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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated She Drives Me Crazy in Books
Jul 29, 2021
A stand-out queer romance
Scottie Zajac is reeling from her breakup with her toxic ex-girlfriend, Tally, whom she can't get over, no matter how bad she was for her. After losing to Tally's basketball team, she gets into a fender bender in the school parking lot with her nemesis, cheerleader Irene Abraham. Scottie is still smarting from when Irene had her car towed at a party. Unfortunately, Scottie and Irene's parents' decide that Scottie needs to drive Irene to school once the accident puts her car out of commission. Forced together, Scottie and Irene's tenuous relationship only gets more strained. But when Scottie sees a chance to get back at Tally, she bribes Irene to take part in a fake dating scheme. One that threatens to unravel when both Scottie and Irene realize they may have some very not fake feelings for each other.
Ok, I don't always love fake dating romances, but this book was practically perfect. I love a good (queer) YA rom com and basketball, so I thought this might be good. It was amazing: just so funny and sweet.
Quindlen captures Irene and Scottie perfectly--their vulnerability and their sarcasm. The book is often hilarious, but it also portrays the heartbreaking loss Scottie feels after breaking up with Tally and how she feels less worthy and less of a person after. We can understand that even though Tally is clearly wrong for her--and all her friends and family know it--it's so difficult for Scottie to grasp this and move on.
The story here is so genuine for a fake dating book. The cast of characters is wonderful, including Irene's best friend and Scottie's sister. I'm such a sucker for basketball, and I adored how Scottie's love of basketball was woven into the plot. This is a beautiful story about finding yourself as well as a funny book that made me grin goofily throughout. The ending definitely had me shedding some (happy) tears.
Easily one of my favorite queer books and one of the best books I've read this year.
Ok, I don't always love fake dating romances, but this book was practically perfect. I love a good (queer) YA rom com and basketball, so I thought this might be good. It was amazing: just so funny and sweet.
Quindlen captures Irene and Scottie perfectly--their vulnerability and their sarcasm. The book is often hilarious, but it also portrays the heartbreaking loss Scottie feels after breaking up with Tally and how she feels less worthy and less of a person after. We can understand that even though Tally is clearly wrong for her--and all her friends and family know it--it's so difficult for Scottie to grasp this and move on.
The story here is so genuine for a fake dating book. The cast of characters is wonderful, including Irene's best friend and Scottie's sister. I'm such a sucker for basketball, and I adored how Scottie's love of basketball was woven into the plot. This is a beautiful story about finding yourself as well as a funny book that made me grin goofily throughout. The ending definitely had me shedding some (happy) tears.
Easily one of my favorite queer books and one of the best books I've read this year.
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Musical Chairs in Books
Sep 17, 2020
A charming and delightful look at family and friendship
Bridget and Will are the best of friends--and nothing more--despite what everyone thinks. For over thirty years, they've been the two long-standing members of the Forsyth Trio. The third founding member, Gavin, went on to great success and stardom, leaving Bridget and Will to fill the position with a rotating crew of musicians. Before starting up the trio again, Bridget plans on spending the summer at her country house in Connecticut near her father, the famous musician Edward Stratton. But things go awry quickly. Her boyfriend breaks it off with her; her twenty-something twins surprise her by returning to the house for the summer, bringing their chaos with them; and the older Edward announces he's getting married. Will and Bridget decide to relaunch the Forsyth Trio at the wedding, but it all hinges on getting Gavin to return--someone they've both been avoiding for quite some time.
This is a charming and funny story. If it sounds all over the place, it's only because it's a reflection on Bridget's life, which is a total mess at the beginning of our tale. Each character in Poeppel's heartfelt tome is wonderful: real and true, standing out on the page as their own person. I fell easily for poor Bridget, hapless Will, the twins, and our host of side characters, ranging from Bridget's very New York-ish sister to Gwen to uppity Edward and his assistant to the local Connecticut townfolk who swarm to try to keep Bridget--and her cottage--from falling apart.
There's a lot of focus on music here--with Bridget, Will, and Edward all musicians, and it makes for a different and lovely book. While plenty of serious things happen, overall this is a sweet and funny story. I found myself smiling and laughing often while reading. There are some downright laugh out loud scenes. Bridget's inability to master technology, coupled with the helplessness of her twins, allow for some wonderful moments. But what really shines through is how much everyone here loves each other--Bridget and her kids, the whole Stratton family, and Will, who is truly part of the clan. How nice to read a book where, even if everyone might fight a day, their compassion and caring for each other shines through.
