Author Archives: Andrea Valcarcel

Teach Me — Olivia Dade — There’s Something About Marysburg #1

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses divorce, discrimination, power imbalances, and inequalities in education and opportunities.

“Teach Me” follows Rose Owen and Martin Krause, two AP high school Social Studies teachers in the lovely town of Marysburg. Martin is the new guy, the one who inadvertently stole Rose’s favorite subject to teach, who Rose is set on being nice-ish to. They have an undeniable connection that they’re both denying, each because of their own reasons but they both agree on the same principle: it’d just be extremely complicated.

Well, these books definitely work like standalones. Take it for me, I’ve read this series out of orderbut I mean I did like it better than the second book in this series 40 love. I can’t say I didn’t like “Teach Me”, but in all honesty I’m writing this review and I’ve already forgotten half of the plot line. So, that’s basically it—it’s a good book but it’s somewhat on remarkable. But, I mean, I did like it better than the second installment in this series, the book titled “40-Love”. Which is sort of a letdown because Olivia Dade is one of my favorite authors and the last books I’ve read by her have been a bummer.

Anyways, I would recommend this book to readers who are looking for a read set in the high school/teaching setting. It’s not a bad book, and it’s definitely really good in the spicy sense, but it just wouldn’t really be my first choice when recommending Olivia Dade.

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Heartbreak for Hire — Sonia Hartl

“I’d gotten stuck in a cycle of resentment and revenge. And I didn’t know how to find my way out again.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Extremely toxic work environment, mentions cheating, abandonment, and dealing with narcissistic personalities.

“Heartbreak for Hire” follows Brinkley Saunders, a grad school dropout who’s been working for a woman-owned business called Heartbreak For Hire—where they do just that: get payed to break the heart of egocentric douchebags. But what if they’re not all so bad? In comes Mark, one of her ex-targets now turned coworker, who’s an adjunct professor with some nerdy hobbies and passions. Their attraction is both undeniable and inappropriate, but Brinkley is set in not falling in love and in saving up for her dream of opening up an art gallery, so pursuing their love would be a waste of time, right? Right?

I had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the concept but really hated how so many important points were left untied. Like, for example, we saw how abusive Margo, Heartbreak For Hire’s boss/owner, was, and we saw how Brinkley dealt with that, but we didn’t really get to see how that outcome impacted Margo and her business or if Brinkley ever suffered from PTSD after that. I don’t know. I feel like the “evil” characters should have a more clear downfall.

Other than that, I really enjoyed the book and I feel like the characters were really likable. I’m not sure who I would recommend this book to, but, basically, if you have nothing else to do, might as well grab it. It’s not a bad book, it’s just not a great book either. Hence the 3-star rating.

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See You Yesterday — Rachel Lynn Solomon

“I’ve wanted you for weeks. But I don’t just want you in September. It’s not enough. I want you in winter, too. I want you in spring and in summer. I want you the whole fucking year, and then I want you in September all over again.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses bullying and sexual harassment, and describes panic attacks.

“See You Yesterday” follows Barrett and Miles, two freshmen university students who are inexplicably stuck in a time loop. Barrett is passionate about journalism, and suffered through high school due to just that, while Miles is a Physics major who’s the son of two professors. With a bit of a bumpy start, will this pair find a way out of reliving their first day in university over and over again, or will they find a way into each other’s hearts instead?

I loved this book right up until the end. The conflict and rising actions were pristine, but the turning point and the resolution weren’t worth it, at least not for me. Yes, we get a happy ending, but really? Like that? I don’t know. This book went from a 4-star to a 2.5-star read real quick.

I really like the characters tho. Especially Barrett. It isn’t often that we see a mid-size main character, one that isn’t extremely overweight or has the perfect body. Just a curvy, regular, young adult. Much like myself. Much like a good chunk of the population. Apart from weight representation, we also got to see mixed-race, double-identity crises, a character with same-sex paternal figures, and characters living through a religion that isn’t highlighted ofter enough in YA book, Judaism. It wasn’t the characters or even the concept of the plot that let me down, it was more about how the ending was executed.

I would recommend this book to any reader looking for a “Groundhog Day”-style book, with a time loop where two strangers are stuck reliving the same day and they have no clue why.

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40-Love — Olivia Dade — There’s Something About Marysburg #2

“Love couldn’t solve everything, but without love, there was nothing to solve.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Considerable age difference couple, physic injuries, competitive sports injuries, and mentions of cheating and fat-shaming.

Where to begin. 40-Love follows Tess Dunn, a just-turned-40-year-old high school assistant principal on an all-inclusive island vacation, and Lucas Karlsson, a 26-year-old tennis instructor at the resort Tess is staying. Following a questionable meet-cute, Tess knows this summer flings will only crush her, but what if it went past that? Lucas wasn’t looking for another fling and was more than sure Tess was what he wanted right now. Will their chemistry overcome all odds or will the age difference pull them apart?

