joconklin Book Reviews, fantasy, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: ZomRomCom by Olivia Dade

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of ZomRomCom in exchange for an honest review.

Hijinks and wacky bits are my love language, and I absolutely loved Olivia Dade’s purely unapologetic poke at four genres in a trenchcoat. We open with Edie rushing to fight a zombie (the fast and deadly 28 Days Later brand, not the slow shufflers) armed only with a burrito, to save her sweet but oblivious stoner neighbor, Max. Of course that doesn’t go well. (Impulse control, Edie. Get some.) Lucky for her, Max isn’t quite as helpless or clueless as he seems.

This has so many of my favorite things! Max is such a grumpy fussy snob, and Edie is a feral raccoon made of sunshine, so the clash between them had me laughing so hard I couldn’t read it in public. Edie REALLY knows how to lean into the bit, and the absurdity of the third or fourth song or horrifying gremlin food really sold it for me. It was a commitment to cringe I aspire to on a personal level. Edie GETS me.

Zomromcom crams horror, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and romcom into a single book. As a result, the pacing, SFF world-building, plot, genre elements, and character motivation got a little muddy and ungrounded. That’s fine, because the shenanigans and absurdities (esp. Max’s long suffering sighs over Edie’s song and food choices) carried me through to the end. If you’re a fan of horror movies and urban fantasy, and love a genre-aware, over-the-top, unhinged send-up of classic tropes, this is your book. There are easter eggs scattered throughout, including nods to the classic Romero films and other old-school horror. (I would absolutely love a list of all the references and inspirations, because I’m sure I missed some!)

The latter half of the book focuses on set up for a series that I hope will bring the same level of pure, irreverant joy.

JD Walsh Book Reviews, fantasy, LGBTQ+, Romance, YA

I’m Reading: Vesuvius by Cass Biehn

Felix, a thief on the run from a past he can’t remember, steals a relic of the gods, landing himself in the sights of a dangerous, powerful man who would use the power for himself. Loren, a temple attendant with visions no one believes, has seen the flame-haired boy in his dreams, and knows his appearance marks the destruction of everything he loves. But when Felix arrives at Loren’s temple for sanctuary, the two must race against time to solve the relic’s mystery and save Pompeii.

From the first page, this YA romance plunges you into the ancient streets of Pompeii as a living, breathing city. Every immersive detail sings, from the fabric to the temple smoke. The author weaves political intrigue and complex social hierarchies through in a way that feels natural instead of exposition, and keeps us invested in the story.

The prose is quick and tight, with moments of evocative imagery that fit perfectly into this piece of history from poetry and art. But it’s also a story about the streets of Pompeii, the thieves, cutthroats and brothels. We’re seeing them in translation across time and language, but real people didn’t speak in poetry. They swore and used slang. And one of the challenges of making translation immersive is to convey the tone and meaning instead of the exact words. That’s why I’m not bothered by modern idioms in historical fiction, or a few F-bombs. I see it as an immersive depiction that lets us into these character’s heads.

Because, at its heart, Vesuvius is about people. That’s where Cass Biehn shines brightest.

Felix is immediately lovable as the wounded rogue running from a past he can’t remember, determined to avoid roots that slow him down. Loren is more complex and subtle, a boy with a heart so big he would give it to his city, but no one ever taught him how to survive that. Together they have a love that inspires hope, even in a story we think we know the end of.

I say think because Cass Biehn writes with a keen understanding of our modern context: we know how the story of Pompeii ends.

But do we?

The fantasy elements add a clever overarching tension as we wonder, this time, this Pompeii, these magical boys with no political or social power, might give us a different ending. Even though every interesting, lovable character we meet in the city evokes dread for their future and ups the stakes.

So we root for the unlikely duo of Felix the thief who pretends to not care and Loren the temple assistant who cares too much. Every warning, every earthquake, every sign of the inevitable end, we root for them to save the city, and each other.

