Jen Ryland Reviews

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Five Books to Get You in a Winter Mood

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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!

Review of Chasing Lucky

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This is the little book that could. Check out my review of Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett, a contemporary romance!

Review of Chasing Lucky

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett. To be published by Simon Pulse on November 10, 2020. Thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy for review.

Synopsis: Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie doesn’t plan for a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…

Review of Chasing Lucky

First, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the nightmare that is publishing today. Chasing Lucky was supposed to release in March 2020, but then its release date was pushed … to early November. Fortunately, the election results came in over the weekend and maybe this book will have a chance to find its audience!

Josie is an aspiring photographer who dreams of heading to California to work with her famous father. Unfortunately, she’s headed back to her hometown, a small seaside town where the women in her family are the subject of gossip, speculation, and a fair bit of slut-shaming. Josie runs into Lucky, her former best friend who is now the town bad boy. Clearly, she needs to stay far away from him …. but can she?

Chasing Lucky was soothing – just what I needed at a super-stressful time. The small town setting was completely charming and the romance was cute. I enjoy the “bad boy with a heart of gold” trope and loved watching Josie and Lucky fall for each other.

My advance reader’s copy incorporated descriptions of Josie’s photos, and I am wondering: will there be photos in the finished copy? I’m going to need to check this out.

If you love contemporary romances, small town settings and bad boys (who doesn’t love all these) definitely check Chasing Lucky out!

Mini-Reviews: Three Books About Love and Strangers

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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:

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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!

YA Books With Royal Romance

Who hasn’t had a princess fantasy? For those readers who want to feel like a prince or princess for a while, check out these book lists. There are so many YA Books With Royal Romance that I have split my list into three: fantasy, contemporary, and historical.

You can click on the images or the links to be taken directly to each list.

YA Books About Royalty: Fantasy

YA Books About Royalty: Fantasy Royals

This YA Royal Book list is for you if you love fantasy royals: Fae courts, fairy tale retellings, and imaginary kingdoms. You’ll love getting lost in an imaginary royal world.

YA Books With Royal Romance: Contemporary

This list is for you if you love stories about real people falling in love with royals. You’ll find royals in disguise, royal hate-to-love, and royals on the run, all taking place in contemporary settings.

YA Books About Royalty: Historical Fiction

These YA Royal Romances are for you if you love reading stories inspired by real-life royals in historical times. You’ll find doomed royal romances, tragic royals, and stories set during many different time periods.

You can also check out my royal books Pinterest board here! If you’d like to add pins just let me know and I’ll invite you.

YA Books About the Summer Before College

Whether you’ve already been to college or are still looking forward to it, these eight YA books capture different teens facing that major milestone. Check out these YA Books About the Summer Before College!

Best YA Book Lists Summer Before College

YA Books About The Summer Before College

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

A dreamy summer of love! A girl has her life all figured out – she’ll attend college with the boy of her dreams. Then her parents’ sudden split sends her to a remove island during the summer before college where she meets someone completely unexpected.

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone

The summer before college, Emrory dreads saying goodbye to her boyfriend and still feels a little bad that she and her former best friend Hannah are barely speaking. Then an accident  changes everything.

That Thing We Call a Heart by Sheba Karim

The summer before Shabnam heads to Penn, she works at a pie stand, spends time with her Pakistani-American family and falls for a guy.

Hello, Sunshine by Leila Howland

After being rejected from every college she applied to, Becca moves to L.A. to try acting.

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Kristin’s a homecoming queen with a sports scholarship to college when she discovers something that changes everything.

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

When Lulu finds out that her dad lost all her college tuition money she’s got to do something … illegal.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Cath’s been loyal to a Harry Potter-like fandom for years and loyal to her twin, Wren. Until Wren says she doesn’t want to room with Cath at college.

The Disenchantments by Nina Lacour

Colby and his girlfriend planned to tour with her band the summer before college. Then she breaks up with him and tells him she’s not going to college.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden goes to stay for the summer with her dad, his new wife and their new baby. Also try This Lullaby for another great before-college Dessen book.

Roomies by Tara Altebrando and Sara Zarr

Two future roommates exchange emails the summer before college

Looking for other YA book lists? Here is my master Best of YA Book Lists list!

Review of Today Tonight Tomorrow

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I’d heard good things about this book, but that hasn’t always panned out for me. What did I think? Check out my review of Today Tonight Tomorrow!

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Solomon. To be published on July 28, 2020 by Simon Pulse. Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

A review of Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Solomon

Synopsis from Goodreads: Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time. Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other. As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Review of Today Tonight Tomorrow

Today Tonight Tomorrow was a journey in the best possible way. Rowan and Neil have been not-so-friendly rivals through out their high school career. She wins one awar.d, he wins the other. Their classmates (and me as a reader) regard them with a bit of annoyance. What’s their deal? Do they have to win everything?

But Rowan and Neil have their eyes on two more high school prizes. First, the honor of being class valedictorian. The other, winning Howl, a scavenger hunt and elimination game that the senior class traditionally plays the night before graduation. 

As the game progresses, we learn more and more about Rowan and Neil and begin to understand them as people: their motivations and what’s really behind their fierce rivalry. I figured out one main plot point but there were many other aspects of the story that I didn’t expect at all.

Today Tonight Tomorrow touches on issues like parental expectations and anti-Semitism. It’s a love letter to the city of Seattle and also defends the importance of romance novels, which I appreciated.

Today Tonight Tomorrow manages to be fun and have a lot of substance too. Definitely recommend!

Have you read this one? Talk to me in comments!

Love YA Rom Coms? Check my other favorites out:

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