Can't Help Myself by Meredith Goldstein (2018)

I was listening to Goldstein's podcast called Love Letters, and decided to check out her book. Despite being a single woman unlucky in love, Goldstein began writing an advice column at the Boston Globe, which took off. Two things I love: romance and giving advice.

A nice blend of advice letters and her answers, combined with a memoir about her unluckiness in love and her mother's death from cancer. A bit slight but well-done.

One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus (2017)

A colleague's description of this book had me at "Breakfast Club but with murder."

A bunch of high school kids end up in detention together and suddenly, one (who just happens to write a poisonous gossip blog) suddenly dies of a deliberately triggered allergy. Each of the implicated kids, from the drug dealing burnout to the class princess to the jock with a secret are beautifully drawn and realistic.

And, apparently, there's a sequel: One of Us Is Next (2020).

Bad Bachelor by Stefanie London (2018)

Romance with a librarian? Yes, please. 

When notorious "Bad Bachelor" Reed McMahon and PR genius is recruited to help librarian Darcy Greer with her library's fundraiser, the sparks fly. Ugh. I can't believe I just wrote that. 

ANYHOO, There's this website called Bad Bachelors, which is like a Yelp for dating and Reed's reviews are seriously affecting his work and home life. It all works out, though, as these things tend to do. The first in a series.

Class Mom by Laurie Gelman (2017)

Picked this up off a cart at the library purely for the cover and the spine, which basically says "Ass Mom." (lol!)

Jen, formerly band groupie with two children, one of whom may or may not have been fathered by Michael Hutchence, is married with a five-year-old son and has been recruited as Max's class mom. She sends snarky emails to the parents, gets involved in kindergarten parent politics, and deals with the emotions of being an aging 'cool girl.' 

So readable, so delightful. Even though she's a well-off white woman without a job--which is a very tiring genre--I still liked it. Here's an example of the cuteness: She calls her husband's home gym "Ron's Gym and Tan." Anyhoo. Cute.

Update: Apparently, there are two more in this series. Who knew? Now I do!

Carter & Lovecraft by Jonathan L. Howard (2015)

Fascinating novel about a private detective (Carter) who gets a mysterious bequest of a bookstore currently run by the only surviving descendant of H.P. Lovecraft, who is also African-American. Carter moves to Providence to oversee his new bookstore, but quickly very mysterious and spooky things are happening in town. 

This book has some really chilling moments and I liked it a whole bunch until I got to the end and discovered that there was no ending and I had to read the second book. DANG IT. We'll see if I do. But again, good characters, nice suspense/horror vibe, and fascinating look at the legacy of Lovecraft.

Update: I did not read the second book. I rarely do.

Roomies by Christina Lauren (2017)

Romantic comedy about a woman who is obsessed with a busker at her subway station who gets attacked one day and is saved by him. In order to try to repay the debt, she gets him an audition with her uncle's Broadway show. It's a match made in heaven until they discover he is in America illegally, as he overstayed his visa. Enter a marriage of convenience. 

Funny but a bit deeper than your average chick lit, and I LOVED the Broadway setting portrayed pretty realistically. Very endearing.

Dime by E.R. Frank (2015)

Holy cats, this book took my heart and ripped it out and stomped on it on the ground. 

Dime is a 14-year-old girl who has been bounced around the foster system for years. She finds a home with Daddy and his 'girls', who are underage prostitutes. This book is hard to read and anguishing, but man, Frank (a child psychologist and social worker) does a beautiful job of telling Dime's story without exploitation or gratuitousness. 

The story is told through Dime's POV and the note that she is trying to write to persuade someone to help. She's a reader and there's a strong literary bent through the book. The story itself, which takes a clear-eyed look at human trafficking, is incredibly eye-opening and horrifying and shows many facets of "the life." When Daddy picks up Lollipop (an 11-year-old) and adds her to his stable, it gets even more awful. But super important to read and to know and this book absolutely felt like a call to action for me. Beautifully done.

Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke (ed.) (2015)

Oh my goodness, I LOVED this collection of YA short stories, which are spooky stories that are all inspired by various works of horror movies, fiction and even songs. Not a single dud in this collection and some of the stories are legit spooky. And each story names its references (in upside down print at the end of the story). So fun to figure them out while reading. 

I adored so many of them, but the standout was Sleepless by Jay Kristoff (inspiration: Psycho!). I'm going to name all the authors, though, cause they're ALL good: Nova Ren Suma, Carrie Ryan, Cat Winters, Leigh Bardugo, Megan Shepherd, Danielle Paige, April Genevieve Tucholke, Jonathan Maberry, Jay Kristoff, Stefan Bachmann, Marie Lu, McCormick Templeman, A.G. Howard, and Kendare Blake.

Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet (2018)

Oh my goodness, I loved this collection of YA short stories which are all stories of 'meeting cute.' 

I love the fabulous diversity of the characters: gay, straight, trans, all colors. It's just a gorgeous and romantic little collection that will restore your faith in humanity and love.

Listing every single one here because they are all worthy of mention and LOVE. 

Siege etiquette / Katie Cotugno

Print shop / Nina LaCour
Hourglass / Ibi Zoboi
Click / Katharine McGee
The intern / Sara Shepard
Somewhere that's green / Meredith Russo
The way we love here / Dhonielle Clayton
Oomph / Emery Lord
The dictionary of you and me / Jennifer L. Armentrout
The unlikely likelihood of falling in love / Jocelyn Davies
259 million miles / Kass Morgan
Something real / Julie Murphy
Say everything / Huntley Fitzpatrick
The department of dead love / Nicola Yoon

Force of Nature by Jane Harper (2018)

Five women and five men go out into the Australian bushland on a corporate adventure team-building retreat, but only four of the women return. 

A couple of detectives with a vested interest in the missing woman join the search and investigation. Everyone has something to hide and what happened to the missing woman is complicated on a Who Shot Mr. Burns level (basically everybody). Very readable and enjoyable, though.

And apparently, it's the second in a series that starts with Dry and features investigator Aaron Falk. So I'll be requesting that one now!