And, of course, I have a soft spot for any book featuring twins, so I enjoyed a prominent storyline featuring them.
Overall, this is delightful book that offered a wonderful distraction to the woes of the world. It's a funny and kind look at family and friendship, and it simply made me happy. 4+ stars.
This is a charming and funny story. If it sounds all over the place, it's only because it's a reflection on Bridget's life, which is a total mess at the beginning of our tale. Each character in Poeppel's heartfelt tome is wonderful: real and true, standing out on the page as their own person. I fell easily for poor Bridget, hapless Will, the twins, and our host of side characters, ranging from Bridget's very New York-ish sister to Gwen to uppity Edward and his assistant to the local Connecticut townfolk who swarm to try to keep Bridget--and her cottage--from falling apart.
There's a lot of focus on music here--with Bridget, Will, and Edward all musicians, and it makes for a different and lovely book. While plenty of serious things happen, overall this is a sweet and funny story. I found myself smiling and laughing often while reading. There are some downright laugh out loud scenes. Bridget's inability to master technology, coupled with the helplessness of her twins, allow for some wonderful moments. But what really shines through is how much everyone here loves each other--Bridget and her kids, the whole Stratton family, and Will, who is truly part of the clan. How nice to read a book where, even if everyone might fight a day, their compassion and caring for each other shines through.
And, of course, I have a soft spot for any book featuring twins, so I enjoyed a prominent storyline featuring them.
Overall, this is delightful book that offered a wonderful distraction to the woes of the world. It's a funny and kind look at family and friendship, and it simply made me happy. 4+ stars.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows in Books
Sep 13, 2017
Interesting, a little repetitive
I wasn't sure what to expect with this bizarrely named novel, and I was slightly worried it would be some Karma Sutra style book but it was nothing of the kind.
A group of old Punjabi women attend an English language class run by a British Asian young woman who mistakenly brings in an erotic book one day. It opens up a world of sensuous pleasure for the women, who are normally quite conservative about such topics.
While it's quite a novelty and funny at the beginning, the stories become repetitive and it becomes a little boring. The honour crime story was far more interesting and I wish there was more focus on that side instead of turning it in to a Gurinder Chadha type of novel. The stories are meant to open up other aspects of the community such as arranged marriages and the impact of honour - but it just doesn't seem to connect that well.
The protagonist Nicky is great though who reflects many British Asians growing up with dual cultures. Good but not great.
A group of old Punjabi women attend an English language class run by a British Asian young woman who mistakenly brings in an erotic book one day. It opens up a world of sensuous pleasure for the women, who are normally quite conservative about such topics.
While it's quite a novelty and funny at the beginning, the stories become repetitive and it becomes a little boring. The honour crime story was far more interesting and I wish there was more focus on that side instead of turning it in to a Gurinder Chadha type of novel. The stories are meant to open up other aspects of the community such as arranged marriages and the impact of honour - but it just doesn't seem to connect that well.
The protagonist Nicky is great though who reflects many British Asians growing up with dual cultures. Good but not great.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Adulthood is a Myth: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection in Books
Feb 15, 2019
<i>Adulthood is a Myth</i> gave me some serious lolz. I had never heard of Sarah Andersen before but since I'm over thirty and still don't feel like a real, actual adult, thought I'd give it a try. The cartoons are simple, yet well done, and remind me a little of Matthew Inman's art at <a href="http:///www.theoatmeal.com">The Oatmeal</a>. Each page has a different anecdote usually composed of two to five panels. The subjects range from new responsiblities reaching adulthood to relationships to procrastination. The ones I most gravitated towards were introversion, love of books, and love of animals.
I'm so glad I requested this book, it was short, funny, and I had a good time reading it. I now have a new artist to check out. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone, most especially those in their twenties, thirties, and forties; there's a little something for everyone to relate to in <i>Adulthood is a Myth</i>.
Received from NetGalley for an honest review.
