Tag Archives: writing

Feb4

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Jenkins Reid, Taylor. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Atria Books, 2017. 400pp. ISBN 9781501139239. $30.00

*****

You know how in Titanic there’s that scene in the contemporary part of the narrative where all the people on the boat are leaning forward staring at Rose while she tells her story? I felt like that at the end of every chapter of the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: and emotional leaning in, with AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED???

A journalist gets the gig of a lifetime when she is handpicked to write an article at the end of a famous and now reclusive actress’s life; it turns out celebrity Evelyn wants only Monique to ghost-write her biography and reap all the rewards and benefits the publication will bring. But why? The mystery is unraveled through the telling of Evelyn’s tale, and through learning the details of Evelyn’s life and loves, Monique is able to process the end of her own marriage. Fantastic dramatic literary fiction.

I purchased and read my own copy.

Jan25

When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

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When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

Stein, Charlotte. When Grumpy Met Sunshine. Narrated by Emily Spowage. MacMillan Audio, 2024. 10 hours, 30 minutes. ISBN 9781250332561 $26.99

paperback: Stein, Charlotte. When Grumpy Met Sunshine. St. Martin’s/Griffin, 2024. 336 pp. ISBN 9781250867933 $18.99

****

When perky plus-size ghostwriter Mabel Williker is contracted on the downlow to help cantankerous footballer Alfie Harding with his memoir, their relationship is assumed to be some sort of mismatched romance, and they deflect by agreeing to pretend to date while Mable helps Alfie with his writing. He has many wonderful stories to relay, but doesn’t want her to actually put any of them into a book; and joke’s on her, it turns out he can write, has the soul of poet, and probably doesn’t need her help. They find common ground in the past trauma of their childhoods, and share many interests and outlooks.

Stein builds intimacy through her character’s vulnerability–Alfie and Mabel find similarity in their childhood experiences (alcoholic parents and not having enough money to go around). The author handles consent and desire very naturally and believably. They have chemistry, respect, and also have fun together. The story is interspersed with tongue-in-cheek commentary on social media, fame, fashion, wealth, and more, and the narrative expands with Twitterverse commentary, articles, text messaging, emails, and other ephemera to enhance the narrative.

The writing is superb-fresh and funny with snappy but gentle teasing between the two. Their banter never punches down and their desire the take the piss but never harm is wonderful. Stein has a full and inventive vocabulary (let’s bring back “romantical”) and produces clever turns of phrase. The chapter titles are clever and rich in allusion. Alfie is the sweetest cinnamon roll under his gruff “we are not amused” exterior.

The story is told exclusively in Mabel’s voice, and her every thought (and internal monologue on those thoughts) is immediate, candid and funny. She’s delightfully awkward and vulnerable–and mortified at being so. My single criticism is that the reader is sometimes told how the characters are feeling by the naming the expression on their face instead of showing through description; it mostly works, because often it’s Mabel interpreting Alfie’s emotion.

I listened to the audio and narrator Spowage had pitch-perfect tone, and I found her voicing for the irrepressible Mabel fit the character really well. The back and forth dialogue between the protagonists lent itself particularly well to the audio format, as did Alfie’s proclivity to be a talker during sex. Spowage varied the British accent to account for regional variation, did a credible American accent, and delivered many laugh-out-loud moments in the text flawlessly.

I received a free advance readers (and listener’s!) review copy of #WhenGrumpyMetSunshine via #NetGalley; thanks also to #MacMillan and #StMartinsPress.

Oct9

The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

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The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye

Skye, Evelyn. The Hundred Loves of Juliet. Random House/Ballantine, 2023. 336 pp. ISBN 9780593499245. $28

****

In this spin on the classic tragedy of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Juliet dies, over and over again, as Romeo lives on, fated to meet his Juliet in life after life with the same tragic results. He goes by Sebastian the Alaskan crab fisherman this time around, and had gotten better at avoiding his Juliet when she inevitably returns. Helene, an aspiring writer, has just escaped to Alaska to cut ties with her terrible marriage to a gaslighting and controlling editor. When Helene and Sebastien cross paths, she is shocked to see her favorite recurring character brought to life from her pages, and he is just shocked to see her. He tries to be rude and avoid her, but resistance is futile, as the fates keep pushing them together, finally trapping them in his cabin during a blizzard. At least there is more than #Just!OneBed.

The romantic details are swoon-worthy and the narrative is compelling, richly written, and well-plotted–I’d even go so far as to say admirably meta. Helene has amassed scraps of historical fiction that she would like to piece together into a narrative, and the ridiculous story that Sebastien is claiming might be the way to do it. One can’t help but wonder if this is true for author Skye: taking all the orphaned bits of writing to turn them into a novel is a brilliant move, and it works.

