#ya rom com

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: A queer Sliding Doors YA rom-com in which a girl must choose between summer in NYC with her dad (and the girl she's always wanted) or LA with her estranged mom (and the guy she never saw coming). In Dahlia Adler’s Going Bicoastal, there’s more than one path to happily ever after. Natalya Fox has twenty-four hours to make the biggest choice of her life: stay home in NYC for the summer with her dad (and finally screw up the courage to talk to the girl she's been crushing on), or spend it with her basically estranged mom in LA (knowing this is the best chance she has to fix their relationship, if she even wants to.) (Does she want to?) How's a girl supposed to choose? She can't, and so both summers play out in alternating timelines - one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the girl she's always wanted. And one in which Natalya explores the city, tries to repair things with her mom, works on figuring out her future, and goes for the guy she never saw coming.

Review:

When there are two possibilities, which path will you take? When one girl’s choice in where she goes in the summer (either NYC or LA) it will also determine who she will fall in love with: the cute intern guy in LA or the pretty goth girl in NYX. In this story you get to read both possibilities! Natalya Fox has 24 hours to decide where she will be staying for the summer: either in NYX with her dad and with the girl she’s been crushing on or to go to LA with her estranged mom and falling for the cute intern guy. The story takes place between two alternating timelines, and you get to see Natalya fall for her perspective love interest in said location as well a how she works on her relationship with said parent that she stays with. this is definitely a queer Sliding Doors and its so interesting that you get to read both possible futures and you essentially get two love stories in one! Both the love interests were cute and I had a fun time reading this!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Favorite Otps/Pairings: Kevin Doyle & Jane Nichols (27 Dresses) “That day, I woke up and put on my 28th dress. I went to a wedding where no one asked me to hold the bouquet...fold a place card of hold their dress while they peed. Everything was perfect. And I didn't care...because right then, the only thing that mattered...was the person waiting for me at the end of the aisle. And he was looking at me the way I'd always hoped."

[iloveplayrehersal]

Photo shoot (idk y'all I had to 💀)

[wellesleybooks]

Debut YA novelist, Wellesley College alum, fellow tumblrer and all around wonderful person @annzhao was here to sign more copies of DEAR WENDY for us. We were proud to be one of her pre-order stores.

“Reading Dear Wendy felt like sitting down with a friend you’ve known your whole life. Ann Zhao’s voice is so witty, warm, and effortlessly charming in this pitch-perfect coming-of-age story and love letter to friendship—I’m an instant fan.” —Ann Liang, author of If You Could See the Sun

[wa3v3y]

Anyone have queer rom coms/mystery recommendations? I need them kinda fast if anyone has some ideas!!!

[cultofsappho]

Convincing you to read queer romance books by their aesthetic (8/∞):

So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

Arek hadn’t thought much about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the Kingdom of Ere from its evil ruler. So now that he’s finally managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king (turns out magical swords yanked from bogs don’t come pre-sharpened), he and his rag-tag group of quest companions are at a bit of a loss for what to do next.

As a temporary safeguard, Arek’s best friend and mage, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued from her tower. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or wither away into nothing.

With his eighteenth birthday only three months away, and only Matt in on the secret, Arek embarks on a desperate bid to find a spouse to save his life—starting with his quest companions. But his attempts at wooing his friends go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.

[ireadyabooks]

5 Book Recs Based on Your Favorite Holiday Rom-Com!❄️💝

The holiday season is special for many reasons, but one of my favorites is watching all of the cheesy and sweet holiday rom-coms every year. It always warms my heart and reminds me just how filled with love everyone is this time of year (unless you’re Scrooge). To celebrate this season, we tapped into our inner romantic to provide book recs for those of you who may have already finished your yearly holiday movie binge!

If you like You’ve Got Mail (1998), then you might like I Hope This Doesn’t Find You!

The intense and passionate internet romance that blossoms between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’ characters in You’ve Got Mail is one for the ages. It sets the benchmark for enemies-to-lovers romances as the two eventually discover that the person they’ve fallen for is the very person they’ve grown to despise. Fans of this burning romance will love Ann Liang’s newest novel, I Hope This Doesn’t Find You, a snarky academic rivals-to-lovers story that you won’t be able to put down!

If you like Single All the Way (2021), then you might like The Feeling of Falling in Love!

Single All the Way is a hilarious queer holiday rom-com centered around the chaos that ensues when your family is determined to set you up with your bff/roommate. And while this takes friends-to-lovers to a whole new level, maybe, just maybe, your family has a point. Fans of Single All the Way will be head over heels for Mason Deaver’s The Feeling of Falling in Love, a new kind of love story about bad decisions we make and the people (aka your roommate/reluctant wedding date) who help get us back on the right path.

If you like Happiest Season (2020), then you might like What a Desi Girl Wants!

One of the newest holiday movies on the list, this charming sapphic holiday rom-com starring Kristen Stewart is about wanting your family’s acceptance while staying true to yourself. Fans of Happiest Season will love Sabina Khan’s What a Desi Girl Wants, a brilliant love story filled with nuanced family dynamics and a sprinkling of sabotage that’s sure to set your queer (or not so queer) heart ablaze.

If you like The Holiday (2006), then you might like Stars in Their Eyes!