Thanks to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for giving me a chance to read a review copy in exchange for an honest review. Remember to request Vesuvius at your local library!

joconklin Book Reviews, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: Curves for Days by Laura Moher

Disclosure: I received a free digital copy of Curves for Days by Laura Moher from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

After a nightmare of fatphobic bullying and harassment forced Alice Rose Barnes to quit high school, all she wants is to live invisibly. But winning the lottery turns into her worst nightmare: the spotlight of national attention. Fleeing the grasping harassment and demands of the people who ignored and bullied her before she was filthy rich, she arrives in a small North Carolina town in a snowstorm, determined to start her quiet, anonymous life all over again. But none of her plans include the burly, sexy, empathetic veterans counselor and contractor, Angus. As they fall head over heels in love, Rose must choose when to reveal her eighty million dollar secret, and risk having to flee the only real home and friends she’s ever found.

This was a perfect reading slump break for me. I loved Rose as a positive fat character struggling to blossom in her sexy, confident, competent self. I liked how the book called out Angus’s struggle to accept not being the financial support in a relationship as being rooted in sexism. That was neatly handled as a complex cultural issue instead of personal misogyny. And I liked how the book addressed mental health support gaps for veterans and the consequences of that neglect.

If I had a complaint, it would be that the story shifted POV too often for me. That’s a matter of personal taste, but some scenes seemed to shift POV every couple of pages and I found it distracting and unnecessary.

But overall Curves for Days by Laura Moher really kept my attention, and I read it straight through in a single day. There are moments of laughter and tears, along with excellent spice. It’s a great escapist beach read, leaving me dreaming of winning the lottery and running away to a small mountain town full of diverse queer characters, where little shops sell plus size lingerie and indie books, and I can fix up an antique house with a brawny soft-hearted grump who steals my heart forever. ❤️❤️

Content warnings for fatphobia and childhood bullying, parent death, PTSD, suicide, and SA.

Curves for Days releases 8/23/23, and is available for pre-order until then. Visit the author at https://www.lauramoher.com/ to get your copy, and don’t forget to request books through your local library!

joconklin Book Reviews, LGBTQ+, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Delilah Green doesn’t care. She’s built a whole life around it. Casual hookups, a soulless New York Apartment, and no contact with the small town of Bright Falls and the stepfamily that never cared about her. The only thing that matters is her photography career. When Delilah is critically behind on her rent and on the verge of stardom, her stepsister makes an offer she can’t refuse: come back to Bright Falls and photograph her society wedding. It would mean the kind of money Delilah hasn’t seen in years. Enough to get her through to her big break. But it also means returning to place where she grew up in painful isolation as a strange, forgotten ghost after her father died.

Delilah decides that while they can strongarm her into coming back to the town she loathes, she can do it on her own terms. That means wearing what she likes. It means moving through the pre-wedding events like a wrecking ball. It means seducing her stepsister’s best friend and bridesmaid, just to prove she can.

But the more time Delilah spends in Bright Falls, the more confusing things become. Her sister may need rescue more than torment, and the bridesmaid fling grows into a deeper connection. Delilah finds it harder and harder to not care. And ghosts from her past make her question for the first time, between her and her stepsister, just who stopped caring first.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care is one of those books that starts off simple, then starts peeling back layers of complexity as we go. It tackles hard topics like blended families, grief, expectations, and whether people are capable of change. But there is enough lightness to carry the weighty topics. I love the symmetry of each character fighting to throw off a different maladaptive coping mechanism. Despite coming from similar wounds, each character has a different journey toward healing. Some must learn to trust those that let them down. Others must trust themselves enough to set boundaries and say no.

The steam is delicious, and Delilah’s connection with Claire is unmistakably hot and powerful from the first moment they meet. The pacing of their emotional connection balances well with their sexual attraction. Claire’s kid and ex both serve as additional complexities in her relationship with Delilah. She must trust Delilah with her child’s heart, as well as her own. Delilah must trust Claire in return to not fall back into her ex’s arms. After all, Claire is one of her sister’s friends, and Delilah already knows what it’s like to be cast aside and forgotten by these women.