Oh God. I love Olivia Dade. Really. She’s one of my favorite authors for sure. But oh did I feel uncomfortable throughout this whole book. Call me a hypocrite, because I do enjoy some age-difference novels now and then, but 40-Love really wasn’t it. Because putting the age difference aside, there were some very clear power imbalances that I just didn’t feel comfortable with. The romance scenes were great, A+ in the spicy meter, but I just couldn’t get their differences out of my mind. I am sorry, but if a 26-year-old is willing to flip their life around for any person they just met, they should be going to therapy instead because there are some unresolved things there (and that’s ignoring the fact that that person they’re leaving everything for is 40 years old, which just unravels a whole other level of mommy or daddy issues to add upon that).

I think I’m being generous with the 3-star review. I don’t think I would personally recommend this book when recommending Olivia Dade, but if you like big age difference romances then grab 40-Love. This is supposed to be the second book in a series, but it works really well as a stand-alone.

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ARC — The Charmed List — Julie Abe

“This summer’s going to be perfect. This is going to be the summer when my Anti-Wallflower List becomes a reality.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 0 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Mentions cancer, deadly car crashes, and death of parents, and deals with bullying and shame.

“The Charmed List” follows Ellie Kobata and Jack Yasuda, two ex-best friends from magic-aware families in the summer before their Senior year of high school. How they went from best friends to strangers, we’re not so sure, but what we’re sure about is that when Ellie thought about the perfect summer roadtrip it never included Jack—but that’s how things turned out. Driving through California on the way to a magic convention, will Jack and Ellie be reunited, get honest with each other and finally talk about what drew them apart? Or will this be the awkwardest summer ever?

This book has it all—from a summer bucketlist, to a roadtrip, to a friends-to-enemies-to-friends-again-to-lovers dynamic, and a close proximity trope for sure. And of course, it had magic. I loved how this book made it feel like you were in on a secret, like small magic was a simple, everyday thing that few were lucky to experience consciously but many did see it in their lives—describing it as luck or love or happiness.

Some of my favorite things about Julie Abe’s writing was how flow-y it was, the story was well-constructed and used some flashbacks here and there that really made the narrative stand out and be unique amongst so many other magic YA books that I’ve read.

I would recommend “The Charmed List” to anyone looking for a funny, YA romance that centers around lost friendships and magic, and that’ll give you all the summer vibes. It isn’t an explicit romance by any means, all we get is a simple kiss at the very end (they’re kids, that’s fair), so I would highly recommend this book to be given as a gift to young readers. It truly is a lovely, magical book.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: July 05, 2022

“And, I’ve realized, I don’t have to be all one thing or the other. And just because someone else has slapped a label on me, it doesn’t mean that I have to accept their definition of who I should be. My list was never about standing out and getting attention, but to make myself someone I admire. And I don’t need a bottle of luck or a charm to change my life.”

To Sir, With Love — Lauren Layne

“Because you said you loved him. Because you deserve your fairy-tale ending. And because I’d do anything for you, Gracie Cooper. Even if it means letting you go.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1.5 fire emojis
Content Warning: Discusses parent loss, cancer and other sicknesses, and the loss of a business.

“To Sir, With Love” follows Gracie Cooper, the managing owner of her family’s champagne business in Midtown Manhattan, and Sebastian Andrews, who’s technically the landlord of where Gracie’s store is located and who’s company wants to buyout Gracie’s lease in order to build something else in its place. Gracie feels unexplainably pulled towards Sebastian from the get-go, but she feels like she’s cheating—even though she’s technically not—because she’s in love with an online pal she met in a blind dating app. But said online pal, who she calls Sir, is not even available, his friends set up his account as a joke, he isn’t even single. So, will Gracie get her happily ever after with Sebastian? With Sir? That’s for you to find out as you grab this read.

I think this will be one of my favorite books this year. I think that through it I finally understood that I love books where I know something the main character doesn’t. It’s pretty obvious from the start who Sir is, but seeing Gracie not know was a marvel. I think the progression of Gracie’s relationships were wonderful and realistic, and the ending was sweet and gratifying. The one thing I found it lacked was the spiciness I’ve come to expect and appreciate in a romance novel.

I would recommend this book to readers who love romance books but who aren’t looking for the too-explicit stuff, just looking for a cute love story. I feel like “To Sir, With Love” would be a great gift for a young reader, since it’s pretty PG.

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“I don’t think you can plan for the right time. Or the right woman. As far as timing’s concerned, maybe sometimes you’ve got to make it the right time and simply trust it’s the right woman.”

The Lost Apothecary — Sarah Penner

“Why did we suffer to keep secrets? Merely to protect ourselves, or to protect others?”

Genre: Historical Fiction
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings: Discusses cheating, murder, poisons, miscarriages, suicide attempts, and insinuates about sexual assault.

“The Lost Apothecary” follows three different points of view: one in present day and two in 1791. Caroline Parcewell was an aspiring historian before she decided to follow a family life instead of a life in academia. On a now somewhat unwanted trip to London, she finds a small apothecary vial and is set on finding out where and when it came from. So in comes Nella, the owner of a hidden apothecary that at times delivers poisonous and deadly concoctions to and only to women intended to give them to men, and Eliza, a young costumer that was getting some poisoned eggs for someone else and who becomes Nella’s friend (?) following a few unexpected and unfortunate events. Will the mystery of the lost apothecary be reviewed in present day or will Nella’s secrets remain hidden.

