Winter is fast approaching, (even though it may feel like it’s already arrived), and we all know cold weather is the perfect excuse to stay home, make some hot chocolate, and read a good book! Typically, I like to read shorter books in the summer, and longer books in the winter. There’s nothing like being able to spend a solid amount of time in the world of one story! So, if you’re anything like me, check out this episode as I recommend six novels on the chunkier side to pick up this winter!
“Consumers are fickle—they crave something new, but not that kind of new. They want to be challenged but comforted at the same time. They desire fresh takes, but only in a form that’s familiar to them. That’s to say, audiences will accept something different as long as it feels the same.”
Elissa sussman, Funny You should ask
Towards the beginning of August, I found myself once again in the throes of contemporary romance, but I have to admit—I was excited to be there. Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman was a highly anticipated novel for me, one I was sure I would love because of the stellar reviews and the intriguing plot. And much like the above quote, and like my expectations for a lot of romance novels, I thought I was getting a story that felt familiar yet new.
This novel follows a writer/journalist named Chani Horowitz, who, by some stroke of luck, is given an assignment to interview an up-and-coming, insanely attractive actor named Gabe Parker. Gabe has just been cast as James Bond, and the world is abuzz with how this American HIMBO could be cast as the stylish, sophisticated, and very British spy. Chani spends three days with Gabe, and from their unconventional time together, she is able to produce an article that not only helps to sell Gabe as Bond, but also puts the question in everyone’s mind–did more happen between the two of them than either of them are letting on? Ten years later, however, Chani and Gabe are thrust back together to recreate the magic of that first interview and to breathe life back into Gabe’s career after a series of public blunders and a few stints in rehab. With Gabe now sober, and Chani now divorced, the two reconnect to face each other and the spark they’ve been running from for a decade.
Funny You Should Ask is a book for those who love the mythos behind celebrity and all things celebrity culture, those who wish they could peek behind the curtain, if you will. In the end, this book didn’t work for me completely, but I still recommend it for a fast, entertaining read. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on this novel, give the latest episode a listen:
When I watch you sleep,” he said shakily, “I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”
–Beach Read by Emily Henry
I didn’t know regular life could feel like this, like a vacation you don’t have to go home from.”
–People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Somehow, it never occurred to me that this was an option: that two people, in the same hug, could both be allowed to fall apart. That maybe it’s neither of our jobs to keep a steel spine.”
–Book Lovers By Emily Henry
For the past two weeks, I’ve been reading summer romcoms.
I had this big idea to start a new series on the podcast called Battle Royale, where I pit 3 books against each other in an attempt to see which one I like the best (ultimately, which one I give the highest star rating to). While I have seen all three of these books, Beach Read, People We Meet on Vacation, and the recently released Book Lovers many times at the store, I just hadn’t picked them up. Until now, of course. And so, I must say, the last two weeks have been fun. It was nice immersing myself in the world of one author and seeing the world through the characters they create, through the plots they have constructed around them.
While most of the time I see these books under the banner of SUMMER READ, I have to say these books aren’t without a certain amount of reflection, emotion, and dare I say it–drama. I grew emotional and misty-eyed through all three. Some heavy topics are hit and explored. These are adult books, but there was something nostalgic about reading them. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t until I was halfway through Book Lovers that I realized what it was. When I was a teenager, I loved Sarah Dessen novels. I remember picking up my first one, That Summer, probably around 2003 or 2004, when I was around thirteen years old, thinking (for some reason) that it was purely a teen summer romance, which I was apt to read. What I got, and what I continued to get from Sarah Dessen, were these sweet romances paired with strong female characters learning, stretching, growing. Coming of age, if you will. And I realized that Emily Henry’s novels have the same feeling; they feel like the “coming-of-age” of adult women, of women in their late 20s and 30s who don’t quite have it together, and haven’t exactly grown into the person or into the lives they want for themselves. Or maybe they have, like Poppy in People We Meet on Vacation, but now they want something different. Familial relationships are important in Emily Henry’s novels, and they are explored, a theme I would run into quite a bit in Sarah Dessen’s novels. And so, now at 32 years old, it felt nice. Like a warm hug, a soft hello in a different form–novels that explored some of those themes from my teenage-hood in an adult way. In a way that once again applies to me.