The Holiday, featuring an all-star cast of Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, and Jack Black, is one of the best meet-cute holiday romances of all time. The film not only puts you in the holiday spirit but also has heartwarming storylines that will make you believe in love again. Fans of The Holiday and quirky meet-cutes will fall hard and fast for Stars in Their Eyes from Jessica Walton and Aśka, a one-of-a-kind YA graphic novel that celebrates the excitement of meeting someone special for the first time.

If you like When Harry Met Sally (1989), then you might like Rosewood!

When Harry Met Sally might take the crown for one of the most famous rom-com movies of all time, the holiday celebrations in the film always leave me feeling so festive, but if I’ve learned one thing from this well-known romance, it’s that you should always, ALWAYS, follow your heart. Fans of this quirky love story will absolutely adore Sayantani DasGupta’s witty and bright Rosewood, a romantic and funny retelling of Sense & Sensibility set at a Bridgerton-esque summer camp, where Elia must choose to follow her carefully laid plans or let a certain someone derail them.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3/5

Book Blurb: You’ve Got Mail meets a YA Beach Read with a bookish mystery at its heart in the newest rom-com from Maria E. Andreu. The ideal next read for fans of Emily Henry, Kasie West, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo—but she is writing about love. When her summer writing teacher encourages the class to publish their work online, the last thing she’s expecting is to get a notification that her rom-com has a mysterious new contributor, Happily Ever Drafter. Julieta knows that happily ever afters aren’t real. (Case in point: her parents’ imploding marriage.) But then again, could this be her very own meet-cute?As things start to heat up in her fiction, Julieta can’t help but notice three boys in her real life: her best friend’s brother (aka her nemesis), the boy next door (well, to her abuela), and her oldest friend (who is suddenly looking . . . hot?). Could one of them be her mysterious collaborator? But even if Julieta finds her Romeo, she’ll have to remember that life is full of plot twists. . . . From the author of Love in English comes a fresh take on love and romance, and a reminder to always be the author of your own life story.

Review:

A girl who wants to write a romance novels finds herself in the middle of one when she publishes her work online and finds that her rom com has a mysterious new contributor to the story... and there are three possible romeos to her Juliet. Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo but she wants to write a romance novel. So when her class assignment has her publishing her work online she discovers that there is a mystery contributor to her story and she begins to have a relationship with said contributor. Suddenly there are three possible Romeos for her: her best friend’s brother, the boy next door, and her oldest friend. One of them could be her mystery writer right? As she gets to know these guys more she tries to figure out who could be the one but when she finally has the answer she’ll be shocked. While she is working on her own story and creating the perfect happy ending she’ll have to remember that in romance stories there are plot twist and her real life romance story will have the ultimate plot twist. This was a fun young adult rom com mystery read that I think people would enjoy.

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Balzer + Bray for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[deathisamotherofbeauty]

the urge to create a moodboard of how I think the cattonquick flat would look like. the urge to write a future domestic fic... someone hold me

[afterglowkatie]

hate getting so into a book and then having to leave the characters behind once it’s done. like no i need like a million more stories about these particular characters that i fell in love with and think about all the time 😭

[iloveplayrehersal]

Me with my Hannibal pop (ignore my messy hair lol)

[opal-stars]

Jaslene and Marlon from “All About You” by Shaina Veronica 🩷

instagram • @ opal.stars

[mkengland]

Welp it’s that time again.

One of the reasons B&N does these sales is to evaluate which books people are actually anticipating with their wallets, not just their words. It ups a book’s chance of getting stocked at B&Ns across the country at release time, which is called “sell-in.” A publisher is more likely to throw extra support behind books with good sell-in numbers, too.

Anyway, the Barnes & Noble preorder sale is happening—3 days only, September 4–6, save 25% on any book that hasn’t been released yet with code PREORDER25.

As always, preorder wherever you like—links to retailers are on my website, including for signed copies and my Bookshop storefront. Just wanted to make sure you heard about the sale if saving 25% helps you out!

Direct links:

ROLL FOR LOVE — YA romance, country girls falling in love across the D&D table.

ALL FIRED UP — Adult sapphic rom com, a professional fire-starter and a firefighter team up to save their friend via shenanigans and fall in love instead.

WHY ON EARTH ANTHOLOGY — YA anthology, 10 stories all tied to the rescue of Max Spencer (runaway alien/Hollywood star) which becomes an unintentional alien invasion, whoops.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Kyle Soto being a musician will forever be a hilarious mystery to me. The guy looks like the most generic Handsome White Dude ever - as in, High Fashion handsome. Babygirl, you belong in a Calvin Klein or Hugo Boss ad. HOW did you end up making the most gut-punching, heart-breaking, escapism dreamy emo music ever?

[cwritesfiction]

I would hate to be a bad influence (joking, I thrive off being a bad influence) but—

Can you tell us more about the found family?

Ah, unfortunately there's not much to tell yet! This WIP (the cryptid hunter rom-com) is still largely in the brainstorming stage.

My original thought was that one character would have to come up with a wacky scheme to do XYZ.

Now, my thought is this character is going to need help, and why not create a little found family out of the group who helps them do (collaborative creative endeavor?)

[shelbbswrites]

I didn’t have the time (or power. I’m experiencing some severe weather.) to write a Prom Pact review for work. In an effort to write more long form content here, would that be something you all would read over here?