This is the first full week of May, and holy forking shirtballs, this is a good month for books. I don’t even understand how all of these books are coming out at the same time. If the film industry understood that the only movie that would really come out during Avengers weekend was Avengers, the book industry knows that we need to build some kind of time-extension machine so that only one book comes out per week. Because damn. This week.
Sponsored by The Way You Make Me Feel from Maurene Goo and Fierce Reads
An NPR Best Book of 2018 Clara Shin lives for pranks and disruption. When she takes one joke too far, her dad sentences her to a summer working on his food truck alongside her uptight classmate, Rose Carver. Not the carefree summer Clara had imagined. But maybe Rose isn’t so bad. Maybe the boy crushing on her is pretty cute. Maybe Clara actually feels invested in her dad’s business. What if taking this summer seriously means that Clara has to leave her old self behind? “It’s sexy, it’s silly, and it’s super-sweet without being saccharine.” —Bustle
Over on Book Riot
This list might make you grumpy, because none of these books are out yet, but this is a promising list of baseball romance to try at the height of the season.
Dana was busy, and also wrote about some awesome friendships in romance. Who are your faves?
You have all month to enter this giveaway for a waterproof Kindle Paperwhite, but might as well enter now, right?
Looking to start a book blog? Here are some tips.
Deals
TJ Klune’s books are basically never on sale, so it’s definitely time to celebrate that two of them are! Tell Me It’s Real, the first book in the At First Sight series, is 1.99, and The Queen and the Homo Jock King, the second, is 99 cents. Until You, the third, is 4.31, so technically not too bad. The fourth, Why We Fight, comes out next week, so now’s definitely a good time to catch up.
Did you know you could get the mass market paperback of Can’t Escape Love now? If you’re working on a print collection of The Reluctant Royals, both novellas are available to fulfill that dream. So go for it! It’s 4.99 (as is Once Ghosted, Twice Shy, if you haven’t gotten that one yet).
Recs
Holy crap, this week. Let’s talk about some of the books out this week.
The Bride Test
Helen Hoang
Even if you haven’t yet picked up The Kiss Quotient, you need to get this one right away. It’s a devourable little book with almost more heart packed into it than the average person can stand. Esme, who has lived as a very poor person in Vietnam, meets Khai’s mother in the bathroom where she is cleaning, and is surprised by her proposal: come to California for the summer, and maybe marry her son. Esme is hesitant, but in the end can’t say no. She doubts she’ll want to marry the woman’s handsome son, but she’ll at least be able to make some money, and maybe find her father, an American who went back to the states before she was born.
When she meets Khai, though, there is a disconnect between them. Khai is autistic, and doesn’t process emotions or communication the same way Esme does. This leads to some interesting interactions, especially as they get to know each other. But Khai doesn’t think he has the ability to love, so things get much more complicated than they need to be, very fast.
This is a beautiful book, a beautiful story, and there’s a sobworthy author’s note at the end.
Reverb
Anna Zabo
This wraps up Anna’s Twisted Wishes series, and wow. All the subtle ways it gets you.
Mish, the last standing single person in the band Twisted Wishes, has to deal with a lot of unwanted attention. This comes to a head when she sprains her wrist after a guy comes at her with a pair of scissors. (She punches him, but swears the sprain is actually from falling wrong afterward.) The band thinks it’s time to bring in personal security, especially after concluding that she might have a stalker. David, a trans man, takes to the band immediately, but is hesitant to form relationships with the job. But damn, is he attracted to Mish. Not just for sex, though. He could see something more happening with her. But getting involved with the person you are protecting could make him sloppy. We’ve all seen The Bodyguard. (By the way: the stage musical? Terrible book, great song placement. And I like the replacement of the country bar with karaoke. The end.)
Anna is yet another master of their craft, and they have built such an insular family, I am sad to leave them behind. Maybe they’ll consider revisiting Twisted Wishes with a novella or two.
And then there’s all the ones I am itching to read (Seriously. Publishing. Take a break.)
Rogue Ever After (By ALL THE PEOPLE)
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
I Think I Might (Love You) by Christina C. Jones
Proper English by KJ Charles
Hot to the Touch by Jaci Burton (I have been watching a LOT of 9-1-1 on Fox and am very eager to read this book)
Tightrope by Amanda Quick
Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins
Like, seriously? You do this on the FIRST TUESDAY OF MAY? Can you even imagine what the rest of the month looks like?
What are you reading this weekend? As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at jessica@riotnewmedia.com if you’ve got feedback, book recs, or just want to say hi!