Book Review: "Killer Vibes" by Jack Friday

Peter is a lazy stoner who makes money as a weed dealer, mostly selling to local athletes. He’s smarter than he appears but he definitely has bad judgment, which leaves him broke and homeless. But salvation arrives when he learns that his uncle—whom he last saw 10 years ago—has left him a house in Austin.

He never really knew his uncle but he’s not one to look a gift house in the mouth. Yet he quickly discovers that his uncle not only owed $40K in property taxes, but shortly before he died, he took out a $500,000 line of credit. The money is nowhere to be found and the bank is ready to foreclose.

Everyone is pressuring him to sell the house, which is in a very popular neighborhood in Austin. But Peter doesn’t like being told what to do. And when he finds the hidden money, he realizes that his uncle was in far more trouble than it appeared, and it probably led to his death.

Peter’s refusal to sell the house angers lots of people, and things start to get more precarious for him. He connects with a private eye who was hired to protect him, and in addition to investigating his uncle’s death, the man teaches Peter about being a private investigator—something it appears he’s quite good at.

What Peter doesn’t realize is that he’s gotten himself tangled in a very sticky web, and there are lots of secrets he never knew. But can this lazy stoner outsmart money- and violence-hungry killers without hurting his buzz?

I loved this book. It was funny, action-packed, sexy, and surprisingly emotional at times. Peter is such a terrific character and I hope this is the first in a series of books featuring him. I shouldn’t be surprised how much I enjoyed this, given that Jack Friday is a pen name for John Fram, whose books are crazy good!

Book Review: "Cash Hooper Saves A Life" by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

This series makes my heart melt. I discovered it last year and get so excited when I see another book will be published. I’m not at all ready to say goodbye to Goose Run or these characters.

Cash has a great deal of trauma from the horrible abuse he and his twin brother Chase dealt with during childhood. He is a sweet, kind man who doesn’t feel comfortable talking much, even with those he’s known for a while. His life is fairly routine and he likes it that way.

One night he finds a dog chained to a tree, bleeding and in obvious pain. Cash takes the dog and rushes it to the local vet. But when he arrives he finds that the usual vet is on vacation and his nephew, Mason, is filling in.

Mason is intrigued by the handsome man bringing an injured dog to his uncle’s office late at night. Clearly the man cares about the dog—and he can’t stand the sight of blood, because he faints. Mason now has two patients, and he doesn’t mind caring for either of them.

As Mason and Cash spend more time together, they become the bright spot in each other’s day. Mason is attracted to Cash but he’s only in town until his uncle returns. Cash has never been attracted to anyone, and has never let anyone get close to him except his brother. But Mason makes him want to change.

I’ve loved the glimpses of Cash’s character I’ve gotten in previous books, but I wanted to hug him so hard after this one. Mason, too, has a lot of emotional baggage to deal with, so they really are a perfect couple. Plus any book with cute dogs and kittens is a hit for me! I look forward to Book 5!

Book Review: "Marion" by Leah Rowan

“People do wild things when they think they’re going to lose the person they love most in the world.”

This book was so good! You’ve probably seen that I’m a fan of retellings or books that give a different slant (sometimes radically different) from the original. And while this is a retelling of Psycho, it’s so different that you can read this without having seen the movie and you won’t be at a disadvantage.

When Marion discovers that her older sister Lauren has been abused by her husband, she immediately goes into protective mode. Their mother had worked with abused women for years, and tried helping them escape their situations. But when Lauren downplays the abuse and goes home to her husband, Marion knows she needs to protect her.

She heads to Saratoga Springs with plans of getting Lauren out of her marriage. (Her plans are bolstered by the $100,000 dollars she took from work.) Yet on the way upstate, her bus breaks down in New Paltz fairly late at night. The only place in town with a vacancy is the Billings Motel, an outdated place run by a quiet, handsome man named Norman.

Norman is charming, and he even cooks Marion a meal. When she gets back to her room, she decides to take a shower…and then the curtain pulls back to reveal Norman…with a knife. Marion refuses to be the victim in this situation, and she fights back—hard. After stabbing him to death, she realizes she has to clean up her mess and get up to her sister’s. But that plan gets waylaid quite a bit.

There are lots of twists in this book that I didn’t see coming. Marion is a fascinating character—part vigilante and part victim. I wondered how things would get tied up and I was fairly satisfied with the ending. I can’t wait to see what Leah Rowan does next!!

Book Review: "Summer Husband" by Amy Lorowitz

Thanks so much to She Writes Press for an advance copy of this book—it was lots of fun.

