How can I already be so far behind? I always have such good intentions with reviewing…and I am great about keeping up with the reading. I just never find the time to sit down and think and type. Thus, I gift to you these three quick reviews for books that were FINE.
First, Love Lettering, a book I never would have heard of if I hadn’t been obsessively following all of the tweets about the RWA meltdown over the holidays. I somehow stumbled across some tweets from Kate Clayborn, who is a Lucy Parker stan, and who also was tweeting some really interesting things about contemporary stories and economics. Her new book took place in a place I was familiar with — Park Slope, Brooklyn — and sounded fun for a cold weekend.
It was cute. Meg is a Park Slope celebrity of sorts — she is a famous journal designer (SERIOUSLY. I AM SURE THIS EXISTS IN PARK SLOPE) who provides hand-lettered themes and layouts for customers’ planners and bullet journals. I mean. Park Slope.
She isn’t all that satisfied with her personal life, but she is working toward changing things in her career. And then, tall drink of water — and former client — Reid walks into her shop. She had designed Reid’s wedding invitations the previous year, and had hidden a message in them telling Reid and his fiancé that their nuptials would be a mistake. Reid deciphered her message and comes to confront Meg.
Meg is quirky, Reid is serious. Opposites attract, etc. She has issues with her family and friends, and he has issues with his job and New York.
Cute story, a bit strange to base a romance on hand lettered signage around New York, but maybe I just don’t ever look at signs that much when I’m out and about.
One strange thing that stood out to me — Meg never once mentions what she looks like. She describes handsome and tall Reid in detail. And we know that Meg likes to wear quirky outfits, but that’s it. No issues with her body or looks, which was great, but strange that it was literally never once mentioned.
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American Royals was fun until it wasn’t.
I was reading this during the whole “Sussexit” situation, which made it a bit more interesting, I guess.
What if George Washington had decided to become King of America after the Revolutionary War?
This book takes place in an alternate USA, where the royal family in Washington are the biggest celebrities in the world. Princess Beatrice, the oldest child, is heir to the throne, and will be the first-ever Queen of America. Her twin siblings, Samantha and Jefferson, love to party and travel, and aren’t really taken all that seriously.
Its time for Beatrice to think about her future, and she is provided with a list of eligible husbands from her parents. But what if Bea already has a husband in mind? One that isn’t quite so eligible?
Jeff’s love life has always been front-page news, but he broke up with his tabloid-ready girlfriend Daphne, and is now dating a commoner, Nina. The public isn’t all that excited about their relationship, but will that stop Jeff and Nina?
And Sam wishes her family would take her more seriously. She’s more than just a party girl with fancy clothes.
The story was…fine. But I got seriously annoyed when I only had about 50 pages left and realized there was no way all of the plots threads would be tied up and that this clearly was meant to be book one in a series. UGH.
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Last up, and this one was my favorite, was The Bookish Life of Nina Hill.
Nina lives alone in the Larchmont neighborhood of Los Angeles. She works in a bookstore, does trivia, and deals with her anxiety. She plans out every spare second of her day so that she doesn’t have time to be anxious. She doesn’t have much of a family to speak of, until one day, a lawyer comes to find her at work to tell her that her father is dead.
She never even knew who her father was, and suddenly she has inherited a whole family of siblings, nieces, nephews, and aunts.
Meanwhile, Nina meets Tom, a member of an opposing trivia team. He’s handsome, and thoughtful, and understands her quirks and issues. But Nina hates that he isn’t a book reader.
Cute story, and a nice homage to the Larchmont neighborhood. I didn’t love Nina’s prickly side, but I understood it, and appreciated her honesty. Of the three authors, Abbi Waxman is the one who I read again.
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