Lit Hit List: Recent Romance Reads - July 2020

Lit Hit List: Recent Romance Reads

Like many people right now, I’m finding the real world…difficult…right now, and when I’m not reading heavy books to do some much-needed anti-racist education, I’m pretty much exclusively reading romance and fluff. I know that people all react to stress in different ways, and honestly, reading a book with a guaranteed happy ending is the best reading self-care I can think of right now. I enjoyed the below books, but instead of spamming you with a million reviews (like I did last week), I thought It might be more useful to do a quick round up of some recent reads.

“Tweet Cute" by Emma Lord (Bookshop | Kindle) - 4

I had planned to write a stand-alone review of this one (and even took this picture!) because I was so pleasantly charmed by it — I had seen it on some list earlier this year, but I had punted on reading it because the blurb on the back of the book was so…cheesy (I’m sorry, I can’t help it). I mean: a grilled cheese rivalry with the main characters named Pepper and Jack? Thank goodness I picked it up when I needed a brain break earlier in shelter-in-place because the synopsis does not do it justice. This is an incredibly clever young adult novel that details coming of age, coming into yourself, and coming together in young love — I know, i forced that sentence structure. It was absolutely adorable, and I genuinely want to be friends with both Pepper and Jack now — and honestly, have a grilled cheese.

“Fumbled” by Alexa Martin (Bookshop | Kindle) - 4.25 & “Blitzed” by Alexa Martin (Bookshop | Kindle) - 4.25

Okay, y’all know I loved “Intercepted” by Alexa Martin — so much so that I read these 3 books in a 4 day span in June — so obviously, this is about to be a glowing review of my triumphant return to the Lady Mustang universe (I thought three reviews of the same author in one week might be excessive). In “Intercepted”, not only did we meet Marlee, but we met her extended network — something fully detailed in “Fumbled” and “Blitzed".

In “Fumbled”, we focus on Poppy, a single mom, and T.K. Moore, one of the stars of the Denver Mustangs. Yes, they have a past, and yes, T.K. was unaware of the physical embodiment of their entanglement, but their story felt so fresh and joyful, tbh. Not only that, Alexa didn’t shy away from some of the hardest issues facing the NFL right now in this book — i.e., concussions and TBIs. A sexy romance that also also falls into a public policy passion of mine? Sign me up.

I honestly thought to myself that it would be hard to make me love another book in this series post “Fumbled” (it was almost perfect to me), but then I read “Blitzed” — where Brynn, the founder of the Lady Mustangs’ favorite bar, is aggressively wooed by Maxwell Lewis, the team’s resident stoic hero. Of all the heroines I’ve read in the Martin-verse, I resonated the most with Brynn, so I loved seeing her story progress. I’m not going to get into all the reasons why (that’s for my therapist, not my internet friends), but watching her grow was so incredibly satisfying.

Reading these books in quick succession really gave me enormous respect for Alexa Martin as an author. Each of them were so tonally different to fit with their specific narrator, but they also had the same spirit guiding the center — it was masterful! I go back and forth as to which book in this series is my fave (and you know I’ve ordered the one coming out in October — Bookshop | Kindle), so my advice would be just read them all.

“Waiting for Tom Hanks” by Kerry Winfrey (Bookshop | Kindle) - 3.75 & “Not Like the Movies” by Kerry Winfrey (Bookshop | Kindle) - 4

I mean, we all know that I love a good rom com, so a romance novel about writing a rom com while having that rom com meet cute and follow up? Obviously I was going to get on board. This story focuses on Annie, who wants to be the next Nora Ephron, and her desire to be a writer — even though she’s stuck in the midwest working unfulfilling jobs. Then she gets a job on a film set, and strikes up a romance with the leading man — Drew, who is almost too perfect (even on paper). It is the stuff of pure Hollywood fantasy, and it is a perfect escape right now. Kerry Winfrey perfectly captured so many rom-com tropes, and cleverly reworked it in a way that made me so pleased. At times, I was a little annoyed at Annie’s insistence around 'her “perfect man” but I get having standards — hers were just a little more “You’ve Got Mail” than mine. Beyond that, I would watch the movie that Annie is working on: who doesn’t love a coffee shop romance?

So, with that in mind, you know that I was pumped to see a follow-up that dealt with Chloe and Nick, the protagonists of Annie’s movie, but also very real people with very real issues. While I thought Annie’s story was pure escapism, I really resonated with Chloe and Nick’s real life love story — not Annie’s movie version. I found Chloe a much better heroine than Annie, and I loved seeing her navigate everything that came her way (including Nick — hey yo!). Obviously you don’t have to read these two in succession, but I do believe that “Not Like the Movies” will make more sense if you read how it all developed in “Waiting for Tom Hanks.”

“What You Wish For” by Katherine Center (Bookshop | Kindle) - 4

Long time She’s Full of Lit readers may remember that I love Katherine Center’s earlier books, and so I was pumped to hear that she was releasing another one this summer (yes, I obviously preordered it). This was the story of Sam, a quirky school librarian, and Duncan, her new uptight school principal. Except wait, they knew each other before, and Sam had a massive crush on Duncan, who has changed so much since they knew each other? The romance isn’t the main point of the book here, though I was definitely rooting for Sam and Duncan — it was more about love of a community. It wasn’t sexy or steamy, it was more sweet and silly, and honestly, that feels truer to my personality most of the time.

Yes, the cheese factor is through the roof, and there were times I wanted to shake Sam for being so unobservant, but it was ultimately so heartwarming. I even found myself singing along with a certain moment towards the end of the book and maybe googling Airbnbs in Galveston (I am WFH until January 3, a girl can dream….)

• Trigger warning: school shootings

“Of Literature and Lattes” by Katherine Reay (Bookshop | Kindle) - 3.5

I have no qualms about a treacly love story, but this one may have been too much even for me. I have been a long time fan of Katherine Reay, particularly her Austen-adjacent romances, and I just felt “meh” about this one. I liked Winsome, and I liked the idea behind the story — second chances at love and life in the midst of past trauma — but it just didn’t resonate with me. It felt flat and not particularly resonant, but I honestly don’t know if that’s me or the book right now. Of all the books on this list, I would recommend it least, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Just not her best work, in my opinion.

• Psst: I do want to flag for some of you that Katherine Reay is considered a “Christian contemporary author” so there is a focus on that in this book. Not a dealbreaker (and I won’t add religious faith as a trigger warning ever), but for those of you who aren’t into that, consider this your heads up.

If you click on one of the links in this article and make a purchase, She’s Full of Lit may receive a small commission. It doesn’t add anything to your price — we promise! Thanks so much for your support.