Monthly Archives: August 2023

Aug28

The Long Game by Elena Armas

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The Long Game by Elena Armas

Armas, Elena. The Long Game. Atria, 2023. 384 pp. ISBN 9781668011300 $18.99

***

The plot reads a little like Ted Lasso fan fiction: imagine if Roy and Keely didn’t like each other and got paired up to coach a U-10 girls soccer team, but with less swearing, goat yoga, and a caffeine-hawking mayor. Disgraced after her takedown of the mascot of her father’s pro-soccer team goes viral, Adalyn Reyes–no nicknames or terms of endearment, thank you very much–is exiled to take on a charitable project. When she arrives in Green Oaks, a series of unfortunate events unfold, and it turns out the hot, grumpy, incognito UK pro soccer star Cameron Caldani (who lives in the Pinterest-worthy cabin next door to her AirBNB hovel) is the coach of her rec league team, having been voluntold by the mayor to take over the role. Adalyn fires Cameron fairly immediately, but given the PR nightmare she incited, the local PTA doesn’t trust her moral influence on their impressionable girls, so Cam stays on to help, even though he and Adalyn gravely dislike one another. The dialogue is witty and there are a couple of funny “out of the mouths of babes” moments where the girls are innocuously and unintentionally hilarious.

Armas’s enemies-to-lovers romances are notable for their slow burn, angst, banter, and a lovely influx of Spanish culture and language. I really appreciate that she doesn’t do a straight translation, but writes so well you can glean the meaning from context and from how the other characters respond to the dialogue. I was a little muddled by Cameron declaring Adalyn is a game, pursing her, and then telling her it wasn’t a game; and by his refusal to call her by her name, without endearments; BUT he also becomes her champion and supporter. She’s irritable and buttoned up, and it’s borne of guilt, shame, and anxiety, but the rudeness off the bat was a little hard to take (sidenote: this might be the first grumpy/grumpy pairing I’ve read). The characters were not entirely likeable at first, but they grew on me, and it was worth sticking with.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheLongGame from #NetGalley.

Aug27

A Holly Jolly Ever After (Christmas Notch) by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone

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A Holly Jolly Ever After (Christmas Notch) by Julie Murphy; Sierra Simone

Murphy, Julie and Sierra Simon. A Holly Jolly Ever After. Avon and Harper Voyager, 2023. 432 pp. ISBN 9780063222649 $24.99

*****

This gingerbread cookie of a book is the perfect blend of sugar and spice. Former boy-band member turned pizza magnate Kallum is not allowed to fall for his formerly pious co-star Winnie, who is trying to redefine herself after a messy divorce…but when Winnie confesses she doesn’t know how to fake the love scenes because she’s never actually had an orgasm. How can Kallum NOT help her out?

It turns out the two had their own merry-little-meet-cute a decade ago, when being caught alone with a rock star was enough to tarnish Winnie’s pristine reputation and create a scandal for the young girl who’d taken a not-til-marriage pledge. All grown up, both are starring in a smutty softcore Christmas movie for Hope After Dark, and the film is being produced by porn king (who readers will remember from the previous book). Even instructional scenes are super-hot, and all the fun is rounded out by a load of vulnerability: scars from being in the spotlight at a young age; Kallum’s dad bod, self-acceptance, and angsting over his looks and his reputation; Winnie’s struggles with purity culture, managing her narcolepsy, and her estrangement from her judgmental parents.

I don’t purchase a lot of hardcovers, but after reading Merry Little Meet Cute last year, I treated myself to a copy and will purchase this in hardcover as well, because Julie Murphy and Sierra Simon are a writing powerhouse of funny situations and creative scenarios knit together with whiplash fast dialogue, complex protagonists, animated supporting characters and humor, humor, humor. Allusions to plot points and characters from Merry Little Meet Cute won’t necessarily lose readers who have not read other Christmas Notch books, but it certainly adds to the experience if they have.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #AHollyJollyEverAfter from #NetGalley.

Aug27

You, with a View by Jessica Joyce

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You, with a View by Jessica Joyce

Joyce, Jessica. You, With a View. Berkley, 2023. 384 pp. ISBN 9780593548400 $17.00

****

I managed to read two novels with a rediscovering our history flavor this week: Josie Silver’s A Winter in New York, and Jessica Joyce’s You, With a View. High school competitors and rivals Noelle and Theo are thrown together on a road trip following the planned honeymoon of her grandmother and his grandfather after their romance was ended by her family, embarking on a journey to unravel the mystery of what ended their relationship and how they moved on to other people. Theo’s grandfather is all in, and becomes a surrogate elder for Noelle, who is sorely missing her Grandma, who was her closet companion and bosom buddy, biggest champion and swapper of secrets.

