It’s been a while since I participated in Ten Top Tuesday, which is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, but I wasn’t sure what to post, and when I checked the topics for this month, this week’s topic “books set in X” really caught my eye. So I decided to make a list of romance books set in small townsthat I have read and loved in the last couple of years. I kind of cheated and included books in a series just as one entry on the list, so there are more than 10 books in this list, but I couldn’t pick just 10.
Both of these books are set in a small town in Kansas and they have a big Mexica-American family at the heart of the story, some paranormal elements, female characters that go through a lot of character growth, and really sweet but steamy romances. In After Hours on Milagro Street, there’s an opposites attract romance with forced proximity. In Full Moon over Freedom, there’s a second chance romance between childhood friends.
This is set in a small town in Wyoming and if you like cowboy romances, the brother’s best friend trope, two main characters with tons of chemistry, and a reformed bad boy, this book is for you!
This book is set in a small town in North Carolina and it’s a slow-burn romance with two plus-size characters, it includes the grumpy/sunshine trope and there’s a big focus on the healing and character growth of the heroine.
This is set in a small town in Michigan. It’s a second-chance romance between childhood sweethearts, and it’s a perfect example of a low-angst, low-conflict romance book done right.
This is set in a small town in South Carolina, and it’s a romance between someone running TO a small town and someone running FROM a small town that has to come back. It’s a friends-with-benefits, interracial romance with a plus-size female main character.
These books are set in small town in Maryland. Lovelight Farms is a friends-to-lovers romance with a fake-dating plot. In The Weeds is a second-chance, grumpy/sunshine romance, with forced proximity. Mixed Signals is a friends-to-lovers, sunshine/sunshine romance with a little fake dating.
This series is set in a small town in Oregon, both books are sapphic romances and deal with complicated family relationships. Delilah Green includes the sister’s best friend trope and one of the main characters is a single mom, and Astrid Parker is a rivals-to-lovers romance.
A big part of this is set in a small town in Minnesota. It’s an opposites attract romance where there’s an age gap and the woman is 10 years older than the guy, and it deals with heavy topics such as past abusive relationships.
A big part of this book is set in small town in North Carolina and it’s an enemies-to-lovers romance between two people who work in the publishing industry.
Set in a small town in Colorado, and it’s a slow-burn romance, with a grumpy/ sunshine dynamic, a single dad as a protagonist and a bit of forced proximity. It has a very outdoorsy vibe and there’s a lot of hiking.
Is there any particular setting that you love in books, like a specific city or country, large city or small towns, beaches vs snowy places?
I want to start by saying that I know the Goodreads Choice Awards are a popularity contest, which doesn’t reward the best book in a genre and which has nominees that lack diversity. But when I saw the winners, I realized that, while I had only read 2 of them, I was actually curious about some of the others. So I wanted to see if the most popular books were actually any good and, in the categories where I had read other nominees if there were books that deserved the win more.
What I read and what I didn’t:
I read the winners of some of my fav genres: romance, mystery/thriller, and sci-fi.
I read the runner-up of one of my fav genres (horror) because the winner had transphobic content
I read the winners of genres that I don’t read often but that sounded appealing: fiction, memoir, humor, and poetry.
The only genre that I read often but wasn’t included was fantasy because the winner is a sequel in a series that I have no interest in reading and the runner-up was Babel, which I do plan to read at some point but not anytime soon.
Without further ado, here are my thoughts on the winners:
Fiction
Winner: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I loved this book, and I’m so glad it won. The characters in this were deeply flawed and sometimes made me want to scream at them to communicate and be honest with each other, but their struggles, insecurities, and mistakes felt so realistic that it was easy to root for them. I was so invested in each of them and their relationship. I think above everything else, it’s their complicated, unbreakable bond that made me love this book. Also, the writing was incredible and the conversations about making games and the video game industry were interesting.
