What I Read In April 2023 + My May TBR
April was a slower reading month for me because I went out of town for a couple of weeks, and while some people may read more while they’re out of town, I was more stressed on these trips than relaxed, so I didn’t have a lot of free time to read. Except for maybe at night or on the plane.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Siffenfeld
I liked this one enough. I didn’t expect to like this one as much, but I’m not sure why (that’s not really a helpful review LOL). The main character is a comedy writer on The Night Owls, a fictional version of Saturday Night Live, and I just couldn’t be a fan of her character. I didn’t see a lot of growth for her character arc, except for the ending (iykyk). One may argue that she did grow, and learn that celebrities can date normal people … but was that the growth of her character arc? The book was also set up in three parts—2017-18 and pre-COVID when the two MCs met on set of The Night Owl, peak COVID and this was made up of all emails between the two MCs, and August 2020 (I think it was 2020) when they met in person. I liked the LONG chapter of them emailing back and forth—I’m not typically picky when it comes to those, but I felt like I wanted real dialogue and scenes, especially when it came to her friends. Also, the plot made it seem like it was going to be about the skit the FMC wrote, The Danny Horst Rule, and then talk about how male comedians dating actresses get different treatment than female comedians dating actors. But there wasn’t really any of that, only the banter and growing relationship between the two MCs, who were a female comedy writer and a male musician. With that being said, I still liked the plot and how it dove deeper into their communication rather than talk about this “Danny Horst Rule” that’s loosely based off Pete Davidson (and Ariana Grande).
Overall, I liked it and will recommend to someone who’s looking for a quick read and who loves pop culture.
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Rating: 3.5/5
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
I read this on the plane and I thought it was good! The FMC works in publishing and the MMC is an author that goes by a pen name, N.R. Strickland. The FMC, Lily, strikes up an email conversation with the author, Strick, via his contact page on his website. When they agree to meet, Strick ghosts her. Several months later, Lily is working in publishing for a toxic boss and is determined to turn her life around. She enlists the help of her neighbor, Nick, to help find her a date to her sister’s wedding. However, Nick turns out to be Strick and is publishing his book under a new publisher—under the same pen name. I liked this one; I thought it was very cute—however, it was steamy so cute and steamy. That’s how I’ll describe this book. Their banter and blossoming relationship/friendship kept me hooked until the very end. Like the previous book above, this book had an entire chapter devoted to emails between the two MCs, but it was helpful to get to know each of them and was essential to the plot. I’m not picky about emails in chapters, but it got slightly annoying when I would turn the page and there would be another two pages of emails to read through. LOL. Still, overall, I loved it and would recommend to any romance book reader—especially someone who loves books about books.
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Rating: 4/5
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
This book was heartwrenching and made me tear up in the car while listening to it. I’ve been putting off this review for a few days because oh my gosh, this one was a lot to take in. I loved this second chance romance. To be honest, I normally don’t read second chance romances because they’re not my thing. I am always hesitant to read those because in my head, it’s people going back to each other after a breakup … but second chance romances are so much more than that. I would say this one and Happy Place by Emily Henry (which I read in May) are perfect examples are what beautiful second chance romances should and do look like. Yasmin and Josiah just went through a divorce after walking through grief of their stillborn baby. Even though they’re been divorced for two years now, they still co-parent their two kids and run their restaurant together. The story follows both Yasmin and Josiah’s POVs throughout the book and we get to understand both of their perspectives in this co-parenting relationship. The story starts when their son, Kassim, begins therapy. Yasmin is all for therapy, especially after dealing with grief and divorce, but Josiah has always been against it for himself, but he agrees to see a therapist because Kassim is seeing a therapist. From there, they (Yasmin and Josiah) start to unravel things out of their relationship and slowly build their relationship back together. I won’t say anything more—just go read the book!
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Rating: 4.5/5