Tag: fiction

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases- Oct’23

Usually I start this post talking about the hard task of digging through all of the choices to figure out my top 5 book releases for the month. I’ll admit, I had the opposite problem this time. I dug through the lists and had trouble finding five I wanted to read. I’ll admit, I’m in a bit of a slump and finding it hard to get into a book at the moment. Life has just been so busy! BUT here are the one’s I did find that I will be adding to my TBR.

#5 BOOK RELEASE

A sequel to the novel that started it all for John Grisham- The Firm. I read the firm back when it came out. I haven’t read too many of John Grisham’s more recent novels but I’m curious to see where he is leading the iconic main character.

Synopsis: What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Exchange

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase any of these books through the associated link I’ll receive a small stipend.

#4 BOOK RELEASE

Can you really go wrong with the magic that is usually contained between the pages of a Josie Silver book? I think not!

Synopsis: A young chef stumbles on a secret family recipe that might lead her to the love—and life—she’s been looking for in this stunning novel from the New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December.

When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. 

But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?

Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?

Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.

Click this link to purchase this book!* A Winter in New York

#3 BOOK RELEASE

I love a great friendship novel and this book looks to be the best kind of friendship- friends to lovers. I’ve got my fingers crossed Imogen becomes this man’s first choice!

Synopsis:mogen Finch has just been through her seventeenth breakup. She saw it coming, so she’s not as crushed as she might be, but with all seventeen of her exes leaving her for other partners, she’s come to believe a prediction her well-intentioned and possibly clairvoyant mother made over twenty years ago: that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone. Is her love life failing due to a magical curse? Insufficient effort? Poor timing or personality mismatches? Everyone has opinions on the matter.

Imogen’s ready to give up altogether. But when Eliot Swift, her secret high school crush, returns to their small coastal town after a decade of nomadic travels, Imogen has new motivation to try again. Eliot’s full of encouragement. He suggests that her curse is not only imagined, it’s easily breakable. All they need is one win–any win–and she can believe in love, and in herself again.

From trivia games to swimming races to corn-shucking contests, the pair sets out to snag Imogen her first first. But when victory proves more elusive than Eliot anticipated, and when his deep-seeded wanderlust compels him to depart for far away places, Imogen fears she’s destined to remain in second place forever. Fortunately for them both, sometimes magic lingers in the most unexpected places. And love is far from predictable.

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch

#2 BOOK RELEASE

I live in music city and have a soft spot for rock star (country star?) romances. Erin Hahn has written some great YA novels and I’m looking forward to this foray into adult romances.

Synopsis: Lorelai Jones had it all: a thriving country music career and a superstar fiancé. Then she played one teenie tiny protest song at a concert and ruined her entire future, including her impending celebrity marriage. But five years later, she refuses to be done with her dreams and calls up the one person who stuck by her, her dear friend and her former fiancé’s co-writer and bandmate, Craig.

Craig Boseman’s held a torch for Lorelai for years, but even he knows the backup bass player never gets the girl. Things are different now, though. Craig owns his own indie record label and his songwriting career is taking off. If he can confront his past and embrace his gifts, he might just be able to help Lorelai earn the comeback she deserves—and maybe win her heart in the process.

But when the two reunite to rebuild her career and finally scratch that itch that’s been building between them for years, Lorelai realizes a lot about what friends don’t do. For one, friends don’t have scratch-that-itch sex. They also don’t almost-kiss on street corners, publish secret erotic poetry about each other, have counter-top sex, write songs for each other, have no-strings motorcycle sex, or go on dates. And they sure as heck don’t fall in love… right?

Click this link to purchase this book!* Friends Don’t Let Friends Fall in Love

MY TOP OCTOBER 2023 BOOK RELEASE

Real people with real problems who fall in love. The first novel in this series was great and I can’t wait to dig into this one!

Synopsis:

Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio shared backyards as kids, but as adults they won’t even share the same hemisphere. That is, until Kate makes a rare visit home, and their fiery animosity rekindles into a raging inferno.

Despite their friends’ and families’ pleas for peace, Christopher is unconvinced Kate would willingly douse the flames of their enmity. But when a drunken Kate confesses she’s only been hostile because she thought he hated her, Christopher vows to make peace with Kate once and for all. Tempting as it is to be swept away by her nemesis-turned-gentleman, Kate isn’t sure she can trust his charming good-guy act.

When Christopher’s persistence and Kate’s curiosity lead to an impassioned kiss, they realize “peace” is the last thing that will ever be possible between them. As desire gives way to deeper feelings, Kate and Christopher must decide if it’s truly better to hate than to never risk their hearts—or if they already gave them away long ago.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Better Hate Than Never

It’s Sunday! Let’s all relax, have a great day, and read a book! Have a good one.

