The Oks Are Not OK by Grace K. Shim

“Seventeen-year-old Elena Ok (pronounced Oak) has mastered the art of being both a Los Angeles party girl and financially savvy influencer, but her family doesn’t see the brilliance behind her carefully curated image. Instead, they endlessly praise her older brother Gavin, whose most impressive achievement is consistently forgetting his homework. All of Elena’s hard work and social clout disintegrates when the Oks, founders of the wildly popular (and now bankrupt) fast fashion brand It’s Ok! (pronounced “OKAY”), lose their fortune overnight.

With their empire crumbling and an investigation underway, the Oks flee to Blaire, CA—a farming town that’s as glamourous as Temu. Mr. Ok, a now disgraced retail mogul, and Mrs. Ok, a now also disgraced fashion-forward matriarch, realize they’ve spent decades perfecting their public personas at the expense of actually knowing their kids. Meanwhile, Elena and Gavin are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to distract them from their family’s unraveling dynamics—or each other’s annoying habits.

But life in Blaire isn’t all bad. As the family reconnects with their Korean farming heritage, Elena discovers a hidden the Blaire Fair, the local market brimming with untapped potential. Applying her business savvy, she helps the small-town vendors thrive and sees how they put their profits back into the community. For the first time, Elena begins to question her own definition of success.

The Oks are Not OK offers humor and drama to tell a story about family, self-discovery, and the fine line between building a brand and building a life.” - taken from Goodreads.

The Oks lose everything when they must declare bankruptcy. The only things they are left with are daughter Elana’s earnings as a social media influencer and a tiny house in a backwater town. Can this family find a way to pivot to survive living in small town Blaire while repairing their relationship?

Visit Grace K. Shim’s website. 

I’ll Pretend You’re Mine by Tashie Bhuiyan

 

“Summer Ali has been making a name for herself in the music industry for years, slowly but surely climbing the charts—but the world doesn’t know her stage parents are the ones who molded her entire public persona. Finally eighteen, Summer breaks free of their control and focuses on creating her own path.

Upon running into writer’s block, Summer grows eager to take any opportunity to shake things up—even if it means agreeing to a PR stunt with child-actor-turned-playboy, Jules Moradi, famous for his tabloid escapades.

At first, Jules keeps his distance, maintaining professional boundaries. But as time passes, his walls come down, and Summer uncovers who he is beyond his reputation, and it’s someone more like her than she ever realized. As the lines blur between fake and real, Summer begins questioning who she is and what she wants—and if her dreams are worth sacrificing her heart.” - taken from Goodreads.

Tashie Bhuiyan has quickly become one of my go to authors for romance. Summer Ali has just turned eighteen and has taken control of her musical career from her domineering parents. On her own for the first time, she must navigate being a celebrity solo. When her manager suggests she “fake date” a bad boy actor for some publicity, she is in for a situation she never expected.

Bhuiyan knocks it out of the ballpark every time with her stories of romance and struggling to get out from underneath controlling parents.

Visit Tashie Bhuiyan’s website.

Solving For the Unknown by Loan Le

 

SPOILER ALERT! The characters in the author’s previous book, A Pho Love Story do appear, but it is unnecessary to read the first book in order to enjoy this one.

‘To his friends back home, Viet Ho is calm and collected and a lovable oddball who nurses an obsession with forensic science. He’s relieved to head off to UC Davis and escape from being in the middle of his bickering immigrant parents. Yet, on campus and with the school year unfolding at an overwhelming pace, Viet struggles to belong and to keep his depression hidden.

Evie Mai is a junior biology major and the eldest daughter who has never trod far off the beaten path. She has everything: good grades, a solid group of friends, and a smart, ambitious boyfriend, who’s the son of a well-connected university board member. But their busy schedules, as well as their interests, no longer align. Determined to close the distance, she and her boyfriend both apply to a student-run clinic for underserved communities. But will that save or expose the gaps in their relationship?

When a clumsy accident brings Viet and Evie together, they bond over their shared hometown and similar history—and their orbits grow smaller as their friends collide. The more time they spend with each other and support each other, mentally and emotionally, the more their friendship shifts into something else.” - taken from Goodreads

Evie is Lihn’s sister and Viet is Bao’s friend from A Pho Love Story. This tender story about college life and personal relationships is a quick read told from each of the characters’ points of view. A quick and clean read that gives readers not only a satisfying ending but a glimpse into the lives of previous characters.

Visit Loan Le’s website.

When You Get the Chance by Emma Lord

 

“Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.

There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?” - taken from Goodreads.

Mamma Mia with a gender switch. Millie Price, aspiring Broadway star is on a quest to find her mother. She has her sights set on a prestigious pre-college preparatory program, at the school 3,000 mi away from home. The only thing she knows about her mother is that she left her as a baby with her college student father to raise. After finding a Live Journal blog that her father wrote before her birth, she makes a plan to find the three women he wrote about. At the first stop on her journey, she runs into her high school nemesis, Oliver, where they both compete for an internship. Throughout her journey, Millie realizes that her plan to find her mother isn’t simple, Oliver really isn’t against her, and discovers along the way that her dreams can take many different paths. A wonderful, heartfelt story that’s worth the read.

Visit Emma Lord’s website.

