#TNReads: Real Quick Reviews for Lazy Readers featuring Jasmine Guillory

Jasmine Guillory’s latest in a string of delightful romances saved me from misery on a horribly delayed flight. Maddie and Theo share a best friend, Alexis, and nothing else if they can possibly help it. They definitely can’t stand each other. He’s a stick in the mud who starts conversations with “when I was at Harvard”; she’s deeply shallow. And when Alexis makes them bridesmaid and bridesman she definitely can’t know they’ve ended up in bed the last couple times she’s had them at the same event. And they’re definitely never doing it again… well, at least not once they stop seeing each other so much for the wedding.

As with all of Guillory’s stories expect the excellent relationship building and chatty style to come with sides of friends, family, clothes, and food. And pay close attention to Maddie’s mom— she’s getting her own book this Christmas.

This fictional memoir charts the life and career of female mathematician Katherine “No Last Name Given”. A half-Chinese math prodigy born in the 1940s, she was a genius in an era that only afforded opportunity to men. She recounts her struggles to find a place in the competitive (and terribly misogynistic) world of mathematics, and the journey towards her dream of solving the Riemann hypothesis, the greatest unsolved mathematical problem of her time. But it’s not all numbers and burning down the patriarchy; Katherine also learns that everything she knew about her heritage was a lie. Cue journey of self-discovery! And her heritage and pursuit of mathematical glory are intertwined in ways she could never imagine.

Besides being a very engaging story with a relatable yet brilliant heroine, it offers a fascinating education about the history of mathematics and the devastating impact WW2 had on the scientific world. The author drops theorems and equations and math concepts all over the place, but even a mathematically challenged reader like myself never felt too lost.

Sue Roberts may be a master of “travel romance”. Her novels set in beautiful locations inspired by her travels mix scenic views, ethnic foods, fun, and love for light-hearted beach reads.

You, Me and Italy follows Maisy and her friends, Cheryl and Emma, as they embark on a Tuscan adventure. The trip couldn’t have come at a better time. Following the demise of Maisy’s marriage, she has finally won one of the many contests she enters. A weeks stay at the beautiful Villa Marisa and a few shots of limoncello are just what the doctor ordered. Oh, and some dashing Italians may help heal a broken heart as well.

With beautiful descriptions of food and landscape You, Me and Italy will transport you to Tuscany. A few too many coincidences take away from the novel’s credibility and it could have been a bit more PG-13 in the romance department. Roberts doesn’t fully exploit one plot point that could have raised the stakes and provided more action in the novel, but still, it’s a delightful tale, perfect for summer reading.

Evvie Drake Starts Over is my favorite kind of book— one that mixes laughter and sadness to feel like real life, but with snappier dialogue and a happy ending. It reminds me of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl, but with middle-aged people, or Landline, without the magic phone.

Holmes hosts my beloved NPR podcast “Pop Culture Happy Hour” so I’ve been looking forward to this novel for months and it didn’t disappoint. You get small-town charm, jokes you’ll make other people in the room listen to you read out loud, a male-female friendship that defies cliche, characters successfully patching their lives back together, and a sweet, slowly building romance. Bonus: the cereal-box race scandal story, the funniest three pages I’ve read in a long time.