As I’ve mentioned (lots of times) before, I spent 10 years of my life at summer camp. I definitely have fantastic memories and still keep in touch with friends I made more than 40 years ago. I love reading books about camp, especially from the perspective of an adult.

Lori really wanted to send her two daughters to summer camp, in the hopes they’d become more independent and learn to take responsibility for things. Her husband thinks it’s unnecessary, and believes Lori is only doing this to have the summer “off.” When he isn’t interested in going on a romantic vacation with her, she decides to take a job at camp, too.

Having never been to camp, Lori has no idea what to expect. As a division leader, she oversees 48 campers and 12 counselors—the work is nonstop. There are so many rules and requirements, and she doesn’t know whom to trust, but she quickly befriends her coworkers.

She continually seems to run afoul of the camp’s owner, who becomes increasingly unhinged as the summer goes on. But luckily she met Teddy, the camp’s English soccer coach, and they become illicit smoking buddies at night. After a while, their friendship turns to attraction, and Lori can’t resist him. And that’s just one of the things that will surprise her this summer.

Amy Lorowitz did a terrific job capturing the feelings of being both a camper and a counselor. I definitely felt nostalgic for my camp days. This is a really good debut novel!!

Book Review: "Her Last Breath" by Taylor Adams

I stayed up until 2:00 am because I absolutely couldn’t put this book down. This was the same feeling I had when I read Taylor Adams’ debut thriller, No Exit.

Tess and her best friend Allie grew up together. In fact, when Tess finally got the courage to speak up about her mom’s abuse, she moved in with Allie and her family through high school. They took different paths—Tess went to law school and Allie became a popular travel influencer—but they’ve found their way back to each other.

After much persuading, Tess finally agrees to go caving with Allie. Yet as they start to make their descent down an immensely claustrophobic path, they realize they are not alone. An earlier confrontation with a fellow caver leaves them vulnerable.

Before she realizes it, Tess is stranded in a narrow passage with no way of getting back up safely—and her oxygen is getting depleted. She has to use every ounce of strength she has to fight for survival, against a killer determined to thwart her every move.

From her hospital bed, Tess recounts every painful and frightening moment of this horrible day. But the detective who is investigating her ordeal tells Tess that there are secrets that Allie was keeping, secrets which might mean this seemingly random attack might not have been so random.

I’ve never gone caving before and have no desire to, ever. But Adams’ imagery made me feel like I was stuck right there with Tess. This was an absolutely heart-pounding book, and it took a while for my adrenaline to level off after reading!

Book Review: "Pinky Swear" by Danielle Girard

Another highly anticipated book exceeds my expectations! I really loved this thriller, both for the suspense and emotionally rich story. I love thrillers but it’s always a nice surprise when there’s emotional complexity as well.

They were inseparable best friends while growing up. Lexi, Mara, and Cate were always together, sharing gossip, secrets, and fierce loyalty. But a few weeks before graduation, tragedy struck, and the resulting guilt, anger, and hurt destroyed the friendships.

After no contact for 16 years, Mara shows up at Lexi’s door. She is hurt and frightened, on the run from an abusive, vindictive husband. Lexi is more than happy to provide Mara with a safe haven, and after a little time, it’s like there was no interruption of their friendship.

When Lexi confides in Mara about her fertility issues and the fact that her husband isn’t interested in having a baby, Mara steps in. She offers to be Lexi’s surrogate, and as Mara’s pregnancy continues, Lexi is full of joy and appreciation for her friend’s sacrifice.

Four days before Mara is due to give birth, she disappears. Lexi cannot believe what is happening. She is (fairly) sure Mara wouldn’t leave at this point in her pregnancy. Was she taken or did she flee? As Lexi tries to track her friend’s whereabouts, she realizes that there are lots of things about Mara that don’t add up. And some of these secrets date back to high school…

I’ve enjoyed Danielle Girard’s books before, but I was completely swept into this one. The suspense of figuring out whom to trust, along with the nostalgia of old friendships and the pull of motherhood, really made this an unputdownable read.

Book Review: "Saoirse" by Charleen Hurtubise

This was a piece of surprise bookmail I’m so grateful for. Thanks so much to Celadon Books for the complimentary advance copy!

Saoirse is an Irish painter in the late 1990s, whose career is really taking off. She lives in Donegal with her partner and their two young daughters. But when she wins a major prize for her work, instead of excitement, she is worried. Because the more her name is out there, the more risk there is that the secrets she carries will be revealed.

