Review: The View Was Exhausting

When I first heard about The View Was Exhausting I was immediately intrigued. Celebrity gossip, WOC heroine who's a famous actress, and exotic locales? Sign me up. Authors Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta have written a novel that is engaging, smart, and thought provoking that avoids veering into frothy, gossip rag territory. It was a win in my books.

Here's the book's description:

Faking a love story is a whole lot easier than being in love . . .
The world can see that international A-list actress Whitman ("Win") Tagore and jet-setting playboy Leo Milanowski are made for each other. Their kisses start Twitter trends and their fights break the internet. From red carpet appearances to Met Gala mishaps, their on-again, off-again romance has titillated the public and the press for almost a decade. But it's all a lie.
As a woman of color, Win knows the Hollywood deck is stacked against her, so she's perfected the art of controlling her public persona. Whenever she nears scandal, she calls in Leo, with his endearingly reckless attitude, for a staged date. Each public display of affection shifts the headlines back in Win's favor, and Leo uses the good press to draw attention away from his dysfunctional family.
Pretending to be in a passionate romance is one thing, but Win knows that a real relationship would lead to nothing but trouble. So instead they settle for friendship, with a side of sky-rocketing chemistry. Except this time, on the French Riviera, something is off. A shocking secret in Leo's past sets Win's personal and professional lives on a catastrophic collision course. Behind the scenes of their yacht-trips and PDA, the world's favorite couple is at each other's throats. Now they must finally confront the many truths and lies of their relationship, and Win is forced to consider what is more important: a rising career, or a risky shot at real love?

It sure sounds like it would be a novel that could be all flash and no substance. But it's not. Clements and Datta (a wife-and-wife team) shine a light on all that is toxic about celebrity culture. For better or worse, Win is being run by a publicity machine and, the way she sees it, she has no choice but to go along with it. She can't be too loud or too opinionated or too pure or too loose. Not as a woman in Hollywood and especially not as an British Asian actress. I don't know what it's like to be an actress or a woman of colour but I do know what it's like to be a woman and could imagine, at least a little, the struggles Win was facing.

I can't quite put my finger on why I couldn't bump up my rating to a 4 star. This is a solid 3.5 star read for me and I definitely recommend reading it. But something is preventing me from all out raving about it. Part of it could be that I wanted to like Win more. She's not unlikeable but she is so caught up in managing her appearance that she hasn't thought about actual relationships and how the few people in her orbit feel about having to deal with such a particular way of life. She's referred to as "cold" a couple of times and part of what makes her a great character to read is that she's not, really, cold. She's really layered and she's struggling with her image and who she really is. Life is hard and it's easier to give into what's, well, easy and that, for Win, is putting on a persona instead of dealing with anything. I guess I didn't really like that some people in her life were being used as pawns in her life and, while I came around in the end, I still wondered what was real and what was an act. 

The writing in this one is smooth and I never felt like I was reading something written by two authors. The only blip I had that kind of annoyed me was halfway-ish through when we went back in time to see what Leo was up to before The Secret happened. It made sense from a story perspective - we needed to know what actually happened - but it threw off the flow for me. Other than that, though, the story ticked along at a good pace even with all the location changes and time jumps (a couple of weeks or so) in between.

I hesitate calling The View Was Exhausting "fun" because there were so many important topics authors Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta weave into this Hollywood story that kept it from being a mindless read. It is entertaining and it's funny but it's also smart and observant. If you're intrigued, you should definitely pick it up this summer.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, HBG Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: How Sweet It Is

Sometimes a rom com comes into your life just at the right moment. I think that was the case with How Sweet It Is. I had so much fun reading Dylan Newton's novel - it hit all the right notes for a rom com and I really enjoyed my time spent with the characters. 