I haven’t read a Sarah Dessen novel in years. Anyone can read YA, but I know a contemporary YA novel in 2022 *may* not affect or impact me the way it would have in 2005. And that’s okay. I’m aware that the feeling I got at 15 or 16, of connection, of being seen, of being on summer vacation away from school and sitting in my childhood bedroom with the sun spilling through my windows–it won’t ever be like that again. I can enjoy a YA book, love it to pieces, but I know that feeling–it can’t come back. But I can get new feelings. Similar feelings. I’m happy Emily Henry is writing to fill a void I didn’t even know was there.
And maybe that was what real, adult love was. Being fearless enough to hold each other close no matter how catastrophic the world became. Loving each other with enough ferocity to quell the fears of the past. Just fucking being there.”
—Tia Williams, Seven Days in June
This book broke me down to my parts and reassembled me. What a healing, beautiful, roaring story. It’s been a while since I hugged a book to my chest after reading it; it very much felt like I was hugging the characters goodbye, who had, in a way, become my friends. Because every time I opened this novel and dived into its pages, it was like I was seeing the very intimate, intricate, messy parts of people’s lives–people who really existed. Even though they didn’t. Although, in a way, Shane and Eva—our lovers of this tale—do exist. Even though their individual stories and their story together may not be ours, they share a desire to be honest, to be seen, to love and be loved by someone who understands who they are wholly and completely. Someone who sees their scars, cares enough to learn how they got there, but is careful enough not to create new ones. Someone who loves their existence–solely in and off itself. It’s an innate, simplistic, yet complex need that I think we all have. Everyone of us. And there’s nothing wrong with wanting that and recognizing it. And I hope, one day, every one of us can find it too. And what a find that would be!
Listen to the latest episode of She Happily Reads here:
I’ve felt it–this icky sadness–since I was a child, a feeling that almost makes me anxious towards the end of the year because I dread its arrival. Is it post-holiday blues? Seasonal depression? A reaction to the sudden need to make the new year that has been thrust upon me “the best one yet”? Perhaps. Either way, this year has been no different, and maybe its effects were made even worse due to the current state of the world and the dreaded “c” word.
But self-awareness is one of my many talents, and so I armed myself accordingly with my favorite things (black tea, candles, warm, fuzzy blankets, and essential oils) and of course–books. I immediately knew what genre I wanted to pick from. Nothing warms me more than a good romance novel–and a romantic comedy to boot. Luckily, the messy tower of books next to my bed that I lovingly call my TBR (to-be-read for those not in the know) had a few to choose from. The lucky winner was The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a novel I had been meaning to read for months now.
The Love Hypothesis was published just last autumn to much fanfare. If you are in any online book space (booktok, booktube, bookstagram), you probably have already heard of it. I think a lot of the initial press centered around the fact that this novel originally was a Reylo fanfic. (Once again, for those not in the know, Rey and Kylo Ren are characters from the Star Wars sequel trilogy. The romantic pairing has been dubbed “Reylo” by shippers.) The Reylo ship has brought much controversy to Star Wars’ door, and while the two kiss at the end of The Rise of Skywalker (spoiler!), some people still do not consider the couple canon or reject it due to its ‘toxicity.’ As someone who has an unhealthy obsession with the enemies-to-lovers trope and a redemption arc of any type, I’m pro Reylo. I could pontificate for paragraphs as to why, but I think this Youtube video by Joe Brennan entitled “Reylo: A Complicated History” says it better than I ever could:
If you love Reylo, watch this video. If you hate Reylo, WATCH this video. If you are indifferent to Reylo, watch this video. If you have no idea who either of these two people are…still. Watch this video.
The female protagonist and Rey’s counterpart of the Love Hypothesis, Olive, and her hero, Adam (aptly named, might I add–Adam Driver plays Kylo Ren/Ben Solo in the movie) are two academics at Stanford University. Olive is a P.h.D. candidate researching pancreatic cancer after losing her mom, her only family and tether, years ago. Adam is a young, hotshot professor with a reputation for making people cry from his harsh criticism and rigorous standards. When Olive ropes Adam into fake dating her for a very romcom-ish reason, the two slowly start to fall for each other. And it’s glorious. There’s banter. There’s grumpy/sunshine goodness, personified by Adam’s love of black coffee and Olive’s obsession with pumpkin spice lattes. There’s a shared hotel room. There’s the classic he doesn’t like me/she doesn’t like me misunderstanding. There’s steaminess.
And yes. For those weary from the news, and the cold, and the limited amount of sunlight, there’s a happy ending. And a happy ending is sometimes all we need at the beginning of a new year.
Listen to the latest She Happily Reads podcast episode and hear more of my thoughts here:
She Happily Reads 