137: Nate Plus One & Current State of Light Romance

Synopsis

The gorgeous new feel good LGBTQ+ romantic comedy from the author of Date Me, Bryson Keller!

Two boys. Two bands. Two worlds colliding.

Nate Hargraves – stage-shy singer-songwriter – is totally stoked for his cousin’s wedding in South Africa, an all-expenses-paid trip of a lifetime. Until he finds out his sleazeball ex-boyfriend is also on the guest list.

Jai Patel – hot-as-hell high school rock-god – has troubles too. His band’s lead singer has quit, just weeks before the gig that was meant to be their big break.

When Nate saves the day by agreeing to sing with Jai’s band, Jai volunteers to be Nate’s plus-one to the wedding, and the stage is set for a summer of music, self-discovery, and simmering romantic tension. What could possibly go wrong . . . ?

The Good

I. You don’t see many rom-coms showing the main character going to Africa as a wedding party trip type of thing.

From the trip Nate (and reader) got to experience his culture.

II. It has nice little adventures.

III. It is a true light contemporary romance.

The Bad

I. It just feels empty like things are just happening but there’s no connection or something. Does it lack depth?

II. The Romance

A. The love interest is a Ken doll- aka Jai is that perfect love interest that happens in so many romances thus he barely has a personality.

B. Yeah you have all these romcom moments but you don’t have them actually emotionally connecting and talking to each other.

C. Seems like Nate was obsessed with Jai at moments.

D. Jai just feels like he is at a distance from us (readers).

I. The third act conflict

No spoilers, I think energy could have been put to some other conflicts that would have bore fruit and been good to talk about.

Thoughts

I. Masculinity & homophobia – For some there is a expectation that homosexuality means you have to opt out of masculinity.

II. Light contemporaries

A. Realistic contemporary + Romance

This is probably a true contemporary light romance story.

B. It’s a very light story which I’m not used to especially now when there is such a push to make romance “realistic” and “modern”.

modern/realistic = add all these darker themes to the story

bipoc = add all these darker themes

(I could go into a rant about how many only see bipoc/poc in all these weird trauma ways).

C. I probably could get into it almost being like these “realistic” aka dark themes are meant to give validity/respectability to romance.

D. Is it in contrast pushing out certain parts of romance (light fluffy)?

E. So many bipoc authors/readers go to romance to get away from these dark themes.

F. At this point so much of what is happening in publishing and media at large is in opposition to what bipoc readers/authors want (need?).

G. Nate Plus One avoided going in darker directions that a realistic contemporary + romance would have, definitely. Honestly, the realistic contemporary lover in me would have enjoyed it because it would have birthed so much good discussion. At the same time I appreciated that it kept the lightness in that aspect especially for a queer story with two boys of color.

won this from Random House Kids via a goodreads giveaway

(cover and synopsis from goodreads)

145: Blood Will Tell

Synopsis

From the author of the acclaimed debut No Bad Deed, a twisty novel about the bond between two sisters—and the crimes one covers up to protect the other. For fans of Lisa Gardner and Harlan Coben.

Schoolteacher and single mom Frankie Barrera has always been fiercely protective of her younger sister Izzy—whether Izzy wants her to be or not. But over the years, Izzy’s risky choices have tested Frankie’s loyalty. Never so much as on a night five years ago, when a frantic phone call led Frankie to the scene of a car accident—and a drunk and disoriented Izzy who couldn’t remember a thing.

Though six friends partied on the outskirts of town that night, one girl was never seen again . . .

Now, an Amber alert puts Frankie in the sights of the local police. Her truck has been described as the one used in the abduction of a girl from a neighboring town. And the only other person with access to Frankie’s truck is Izzy.

This time around, Frankie will have to decide what lengths she’s willing to go to in order to protect Izzy—what lies she’s willing to tell, and what secrets she’s willing to keep—because the dangerous game that six friends once played on a warm summer night isn’t over yet . . .

The Bad

I. Pacing

II. Are all stories now basically going to hold your hand and tell you through the mystery instead of sitting and letting things happen naturally?

III. Why is everyone so ready to talk to the main character?

IV. It is not a good thriller. The mystery is not interesting.

V. They possibly should have introduced things before having the girl go missing because I did not care about her or the mystery.

VI. The characters do not have a good connection.

The Meh

When story actually has murderer(s) and not just the main character interviewing people it is interesting.

The Good

The story has latino main characters but is not a racial thriller.



