Book Review: "Big Fan" by Alexandra Romanoff

This book was the first from 831 Stories, a modern romantic fiction company that prioritizes pleasure reading and the genre’s enthusiastic fans. I really enjoyed it and boy, it was steamy…

Maya is a political strategist whose career was on the rise. She was on the verge of guiding her candidate to victory when a personal scandal erupted: her husband cheated on her with a campaign intern. Her candidate won despite the fodder that her life gave the media.

Even though Maya was the victim, she’s the one still followed by gossipers and catty DC acquaintances. When she gets an opportunity to help a gubernatorial candidate, she hopes this will be her ticket back to the work she loves.

At the same time she is contacted by Charlie, who was the lead singer of Mischief, the boy band she was obsessed with as a teenager. In fact, she and her best friend launched a nationwide fan club for the band. Charlie read about her interest in his old band, and he asks for her help in guiding his comeback as a solo artist.

While she can’t take the job to help him, the two strike up a friendship. They both want more than that, but Maya has to be sure she doesn’t get caught in another scandal, or her career will be destroyed. But is a chance at love—especially with your teenage obsession—worth taking, or is it safer to just keep your head down and focus on work?

I really liked this storyline and the complexities of Maya’s world. The chemistry between Maya and Charlie is intense, and the steamy scenes seriously sizzle. I’m looking forward to the next book published by 831 Stories!!

Book Review: "The House of Now and Then" by Edward Underhill

I thought this was a really special book. Give me magical realism, emotional growth, and a beach cottage and I’m more than happy, but this just really hit me in all the feels.

“You ever feel like when you look back at something you know happened to you, it feels sort of like it happened to someone else? Or like you’re watching a movie? Like you can’t recognize that version of you anymore?”

Harlowe needs to get away. He and his boyfriend, Jackson, have broken up and Jackson is keeping the apartment. His academic career is going nowhere as well, just like his thesis advisor told him it would. So he rents a cottage on Cape Cod for the summer in the hopes he can reset everything.

But the cottage has some surprises. The first day Harlowe is there, he realizes he has some unwanted roommates. His father is in the kitchen, his thesis advisor is at the dining room table, and Jackson is in the bathroom. No one else can see them, they won’t go away, and Harlowe has no idea how to make them leave.

As the summer moves on and Harlowe settles into the community, he starts spending time with Nathan, the cottage owner’s nephew. A younger version of Nathan appears in the cottage as well from time to time. What do the ghosts want from him, and how can he help Nathan with his own issues.

This really moved me, and I really wasn’t sure how the story would tie up. I’ve enjoyed Edward Underhill’s YA books and I definitely hope to see more adult books from him!!

Book Review: "Leave and Come Back" by Lavanya Lakshmi

If you love Bollywood musicals or at least Bollywood dancing, you’ll understand why I say that this book would be so fantastic to see onscreen. The imagery that Lavanya Lakshmi used, to describe the outfits, the food, the dancing, were so vivid but I know they’d be incredible to actually see.

Simran loves her life in Toronto. She works for a university but teaches an afterschool dance class. She lives with Liv, her college roommate. She has also just started dating Liv’s brother Leo after the two of them have been flirting for years. But as happy as she is, there’s a hole in her heart. She’s been estranged from her aunt, uncle, and cousins—who adopted her when her parents died—for seven years.

Her younger cousin is about to get married, and Simran is torn about whether to return to New Jersey. Her older cousin and (former) best friend Kavitha convinces her to come—for the full two weeks of wedding festivities. When Leo accidentally crashes the engagement party—and makes an enemy of Veena parima, Simran’s judgmental aunt and the family matriarch, disaster is about to strike.

But the cousins come up with a scheme, modeled after their favorite Bollywood movie, DDLJ. They’re going to pretend Leo is a stranger to Simran and give him the time to ingratiate himself with the family, the community, and Veena. Sounds easy, right?

I thought this was such a fun debut novel. Sure, it’s predictable, and miscommunication isn’t my favorite thing, but there are a lot of themes here that brought emotion and insight to the plot. It was a great example of how a community comes together to honor its own, and how everyone is in everyone’s business.

Book Review: "Waist Deep" by Linea Maja Ernst

“It is an acknowledged truth that they don’t see one another more often because of work and kids. But it’s also an excuse—work, the kids—to finally be as boring as they’ve been all along. To let go of that need to be interesting. Falling into a calm has-been existence, ruled by the joy and dread of routine.”

The six of them—Quince, Sylvia, Charlie, Karen, Gry, and Esben—have been friends since their university days. But it’s been years since they’ve all been able to spend some real time together. So this weeklong stay at a Danish lake house is something they’re both looking forward to and dreading.

No matter how much time has passed, many of them haven’t really changed. But when Karen and Esben, who’ve been together since university, announce their engagement, it throws a ripple into the group, primarily for Sylvia. She has always had a crush on Esben but never said anything, but given the fact that she’s in a monogamous relationship with her girlfriend, Charlie, she wonders if there’s a way to have it all.

