Tag Archives: Romance

Review: Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,
Alex Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately
Jenn Bennett
Simon Pulse
Published April 4, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Alex, Approximately

Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “Alex.” Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.

Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new arch-nemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever-it-is she’s starting to feel for Porter.

And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.

My Review

This is another book that’s been on my shelf for a while, and the second book by Jenn Bennett that I’ve read. I remember hoping to get a pre-release copy when I heard about this book, but I wasn’t able to. At some point I bought the e-book, and it’s been sitting in my Kindle app patiently waiting for me to finally sit down and read it.

Which I did! I read ALEX, APPROXIMATELY right after reading P.S. I LIKE YOU by Kasie West, which might sound weird because it’s a really similar plot line. What can I say? Zero regrets!

I really enjoyed the characters and the cheesy museum workplace. I remember this book being compared to the movie YOU’VE GOT MAIL, and I hoped for a cool reveal moment like that. Happily, I will say that the book delivered on those hopes.

The classic movie references were also awesome. I knew most of them, so it definitely let me feel like I was in on the story a bit more, though I think it’d be plenty enjoyable without understanding the references.

Apparently I love Rom Com. Who knew? This makes two in a row that I really enjoyed and lifted my mood. I liked it a lot.

If you’re new to Jenn Bennett’s books, you may also want to check out my review of STARRY EYES.

Content Notes for Alex Approximately

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Porter’s mom is Hawaiian (Chinese and Polynesian).

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing and making out between boy and girl. Reference to masturbation and brief description of sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Description of a brutal shark attack. A character shares a childhood memory of getting shot. Boys get into a brutal fistfight twice.

Drug Content
References to drug use. Bailey notes that teens drink alcohol and smoke pot at a big beach party.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

Love & Olives
Jenna Evans Welch
Simon Pulse
Published November 10, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Love & Olives

Liv Varanakis doesn’t have a lot of fond memories of her father, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight. What Liv does remember, though, is their shared love for Greek myths and the lost city of Atlantis. So when Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father explaining that National Geographic is funding a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and will she fly out to Greece and help?—Liv jumps at the opportunity.

But when she arrives to gorgeous Santorini, things are a little…awkward. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. And yet Liv doesn’t want their past to get in the way of a possible reconciliation. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo—her father’s charismatic so-called “protégé”—to witness her struggle.

And that means diving into all that Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the hidden caves, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.

My Review

I have some mixed feelings about this book, but I liked a lot of things. First, the stuff that I loved.

The setting is gorgeous. LOVE & OLIVES made me feel like I was in Santorini enjoying the outdoors and the sea and excited about hunting down rumors of Atlantis. I loved a lot of things about Liv. She’s smart and artistic, and I couldn’t help feeling for her as she faced this unexpected trip to reunite with her estranged father. I liked Liv’s mom, too. She’s sharp and I felt like she tried really hard to walk that balance between interfering when necessary and letting Liv make her own life choices.

I really struggled with Liv’s feelings and relationship with her dad. I feel like I’ve been burned by that kind of visionary, head-in-the-clouds type of person before. He just seemed like he might flake out on her any second. It was hard not to worry that Liv was going to end up hurt again. Sometimes that made me angry.

I also had a hard time with Theo. I really didn’t like that he filmed her without her permission and ignored her when she asked him to stop. There were reasons in the story that made it a “good thing” that he had that footage, that’s still not okay. I don’t like stories where the guy overrides a girl’s no because he “knows better” than she does or knows her better than she knows herself, etc. I think it’s a dangerous behavior to idealize because it romanticizes someone who ultimately isn’t respecting a point-blank refusal.

That aside, I did like that Theo asked her thought-provoking questions. He also acted as a buffer between Liv and her dad. He did eventually grow to trust and respect Liv’s boundaries.

Her relationship with her dad went some places I wasn’t expecting. I still had a hard time because I worried that somehow he wouldn’t be accountable for the hurt he’d caused. I think the way the story explored the reasons why he disappeared and why he’d wanted to be a part of Liv’s life again were ultimately satisfying. It just took me a long time to warm to him.

Altogether, this book feels like a sweet summer romance, with a beautiful setting guaranteed to make you feel like you’re escaping reality. Ultimately I’m glad I read it. I think fans of Jennifer E. Smith will enjoy the romance of this story.

Content Notes for Love and Olives

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Liv and her father are Greek. So is Theo.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
A couple instances of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of LOVE & OLIVES in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: Dear Hero by Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Romance, , , , , ,

Dear Hero
Hope Bolinger and Alyssa Roat
INtense Publications
Published September 28, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About Dear Hero

Cortex and V need a new nemesis. 

Up-and-coming teen superhero Cortex is on top of the world–at least, until his villain dumps him. If he’s going to save his reputation, he needs a new antagonist, and fast.

Meanwhile, the villainous Vortex has once again gotten a little overeager and taken out a hero prematurely. Will any young hero be able to keep up with her? Maybe she should work on finding a steady relationship with an enemy she won’t kill in the first round.

