Contemporary

"Where the Forest Meets the Stars" by Glendy Vanderah is a mesmerizing blend of heart-wrenching reality and whimsical fantasy that left me utterly captivated. Set against the backdrop of a serene forest, the story weaves a tale of grief, healing, and unexpected connections that transcend the ordinary. The characters, Joanna, Ursa, and Gabriel, form an unlikely trio whose interactions are enchanting. As they unravel the mysteries of the stars and confront their own inner demons, the line between reality and fantasy blurs beautifully, inviting readers into a world where anything seems possible. The author's prose is both lyrical and evocative, painting vivid scenes that linger in the mind long after the final page. With its rich narrative and emotionally resonant themes, "Where the Forest Meets the Stars" is a masterpiece that reminds us of the magic inherent in everyday life. It's a book that stays with you, stirring your soul and igniting your imagination with every turn of the page.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is an amazing book about love. This book follows a 16 year old girl named Lara Jean. When she has a crush so big she writes a letter about them to dumb her emotions out and let them go. She keeps these letters in a box hidden, so no one finds them or sees them. Until one day she finds that the letters are gone and someone sent them out to all the boys she has written about. One even being her older sister's ex-boyfriend! Lara Jean is trying to figure out how to deal with this messy situation, but it does lead to a happy accident.
I loved reading this book! I loved seeing what would happen next and how each of the boys reacted to getting the letters. I recommend this book to anyone who likes reading romance and any of Jenny Han’s books. I love this author, and this book was well written and fun to read.

Reviewer Grade: 8

It’s Not Summer Without You is the second book to The Summer I Turn Pretty trilogy. This is the first summer Belly isn’t at the summer house with the boys. Conrad and Belly get into a relationship which was a healthy one, until Conrad slowly moves emotionally away. After there breakup, Belly gets a call from Jeremiah asking if she knew we’re Conrad was because he’s gone. Belly didn’t know what to do neither did Jeremiah, so they go looking for Conrad together. Belly yet again finds herself stuck between the boys and is unsure what to do. Belly’s biggest role model Susannah has died and she really needs her to help her out, so she relies on the memories she has of her.
I really liked this book, even though it was emotional. It wasn’t my favorite out of the three books, but I still recommend it highly if you have read the first book. The plot was well made and some of the quotes in the book were really good. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

Reviewer Grade: 8th

The Summer I Turn Pretty is an amazing book about young love and coming of age. The story follows a girl named Isabel (Belly). She and her family have been going to a beach house during summer since she was born, along with her mother’s best friend and her two boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly has always loved Conrad, but this summer was a little different. This summer Belly was growing up and found herself in between the two brothers.
I really enjoyed this book and thought that it was good. The plot was well written with twists and turns along the way. If you like romance books, I recommend this book to you.

Reviewer Grade: 8

First, there was an explosion—a small bomb in a Delhi marketplace place. The Kurana boys were killed, and their friend Mansoor survives. This small bomb had devastating results on two families, and The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan reveals the interconnectedness of grief and disaster as it follows the lives of the families and the terrorists after the explosion. Mahajan confronts tough topics and raises questions about terrorism and war. It is an uncomfortable read, definitely not a book for pure pleasure. Frankly, The Association of Small Bombs is not my favorite book, nor do I believe it is meant to be. While it certainly covers hard and uncomfortable topics, it could have been written in a less dry manner. The characters also seemed to always fall on some extreme, and I feel some less extreme characters would have enhanced the novel. At least for the first chunk of the novel, the characters' names are challenging, and sometimes essential plot points are overshadowed as I attempt to remember who some characters are. That being said, it definitely prompted me to think about grief differently and about all the interconnected pieces of a single action.

“Before the Coffee Gets Cold” is a story about a cafe that can send you back in time, so long as you drink your coffee in a particular seat. A variety of customers come to the cafe to meet with people they’d otherwise have no chance to see. However, there are several rules. The two most important are that the present will never be changed and that the time traveler must return before the coffee gets cold.

Each story is interesting and heartfelt in its own right. My personal favorite was Hirai’s story about her sister, particularly because of how it was up in the previous stories. That’s another aspect of this book. These stories are all interconnected. Aside from the first woman, each main character is shown beforehand. This book also keeps the stories from being repetitive. There’s enough of a twist on each story, one woman wants to meet her husband who’s losing his memory. Another wants to express her feelings to her ex-boyfriend. All the reasons are different enough to keep the story fresh.

The characters are all likable too, although there are a few strange moments in the beginning. All of them are given a little backstory, but not much. All in all, it’s nice without being extraordinary.

This is a quick and cozy read that I’d recommend to almost anyone. Especially if you’re interested in speculative fiction.

TW: A main theme of this book (and thus the review) is suicide. If this topic makes you uncomfortable, I would suggest finding a different book.

