Hi besties! Just wanted to pop in with some recommendations of contemporary romance that I recently read and loved! If you’ve read any of these — let me know your thoughts!

In A New York Minute by Kate Spencer

I read In A New York Minute by Kate Spencer at the exact perfect time. Sometimes you just really need a rom com. Also, thankfully I wasn’t binge reading rom coms one right after the other, otherwise maybe my opinion would be different. However, I enjoyed In A New York Minute so much. This book is about Franny who has just been laid off. On her way home on the subway her dress gets caught in the door and rips, exposing her backside to the world. However, she is saved from further humiliation by a handsome stranger who gives her his jacket – Hayes Montgomery the Third. She leaves with his jacket. The moment goes viral in the style of PlaneBae, if you all remember? So, Franny doesn’t expect to ever run into Hayes again, yet NYC is the biggest small town in the world, right. So, they keep running into each other. As it turns out, there is a spark between Franny and Hayes.

In A New York Minute is so cute. It also made me want to watch Moonstruck for the first time, as this book shouts that movie out. I also loved Franny’s story about connecting with a sister she never knew she had. And her friends are amazing and so good to her. I loved reading about Hayes and his company which focuses on environmental investing, so to speak. Franny’s job is interesting too – she’s an interior designer. Oh and the chemistry between Franny and Hayes really worked for me. I really felt this was such a nice, calming read. 

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan is absolutely going to be in my top five books I read this year, I can just feel it. I just know. This book is painful and beautiful and a masterpiece. I had seen Tiktoks about Kennedy Ryan’s books before reading this one, and so she was on my radar. I should have listened. Now I want to read her entire backlist. Before I Let Go is a second chance romance about Yasmen and Josiah Wade – a separated couple who own a restaurant together. The two are trying their best to coparent. Josiah has moved out, but still is in the neighborhood. Yasmen is still at the house with two of her children. She’s also having a tough time with her daughter. We see that Yasmen has been through deep grief – losing Josiah’s grandmother and having a stillbirth within a short amount of time. These are the things that her marriage cannot survive. Still, as we see, there’s this undeniable chemistry between Yasmen and Josiah.

There is so much to love about this book. It has such a positive portrayal of behavioral healthcare. I love that going to therapy is portrayed in this book and that it is portrayed as a good thing. It also takes on the stigma of Black men going to therapy and challenges that. Well, Josiah was resistant at first but agrees, for the sake of his son. This book explores how to heal relationships – including that between Yasmen and her daughter. I loved Yasmen’s friendships and hope her two best friends end up with their own books. Before I Let Go also has EXCELLENT romantic scenes. I could not have picked up a better book and am excited I have this whole big backlist to read from Kennedy Ryan.

@aprilbooksandwine

Reading wrap up Books Mentioned: Court Of The Vampire Queen by Katee Robert The Davenports by Krystal Marquis Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna Beasts Of Prey by Ayana Gray When The World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura #booktok #aprilbooksandwine #booktokover30 #momsofbooktok

♬ original sound – April Books & Wine

Love On The Brain by Ali Hazelwood

Ali Hazelwood is so popular on booktok right now. So, I felt pressured to pick one of her books up. While wandering the library, I saw Love On The Brain on the new releases shelf and impulsively decided that would be the one I tried. Hazelwood’s Love On The Brain is a romantic comedy featuring the hate to love trope. It is about Bee Konigswasser, a scientist who specializes in neurostimulation and works for the National Institute of Health. She gets put on a project designing helmets that have neurostimulators and is sent to Houston to work with NASA. Unfortunately for her, her mortal enemy Levi is also on the project from the side of NASA. And well, things keep going wrong. However, Bee suspects she may have an ally in Levi. Oh and also, when she’s not doing amazing science things, Bee runs a twitter account for women in STEM called whatwouldmariedo – as in what would Marie Curie do.

On the whole, I found Ali Hazelwood’s Love On The Brain to be enjoyable. I liked the parts that talked about how hard it is to be a woman in STEM. The hate to love trope appeals to me. I was able to figure out some twists very early on. One thing I would have liked would have been chapters from Levi’s point of view — I think that would have added to the story. Overall, this was a cute book. Will I remember it forever? No. But, I liked the time I spent reading it — was a pleasant way to spend my hours.

@aprilbooksandwine

The 12 books ive read since my last reading wrap up – its been weeks! #aprilbooksandwine #booklover #momsofbooktok #booktokover30 #konmari #audiobooks #graphicnovel

♬ original sound – April Books & Wine

Luck And Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz

I absolutely enjoyed my time listening to Luck And Last Resorts by Sarah Grunder Ruiz. Apparently this is a companion book, but I haven’t read the first book. You don’t need to in order to be able to enjoy this one, although I imagine it enhances your experience. I do want to go back and listen to the first one though. Luck And Last Resorts is about Nina Lejune who is chief stewardess on the super yacht the Serendipity. She isn’t one for commitments. An old lover, Ollie Dunne comes back into her life as the cook aboard the Serendipity after being gone for a year. He wants her to admit she loves him, or he’ll go back to Ireland forever. As the story goes along, we see Nina and Ollie’s love story and just why Nina doesn’t get attached. 

Like I said, I LOVED my time with this book. Nina is interesting because she loves thrifting and board games. She clawed her way out of bad credit and debt that wasn’t hers (that is such an interesting part of the story). Nina is also struggling with her best friend leaving the yacht employment industry. Things are changing for her. Oh and I love that she’s so good at her job. And Ollie! What a complex, fascinating love interest. Ollie has a past of his own as well. I enjoyed how their stories played out and how it all ended. I also have to say, the audiobook of Luck And Last Resorts is perfectly narrated by Karissa Vacker. It is 9 hours and 21 minutes and such a joy to listen to. I will be back for more by Sarah Grunder Ruiz.

Off The Map by Trish Doller

I absolutely LOVE Trish Doller’s books – so much so that I had pre-ordered Off The Map and I am not someone who normally preorders books (I like instant gratification). This book fits into the same universe as Float Plan and The Suite Spot – books which I ALSO loved. Also – disclaimer, I really genuinely think the real life Carla Black is a lovely person and so I went into this book with some bias. Doller’s Off The Map opens in Ireland, starring Carla Black whose family motto is here for a good time, not a long time. She’s going to meet Eamon Sullivan for Anna and Keane’s wedding and he’ll help get her there. Of course, the two take a detour and Eamon explores some of Ireland that was literal hours away that he’s just never been to. The two have a brief affair, but the feelings just might be real. Also, Carla is dealing with repressing emotions about her father’s dementia — she hasn’t seen him in a long time – instead she travels and then works to make more money to take off and travel again.

Off The Map was exactly the book I had hoped it would be. It made me want to travel and camp even though I don’t particularly like camping. I loved how sensitive the depiction of dementia was — having seen that in my real life — I was really pleased with how it was shown in this book. The characters were so well written. I loved their growth and how they changed throughout the book for the better. The chemistry was chef’s kiss. This is truly a special book and one I am so glad to have in my collection — it was well worth buying.