Ooooh August is looking good! Alright we are already part of the way into this month, but as there are again a lot of fantastic sounding books coming out here are some of my most anticipated. Also the longer I have time to think about these the longer the lists get ... Oops. (This isn't even including the handful of really exciting sequals coming out this month.)
How to Get a Girlfriend When You're a Terrifying Monster by Arie Carno
Today's sapphic book of the day is In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae!
Summary: "Fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexandria Bellefleur will adore this queer romcom that combines everything people love about Hallmark-style holiday romances with laugh-out-loud humor and a sweet and steamy love story between two women.
With her career as a Los Angeles event planner imploding after a tabloid blowup, Morgan Ross isn’t headed home for the holidays so much as in strategic retreat. Breathtaking mountain vistas, quirky townsfolk, and charming small businesses aside, her hometown of Fern Falls is built of one heartbreak on top of another . . .
Take her one-time best friend turned crush, Rachel Reed. The memory of their perfect, doomed first kiss is still fresh as new-fallen snow. Way fresher than the freezing mud Morgan ends up sprawled in on her very first day back, only to be hauled out via Rachel’s sexy new lumberjane muscles acquired from running her family tree farm.
When Morgan discovers that the Reeds’ struggling tree farm is the only thing standing between Fern Falls and corporate greed destroying the whole town’s livelihood, she decides she can put heartbreak aside to save the farm by planning her best fundraiser yet. She has all the inspiration for a spectacular event: delicious vanilla lattes, acoustic guitars under majestic pines, a cozy barn surrounded by brilliant stars. But she and Rachel will ABSOLUTELY NOT have a heartwarming holiday happy ending. That would be as unprofessional as it is unlikely. Right?"
In the Event of Love by Courtney Kae. Rating: 4 stars.
Read from June 29th to July 1st.
Before I get into the review, I want to say a quick thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers over at Kensington Publishing for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review. In the Event of Love is a queer holiday romance in the style of a Hallmark Christmas Movie. Morgan flees L.A. following a faux pas that becomes the next trending hashtag In doing so, she finds herself face to face with the girl who broke her heart, Rachel. Can the event planner from L.A. help save the local Christmas tree farm? Can the local girl help right past wrongs? In the Event of Love is out on August 30th and is available for preorder now.
There was so much to enjoy from this debut! Courtney Kae shows off her love for Hallmark Christmas Movies with such a movie worthy setting and plot. Despite the fact that it’s been in the 100 degree range all three days I’ve been reading this one, I’ve found myself in a very Christmasy mood because of this novel. I could see this mountain town and all of the acres upon acres of trees so clearly in my mind. And the Christmas spirit gets kicked up a notch when the girls throw the fundraiser to help save the Christmas tree farm. I also really loved the small town feel. I could so clearly picture the town square and how cosy and quaint it all seemed. I felt like the conflicts in this novel were realistic. It never felt like I had to suspend my disbelief when everything came to a head. Which can be a problem with a lot of Christmas romances (books or movies). I really think the author did a great job with this one.
While I found so much to love in this story, I wish there had been a little more depth to the side characters. I know this is going to be book one in a companion series so I’m sure we’ll get more depth from them later on. But I just wish we had another 20 or so pages to get scenes with the side characters that were fluffy or filler. Something to give them more depth. I also didn’t 100% love the epilogue. And I think epilogues can be tricky with romances. It can either make a book a shining star or make the reader doubt everything they had read before it. I liked how the conflict worked out at the end, but I didn’t feel like everything had to be wrapped up in such a neat bow at the end. Maybe we could have finished with a different type of event taking place on the Christmas tree farm instead? (Trying to be as vague as possible here.) But that could just be a me thing.
Overall, I think this is the perfect book to get anyone into the Christmas spirit. Not just us crazy Christmas in July people. It comes out at a great time of the year so people can grab this one and enjoy it on a cool Fall night next to a fire.
"Who Is Superman? A Private Interview with Lois Lane" a fancomic about hope and connection.
I've had this story in mind for so long and I'm very excited to be able to share it at last. Thank you for reading, and happy Lunar New Year!
Hey idk what writer/artist/creative needs to hear this but: You can create the most garbage self-indulgent poorly made full-of-cliches awkward ugly piece of art on the entire planet and you're still allowed to be proud of it and share it with the world. In fact, I outright encourage you to be proud. You deserve it. I love you. Keep making things.
Riley Reynolds Crushes Costume Day by Jay Albee (1st)
Note: This is the first book in a new series that has four books releasing on this date.
It’s book week at school, and nonbinary fourth grader Riley and their best friends craft hard for the Dress Like Your Favorite Character Day. Colorful fabric! Paint! Glitter! They are ready to make the biggest and best group costume ever! But most of the…