“The Midnight Library” is a story about Nora Seed, whose life has not gone how she’s expected. Worse yet, she feels as though it’s all her fault and her regrets weigh heavy on her. One night she decides to end her own life, but she wakes up in a library with her elementary school librarian. That’s when she gets the opportunity to live the lives she could have led if she’d made different decisions.

As the story goes along, we see many of Nora’s alternative lives. Some of them are just as disastrous as her regular life (her best friend dies, her husband cheats on her). Others are nearly perfect, but can’t be truly satisfying when she didn’t create them. I was glad that some of the alternate lives were good, otherwise it would have seemed like Nora’s original life was simply the lesser of two evils. All of them are interesting to read about. Another interesting aspect of the book is the library itself. The author knows when to reveal information and when to keep things vague.

There aren’t many characters to keep track of. Nora is the main character, and the reader gets a good sense of her interests and aspirations through her various lives. Her friends and family all get a decent amount of depth as well, though they’re not in focus most of the time.

I can’t pretend that I really resonated with the message of the book. I would have preferred if it focused a bit more on the good things that could happen in Nora’s future rather than the good things that happened in her alternate lives. However, that could be a problem exclusive to me.

Overall, I would recommend this book to almost anyone. It’s a fast read and a good story.

"What You Are Looking For Is in the Library" is a book about a library connected to a community center and the unusually perceptive librarian, Sayuri Komachi. The book is told through five stories of people . Along with the books they came for, Mrs. Komachi gives them an unrelated book and a felt gift. This leads them to discovering new perspectives on their problems and their lives.

All the characters in this book are delightful. Since there are five stories, each with a different main character, it would take too long to go over all of them. However, the standouts for me were Tomoka, Natsumi, and Mrs. Komachi herself. Tomoka was relatable in her struggles, but also had a proactive nature that made her likeable. Natsumi has an interesting story about motherhood that isn't seen much in modern media. And of course Mrs. Komachi tows the line between mysterious and friendly in a charming way. Every once in a while there will be a character that appears in multiple stories, and the crossovers are pleasant without being distracting.

The stories themselves are all quite simple. Someone receives insight after reading a book, usually talking with friends and neighbors as they decide on their life's path. Though they're all quite short, none of them feel incomplete or rushed.

I would recommend this book for people looking for a comforting read or a story about the power of books.

Lovable characters, an amazing plot, swoon-worthy chemistry, and a captivating writing style, what more could one ask for in a rom-com narrative? Like seriously. And those beautiful ideas are immaculately expressed in The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas. This book stole my heart—a truly well-done teaser love story. From the first page, Armas unfolds every parcel of the story with perfection, leaving just enough time before uncovering another equally interesting idea. The classic enemies-to-lovers trope is perfectly applied as mysterious and stone-cold Aaron meets open and bubby Catalina. At first, the motives are questionable; you’ll find yourself asking, “why would Catalina be soo adamant about finding a fake boyfriend to bring home for a wedding?” and if she hates Aaron with that much ferocity, “why did she put that aside and take him?” But as the plot unfolds, everything makes sense in a kinda sick way, and motives come to life. And through it all, Aaron and Catalina could not be more wholesome. They frankly stole my heart. It is honestly an emotional rollercoaster that I wish would never end. When it finally did, it was perfect.

What is a better way to start a relationship with someone, your best friend’s cousin, than calling the cops on them? Answer: There is none, especially if it's a rom-com novel—the perfect first encounter. This is what happens to Rosie Graham when she unexpectedly comes across Lucas Martin, her best friend’s cousin, “breaking into her out of town friends apartment” and calls the cops. New flash, he was not breaking in; he had a key, but little did she know that this was the start of an excellent relationship and a well-written, feel-good book because everyone needs a decent, feel-good book in their lives, right? Well, at least for me, that book is not The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas. I mean, yes, technically, the novel is a feel-good book, but it is also so much more. It's about overcoming your past and moving forward. It’s about loving yourself and supporting others. It’s about allowing yourself to rely on others. The American Roommate Experiment is an emotional rollercoaster bundled up into 400 pages. That made me feel anywhere from devastated to ecstatic, to awe, to hate, and to love in a single chapter.

That being said, I didn’t enjoy The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas as much as its prequel, The Spanish Love Deception. I found the plot too slow, even for a slow-burn-type book, and overly stacked with tropes. While I enjoy a good friends-to-lovers trope, in this case, I found it extremely frustrating, and generally, I found that Lucas and Rosie lacked the necessary chemistry. I mean, water and oil have better chemistry. Both Lucas and Rosie would, in my opinion, make better friends than lovers, and the romance piece felt like an afterthought in the plot and their relationship. It is still a well-written novel with fascinating characters and a well-needed message. I adored the character development that progressed but found the romance part severely lacking. The best way I would describe The American Roommate Experiment is a modern feel-good comedy, and if that is what you’re looking for? Great. It is a perfect read, but don’t go looking for a romance novel.