Book Review: "Fabulous Bodies" by Chuck Tingle

For someone who almost never reads horror novels, Chuck Tingle’s books have been a fun yet gruesome gateway into the genre. There’s always a lot of blood and gore, but he infuses his books with queerness and humor.

Poppy is a fashion influencer. She has more than 215,000 followers on social media, people who want inspiration from her posts, not to mention the occasional thirst trap. She has a five-year-old daughter, Marlo, and she’s determined to give her a better childhood than she had. The influencer gig certainly helps, but her second job makes the difference.

Poppy works nights as a grave robber. Well, it’s not quite what it sounds like—she actually gets paid to transport recently dead bodies to her customers. She doesn’t necessarily know what they do with the bodies, and she’s fine with that.

One night, she is contacted by a mysterious customer offering 5 million dollars if she delivers a body to them. And not just any body: Eddie Michaels, America’s version of Elton John. Eddie is Poppy’s musical hero. He has a fantastic voice, he’s flamboyant and openly gay, and his music has been a huge part of her life.

The job sounds much easier than her usual body retrieval gigs go. Although that seems too good to be true, $5 million would allow her to spend more time with Marlo. Things are going exactly according to plan. And then Eddie wakes up.

This was a fun romp. Eddie is unhinged and utterly hysterical, and Poppy can’t believe what she’s gotten herself into. Plus she’s with her undead musical idol. There are definitely gory parts of the book but they don’t linger too long. Can’t wait to see what Tingle comes up with next!

Book Review: "Reality Bites" by Amy Mass

I love rom-coms so much. I know that when I need a book to lighten my mood or just make my heart melt, there are plenty of rom-coms out there. And this debut novel definitely hit the spot.

Grace is a scientist who has been working to save the Southern Mountain yellow-legged frog from extinction. She’s pretty focused on helping any animal that can’t help itself, and she’s always busy, so she never has time to date. And the fact is, she’s not really interested anyway.

She’s definitely an outlier from the rest of her family, who are all social media influencers. Her mother is a decorating influencer, her father has run a Power Yoga for Men YouTube channel for years, one brother is a TikTok thirst trap, and the other broadcasts on Twitch. Grace doesn’t have a social media channel.

When Grace finds out that her mother signed her up to be on the hit dating reality show Love Shack, she hits the roof. She’s never seen a reality show and has no desire to date people while the world watches. But when she learns the grand prize is enough to save her lab’s funding, she reluctantly puts on fake glasses and inhabits the role of “Sexy Scientist.”

She’s completely unprepared by the constant pressure of a reality show and having to be “on” all the time. She also can’t help stirring up trouble when she sees a cause worth championing, which puts her in the crosshairs of Andrew, the show’s sexy lawyer. The more they fight over breaking rules, the hotter their attraction burns.

I thought these characters were all so much fun, and there was more depth to them than at first glance. This was a fun book, full of banter, some steam, and lots of enjoyment and romance. Not bad for a debut novel!

Book Review: "Broken Threads" by Sagit Schwartz

I definitely fall prey to the whole #Bookstagrammademedoit concept, but never have I finished someone’s review of a book and immediately bought the book. At least until I read the review of Sagit Schwartz’s excellent short story, “Broken Threads.”

Clare has always dreamed of being a bestselling author but she can’t seem to land a deal. The longer it takes, the more resentful she becomes of those who do succeed, especially those she believes she has more talent than.

When Clare’s longtime job as a technical writer is eliminated because she can be replaced by AI, her desperation grows. She knows her historical fiction novel is excellent, but no agent will talk to her because she’s older and not photogenic. But with barely any money to cover rent, she’s willing to try anything.

Her last shot is approaching her neighbor, Amber, who has built a career as a successful influencer. Nearly everything Amber owns or wears has been given to her in exchange for mentions. Clare thinks having Amber promote the book will be a great idea, but Amber doesn’t think that effort will be successful. And then Amber suggests that she tell people she wrote the book, and in exchange, she’ll give Clare 50 percent of the profits.