For this and other books, visit the author’s website at http://www.ashleyherringblake.com/. And don’t forget to request at your local public library!

Content notices for Delilah Green Doesn’t Care: Death of parent, childhood bullying and neglect, emotional abuse by parent and spouse, cheating exes.

joconklin Book Reviews, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: The Layover by Lacie Waldon

My local library has added some gems lately, and The Layover by Lacie Waldon is among them!

Ava Greene’s fiancé and love of her life is everything she wanted as a child. Settled. Scheduled. Predictable. Everything her irresponsible wandering nomad parents were not. She’s even willing to give up her career as a flight attendant to make this marriage work. Now her last trip has a coveted layover in Belize, and she’s taking the opportunity to celebrate the kickoff of her new life. Especially since her busy lawyer fiancé never has time to travel.

But this trip comes with a sour note in the form of Jack Stone, a former hotshot pilot and party to the most humiliating night of her life. She’s determined to enjoy this trip despite him, but mechanical issues mean delays, and the more time she spends around Stone, the harder it is to hate him. While she swore this was her last trip, it also reminds her of everything she loves about her job. Now Ava starts to wonder whether she can actually leave this life behind.

Her fiancé is adamant. He hates her unpredictable schedule, the unexpected delays, the inconvenience to his own tight schedule. He wants her home every night, a housewife and mother to his children. That’s what Ava told him she wanted. However, what she wished for as a child (stability, permanence) starts to feel more like a cage. Now she wonders whether she can put down roots without giving up the sky.

The Layover by Lacie Waldon is that sweet spot of romcom with profound personal revelation and growth. It talks about how we get to change and want new things, even as adults. It explores that moment when you have to let go of your maladaptive coping mechanisms when they no longer serve you. But all that is going on underneath the hood. At heart we have a light fun beachy romcom full of hijinks, delightful secondary characters, and the chaotic path to true love.

I love the subplots as much as the main, which always makes for a satisfying read. Ava’s unexpected friendships aboard her last flight and the quest to set up Gen and Pilot Paul adds to the hijinks and sweetness. The descriptions of Belize make me ache to trail my own hands through the bioluminescent pools. But mostly I want friends like Gen and Pilot Paul, and Ava and Jack, and the layover adventures they have together.

For The Layover and other work, visit the author at https://www.laciewaldon.com/. Don’t forget to request it at your local library!

joconklin Book Reviews, Mystery, Romcom

I’m Reading: Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

I picked up Dial A for Aunties from my local library this month, and couldn’t wait to talk about it!

Meddy is the good daughter. She stuck around and gave up the love of her life to go into the wedding business with her ma and aunties. All her cousins moved away as far and as fast as they could, but Meddy can’t bear to let her family down. Even when they try to control every part of her life.

But then Ma sets her up on a blind date with a creep and Meddy accidentally kills him in self-defense. She turns to the women who raised her for help, her Ma and Aunties. But tomorrow there’s a billionaire island wedding that will skyrocket their business to fame. They need to be on a boat in a few short hours, ready to organize the wedding of the century. That’s hardly time to dispose of a body properly. But it’s okay, because the Aunties have a plan. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is a must-read for writers because it breaks all the rules we stress over. It’s completely implausible, packed with coincidence and chaos, and has plot holes big enough to hide a body. It’s messy and chaotic.

And it’s FABULOUS. 

Dial A for Aunties is a romp, a heist, and a romance all rolled up in a pork dumpling. It’s Weekend at Bernie’s meets Crazy Rich Asians. Each new plot twist evokes a “What!?” of disbelief. Every hijink had me laughing out loud and face-palming (which is tricky while wearing reading glasses). Every new dilemma had me turning the page, until I finished the book with bleary-eyed satisfaction after 1am.

