contemporary

Roomies by Christina Lauren

April 12, 2019

Roomies by Christina Lauren
Published by Gallery Books on December 5, 2017
Genres: contemporary, New Adult
Pages: 368
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From subway to Broadway to happily ever after. Modern love in all its thrill, hilarity, and uncertainty has never been so compulsively readable as in New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren’s romantic novel.

Marriages of convenience are so...inconvenient.

For months Holland Bakker has invented excuses to descend into the subway station near her apartment, drawn to the captivating music performed by her street musician crush. Lacking the nerve to actually talk to the gorgeous stranger, fate steps in one night in the form of a drunken attacker. Calvin Mcloughlin rescues her, but quickly disappears when the police start asking questions.

Using the only resource she has to pay the brilliant musician back, Holland gets Calvin an audition with her uncle, Broadway’s hottest musical director. When the tryout goes better than even Holland could have imagined, Calvin is set for a great entry into Broadway—until his reason for disappearing earlier becomes clear: he’s in the country illegally, his student visa having expired years ago.

Seeing that her uncle needs Calvin as much as Calvin needs him, a wild idea takes hold of her. Impulsively, she marries the Irishman, her infatuation a secret only to him. As their relationship evolves and Calvin becomes the darling of Broadway—in the middle of the theatrics and the acting-not-acting—will Holland and Calvin to realize that they both stopped pretending a long time ago?

Bookish Thoughts

There is nothing that tugs my heartstrings more than a meet-cute! All the teen shows I consumed made me desperate to recreate my own meet-cute since the fifth grade. I remember distinctly walking around school with my Beverly Hills 90210 bookbag, strategically dropping all my books in front of my biggest crush and watching him walk right past me while I sadly picked up all the books myself.

Once Upon a Time…

Roomies is one of my favorite meet-cutes because I love romances that have that infatuated love at first sight feeling. Holland Bakker falls in love with Calvin from afar while watching him play guitar in a New York subway. She has admired the guitar-playing Calvin McLoughlin for months until they literally collide in a New York City subway. Holland has always been a girl that never takes chances until she spontaneously marries the swoon-worthy Calvin to save him from deportation and giving him the opportunity of a lifetime to play music for Broadway.

Pixie Pop Culture…

While You Were Sleeping is the movie that cemented my obsession with the falling in love from a person from afar trope! Even though, this movie has quite a twist it has all the swooniness, sexiness, quirkiness, and cuteness you can ever ask for!

via GIPHY

Good vs. Evil…

Holland Bakker’s supposed best friend Lulu would play an evil role in this story. Lulu is someone that is completely unsupportive of Holland, manipulative, holds her back, and is completely selfish. She is the kind of best friend that says she wants you to be happy but then tries to sabotage you at the same time.

Luckily good wins in this novel! Holland Bakker is someone that commits an incredible act of kindness by helping Calvin McLoughlin with his immigration papers and marrying him which results in him continuing to inspire people with his music and achieving his dreams. And of course, it doesn’t hurt that he is heart-stoppingly hot!

Happily Ever After…

Falling in love with a person before you met them is one of the other tropes I live for. There is nothing like falling in love with someone before even meeting them because it’s very rare we come across people that make us feel this way in our lifetime. The chemistry between Holland and Calvin was undeniable and it was the kind of romance that kept us asking for more. There were certain parts of the book that was a complete tease and some steamy scenes that made me feel like I needed to puff on a cigarette if you know what I mean! Unfortunately, I did have to bump this book from five stars to four stars because the middle end of the book got incredibly dramatic when I wasn’t prepared for it and because of it the pacing was a bit off. Even though, I had some issues with the pacing this book was still unputdownable! This is the perfect HEA for me because the girl finally gets the guy she always wanted!

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

January 25, 2019

The Sun is Also a Star Published by Delacorte Press on November 1, 2016
Genres: contemporary, YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 384
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Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Catfairy’s Booktape

Natasha is my ultimate music twin due to our mutual love of 90’s grunge and Daniel is a poet so of course, Bob Dylan is the perfect mix to add into this playlist! Here is a little bit of Eddie Vedder, Dylan, Chris Cornell, and some good old teen spirit!

Catfairy’s Starry Bookish Babbles

When I finished listening to Nicola Yoon’s book I rewinded the ending like seventeen times because my heart couldn’t handle that the book was over! The book had all the elements of being a fluffy book while showing the intensity of first love. She writes the feelings of first love the way a sixteen-year-old actually experiences first love. Yoon brings you back to the days when falling in love is an all-encompassing feeling and it’s all you think about, ruminate about, sing about, write about, and obsessively dream about as if your own life depends on it!

Catnopsis

“I see us in old age. I can’t see our faces; I don’t even know where or even when we are. But I have a strange and happy feeling that I can’t quite describe. It’s like knowing all the words to a song but still finding them beautiful and surprising.”