In 1990, Sarah was a teenager growing up in Michigan. Her stepfather got her enmeshed in a world of danger, abuse, and crime, and she knew her life was at risk. With no other choice, she escaped to Ireland under someone else’s name.

With nowhere to turn, she meets a man named Paul on her flight to Ireland. He is returning home and invites her to stay with him and his family until she can get on her feet. But it’s not long before she realizes that Paul wants to control her, and when she falls in love with another man, she must find a way to disentangle herself from him.

During her time in Ireland she takes the name Saoirse, which means freedom. And as her art starts to gain recognition, it provides her both freedom and danger.

This is a powerful book that shifts back and forth between Sarah’s life in the U.S. and Sarah/Saoirse’s life in Ireland. The traumas she confronts may be triggering for some, but she’s really a character you want to root for.

Book Review: "Brawler: Stories" by Lauren Groff

Lauren Groff is a hell of a writer. Each of her novels has been vastly different and compelling, and her short story collections always crackle with power. And Brawler, her third story collection, may be her best yet.

The nine stories in this collection all find a character, often a woman, at some kind of crossroads. In many cases, these women have suffered some kind of abuse or pain, or they feel compelled to do something horrible. The stories are set from the 1950s to the present, and all over the country.

Some of the stories took my breath away for one reason or another, but there wasn’t a weak one in the bunch. Among my favorites were “The Wind,” about a mother and her children trying to flee her abusive husband; “Between The Shadow and The Soul,” in which a long-married couple is tested after the wife retires; and “Such Small Islands,” which tells of a young girl left to the care of a sister she doesn’t remember—and the young girl doesn’t like to share.

More favorites included “Sunland,” about a young woman who has to care for her disabled brother; “Annunciation,” in which a young woman unintentionally causes a colleague to flee suddenly; and the title story, about a swimmer who has to care for her hypochondriac mother and likes to cause chaos.

At the end of the book, Groff shares a sentence or two about what inspired her to write each story, or the feelings she was trying to convey. It's a fascinating peek into her creative process. I really was wowed by this collection!

Book Review: "Evil Genius" by Claire Oshetsky

What an odd yet compelling book this was! I really wasn’t quite sure what to expect and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it, but I’m glad I read it.

“That’s the way it is sometimes. We can take forever to arrive at the most obvious truths about ourselves, because the will to conform is mighty in us, and the fear of somebody finding out we’re not normal is a mighty fear.”

Celia is 19 years old in 1974. She works at the phone company in San Francisco, where she deals with people who haven’t paid their phone bills. She tries to be empathetic but sometimes her customers anger her and she disconnects their service.

She is strangely fascinated when one of her colleagues gets caught in a love triangle. He was apparently sleeping with an executive for the phone company and they were discovered by the woman’s jealous husband, who killed her. Celia is energized by the thought of a crime of passion.

Celia is in an abusive marriage with a man she calls “her Drew.” Little by little, she starts dreaming of killing him, stabbing him with a little knife she bought. One night, Celia disobeys her Drew and stays out late. Her actions set her and Drew on a deadly path, one that ultimately will lead to self-discovery, among other things.

The tone of the book was quite satirical at times but also pretty troubling. Celia is a meek character with streaks of feistiness, and a lot of the story is written as her telling her life story when she was an old woman. Ultimately, I guess the message was one of finding your true self, but it meandered quite a bit.

Book Review: "Limelight" by Andrew Keenan-Bolger

OMG, I had such a smile on my face after reading this! The blurb described this as Fame meets Rent, so I jumped on it immediately. (It’s more the former than the latter for sure.) Thanks so much to Penguin Workshop and NetGalley for the advance copy!!

Danny has always tried to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s just not easy. But he knows he has to go after his dreams. Inspired by his late, musical-loving uncle, he cuts school in Staten Island and heads to NYC for the very first time in his 15 years. His destination: auditions for the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts.

It’s 1996, and Danny’s father is an abusive cop. A performing arts school is no place for a boy like him. But somehow he’s able to convince his mother to let him attend. LaGuardia is everything he dreamed of and more, so much more. He’s utterly overwhelmed, but thanks to a group of new friends and an empathetic teacher, he starts to get his bearings.

There’s so much he doesn’t know—about musical theater, NYC, the club scene, performance art, drag, etc. But his friends, especially aspiring drag queen Christian, make sure he’s learning more than just what he is taught at school.

More and more, Danny starts struggling with belonging and figuring out who he is. And as he and Christian start to draw closer, Danny’s parents threaten to send him back to Catholic school, and Danny doesn’t know which way to turn.