Quince transitioned in the years since university. He is beautiful, an almost Pan-like figure, living his truth for the first time. But while he plays peacemaker among his friends, there’s also lines he shouldn’t cross—but can he stop himself?

I tend to enjoy books that bring a group of old friends together again after some time. This is an interesting exploration of relationships (straight and queer), as well as ambition, fidelity, and figuring out what you want from your future. It’s not as dramatic as I expected, but perhaps some of that is the Danish way. A very interesting and satisfying Pride Read!

Book Review: "Meeting New People" by Daniel M. Lavery

Barbara is in her fifties, and one of her best friends, Susan, has just surprised her by ending their friendship. This wasn’t a random argument—Susan had a list of things about Barbara that she found objectionable. This incident bothered Barbara more than anything.

“But there’s nothing in the world as immovable as a woman who’s finished with you. A woman who’s finished with you, not just mad at you but finished with you, might as well be dead or on the moon or living a thousand years ago because there’s no path a person can walk anymore between the two of you, not even a little one, no matter how wide the road was before.”

As Barbara reflects on the dissolution of her friendship with Susan, she realizes that she has had nine other best friendships in her life. All of them ended at one time or another, for one reason or another. But it makes her wonder if there’s some flaw in her personality that has caused these relationships to fall apart.

She starts thinking about how she’ll meet her next best friend—hopefully someone she can grow old with. It’s so difficult to make friends as adults, especially once you reach a certain age. She weighs the options—should she befriend a colleague, join a group or a church? And what should she do differently this time?

This is really a thought-provoking book. I’ve thought about the challenges of making new friends as an adult. Parts of this book are really funny, but my challenge is that the majority of the book is told as an inner monologue. I needed more interaction between the characters to move the plot forward.

Book Review: "The Disaster Gay Detective Agency" by Lev AC Rosen

I had such fun with this book!

Brandon is in love with love. If a guy smiles at him, his mind moves quickly to dreaming of their happily ever after. His heart gets broken every time (even if 99 percent of the guys weren’t interested in the first place), but his heart-eyed outlook never changes.

One night a handsome man, Jon, checks into the hotel where Brandon works. They definitely share a moment at the front desk, and it’s not long before Jon calls to see if Brandon can deliver extra towels to his room. (Yes, this was a pickup line, and sleeping with the guests is against the rules.)

The next morning, Jon doesn’t text Brandon back as promised. They soon find out he checked out early but left a bag and his cell phone. Brandon is determined that this is his chance at true love, so he and a friend set out to give the phone back. But when they arrive, they witness a murder—and Jon fleeing the scene. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as dangerous things happening.

Brandon, along with his three best friends—workaholic law associate Nicole, dreamy stoner Ollie, and revenge-minded drag queen Ian—are not expecting to get embroiled in any criminal hijinks. But with crime-podcast-loving Ollie leading the way, this ragtag band of detectives sets out to figure out the murder and Jon’s role in it before it’s too late.

I’m a huge fan of the Evander Mills mystery series that Lev AC Rosen wrote (still hoping that will continue), but this book gave him the chance for some quirky fun. The characters all have their own issues but their friendship matters most of all.

Book Review: "The Lowe Job" by Grace Alexander

I thought this was absolutely great. Such gossipy, soapy fun, but with some serious themes thrown in. Grace Alexander hit her debut novel out of the park!⁣

⁣ “It started with a blow job. They had aspirations for it to become the most notorious blow job of all time. It was a lofty aim. They knew that realistically they were never going to beat that blow job—you know the one—but the least they could do is try.”⁣

⁣ Lili Lowe is a beautiful and intelligent young woman who wants a career in politics. Her intelligence is often discounted because of her looks, and she is valued by her boss, who is a member of Parliament. One day she is caught by the paparazzi giving her boss a blow job in his car. A scandal erupts that threatens to ruin her life, while her boss seems to escape reasonably unscathed.⁣

⁣ But Lili has a hidden asset: her mother, Lydia. Once a ruthless talent agent, Lydia has a plan to milk the scandal for all it’s worth. Her machinations lead to media opportunities, endorsement deals, and a reality show called The Lowe Job. Lili, Lydia, and her three other daughters become household names—whether they want to or not.⁣

The book follows the Lowe women through the ups and downs of post-scandal life, and also traces the past of each of them. Lili’s three sisters—ambitious Stevie, ethereal Iris, and distraught teenage Katie—each have their own reactions to their newfound fame, and each has their own issues to deal with.⁣

⁣ I really couldn’t get enough of this book. It definitely had some very pointed commentary about the double standard that exists between men and women when a sex scandal erupts. These are not totally likable characters, but I was hooked on their stories.

The book will publish 6/16.⁣