Mystery/ Thriller
Winner: The Maid by Nita Prose
Other nominees I’ve read: The Bullet that Missed, Killers of a Certain Age, Daisy Daker
My thoughts: I’m not mad this won, but I enjoyed all the other nominees that I’ve read more, so I would have preferred if any of the other 3 won. I found The Maid to be entertaining, well-written, humorous, and a fast read. But all of the characters were kind of one-dimensional and Molly felt at times like a caricature of an autistic person. Also, she was so clueless and naive and she kept digging a bigger hole for herself and it got to a point where it became frustrating because it wasn’t realistic and it was almost like the author was making her act out of character just to further the plot.
Romance
Winner: Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Other nominees I’ve read: Love on the Brain, Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Hook Line and Sinker, The Wedding Crasher
My thoughts: I liked this book, but I would have liked to see Delilah Green Doens’t Care win this category. Still, I really liked the romance storyline in Book Lovers, it had a relatable heroine and a swoony hero, I loved their chemistry and banter, I loved seeing them bond over their love for books and the writing was really good. But, I didn’t love the way the storyline between the heroine and her sister was developed, they were supposed to be on a trip to reconnect, but they ended up avoiding important conversations and it wasn’t until the very end that everything blew up and it was resolved in a rush.
Science fiction
Winner: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Other nominees I’ve read: the daughter of doctor Moreou, Dead Silence
My thoughts: While I enjoyed Dead Silence more, I think of it more as a horror book, so I’m actually very happy that Sea of Tranquility won this category. The writing in it is beautiful and accessible, and I think it was why this book captivated me from the beginning. This short book is engaging the entire time, packs a lot of thematic content including a bit of philosophy, and weaves different storylines together very successfully.
Horror
Runner up: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
Other nominees I’ve read: What Moves the Dead, Our Wives Under the Sea
My thoughts: I hate that the book that won was a transphobic book and I refuse to read it. I would have been happy if any of the three books I’ve read in this category won. In terms of the runner-up, The Hacienda, it was an atmospheric haunted house story with the unique twist of being set in Mexico and including some of the culture and history of the country. It had characters that it was easy to root for and that had very realistic responses to what was happening around them, there wasn’t a ton of character depth but the characters worked for the type of story the book was telling. The plot was well executed and the reveals made sense.
Memoir
Winner: I’m Glad my Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I don’t read that many memoirs but this book is so popular that I got curious and decided to read it, unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as most people did. This was a quick and accessible read. It was a very descriptive book and I was expecting a bit more reflection and insight into the effects of all the situations that McCurdy was narrating. The writing felt a bit detached but it still manages to convey how disturbing the things McCurdy went through with her mother and being a child star were, and also her resentment and sadness about so many of her experiences.
Humor
Winner: The Office BFFs by Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: I never thought I was going to read a book in this category, but I watched The Office for the first time during lockdown and loved it, which plays a big part in why I enjoyed this book. I loved hearing all the behind-the-scenes stories and since I don’t listen to the podcast this is based on, all the stories were new to me. I think the love they have for the show comes through in this book and makes it an enjoyable reading experience for fans.
Poetry
Winner: Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
Other nominees I’ve read: none
My thoughts: Call Us What We Carry was a beautiful poetry collection that heavily deals with the pandemic. I really appreciated that the writing was lyrical and complex but it was easy to understand what Gorman was trying to convey with each of her poems. As someone who doesn’t read that much poetry, I discovered that I like shorter collections because this did feel a little overlong at times.
CONCLUSION
I definitely don’t think all the winners I read are the best books in their genres, but I already knew that. So I can at least say that I don’t regret reading any of these books, they were not terrible, and from the genres I read often, I actually enjoyed the winners. Also, I read a couple books I really loved that I may not have read otherwise: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (which is one of my favorite books of the year so far), and The Office BFFs (which was such a fun read). Overall, I would say this was a success.
What do you think about the 2022 Goodreads Awards winners?