This is such a warm, bighearted book. I was a theater kid and I watched the TV show Fame religiously, so it felt so familiar to me. It’s a YA book, and it definitely skews that way, but it really was like a big hug.

The book publishes 2/24.

Book Review: "Chase Hooper Likes It Hot" by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey

Last fall, I found the first book in a new rom-com series set in a small Virginia town called Goose Run. I was completely hooked by the tight-knit group of friends, the banter, the steam, and the theme of chosen family. Now, having just read the third book, I’ve completely fallen in love with these characters.

“Dating you is like riding a roller coaster. Except there are no seat belts, and it’s also on fire.”

Chase and his twin brother Cash had a traumatic childhood. Years later, Cash still has nightmares and only Chase can comfort him. But with Chase having to work overnight shifts at Goose Run Gas, neither is sleeping well, and it’s taking its toll.

The one semi-bright spot in his overnight shifts is the regular appearance of Lee, a customer who complains about the horrible coffee and stale pastries. It annoys Chase to no end, but the customer is kind of hot. But when Chase asks to switch to day shifts and instead gets offered a job at a new bakery, he waits for the other shoe to drop. And the shoe is that Lee, a talented baker, will be his boss.

There’s no doubt that the chemistry between them is intense and it leads to some hot post-work encounters. But Chase has been hurt too many times to let his guard down, which makes it difficult for him and Lee to get closer. In the end, all Chase can do is worry about his brother, right?

This series utterly warms my heart. I found this the most emotionally complex book of the three so far, and that added another layer to everything else I love. I’m so excited Book 4 will be coming in June!

Book Review: "The Fourth Daughter" by Lyn Liao Butler

Liv is an up and coming chef in NYC. But when she is involved in a traumatic incident, she can no longer leave her apartment without a full-blown panic attack. She misses cooking but can’t imagine setting foot in a noisy kitchen ever again.

After hearing from her beloved Ah-Ma, her grandmother who lives in Taiwan, Liv is motivated to end her self-imposed imprisonment. Apparently Ah-Ma saw a woman on the street that she was convinced is her fourth daughter, who was taken from her as an infant. This is a shock to Liv, who never knew that Ah-Ma had a missing daughter out there all these years. She agrees to fly to Taiwan to help find the woman.

When Liv arrives in Taiwan, she is amazed to hear Ah-Ma’s story about her fourth daughter. She tells of a country under martial law, where women had no rights and had to obey their husbands, and independent action was swiftly punished. Her husband (Liv’s grandmother) was a cruel man affiliated with the powerful military, and he arranged for their daughter to be taken.

As Liv and her grandmother try to track down this woman, they spend a lot of time eating and cooking traditional Taiwanese food. This awakens memories for both of them, and helps Liv recover some of her love of cooking.

The book shifts back and forth between 1960s Taiwan and present day, and is mostly narrated by Liv and Ah-Ma. (Other characters provide some narration from time to time.)

I found this book to be tremendously moving and thought-provoking. This is a story of love and loss, recovery and possibility. And it sure did make me hungry!!

Book Review: "People Watching" by Hannah Bonam-Young

Prudence used to dream of leaving her small Canadian hometown to see the world. But when her mother is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, Prue shelves her dreams in order to help her father. Regardless of what her father thinks, she’s perfectly content to care for her mother, work in her family’s gas station, and write poetry.

Milo comes to town in his ancient van. He and his younger sister have been asked to come help Nik, their older brother, get his brewery ready to open. Milo is a handsome adventurer who tends to go from place to place, leaving relationships as soon as his partners begin catching feelings. He hasn’t seen his siblings in a while, because memories of their traumatic childhood still haunt him.

As her mother’s condition worsens, Prue’s father wants her to consider leaving town and pursuing her future. When she meets Milo, his confidence and swagger, coupled with his sensitivity, disarms her. The chemistry between the two of them is intense, and while they develop a warm friendship, they also spend late nights with Milo tutoring Prue in casual sex lessons.

Milo’s relationship with his siblings and their shared trauma is really compelling, and Prue’s care for her mother and her father’s love is as well. But when the focus moves off of those storylines, the book loses its spark. And there are even storylines that get mentioned and never get brought up again.

This book is one of the spiciest I’ve read in a long while, and there’s also some poignant emotion. But I felt like the book didn’t know what it wanted to be—the sex storyline didn’t really mesh with everything else. I wanted to love this but it just didn’t work for me.

