Can’t Wait Wednesday – SUPER FAKE LOVE SONG by David Yoon
/22 Comments/by Suzanne
“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, which encourages fellow bloggers to spotlight upcoming releases that we’re excited about. It is a meme that I have loved participating in for over a year now, but as Jill is no longer actively posting, from now on I’ll be linking to Can’t Wait Wednesday, hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings, which is a spinoff of the original WoW meme.
* * * * *
My selection for this week is SUPER FAKE LOVE SONG by David Yoon. I haven’t read Yoon’s last novel Frankly in Love yet but I keep hearing great things about it. My reading tastes during this pandemic have really trended to fun books so Yoon’s upcoming release caught my eye. It sounds very entertaining. 🙂
SUPER FAKE LOVE SONG by David Yoon
Publication Date: November 17, 2020
From Goodreads:
From the bestselling author of Frankly in Love comes a contemporary YA rom-com where a case of mistaken identity kicks off a string of (fake) events that just may lead to (real) love.
When Sunny Dae—self-proclaimed total nerd—meets Cirrus Soh, he can’t believe how cool and confident she is. So when Cirrus mistakes Sunny’s older brother Gray’s bedroom—with its electric guitars and rock posters—for Sunny’s own, he sort of, kind of, accidentally winds up telling her he’s the front man of a rock band.
Before he knows it, Sunny is knee-deep in the lie: He ropes his best friends into his scheme, begging them to form a fake band with him, and starts wearing Gray’s rock-and-roll castoffs. But no way can he trick this amazing girl into thinking he’s cool, right? Just when Sunny is about to come clean, Cirrus asks to see them play sometime. Gulp.
Now there’s only one thing to do: Fake it till you make it.
Sunny goes all in on the lie, and pretty soon, the strangest things start happening. People are noticing him in the hallways, and he’s going to football games and parties for the first time. He’s feeling more confident in every aspect of his life, and especially with Cirrus, who’s started to become not just his dream girl but also the real deal. Sunny is falling in love. He’s having fun. He’s even becoming a rocker, for real.
But it’s only a matter of time before Sunny’s house of cards starts tumbling down. As his lies begin to catch up with him, Sunny Dae is forced to wonder whether it was all worth it—and if it’s possible to ever truly change.
* * * * *
I’d love to hear what upcoming book releases you’re waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me your link in the comments below and I’ll stop by and check out your CWW selection for this week. 🙂
Top Ten Tuesday – Books That Make Me Smile
/40 Comments/by Suzanne
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!
This week’s TTT topic is BOOKS THAT MAKE ME SMILE. I did a similar list earlier this year, but during this pandemic, I think we can all use as many feel-good books as we can get so I’ve updated my list with some recent reads that left me with a smile on my face. All of these are contemporary romance, and I’ve included a mix of YA and adult novels. If you’re looking for a mood-lifting read, any of these would be great choices.
* * * * *
Books That Make Me Smile
(in no particular order)
THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL by Abbi Waxman
SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli
TAKE A HINT, DANI BROWN by Talia Hibbert
PARTY OF TWO by Jasmine Guillory
JOSH & HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING by Christina Lauren
WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandhya Menon
THE BROMANCE BOOK CLUB by Lyssa Kay Adams
WHAT IF IT’S US by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
SERIOUS MOONLIGHT by Jenn Bennett
TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han
* * * * *
What are some books that make you smile?
Review: WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Katherine Center
/24 Comments/by SuzanneAlso by this author: Things You Save in a Fire, The Bodyguard
Published by St. Martin's Press on July 14, 2020
Genres: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Women's Fiction
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Goodreads
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Katherine Center’s latest novel, What You Wish For, is a beautiful story about love and loss, friendship and “found” family, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a story about overcoming fears, embracing joy, and living life to the fullest.
The story follows Samantha (“Sam”) Casey, an elementary school librarian at a prestigious private school in Galveston, Tx. Life is pretty good for Sam when we first meet her. She loves her job – the school itself is fantastic with a vibrant, creative atmosphere, and Sam loves interacting with her students and with her colleagues. She even loves her bosses, Max and Babette Kempner, the beloved founders of the school who also happen to be Sam’s landlords. Over the years, Sam has come to think of Max and Babette as family.
When tragedy strikes unexpectedly and Max passes away, Sam’s life, both personally and professionally, is thrown into turmoil, especially when she learns that the man hired to replace Max as Principal is none other than Duncan Carpenter, a teacher from her old life that Sam had a mad crush on, so much so that when she realized she had missed her chance with him and that he was marrying someone else, she immediately resigned her position and moved to Texas to get away from his happily ever after with someone else. When Duncan arrives, Sam is shocked that 1) he doesn’t even recognize her, and 2) he immediately starts dismantling everything about her beloved school that made it so special.
What You Wish For really took off for me from the moment Duncan walked back into Sam’s life. He’s so awful and not at all like Sam has described him to her friends that I, like Sam, was obsessed with trying to figure out what had happened to cause such a radical change in his personality. I was even more hooked by the story though from the moment Sam and Duncan have their first meeting. It’s borderline hostile and he clearly doesn’t remember Sam, but even so, the chemistry between them is intense and the sparks are flying. This was a relationship I was eager to see evolve!
Aside from the relationship between Sam and Duncan, I also just loved all of the secondary characters in this story. I already mentioned the lovable Max and Babette, but there’s also Alice, the hilarious math teacher who wears math pun t-shirts to work everyday and who is also Sam’s best friend. Then there is Babette’s adorable grandson, Clay, who is a bookworm and loves to hang out in the library with Sam. Oh and there’s also an adorable labradoodle named Chuck Norris who will absolutely melt your heart.
The last thing I want to mention is a major theme running through the story that I really loved. It was Max’s life philosophy, which he imparted to Sam over the years anytime he sensed her struggling. Max believed that no matter what is going on in your life, no matter how scared or stressed you may be, it’s important to always choose joy. That while it may not solve all of your problems, it’s a great place to start. I thought that was such a beautiful philosophy, and one that is especially relevant right now, with everything that is going on in the world.
What You Wish For is my third Katherine Center novel and she has yet to disappoint. Her stories are always so moving and filled with unforgettable characters, and they never fail to leave me with a full heart and a smile on my face. If that sounds like your kind of read, you definitely want to give What You Wish For a try.
About Katherine Center
Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), and five other bittersweet comic novels. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, and Nora Dunn. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach us empathy, and her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, and InTouch, among others. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her fun husband, two sweet kids, and fluffy-but-fierce dog.