The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
After loving Ashley Poston’s most recent book THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP I was super curious to read her first romance.
This book is a unique twist on the romance genre. Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the biggest romance writers. She can also talk to ghosts… and ends up falling in love with a ghost who is also the editor of the book she’s currently working on. All this is going on while she’s also back in her hometown mourning the death of her father who owned the town’s funeral home.
I appreciated that this book went in some directions I was NOT expecting, but it felt like it could’ve been about 50 pages shorter. Having read THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP too, I feel like the two books have a lot of similarities as they both strongly deal with grief and it started to feel repetitive for me personally.
My Rating: 4/5 Stars ★
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
The memoir everyone is talking about.
Growing up I was a big Britney Spears fan, but I haven’t followed along too closely with recent news beyond the big headlines. Her memoir is a heartbreaking look at everything she’s been through. In the end, my heart ached for her and it left me thinking about the “price” of fame, especially for women.
Highly recommend listening to the audiobook which was read by Michelle Williams.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars ★
Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg
Romances have been a bit hit-miss for me lately, but this one hit. Something about it felt different for me — it’s not too saccharine, it’s complex, and the emotions felt really real.
It’s about a 35-year-old singer/songwriter on the verge of (finally!) making it big. She had previously made an “if we’re both single at 35” marriage pact with two different guys. One of them is her best friend, Garrett, who she has always had a thing for but the timing just never seemed to work out for them. And then there’s her former camp boyfriend, Asher, who is now a mega-famous actor.
The book is told in multiple timelines going back and forth between the past with Garret and Asher and Maggie’s present. I was not sure where it was going to go (rare in a romance!) but ended up loving the journey.
My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars ★