Everything I read and listened to in May

With end of school and life business, May was actually a slower reading/listening month than I’ve had in a while. I read/listened to 4 books this month, and they were all romancy books. Let’s dive in:

Meet Me At The Lake 5/5. I loved Carley Fortunes first book Every Summer After (one my favorites ever) and her next book did not disappoint. I liked it a smidge less than her first one, but it was an all around good book. The story “Fern Brookbanks finds herself consumed by thoughts of Will Baxter, whom she spent a fleeting but unforgettable day with in her twenties. Despite the undeniable connection they shared and a pact to meet again a year later, Will never showed up. Now at thirty-two, Fern’s life is far from what she had envisioned, running her mother’s dilapidated lakeside resort instead of pursuing her dreams. Feeling lost and in need of a lifeline, Fern is surprised when Will suddenly reappears, nine years later, offering his help and understanding. However, Fern is skeptical of this changed man in an expensive suit and wonders if she can trust him. As secrets unravel, Fern contemplates whether she can rescue Will, just as he once saved her, in this compelling tale of love, trust, and second chances.”
Yours Truly 4/5. If you’ve ever had anxiety, this book does a great job of having characters with crippling anxiety and describes it well. I did feel like some of this was very repetitive and just wanted the story to move a little faster. And have the good parts be a little longer. I enjoyed it overall though. “Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter. And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.”
Romantic Comedy 3.5/5. This book got a TON of hype and tbh I’m not quite sure it lived up to it, it didn’t for me. It was just ok and felt like the story I wanted to hear was in a short few pages all the way at the end of the book. It has a very much ‘SNL’ behind the scenes vibes, so that was nice. “Sally Milz is a talented sketch writer for a popular late-night comedy show, The Night Owls. Having experienced heartbreak in the past, she has given up on the search for love and focused on her career and close bond with her stepfather. However, when Sally’s friend Danny starts dating Annabel, a glamorous actress, it becomes apparent that ordinary-looking men are often romantically involved with stunning and accomplished women. Sally channels her frustration into a sketch called the Danny Horst Rule, highlighting the unlikely possibility of the reverse happening for a woman. Enter Noah Brewster, a charismatic pop music sensation known for dating models, who agrees to host and perform on Sally’s show. Instantly drawn to Noah’s charm, Sally starts to wonder if there could be a genuine connection between them. But in the realm of real life, can someone like him ever be interested in someone like her? With her astute observations and remarkable ability to bring complex women to life, Curtis Sittenfeld delves into the joys and anxieties of love while cleverly examining modern-day romance, gender dynamics, and social rituals.”
The Spanish Love Deception 4/5 – I thought this was super cute, but again, a little too long to get to the good part of the story, I had to skip a few beginning chapters, but overall cute.Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiraled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him.She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool.
Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.
But Catalina is desperate, and as the wedding draws nearer, Aaron looks like her best option. And she begins to realize he might not be as terrible in the real world as he is at the office.”