Goodreads Synopsis:

Kristen Peterson doesn’t do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don’t get her. She’s also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.
Planning her best friend’s wedding is bittersweet for Kristen — especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He’s funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he’d be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it’s harder and harder to keep him at arm’s length.
The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.

Review: The Friend Zone has given me a massive book hangover. I loved it so much that it has skyrocketed my expectations, and no book is going to match it until I fully recover.

Let’s talk about what I loved- The Friend Zone was laugh-out-loud funny, and quirky, and the next minute it took my heart and stomped on it. I love a book that makes me feel tons of emotion, and The Friend Zone ran the gamut. Even the side characters had fully fleshed-out personalities, and the characters voices were so distinct. I loved that Kristen had actual periods like an actual human person, and I thought that her storyline was powerful and so authentically told.

The Friend Zone should come with a warning label that this book will make you cry. Not like a tear running prettily down your face, but like a full-on red-faced, snot-filled, body-wracking sob, where your boyfriend comes out and asks, “What the hell happened?! Did someone die??” Hypothetically, of course. That didn’t happen to me. (It did).

Wine Pairing: The Friend Zone calls for something that you can drink while you’re both celebrating and mourning- I’d go with a Prosecco- it’s lightly sweet with a slightly zesty bite.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this provocative, wildly entertaining, and compelling novel, seven women enrolled in an extreme weight loss documentary discover self-love and sisterhood as they enact a daring revenge against the exploitative filmmakers.

Alice and Daphne, both successful and accomplished working mothers, harbor the same secret: obsession with their weight overshadows concerns about their children, husbands, work—and everything else of importance in their lives. Scales terrify them.

Daphne, plump in a family of model-thin women, learned only slimness earns admiration at her mother’s knee. Alice, break-up skinny when she met her husband, risks losing her marriage if she keeps gaining weight.

The two women meet at Waisted. Located in a remote Vermont mansion, the program promises fast, dramatic weight loss, and Alice, Daphne, and five other women are desperate enough to leave behind their families for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The catch? They must agree to always be on camera; afterward, the world will see Waisted: The Documentary.

The women soon discover that the filmmakers have trapped them in a cruel experiment. With each pound lost, they edge deeper into obsession and instability…until they decide to take matters into their own hands.

Review:

For as long as I can remember, I have been conscious of how your weight effects how people treat you. Every woman in my family, from my great grandmother to my aunts to my mom and my stepmom, are obsessed with weight, and have tried every single diet fad, including weight-loss surgery. I have been put on diets since I was 15, when my mom first encouraged me to join Weight Watchers. Growing up, I’d always hear comments about whether I need a second helping of something, or if my portions were too big. I’m not saying this to criticize my family, who I love dearly. Equating skinny with pretty, particular with women, had been engrained in our culture for much longer than I have been alive, and it effects much more that those in my immediate family. 

In Waisted, Randy Susan Meyers illustrates that in a clear, unique, and real way that cut down straight to my childhood. I especially identified with Daphne’s complicated relationship with her mother, although I saw pieces of myself in every character that attended the camp. Some parts of Waisted made me feel uncomfortable, but in a way that is necessary to illustrate diet culture, and the inner voice that pops up when eating “bad” food. 

Waisted is unlikely to change diet culture, or cause a mass acceptance of the many different ways that a body can look. Hell, it doesn’t change the way I look at myself either- and I don’t believe that was its intention. What it will do is adding another voice to the everlasting conversation revolving around body image and health. On a personal level, it adds another voice to my subconscious, helping to ease the self-criticism when I decide to indulge. Waisted isn’t necessarily preaching that being fat is great, instead going for the much-needed message that being fat or skinny has very little to do with self-worth.

Waisted is a well-thought out and well-written book, full of strong women and a strong message. 

Wine Pairing: Waisted needs an Oregon Pinot Noir, with its earthy notes and bright acidity.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Atria Books for the review copy!

Goodreads Synopsis:

Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

Review: I LOVED The Bride Test! It was funny and heartwarming and made me laugh (and cry) out loud. I always love how Hoang writes her characters in such a unique, diverse, and authentic way.

If you’ve read The Kiss Quotient, then you’re familiar with Stella. (If you haven’t read it, GO READ IT). I loved that in The Bride Test, Khai’s autism looked different than Stella’s- which is so true to real life. I really appreciate that Hoang writes diverse characters with regards to race, culture, education, and the autism spectrum. As someone whose nephew is on the spectrum, I’m excited that he gets to be represented in a mainstream romantic comedy. (More of this, please!)

The Bride Test also features a fascinating dynamic between Vietnamese culture in Vietnam vs Vietnamese culture in America. I could not recommend The Bride Test more- it’s unique, charming, and entertaining.

Wine Pairing: For The Bride Test, I’d pick something that pairs well with Vietnamese food! A New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling would both go wonderfully with this fun and spicy novel.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

Goodreads Synopsis:

Someone once told me that you have two families in your life – the one you are born into and the one you choose. Yes, you may get to choose your partner, but you don’t choose your mother-in-law. The cackling mercenaries of fate determine it all.

From the moment Lucy met Diana, she was kept at arm’s length. Diana is exquisitely polite, but Lucy knows, even after marrying Oliver, that they’ll never have the closeness she’d been hoping for.

But who could fault Diana? She was a pillar of the community, an advocate for social justice, the matriarch of a loving family. Lucy had wanted so much to please her new mother-in-law.

That was ten years ago. Now, Diana has been found dead, leaving a suicide note. But the autopsy reveals evidence of suffocation. And everyone in the family is hiding something…

From the bestselling author of The Family Next Doorcomes a new page-turner about that trickiest of relationships.