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick’s Audio Review: Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

Writer Chani Horowitz is tired of writing puff pieces when her friends are getting book deals. She is offered the chance to interview the hot, high profile action star Gabe Parker, who just got cast as the first American James Bond. Hoping she can get info from this very private actor that will help catapult her career, she arrives at his home and is struck dumb. By his good looks, but also because he sticks to the answers about his life that everyone already knows. She is ready for failure when he invites her to accompany him to a movie opening that night that then stretches to spending the weekend together.

Ten years later, she is offered the chance to interview Gabe Parker again. This time she is a well known writer and has something different to prove, but also, does he ever think of that weekend they spent together?

I saw this novel on a “best of 2022” romance novel list and had added it to my audiobook TBR. Narrated by the very talented Kristen Sieh whom I have enjoyed listening to before, I was quickly dropped into Chani’s story, liking her character right from the start. Her inner narrative on meeting a very attractive movie star funny and very real. I mean, who wouldn’t stumble their sentences? Gabe, too, was really easy to relate to and his secretive moments made me more curious about what he was hiding. As the story moves forward and you can see their personalities click you want to jump to those moments in the future and find out why they ended up married and divorced to other people. Elissa Sussman did a great job of casting that lure because I was caught and was looking for more info on my new favorite characters.

I don’t want to give away any of this plot because it was written so well, dropping moments on the reader that all added up to a wonderful conclusion, but I will say that the story is told with flashbacks to what happened in the past and when they meet up again in the future. I usually hate flashback stories but there was something about this narrative that really captured my interest. More than likely it was the fantasy that all women have about meeting their favorite movie star and catching their eye. This story goes a step further and gives us amazing dialog that is both funny and heartbreaking, and a cast of characters who support our main protagonists with humor and love.

The problem with listening to a great book is that you never want to take out those earbuds and get back to your real life (hello job!). This novel was so good that I found myself plugging myself back into it at every free moment, waiting for that slow burn romance to reach its conclusion so that these two characters I’ve grown to love finally (finally!) have their satisfying happily ever after. Guys, if you haven’t read/listened to this book yet, you need to give it a go. It is wonderful!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* Funny You Should Ask

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Audio Review: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Mika Moon meets with other witches only once every few months because of the rule that when too many witches gather together there can be a magical backlash that might out their society to regular folks, and as history has shown, people are not kind to witches. As witches are always orphans, her life has been very lonely. She keeps herself from getting attached to people by moving locations every few months. When she is contacted to tutor three young witches at Nowhere House she is extremely surprised. Three young witches are not supposed to be living together, so she goes to the home to check them out. What she finds is a group of people who have formed a family, one that they will allow her entry into if she will help them keep their secret.

Narrated by Samara MacLaren in a lovely accent, this novel immediately swept me into the story of this young lonely witch who dreams of belonging to a family. When she arrives at the isolated Scottish estate, she meets the motley crew who are watching over the young ladies, including the handsome and surly librarian, Jamie. Mika signs on to help the young girls for a few months and see’s how wonderful they have it, safe behind some magical wards, being raised by a group of people who care for them, something she and other witches have not had. Wanting to preserve their upbringing she does everything she can to teach them about their magic and hold reality at bay.

This was such a wonderful story. I loved Mika and how finding these people, and Jamie, made her dream of a life where she could be safe and have the family that she’s always wanted. She does, of course, have some obstructions in her way, one of which is her love interest, Jamie. His over-protective nature gives way a little to a gentleness with Mika that created all of the romantic vibes. The other adults at Nowhere House were lively, fun, and if not completely believable, at least they added to the family atmosphere this author was trying to create. I would call them quirky and eccentric for sure. Everything wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine as Mika soon discovers and she has to choose whether to support their decisions or go on with her life as it was before landing at Nowhere House and meeting Jamie.

This novel was on the best of 2022 lists on both Goodreads and Amazon and after listening to this story, I would have to agree that it was certainly enjoyable! If you have the time to listen to it, the Scottish accents were dreamy and totally understandable. LOL.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Click this link to purchase this book!* The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: The Daydreams by Laura Hankin

Four ex child stars are brought back together for a reunion show. The last time they had seen each other was at their second season Live finale where all hell broke loose, ending their very popular primetime show. The Daydreams brings back the sweetheart couple Summer and Noah, the mean girl, Kat, and the single diverse character, Liana. Noah has gone on to superstardom, Kat is now a lawyer, Liana married a uber popular MLB player, and Summer has gone through rehab several times and never gotten her life back on track. Each of them returns to the reunion for their own reasons and as they get together again, they re-live those golden years and face the truth about what went wrong.