Book Review: "Every Sweet Thing is Bitter" by Samantha Crewson

Add this to the rapidly growing list of fantastic debuts in 2025! While bleak at times, this book was tremendously thought-provoking and powerful.

“No matter how many years separate me from that day, there is no new beginning. Nothing changes. Absolution is a myth. Some sins you must pay for again and again and again, as long as you live.”

Providence hasn’t been back to her hometown in 13 years, when she put her car in reverse and inadvertently ran over her mother. Her mother survived, but Providence was sent to jail, guilty of a felony. She was told never to come back to town, but now her mother has disappeared mysteriously, ostensibly on the way home from a Bible study class.

While the last thing Providence wants is to constantly be reminded of her transgressions, she hopes that her return might help bridge the gap between her and her sisters. But of course, it also means confronting Tom, her abusive father, who bullied everyone into turning a blind eye to his faults.

As the search for her mother continues, Providence discovers that in many ways, things have gotten worse since she left town. Her sisters resent her for what she did to their mother, but at the same time, they want her to make their father pay for his abuse. Should she sacrifice herself for the chance to save her sisters?

I love books when there are secrets and resentments uncovered at every turn. This was an emotional exploration of guilt, forgiveness, love, loyalty, and the cycle of violence that preys on us. I couldn’t put this down!

Book Review: "The Bright Years" by Sarah Damoff

I cannot believe this was a debut! This will definitely be one of my absolute favorite books of the year, I know that much.

“Maybe what children do is straighten time out. Like clock hands, they keep us ticking forward even as we try to apprehend the lines and circles of it.”

When Ryan and Lillian meet one weekend day in the library, they both feel a pull toward the other. Their love buoys them, and they build a life together, one that expands with the birth of a daughter, Georgette, whom they call Jet.

But there are secrets they’ve not shared with each other. Lillian had a son 12 years ago and gave him up for adoption. Ryan’s father, whom his mother left when Ryan was young, was an abusive alcoholic. And Ryan feels himself following in his father’s footsteps, so he leaves before he can hurt Lillian or Jet. Of course, abuse is only one way to hurt someone.

As the years pass, Ryan makes attempts to sober up and be present for his daughter, but often fails. And then he realizes what he is missing, and hopes for a second chance.

This book was so beautifully written, so powerful and emotional. It’s narrated by Lillian, Ryan, and Jet, and it’s an exploration of the myriad ways people we love impact our lives. This book really struck a chord with me.

Book Review: "The Business Trip" by Jessie Garcia

Ugh. I really was excited about this book, although I had seen mixed reviews. It just didn’t work for me at all.

Jasmine is finally ready to escape her abusive relationship. She’s saved her money and plans to sneak away in the middle of the night. Her first destination is Denver, but she’s eager for a fresh start.

Stephanie is the news director for a television station. She’s heading to San Diego (through Denver) for a conference.

Even though they’re from the same town and wind up on the same flight to Denver, Jasmine and Stephanie have never met. Yet it’s not long before both women text their friends about meeting a man—the same man—and each says they’re falling in love. Soon after, their texts become less frequent and then stop altogether.

Stephanie’s friends and colleagues start to dig into her texts and suspect that something isn’t right. Jasmine’s friend wonders what might’ve happened to her, too. All signs point to the man they both say they met. But what happened?

I thought this started out really strong, alternating between Stephanie and Jasmine’s stories. But then the story is taken over by a bunch of peripheral characters, those connected to the two women, and then the final section lays out exactly what happened. (So much telling, not much showing.) There are some twists that I saw coming, some I didn’t which required complete suspension of disbelief, but overall, I was really let down.

Book Review: "Pictures of You" by Emma Grey

I had hoped to get this one in before the end of 2024, but better late than never! I had heard that you’re better off going into the book without knowing too much about it, so I did that. And what an incredibly powerful, emotional book this was!!

“Life twists and turns and things you never imagined possible strike in an instant. Suddenly you’re on a totally different path.”

Evie wakes up in a hospital bed. She cannot figure out how she got there. When she is told that she had been in a car accident which killed her husband, she is baffled; in her mind, she’s 16 years old. She doesn’t even recognize pictures of her husband, let alone being married.

When she runs into Drew, her best friend from high school, she thinks he’s an Uber driver. But he agrees to help her try to figure out what happened to the people she remembers—and little by little, he helps her recall certain things about her life and her marriage.

“What makes things true? I can imagine a whole world of experience missing from my memory, but if I don’t remember it, did it ever happen? Aren’t we meant to be the sum of our experiences?”

