Third Quarter Reading Roundup - 2022
Hi folks,
I discovered a glitch in the way I was publishing newsletters, so if this is the first arriving to you, oops, and hi. Here's some of my top reads of the quarter. Bookshop links or books2read links included.
Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi - This prequel to Pet was just what I needed as far as a book that was about a character not wanting to have to save the world she didn't screw up, and learning how community can be formed and supported in many ways. Also, hot people are distracting.
Ballad and Dagger by Daniel Jose Older - This YA fantasy was also about figuring out how to save your community when your community has literally lost their home, and how sometimes the stories we tell about our past overlook important things. Also ghosts and crushes!
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson is such a tough read, but a really interesting look at figuring out yourself in the light of new and old friends, and also realizing that sometimes the things that adults around you do for their own self care aren't in your best interests.
A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos was delicious. It's a tale of two chefs, one a big fan of the European style, consistent same, and one who has always been a little improvisational, who are now working together at his European restaurant and how they annoy and intrigue each other.
Yummy: A History of Desserts by Victoria Grace Elliott is an adorable graphic novel that does just what it promises, runs through a history of desserts.
Fake it Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley is about a recent dating show star and the football player who end up fake dating, because she had turned down the proposal on the dating show because she told the dude she was dating someone back home, and well, shenanigans occur.
A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen is about a teen who works in her family's Taiwanese bakery and discovers when her mom finally lets her help with the annual baking competition, that her mom has selected all the contestants to be eligible Asian teen guys.
Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo is the story of a woman who after a disastrous date with a dude her mom picked, hooks up with a dude who her mom would not approve of, and gets pregnant. And also he's her new co-worker. Content note: There's a lot of grief, and also some important secret keeping.
When Tara Met Farrah by Tara Pammi (ebook only) - First I don't love this story just because of the name (also Tara Pammi and I use different pronunciations of Tara), but reading about these two characters struggling and finding they might have ways to help each other (not just sex, but also sex) was just really lovely.
After Hours on Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez - I wrote about this in the Two Terrific Books post, but still really loved it.
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adrian Herrera is about a rum distiller and a whiskey purveyor. She's having issues getting the person in charge of her estate, after the death of her father. He's found proof that his mother left the family distillery to him as a wedding present. Gosh, marriage would solve both their problems.
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen so perfectly captures the angst of facing your ex, who is now on the rival school's basketball teen, and the ways that parents can be embarrassing just by trying to be cool, and how you don't get over relationships at the speed your family and friends always think you should, and eek, what if you really like the person you are fake dating to make people jealous.
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy – Also part of Two Terrific Books.
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala is about grief, and returning to places you knew had harmed you, and all the ways that legacy can be both beautiful and a trap. And how creepy the woods can be.
Playing the Billionaire's Game by Pippa Roscoe (ebook only) is a Harlequin Presents loosely inspired by the movie "The Thomas Crown Affair". She's an art appraiser, and a painting she confirmed has been revealed to be a fake, and she knows it wasn't when she reviewed it, and she's pretty sure this one rich dude knows what happened, and so makes a deal with him to try and figure it out.
Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope is a DC set historical fantasy that I loved. (I love reading about DC from people who clearly know it and instead of nebulously saying they are in the city, this book is like oh this is at 14th and Vermont.) Also for reasons, they have to put together a whole magical heist crew.
Flip the Script by Lyla Lee is about a Korean American actress who's been cast in her first K Drama, and they want her to fake date her co-star to boost ratings, and then they cast her best friend as a rival love interest, except what if the person she really wants to be dating in real life is the best friend.