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

Jul6

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

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Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Solomon, Rachel Lynn. Business or Pleasure. Berkley, 2023. 384 pp. ISBN 9780593548530 $17.00

*****

I am loving ghost-writer books right now (it’s sort of my dream job) and Business or Pleasure was no exception. Having just finished ghost-writing a book for an Instagram sensation famous for making bank by reminding people to drink water, Chandler Cohen is drowning her misery over the “author” not recognizing her or her name at the book signing (after month of correspondence, no less) when she has a meet cute with a sweet, quick-witted guy at the bar; dinner leads to an impromptu tour of Seattle, and the evening ends with the worst sex of her life, in spite of their amazing chemistry.

The next day she’s focusing her attention on her next ghostwriting gig… and it turns out to be for the bad-in-bed dude who gave her a fake name but is in fact, Finn Walsh C-list television actor whose series she’s never even watched. Their connection supersedes their embarrassment, and Chandler agrees to take the job, which involves trailing Finn for a few months while he attends cons and does a press circuit for an upcoming reunion of The Nocturnals, on which he played the nerdy hot scientist boyfriend of a werewolf. Eventually, Chandler admits their one-time thing was less than stellar, and Finn asks for her help: In return for her cleaning up his words, Chandler agrees to help Finn with his bedside manner, but after you contract to train someone to be your perfect lover, how do you wrench yourself away when the terms or timeline ends?

The travel scenes highlight US destinations and becomes a metaphor for their burgeoning relationship: as much as Chandler is getting to know Finn through seeing him interact with fans and co-stars, his childhood best friend and his rabbi mother, their intimacy grows as she shares things with him about past relationships, her love of cozy mysteries and own author aspirations, and her aging parents. Finn suffers from OCD, and Chandler from GAD, and normalizing of mental health is a strong theme throughout the book–trigger warning, Finn experiences some bullying over this and his peers don’t stand up for him.

I love a slow burn as much as the next person but sex upfront and at the beginning is trend I’m starting to appreciate. The chemistry between Finn and Chandler is wonderful, and the scenes detailed. I love that Solomon writes awkward, realistic sex, sex-positivity, and exquisitely rendered detail with heartfelt emotion. Judaism is both a routine and special part of all of her novels, and I love stories where being Jewish is neither history nor misery, but a natural part of her character’s backgrounds, alongside plenty of nerdy pop-culture references, a fair amount of trauma, and relatable relationship struggles. For all of these reasons, and because Rachel Lynn Solomon writes with attention to detail and palpable emotions and has the elusive amazing plot/setting/character trifecta, her new releases are a must-own for me.

Fans of Olivia Dade’s Spoiler Alert series will appreciate the deep fandom around Finn’s television show, the con experience, and the narrative interspersed with articles about The Nocturnals and excerpts from various scripts from Finn’s past projects; fans of Talia Hibbert’s The Brown Sisters series will catch all the feels for a sexy, sweet leading man who is vulnerable, accountable, eager to please, and living his best life with therapy, medication, and a wellness practice; and fans of Rosie Danan will appreciate finding another author who makes sex ed hot, lubed up, and positive.

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

Jul2

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

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Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by Sarah Adler

*****

Sarah Adler. Mrs. Nash’s Ashes. Berkley, 2023. 352 pp. ISBN 9780593547793 $17.00

Former child television star Millicent is on an epic journey to reunite Rose, her elderly former roommate’s ashes, with Elsie, the love of her life, but when a glitch grounds all planes, she needs to find another way to get to her destination. Desperate to get to Florida, where Elsie is in hospice care, Millie is ready to fork over $400 to a stranger for a ride, but is rescued by Hollis Hollenback, a writer and member of her ex-boyfriend’s co-hort. Hollis seems surly, but doesn’t want her to risk possibly murder from hitchhiking, and offers to share his rental care. Their forced proximity allows them to actually get to know one another beyond the time he took her home, crying, after the ex was mean to her.

The author does a fantastic job managing multiple plot points and moving back and forth in time to reveal history, Rose and Elsie’s romance, and the present day road trip. The character’s push and pull of being vulnerable and pulling back was so real. Hollis was en route to a FWB type hookup that Millie obsesses over for much of the trip, and the third act breakup is predictable but well done. Of course, lots could have been cleared up earlier with better communication, but it’s the journey, not the destination, right?