So the two turn to Meta-Match, a nemesis pairing site for heroes and villains, where they match right away. But not everything in the superhero world is as it seems. Who are the real heroes and villains? And just how fine of a line is there between love and hate? When darkness from the past threatens them both, Cortex and V may need to work together to make it out alive. 
Told entirely through texts, transcriptions, and direct messages, this darkly humorous chat fiction novel goes behind the scenes of the superworld.

My Review

So this whole story is told in what looks like direct messages through an app called Meta-Match, which is like a browsing site for villains and heroes to help them pair up and fight each other.

The opening chats were a little bit awkward, but I feel like it’s hard to write scenes where characters meet online without having at least a little bit of the feeling each other out and trying not to give too much away. Right away I knew I’d love V’s tough exterior and soft heart and Cortex’s awkwardness.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. It’s really different. Definitely a great read for anyone really needing an escape. I haven’t read RENEGADES by Marissa Meyer, but I wish I could say how it compares to something like that.

It reminded me a teeny bit of the ILLUMINAE books in the way it used direct messages and transcribed conversations. DEAR HERO does leave you to fill in the blanks on some of the scenes because you’re strictly getting dialogue unless someone narrates what’s happening.

All in all, it was definitely an entertaining, cute read. I’d say perfect for middle school readers.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Cortex is Japanese-American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
There were some teasing comments about race. For instance, in one scene V comments to Cortex (who is Asian) something like, aren’t you supposed to be good at math? He calls her out for stereotyping.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Reference to V attending Mass with Cortex’s family.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some references to violence and descriptions of battles between heroes and villains.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of DEAR HERO in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.


Review: The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

The Code for Love and Heartbreak
Jillian Cantor
Inkyard Press
Published October 6, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Code for Love and Heartbreak

From bestselling author Jillian Cantor comes a smart, edgy update of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Emma.

Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. After all, people are unreliable. They let you down—just like Emma’s sister, Izzy, did this year, when she moved to California for college. But numbers…those you can count on. (No pun intended.)

Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.

Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love.

My Review

As a contemporary romance, I really enjoyed CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK. I tend to like smart heroines, so it was a pretty strong possibility that I’d love Emma going into the book. And it turns out, I totally loved her.

I’m also a pretty big fan of sister relationships, so I loved the relationship between Emma and Izzy. I loved that they were so different from each other and that sometimes that caused sparks to fly and other times, they needed each other in ways that only sisters truly do.

As an update of Jane Austen’s EMMA, though, I have much more mixed feelings. I missed some of the dynamics in some of the relationships. I missed the Miss Bates of Austen’s version, in all her sweet, trying chattiness. I missed the connection between characters– the Westons and Frank (Sam) Churchill, and between Jane and Miss Bates.

In fairness, I don’t know how someone could bring all those relationships and the complexities they add AND tell CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK without adding like 100 more pages. Which I probably wouldn’t have minded once I was into the story, but I imagine the average reader might not feel quite the same! Ha.

All in all, I think this is a super cute romance with smart characters and interesting relationships. Fans of friends to lovers or of sister stories will find lots to love here. I think the story will appeal to fans of WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU by Marisa Kanter and TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Some minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Couples hold hands. A group of senior class boys who make a bet on who can have sex with an underclass girl first. This behavior is pretty strongly condemned. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
Emma remembers a party her sister threw that someone brought alcohol to. She hid upstairs and didn’t participate in the party.

Note: I received a free copy of THE CODE FOR LOVE AND HEARTBREAK in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

About Jillian Cantor

Goodreads | Instagram | Twitter | Website

Jillian Cantor is the author of award-winning and bestselling novels for adults and teens, including In Another Time, The Hours Count, Margot, and The Lost Letter, which was a USA Today bestseller. She has a BA in English from Penn State University and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Cantor lives in Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Spotlight: Sanctum by Hannah McBride

News and Fun, Paranormal, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Here’s some fun bookish news… if you’re a long-time Story Sanctuary reader, you may remember that I used to participate in Irish Banana Book Tours. I loved working with Irish Banana coordinator Hannah McBride, so when she announced she was releasing a book, I knew it was going to be something to talk about here! Today I’m sharing some of the fun and amazing details about her debut novel, Sanctum. It’s one I’m eager to check out!

Sanctum
Hannah McBride
Available August 21, 2020

Amazon | Goodreads

About Sanctum

A survivor on the run

After refusing the laws of her sadistic pack, Skye Markham barely escapes with her life, seeking sanctuary with the feared Blackwater pack. Hunted by her former Alpha and his soldiers, she’s determined to create a life even though she knows they will come for her.

An alpha with a pack to protect

As the next alpha in line, Remy Holt has spent years guarding the Blackwater pack and his family from those who seek to seize control and destroy them. The last thing he needs or wants is Skye Markham and the dangers she brings with her adding to the stress on his pack, but his wolf has a different opinion. He wants her, and after one moment that shouldn’t have been possible, he knows he’ll never be able to let her go.

