Book Review: "I Might Be in Trouble" by Daniel Aleman

“…people talk about dreams coming true as if it were a point of arrival—a final destination, and once you’ve reached it, there should be no going back….Nobody talks about what it’s like to get everything you ever wanted…and then lose it.”

David knows what it’s like to have it all. A few years ago, his first novel was a huge success and he was on the cusp of a smashing literary career. But much to his surprise, his second book didn’t make the splash he was expecting—it was a colossal flop.

Now he’s nearly broke, desperately trying to come up with an idea for a third book, and he is still pining for his ex-boyfriend. He spends time on Grindr, and while he knows it’s doubtful he’ll find anyone worthwhile, at least it’ll make him feel less alone.

One night he connects with Robert, a handsome man who is staying at the Plaza Hotel. There’s something magnetic about him, and while the sex is incredible, it feels like so much more than that. They hit a number of bars and clubs throughout NYC, and the more time they spend together, the more there seems to be a genuine connection between them. Late at night they wind up back at David’s apartment, and in the morning, David wakes up to find Robert dead.

How could this have happened? The thought of calling the police and opening his life up to scrutiny doesn’t appeal to him, so he calls the one person he can think of: his unflappable literary agent, Stacey. Stacey has a number of ideas about what to do with Robert’s body, and how David might use this to his advantage.

This book is a bit dark, a bit introspective, and utterly wacky at times. I was expecting something a bit different but I still enjoyed this, no matter how far-fetched it seemed.

Book Review: "The Boyfriend" by Freida McFadden

Ohh…so now I get all the hype. So many of my thriller-loving friends have said great things about Freida McFadden’s books, so it was time to give one a try. My head is totally spinning!

Sydney wants to find Mr. Right. She can’t endure her friends’ social media posts of their baby bumps and happy families. And if she has to hear her mother tell her that someone else older than her had babies, she might scream.

The dating apps haven’t yielded anything worthwhile. Too many guys who don’t look like their pictures, want her to pay the whole check, or expect her to sleep with them. It’s crazy that she finally meets her dream guy when he rescues her from a dangerous encounter—but he walks away.

When they see each other for a second time, they both know it’s right. Tom is a handsome doctor, he’s generous and kind, and he’s amazing in bed. Sydney definitely could see herself spending the rest of her life with him. But of course, there are some strange things she can’t wrap her mind around.

Apparently there’s a guy who has been dating a number of women from one app, and they’ve wound up dead. But the police can’t seem to track him down. Sydney starts to have her own suspicions, but could she be right? Is she in danger of becoming the next victim?

There’s a lot more to this story that needs to unfold, and lots of twists. I’ll admit I didn’t quite figure things out and McFadden definitely kept me guessing. This is the kind of thriller I enjoy the most—it didn’t slow down for a second!

Book Review: "Five-Star Stranger" by Kat Tang

Our unnamed narrator (whom we come to know only as “Stranger”) works for the Rental Stranger app. You can hire him to be your guest for an event, make someone jealous, serve as wingman or pretend spouse/boyfriend/sibling, or use him for a variety of other purposes. He prides himself on his work and keeping his clients happy. (He wants to keep his five-star rating intact.)

“If I had a motto, this would be it: your happiness is my happiness, my guiding principle, my mission statement.”

Playing so many roles for so many clients leaves him little time to be himself. And that’s fine with him. His life when he is not working (a rarity) is a lonely one, full of guilt and grief, as well as pondering what’s real and fake in his interactions with his clients.

For a number of years, he has had a regular client, Mari, for whom he pretends to be her husband and father to her young daughter. One day a week, he picks the girl, Lily, up from school, helps with her homework, cooks dinner, and lately, puts her to bed before his “wife” comes home. But the charade is getting more and more complicated, as the woman is starting to resent him for how much more Lily likes him rather than her, and Lily is grown up enough to begin asking questions of her "father."

When another client starts to ask questions about his relationship with Mari and Lily, it forces him to evaluate what he derives from his work, and what he wants from his life. He reflects on his unresolved feelings toward his mother, and he wonders whom he really is.

This was a pretty cool concept, but I felt that Stranger was kept at arm’s length from the reader. At times, the story was sparse on details, and just as it started opening up a bit, it ended abruptly. But overall, it was fascinating and thought-provoking.

The book publishes 8/6.

Book Review: "Swiped" by L.M. Chilton

Every time I talk to a friend who is looking to start dating, I hear about another dating app. There’s always at least 2-3 I’ve never heard of before. (And for my friends just looking for, umm, fun, there are apps for that, too!)

Ever since she and her boyfriend broke up, Gwen has been trying to find the magic with someone new. And with her best friend and roommate getting ready to move out and get married, Gwen has become addicted to swiping on Connector, and enjoys the thrill when she is notified of a match.

Unfortunately, while many of the men she matches with seem terrific, in reality, they’re all just different degrees of awful. There’s the one who’s still hung up on his ex, the racist yet handsy woman-hater, the secretly married guy, etc. But still, she keeps hoping that she’ll luck out and find the right guy.