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

Jan16

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

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The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

Lauren, Christina. The True Love Experiment. Gallery Books, 2023. 416 pp. ISBN 9781982173432 $27.99

****

Wisecracking, fearless romance novelist Felicity Chen, the best friend sidekick made of charisma, witchcraft, and bad judgment from The Soulmate Equation, has lost her mojo, and agrees to star in a reality dating show on her terms: the gents have to represent popular romance archetypes, and none of this forced proximity secluded crap, she wants her friends and family to have input and insight, just like in real life. The eight Heroes assembled represent tattooed bad boy, hot nerd, and vampire, but it’s the sexy British producer Connor–a total Cinnamon Bun–that Fizzy clicks with. It’s rewarding to see the novelist and Tinder queen thrown for a loop over feelings that she’s never experienced before. The ante is upped when the men all take River’s cutting-edge matchmaking genome sequencing test with GeneticAlly. The audience will vote on who Fizzy should end up with, and then the match results will be revealed. Will the science or heart rule?

More tension is created as Fizzy continues to fight writer’s block, Connor is actually a documentarian who doesn’t want to be producing reality television, he doesn’t do short term and she only does short term; her family doesn’t take her work seriously and she’s still perceiving pressure to settle down, get married and have a baby. And then, Fizzy is the one who makes a terrible error and has to win back her man. Some of the ground covered is that while we are influenced by our pasts, past actions do not have to define us. There’s also not so subtle commentary on continued derogatory attitude thrown at the romance genre.

Family and friends remain important in the story and character development. One of the best parts for me was the reappearance of grumpy hot nerd River, who keeps walking into rooms to her his wife or Felicity utter something outrageous…and walks right back out again. Connor’s daughter Stevie and Jess’s daughter Juno bond over hot boy band Wonderland. Felicity’s brother Peter is getting married, and since she has an agreement to not see any of the potential matches outside the show, none of the competitors can be her plus one…but Connor can, and does. The glamorous and expensive festivities that blend traditional and modern Korean customs add background and rich multicultural detail.

The dating adventures are entertaining, and the relationship between Fizzy and Connor balances both hot and sweet; the combination of funny banter, smart writing, juicy detail, and swoony romance are what we’ve come to expect from Christina Lauren, and this one does not disappoint. The drama at the live season finale and big reveal is palpable and perfectly paced and executed.

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

Jan1

Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

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Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld

Gauld, Tom. Revenge of the Librarians. Drawn and Quarterly, 2022.180 pp. ISBN 978-1770466166 $21.99
****

I run our library’s Twitter feed and can always find a date-appropriate Tom Gauld literary cartoon to schedule for on TweetDeck: celebrations of authors, genres, or reimagined book titles specific to a holiday or event. Revenge of the Librarians is a collection of his comic strips, less about librarians and more about books, including the celebration of the problem of having or buying way too many. His comics have the brilliance of XKCD with a literary theme, (instead of physics) and this collection is giggle out loud funny.

Strips are a mix of stick figure and simple caricature cartoon, interspersed with flow charts, Venn diagrams idea generators, lists related to writing and literature–even a DIY holiday card and a tiny board game: Book Festival Race (die not included). Themes emerge: editors are hard to cope with, critics stink, and authors struggle to meet deadlines. He throws shade at beach books (termed “summer holiday reads”), village murder mysteries, thrillers, fantasy novels (pick out the imposter book from the His Dark Materials series: “The Obsidian Toothpick/The Iron Teapot/The Nebulous Spatula“), popular fiction and important times alike. He delivers a healthy dose of self-deprecating snark with New on Your e-Reader, featuring” personality modes that can be set to have a tone, like demanding:

For writers, he offers encouragement to authors with motivational badges (I was brave today at the editor’s!) and sample greeting cards (with deepest sympathy on your reviews, congratulations on your seventh draft) and humorous scenes like the society of literary feuds summer party, featuring sneering indifference, mutual detestation and utter loathing alongside drinks and nibbles.

Gauld’s feminist leanings are exemplars in changing masculine to feminine (Lord of the Flies becomes Lady of the Flies) and a cartoon of author Louisa May Alcott’s Jo March changing the plot of her novel at the advice of her editor: “If the main character’s a girl, make sure she’s married by the end. Or dead.” “Or both?” asks March with a smile.

My favorite cartoons are his reimaginings of classics in a variety of ways: set in the future, with female leads, etc.. I was halfway through when my 10-year-old stole it to read, and she says her favorite illustration was a conspiracy theory themed collection of alternative titles: 8 days across the world, with a cover illustration of a flat earth, made her laugh even without ever having heard of, let alone read, Around the World in 80 Days.