Meddy’s arc of finding her own identity and boundaries in the face of a loving but overwhelming family is well-developed and relatable. We root for her to find her balance, and it looks much different from her cousins’ solutions of fleeing to the far side of the country. The immersive cultural details are accessible and beautifully portrayed. Don’t be fooled by the hijinks, this book has depth and heartbreak under the laughter. You just have to let go of your preconceived notions and critical eye, pop some popcorn, and throw your whole heart into this wacky, cinematic, and thoroughly enjoyable story.

For links to this and other books, visit the author’s website at https://www.jesseqsutanto.com/ . Don’t forget to request it at your public library!

joconklin Book Reviews, LGBTQ+, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly

Dahlia Woodson has a plan to reinvent herself after a messy divorce left her world gray. If she can just win the reality cooking competition Chef’s Special, the prize money and fame will let her clear away the past and find the kind of future she’s been dreaming of. But when her feelings for her rival, non-binary London Parker, come to a boil, she must decide whether she’s ready to risk it all, including her heart, on another person again.

London Parker is intensely shy and reserved, which is why their coming-out as gender non-binary on a nationally televised cooking show is all the stress they can handle. They don’t have time for a bubbly, breathtakingly adorable rival creeping into their heart. They’re too busy proving the trolls (and their dad) wrong. But love doesn’t always care about your plans in life.

Love and Other Disasters has all the foodie TV feel-goods and sex-positivity you’re looking for in a romance, including a wedding crashing, a sweet grumpy-sunshine dynamic, and a dessert in bed scene that might not hit for all readers. But what really hit me was London’s character. I can see so much of myself in them and the development of their gender identity that the affirmation brought me to actual tears. The dysphoria struggle is real, raw, and honestly handled. It was a fiercely empowering read for me, as well as a gentle, sweet, spicy, sexy taking of SoCal by storm. I particularly loved Dahlia’s complicated, nuanced relationship with her mother, and the healing that rose from it.

At heart, this is a deliciously satisfying read, that also tackles some hard conversations and doesn’t shy away from showing the bad and the good in ways that leave the reader with hope for us all.

Content Notices for: On-page explicit homophobia and transphobia (including transphobic parent rejection and deadnaming), blood, and anxiety, use of AFAB language.

See Anita Kelly’s work at https://anitakellywrites.com/ and don’t forget to request it at your local library!

joconklin Book Reviews, LGBTQ+, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Dev Deshpande makes happy-ever-afters happen. As a producer on the top reality dating show, his specialty is crafting a story of true love, even when his own love life crashes and burns.

But this season’s bachelor, tech genius Charlie Winshaw, is a disaster. Stiff, awkward, picky, and anxious, he’s as far from prince charming material as the show has ever seen. Worse, he doesn’t even believe in love—he’s only on the show to rehabiliate his image.

Dev’s mission is to get Charlie to open up, relax, and give love a chance with the women vying to be chosen as his princess. But the more Charlie opens up, the more they realize he has better chemistry with Dev than the 20 women he’s supposed to choose a wife from. The two men are faced with a high-stakes choice: Go along with the illusion and save both their careers, or challenge everyone’s assumptions of who deserves a happy-ever-after.

This is one of those rare and precious cinnamon-roll love stories that make my heart sing, because the author does not confuse cinnamon-roll with passive or feminine. Charlie is strong, loyal, physical, and willing to fight for what he wants. He’s just also soft, sweet, anxious, and wounded by a world that refuses to see him. With OCD and panic disorder, his biggest struggle is internal; he must take off the mask that he’s worked so hard to make, because he assumed he had to meet the expectations of others to deserve happiness.

Dev and Charlie’s dynamic is reminiscent of Alex and Henry in Red, White, and Royal Blue. Dev has the same frenetic energy and wild charm, balanced by Charlie’s wounded softness. It’s a dynamic that works well, lending itself to adorable squee moments and outrageous, witty banter. The writing craft is strong from the line-level on up, the pacing well-balanced, and the secondary characters are ones we want to see center-stage in their own stories. This one is definitely going in my re-read pile.

