As you may know, I went on a post-vaxx vacation in April which means that I caught up on a log of reading on the plane and on the beach! This means a lot of fun recommendations for YOU!
Let’s dive in -
Who’s That Girl: Mhairi McFarlane
Mhairi McFarlane is one of my favorite Brit rom-com writers, so it’s no surprise that I really loved this book to.
When Edie gets kissed by her colleague at his wedding (and his new wife sees it!), Edie is ostracized and has to take an extended sabbatical. And while on sabbatical, she will be writing an autobiography for a very popular actor (on a GoT equivalent fictional show). Edie is trying to balance a regression to family dynamics from her teens with an actor who doesn’t want his biography written, all while trying to find herself and her career.
There are some funny moments, and while I’m not sure I would describe this as laugh-out-loud, this book is a delightful read. This would be a fun beach read!
Read this if you enjoy Brit romcoms like Notting Hill, Love Actually, etc.
Overall grade: A-
Grown-Up Pose: Sonya Lalli
As an Indian-American, my #1 gripe with South Asian stories is that not one of them reflects anything close to my experience or generally experiences of people in modern Mumbai. Until this book.
Anu Desai is a 30-something mom going through a separation, and now she’s sinking her life’s savings into a yoga studio. Between dating and a new business, she’s a little in over her head. Combining universally applicable problems with the context of South Asian culture, this book was a really engaging read. It has a romcom style cover, but I’m not sure this is technically a romcom - it’s more like “woman in her thirties finding herself”.
Overall grade: A-
People Like Her: Ellery Lloyd
Emmy Jackson is a very successful London-based mommy blogger - her carefully constructed slightly messy lifestyle screams “authentic” but is truly anything but. Her husband, a failed novelist who can’t write his second book, is resentful of Emmy’s “writing for Instagram” and the income she generates from it.
While Emmy navigates the cracks in her marriage, she doesn’t realize that someone is keeping a very close eye on her.
There’s a bit of a thriller element to this book - very enjoyable, solid beach read.
Overall grade: B+
Yolk: Mary H.K. Choi
Anything Mary H.K. Choi writes is an automatic “must read” and Yolk is no exception.
June and Jayne are sisters living in New York, but their lives could not be more different. June is a successful finance professional who lives in a gorgeous apartment, while Jayne is a mediocre student who lives in squalor and has terrible taste in men.
Then June gets cancer, and Jayne steps up to take care of her sister.
Jayne and June both have secrets, and their close proximity threatens to bring them all out in the open.
CW: eating disorders
This is not a light book, so it doesn’t have that frothy beachy quality, but it is beautifully written and should 100% be in your TBR pile.
The Intimacy Experiment: Rosie Danan
This book is the sequel to Rosie Danan’s The Roommate, and while this book stands alone, it does include spoilers from Book 1, so you’ve been warned.
Naomi is a former adult performer and now co-founder of an acclaimed sex-positive startup. Rabbi Ethan Cohen is looking to bring more young people to his synagogue and hires Naomi to teach a series on modern dating.
This is a steamy romcom, so I’m not going to say a whole lot about the plot.
Overall grade: B+/A- - I didn’t like this as much as The Roommate, but it’s probably because I read The Roommate at the end of 2020 so this was probably read in too close proximity to that one.
Second First Impressions: Sally Thorne
I loved this book so much, its 100% a beach read and made me feel all fuzzy inside.
You can read my full review here
Overall grade: A
The Dating Plan: Sara Desai
This book is a sequel to Marriage Game, and while this stands alone, it includes a spoiler to Marriage Game, so be warned if that matters to you.
Daisy Patel is a software engineer at a feminine care startup. Her South Asian family has been hounding her to get married (this is a consistent theme in romcoms with South Asian leads) and a chance encounter with her first love, Liam Murphy leads to a pretend dating plan. Liam has problems of his own - his inheritance is predicated on him getting married, and Daisy and Liam decide to fake a marriage for mutual benefit.
This book is super cute and we all know how “pretend marriages” work in romcoms - definite beach read.
Overall grade: A-
This covers the 7 books I read in April - stay tuned for May book reviews coming soon!