Book Review: "Dear Emmie Blue" by Lia Louis

Dear Emmie Blue is a gorgeous, emotional story about friendship, love, chosen family, and hope.

This book falls under the “What took me so long?” category. OMG, excuse me while I ugly cry!!⁣

When Emmie was 16, she released a red balloon into the sky in the UK as part of a school festival, and attached her name, email, and a secret she needed desperately to share. Weeks later, Lucas found the balloon on a beach in France.

That discovery initiated an intense 14-year friendship, and they even share the same birthday. Despite the distance between the UK and France, the two become incredibly close, with Lucas’ family becoming the one Emmie wishes she had.

Lucas is her touchstone, her source of support and comfort. And at some point over the years, Emmie fell in love with Lucas, and is waiting for him to realize he feels the same way. But when life doesn’t work the way she hopes, suddenly Emmie is afraid of losing her best friend.

What do you do when you realize nothing is turning in your favor, when it feels like everyone is moving on and succeeding and getting everything they've been dreaming of, and you’re stuck in place? Where do you find the strength to take charge of your life and move forward when you’ve been afraid all this time of what might happen?

This is such a lovely, romantic, poignant book. Sure, it’s predictable, but that didn’t stop me from becoming a teary mess! If you haven’t read Dear Emmie Blue yet, give it a try!

Book Review: "Serendipity" edited by Marissa Meyer

If you’re looking for a gift for the YA romance lover in your life, you’ve found it: Serendipity, edited by Marissa Meyer!

Romance and rom-com lovers, we all talk about our favorite and least favorite tropes. (Mine are fake dating, enemies to lovers, and friends to lovers, BTW.) In this new story collection, 10 YA authors each write a story using a particular trope—the fake relationship, stranded together, class warfare, the best friend love epiphany, one bed, the secret admirer, the grand romantic gesture, trapped in a confined space, the makeover, and the matchmaker.

The subtitle of the book is “Ten Romantic Tropes, Transformed,” and while not all of the stories are as straightforward as you’d expect, I don’t know that there’s a lot of transformation. But it’s still a sweet bunch of stories!

Like any short story collection, I loved some stories, while some didn’t quite click for me. The stories are mostly M/F, with a few F/F stories and one M/M story. My favorites were: “Bye Bye, Piper Berry” by Julie Murphy (fake dating); Caleb Roehrig’s “Auld Acquaintance” (best friend love epiphany); “Shooting Stars” by Marissa Meyer (one bed); “Liberty” by Anna-Marie McLemore (the makeover); and Sandhya Menon’s “The Surprise Match” (the matchmaker). Sarah Winifred Searle’s “Keagan’s Heaven on Earth” is written as a graphic novel.

If you’re a fan of YA romance, Serendipity could be a nice palate cleanser between other heavier books. I enjoyed it!

Book Review: "The Arc" by Tory Henwood Hoen

Does the perfect soulmate exist for everyone? If so, can an algorithm find that person? That's the question at the center of The Arc, Tory Henwood Hoen's debut novel.

Ursula has had it with relationships. She's dated a variety of men, thought she found the right person, only to have the relationship end or end it herself. She's successful otherwise—she's the VP of Audacity at a NYC branding agency, she's smart, beautiful, and funny. And maybe a little weird?

"'The point is,' said Ursula, 'I'm not normal, and my weirdness has never properly aligned with someone else's weirdness, and I don't know if it ever will. I just can't imagine it. But I refuse to rein myself in anymore.'"

After an encounter with a mysterious woman in a steam room, she learns about The Arc. It's an exclusive, expensive service that promises to curate your soulmate for you, using a series of complicated psychological, emotional, and physical assessments. When a professional windfall helps her conquer the price point of the service, Ursula is matched with Rafael, a 42-year-old lawyer, and from the very moment they meet, they feel something special.

As they fall deeper in love with one another and begin thinking about the future, a bump in the road throws them off course. But aren't they supposed to be soulmates? Shouldn't they be able to weather any storm?

This was an interesting book which had its moments, but I think it tried too hard to be a satirical commentary on modern society. There are so many over-the-top things in the book, like when Ursula goes to lunch with a millionaire and the narration goes into an at-length description of the foams, purées, reductions, shadows, breaths, etc., they're served, or when the book mocks a client meeting Ursula attends in which the name of a toilet-paper-on-demand company is debated. So often I just rolled my eyes at these things, but they completely distracted me from the story.

Those of you who follow my reviews know I love a good romance, so I wish The Arc had stuck more to that storyline than all of the other extraneous stuff. But others have enjoyed this, so maybe I'm not the satirical type?

NetGalley and St. Martin's Press provided a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

The Arc publishes 2/8/22.

Book Review: "The Invisible Husband of Frick Island" by Colleen Oakley

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island is a beautiful, emotional story about love, loss, determination, family, and an unforgettable community.

I’ve made it a goal to read more backlist titles this year, so I’ve been reading books I bought and never got around to before. And when I read a book like this, I want to slap myself and say, “What took you so long?”

Piper’s husband Tom is a waterman, like his father and grandfather before him. They live on Frick Island, a small island in the Chesapeake Bay you can only get to by boat. (This is inspired by Maryland's Smith Island.) When Tom’s boat doesn’t come back one day and his body can’t be found, Piper and the 90+ residents of the island are devastated. But it’s not long after that Piper begins acting as if Tom is still alive—so everyone on the island follows suit.

"'If something is there, you can only see it with your eyes open, but if it isn't there, you can see it just as well with your eyes closed. That's why imaginary things are often easier to see than real ones.'"