I bought myself the hardcover edition of #RevengeOfTheLibrarians from a gift certificate, and it has an old-fashioned sleeve and date due card on the inside flap, which made a handy bookmark. Cue the nostalgia.

Dec26

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

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The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Poston, Ashley. The Dead Romantics. Berkley, 2022. 368 pp. ISBN 9780593336489 $17.00

*****

Ghost writer Florence is beyond deadline for the last of four contracted books, and has a new editor to content with; she has to explain to Benji Andor that she cannot write a romance novel when she no longer believes in romance. Her ex, also a writer, horribly betrayed her by taking stories she told him and loosely fictionalizing them into his next bestseller–and she’s getting zero credit. The stories are about the ghosts she sees. Similar to the experience of her father, a mortician, spirits appear and often want her help, though she’s mostly been ignoring them since leaving home. The new editor shows up at an open mic night, and so does Florence’s ex–and she kisses Benji, then abandons him when she get a call from home to come home–her father has died. Imagine her surprise when Benjo shows up the next day at her door at the Day family funeral home: as a ghost.

There is so much to love about this delightful novel, and it’s one of the best books I read this year. I don’t want to give away the brilliant plot twists. My favorite books balance angst, awkwardness, and the stars aligning. The Dead Romantics has all that and is gothy and still sweet, atmospheric, and unique. It’s about coming home, resolving relationships, and finding love.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #TheDeadRomantics from #NetGalley, and loved it so much I bought my own copy which I made my kids wrap up and put under our Christmas tree (happy Hanukkah/Merry Christmas to me!).

Oct10

Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot

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Best Served Hot by Amanda Elliot

Elliot, Amanda. Best Served Hot. Berkley, 2022. 386 pp. ISBN 978-0593335734 $17.00

****

Two restaurant critics go about their reviews in very different ways: Julie is a built from scratch go-getter with 50,000 followers on social media, pays for all her meals, and takes a photo of everything she eats, favoring ethnic food and hole in the wall spots. Bennett is an ivy-leaguer fan of fine dining who takes longhand notes at his expensed meals–and he’s just landed a coveted column at the New York Scroll that Julie applied for and didn’t get. When their competitive natures collide at a food festival and their argument goes viral, the newspaper’s marketing team decides a little friendly competition is in order, and in hopes of boosting both their print subscribers and followers, offers to pair them together and send them to joint review a bunch of eateries. They agree, with reservations, and develop a grudging respect for one another as they break bread at a number of establishments. A particular fine and funny moment is when they challenge one another to a cook-off, decide to make burgers, and the comedy of errors ends at ShackBurgers.

Far from a superficial book about food, Best Served Hot explores themes of class, wealth and privilege, social media and image, job satisfaction. I also felt a little thrill when Bennett references Thomas Keller’s Per Se loss of a michelin star and review downgrade from 2 to 4 stars–and I knew when it occurred, and why; and I chuckled when I realized I had read Pete Well’s scathing takedown of Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar. There is an art to timely allusions that make the reader feel smart when they get them (as opposed to alienated or worse, stupid, when they don’t), and Elliot hits the right note.

As in Sadie on a Plate, the food is front and center, and it’s the lush descriptions of what they eat that will make your heart pound and elicit your envy, admiration, and longing: “The bread was earthy and chewy, crunchy on the bottom and meltingly soft on top, and rather than rubbing the bread with tomato as in a traditional pan con tomate (yes, I’d done my research), the raw tomato had been shredded and mashed and spread on top, a cool, sweet, tangy contrast to the bread. A hint of garlic spoke up in the back of my throat; anchovies whispered somewhere underneath, the salt and the brine making everything else taste sweeter.” If that isn’t a metaphor for the individual features of their complex relationship Julie and Bennett have that creates a perfect whole, I don’t know what is.

The sex was more descriptive that in Elliot’s previous book (the single flaw I found was Julie’s boasting about her anatomy’s allowing for the capability of multiple orgasms and Bennett not pursuing that particular challenge).

I received an advance reader’s review copy of #BestServedHot from #NetGalley.

Nov29

Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

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Love Your Life by Sophie Kinsella

Kinsella, Sophie. Love Your Life. Dial Press, 2020. ISBN 978-0593132852 432 pp. $

**

Writer Ava gives up on dating apps and meets someone at a writing retreat where all of their identities are anonymous and she is free to be adventurous. Can their relationship sustain the real world?

I just didn’t buy that Ava would fight so hard for a relationship with someone so grossly different and incompatible, and since the sex is off the page, I don’t believe the great sex was enough to salvage the relationship. The best parts were the dynamic between Matt and his roommates and the quirky people at the writer’s retreat, and Harold the dog.