Hi everyone! I can’t believe June is over and my reading slump is still here. In June, I managed to read a bit more than what I have read in previous months and I actually enjoyed most of what I read, but I think I’m still in a slump because I spent so many days without reading and then I get a little bit of motivation to read and I end up finishing a bunch of books in a row. So my desire to read goes up and down, and I’m getting really frustrated because it’s been over a year since this weird reading slump started and I have never had a slump that was so long and I’m not sure what to do to get out of it. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments!
Still, since June was a better reading month than I was expecting, I’m excited to share my thought on the books I managed to read:
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (4.5 stars): The political maneuvering and intrigue in this book are fantastic, the characters are so clever and interesting, and the worldbuilding is complex without being hard to understand. I also appreciated that this book went in directions that I wasn’t expecting and there were a couple surprising twists that kept it interesting.
My favorite thing about this is definitely the discussion about loving and enjoying a culture that it’s imposing itself on your own culture in a way. This hits close to home for me because I think anyone that lives in Latin America understands how the desire to imitate the way of life of the United States is so prevalent here, how we measure ourselves against American ideals all the time, and how much media produced in the States we consume and love. And all of these things happen, while we know how deeply flawed and messed up a lot of this “culture” and ideals are, and how they don’t entirely fit us. This book is thought-provoking and a great conversation starter about this topic.
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper (4 stars): while I enjoyed the first book more than this one and found it more memorable, this still is an entertaining and well-written story. I found the mystery that the main characters were trying to solve intriguing and for the most part, I was very engaged in the investigation process. Nonetheless, the investigation dragged a little bit in the middle, it took too much focus away from the romance for my personal preference, and the resolution was a bit underwhelming.
I really liked the main characters and the romance between them, they had good chemistry and banter. It was fun to see the characters learn to understand each other, resolve the misunderstandings that have led them to be “nemesis” and finally give in to the attraction between them. The world-building and the secondary characters add so much to the story, getting to learn more about the different types of magic in this world as well as the history of the different magical families was really interesting.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry (4 stars): I really liked the main characters in this book, it has a relatable heroine and swoony hero, and I loved their relationship, the chemistry and the banter were great. I loved seeing them work together editing a book and seeing them bond over their love for books. This book is very meta and it works so well. Also, the writing as always with Emily Henry was really good.
Nonetheless, there’s a big subplot involving the main character’s relationship with her sister, and while I appreciated seeing the main character deal with the sense of responsibility she felt over making sure her sister was happy, it was a bit frustrating how they went on this trip to connect but they didn’t have that many interactions because they were avoiding important conversations and it wasn’t until the very end when everything blew up and it was solved really quickly, which felt odd when this conflict was such a big part of the book. I ended up liking the resolution, I just wish it happened a bit earlier and it didn’t feel so rushed.
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron ( 4 stars): At first, I wasn’t completely into it because despite the change in the time period and the addition of diversity, it was too similar to the original Emma and I was a little bit bored. Also, there was a point where it felt like all these characters were in high school, even when they were in their late 20s and early 30s. Nonetheless, from the very beginning, what I loved about this book was Kamila and Rohan and their relationship, they had so much chemistry and the banter was great.
After a while, my hesitation went away and I was so into the story. This covered a lot of deeper subjects than I was expecting, especially about mental health within Asian communities. Moreover, the characters, even the secondary ones, ended up being a lot more complex than I was expecting. But, the main reason I ended up loving this was the way the relationship between Kamila and Rohan developed: the angsty moments, the connection and care between them, the slow admission of their feelings… I loved everything about it.
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake (4 stars): This was so delightful. My favorite things about this book are: how three-dimensional all the characters are, how all of them have things they need to work through, and how it includes different types of dynamics and relationships between characters which made this book really engaging. Overall, this book was entertaining and well-written, the main characters had great chemistry, there were some really steamy scenes, and all the other storylines – outside the romance plot- worked really well and were seamlessly integrated to make a complex, emotional and satisfying story.