Here's the book's description:

Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch extravaganza? But the second Kate meets—or rather, accidentally maims—the drop-dead-hot Drake Matthews, her well-ordered life quickly transforms into an absolute nightmare.
Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and tired of his reputation as the Knight of Nightmares. He's really a nice guy! But he’s not prepared for Kate, a fearless agent of chaos in steel-tipped stilettos, or for that sweet sting of attraction he feels for her. She’s inspiring him to take his writing in a whole new direction—one that no one expects. Because now Kate and Drake are changing up the rules, and this plot twist might just surprise everyone . . . including themselves.

It seems like this book could be an enemies to lovers or an opposites attract type story but, really, it was a case of miscommunication and assumptions on both sides. Kate isn't as uptight as Drake assumes, and Drake is not the creepy horror writer Kate expected. Once they get to know each other, they (and the reader) realize they have some things in common and, gasp, might actually like each other. I liked that Newton managed to avoid falling into the insta-love trap (even though the story takes place over a short period of time). Kate and Drake falling for each other just made so much sense and I loved reading as the sexual tension got higher and higher until they finally got together (and I loved how they did as well with a mini getaway). 

I'm really hoping Newton continues this novel into a series because I would love to get back into town and see what might happen romantically with both of Drake's brothers. The three siblings had such a great relationship and I'd be really interested to see who the other two end up with. My guess is one of them will end up with Kate's best friend (and Drake's publicist)!

Unlike a lot of small town set romances/rom coms I've read lately, How Sweet It Is didn't fall into any ridiculous territory. Yes, there was a super cute Harvest Festival but you could tell the whole town enjoyed it and it was a really special event for Drake's mom, which came through really well. The town is proud of Drake and welcoming of outsiders, which made the setting feel really good.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say the "crisis" the pair go through at the end of the novel (like in all romances and rom coms) was a bit ridiculous. Drake refused to actually speak to Kate about what happened and made assumptions instead (which, to be fair, made sense as something similar had happened in a past relationship). It wasn't such a bad thing that they couldn't come back from it, so I was happy about that, but it was just kind of like, "well, we have to have something happen so they fight/break up/etc. and then can have a wonderful get back together moment" and it was tossed in without a ton of thought.

I have an event background and I love books so the fact that Kate was an event planner and Drake was an author really made me excited to read this. Each career was explored well without being too technical and Newton was able to showcase each character's skills and how proud the other was of them.

Finally, I liked that there was a brief stop in Niagara Falls, albeit the "other" side of the falls. I live nearby on the Canadian side and it's always fun when books take place in and around the area. It was very much seen from the tourist side of things but it was cool to read as Kate took in Niagara Falls in a spectacular fashion.

How Sweet It Is totally thrilled me and it was a super fun and swoony rom com. If you're a fan of funny and smart romances, you're going to want to check out Dylan Newton's novel.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Evening

I'm not much of a literary fiction reader but sometimes a title catches my eye and I want to give it a try. Evening by Nessa Rapoport was one of those novels and I ended up enjoying it. Released in fall 2020, the story follows a plot but also focuses on reflecting on choices made in life and what it means to mourn.

Here's the book's description:

In her thirties, Eve is summoned home by her distraught family to mourn the premature death of her sister, Tam, a return that becomes an unexpected encounter with the past. Eve bears the burden of a secret: Two weeks before Tam died, Eve and Tam argued so vehemently that they did not speak again. Her sister was famous, acclaimed for her career as a TV journalist and her devoted marriage. But Tam, too, had a secret, revealed the day after the funeral, one that inverts the story Eve has told herself since their childhood. In the aftermath, Eve is forced to revise her version of her fractured family, her sister’s accomplishments and vaunted marriage, and her own impeded ambition in work and love.
Day by day as the family sits shiva, the stories unfold, illuminating the past​ to shape the present. Evening explores the dissonant love between sisters, the body in longing, the pride we take in sustaining our illusions, and the redemption that is possible only when they are dispelled.