I won this in a giveaway from William Morrow on goodreads

134: Seoulmates & Thoughts

Synopsis

Her ex-boyfriend wants her back. Her former best friend is in town. When did Hannah’s life become a K-drama?

Hannah Cho had the next year all planned out—the perfect summer with her boyfriend, Nate, and then a fun senior year with their friends.

But then Nate does what everyone else in Hannah’s life seems to do—he leaves her, claiming they have nothing in common. He and all her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas, and Hannah is not. After years of trying to embrace the American part and shunning the Korean side of her Korean American identity to fit in, Hannah finds that’s exactly what now has her on the outs.

But someone who does know K-dramas—so well that he’s actually starring in one—is Jacob Kim, Hannah’s former best friend, whom she hasn’t seen in years. He’s desperate for a break from the fame, so a family trip back to San Diego might be just what he needs… that is, if he and Hannah can figure out what went wrong when they last parted and navigate the new feelings developing between them.

The Good

I. Romance

A. I feel like the characters are actually friends.

B. It focuses on main characters learning through (how they want be treated, self love, etc) their relationship.

C. Instead of having a third act break up or festering in arguments our main couple resolve things quickly. I can see them talking through issues as promoting good communication skills.

D. Hannah and Jacob are allowed to be flawed and grow in dealing with their flaws.

II. Not only is everyone allowed nuance (thus not making a one person right vs one person wrong dichotomy) they also have folks take accountability

III. The story is soft.

A. I think because (I-II) what the story centered and how it portrayed many of those things it was able to pull off a soft book.

B. There was a lot of fun moments especially when you got Hannah and Jacob together.

IV. Faces actual reality of being a celebrity.

Even though, I feel our leads were not taking it serious at all lol.

V. It is a family and relationship focused story.

The Meh

There is a period in story that couple got together that they were having all couple moments that I was eh about. I hesitate to say it was a negative because as a whole I think them being together was a positive in so many ways.

Thoughts

I. Fetishization – In this day and age with the increase of k-pop/k-dramas popularity it is important to talk about the effect it has on Korean Americans.

III. Identity

A. People keep inserting this idea that Americanness erases or makes lesser all other aspects of ones identity.

B. Questions on identity

If you do not perform all the tenants are you still that identity? How do these requirements change when nationality changes? Is it even fair/realistic to expect a people with an entire other nationality to even have/fit same criteria? Is this criteria why non-race/ethnicity people think they can check off boxes and become x identity?

IV. Future stories/wishlist

A. Full blown Korean drama novel.

B. Adult k-pop/K-drama novel (is this going be darker?)

C. Christianity & Korean girls & purity & sex would be a good conversation to see more of.

V. Miscelaneous

I would recommend the K-pop Confidential series if you want read another story that deals with the Korean entertainment industry.

I won this from Inkyard Press via bookishfirst

135: The House Party

Synopsis

When a house party goes terribly wrong, a suburban town fractures, exposing disturbing truths about the community.

Maja Jensen is smart, stylish, and careful, the type of woman who considers every detail when building her dream home in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The perfect house that would compensate for her failure to have a child, the house that was going to save her marriage. But when a group of reckless teenagers trash the newly built home just weeks before she moves in, her plans are shattered.

Those teenagers are the “good kids”–the ones on track to go to college and move on to the next stage of their privileged lives. They have grown up in a protected bubble and are accustomed to getting by with just a slap on the wrist. Did they think they could just destroy property without facing punishment? Or was there something deeper, darker, at play that night? As the police close in on a list of suspects, the tight-knit community begins to fray as families attempt to protect themselves.

What should have been the party of the year will have repercussions that will put Maja’s marriage to the ultimate test, jeopardize the futures of those “good kids,” and divide the town over questions of privilege and responsibility.

An absorbing novel told through shifting perspectives, The House Party explores how easily friendships, careers, communities, and marriages can upend when differences in wealth and power are forced to the surface.

The Good

I. 🏠 Does a good job discussing: classicism, privilege, without going for the easy rich= bad, poor = good. The story was complex.

II. 🏠 🏠 Characters

A. They were neither caricature nor stereotypes. It allowed the story to be messy and for me to understand everyone’s point of view.

B. The story deals with the different viewpoints of everyone: people whose house was trashed, police, people who trashed it, parents, etc.