For those of you who lived through the days of Beverly Hills 90210 or get caught up in the current Real Housewives franchises you know that a reunion show can be dramatic and fun to watch. The Daydreams mixes fiction with reality by using the real names of the actors for their characters, so the lines are blurred and the public believes the stories they are watching and reading in the gossip magazines. Summer is pure, Kat is a b!t@h, Ariana is the sidekick and Noah is the hearthrob and Summer’s main squeeze. The novel does a great job of juxtaposing their on air personas with who they are in real life. I thought the author did a good job of mixing gossip and reality while at the same time giving the reader flashbacks to what life was like on the show 13 years ago.

I’ll admit to being a little bored at times with the back and forth between the flashbacks and the real time scenes, those are not my favorite plot structures to read. So, I skimmed through some of the less interesting to me sections to get to the more juicy bits and to speed up to the big reveal. What happened to break up the show, and how would that act get repeated or redeemed in the reunion show. There weren’t a ton of surprises, but I did like how some of the characters started off as more jaded, but as the book moved forward they lost that edge and became true to the innocent’s they were back in the day. Despite the good character development I did have a little trouble liking some of these characters which affected my feelings and therefore my rating of this book. Not bad, but not great either. Somewhere in the middle.

❤️❤️❤️❣️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

Click the link to purchase this book!* The Daydreams

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl by Renée Rosen

Two young women’s lives intersect in 1938 New York during the Great Recession, Gloria Downing, whose father had just been caught swindling money from his clients, and Estée Lauder a young woman selling face cream in the beauty parlor where Gloria finds a job. They strike up a friendship and each of them pursue careers in the beauty industry although on slightly different paths. Estée takes on the beauty moguls Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden while Gloria works her way into the back offices of Saks Fifth Avenue, while staying friends through thick and thin.

This historical novel takes on the rise of Estée Lauder into the beauty icon that her brand has become today. The story covers her many relationships and marriage to her long time live Joe and is based on fact but is also fictionalized to create and interest story. Contrasting her tale with the story of a young woman on her own for the first time while also dealing with the betrayal from her father and family was smart. Each had to have strength and fortitude to strike out on their own and create these lives during a time when jobs were scarce and women were not treated as equals. It was a really interesting read!

I think for me that even though the story and historical time frame was interesting neither of these characters were particularly likable. Estée was single minded and although married, divorced, and then married again to her husband Joe carried on with other men and ultimately her brand and building her business superseded her family life. Joe was so likable that it was hard to see him get walked all over by this strong-willed woman. Gloria had a LOT of daddy issues and viewed all men with distrust, and herself with weakness. Despite overcoming her upbringing she built a career, which was admirable, yet I still couldn’t connect with her character. I wished that Gloria was a little more likable to balance out Estée’s strong-willed personality. Although I totally understood where each of their characters were coming from it just would have made the story slightly easier to read.

If you like historical novels that mix fact and fiction this might be a novel you would be interested in reading. It does give a very interesting take on how women worked to keep the country moving during WWI, and the friendship between Gloria and Estée was both strong and giving. Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl is a solid novel with two interesting views of this time in history. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (4/10/23)

It was a busy week leading up to a holiday weekend, so there wasn’t a lot of time for reading, but I did manage to squeeze in a few minutes. I mean, come on, there’s always time to read, right?

JUST FINISHED

Four ex-stars of a teen tv show are roped back into a reunion show after 13 years apart. An unexpected meltdown led to a cancellation of their popular show, leaving a lot of questions unanswered. Although not my typical choice, I thought it was an interesting story and a quick read. Made me glad that I wasn’t a child star, that’s for sure!

JUST STARTED

A re-release of a book that came out in 2018, Pretend You’re Mine is a small town romance with quite a bit of heat between our two main characters! I’m half way through the story and see glimpses of what has made Lucy Score such a popular writer. Her characters are funny, relatable, and have real life problems, making them very easy to relate to. A fun weekend of reading!

Happy belated Easter everyone! Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads2 Comments

This Chick Read: Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls (TNO), a comedy show that airs every Saturday night. With several broken relationships behind her Sally has given up on love, which is reflected in the scenes she writes. When her average looking male co-worker at TNO falls for a famous actress guest and asks her to marry him, Sally writes a sketch called the Danny Horst Rule about how beautiful accomplished women will date/marry average men but gorgeous accomplished men don’t date/marry average women. That weeks host and musical artist is musician, Noah Brewster. Sally and Noah work on several sketch’s together and it feels like they have a connection, but do they really?