Anders is a young reporter who has always dreamed of making a name for himself, as a reporter and podcaster, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. He’s sent to Frick Island to cover their annual Cake Walk event and he is intrigued by the unique community. And while he feels that there’s a story in the island’s residents staying put despite the effects of climate change on their home, he realizes the biggest story is the fact that the entire town is pretending that a dead man still exists.

The deeper Anders gets into the story, the more attached to Piper he becomes. Is he really just interested in helping her? And when his podcast goes viral—along with Piper’s story—he has to decide what’s more important to him, fame or the possibility of something more.

I loved this story. It reminded me a little of a movie with Ryan Gosling called Lars and the Real Girl. The Invisible Husband of Frick Island was a poignant and fascinating story with some interesting little twists, and I couldn’t get enough.

Book Review: "You Love Me" by Caroline Kepnes

In You Love Me, everyone’s favorite book-loving psychopath returns!!

Joe Goldberg, the protagonist of You and Hidden Bodies, has made his way to a quiet island in the Pacific Northwest. He’s a little older, a little wiser, and a little sadder, but he lands a volunteer job in—of course—a library. And then he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. She’s a LIBRARIAN.

But MK, as Joe refers to her, isn’t your typical librarian. She’s a short-skirt-wearing, fighting-with-her-teenage-daughter, flirty goddess, who is also a little older than Joe’s past, umm, relationships. He must have her. And she seems pretty into him, too.

This time, Joe is different. He’s not going to do anything impetuous. He wants happily ever after and it seems like MK wants it, too. There is the matter of her daughter, of course. And Phil, her aging rockstar husband. But Joe isn’t going to let that stop him. There’s too much riding on him following the right path. (As if.)

You Love Me is one of those books for which you need to read the prior books first in order to understand what’s going on. (I don’t watch television so I don’t know if watching the You series is enough of a catch-up.) If you’ve read the previous books, you know Joe is freaking crazy, and if anything, he may be crazier in this book than ever before.

While Caroline Kepnes gives you a different side of Joe in this book, it is such a slow burn that I just didn’t love it, despite the craziness and the twists that came later. I don’t know about you, but thrillers need to thrill me the whole way through. Anticipation is cool, but don’t make me wait too long for payoff.

Still, Kepnes has done a masterful job of creating an evil, crazy protagonist you can’t help but root for in a way. (Of course, picturing the face of Penn Badgley, who plays Joe in the television series, doesn’t hurt.) I know some have loved this book, so if you’re a fan and haven’t gotten to it yet, immerse yourself again in the world of Joe...and get ready for Book 4!

Book Review: "Joan Is Okay" by Weike Wang

The second book from Weike Wang, Joan Is Okay is a quirky, thought-provoking look at work, family, our connections with others, and how we handle their expectations.

“Who really wanted to be different? I wondered. And to be treated differently for things about them that couldn’t be changed. Most people who were different just wanted to be the same.”

Joan is an ICU attending physician at a New York City hospital. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she was instilled with a strong work ethic, and she is willing to work constantly. Even though it can be difficult and stressful, Joan is lost without her work. She’s not one to seek out social connections with colleagues, peers, or potential love interests, but she doesn’t feel lonely or unfulfilled, even though others seem to think she should.

When Joan and her older brother were settled in their lives, their parents returned to China. Their father dies suddenly and Joan returns briefly to China for the first time in a long while. Her time there, coupled with her mother’s subsequent trip to America to stay with Joan’s brother, causes Joan to further increase her workload and reevaluate her relationships, with family, colleagues, and others. The only place she feels in complete control is when she is in charge of the ICU.

Joan’s mother’s return to America sets off family tensions, while at the same the world is on the cusp of dealing with the COVID pandemic. What does this all mean for Joan and her ambitions, as well as her family?

This novel is written in a very spare style, much like Joan herself, but there are many moments of wry humor. It’s one of those books that it feels like there's not much drama happening but at the same time so much character development occurs.

Joan Is Okay might not be a book for everyone but I found it really interesting and it definitely made me think.

Book Review: "Here's to Us" by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

The second collaboration between popular YA authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, Here's to Us is an utterly squee-worthy story of love and friendship and finding your own path.

This was one of a few long-awaited sequels to books I loved that came out toward the end of last year. I loved the first book, What If It’s Us, so much, and couldn’t wait to spend more time with the characters. But would the sequel be as good as the original? (Spoiler alert: It is.)

Two summers ago, Ben and Arthur lived an adorable love story in NYC. But after Arthur went home to Georgia, the strain of a long-distance relationship became too much, and they eventually went their separate ways. It’s gotten to the point where they’re mostly friends who text occasionally, which is sad, but, well, it’s life.

Now Arthur has landed a summer internship working for an off-Broadway director, so he’ll have a dream job back in NYC. He’s sad to leave his adorable, sweet boyfriend Mikey behind, but they can survive the summer. And the city is a big place, it’s not like he’ll even see Ben.

But of course, he sees Ben constantly, and they try for a friendship, which isn’t always easy when you’ve so much history together. Plus, Ben seems to be happy with his new boyfriend, Mario, even if Mario is talking about going to Los Angeles to pursue his screenwriting dreams. It’s all going to be fine, right?

Why is it that the universe keeps pushing them back together even when they’ve both tried to move on? Is Ben as happy as Arthur thinks? Has Arthur really moved on? Could a second chance be possible even with the same issues that cropped up for them before?

Here's to Us book made me laugh, made me tear up, and got me all emotional. If you love YA romance, these books are great!