-Daniel

Daniel and Natasha are in a record store in New York and from the moment Daniel lays eyes on Natasha he has a feeling he is going to spend the rest of his life with her…

But he has approximately twelve hours to convince her to fall in love with him…

Natasha is a girl about facts and science and currently, she has a hard time facing reality. Her family is about to get deported and she has twelve hours to try to get her family to stay in New York and then she bumps into Daniel in the record store and her whole world changes.

Daniel has always been the perfect son but faces pressure from his family to be someone that he is not when all he wants is to be a poet. He is a boy who lives in his own head and is a true romantic at heart. When he meets Natasha he sees his own future right before his eyes…

Pop Culture Purr-References

via GIPHY

I know I have mentioned this pop culture reference just recently but obvi Before Sunrise has been on my mind lately! I really need to watch it tonight and just get it over with!

But honestly, The Sun is Also a Star perfectly represents the insta-love that Before Sunrise does!

Nicola Yoon’s Writing

The chapters in this book are written in the point of view of the characters and this is my favorite kind of book because I love books that are character driven more than plot driven. Even though the chapters are mainly dedicated to the main characters Natasha and Daniel, there are surprise chapters from the strangers they meet along the way such as the security guard from the immigration office and even the etymological history of the Jamaican term irie!

Nicola Yoon represents diverse characters in her story with Natasha being Jamaican and Daniel being Korean American. Not only does Yoon represent the characters diverse backgrounds in this story, but she also touches on immigration which is a hot topic in our Trump era. The author writes about the struggles about facing deportation and really humanizes the struggle of immigration.

Glittery Introspections

The format that I used to read The Sun is Also a Star was a mix of reading and listening but I was listening to this book 70% of the time. If I wasn’t listening to this book for most of the time I would have probably tabbed almost the whole book because the language was even more lyrical than Yoon’s last book Everything, Everything.

Nicola Yoon is becoming the queen of insta-love but she is one of the few authors that REALLY knows how to write insta-love! This book captures the exhilarating experience of running around New York while falling in love! What can be better than that?!

More importantly, this is a book about fate and about how everything is connected in some way or another and that was one of the most beautiful things about this book! This book teaches us how strangers can sometimes have a significant impact on our lives when we aren’t even aware of it.

Cover Reveal: The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown

January 10, 2019

The Meaning of Birds on April 16, 2019
Genres: contemporary, LGBT, YA Contemporary
Pages: 368
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Before, Jessica has always struggled with anger issues, but come sophomore year that all changes when Vivi crashes into her life. As their relationship blossoms, Vivi not only helps Jess deal with her pain, she also encourages her to embrace her talent as an artist. And for the first time, it feels like the future is filled with possibilities. After In the midst of senior year, Jess’s perfect world is erased when Vivi suddenly passes away. Reeling from the devastating loss, Jess pushes everyone away, and throws out her plans to go to art school. Because art is Vivi and Vivi is gone forever.

Desperate for an escape, Jess gets consumed in her work-study program, letting all of her dreams die. Until she makes an unexpected new friend who shows her a new way to channel her anger, passion, and creativity. Although Jess may never draw again, if she can find a way to heal and room in her heart, she just might be able to forge a new path for herself without Vivi.

This sapphic read comes out on April 16, 2019, and I am definitely adding this to the top of my TBR list! Meaning of Birds has one of the most beautiful and simplistic covers I have ever seen!

After reading the synopsis, I have a feeling I am going to experience many ugly cries through reading this own voices novel! I love books that are filled with emotion and depth because they are the kind of books that I never forget. Being a huge arty girl myself, I am excited that Brown’s MC has a love of art. Even though, I tend to gravitate towards fluffy contemporaries I am always game for a good emotionally gripping story.

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes

January 4, 2019

Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes
Published by Simon Pulse on September 18, 2018
Genres: contemporary, YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 416
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Ever since her mom died three years ago, Analee Echevarria has had trouble saying out loud the weird thoughts that sit in her head. With a best friend who hates her and a dad who’s marrying a yogi she can’t stand, Analee spends most of her time avoiding reality and role-playing as Kiri, the night elf hunter at the center of her favorite online game.

Through Kiri, Analee is able to express everything real-life Analee cannot: her bravery, her strength, her inner warrior. The one thing both Kiri and Analee can’t do, though, is work up the nerve to confess her romantic feelings for Kiri’s partner-in-crime, Xolkar—aka a teen boy named Harris whom Analee has never actually met in person.

So when high school heartthrob Seb Matias asks Analee to pose as his girlfriend in an attempt to make his ex jealous, Analee agrees. Sure, Seb seems kind of obnoxious, but Analee could use some practice connecting with people in real life. In fact, it’d maybe even help her with Harris.

But the more Seb tries to coax Analee out of her comfort zone, the more she starts to wonder if her anxious, invisible self is even ready for the real world. Can Analee figure it all out without losing herself in the process?

