Jen Ryland Reviews

Find books you love and get the most out of your reading.

Five Books to Get You in a Winter Mood

by // 7 Comments

I’m not the biggest winter person and let’s be honest: winter 2020 is going to have its challenges. But let’s embrace winter together! Hot drinks, snowflakes, cozy sweaters, and reading. We’ve got this! Check out these Five Books to Get You Into a Winter Mood.

Yes, winter can be dark and gray, but it can also be the cozy season. Pull out those sweaters! Pull on those fuzzy socks! Brew up your favorite warm beverage! And then grab one of these five winter-themed books!

Five Books to Get You Into a Winter Mood

Wintry Adult Books

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – this Groundhog Day-inspired multiverse book features a romance that might air might not happen!

One by One by Ruth Ware – this classic murder mystery set in a snowy French ski chalet will send chills up your spine! Check out my review of One by One here and my spoiler review of One by One here.

Wintery YA Books

Cover of Five Total Strangers. Illustration of a white-out blizzard and a knife.

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards – never accept a ride from a stranger!

Mind the Gap: Dash and Lily #3 by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn – I haven’t kept up with this series, but this is set at Christmas time!

10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston – this adorable rom com will give you all the holiday feels! Check out my review of 10 Blind Dates here!

Please tell me about all your favorite winter books! I need more winter romances to read!

And are you looking for ways to make your winter reading as cozy as possible? Check out my list of inexpensive ways to cozy up your winter reading!

Mini-Reviews: Three Books About Love and Strangers

by // 2 Comments

That feeling when you’re patting yourself on the back because you finished your September Reading and then you realize October 6 is right around the corner! Check out my Mini-Reviews of Three Books About Love and Strangers…

Mini-Reviews: Three Books About Love and Strangers

Reviews of Three Books About Love and Strangers:

This post contains affiliate links.

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards. To be published on October 6, 2020 by Sourcebooks. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance review copy.

Synopsis: When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she’s stuck in the car with don’t actually know one another. Soon, they’re not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.

Review of Five Total Strangers

Five Total Strangers had plenty of suspense and atmosphere. When Mira gets stranded between flights in a blizzard, I could feel the cold and her frustration as she scrambled to figure out a plan. And one falls in her lap: the nice girl who sat next to her on the plane offers her a ride. Mira, who isn’t old enough to rent her own car, and her up on that offer, along with three other random college students who are also stranded.

But soon, strange things start to happen and it seems like someone doesn’t want this group of strangers to reach safety at all. Which one of the strangers is the culprit? Will Mira ever reach her destination?

I give Five Total Strangers a big thumbs-up for the suspense and twists but a thumbs-sideways for the conclusion, which left something to be desired.

The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor. To be published on October 6, 2020 by Inkyard Press. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance review copy.

Synopsis: Emma Woodhouse is a genius at math, but clueless about people. Emma’s senior year is going to be all about numbers, and seeing how far they can take her. When she and George, her Coding Club co-president, are tasked with brainstorming a new project, The Code for Love is born—a matchmaking app that goes far beyond swiping, using algorithms to calculate compatibility. George disapproves of Emma’s idea, accusing her of meddling in people’s lives. But all the happy new couples at school are proof that the app works. At least at first.Emma’s code is flawless. So why is it that perfectly matched couples start breaking up, the wrong people keep falling for each other and her own feelings defy any algorithm? Emma thought math could solve everything. But there’s nothing more complex—or unpredictable—than love. 

Review of The Code for Love and Heartbreak

The Code for Love and Heartbreak took a while to get going for me. This is a retelling of Emma by Jane Austen, and it was a very loyal retelling rather than an “inspired by.” For a while I was worried that this one wasn’t going to work for me. The plot was a bit slow right off, and I had forgotten how bossy and insufferable Emma can be.

But around halfway through the book. The Code for Love and Heartbreak really started to grow on me. I grew to have a lot of empathy for Emma and her frustration that she can’t control everyone around her (same!)

So while The Code for Love and Heartbreak was a bit of a mix for me, if you are a big Jane Austen fan you might want to check it out – I thought the retelling was really clever. In the original Emma is a (rather failed!) matchmaker and in this book, she was updated to be a coder making a matchmaking app.

One Way or Another by Kara McDowell. To be published on October 6, 2020 by Scholastic Press. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance review copy.