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins (4 stars): I really enjoy the fake dating/ fake engagement trope and this version of that trope was so well and fun to read. The relationship between d’Vaughn and Kris developed in a short period of time but it felt realistic because of the way they were there for each other, how supportive they were, how well they communicated, and the amount of sweet and steamy moments we got. while there were things they had to work through, I really appreciated that they TALKED about things and communicated with each other, so everything was resolved so maturely and there were no unnecessary conflicts or break ups. Also, the addition of the main character’s families to the story was fantastic, because they were so hilarious and chaotic. The only thing I had a small issue with is that it got really cheesy at points, especially towards the end.
Something Wilder by Christina Lauren (3 stars): While this book wasn’t for me, it is a well-written, fun action-adventure book with a little romance that I think a lot of people will enjoy. The reason this didn’t work for me is that I wasn’t sold on the second-chance romance, because the book relies way too much on their connection from the few months that they spent together 10 years ago. Beyond the physical attraction, there wasn’t much more to their relationship in the present time, they had a couple of heartfelt conversations and that was it. And even the few times they remember their time together in the past, they always remember how good the sex was and nothing else. So I really didn’t see their emotional connection.
In the beginning, I thought I was going to enjoy the treasure hunt aspect of the book because there were unexpected twists and turns, but since I didn’t care about the romance, I wasn’t invested in the plot either and I kept noticing how unrealistic and convenient everything was.
The Maid by Nita Prose (3.5 stars): I’m not sure what to say about this book. On one hand, I found it entertaining, well-written, humorous, and a fast read. On the other hand, all of the characters were kind of one-dimensional and Molly felt at times like a caricature of an autistic person. Also, she was so clueless and naive and she kept digging a bigger hole for herself and it got to a point where it became frustrating because it wasn’t realistic and it was almost like the author was making her act like someone stupid or making her act out of character just to further the plot. While reading it, I actually really enjoyed the book, but after finishing it and giving it some thought I had some issues that prevent me from giving it a higher rating.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (3 stars): This is a very well-written book where Didion discusses grief and mourning in a really insightful way. I was captivated by how she talked about her relationship with her husband during their 40 years together, his death’s impact on her and her daughter’s illness, and how she coped and lived through it while grieving her husband.
Nonetheless, I have to say that this got slow at some points and it felt a bit pretentious at times because the name-dropping was relentless, I don’t think there was one page where she didn’t name someone she knew that was famous or well-known (I didn’t know most of these people, but I guess other people do)
Break your glass slippersby Amanda Lovelace (2 stars): Amanda Lovelace’s books have always been very hit or miss for me, but the last few that I have read have been all misses so I think it’s time I stop reading them. This book didn’t evoke any sort of emotion out of me and it didn’t leave a lasting impression either.
What are the best and worst books you read in June? Was June a good reading month for you?
While I don’t usually make tbrs because I’m a mood reader, I have been in a weird reading slump that comes and goes for over a year at this point, so I’m going to try and make tbrs because 1) it takes away the time-consuming task of choosing my next read throughout the month and 2) it makes me want to check books off my tbr list, so I’m hoping both of those things help me read more and start to enjoy reading again.
Last month, my tbr was overly ambitious because I forgot that I’m reading half the amount of books that I used to read, so this month I tried to be more realistic when I was making this tbr.
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper: the first book in this series is one of the best books I have read this year, and I have been highly anticipating this sequel since then. I can’t wait to read this!
Book Lovers by Emily Henry: I loved Beach Read when I read it, but I thought People We Meet on Vacation was just ok, so I’m intrigued to see how much I enjoy this one. But it sounds right up my alley so I’m hopeful that I’ll love it.
The Maid by Nita Prose: I’m a big fan of cozy mysteries or books that are similar to cozy mysteries and I have heard great things about this one, so I’m hoping I’ll love it.
What are you planning to read for pride month? What are some of your favorite books by queer authors?
Bookish Wanderess 