I'm so glad I requested this book, it was short, funny, and I had a good time reading it. I now have a new artist to check out. I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone, most especially those in their twenties, thirties, and forties; there's a little something for everyone to relate to in <i>Adulthood is a Myth</i>.
Received from NetGalley for an honest review.
Sam (74 KP) rated Kill The Boyband in Books
Mar 27, 2019
I’ve never read a book with dark humour quite like this. It was brilliant. The jokes are definitely inappropriate, and that’s why I loved them so much. It’s unusual to get humour like this in YA so it was definitely worth it. The only bit of humour I wasn’t completely on board with were the sexual harassment jokes, but it did fit the theme of teenage fantasies so I’m not going to complain too much about that.
It is definitely written for the boy band generation, which I somehow sort of managed to avoid. I say ‘sort of’ because I’ve still gone through that phase of obsessing over a band. I just love the way it portrays crazy fan girls.
It could easily be One Direction fanfiction with how bizarre it is, but I’m not complaining about that! It just made it even more funny and painfully relatable.
I started this book expecting not to like it, and I finished loving it! I just wish it had a nicer cover!
It is definitely written for the boy band generation, which I somehow sort of managed to avoid. I say ‘sort of’ because I’ve still gone through that phase of obsessing over a band. I just love the way it portrays crazy fan girls.
It could easily be One Direction fanfiction with how bizarre it is, but I’m not complaining about that! It just made it even more funny and painfully relatable.
I started this book expecting not to like it, and I finished loving it! I just wish it had a nicer cover!
Sam (74 KP) rated All That Glitters (Geek Girl, #4) in Books
Mar 27, 2019
I think this was the most heartbreaking book of the series so far. It still had it’s funny parts, but it was actually quite sad. It really broke my heart when Harriet discovered that a lot of her ‘friends’ didn’t really care about her.
All of the main characters are lovable and being this far into the series, Harriet felt like a good friend to me. Her story was always close to my heart.
I did prefer the setting of this book since it is in a school and at home rather than Harriet jetting off somewhere as it made it easier to read and relate to.
This was definitely one of the most relatable books altogether, especially with the painfully truthful part about losing friends.
Harriet really started to mature in this one which really helped me love her character even more.
I don’t know why I never read past this point. A few months ago I bought the last two books so I can’t wait to get back to this series!
Buy All That Glitters from Amazon here.
All of the main characters are lovable and being this far into the series, Harriet felt like a good friend to me. Her story was always close to my heart.
I did prefer the setting of this book since it is in a school and at home rather than Harriet jetting off somewhere as it made it easier to read and relate to.
This was definitely one of the most relatable books altogether, especially with the painfully truthful part about losing friends.
Harriet really started to mature in this one which really helped me love her character even more.
I don’t know why I never read past this point. A few months ago I bought the last two books so I can’t wait to get back to this series!
Buy All That Glitters from Amazon here.
Gail (4 KP) rated Hot Georgia Rein in Books
Jun 4, 2018
Hot Georgia Rein by Martha Sweeney
Five Stars
I loved this book it was funny and steamy. The characters were well written and I enjoyed Ivy's and Henry's connection. I felt so bad for them because they lost so many years together. Neither was ready for what the other offered. I felt that Ivy only needed to leave because she wanted out of the small town life. Henry never left because Georgia is his home and that is where he knew he belonged. They both were stubborn and could've gave in but it made the story that much more fun to watch them jump around each other. I didn’t like that Ivy kept her secret for so long. Even if she didn’t want to cause trouble the man had a right to know. Henry was such a coward for not fighting for her and Ivy was really selfish. It all came together very nicely and I wish it was longer. Big props to the author who had me wishing I could be reading this book instead of working.
Five Stars
I loved this book it was funny and steamy. The characters were well written and I enjoyed Ivy's and Henry's connection. I felt so bad for them because they lost so many years together. Neither was ready for what the other offered. I felt that Ivy only needed to leave because she wanted out of the small town life. Henry never left because Georgia is his home and that is where he knew he belonged. They both were stubborn and could've gave in but it made the story that much more fun to watch them jump around each other. I didn’t like that Ivy kept her secret for so long. Even if she didn’t want to cause trouble the man had a right to know. Henry was such a coward for not fighting for her and Ivy was really selfish. It all came together very nicely and I wish it was longer. Big props to the author who had me wishing I could be reading this book instead of working.