This novel was brilliantly written. The backstage relationships of the cast and crew of TNO were interwoven with a sense of realism that I wondered if Curtis Sittenfeld hadn’t wandered backstage at SNL. It certainly seemed like a few of the characters in this novel were based on some of those famous faces we’ve seen on TV. So that immediately grabbed my interest. The way the week progressed on the show gave the story a sense of urgency that progressed to that climactic Saturday night show. I loved, loved, loved this portion of the novel.

When Sally and Noah first interact, in her office when he asks for her help in writing a sketch that he’s written you feel that immediate connection between the two of them. What I loved about it was that it was their intellect that connected. Yes, Noah was a hot musical artist, but what they had in common was how writing a sketch and writing a song were kind of similar and his appreciation for her art form was genuine. As the week goes on her curiosity over this amazing looking man and whether he could have any interest in her hooked me right in. But this was just the beginning of the book and there was more to their story, right? You bet!

I’ve read a number of novels who have tried to write the pandemic into the story and sometimes they hit the right note and other times they miss the mark entirely. Romantic Comedy was in the former category and used the pandemic to move the plot forward. It also introduced us to examples of Sally’s amazing wit and writing style, and gave Noah a chance to show his own skills in interacting with kind of awkward individuals. Sally was a two steps forward one step back kind of woman. I LOVED this section of the novel.

Needless to say, this was a romance novel, so the ending wasn’t a huge surprise but how this author took the readers on a journey through the landmines of Sally and Noah’s budding relationship was extraordinary. A truly funny, emotional, and wonderful story to read. I enjoyed this one tremendously. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Romantic Comedy

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate-if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

It’s Monday, what are you reading? (4/3/23)

Do you know that feeling you get when you have just finished a great book? Maybe you can’t stop thinking about the intricacies of the plot, the quirkiness of the characters, or that sweet hea. I just had that perfect book moment, finishing the novel right before bedtime and then dreaming of these characters all night long. (sigh) Wonderful! I hope you’re having happy book moments as well!

JUST FINISHED

A debut novel by Sarah Adler that will charm you. The perfect grumpy guy-quirky girl, road trip romance. Millicent is an ex-child star who’s ninety-ish best friend dies and gives her the task of reconnecting a small portion of her ashes with the woman she fell in love with during WWII. This was a story that stayed with me for a long while, in a good way!

JUST STARTED

I have picked The Daydreams up quite a few times, but haven’t yet been in the mood. I’m hoping this will be my next book, but it’s possible I’ll get diverted by another title again. A cast of ex child tv stars have all gone their separate ways when they are approached to do a reunion show that might open them up to old wounds. Sounds pretty good, right?

Have a great Monday and happy reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chicks Sunday Commentary: My Top 5 Most Anticipated Book Releases – April’23

I don’t remember April as being such a big book release month, usually that’s saved for June, but wow, there are some great book releases. A LOT more than the five I’ve chosen to highlight below. Please make sure you review your own list because this list is based upon my own reading preferences. Here are my top 5!

#5 BOOK RELEASE

I really enjoy Laura Griffin’s style of writing and this romantic suspense series is a lot of fun to read. I can’t wait to get my hands on this novel- it’s sure to be a good one!

Synopsis: An undercover FBI agent and a coffee shop owner who values her independence must team up when a local barista is found dead in their coastal Texas town in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.
 
With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she’s deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover mission: The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it’s a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he’s immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla’s connections in the local community and Sean’s skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean’s carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Deep Tide

#4 BOOK RELEASE

A fictional novel based upon the life of Esteé Lauder? Sold! This cosmetics icon deserves to have her story told in a way that connects with fiction lovers. I think this novel sounds fabulous!

Synopsis:

In New York City, you can disappear into the crowd. At least that’s what Gloria Downing desperately hopes as she tries to reinvent herself after a devastating family scandal. She’s ready for a total life makeover and a friend she can lean on—and into her path walks a young, idealistic woman named Estée. Their chance encounter will change Gloria’s life forever.

Estée dreams of success and becoming a household name like Elizabeth Arden, Helena Rubinstein, and Revlon. Before Gloria knows it, she is swept up in her new friend’s mission and while Estée rolls up her sleeves, Gloria begins to discover her own talents. After landing a job at Saks Fifth Avenue, New York’s finest luxury department store, Gloria finds her voice, which proves instrumental in opening doors for Estée’s insatiable ambitions.