The twenty-something characters are also struggling with their work lives–Noelle is a photographer but can’t see how she can make a living at it; Theo is all encouragement. Theo is a business whiz, but seems to have unlimited vacation time and a lot of phone calls that indicate things may not be going as smoothly as Noelle is surmising. Noelle’s artistic eye is the vehicle for the author to play with perspective and richly detailed description as the trio travel from point to point. The dialogue is banterey and sweet and ombres from needling to vulnerable to loving as the slow swoony burn ignites.

You, With a View is deliciously angsty, vulnerable, and unputdownable. Like other frenemies to lovers stories, there is some miscommunication, misunderstanding and grudge-holding to further the plot, and snippiness but not outright meanness. It slowly dissipates with the forced proximity of a vehicle, hotels and motels, and eventually, just one bed.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #YouWithAView from #NetGalley.

Aug27

How to Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder

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How to Fake It In Hollywood by Ava Wilder

Wilder, Ava. How to Fake It In Hollywood. Random House Audio, unabridged, 2022. Narrated by Thérèse Plummer, Andrew Eiden. 10 hours and 36 minutes.
Print: Wilder, Ava.How to Fake It In Hollywood. Dell, 2022. 368pp. ISBN 9780593358955 $17.00

***

When rising starlet Grey Brooks agrees to fake-date Ethan Atkins, it’s because she needs the connections, and he needs the cred. Never fully recovered from either his best friend’s untimely death or the disintegration of his marriage, Ethan is drinking a lot and nearing rock bottom. Neither actor is what they appear at first, and their contracted time together leads to relaxing of boundaries to the point where paparazzi are taking photos of them getting it on at a comped stay at an exclusive resort. Grey withdraws immediately, even though she’s sort of in love with the guy. The slow-paced, introspective narrative follows their falling in love, breakup, and reunion.

I abandoned and came back to this audiobook several times, finding it too-slow going. The actions of the characters landed as immature and frustrating for me in several spots. Ultimately, I pushed through, and was satisfied with the reconciliation and the resolution, and it has a lot of appeal for those who enjoy celebrity stories, fake-dating, and character-driven stories.

I listened to this via Audible. Thérèse captures a soft slightly southern accent beautifully, while Andrew conveys complex emotion with his voice. Each of them voices the other throughout the tandem narrative.

Aug27

Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman

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Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman

Sussman, Elissa. Once More with Feeling. Ballantine, 2023. 416 pp. ISBN 9780593357378 $17.

***1/2

I was a theatre kid in high school, on the periphery of the acting scene in college, and spent a season or two with a community theatre workshop. I was never one of the popular kids, and I don’t think I ever even had a line (except in my friend Marc’s senior project, Godspell, where I had a solo!), but I pulled curtain, ran lights, designed and built sets, and sang in the chorus. I played a bush in Tom Jones, a townsperson in A Christmas Carol, and a soldier in Cyrano de Bergerac… because as a freshman, I was skinny and flat-chested enough to pull it off. I truly thought I’d grow up to be an adult who had season tickets to a local theatre and went to Boston or Broadway for shows a few times a year, but alas, I’m paying for a car, rent, and groceries, instead, while watching Hamilton on repeat on Disney+ (at least when it premiered, we dressed up, printed programs, and ate a fancy dinner while we streamed)!

All that to say, this second-chance romance about a former pop star who lands her first Broadway role rings true to the stage and show details I remember, and while I never made it to “the Broad Way” (except to see Phantom of the Opera that one time in 12 grade), the pressure, perfectionism, the way a show comes together right at the end, the personalities involved, and the love of the craft that Sussman incorporates are vivid and real.

Katee Rose was at the height of her fame when she fell for another member of her boyfriend’s band, and has been lying low ever since that teenage scandal… but now Kathleen Rosenberg has an opportunity to perform in a Broadway musical, in the role of a lifetime… being directed by none other than the guy who is both the one that got away and the (unintentional) ruiner of her career. Their chemistry is intense, the drama high, and the narrative of flashbacks and present day keep a pendulum like momentum going through this novel for theatre geeks.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #OnceMoreWithFeeling from #NetGalley.

Aug25

Jewish Romance Giveaway Winner, Wow!

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Jewish Romance Giveaway Winner, Wow!

I was so delighted to return home from picking up my kid from Camp Havaya in PA to discover a prize pack of romance novels by Jewish authors from writer Jean Meltzer, sitting on my porch.

Thank you so much to Jean for organizing and sending autographed copies, promotional materials, candy, and other schwag. The shirt fits, and I will will post reviews as I complete them. Some are favorites I read in #NetGalley that I’m delighted to own!

The B’nai Mitzvah Mistake by Stacey Agdern (currently reading)

Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino

Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer

Marry Me by Midnight by Felicia Grossman

Someone Just Like You by Meredith Schorr

Unothodox Love by Heidi Sherlok

Thank you SO much to all the contributors and generous writers who donated items, and thanks to all of you for putting Jewish stories out there into the world.

Toda and Shabbat Shalom!