The novel is set in Toronto, a city not so far from my own, but not in the present day. I now can't recall if the exact year was ever divulged but I'd guess it was the late 80s or early 90s.While that doesn't seem like it was that long ago, a lot has changed since that time. By setting the novel in a time other than the present, it added an extra something. I liked that there were no cell phones or laptops or social media during the time the family was sitting shiva together which seemed to allow for a more isolated feeling to the mourning period. 

Normally I love my genre fiction that has a clear beginning, middle, and end (preferably with an expected romantic Happily Ever After) and characters I like (and like reading about) so reading more literary novels is an undertaking for me. I like to expand my reading bubble, though, and I'm glad I did with Rapoport's novel. 

I liked the way the novel was formatted with the book sectioned into days as the family sits shiva. This also helped me feel like the story had a defined structure. At first, I wanted to say that the story was mostly told in "present" day but, upon reflection, there were a number of scenes set in the past that helped illuminate the relationships Eve had with those around her - most importantly, her sister. Even though Tam has died, I was still able to feel like I knew her, through Eve's memories.

I'm not Jewish and am only somewhat familiar with the tradition of sitting shiva. I enjoyed learning a little bit more about it, even though I know the point of the novel isn't to overtly teach the reader.

Grief and relationships between sisters are so well explored in this novel and, even while deeply sad, was beautiful to read. Being one of a pair of sisters means having a unique bond, but one that is common between almost every other pair of sisters. It's hard to explain unless you're in it and I found Rapoport was able to explore that really well, even though the majority of the novel was told from present day when one of the sisters had died. Reading this story made me miss my own younger sister, who's an ocean away, and all I wanted to do is wrap her in a giant hug. 

Evening wasn't a novel I would typically pick up but I'm thankful I chose to read Nessa Rapoport's novel. During a time when the entire world is dealing with various levels of grief, it was interesting and enlightening to read a story where a family is grieving the untimely death of a young woman. I think the way the novel made me feel is going to stick with me for awhile.

*An ARC of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Summer Sisters

The Summer Sisters was the second in Sara Richardson's Juniper Springs series and picks up not too long after Home for the Holidays left off. Just like the first novel, it was full of family and sweet romances that provided a lovely story.

Here's the book's description:

The Buchanan sisters share everything—including their inherited Juniper Inn. But when their mother won’t let go of a decades-long feud with their Aunt Sassy to attend the inn’s grand re-opening, the sisters decide a family reunion is long overdue.
Youngest sister Rose is determined to put together an extravagant celebration. Only she needs to convince a certain surly hardware store owner to help finish the inn’s renovations.
After a heartbreaking end to her marriage, Dahlia and her kids are just starting to rebuild their lives. Dahlia’s even considering opening herself up to love again, but will that upset the stability she’s worked so hard to give her children?
Sassy McGrath has never stopped missing her sister, Lillian, and though they’ve both been too stubborn to reconcile, some shocking news might finally change everything. As family bonds are tested, will these two very different generations of women find the strength to believe in themselves and each other? 

As you can see, this book focused on two (instead of three) Buchanan sisters along with their Aunt Sassy. I wasn't expecting that but I wasn't too surprised either. The third sister, Magnolia, had a clear Happily Ever After in the first book plus she lives across the country from the Inn. She did pop in at the end so the reader is able to see just how great life has been for her since the first book. And I really did enjoy getting to know a bit more about Sassy.

And, bonus, I appreciated that a mainstream romance featured a love story for a woman who was just turning seventy. True, she was one of three characters in the story but there don't seem to be many romances that have heroines over the age of forty, let alone all the way up to seventy. It's not a personal need for me right now but I know by the time I get up there in years I'm going to want to see heroines my own age in the romances I read.

Like with most romances, there's a certain amount of non-communicating that happens amongst a lot of the characters. Sassy refuses to acknowledge worsening headaches which, from an outside perspective, was frustrating. Colt and Rose had such great chemistry but couldn't seem to talk about anything important, like their feelings for each other. And Dahlia was afraid to have any sort of conversation with Ike or her daughter about what a relationship could look like. Ah, but if everyone discussed what they needed to, we wouldn't have romance novels, would we? It was just a bit much to get through as I was anxious for all the Happily Ever Afters I knew had to be coming.

