Contemporary Fiction

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by St. Martin’s Press. Like a fluffy sweater on a breezy Fall day or a sugar-spiked pumpkin spice latte, take your pick of equally appropriate autumn metaphor, the Invisible Roommate by Timothy Janovsky is a warm-hearted and sweet M/M contemporary romance / queer literature book. Inspired by The Invisible Man genre-swapped, this book crosses boyband pop star music with scientific inquiry and the charm of the rural New England bay islands. A story about self-worth, values, family, and what it means to be seen, the Invisible Roommate is a wonderfully pleasant book that’s the perfect weekend kind of read. “…life was not about having everyone notice you; it was about finding the one person who would see you and love you even when you were at your most invisible.” Pitched as the Invisible Man meets Love is Blind, the book follows Gerard Well, a popstar boyband member who has flown to rural Iping Island in the Chesapeake Bay to get away from the mental pressure and stress associated with stardom. Following the lyrics of a childhood favorite song Island State of Mind by a folk duo Hallowitz & Hart, Gerard…

Featuring a genius title that fits the story both literally and metaphorically, Seeing Other People by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka is a wholesome and cute contemporary romance novel with trace elements of magical realism and speculative fiction elements. While clearly intended to be an opposites-attract romance story haunted by the literal ghosts of their exes, Seeing Other People is also a heartwarming story about grief and unexpected friendships that’s simple, easy to read, and tackles an emotional premise without being depressing or difficult for sensitive readers to get through. Though this book didn’t have the strongest introspective and reflective writing chops I was hoping for, it’s still a cute book that has a lot of mass appeal, perfectly suited for light-hearted romance readers looking for something with a bit more weight than their usual. “Maybe no one ever really leaves. They just…change. From souls to soil, shattered pieces to loving completion, dreams to dust to memory. They live on, the ghosts of past lives made new forever.” As a reader that loves ghost stories, I was intrigued by Seeing Other People’s premise that’s genius on paper. Presented in a dual-perspective presentation, the book follows landscape and gardening enthusiast Morgan…

Sometimes sweet, sometimes sour, but most often bitter-sweet and remorseful, Daria Lavelle’s debut novel Aftertaste is a heartfelt and unique speculative fiction novel featuring an amazing premise. Haunted by the aftertaste flavors of strangers’ loved ones and their associated memories, Kostya’s lasting grief and its close association with food is a concept that’s not only relatable but also a genius with endless potential. While primarily a speculative fiction and magical realism fantasy novel on paper, Aftertaste’s ambitious story crossovers into a variety of other genres such as a romance story, literary fiction with the Soviet immigration experience, and surprisingly a supernatural thriller; there’s something for everyone. But as expected for a novel focusing on the dearly departed and their loved one’s memories, Aftertaste is at its best during the quiet, poignant moments heightened by wonderful and touching introspective reflections. “Food could do that. It could tell stories. Not just cuisines or component parts, but histories-of the people who’d prepared the dishes, the way they evolved them over time, the way they made them theirs. Leaving behind a recipe was a way to be remembered and savored and loved even after you were gone. A way to live forever.” Emotions and…

Comforting and heartfelt, like Miles states to Lenny, Cara Bastone’s Promise Me Sunshine promises the reader that there will always be sunshine after a gloomy day if you keep your head up and know where to look. Featuring a compelling premise via a reverse twist of a buckets list, this novel tells a story about two people broken down by grief and loss, helping each other in the areas they know best. Despite tackling difficult topics like loss of loved ones, terminal illness, depression and the importance of family, the story is delivered full of warmth and gentle comfort, making it highly accessible and mass appealing, albeit at the cost of more ambitious developments and deeper self-reflections. While pleasant and fine, I constantly found myself a bit underwhelmed with Promise Me Sunshine, frequently wishing it would go further with its great ideas. Struggling to get by and jumping between short-term, non-committal babysitting gigs, Lenny is not doing well following the recent death of her best friend and other half Lou. Upon arriving at her next weekend job, she meets single-mother Reece, her daughter Ainsley, and Ainsley’s grumpy uncle Miles. Constantly out of town on the job, Lenny is hired to…

The following review is based on a complimentary ARC provided by Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Beautiful, fit, smart, on the surface Lily Lennox appears to be the perfect seasonal employee and lifeguard of the exclusive Riovan Wellness Resort that celebrities, influencers, and the wealthy flock to in the pursuit of healthy “wellness”. While physically matching the social media curated brand look of the resort, Lily hides a hidden motive for her annual Caribbean summer job. A lifeguard when on-duty, vigilante killer of toxic and problematic people off-duty, her fifth year at Riovan starts out like every past summer. That is until an attractive and charismatic guest Daniel Black starts asking the wrong questions, complicating her annual tradition as well as causing her to question her actions, motives, and her hopes of “saving people.” Despite this novel being classified on paper under the romance genre, A Killer Getaway has so much more to offer outside of a possible tropical summer romance. Blending elements of the mystery thriller, crime thriller, literary fiction, and of course a bit of romance, Sienna Sharpe has crafted an extraordinarily well-rounded and ambitious Women’s Fiction/Contemporary drama story that was a consistently…