A bond unlike any other

Skye thought she was finally safe, but as her bond with Remy strengthens, the shifter world starts to break apart at the seams. Missing shifters, a dying population, and pack wars are all causing their sanctuary to crumble around them, and Skye is trapped in the middle of it all. Someone is out to destroy the pack and if they succeed, there will bring down everything Remy has sought to protect and for Skye… maybe there is no such thing as a sanctuary.

*SANCTUM is the first book in the Blackwater Pack series. Possible trigger warnings: abuse, violence, language, and bullying.

About Author Hannah McBride

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Hannah McBride has been many things in her life – a restaurant manager, a clinical research coordinator, a dreamer, a makeup brand ambassador, an event coordinator, a blogger, and more. But at heart, she’s always been a writer, and in 2020 she decided to make it official with her first release, SANCTUM. 

An Excerpt from Sanctum

He shifted towards me. “This is all new to me, too, Skye.”

A sobering thought crossed my mind. The one that had been plaguing me since the woods. “Do you want this, Remy?”

The corner of his mouth hitched up for a second as he looked at me. Slowly, he raised a hand, tracing the curve of my jaw. I shivered, remembering the feel of his hands stroking when I was a wolf.

This was so much better.

He inched even closer. His breath, minty and warm, fanned over my face. His eyes tracked the movements of his fingers hungrily.

“Yeah,” he answered roughly, thickly. “I want this. I want you.” He dipped his head and covered my mouth with his.

As far as first kisses went, I was pretty sure this was one for the record books. 

Fire ignited in me the second Remy’s lips touched mine, soft but demanding all at once. His hands settled on my hips, pulling me closer. The smell of him from earlier in the evening, pine and soap and something that was entirely Remy, filled my senses. 

I was going to combust in the most exquisite ways.

His large hands almost spanned my waist, his fingers flexing against the soft material of my yoga pants. His tongue teased the seam of my lips until I opened my mouth on a gasp, letting him in.

I groaned as his tongue stroked mine, one hand sliding from my waist up my spine.

My hands had been clenched into fists on his chest, the fabric of his t-shirt bunched in my grip. I relaxed my hold now, letting my hands slide over the hard muscle and up around his neck, pressing my chest flush against his.

Now Remy groaned, changing the angle of his head to deepen the kiss.

Flames licked through my blood, and I was sure I was going to combust any second.

I was one hundred percent okay with death by kissing.

Review: Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Today Tonight Tomorrow
Rachel Lynn Solomon
Simon Pulse
Published July 28, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Today Tonight Tomorrow

Today, she hates him.

It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.

Tonight, she puts up with him.

When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.

As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.

THE HATING GAME meets NICK AND NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.

My Review

I could not put this book down. It’s funny. TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW is packed with the kind of snappy banter that I adore. It’s thoughtful. The story made me rethink my feelings on romance as a reading genre. And most of all, it’s desperately romantic.

Most of the book centers around a contest called The Howl, in which the whole senior class participates in a kind of photo scavenger hunt all around Seattle. It’s a race to win a prize of $5000, which both Rowan and Neil fiercely need. The contest gave the story a straightforward structure and high stakes. But what makes TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW really magical, though, is the relationship between Rowan and Neil themselves.

I’m kind of a sucker for enemies-to-lovers stories anyway, but this one had this perfect mix of wit, awkwardness, self-doubt, vulnerability, and passion. I cannot say this enough: I. Loved. It.

A Discussion of Romance

A brief note on the views about romance in the story: In the book, Rowan loves romance novels and has written one herself. She muses about the fact that romance as a genre centers women in a way that other media does not, and yet people often treat it with disdain. She discusses how reading romance also made her feel empowered and comfortable talking about sex.

Her love for romance is really woven into the story, so it doesn’t feel out of place or very preachy. It made me stop and consider the way media represents women. My daughter has participated in a local children’s theater group, and often the majority of the speaking roles are for male characters. I feel like this is something where, once you start noticing it, you kind of can’t stop. Ha.

At any rate, I really appreciated this part of TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW and especially the letter at the end from the author which explained some of her own evolution on those ideas.

All in all, fans of THE ONLY THING WORSE THAN ME IS YOU by Lily Anderson really need to check this one out. If you like witty banter and enemies-to-lovers stories, put TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW at the top of your list!

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Major characters are Jewish. Side characters are Korean, bisexual, and lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used fairly frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to sex. One scene shows characters discussing having sex and then briefly doing so.

Spiritual Content
Rowan’s family has Shabbat dinner together. References to bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah celebrations and communities of faith.

Violent Content
References to a man beating up a teenager and a girl getting into a fistfight. Some micro and not-so-micro aggressions against Jewish characters.

Drug Content
Neil and Rowan buy cookies with pot in them and get high together.

Note: I received a free copy of TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.