Like the first book in the Juniper Springs series, The Summer Sisters wasn't groundbreaking but Sara Richardson's novel provides a sweet, romantic escape for those who love their small town romances (and prefer them to be closed door). It was a lovely way to spend a summer Sunday and I was so happy with the way the storylines were wrapped up.

My review of Home for the Holidays is here.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Forever, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: A Lot Like Love

I really enjoyed Jennifer Snow's Wild River series, set in Alaska, so I was excited to see her publishing another small town romance series, this one in a much sunnier state on the West Coast. A Lot Like Love is the first in the Blue Moon Bay series, which is set in a small town in California. The town is super cute, the people are great, but, at the end of it all, the overall story didn't wow me. Was it bad? Definitely not! I just don't think it was as good as it could have been.

Here's the book's description:

They have different ideas about the fate of an old inn...until it brings them together.
When Sarah Lewis inherits a run-down B&B from her late grandmother in coastal Blue Moon Bay, the logical thing to do is sell it and focus on her life in L.A. But when she learns that interested buyers will only tear it down in its current state, she feels a sense of obligation to her grandmother to get it back to the landmark tourist destination it once was...even if that means hiring the best contractor for the job, who happens to be her old high school crush.
Wes Sharrun’s life has continued to unravel since the death of his wife three years before. Now with a struggling construction company and a nine-year-old daughter, he sees the B&B as an opportunity to get back on his feet. Unfortunately, despite trying to keep his distance, his daughter has taken a liking to Sarah, and his own feelings are tough to deny.
As they spend more time together painting, exploring a forgotten treasure trove of wine in a basement cellar, and arguing over balcony placement, the more the spark between them ignites. But will saving the B&B be enough to convince them both to take a second chance at love?

In a case of really unfortunate timing, I had recently read Mermaid Inn by Jenny Holiday (another Canadian romance author, like Snow). There were, at first glance, far too many similarities between the two and it took a little bit for me to shake it off. Really, it was a small town and a woman had been willed a B&B that she wasn't expecting from an elderly relative and was thrust together with a guy from her past. All the other little nuances were quite different, which I could see by the end of the story.

I found the character development to be a bit...lacking. Not too much with Sarah and Wes but the secondary characters did not stand out and I don't find myself wanting to get back to Blue Moon Bay immediately. Marissa, Wes' daughter, was the liveliest character in the whole story. I also struggled with a lot of the connections between them. Everyone seemed to have different memories of high school (don't ask me how long ago it was because there seemed to be conflicting timelines that I could not figure out) and I couldn't really understand, at times, why any of them interacted with the others. The whole Lia storyline seemed shoehorned in, even though the event was the catalyst for Sarah deciding what she wanted to do.

Despite all of the above, there were some great points to this romance. I loved that Sarah worked in the tech sector and that she could be a great role model for Marissa, who was obsessed with all things STEM. Wes was a great dad who wanted to support his daughter, even more so after his wife's death, but he's super old school and couldn't understand why his daughter would be into all that, even if he was trying. I appreciated that Sarah's final decision didn't really have anything to do with Wes (and Marissa). He played a part, for sure, but she knew what she needed to do from a career and personal (not romantic) perspective. 

All in all, A Lot Like Love was...fine. I have a strong feeling this could have been a case of right book, wrong time because I really enjoyed Jennifer Snow's other romances. If you're a sucker for small town romances, you might really enjoy this one.

*An egalley was provided by the publisher, Entangled, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: Instamom

Full disclosure: I've known Chantel Guertin for a number of years. I've been reading her books since 2011 (um, I did NOT expect it to have been a decade...) and I've seen her at countless book events in the years since. So, it's no surprise that I was THRILLED when I heard she was writing a new adult novel that was going to fall into the rom com sphere. Instamom is out tomorrow and it's a contemporary story that is smart and fun but also really deep as it addresses a lot of heavy and important topics. 

