Tag: young adult romance

ARC Book Review: Betting on You by Lynn Painter

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 432 pages
Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Better than the Movies, this swoon-worthy rom-com in the vein of She’s All That and 10 Things I Hate About You follows a teen girl who unwittingly finds herself at the center of a bet while working at a waterpark.

When seventeen-year-old Bailey starts a new job at a hotel waterpark, she is less than thrilled to see an old acquaintance is one of her coworkers. Bailey met Charlie a year ago on the long flight to Omaha, where she moved after her parents’ divorce. Charlie’s cynicism didn’t mix well with Bailey’s carefully well-behaved temperament, and his endless commentary was the irritating cherry on top of an already emotionally fraught trip.

Now, Bailey and Charlie are still polar opposites, but instead of everything about him rubbing Bailey the wrong way, she starts to look forward to hanging out and gossiping about the waterpark guests and their coworkers—particularly two who keep flirting with each other. Bailey and Charlie make a bet on whether or not the cozy pair will actually get together. Charlie insists that members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends, and Bailey is determined to prove him wrong.

Bailey and Charlie keep close track of the romantic progress of others while Charlie works to deflect the growing feelings he’s developed for Bailey. Terrified to lose her if his crush becomes known, what doesn’t help his agenda is Bailey and Charlie “fake dating” in order to disrupt the annoying pleasantries between Bailey’s mom and her mom’s new boyfriend. Soon, what Charlie was hoping to avoid becomes a reality as Bailey starts to see him as not only a friend she can rely on in the midst of family drama—but someone who makes her hands shake and heart race. But Charlie has a secret—a secret that involves Bailey and another bet Charlie may have made. Can the two make a real go of things…or has Charlie’s secret doomed them before they could start?

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

THE BANTER.

I absolutely think that Lynn Painter writes some of the best banter I have ever read in rom-coms. I LOVED the way Bailey and Charlie brought the slowly building tension through well placed snark and sarcasm with a hint of some real feelings.

The strangers to friends to lovers was super cute. I loved the friendship and how it took up a lot of the book. The slow burn was fantastic and I really felt the chemistry between them.

I connected deeply to the themes surrounding divorced parents, seeing parents in new relationships and that struggle to watch things move on around you and not knowing where you land. It’s a big sucker punch that I could understand the way Bailey and Charlie were working through their situations.

As a YA book I do think there was a bit too much language, otherwise nothing else bugged me. I think if I could have had a little bit longer chapters from Charlie I would have known him even better. There was something slightly missing from that angle.

But honestly, another great read from one of my favorite romance authors. I love her books. I love how easy they are to binge and just ENJOY. And this ending was real stinkin’ cute and I loved Bailey and Charlie.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong and high
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: strained parent relationships, cheating (side characters), theme surrounding being a child of divorce

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Book Review: Cursed (Gilded #2) by Marissa Meyer

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 496 pages
Author: Marissa Meyer
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: November 8th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In Cursed, Marissa Meyer brings the fairytale-inspired Gilded duology to a conclusion..

Be still now, and I will tell you a tale.

Adalheid Castle is in chaos.

Following a shocking turn of events, Serilda finds herself ensnared in a deadly game of make-believe with the Erlking, who is determined to propel her deeper into the castle’s lies. Meanwhile, Serilda is determined to work with Gild to help him solve the mystery of his forgotten name and past.

But soon it becomes clear that the Erlking doesn’t only want to use Serilda to bring back his one true love. He also seeks vengeance against the seven gods who have long trapped the Dark Ones behind the veil. If the Erlking succeeds, it could change the mortal realm forever.

Can Serilda find a way to use her storytelling gifts for good—once and for all? And can Serilda and Gild break the spells that tether their spirits to the castle before the Endless Moon finds them truly cursed?

HMM.

Well. You see, I wanted to love this, buuut I can only put it in the like category and that’s the first time I’ve done that for a Marissa Meyer book.

I already wasn’t sure after the [big redacted spoiler] from the ending of the last book. And I don’t think it played super well here. There was an interesting magic workaround that gave the characters some movement but ultimately the miscommunication it led to, led me to struggle with it all.