But in a world unaccustomed to women with power, they’ll each have to pay the price that comes with daring to live life on their own terms and refusing to back down.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl

#3 BOOK RELEASE

I’m a sucker for this young adult writing duo’s novels. They are always fun to read while on vacation or over a much needed break from reality weekend.

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she’ll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, there’s only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him. Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: she’s going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kaylee’s got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kaylee’s family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison…and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones. With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing what’s expected and taking a (second) chance on love.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Never Vacation With Your Ex

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase one of these books through a link on this page, I’ll receive a small stipend.

#2 BOOK RELEASE

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this novel already and you guys, it is just fabulous! Set in a Saturday Night Live type late night show, this novel gives great behind the scenes scenarios and sets us up for an amazing pandemic romance.

Synopsis: Sally Milz is a sketch writer for The Night Owls, a late-night live comedy show that airs every Saturday. With a couple of heartbreaks under her belt, she’s long abandoned the search for love, settling instead for the occasional hook-up, career success, and a close relationship with her stepfather to round out a satisfying life.

But when Sally’s friend and fellow writer Danny Horst begins dating Annabel, a glamorous actress who guest-hosted the show, he joins the not-so-exclusive group of talented but average-looking and even dorky men at the show—and in society at large—who’ve gotten romantically involved with incredibly beautiful and accomplished women. Sally channels her annoyance into a sketch called the Danny Horst Rule, poking fun at this phenomenon while underscoring how unlikely it is that the reverse would ever happen for a woman.

Enter Noah Brewster, a pop music sensation with a reputation for dating models, who signed on as both host and musical guest for this week’s show. Dazzled by his charms, Sally hits it off with Noah instantly, and as they collaborate on one sketch after another, she begins to wonder if there might actually be sparks flying. But this isn’t a romantic comedy—it’s real life. And in real life, someone like him would never date someone like her . . . right?

With her keen observations and trademark ability to bring complex women to life on the page, Curtis Sittenfeld explores the neurosis-inducing and heart-fluttering wonder of love, while slyly dissecting the social rituals of romance and gender relations in the modern age.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Romantic Comedy

MOST ANTICIPATED APRIL 2023 BOOK RELEASE

Emily Henry is one of my favorite authors and I will never fail to read one of her books the week it releases. I am so looking forward to this one!

Synopsis: Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.
 
They broke up five months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.
 
Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blissful week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
 
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?

Click this link to purchase this book!* Happy Place

Have a great time searching out your own book release reading list. There are some amazing books coming soon!

Happy Reading!

Deb

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment

This Chick Read: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

It’s the early 1960’s and chemist Elizabeth Zott has fought her way into a position at the Hastings Research Institute on an all male research team. Needless to say, she is faced with sexism and misogyny every day. When she meets brilliant fellow scientist Calvin Evans they strike up a very non-traditional (for its day) relationship, having a romantic relationship and living together without being married. They each work on their own projects and Calvin supports Elizabeth in everything she strives to be. Several years later Elizabeth is “discovered” by a television producer and she launches a new role as the reluctant star of ‘Supper at Six’, where she teaches housewives how to use chemistry to cook and opens their eyes to the possibility of life beyond the doors of their home.

Lessons in Chemistry is a very clever novel about a woman’s struggle in an age of inequality, to be seen as an equal. That just because she was born a woman doesn’t mean that her life’s purpose is to serve men. Elizabeth is much too clever to let misogyny and gender create her identity. Reading this novel, I realized how fortunate I was that my entry into the workplace wasn’t filled with men who were trying to hold me down, and that I lived in an age, while not equal was at least not filled with illegal actions. In Elizabeth Gott’s world she wasn’t quite as fortunate.

I was so interested in Elizabeth’s persona. She wasn’t your average woman, in fact her intellect was way above average, a fact that her boyfriend and lover Calvin Evans found very attractive. I found her fight for independence and equality interesting despite that fight putting her at odds with happiness in love. Poor Calvin was ecstatic to have this amazing, beautiful woman as his, yet she was so untraditional that she’d never let him put a ring on her finger. It made for a really interesting reading! When she was cast as the chef on tv, her life views horrified her bosses, yet found an audience with the women of America. She was such an interesting character!

This novel had a little bit of everything. There was a hint of romance, but it was Elizabeth’s fighting spirit that drew me to keep turning the pages. Elizabeth’s voice was strange and wonderful, and despite my living in a world where equality is much closer to reality, I looked forward to reading how Elizabeth would out smart and out fight the men who lived in the world around her. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

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On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads1 Comment