bit flat. It's still quite enjoyable, and I grew to love Anna and Liam. 3.5 stars.

View all my reviews

We get years of practice camouflaging shame: PINEAPPLE STREET.

Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

PINEAPPLE STREET introduces us to the three Stockton siblings: Darley, Cord, and Georgiana. Each is a rich, privileged New Yorker raised by parents who have more money than most of us can ever fathom. Their story is told by Darley, Georgiana, and Cord's wife, Sasha, a "regular" girl who married into the wealthy Stocktons and is immediately deemed a gold-digger by her sister-in-laws. Is it any surprise that Sasha quickly became my favorite? For a decent part of this book, the original Stockton clan seemed spoiled, clueless, and utterly ridiculous.

PINEAPPLE STREET attempts to make deep points about income inequality and generational wealth, but it's difficult when its characters are shallow and often unredeeming: their world contained to the privileged "fruit streets" of Brooklyn.

Still, there's something oddly compelling about this clan, even if we're just getting a sneak peak into their daily lives. There's a voyeuristic aspect of watching people spend and deal with amazing amounts of money not known to the average human. Still, I'm not sure I learned much more from this book than our characters did by the end.


View all my reviews

She's never learned how to live for today: DAYS OF WONDER.

Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Caroline Leavitt is such a wonderful and unique writer. I know I can always count on her for a different and riveting story. DAYS OF WONDER is no exception. This is not necessarily a happy or uplifting book, but wow, it makes you think. Ella falls madly in love with Jude as a teenager, and the pair spend all their time together, including days at her apartment with Ella's mom, Helen. They avoid Jude's angry and bitter father, a judge who resents him for his mother's death. But when Ella is accused of trying to murder Jude's dad, he pulls strings and she's sent to prison for 25 years, while Jude has no consequences. Neither can remember that night, which doesn't make things any easier.

In prison, Ella discovers she's pregnant and reluctantly gives the baby up for adoption after Jude terminates his parental rights. But when she's released early--after only six years--she's determined to track down her child. What follows is an oft heartbreaking tale of Ella trying to reclaim her life, her child, and her own self while dealing with reentering society as a convicted felon.

WONDER is a little meandering at times, with various plot points that run off in various directions, but it's also captivating. All of our characters are flawed but intriguing, with Ella at the center. She doesn't always make the best decisions, but she has a good heart. The story is told in alternating POV and timelines, between present-day and then flashing to the past, leading up to what happened to the judge. In this way, it serves as part mystery, as no one knows exactly what happened that night, and part literary fiction, probing the bonds between mother and daughter and parent and child. Through Helen's relationship with Ella and then Ella's relationship (or lack thereof) with her daughter, we learn about the sacrifices made for our children... even the decisions the warped judge makes in terms of Jude.

This is such a thoughtful story, and so poignant. I was completely caught up in Ella's world and life. I honestly would read a sequel to learn more about her future. Leavitt's writing is gorgeous, and this is such a different, enjoyable tale, even if the subject matter is often serious and sad. 4+ stars.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Algonquin Books in return for an unbiased review.

View all my reviews