Of course, when things seem too good to be true, they usually are. The book becomes a huge success but Clare starts suspecting that Amber is ripping her off. And then Amber winds up dead.

I devoured this in a very short time and I honestly could’ve read a full-length version of this. @sagitschwartz had me hooked from the very first word! This was a great story and so timely.

Book Review: "The Coldest Case" by Tessa Wegert

One of the things I love about reading a long-running series is how attached you become to the characters. This book is the sixth installment in Tessa Wegert’s series featuring Senior Investigator Shana Merchant, and the series gets better and better.

It’s winter in New York’s Thousand Islands, which means brutally cold temperatures and driving snow, which could strand people for days, even months weeks. One island, Running Pine, is so remote and isolated that only a few people spend the winter there.

When Shana and the police learn that a social media influencer has disappeared from Running Pine, they snap into action. It turns out that Cary and Sylvie have moved to the island for a year and are documenting the experience for their thousands of followers, and have landed some significant endorsement deals on top of that. And then one morning, when Cary goes ice fishing with two of their neighbors, he disappeared.

The police put themselves in harm’s way getting to the island, as there is a storm coming. The more they dig into what happened, the more questions arise for them. What happened to Cary? Did he disappear of his own free will or is one of their neighbors responsible?

Time is running out. As Shana and her colleagues rush to find answers, she also is reminded of another unsolved murder from her days with the NYPD. And both cases have the potential for danger.

Wegert is definitely one of my favorite thriller writers out there right now. With every book in this series I worry it’ll be the last, but I’ll still read anything she writes!

Book Review: "Between Friends & Lovers" by Shirlene Obuobi

Dr. Josephine Boateng is better known to her hundreds of thousands of followers as “Dr. Jojo,” the woman who tells it like it is when it comes to matters of health, sex, and love. It doesn’t matter that Jo has never really had a relationship, because she’s been in love with her best friend Ezra since college.

Jo knows that Ezra is aware of how she feels. But the handsome rom-com actor is always quick to throw her over for the woman of the minute without thinking. The last straw, however, is when Ezra’s date for his 30th birthday party is none other than Ashley, who bullied Jo when they were younger, and he took Ashley's side when she and Jo interacted.

Malcolm is a photographer-turned-bestselling novelist, much to his surprise. His debut novel, a love story, is climbing the charts. He’s invited to Ezra’s birthday party because his famous mother is interested in optioning the book for film. But Mal doesn’t really enjoy schmoozing or crowds, so he hides in an empty bedroom in Ezra’s home.

Jo is shocked to find a man in her bedroom at Ezra’s house, especially one as handsome as Malcolm. From their conversation, she feels seen for the first time, and realizes that Mal could be her ticket out of pining for Ezra. Mal is all too interested, but he wants to woo Jo, and this has never happened to her.

Their relationship experiences highs and lows, especially when Jo comes into contact with Ezra, who realizes how much he misses her adulation. And with Jo’s own issues with love and trust, she isn’t sure where to turn, or what to do.

I don’t normally enjoy love triangles, but this one worked for me. While Mal was the only truly sympathetic character, the dynamics between him and Jo, and Jo and Ezra, were fascinating. This was a more emotional book than I expected, but it really was a good one.

Book Review: "You Had Me at Happy Hour" by Timothy Janovsky

My second book in a week featuring a bartender/mixologist…this is the best way to experience cocktails without a hangover!

Julien is a certified sommelier working in a bar/restaurant owned by his aunt and uncle. He dreams of becoming a master sommelier, which will help him write his ticket out of small-town Bethlehem, PA.

In an effort to attract more business to the restaurant, Julien’s aunt and uncle decide to hire Greg, a tremendously handsome mixologist who had gained some notoriety on TikTok. They believe with Greg’s cocktail-making skills and Julien’s expertise about wine, a huge flow of customers should be imminent.

