May was a much better reading month than April, as I finally finished up my semester at college. However, this month was no less overwhelming, with starting a dental assistant job and trying to get my dental school application ready to submit. With the weather getting nicer and me attempting to increase my optimism and overall happiness, I’ve been on a big romance kick.
Stats:
- Read: 4 books
- One 3 star read, three 4 stars
- Favorite book of May: The Best Worst Thing / Not in Love / The Paris Match (sue me I’m indecisive)
The Best Worst Thing by Lauren Okie
I might not have loved this as much as a lot of people, but it was still a romance full of yearning and commentary on serious topics like infertility, motherhood, and coming to terms with your body working against you. I liked the romance and how there was a forbidden aspect to it (since Nicole was either married in the past or just getting out of a bad marriage in the present), which created a lot of tension. Logan was definitely a golden retriever MMC, but sometimes I felt like he was too good for Nicole, who took him for granted and then pushed him away for no good reason (though she did undergo a lot of character growth). The plot was also slow at times. Nevertheless, I appreciate that all the characters were written like real people, given real-world problems, and had their own flaws. Rating: 4 stars
Pick-Up by Nora Dahlia
This was a pretty good romance debut about a single mom and a single dad, with a lot of poignant commentary on motherhood, divorce, and the double standards for parenting between moms and dads. I enjoyed that half the book took place on a remote island and the other half in a quaint New York City neighborhood. The banter between Sasha and Ethan was so witty, and Sasha’s inner monologue was funny overall. I liked how both Sasha and Ethan poked fun at each other, which characterized their romantic dynamic as playful and fun.
However, this book was very strange because it had a random third POV from a creepy stalker-mom that periodically turned the story foreboding, mysterious, and thriller-esque. There was a reason for the POV revealed later on (AKA a plot twist, which is not needed in romance at ALL), but it was still so bizarre and detracted from the romance. Without that, this would have been a very good story, so I’m looking forward to reading more from Dahlia! Rating: 3 stars
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
I usually HATE romances that start as situationships and no-strings-attached dalliances, but this one had so much depth, emotion, and angst that it will probably be my exception to the rule. This was unlike previous Ali Hazelwood romances in so many ways: not a rom-com, no tiny manic pixie dream girl main character, a much more serious tone. But Hazelwood has incredible range because all these aspects of the story were executed so well (and it was still typical Hazelwood because the MMC was obsessed from the minute he met her. Of course). These two characters with heavy pasts finding a way to fall in love after previously thinking they were incapable of it was beautiful to read about. Rating: 4 stars
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
This was yet another book with a rom-com cover that was definitely NOT a rom-com, but was still an excellent romance. The tone of the book was quite serious, with the MMC and FMC both having to work through a lot of problems from their past while trying to keep a wedding from being called off. The grumpy and stoic MMC, Griffin, was just as fleshed-out of a character as Layla, which I always appreciate in a romance. His journey of working through the physical and mental symptoms of his neuropathy was intricately written and emotional.
The romance was filled with perfect amounts of tension and sweetness, and I loved the description of lesser-known settings in Paris. The self-growth that both characters went through (both by themselves and with each other’s help) in order to be good partners for each other was the mark of a great adult romance with maturity and depth. Rating: 4 stars