Look and ask for The Charm Offensive at your local library, or visit the author’s website at https://www.alisoncochrun.com/ for purchasing options and upcoming titles!

joconklin Book Reviews, Romance, Romcom

I’m Reading: Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Ari Abram’s dream is to be a meteorologist, and counts herself lucky to work with her childhood hero, the ever calm and cheerful Torrance Hale at KSEA 6 in Seattle. But instead of the close relationship with her mentor she’d craved, she spends most of her time trying to defuse shouting matches and petty fights between Torrance and her divorced husband, the news director.

Desperate, she teams up with cinnamon roll sports reporter Russell Barringer to play matchmaker. If they can make their bosses fall in love again, it will make everyone’s lives easier at KSEA 6. But Ari wasn’t planning to fall in love herself. It would mean letting someone see past the sunshine girl, into the darkness beneath.

My favorite romances have both elements of light, funny, wholesome squish and tackle darker themes of identity and self-growth to keep it real and grounded. Weather Girl is a great blend, with the refreshing bonus of a sexy-sweet fat male lead, Jewish characters, blending families, and a twist that is as surprising as it is satisfying. I love the exploration of generational trauma relieved by laugh-out-loud dialogue. The author is also a master of steam, putting more panting sexual tension into a casual brush of skin than some books pack into an entire sex scene. There are, of course, also a few sex scenes, so lovers of extra chili peppers will enjoy this book.

Please be aware that the book deals with depression and mental health, childhood emotional trauma, and inpatient mental health in a respectful, accurate way. It addresses issues that don’t get discussed often enough, like the effect of medication on sex drive, the reality of bad days even on well-managed symptoms, and processing forgiveness as an option instead of an obligation. It’s real, but so are the good moments, the vulnerability, and the happy-ever-after.

Visit the author’s website at http://www.rachelsolomonbooks.com/ to find a copy of Weather Girl, or request it at your local library.

joconklin Book Reviews, Indie Books, Romance

I’m Reading: Crunching Her Numbers by Mia Sivan

I had the pleasure of beta-reading this book, and I love the author’s vision for it. I also received an ARC copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I can honestly recommend it to any steamy contemporary romance reader.

The Tel Aviv financial world is a world of men. Kelly, an investment manager and Argentinian immigrant, must be twice as good and twice as tough to hold her position at the top. That’s fine with her. After all, she’s happy, rich, and really only needs a man for one thing. It seems like the ideal solution to take up an affair with her younger Russian masseur, Slava. Sweet, romantic Slava is head-over-heels for Kelly, but she’s clear at the beginning that there will be no happy-ever-after—no matter how good he looks kneeling at her feet.

Illan is a private investigator working for the Israeli Securities Agency to uncover a massive market manipulation scheme. He needs Kelly’s help, but her whistleblowing and cooperating with the ISA could risk everything she’d worked for. He asks that he trust her not just with her career, but with her pleasure, and her deepest vulnerabilities. When he asks her to give up Slava, though, she finds that no-strings doesn’t mean easy to let go.

This is a bit of a break from my recent Romcom streak, although the author does bring some lighthearted moments to balance the serious circumstances and stakes. Sivan brings the diverse city of Tel Aviv to life as a backdrop to this steamy romance about financial trading scandals, intrigue, and the global immigrant experience. With well-researched and realistic BDSM and polyamory rep, this story brings the heat in a big way. But it also makes the complex world of financial trading and investigation accessible and interesting to readers with no background in finance. The characters are beautifully developed, with unique voices that jump off the page. We see them all as real people in their different strengths and vulnerabilities, and root for all three right to the very end.

Follow Mia Sivan on her Amazon Author Page for Crunching Her Numbers and upcoming releases.