Where was Gild? Frankly, not sure. He was missing for SO MUCH of this book and he was the whole love interest in the first!! It was one of those cases where the romance dropped off the map rather than holding steady when it was the original purpose of the retelling. The time spent with the Erlking did not do it for me.

There were some good action sequences and I remember liking different parts here and there. I wish Serilda had accomplished a bit more rather than letting things continually happen to her or just hanging out when battles were fought. I hoped for more in this conclusion but oh well.

I do love Marissa Meyer’s writing style and will still pick up whatever she writes next.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, loss of life, possession, physical and magical altercations, childbirth

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Book Review: Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary + Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Jenna Evans Welch
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Willow has never felt like she belonged anywhere and is convinced that the only way to find a true home is to travel the world. But her plans to act on her dream are put on hold when her aloof and often absent mother drags Willow to Salem, Massachusetts, to wrap up the affairs of an aunt Willow didn’t even know she had. An aunt who may or may not have been a witch.

There, she meets Mason, a loner who’s always felt out of place and has been in and out of foster homes his entire life. He’s been classified as one of the runaways, constantly searching for ways to make it back to his mom; even if she can’t take care of him, it’s his job to try and take care of her. Isn’t it?

Naturally pulled to one another, Willow and Mason set out across Salem to discover the secret past of Willow’s mother, her aunt, and the ambiguous history of her family. During all of this, the two can’t help but act on their natural connection. But with the amount of baggage between them—and Willow’s growing conviction her family might be cursed—can they manage to hold onto each other?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Love & Gelato comes a poignant and romantic novel about two teens trying to find their place in the world after being unceremoniously dragged to Salem, Massachusetts, for the summer.

LOOOOOOVED.

Well this was magnificent and everything I could hope for when I picked it up. I’ve been looking forward to this book since it was announced and it’s an easy must read from me.

I loved the plot surrounding Willow, dealing with the fallout of her parent’s divorce, and Mason, dealing with the foster care system and wanting to know where his Mom is located. Both of these teens flat out needed some LOVE. And by golly, they found that and more. As someone who had to deal with her own parent’s divorce I felt really seen by many of the things Willow mentioned and talked about.

There is a very subtle romance between Willow and Mason that is just the sweetest. Why not at the forefront of the book (don’t think this is a romance please!), it gave both characters another layer to their stories and I adored it all the more. I loved how unassuming and caring they were to one another. Allowing the chance to be seen and heard and just to have someone on their side. My heart was an absolute puddle.

Misty eyes found their way to me with some of those ending conversations with parents and guardians. It was incredible and beautiful and pulled at every heart string I have. I loved this book and all it presented. READ IT.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary + Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: divorce, a parent with a substance abuse

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ARC Book Review: Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s
Release Date: November 7th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In this clever and swoonworthy YA debut from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis, life’s moving pieces bring rival chess players together in a match for the heart.

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the eARC.

NEW FAV.

Alright, I absolutely adored this. Couldn’t put it down. Binge read this beauty. Ali Hazelwood definitely has a spot in the upper YA & NA category.

While at times I was frustrated with Mallory, I could honestly see how warped her thoughts had become because of her past. This felt very true to the age group as well and I liked seeing the up’s and down’s of her decisions. I ESPECIALLY loved her sisters and Mom. I love a close family, flawed and all. Not one person had it all figured out, but they had each other and I found myself misty eyed when they were all able to come together and reconnect.

The roooomance. Oh, it was sweet. Perfectly swoony. I LOVE NOLAN. He is this cinnamon roll hero that just needed someone in his corner. I loved the banter and the build. I was chomping at the bit to see them kiss. I loved seeing Mallory and Nolan argue and work together and all the things that make that fated connection last.

All of the chess things went way over my head (I have only a basic understanding of the game), but I never found it overwhelming Mallory’s character arc or the romance. It added great balance and I liked learning so much about competitions and ratings and how the whole system works.

This was a gem of a read and I hope there’s more YA/NA books in the future!

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA/NA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong throughout
  • Romance: light innuendo throughout; one fade to black
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a father (recounted, drunk driving), cheating (recounted; side character), estranged family members

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