I’m a fan of Emma Grey, having loved her last book, The Last Love Note. This book definitely could be triggering for some, so do check the warnings before reading. Some of the twists I saw coming, some I was surprised by, but this really moved me.

Book Review: "PS: I Hate You" by Lauren Connolly

“Arguably, hiding myself in a closet is in everyone’s best interest. These strangers want to watch me cry prettily. (But is that even physically possible? Who can have saltwater leaking out of their eyes and not look like a flushed, snotty mess?)”

Maddie’s older brother Josh died of cancer before he turned 30. He was the adventurous one, always trying to get Maddie to try new things and have fun. And this didn’t stop with his death: in his will he requested that she spread a portion of his ashes in each of the 8 states he never visited.

But Josh had one more trick up his sleeve, in that he assigned her a partner for her trips—Dom, his best friend. Maddie was in love with him for as long as she can remember, until one thing sent her running across the country to get away from him. Dom has always been a stickler for rules, so he’s not letting Maddie handle the ash-spreading herself, no matter how much vitriol she sends his way.

As they make each trip, there are awkward moments and emotional ones, as well as times when all Maddie wants is to be as far from Dom as possible. Along the way, they discover things about one another and each of their relationships with Josh, and Maddie realizes she must come to terms with her other fears and issues. She also must realize that her feelings for Dom have never dissipated; they’ve just grown stronger.

I’m a sucker for the found family trope, and I loved Maddie’s relationship with Dom’s family. Her mother and grandmother were written as one-dimensional monsters, and it broke my heart to see the way they treated her.

I wanted to love this book but it felt so schizophrenic to me. At times it was so moving and powerful; other times, Maddie was difficult to sympathize with and the miscommunication between her and Dom drove me crazy. It also got sooo steamy and it felt odd to me. But even with all that, I still cried, so…

Book Review: "A Very Bad Thing" by J.T. Ellison

I’ve been meaning to read this for a while, but I can certainly say this was well worth the wait!!

Columbia Jones isn’t just a bestselling author: she’s a phenomenon. And her latest book—which is being adapted into a Spielberg film while she’s still writing it—is sure to catapult her career even further. Her book tour stops are so in demand they have to hold them in theaters and other concert venues.

In Denver, on the last stop of her tour, she sees a face in the audience and it causes her to faint. She may have a minor concussion and an issue with the altitude, but she’s released from the hospital that evening. And then the next morning, she’s found dead in her hotel bed, covered in blood.

Who would’ve wanted Columbia dead? Why? These are questions being asked by many people, including Columbia’s daughter and manager, Darian; a detective specifically assigned to the case; and Riley, a talented young journalist Columbia hired to chronicle the tour and her career. The author’s death shocks the public and devastates her fans.

As the investigation into Columbia’s death (was it murder?) gets going, secrets about her are revealed that show how little anyone really knew her. It appears that the uncovering of these secrets definitely ruffle some feathers—and people are dying as a result. What is Columbia’s real story, and who else is in harm’s way?

This was absolutely fantastic. The book is nearly 450 pages yet I flew through it, and couldn’t get enough. There were lots of twists, some I saw coming and some that surprised me, and I didn’t want to stop reading at all. Now, onto J.T. Ellison’s backlist!!

Book Review: "The Broposal" by Sonora Reyes

Thanks so much to Forever and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book!!

Kenny and Han (short for Alejandro) have been best friends since the second grade, and both would do anything for the other. As roommates, they support each other, with Kenny’s executive dysfunction disorder and Han’s autism.

The biggest stress for Han is that he is undocumented, and he’s always worried that a situation might occur that will end with him being deported. When he gets a job at the restaurant where Kenny is assistant manager, his fears intensify, because the manager is always angry and threatening to fire people.

After Kenny and his on-again, off-again girlfriend break up, he gets an idea: he and Han should get married, and this way Han can get a green card. All of their friends and Kenny’s family think they’re in love with one another anyway.

Even if the marriage is just for show, Kenny loves the idea of being with Han, who has always struggled with relationships. But as they work to convince immigration officials that their marriage is real, their feelings start to blur. They’ll need to be worried about Kenny’s ex-girlfriend, though, as well as the government.

Kenny and Han really make a good couple, although Kenny is definitely wishy-washy. I wanted to love this book, but Jackie’s character is just awful—a person who works at a domestic violence shelter yet is abusive herself. She really made me consider DNFing the book a few times. But I loved Kenny and Han too much.

The book publishes 1/21/2025.