Review: I loved The Mother-in-Law. I’m a huge fan of books that accurately capture the complexities of family relationships, and Sally Hepworth did it so well. I particularly appreciated that Diana, Lucy, and Nettie were all female characters that portrayed strength in completely unique ways- yet they were all flawed in equally unique ways.

This book kept me hooked from the very beginning, and it did a great job at building up the suspense. I was surprised by the ending, but I also felt like it didn’t come out of nowhere, which can sometimes be an issue with thrillers. Overall The Mother-in-Law was well-crafted, well-written, and entertaining as hell. Highly recommend.

Wine Pairing: This calls for Champagne. The real stuff. But one that you bought with money you earned, because that’s what Diana would want.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press!

Goodreads Synopsis:

Macy Sorensen is settling into an ambitious if emotionally tepid routine: work hard as a new pediatrics resident, plan her wedding to an older, financially secure man, keep her head down and heart tucked away.

But when she runs into Elliot Petropoulos—the first and only love of her life—the careful bubble she’s constructed begins to dissolve. Once upon a time, Elliot was Macy’s entire world—growing from her gangly bookish friend into the man who coaxed her heart open again after the loss of her mother…only to break it on the very night he declared his love for her.

Told in alternating timelines between Then and Now, teenage Elliot and Macy grow from friends to much more—spending weekends and lazy summers together in a house outside of San Francisco devouring books, sharing favorite words, and talking through their growing pains and triumphs. As adults, they have become strangers to one another until their chance reunion. Although their memories are obscured by the agony of what happened that night so many years ago, Elliot will come to understand the truth behind Macy’s decade-long silence, and will have to overcome the past and himself to revive her faith in the possibility of an all-consuming love.

Review: Love and Other Words was my first Christina Lauren novel, and I definitely want to read more of her books! I enjoyed her writing style- it was clear and entertaining, while still packing in an emotional punch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I love Elliot and Macy’s story, and I felt like their relationship progressed in a relatable and authentic way. The adult version of the characters felt a little less realistic, but it didn’t really effect my enjoyment of the book. When I read a book like this, I really just want it to make me feel things, and as I was ugly crying at the end, I’d call Love and Other Words a success!

Wine Pairing: Love and Other Words calls for something youthful, but not too sweet. I’d go with a rosé from Provence in Southern France. Bright and not too fruity, with a lovely salinity to balance it all, this rosé will help to balance the emotion from the novel.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷

Goodreads Synopsis:

Zadie Anson and Emma Colley have been best friends since their early twenties, when they first began navigating serious romantic relationships amid the intensity of medical school. Now they’re happily married wives and mothers with successful careers–Zadie as a pediatric cardiologist and Emma as a trauma surgeon. Their lives in Charlotte, North Carolina are chaotic but fulfilling, until the return of a former colleague unearths a secret one of them has been harboring for years. 

As chief resident, Nick Xenokostas was the center of Zadie’s life–both professionally and personally–throughout a tragic chain of events in her third year of medical school that she has long since put behind her. Nick’s unexpected reappearance during a time of new professional crisis shocks both women into a deeper look at the difficult choices they made at the beginning of their careers. As it becomes evident that Emma must have known more than she revealed about circumstances that nearly derailed both their lives, Zadie starts to question everything she thought she knew about her closest friend.

Review: I thoroughly enjoyed Queen of Hearts! Martin does a great job at capturing the complexities of female friendships and how they change as you go through different stages in your life.

The medical drama feel of this novel really drew me in- it reminded me of the early seasons of Grey’s Anatomy in the best way. Unlike Grey’s, however, the medical procedures felt authentic, and the outcomes felt realistic. (This makes sense, as Martin is a doctor. Side note- how does one become smart enough and driven enough to be both a doctor and a published author. Asking for a friend.)

If I had one drawback about Queen of Hearts, it would be that the alternating POV’s and alternating timelines made it a little bit difficult to put down and then come back to later. (This may say more about me than the book.)

Wine Pairing: For Queen of Hearts, I’m thinking something somewhat fancy, but approachable, like a bright, velvety Chablis, or a sparkling California Blanc de Blanc.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷

Goodreads Synopsis: Seraphine Mayes and her twin brother Danny were born in the middle of summer at their family’s estate on the Norfolk coast. Within hours of their birth, their mother threw herself from the cliffs, the au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark cloaks, changelings, and the aloof couple who drew a young nanny into their inner circle.

Now an adult, Seraphine mourns the recent death of her father. While going through his belongings, she uncovers a family photograph that raises dangerous questions. It was taken on the day the twins were born, and in the photo, their mother, surrounded by her husband and her young son, is beautifully dressed, smiling serenely, and holding just one baby.

Who is the child and what really happened that day?

One person knows the truth, if only Seraphine can find her.

Review: Books with multiple POV’s are a tough one for me. The Au Pair did it really well, so it worked. I loved how the storylines eventually converged into one.

Rous does a great job at establishing her setting- I feel like I could really picture Summerbourne. Seraphine and Laura were well-written and fleshed out, although I felt like the side characters, particularly Dominic and Danny, needed more substance.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I guessed the biggest plot twists about halfway through the novel, but there were still enough surprises to keep me guessing.

Wine Pairing: The Au Pair calls for something a little bit fancy with some light salinity to go with Summerbourne’s seaside air. I’d go with a Sancerre or a Melon de Bourgogne from Muscadet.

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷

I’ve decided that I need a place for my book reviews other than Goodreads or Instagram (although I’ll still be using both!).

I’ll be reviewing on a scale of 🍷-🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷, AND I’ll suggest a wine to pair with the overall mood of the book!

Cheers, and Happy Reading!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton