Waiting on Wednesday {30}

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, Hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that I'm eagerly anticipating. 

Title:

Say You Still Love Me

Author:

K.A. Tucker

Publication Date:

August 6th, 2019

Publisher:

                                               Atria Books

Summary from Goodreads:

Life is a mixed bag for Piper Calloway.



On the one hand, she’s a twenty-nine-year-old VP at her dad’s multibillion-dollar real estate development firm, and living the high single life with her two best friends in a swanky downtown penthouse. On the other hand, she’s considered a pair of sexy legs in a male-dominated world and constantly has to prove her worth. Plus, she’s stuck seeing her narcissistic ex-fiancé—a fellow VP—on the other side of her glass office wall every day.



Things get exponentially more complicated for Piper when she runs into Kyle Miller—the handsome new security guard at Calloway Group Industries, and coincidentally the first love of her life.



The guy she hasn’t seen or heard from since they were summer camp counsellors together. The guy from the wrong side of the tracks. The guy who apparently doesn’t even remember her name.



Piper may be a high-powered businesswoman now, but she soon realizes that her schoolgirl crush is not only alive but stronger than ever, and crippling her concentration. What’s more, despite Kyle’s distant attitude, she’s convinced their reunion isn’t at all coincidental, and that his feelings for her still run deep. And she’s determined to make him admit to them, no matter the consequences.

                                              

Review | The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

The Friend Zone

by Abby Jimenez

Published by Forever on June 11th, 2019

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance

Format: Paperback

Source: Kindly provided by Hachette Book Group Canada in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Summary from Goodreads: 

Fall in love with this hilarious and heartwarming romantic comedy that USA Today bestselling author LJ Shen calls "an absolute treat." 


SheReads' "Most Anticipated Romance Books of 2019"




Kristen Petersen doesn't do drama, will fight to the death for her friends, and has no room in her life for guys who just don't get her. She's also keeping a big secret: facing a medically necessary procedure that will make it impossible for her to have children.





Planning her best friend's wedding is bittersweet for Kristen -- especially when she meets the best man, Josh Copeland. He's funny, sexy, never offended by her mile-wide streak of sarcasm, and always one chicken enchilada ahead of her hangry. Even her dog, Stuntman Mike, adores him. The only catch: Josh wants a big family someday. Kristen knows he'd be better off with someone else, but as their attraction grows, it's harder and harder to keep him at arm's length.



The Friend Zone will have you laughing one moment and grabbing for tissues the next as it tackles the realities of infertility and loss with wit, heart, and a lot of sass.





"Harnessing sass, heartfelt struggle, and unapologetic sexuality, Jimenez's debut is as hysterical as it is tear-jerking....Jimenez manages to fulfill all expectations for a romantic comedy while refusing to sacrifice nuance. Biting wit and laugh-out-loud moments take priority, but the novel remains subtle in its sentimentality and sneaks up on the reader with unanticipated depth." --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Indigo│Audible│Book Depository

Review

    The Friend Zone is by far one of the best debut books I have read this year.

I absolutely adored everything about this book! It one of those rare books that you read that you cannot put could. It brought me on an emotional rollercoaster that left me laughing, crying, and feeling so absolutely drained by how realistic this story was written. Don't even get me started on the ending...it was so beautifully and realistically put together that I just couldn't help but cry at the bittersweetness of it all.



Kristen and Josh's meet cute was hilarious to say the least. A fender bender that left them both leaving lasting impressions on one another. When they later realize that they are not only going to the same wedding but are the best-man and maid-of-honour of said wedding, their rough start slowly devolves into a very close friendship. Both Kristen and Josh were fully developed characters that provided a lot of fun, sarcastic, powerful, banter and dialogue. You can easily tell that Josh and Kristen were meant to be from the get-go.



The Friend Zone felt so incredibly real that it completely caught me off guard. The writing, plot, and characters were perfectly done. I adored Josh and Kristen so much (as well as Brandon and Sloan)! The way Josh was with Stuntman Mike, Kristen's little dog, to their late-night runs, it was all fantastic to read from beginning to end.



Jimenez' writing was outstanding with the story profoundly moving and equally emotional, romantic, funny, and heartbreaking. This story moved me in ways I haven't felt from a book in years. Every chapter seemed to flow so easily into the next and left me wanting to know what will happen next. I easily fell into the story and found myself struggling with wanting to read the entirety of the book all right away and wanting to savour such a beautifully woven story.