Catfairy’s Booktape

Here is a mix of the songs that I grew up with being raised in a Cuban family and the songs that I am into right now that have those fluffy contemporary YA feels…

Catfairy’s “Real” Bookish Babbles

Analee, in Real Life, sneaked up on me unexpectedly and I am so happy it did! The year 2018 was the year where so many amazing diverse books were being published and Analee, in Real Life came at a perfect time since it was published during Latinx month in September!

Janelle Milanes’s book was the best-underrated book that I have read in 2018 because it is written by an own voices Cuban American author and the MC Analee is Cuban American! This book took me back to a time when I was a shy emo teenager writing unrequited love to one of the popular jocks in school. I can identify with Analee so hard because as a Cuban American I love that this story is not really about a girl who is Cuban, it’s just about a girl who is just trying to exist in the media-saturated world we live in.

Catnopsis

Analee Echeverria is a girl who juggles between two identities. She is an awkward and shy girl at school that prefers to be invisible and she is the kickass online avatar elf hunter named Kiri of her favorite online game. Analee lost her mother three years ago and she struggles with finding her own voice. She wants to be more like the online character of Kiri who always takes action but she keeps holding herself back until she finally decides to stop hiding behind her computer and face the real world.

The character is going through many changes in her life and she prefers to escape reality more than deal with it head-on. Her dad is going to marry a yogi lifestyle YouTuber named Harlow and her best friend won’t speak to her anymore. She finds comfort in her friend Harris who is her online gamer buddy who she has never met and to make things more complicated she has love feelings for him. Analee’s world begins to change when she gets an offer to pretend to be the girlfriend of the most popular jock in school. She finds herself in the process and realizes that she may be more like Kiri the elf hunter than she thinks…

The Meow Casting Call

Meet Analee (Played by Isabella Gomez)

“I’m a crappy excuse for a Cuban anyway. My Spanish is awful. I don’t know proper vocab, only slang words that would get me laughed out of actual Spanish-speaking countries.”

-Analee

via GIPHY

One Day at a Time was one of my favorite shows of 2018 and I have said before that this show is like the Cuban version of Full House! The show gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings and my favorite character was, of course, Elena Alvarez! Elena is a loveable and geeky Cuban American character who reminded me so much of Analee!

Pop Culture Purr-references

via GIPHY

Of course, I have to reference One Day at a Time once again! Analee, in Real Life, reminds me so much of this show because there were many times where Analee’s family made me crack up! There is a hilarious scene in the book where the future stepmom of Analee, named Harlow tries to cook a healthy version of ropa vieja for Analee’s Cuban grandparents and the look of horror on their face is classic! The dynamics of the family in One Day at a Time has the similar heartfelt humor to Analee, in Real Life and it gives me all the nostalgic feelings of growing up in a Cuban family myself.

Catfairy’s Glittery Introspections

I love how this book didn’t end the way I expected it to. Analee, in Real Life, is kind of similar in the vein of the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series but with a twist. This is a story about a girl who finds herself and gets the people she loves back in her life. Analee finally finds the strength that is inside of her and realizes that life is best lived outside of her online gaming world. Milanes’ book gets 4.5 stars for me because I felt that the relationship between Harris and Analee was unnecessary and I just wasn’t invested enough in that part of the story. Although, I totally ship the relationship that evolved between Analee and Sebastian even though I have very conflicted feelings about the Sebastian character! There were some choices that Sebastian made in the story that really aggravated me but then again he is a high school jock! I can’t expect perfection from Sebastian!

Janelle Milanes wrote the kind of book that was extremely special because it is a book about a Cuban character who simply existed as a Cuban character. This book had all the dynamics about how it is like to grow up in a Cuban family but the book wasn’t really about that. I love that this book just simply has Cuban characters and that it doesn’t just center the writing on their own culture. Books that are diverse are not solely relegated to just hone in on the character’s cultural background, it can just be about the character’s journey whether it be fighting warlocks or crushing on popular boys.

Cover Reveal: Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

December 18, 2018

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
on April 16, 2019
Genres: contemporary, YA Contemporary, YA Romance
Pages: 432
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After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.

Happy Holidays! When I laid eyes on this book cover I seriously thought that this was a YA-cozy-winter-read with the Hallmark feels! This book just SCREAMS a winter read for me and I was surprised to find out that this book comes out on April 16, 2019! Just feast your eyes on this adorable cover by Jenn Bennett who is also the author of the much-talked-about summer book Alex, Approximately!

The synopsis of the book sounds like the perfect cozy read. This book has a mystery element to it and I am not an avid mystery reader but I love the fact that it has a combination of a romance and that the mystery is set in a historic Seattle hotel. Serious Moonlight sounds like the perfect novel to read on a rainy day with some pie and a warm cup of coffee! Pre-order your copy here!