III. 🏠🏠🏠 Pace – it never felt like it was lagging.

IV. 🏠🏠🏠🏠 The ending is realistic.

Thoughts

🏡 A. “Victimless” crimes – someone has to deal with damage that is inflicted on a property. People put a lot into a property because a building even though it is material is a thing to a person. Also, property cannot matter more than people or justice.

🏡 B. Dealing with crime the assumption is the victim(s) are the only ones who are harmed but I think (odd as it may sound) actions have a reverberation. The incident in the story really was like a cracking glass (like on the cover) on everybody’s life.

🏡 C. What is justice with classicism?

🏡 D. The ability to skirt responsibility and also start over with a clean slate can be a privilege.

🏡 E. Why can’t they take responsibility for petty crimes? If there are so many safety nets for those with privilege?

🏡 F. The scary thing about some crimes is that they are serious. As soon as you say a person committed the crime it does not matter if it is true or not. People can and will always believe that it is true.

🏡G. I do not know what type of thriller this is classified as (domestic, psychological?) but I want more.

(book cover and synopsis are from goodreads)

received this in a giveaway on goodreads from William Morrow

141: Blade of Secrets & Escapism vs Representing

Synopsis

In Blade of Secrets, the first book in Tricia Levenseller’s exciting Bladesmith duology, a teenage blacksmith with social anxiety is forced to go on the run to protect the world from the most powerful magical sword she’s ever made.

Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power.

Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims’ secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees.

Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world’s known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely.

The Good

I. Anxiety Representation

A. It represents anxiety, putting into words what it looks like.

B. Anxiety + Fantasy

There is something nice about representing anxiety in a fantasy novel it is like it makes it not so scary or strange. Normalizes? It is so important to instill hope that you can have a good life with anxiety.

C. It could have punished our main character for experiencing anxiety (which most stories usually do or try to fix them) but it did not.

II. Fun Adventure Fantasy

It is not a drag just because the main character experiences anxiety. At times it can feel with many stories that having more representation of things can drag the story down or be in opposition to the fun.

I want to emphasize that this was a fun adventure journey type of story that had a good premise that followed through.

III. Magic – in general Ziva powers was interesting.

I liked how the sword was used in the story.

I would be interested in seeing more magic users in the world.

IV. It has good pacing.

The Bad

Does it feel like a checklist on all different feelings of anxiety at times?

The Meh

Does this feel unfinished? The ending just ended. It should have been a standalone instead of duology? I will say I definitely am looking forward to the next book.

Thoughts

I. Anxiety

Manifests itself differently for different people.

II. Escapism vs Representing

-escaping from anxiety vs representing

a. needing/enjoying representation of someone experiencing anxiety.

b. needing to not be in space of anxiety if it is something you experience. It can feel like you are in duress in real life and in fiction.

c. For some the escapism of reading can settle/calm them out of an anxious space.

d. A conversation about escapism is important but also actually having stories that you can escape into is important.

III. Miscellaneous

-It is important to represent worlds that love and support folks.

-wanting to see more low-level fantasy that is not life & death

IV. this would be a good book to get into if you like Wheel of Time-esque stories. It can feel like these types of stories are in short supply at times.

I received this for review from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group via Bookishfirst

(image and synopsis from Bookishfirst)

138: Coven

Synopsis

In this queer, paranormal YA graphic novel debut from the author of Some Girls Do and the illustrator of Wonder Woman: Warbringer, a young witch races to solve the grisly supernatural murders of her coven members before the killer strikes again.

Emsy has always lived in sunny California, and she’d much rather spend her days surfing with her friends or hanging out with her girlfriend than honing her powers as a fire elemental. But when members of her family’s coven back east are murdered under mysterious circumstances that can only be the result of powerful witchcraft, her family must suddenly return to dreary upstate New York. There, Emsy will have to master her neglected craft in order to find the killer. . . before her family becomes their next target.

The Good

Art ( Kit Seaton) : It was vibrant and colorful.

The Bad

Main character and her new group of friends got on my nerves. I will say I do think it gave a good representation of some teens. I am wondering if some of the other issues (pacing, repetitive, etc) fed into, at least a bit, my eh for main characters.

Repetitive – it spent so much time repeating a certain sequence of plot while not progressing the story past a certain point.

The pacing was a bit off like it could have been shorter, tighter, and built the mystery more efficiently.

Was it too long?

Did we spend enough time doing fun witch stuff?

I won this from Penguin Teen via bookishfirst