Sensitive topics in books need to broached in not only a realistic way but with the utmost care taking into consideration that readers going through similar issues might pick this book up and read it. This can typically lead to a hit or miss. Fortunately, Jimenez portrayed infertility and what it does to a person, not only physically but emotionally, in the truest and respectful way possible. She managed to do this while making the characters not only extremely likeable but also strong, kind, confident, and kick-ass. You couldn't help but feel for these characters and the many struggles they faced. 



In the end, The Friend Zone is a phenomenal book to read, and has easily become one of my favourite books of 2019. From the witty comedic banter to the deep emotional struggles, this story brings you on a journey that you didn't even realize you were going to take. I highly recommend checking it out and picking it up today. Trust me, this is an amazing book to dive into this summer. 

Rating

★★★★★

About the Author

Abby Jimenez is a Food Network champion, motivational speaker, and contemporary romance novelist living in Minnesota. She founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen back in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and has amassed an international cult following. Abby's wry literary wit was spotlighted as the admin behind the hilarious viral comments on the now famous Nadia Cakes Vageode ® cake. 



Abby loves a good romance, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house. Her debut novel, The Friend Zone, is scheduled for release June 2019.

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Goodreads│Instagram

 

Review | Meet Cute by Helena Hunting

Meet Cute

by Helena Hunting

Published by St. Martin's Paperbacks on April 9th, 2019

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult

Format: Paperback

Source: Bought at Indigo

Summary from Goodreads: 

Talk about an embarrassing introduction. On her first day of law school, Kailyn ran - quite literally - into the actor she crushed on as a teenager, ending with him sprawled on top of her. Mortified to discover the Daxton Hughes was also a student in her class, her embarrassment over their meet-cute quickly turned into a friendship she never expected. Of course, she never saw his betrayal coming either...



Now, eight years later, Dax is in her office asking for legal advice. Despite her anger, Kailyn can't help feeling sorry for the devastated man who just became sole guardian to his thirteen-year-old sister. But when her boss gets wind of Kailyn's new celebrity client, there's even more at stake than Dax's custody issues: if she gets Dax to work at their firm, she'll be promoted to partner.



The more time Kailyn spends with Dax and his sister, the more she starts to feel like a family, and the more she realizes the chemistry they had all those years ago is as fresh as ever. But will they be able to forgive the mistakes of the past, or will one betrayal lead to another?

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Indigo│Audible│Book Depository

Review

Every young girl's dream come true.

A meet cute between a fangirl and her childhood celebrity crush is bound to end perfectly...well think again. For Kailyn, would she has always dreamed of (and let's face it, fantasized about) doesn't really happen exactly as she planned. Bumping into her childhood celeb crush, Daxton Hughes, on her first day of law school is something she never dreamed would happen - especially fingerling that hard in Dax's arms. But what was astonishment and excitement over their meeting and quick friendship turns into something sour and broken over a betrayal she never expected, much less from Dax himself.

Fast forward eight years and Dax reappears into her life, with his parents in tow, asking for legal advice in regards to setting up a trust fund for his younger sister. Kailyn though wary, still holding her grudge towards Dax from law school, develops a professional relationship with him. When he suffers a huge loss and everything he knows changes instantly, Kailyn is there for him every step of the way. From enemies, to friends, to definitely something more. Their relationship faces rollercoasters as they try to balance life, love, and loss in this moving story.


From the blurb to the cover, I was expecting something more along the lines of a fun, light, flirty romantic comedy. With that being said, Meet Cute did not really meet the comedic part of a romantic comedy. It felt like more of a dramatic fiction with romance sprinkled on it really than a rom-com. It was a lot more emotional and heartbreaking than I was expecting, especially once their stories began to evolve more fully. I mean I couldn't help but root for both Kailyn and Dax to end up together - even through all of their messed up actions and decisions.



With all of that said, there was a sense of predictability when reading this story. You can easily tell who were going to be slapped with the label "villain" and the schemes they tried to pull off was something I could definitely see a mile away. It made the characters feel unrealistic and more exaggerated than they needed to be. I also was unsure about the enemies-to-lovers concept of this story because it felt pretty up in the air for the majority of the book (are they, aren't they). 



Overall, I did like Meet Cute but it did fall a bit short for me. I think my expectation of what this book was about did ultimately affect my view going into this book. While the romance was there, the comedic part of a rom-com was not. 

Rating

★★★

About the Author

NYT and USA Today Bestselling author, Helena Hunting lives outside of Toronto with her amazing family and her two awesome cats, who think the best place to sleep is her keyboard. Helena writes everything from contemporary romance with all the feels to romantic comedies that will have you laughing until you cry.

Author Links:

Website│Twitter│Goodreads│Facebook│Instagram