Synopsis: The average person makes 35,000 decisions every single day. That’s about 34,999 too many for Paige Collins, who lives in debilitating fear of making the wrong choice.
When Paige is presented with two last-minute options for Christmas vacation, she’s paralyzed by indecision.
Just when it seems like Paige will crack from the pressure of choosing, fate steps in — in the form of a slippery grocery store floor — and Paige’s life splits into two very different parallel paths. One path leads to New York where Paige falls for the city . . . and the charms of her unexpected tour guide. The other leads to the mountains where Paige might finally get her chance with Fitz. However, before Paige gets her happy ending, she’ll have to face the truth about her struggle with anxiety — and learn that you don’t have to be “perfect” to deserve true love. 

Review of One Way or Another

One Way or Another was a Sliding Doors style multiverse romance. My main issue with these books (and I have discussed this with Lauren at Love Is Not a Triangle) is that … they nearly always have triangles. And this one does have a bit of one. Paige is in love with her best friend but does, in another universe, explore a relationship with another guy.

On the plus side: this book was a true YA homage to the rom com, with references to many rom com movies and tropes. Side Note: if you love YA rom coms, check out my post on the Best YA Rom Coms It also addressed the issue of anxiety and how it impacts your life (and I really understand that, as a fellow anxiety sufferer.)

It was fun to see Paige get to live out two different Chrismases: one in New York City with her mom, and another in a rustic cabin with the friend she has a crush on.

I am sad because I liked one of the guys better than the other and he was not the one Paige picked. And, yes, that can be the problem with this kind of book – things don’t always go the way you hoped. But still, I really enjoyed this one and definitely recommend it. It was a fun story and I am happy for Paige and her chosen guy.

Hope you enjoyed my mini-reviews of three books about love and strangers. And, in one case, possible love with a stranger? Talk to me in comments!

Review: Girl From Nowhere

by // 2 Comments

A book that is one part angsty early 2000’s YA, one part action, and one part Sisterhood of the Traveling Prom Dresses. Hmm.. what did I think of that mix? Check out my review of Girl From Nowhere.

The Girl From Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan. Published on July 21, 2002 by Bloomsbury. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Synopsis: Sophia arrives in Montana with the promise of a normal high school experience. But after a turbulent few years abroad with her diplomat parents, forgetting the past is easier said than done. After all, “normal” high schoolers aren’t trained in several forms of combat.
Then Sophia meets Aksel and finds herself opening up in ways she never thought she could. Except Sophia’s past is about to catch up with her, and she must confront who she really is, why she was betrayed, and what she is capable of in the name of love and survival.

This post contains affiliate links.

Review of The Girl From Nowhere

The Girl From Nowhere was an interesting mix: half angsty instalove romance, half fast-paced action. At times, the book seemed like two different books and its heroine like two different people.

Sophia and her parents are in hiding in Montana after some unspecified traumatic incident related to the dangerous spy work her parents do. Sophia enrolls in a local school, where she meets Aksel, a mysterious and enigmatic fellow student. She’s mesmerized by his muscles and green eyes. (Of course! This part of the book felt SO much like early 2000s YA that it made me a little nostalgic.)

Sophia is just your average teenager. She speaks 10 or 12 languages, is an expert markswoman, triple black diamond skier, effortlessly smart and oh yeah, when a school dance rolls around she suddenly has trunks full of couture gowns that magically fit all her friends, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants-style. (I am unsure how all these gowns got shipped to Montana and by whom and even why. I suspect the massive gown shipping operation might have blown her family’s cover.)

The first part of the book mainly involved Sophia’s adjustment to her new school and was heavy on the romance. The book’s plot kicks more into high gear during the second half, which was one action scene after another and had me pretty confused. I wish the two parts of the story had felt more integrated together and that Sophia had felt a little more like a sixteen year old thrust into a situation in which she’s way over her head.

Finally, what is this book cover? I think this should have had a retro early-2000s cover with Sophia standing on a cliff wearing one of her gowns, holding a gun behind her back.

Though I didn’t find either the romance or the intrigue that believable, I was entertained by The Girl From Nowhere. If you are a fan of political thrillers (and in the mood for some early 2000s YA angst!!!) give this one a try!

Best YA Mystery Books to Read

I’ve reviewed YA for 15 years. I love mysteries. Here is my list of the Best YA Mystery Books to read. Whether you like girl detectives, science-driven stories, YA historical mysteries or teen books inspired by Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes – I have you covered! Best YA Mystery Books to Read was updated in 2026!

[Read more…]

Privacy Policy

Find my privacy policy here.

Contact Me

Contact Me!