But after Greg and Julien’s initial meeting fizzles awkwardly and their subsequent interactions go awry, business is flowing…away from the restaurant. So the two are tasked with creating new happy hours at the restaurant which can feature fun cocktails and excellent wine. That means they have to overcome whatever issues they have with one another and work together. Or else.

Of course, the awkwardness hides the strong mutual attraction between the two at first, but it’s not long before their feelings for each other intensify. But with Julien’s OCD and Greg’s anxiety and ED issues, the road to casual sex isn’t as smooth as it should be. And as their relationship heads towards love, both panic in their own ways.

I’ve read all of Timothy Janovsky’s books and this may be my favorite. I loved how he balanced the banter and the incredible steam with the serious emotional issues both Julien and Greg were dealing with. It turned what could have been a typical M/M rom-com into something more complex, and I loved it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the advance copy. The book will publish 7/23.

Book Review: "Best Served Hot" by Amanda Elliot

In Amanda Elliot's follow-up to Sadie on a Plate, the heat gets turned up when two restaurant critics team up.⁣

⁣ Julie loves being a restaurant reviewer on social media. She works as an executive assistant in order to support her side gig as @JulieZeeEatsNYC, and her more than 50,000 followers love her food photos and videos.

⁣ ⁣ What Julie wants more than anything is an actual job as a restaurant reviewer for a newspaper, and her dream job is to work at the New York Scroll. But when the Scroll doesn’t even contact her after receiving her application, and they hire Bennett Wright (whose mom is friends with the paper’s CEO) instead, she’s angry and hurt.⁣

⁣ While at a food festival in Central Park, Julie runs into Bennett, and their encounter devolves into Julie confronting him for his snobby attitude toward social media and those who use it for restaurant/food reviews. Her video footage of their confrontation sees her follower count jump dramatically—and it brings more traffic to Scroll's social media, too.⁣

⁣ Seeing benefit for both of them, Bennett proposes that they collaborate. They’ll both visit the same restaurants at the same time and contrast their approaches and opinions. And after some initial hijinks, they start to enjoy each other’s company, and they learn from each other.⁣ Of course, the more they collaborate, the more the chemistry intensifies. Is this a reservation for love or disaster?⁣

⁣ I love books about food and restaurants, so this was right up my alley. I loved Sadie on a Plate (and Sadie makes a cameo in this book), and this is fun, steamy, and romantic. I enjoyed the discussion about social media and the battle of print vs. internet, too.

⁣ Thanks so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the advance copy! The book publishes 2/21/2023!⁣

Book Review: "Aesthetica" by Allie Rowbottom

Allie Rowbottom's debut is a searing look at the pressures of social media and beauty standards for women.

Ever since Anna was young, she wanted to be beautiful and famous. As she grew into her teen years, she realized that her best bet was to become an influencer on social media. She was constantly obsessed with photos, angles, likes, and followers.

After graduation from high school, she moves to Los Angeles and really ups her social media game. She quickly catches the attention of Jake, who is handsome and well-connected, and he becomes her boyfriend and manager of sorts. And little by little, she finds she needs to change herself to be what the public wants, so she becomes obsessed with plastic surgery.

The book alternates between Anna at 19 and Anna at 35, barely recognizable because of all the surgeries, procedures, and fillers she’s had through the years. Gone are the days of influencing; she now works at the cosmetics counter of a store that sells anti-aging products.

Anna is about to have revolutionary surgery called Aesthetica, which will reverse all of her past surgeries and procedures and return her face to what it should look like for a woman her age. She hopes it will help her find her true self again—if she survives the risky surgery. At the same time, she’s being asked to speak out against Jake, who has also remade himself as an adventure-seeking family man despite all of his transgressions through the years.

This is a really powerful book. It’s not a happy one, necessarily, but it definitely made me think about the unrealistic pressures social media and fame put on people, especially women.