Then she finds out one of the guys she went out with was found dead, and all signs point to murder. As more men die, the only thing that connects them is they all went out on one disastrous date with Gwen. The police are starting to wonder if Gwen might be a dangerous killer, but she’s determined to figure out who’s really responsible, and why they’re targeting her.

This is a fun thriller that definitely does keep you guessing. Gwen is really a mess, but you feel for her as her life is imploding. Sure, you have to suspend your disbelief at times, but it didn’t bother me that much. I just enjoyed this look at how crazy the online dating world can be!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advance copy of this one. The book will publish 5/21.

Book Review: "Hang the Moon" by Alexandria Bellefleur

Can a man who believes in romance and true love convince someone who doesn’t? That's the question at the core of Alexandria Bellefleur's Hang the Moon.

Why did I wait so long to pick up this follow-up to Written in the Stars? And as much as I enjoyed that one, this one had me crying on an airplane!!

Brendon is a hopeless romantic, so much so that he created a dating app to help people find “the one.” He has yet to find his, though, but he knows she’s out there. And then Annie, his sister’s best friend and his teenage crush, comes to town.

The chemistry between the two is immediate. (Annie can’t believe Brendon went from a gangly teenager to someone so hot!) But Annie is only visiting Seattle for two weeks before she starts a new job in London. Plus, she doesn’t believe in true love, and isn’t a fan of the grand romantic gestures that Brendon lives for. He wants forever and she can’t think that far ahead.

Can a rom-com lover convince someone who doesn’t believe there’s necessarily the right one for everyone that he’s right for her? Can someone who thinks she’s got it all figured out realize she might be making a mistake if she doesn’t open her eyes to the possibilities?

Hang the Moon was funny, emotional, sexy, and just so freaking romantic. I love these characters and look forward to Count Your Lucky Stars, the third book in the series, featuring Brendon’s best friend, Margot. If you’re a rom-com fan, get these books!

Book Review: "To Sir, With Love" by Lauren Layne

No, it's not an adaptation of the classic late 1960s movie with Sidney Poitier. But Lauren Layne's new novel is an adorable, emotional rom-com that’s almost a modern-day take on You’ve Got Mail.

Gracie Cooper has always been a dreamer. But when her father dies, she puts aside her dreams of becoming an artist and begins running the family’s champagne shop. She isn’t prepared for how precarious the store’s financial position is, or just how time-consuming running a business can be, but she’s fulfilling her father’s wishes. Shouldn't that count for something?

She’s also a romantic—she’s always known exactly what her dream man will be like. But since he hasn’t materialized, she’s been finding herself increasingly drawn to a man she’s been corresponding with on a blind dating app, a man she only knows as “Sir.” She's never met him or exchanged photos or descriptions, so she doesn’t know what he looks like but she feels a connection through their banter.

One day she has a meet-cute with a handsome man—and soon after she realizes that he’s Sebastian Andrews, the arrogant businessman whose family’s company owns the building her shop is in. He wants to buy Gracie out so they can tear down the building and replace it with something more expensive. But Gracie is determined not to close the shop—even if it might ultimately be the best thing for her.

As her encounters with Sebastian make her vacillate between hatred and attraction, she realizes at the same time she’s falling head over heels for Sir, yet what if he’s not the person she thinks he is? Of course, she finds herself torn between a man she knows and one she doesn’t, but she has no idea just how much Sebastian and Sir have in common.

I’m a total sap; we’ve established this before, but I just loved To Sir, With Love. It’s sweet and funny and thought-provoking and emotional, even though I knew everything that was coming. I’d love to see Lauren Layne turn this into a series using some of the supporting characters, as she's done with other books!

Book Review: "Have We Met?" by Camille Baker

Can a dating app really find your soulmate? That's the question at the core of Camille Baker's debut rom-com, Have We Met?

Do you believe there’s one person out there for everyone? Corinne doesn’t have time or energy to think about that—she’s just moved back to Chicago after the death of her best friend; she needs to find a job and figure out her life.

But when a dating app called Met mysteriously appears on her phone and tells her she’ll reconnect with four people from her past and one of them will turn out to be her soulmate, after some healthy eye-rolling she realizes she can’t resist the opportunity. And when she meets two people she hasn’t seen in some time, she thinks the app might be speaking the truth.

As Corinne tries to navigate her demanding mother, come to terms with her grief over the loss of her friend, and find the perfect job (if she can figure out what that is), she’s also been spending time with a guy she met outside the app. But if he’s not her soulmate, should she bother?

I thought Have We Met? was a cute, quirky, creative rom-com. I liked the chemistry between Corinne and her love interest. But what I liked best was the diversity of the characters—there were characters of different races and ethnicities, and a character with a disability, as well as lesbian, bisexual, and non-binary characters. And it never felt like this diversity was there for diversity’s sake.

Of course, the whole app thing seemed a little contrived to me and it never quite was explained exactly how it even wound up on her phone, but I didn’t dwell on the small details! This was a fun story that also touched on the challenges of moving on when you’re grieving.

Thanks so much to Amazon Publishing and Blankenship Public Relations for providing me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!