Another week of a mix of current reads and ones that I read this year that I really loved.
Love Under the Stars by RK Phillips
About:
“Welcome to Sterling University.”
Those were some of the first words spoken to Eve in her first class at the school. Little did she know that those words would begin a semester that would change her life. Eve had a mission: study hard, get her degree in Astronomy, and work hard to make a decent life for herself. New friends, complicated feelings, and rude roommates were not a part of that list. However, that was what Eve found her Freshman semester at the university.
Abigail knew from the moment she met Eve that there was something that set off a chemical reaction inside her body. However, it didn’t seem like Eve was interested in anything more than friends. Abigail knew that no matter what, she was going to be there for Eve and help her adapt to her first semester.
Why I Recommend:
This author has such an amazing writing style. She knows how to suck you into the story and leave you wanting to stay in the world forever. I’ve loved her work since her debut novel and I’m sure I’ll love other books she puts out in the future!
The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi
About:
Cheerfully irreverent, bitingly funny, and filled with romantic charm, Cara Tanamachi’s The Second You’re Single is all about navigating the most romantic month of the year, and how love always seems to arrive when you least expect it.
Freelance writer Sora Reid believes in inertia. She’s the odd one out in a close-knit family of go-getters, including her Japanese-American mom, who hints about her need to lose weight, and her soon-to-be married, overachieving younger sister, who needs her to have a date for the wedding, since a wedding party couples’ dance with their Scottish great uncle Bob simply won’t do. For Sora, minimal input, minimal expectations is the way to go. She’d rather stay at home with her insufferable neighbor and her adorable pitbull.
The one thing that disrupts her inertia: an intense dislike for Valentine’s Day. What is it with the commercial love machine? Why do we pin our hopes on one romantic day, when staying home with a package of bacon and a bottle of tequila would be way better? Sora’s been betrayed and disappointed more than once and her heart is starting to feel like her Grandma Mitsuye’s antique Japanese ceramic bowl, with its many gold-filled cracks.
When her pledge to stay single in February inspires readers to #gosolo, Sora has a responsibility to empower her readers. But relationships aren’t built to last, so it shouldn’t be that hard. Right?
Enter Jack Mann. A muscle-bound baker who looks like he lifts logs on the weekends, Sora hasn’t thought of Jack since they were in elementary school together. When they see each other at the local grocery store and the attraction hits hard, Sora knows she has to shut it down, quick. She can’t #gosolo AND get the guy. She can’t let down her readers. And relationships always end, so why should Jack be any different–even though he’s confounding all her long-held expectations of love?
“Riotous, whip-smart, and original. Read this happy-making book if you love yourself.” —Jayci Lee, Author of Booked on a Feeling
Why I Recommend:
This book is just so quirky! I also can completely relate to many parts of this story. Even though I’m not single. I love that I have the confidence to know that if I ever were to be alone that I would be okay. This book helped me realize that. I also love the representations in here. The most important part to me was the show of how important mental health is.
For Whom the Book Tolls by Laura Gail Black
About:
In this cozy series debut from Laura Gail Black, Jenna Quinn finds her uncle murdered in his antique bookstore, and Jenna–his primary beneficiary–becomes the prime suspect.
Trouble follows Jenna Quinn wherever she goes. Fleeing some unsavory doings in her hometown of Charlotte, Jenna accepts her uncle’s gracious invitation to stay with him in small-town Hokes Folly, NC. In exchange, she’ll help him out in his antiquarian bookstore. But soon after she arrives, Jenna finds her uncle’s body crumpled at the base of the staircase between his apartment and the bookstore.
Before the tragedy even sinks in, Jenna learns that she’s inherited almost everything her uncle owned: the store and apartment, as well as his not-so-meager savings and the payout from a life insurance policy…which adds up to more than a million dollars. This is all news to Jenna–bad news, once the police get wind of her windfall. An ill wind, indeed, as a second murder cements Jenna’s status as the prime suspect in both deaths.
Jenna can hit the road again, taking her chances that she can elude trouble along the way. Or she can stick it out in Hokes Folly, take over the bookstore, and try to sleuth out her uncle’s killer. On the one hand, she’s made some wonderful new friends, and she feels she can thrive in the genial small-town environment. On the other hand, trouble knows her address–and so does the killer, who is determined to write the final page of Jenna’s story.
Why I Recommend:
The main character thinks she’s finally found somewhere that she can start over. Sadly, that’s just not the case. This is a cozy mystery. For those that follow this blog, it’s very obvious that I’m a sucker for a cozy mystery. Especially one with underdog character vibes. I’m probably terming that wrong, but I hope that makes sense.
Missing Clarissa by Ripley Jones
About:
Perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, Ripley Jones’s Missing Clarissa is a gripping novel about two friends who start a true crime podcast—with dangerous consequences.
In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found—dead or alive.
Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa’s relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode…
But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man—and help the true killer walk free?
Why I Recommend:
I love that this was a cold mystery mixed in with modern day. Two girls were using it as a project for their class. They wound up uncovering way more than they thought they would. Originally, it was intended to be a podcast to talk about the case itself. They never expect to find so many cover-ups and things people blatantly ignored. I was so obsessed with this book. I didn’t want to put it down. Even when I had to!
Have you read any of these books? If so, I’d love to hear your thoughts on them! You can comment or message me! What are some books you’d recommend?
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