I must admit I only grabbed this book because of the cover. I had been wanting to read it for a while just because it was so pretty but I am so glad that I actually got through it because the actual book was so much better than the cover. “The Lost Apothecary” was a fun and dynamic read, with different points of views and different timelines. Sarah Penner has done an exceptional job with this novel, AND YOU’RE TELLING ME IT’s HER DEBUT. That’s unbelievable.

I know I am singing the praise of this book while I actually only give it gave it a 3.5 stars, but the thing is that this book was wonderfully written, the characters were mostly well defined and likable, but in the end I felt like I was still missing something, and I hated that.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy V.E. Schwab books like “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” and to anyone who enjoys books told threw different timelines and points of view.

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Today Tonight Tomorrow — Rachel Lynn Solomon

“Maybe that’s the definition of nostalgia: getting sappy about things that are supposed to be insignificant.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romantic Comedy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Deals with racism, discrimination, and antisemitism.

“Today Tonight Tomorrow” follows Rowan Roth and Neil McNair, two rivals and overachievers—hence why they end up being valedictorian and salutatorian—through their last day of high school. Set in Seattle, we accompany them through Howl, a sort of Senior sent-off that takes them all through the city. When Rowan and Neil realize they have more in common than they originally thought, and they realize the only way they’ll win Howl is by working together, will they overcome their past rivalry or will their stubbornness damn them?

I loved this book so much. Seattle felt like the Vancouver of the United States to me, and Vancouver is one of my absolute favorite cities. My biggest regret is that I lived relatively close to Vancity and I didn’t visit it half as much as I should’ve. This book gave me the opportunity to explore a city I’ve never been to and I loved every second of it.

The romance was childish, just like it should be in every YA book. Rowan’s and Neil’s banter was fun and funny and light. This book served as an escape from my everyday, adult life, and I am so grateful for it.

I would recommend this book to readers who like the enemies-to-lovers trope and to those who like exploring new cities, through all their quirkiness and glory.

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“I’ve given this boy the messiest parts of me, and he’s done nothing but convince me he’ll be careful with them.”

Say You Still Love Me — K.A. Tucker

“Even after all these years, with college and boyfriends, and my career and my engagement to David, Kyle Miller has always been a sliver in my heart, a shadow in my thoughts. A lingering “what if” that I have never been able to truly shake.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Fire emojis: 4 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Classism, underaged drinking, graphic accident description, and mentions of attempted sexual harassment.

“Say You Still Love Me” follows Piper Calloway, a rich and hard-working young woman who’ll someday inherit her father’s multibillion dollar company, and Kyle Miller, her young love who disappeared from her life after a summer without a trace. As they reunite in the present under very different (and difficult) circumstances, Piper starts to piece together everything that led to them falling apart—and potentially not having a future. Will she be satisfied with what she’ll find? Or will it only break her further?

K.A. Tucker, I only have one question for you: why? Why are you always writing perfectly sweet and heartbreaking books? I can’t begin to explain how much “Say You Still Love Me” moved me. With great character developed and the most heartwarming of love stories, defying time and distance and insecurities, this book will definitely be playing on your heart strings. As per usual, K.A. Tucker delivered the twistiest of plot twists, with just the right amount of suspense. If I could read this book for the first time again, I would, because the not knowing made the story just that sweeter.

I would recommend this book to readers who like outdoorsy summer camps and romance books, and to readers who like alternating timelines. I’m not sure which timeline I loved the most, if the past or the present, but oh was it all worth it in the end.

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“You’ll make friends for life here. People you can call up twenty years from now, for anything, and they’ll be there for you. I promise you, you won’t regret these days, ever.”

ARC — Epically Earnest — Molly Horan

“What did he say?” (…)
“He said, ‘End Act I.’” (…)
“And that means what exactly?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. A start? The promise of Act II?”

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Abandonment of a baby and harassment.

Inspired on “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, “Epically Earnest” follows Jane Grady, a high school senior who found her fame when she was just a baby, as she was abandoned at a train station and found in a Gucci bag, becoming #bagbaby. In a coming-of-age story, Jane is stuck between trying to find her biological family or moving on with her life, as she crushes on a girl who’s out of her league.

I loved the quotes in the beginning of every chapter, I loved the relaxed narrative that didn’t try to be overzealous, but mostly I loved the characters Molly Horan portrayed. In this queer story, we get to see how complicated it can be to just be a teenager—finding young love, starting to make life-changing decision… “Epically Earnest” is a short, sweet read. Actually, too short if you ask me. That’s why I only gave it 3 stars. It’s really well written, but I felt like there was just so much unresolved or under-explained.

I would recommend “Epically Earnest” to anyone looking for a short, sapphic or queer romantic comedy that’s not only a romance book, but that goes a little more in-depth into character development and family relationships.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 21, 2022