Everything you do, you do just right: THE FINE PRINT.

The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love the #bookstagram community; thanks to them, I stumbled across this book. This was such a fun read.

Is it cheesy? Sure. But it's an adorable and moving story, too.

Also I had no idea that "Dreamland" references a theme park and conglomerate similar to Disney. Being a huge Disney fan, I loved all the inside jokes and fun allusions to the park.

Rowan's grandfather started Dreamland. With his death, his will dictates that Rowan and his two brothers must complete certain tasks to earn their shares of the billion-dollar company. For Rowan, he must serve as Dreamland director for six months and come up with plans to rejuvenate and improve the park.

Enter Zahra, who works at a boutique in Dreamland, but dreams of becoming a Creator. When Rowan learns of her ideas to revitalize rides and park lands, he recruits her, but he's quickly interested in more than her brain.

The story plays up the vulnerable, grumpy guy trope, while Zahra is the quintessential tough girl hiding a hurt heart. Zahra and Rowan absolutely ooze tension (and about a million HR violations!). But there's a tenderness to their story that makes it irresistible. I really enjoyed their fairy tale romance.

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I want to come over it's a need I can't explain: HOTTER IN THE HAMPTONS.

Hotter in the Hamptons: A Novel by Tinx
My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

I really don't know how to describe my feelings about this book.

First of all, I have no idea who Tinx is, nor do I want to. But if this book is modeled after her, she did not do herself a lot of favors.

Our main character Lola is a fashion influencer; she started out posting her own vintage designs but has morphed into shilling anything from her sponsors. When she gets canceled for something said while going live, her fancy influencer life starts to fall apart. She and her boyfriend break up and--to make things even worse--journalist Aly Ray Carter writes a scathing piece about Lola, calling her vapid (and more). After that, no one will touch her.

Lola does little to nothing to convince us that she is not the vapid influencer Aly writes about. She cares about very little but money, status, and notoriety. She's also a terrible friend, especially to her BFF, Ryan, who stars as the stereotypical gay best friend, but is also way too forgiving of this girl. (She can't even remember the name of his boyfriend, or to show up to meet him for dinner.)

Meanwhile, as Lola and Ryan flee to the Hamptons, they find out they are staying right next door to Aly. Aly and Lola become romantically entangled, leading to some very spicy scenes and Lola's downright refusal to accept that she could be bisexual.

Here's where the book gets extra confusing: everyone is allowed to come out on their own terms. No one has to label themselves as anything against their wishes. As the book progresses, some pretty awful stuff does happen to Lola, and no one should be outed against their wishes. At the same time, her cluelessness about what the queer community faces (her best friend is gay for god's sake) is just insane. In many ways, this sums up my feelings for this story: vacillating between sympathy for Lola and then wanting to shake sense into her.

I'm not really sure the point of this story. Putting aside the money and bad decisions, Lola was just someone trying to figure herself out. (Yes, she does this badly for the most part.) The NYC elite come off looking as bad as ever, here, and you'll find yourself grateful to be a poor, normal person with zero social status.

Not really a book I'd recommend, but I didn't completely hate it, either. So confusing! 2.5ish stars.

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

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You're always my destination: HOOK SHOT.

Hook Shot by Kennedy Ryan
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Kenan is dealing with a messy divorce, an ex-wife out for revenge, and a teenage daughter who wants nothing more than her parents to get back together. Lotus is busy with her fashion career, but comes up short when emotional and sexual trauma from her childhood affect her present-day relationships. Still, she can't help but be drawn to Kenan, a handsome and kind basketball player. As for Kenan, he's head over heels for Lotus, even if she's 11 years his junior.

I'm a fan of Kennedy Ryan's Hoops series (this is the third and final book), because I adore basketball. This book is related to the others (Kenan plays hoops with August; Lotus is Iris' cousin, and Banner is Kenan's agent), but can easily be read as a standalone. I will say that when you read the books closer together, they do feel a bit more formulaic. But overall, I enjoyed this one. As I said, I loved the basketball angle, with Kenan as the player, and seeing glimpses of his teammate August, who we know from other books. There's a good tie back to Lotus and Iris' childhood and New Orleans roots, too.

As with all the other books from this series, Kenan is a really, really good guy, but a bit possessive. This is the straight-up formula for Hoops. Please be aware the book covers sensitive topics like child sexual abuse and there's a trigger warning for suicide. The story felt just a tad bit long for me--it could have been shortened just a little. But it's sexy and fun, with great banter and strong chemistry between Lotus and Kenan. It tackles a serious topics while still giving us a flirty read. 3.5 stars.

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

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