Here's the book's description:

In this #funny, #wise, #emotionally compelling look at modern love and finding your true path, a proudly kid-free influencer meets the ultimate #dealbreaker . . .
It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.
Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?

Let's get the heavy stuff out of the way first. I, like Kit at the beginning of this novel, am childfree. I do not want kids and have felt this way for probably over ten years but have been super firm in my decision for I'd say about eight. I've had so many people tell me that I'll change my mind (pro tip: never tell a woman that. Ever.) My boyfriend (of sixteen years) also doesn't want kids and people in his world often say "but doesn't your girlfriend want kids?" There are countless other frustrating and nosy questions and comments I've gotten and it all comes down to this: society finds it really weird and hard to understand when a woman does not want to have children. So it was great to hear that some of Guertin's characters were also feeling those frustrations - it was so incredibly true to life and I appreciated it so much. But. This is where it gets tricky. (And slightly spoilery. But this does have a romance at it's core and if you can't figure out that there's a Happily Ever After at the end of this one, well, I can't help you.) I really, really didn't want Kit to change her mind. And I kind of felt like an asshole about that. One of the main points of this story is that women are allowed to change their mind about having children (or not). I truly do believe that. One of my very best friends did and I'm thrilled to bits for her and her little munchkin. BUT. I don't get to see myself and my views on not having kids reflected in fiction very often and the fact that this one was so close and then wasn't? I think I felt hurt. It's been a very complicated time for me to sort out these feelings, let me tell you. At the end of the day, Guertin's novel nails the judgment women receive because of their decisions on motherhood and how they're questioned because of those decisions. I may have felt way too close to the storyline but that doesn't take away from how important it is for stories like this to be out there, that challenge the status quo and explore what it's like to be a woman - with or without children. 

I love that contemporary novels are finding a great balance between fun and light and serious and heavy. Should we be calling them all rom coms? Hmm, maybe not. Romantic comedies are going to have more real life topics to deal with than straight romance novels but they should still be super heavy on the romance and the comedy. Once you add in struggles with, in the case of Instamom, deciding whether you want to completely change your values when it comes to having children? Can it really be a rom com? This one wasn't laugh out loud funny like I expect from those kinds of books but it was still smart and witty - which I love. I don't have an answer for "what should we call these kinds of books?" and I'm still not sure if we really need one. I struggle with it, too, because a book by a man with these kinds of themes would just be fiction. No need to throw a subgenre on there. Anyone else feel like that? 

The other part of the storyline, apart from the childfree business, explored Kit's job as an influencer. I am so small time but I'm still in the influencer world a little wee bit so I understood some of what she was feeling. Authenticity seems to be what people want to see but it also appears they still enjoy the carefully curated photos and captions more than every day views. Influencers feel they have to have a niche so followers know what to expect. And it all gets to be a bit...exhausting. Guertin doesn't hold back in describing how conflicted Kit was and the issues she was facing as an influencer and it was great to read - really real and impactful. I don't know what's going to happen with our influencer heavy world but I think something has to change.

Kit was a really interesting character to read. She's about my age, which I always appreciate, and smart and a book lover. I was pretty sure we would be friends if we ever met in person. I was really emotionally connected to her and her story and I felt all the feelings right alongside with her. I did feel a little differently about Will than she did. Quite honestly...er...well...I didn't like him. I felt he never listened to Kit and brushed off her concerns as if they were silly or hysterical. I do think he truly cared for her but I couldn't help but think he had some shit to figure out before he'd be good enough for Kit. And Addie? She was an absolute delight. I've read three books in the last two months where there's a daughter who's about seven or eight and they've all been so smart (sometimes too smart) and fun to read about.

