We are also telling you about some awesome new (and not so new) books that you can order right now and enjoy if TwiFic isn’t your thing (it should be your thing; it’s awesome; ask me for recs).
Without further adieu, here are our real quick book reviews for you folks who don’t need a whole heckuva lot of encouragement to take our advice.
Illegal Contact
Written by: Santino Hassell
Release Date: 8/15/2017
Reviewed by: Beth*
Genre: LGBT Romance
Rating: 3.5 Football Stans
Recommended for: Anyone who likes to watch football players for reasons other than the sport stuff
Illegal Contact is the first in a series of books by Santino Hassell about the (fictional??) NFL football team, The Barons. Seriously, I don’t know if they are real or not. I think most of the teams in this book are made up, but then like Peyton Manning’s name is mentioned, and I question my knowledge of the sport ball.
Gavin Brawley is a famous tight end (lord, you can’t make this up) who is under house arrest for 6 months for punching someone outside of a club. He’s restless and cranky, but his manager requires him to get an assistant to deal with his every day needs. HIS NEEDS AND STUFF.
Enter Noah, super cute unemployed social worker from Queens who needs money and hates football. They make an adorable little “we can’t like each other for … REASONS” pair. Nice little romance here, guys. If you can handle the sports analogies. 🙂 Buy it.
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
Ready to Run
Written by: Lauren Layne
Release Date: 8/22/2017
Reviewed by: Heidi*
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4 Reality TV Dating Shows
Recommended for: Fans of hot firefighter calendars
Ready to Run is the first of Lauren Layne’s new series about a reality TV dating show about men who have left their brides at the altar and I am here for it.
As the producer of Jilted, Jordan Carpenter thinks she has found the perfect man to be the star of her new TV show. There’s only one problem: Luke Elliot, a ridiculously hot (pun intended) firefighter from small town Montana, wants nothing to do with the show…or her.
Luke has everything a good romance hero should have. He’s smart, successful, kind, and strong enough to hold Jordan up against a wall when he finally kisses her. For her part, Jordan is a former Kansas girl who has given up small town life for NYC and Louboutins, but she can still beat Luke at the kissing booth at the county fair. Listen, if you don’t appreciate a good enemies to lovers troupe like the one in Ready to Run I don’t know what to do with you. Buy it tomorrow.
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
All the Dirty Parts
Written by: Daniel Handler
Release Date: 8/29/2017
Reviewed by: Angela*
Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Uncomfortable Moments
Recommended for: Anyone that needs a reminder that being a teenager is the worst
Whoa. Forget thrillers; this book is my biggest fear realized. 17-year-old Cole is obsessed with sex. I mean obsessed. He thinks about it constantly, in *graphic* detail, does anything to get it, including “trying out” things with his best male friend (who eventually comes out as bi) when a willing girl can’t be found. But don’t worry, the new girl is going to unintentionally teach him a lesson in karma.
Told in a manic style of writing, with segments sometimes only a sentence long–none more than a page–this is a very quick read. I think it took me about two hours to read, partially because it made me uncomfortable and I couldn’t wait to be out of the head of this teenaged boy. I am a big romance reader, so I think what made this book hard for me to read was wrapping my brain around Cole coming out of Daniel Handler’s mind, the mind behind Lemony Snicket. Did that knowledge sway my feelings about the book? Absolutely. I mean, I’ve seen Daniel Handler speak at a conference, I’ve read (some of) the Unfortunate Events books, and find his dry delivery delightful.
Cole, however, is a skeeve. I think it is so important for people to read this book because of how uncomfortable it will make you. The book takes on the fine line of consent when the girls he gently pressure into rounding each base never say no but then feel guilty after. He narrates the wormhole that is internet porn and you see how desensitized he is; this is a guy that typically masturbates five times in one day. He doesn’t understand why people at school are concerned with his “reputation” but has no problem slut shaming the girls he has been with. Yeah, this book is going to make you say, “whoa.” Pre-order it.
*arc provided by publisher in exchange for honest review
Rich People Problems
Written by: Kevin Kwan
Release Date: 5/23/2017
Reviewed by: Bea
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 Conniving Heirs
Recommended for: Readers who hate to wait for the sequel
This is a case of a trilogy that should be read all at once, and you’re in luck, this is the final installment. My Goodreads review of the first, Crazy Rich Asians, was way harsh, Tai. As a stand alone story, the rom-com plot felt tacked on to make a series of (excellent) satirical character sketches and over-the-top settings marketable. The ostensible protagonists were pretty boring, especially next to the vivid supporting cast. Books that don’t live up to their potential make me so much angrier than books that are just bad.
But the writing and intrigued me enough that I picked up the sequel, China Rich Girlfriend, in which Kwan redeems himself, fleshing out the world he’d introduced and proving he can write a compelling plot too. Rich People Problems satisfyingly ties up all the lose ends and fully utilizes the people and places set up in that first book. Pretty sure I would have had unqualified love for Crazy Rich Asians if I’d had the sequels right away.
If you like a little romance, family drama that will make you giggle, and a huge helping of cultures not often found in American novels, give Kwan’s trilogy a try. Binge them all in a row– the audiobooks are great, so you can keep reading while you do dishes. They make great September reads as you transition out of beach fluff– they’re not heavy, but they aren’t at all predictable and there are a LOT of characters to keep track of. Read them before the movie that’s in production hits theaters and you’re stuck with movie-tie-in covers or and endless library hold queue. The cast is not only insanely attractive, it’s also the first majority-Asian cast for an American studio film since Joy Luck Club almost 25 years ago. We can rant about how crazy that is in the comments. Buy it.
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.