So, This is Christmas by Tracy Andreen

 

“When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn't changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother's inn. And she certainly didn't expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother's doorstep. It's up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley's Christmas. It's about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.” - taken from Goodreads.com

This book turned out to be the perfect brain break that I needed just before Christmas break. Finley doesn't fit in at her exclusive boarding school and is contemplating coming back home to Christmas, Oklahoma. Securing a flight home, she is shocked to arrive home and find that her parents are separated. Even worse, one of her classmates Arthur has brought his aunt with him to celebrate Christmas and Christmas. They decided to visit based on the town's website that Finley secretly embellished to impress her new classmates.

The hilarity and soul searching that Finley encounters on her trip home is a cross between a Hallmark movie and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. A definite hit.

Everyday Magic by Emily Albright (The Heir and the Spare book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! This book is a companion story to The Heir and the Spare. You can read this one without having read the first book but there are several spoilers or scenes that will make more sense if you do. 

“He runs with A-list stars, but will he run her life?”

“For once, Maggie McKendrick just wants to control her own life. Her overbearing Hollywood director father has it all planned out for her: UCLA, law school, then working as an entertainment lawyer, preferably for him. But Maggie has other, more creative-spirit friendly, plans. Namely, Thrippletons School of Fashion and Design in England, and then onto becoming a designer, preferably a wildly successful one. The big snag in her plan? Getting it past her dad.

A movie shoot takes the family to the Scottish Highlands for the summer, and closer to Maggie’s dream school. While there, she runs into the charming Preston Browne. Maggie is intrigued and decides to bend her no guys rule—instituted after her ex used her to get close to her dad. Forced to keep secrets from Preston in order to protect the future plans she’s made, Maggie finds herself falling for the tall Brit. And for once in her life she knows that he’s interested in her, not her Hollywood connections. When Maggie's father blackmails her into dating his lead actor, she isn’t left with a choice. The biggest problem isn’t having to date hunky, mega-hottie, Ben Chambers. No, it’s praying she doesn’t lose Preston in the process.

Excelling at her dream school, Maggie’s personal life is a tangled mess. She needs to decide if living a lie is worth losing Preston or chance going against her father and facing his wrath. When the tabloids expose the truth of her fake relationship with Ben, Maggie's world is thrown into a tailspin. Ultimately, Maggie must find the courage to take risks and forge ahead on her own path.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I loved diving back into this world and was pleased to read Preston’s story. Preston was the one character that I had felt sorry for. Meeting Maggie McKendrick is life-changing for both of them. Maggie is trying to get out from underneath her father’s domineering control and become a fashion designer. We also get to delve into Preston’s life more. Of course, the road to true love never runs smooth. The only complaint that I have about this book was that the ending seemed a little far fetched. I did enjoy the appearances by Evie Gray from the first book.

Visit Emily Albright’s website.

Matched by Allyson Condie

In the future, Society will determine what you eat, where you work and how you spend your free time. More importantly, Society determines who you will marry. For Cassia Reyes, she is thrilled that her Matched ceremony occurs on her seventeenth birthday. Even better, Cassia is Matched with Xander, whom she has known since childhood. Cassia sees her life as perfect. She will get to spend the rest of her life with her best friend. So when Cassia reads her microcard on Xander from her Matched ceremony, she is shocked when Xander's photo fades into Ky Markham, a boy she also knows.

Later that evening while at rec time, an official from the Societal Classification Department comes to talk to Cassia. She informs Cassia that what happened is a rare mistake and hopes that someone didn't play a cruel joke. Cassia realizes that Ky is a Single, someone who will not be Matched or allowed to have children. Only those Matched are allowed children. No, the official says. "He's not a Single. Ky Markham is an Aberration." People who are Aberrations have usually incurred an infraction but that knowledge is not publically known. Cassia is told to keep this information to herself. She asks if she may tell her Grandfather whose 80th birthday is in a couple of days. The official says that would be alright. In Cassia's Society, one's eightieth birthday is also the day one dies. As Cassia's family prepares for Grandfather's final banquet, he tells Cassia to bring his mother's gold compact. The compact is Cassia's artifact, the one item from past society that she is allowed to keep. He reveals that there is a secret piece of paper inside that he finds comfort in. He also tells her to be true to herself before he passes away.

Since her Match ceremony and the blunder with the microcard, Cassia begins to see Ky Markham everywhere. She is surprised when they share the same summer rec activity, hiking. With no instruction, the group is told to meet at the top. Cassia takes off through the woods. Near the top, she stops and hides. She pulls out her compact to read the slip of paper hidden there. On it are two poems, but they are not a part of the 100 poems that Society has chosen. As Cassia reads the Dylan Thomas poem, she quickly realizes why it wasn't chosen. It is about fighting for what you believe in and Cassia begins to understand what her Grandfather's final words to her truly mean.

Soon Cassia finds herself drawn to Ky even though she is Matched to Xander. As the two get to know more about each other on their hikes, Cassia begins to question Society's control over every aspects of their lives, especially when Society begins to tighten their control. Will Cassia assume the role Society has planned for her or does she take her Grandfather's last advise and follow her heart?

Cassia'a story continues with Crossed on November 1, 2011.

Visit Allyson Condie's website.
Visit the official website for Matched.