I also absolutely loved that this book was set in Toronto. We're seeing that more and more in contemporary reads from Canadian authors and I'm SO HAPPY. Next we need to have more cities and towns represented from across the country. Publishers may have some backwards notion that readers in other countries (cough, the USA, cough) don't want to read books set in Canada but I think that assumption is slowly changing. 

Instamom had me feeling all of the feels and I think Chantel Guertin's latest novel is going to stick with me for a long while. It's a perfect book to throw in your beach bag or dive into while sitting in your backyard. It'll make you think and smile the entire way through.

*Am egalley was provided by both the Canadian (Doubleday Canada/PRHC) and American (Kensington Books) publishers and a print copy was provided by Doubleday Canada in exchange for review consideration. All opinions and honest and my own.*

Review: A Brit Player

I first read Brenda St. John Brown back in 2018 when I picked up A Brit on the Side, the first in the Castle Calder series. I loved the setting she created in small town England and the characters she wrote. I haven't read books two or three but when I had the chance to read book four, I was happy to do so! I knew this isn't a true series and I could read the books in any order so I wasn't bothered by jumping back in with A Brit Player. I was rewarded with a steamy second-chance romance that I really enjoyed reading.

Here's the book's description:

Whoever said taking a second chance on your first love was a good idea obviously had nothing to hide…
They say the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. But shagging a guy with a “Bad Decision” tattoo is never a good idea. It’s a warning label. Trust me.
So when a friend coerces me into taking part in a charity dating auction, I jump at the chance to leave London - and my bad decisions - behind for a weekend.
But Max Foster is there and he’s bidding on me like it’s his job. Max isn’t just a guy. He’s THE GUY - my first love who I haven’t seen since the day he left high school to go play professional football in Spain.
I shouldn’t see him again, never mind want to. Because letting him find out about the secret I’ve kept from him these past twelve years? That has “bad decision” written all over it.

My mid-thirties old lady feeling self was a bit...concerned that the initial relationship between Tara and Max happened when they were sixteen. You cannot fully know yourself at sixteen but you can have intense emotional connections. And the pair had that. Of course you're not going to forget someone like that over the last decade plus. Neither Max nor Tara expected the other to be exactly like their teenaged self (ugh can you imagine if you reconnected with someone in your twenties and they were exactly the same as they were in high school?) and they did seem to want to get to know the person they had become. That helped with my "ahh they were so young" feelings. Plus you could just tell they were meant to be together so I put my old lady judginess away and went along for the ride.

There are triggers in this book and two of them I feel I can't mention because they're central to the plot how the story is told. If you want to read this and are really concerned about what they are, please DM me on Instagram! (@KaleyS23, if you're not following already!) I will say they are relationship based and do not include abuse. Other triggers could include feelings of abandonment, being unable to commit, and a second chance at a relationship. 

It had been awhile since I had read a true romance (true = the end goal is a Happily Ever After (or a Happily Ever After For Now) where the two main characters end up together in coupled bliss) that was also on the steamier side. Yes, please, doors open sex scenes. There's a place for all kinds of sex scenes, of course, but sometimes you want to actually see (er, read) the sexual attraction instead of just imagining it. (Which, I guess, you're still technically doing while reading it...) Anywho. St. John Brown wrote the scenes really well and you could feel the pent up emotions between Tara and Max just leaping off the page.

Tara and Max were lovely characters to read about. Sometimes when a friend of a friend type series gets into the later books, the characters might not be as engaging or entertaining as the author might have hoped. I liked reading about both past and present day Tara and Max and were rooting for them, both as a couple and for Tara personally as she worked on her issues. 

I think I know who might be the stars of the next book and I'm excited to see if I'm right.

If you're a romance reader, I encourage you to check out Brenda St. John Brown's novels, especially her Castle Calder series. A Brit Player was just the book I needed at the time and I flew through it. I'm looking forward to finding the time to go back and read the books I've missed and check out some of her others.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the author via Give Me Books Promotions in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*