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Roni Recommends: Two Feel-Good Reads for Your Weekend

September 14, 2018 Roni Loren
feel good reads.png

First, I just want to say I’m sending good thoughts to those on the east coast who are dealing with Hurricane Florence today. I hope you all are staying safe. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was supposed to be in Maryland this weekend for a signing at Nora Roberts’ bookstore Turn the Page. Because of the weather and the fact that I would’ve been flying through the hurricane zone, I had to cancel. But I will be working with the bookstore to reschedule sometime in 2019.

Okay, on to the books! This week I’ve been in the mood to read something fun and fluffy. And I say “fluffy” with the upmost respect, by the way. My definition of fluffy is a book that is a page-turner that makes me laugh and smile and get all the warm and fuzzy feels. Fluffy is actually really hard to pull off. So I was delighted this week to not just fine one but TWO great books that fit the bill.

I devoured these two books, reading them in every little crevice of time between work and family stuff, and now I have the dreaded BOOK HANGOVER. I tried to read something new last night and picked up three different books, read the first chapters, and was like…meh. Book hangovers are both the best (yay it means I’ve read a fantastic book) and the worst (now nothing seems to live up to it.)

So, first up, is a book you’ve probably seen everywhere because it’s a new release by the popular writing duo, Christina Lauren. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the third book I’ve read by Christina Lauren this year, so that’s saying something because I tend not to read a bunch of books by the same author in a short span of time. (Weird reader quirk.) The only author recently who had me doing that was Colleen Hoover. So this is a rarity. I think what I like so much about the Christina Lauren books is that they have a lot of humor and a great voice. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was no exception.

This book was a romantic comedy with the friends-to-lovers trope (a trope I adore.) Josh and Hazel are friends and decide to help set each other up on dates, and they keep going on these awful, often funny double dates. Hazel is kind of a manic-pixie-dream-girl type but with more substance so she’s very zany, over the top, and totally accepting that she is who she is. Josh is the quieter, more thoughtful type. But together, they were a really fun pair to watch. I laughed aloud a number of times. It’s a really cute book that will leave you feeling good, so if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, you can’t go wrong here.

 

Next up is Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a YA contemporary with a romance. Somehow I have managed to never read a Sarah Dessen novel. I’m not even sure how that is possible. I had three of her books on my e-reader, so clearly I am attracted to the premises in her books, but I’ve managed to not read a one. I have now fixed this—hurrah!—and I’m so glad I did.

Along for the Ride is a story about Auden’s last summer before she goes to college. She lives with her very pretentious professor mother but decides to spend the summer in a beach town with her father, his new wife, and their new baby. Auden was a hard character to connect with upfront because she is so self-contained and has been trained to basically be all work and no play. She’s also supremely lonely and doesn’t know how to connect with kids her own age.

However, once she moves in with her dad, she begins getting exposed to all kinds of things her rigorously academic upbringing has not afforded her. Making friends with girls her age, meeting a boy she likes, and doing fun activities that have nothing to do with academics. There is a sweet romance in this story, but I hesitate to call it a YA romance because though the romance thread is strong, a big portion of this book is about Auden’s journey (her relationship with others, her parents, and how she sees herself.) So this one has some meat to it but still gives you that summery ahh feeling of a beach read. I zoomed through this one even though it’s not a short book. This definitely won’t be the last Sarah Dessen book I read.

So that’s what I’ve got for you and now I must find something to get over my book hangover. I’m thinking maybe a historical romance because I realized when I looked through my book journal that I have read NO historicals in 2018. How is that even possible? I must fix this immediately.

What are you reading this weekend? Or, tell me what’s the last book that gave you a book hangover?




In Book Recommendations, Books, Friday Reads, Reading, What To Read Tags roni recommends, book recommendations, reading, YA, christina lauren, sarah dessen, romance, books, summer reads, weekend reads, light-hearted books, romantic comedy, YA romance, young adult books, roni loren
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