When Dimple Met Rishi
Written by: Sandhya Menon
Release Date: 5/30/17
Reviewed by: Bea
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Rating: 3.5 Iced Lattes
Recommended for: Readers who need their YA tropes freshened up a bit
This is like every other YA transition-to-college romance you’ve ever read, but totally different because none of the other protagonists were Indian-American kids set up by their parents. I’ve also never read a book about a girl at coding camp… though we end up seeing her practicing for a talent show more than kicking STEM butt, which is a little disappointing.
The first half of the book gets 4 stars– the characters are well developed and sympathetic but not cloying; the plot is well-paced; the guy-hiding-secret-from-girl-while-wooing-her trope is unexpectedly dodged; the relationship is on the healthy and realistic end of the YA romance spectrum; misogyny is casually bashed by both men and women. The second half of the book feels like it suffered from an editor trying to cut back to an arbitrary YA page limit, but it never stops being fun. Looking forward to reading the next two books the author has in the works! Buy it.
Mature Content
Written by: Megan Erickson, Santino Hassell
Release Date: 6/2/2017
Reviewed by: Beth
Genre: LGBT Romance
Rating: 4 After Parties at VidCon
Recommended for: YouTube fanatics that aren’t my kid
Mature Content is the fourth book in the CyberLove series by these authors that looks at relationships that are formed from the intense and sometimes hyper-realized interactions we have in online spaces. Each of these books is about two guys who know each other online … whether it’s through popular game channels or being famous youtube personalities. The tone hits the community perfectly. If you’ve spent any time at all in the online spaces populated by the celebrities of VidCon, you’ll recognize the feuds, the jargon and the hyperintensity of Zane and Beau. Also, the book is a good enemies to lovers to more story that will have you rooting for these crazy kids. Buy it.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Written by: Gail Honeyman
Release Date: 5/9/2017
Reviewed by: Tiffany
Genre: Adult Fiction
Rating: 5 Frozen Pizzas
Recommended for: If you loved A Man Called Ove you’ll love Eleanor
Eleanor is a quirky woman with a dark past that even she can’t recall completely. She strikes up an unlikely friendship with Raymond, a graphic designer who works in her office, after witnessing and coming to the rescue of an elderly man’s who has an accident in the street after work one day. Eleanor is delightfully socially awkward but is determined to learn new things and to have new experiences. With the help of Raymond and others along the way Eleanor attempts to move on from a tragic past and look towards the future. This book is sweet, sometimes really sad and even a little mysterious, its a great weekend read! Buy it.
Maybe This Love
Written by: Jennifer Snow
Release Date: 5/30/2017
Reviewed by: Angela*
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.5 Hockey Pucks
Recommended for: Anyone who pays a little attention to Hockey Playoffs
I feel like the world has recently discovered hockey again. Or maybe it only feels that way because I’m from the midwest. Either way, I have recently read more hockey romance novels in the last 6 months than I ever would have thought I would encounter and suddenly I’m paying attention in sports bars.
In Maybe this Love, the second book in Jennifer Snow’s Colorado Ice series (I know, could she have a more perfect name for writing a hockey series?), MVP Ben Westmore is called into his coach’s office and handed divorce papers. The problem is that he doesn’t remember getting married four months earlier. The last thing self-proclaimed player Ben needs while his team is heading to the Stanley Cup finals is to deal with some gold-digger. And he certainly can’t deal with the feelings he gets when he looks at his soon-to-be-ex-wife’s lawyer.
And after all the pro-athletes Olivia has gone up against in divorce cases, she certainly isn’t interested in starting things with one. It must be the hormones that she has been taking in preparation for in vitro making her warm when she is near him. Who doesn’t love a good “famous player wants to settle downs for the right girl” story? Buy it.
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
There you have it! Real quick reviews for books we loved … real quick because we lazy. Hope you find something new to read. But in the meantime, tell us what you are reading in the comments or on twitter using #TNReads.
If you like what you see, check out our other #TNReads posts for more quick and dirty recommendations. Or our Books Section for all the rest of our favorite novels.
