JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

In A New York Minute by Kate Spencer

Their love story has gone viral. But it hasn’t even begun . . .

Franny meets Hayes in the opposite of a meet-cute – when her dress gets caught in the subway doors on her way home and then rips, leaving her in the fashion equivalent of a hospital gown. Hayes is the stuffy suit whose one redeeming quality is giving Franny his jacket, saving her from showing her assets to half of New York. Franny is eager to forget the whole horribly embarrassing encounter as soon as possible, but neither of them anticipated a fellow commuter live-blogging them as #subwaybaes – turning their awkward run-in into click-bait and a manufactured love story for the ages . . .

Quick to dismiss Hayes as just another a rich guy, Franny is sure she’ll never see him again, and she’s desperate to put her three minutes of viral fame behind her. But fate isn’t done with the would-be subway sweethearts just yet . . .

Set in New York City and centred around a couple whose first meeting goes viral on the internet, Kate Spencer’s In a New York Minute is a romantic comedy that is charming, fun and incredibly heartwarming.

What feels most striking about this novel is how the premise immediately draws you in — I don’t feel like I’ve come across another book like this, which is rare in this genre. Franny and Hayes meeting on the subway is a clash between two very different people — the creative, career-struggling Franny, and the anxious, analytical, assured but closed off Hayes. As their paths continue to cross, the romantic tension and build-up is very adorable. In A New York Minute is perfect for readers on the hunt for something upbeat and feel-good.

“And in an instant, everything felt impossible again. Pizza. This was the only appropriate solution to the end of this day. Plus, I could afford it, for now at least.”

Franny and Hayes’ characterisation feels believable. Both leads are flawed in their own way, and the way they tackle their insecurities is paced well and crafted with authenticity. Additionally, setting is a strong part of the novel. From the subway and the workplace, to the restaurants and the social scene, Kate captures New York City with ease. There’s a feeling of centrality that accompanies the premise of this novel, so it’s easy to believe how Franny and Hayes’ meeting becomes so viral.

Secondary characters Lola and Cleo hold great significance in the story, not just providing emotional support for Franny but adding humour and tenderness to moments throughout the book when Franny and Hayes’ paths don’t cross.

“I was normally clear on what needed to be done. It wasn’t often that I got things wrong. But in that instant on the subway, I just might have, and my miscalculation was nagging at me. Maybe I’d overstepped, assumed she needed help when she was fine on her own.”

I did think the ending of the novel felt like it meandered. It almost seemed like the story wrapped itself, but then a tragedy befalls Franny and she knee-jerkingly breaks up with Hayes, and reconciliation must eventuate. It felt a little disjointed from the rest of the novel, like that extra part at the end was an afterthought.

Additionally, the subplot of Franny and her half-sibling in Italy felt only loosely tied into the story and like it wasn’t overly gelling with the story. Sometimes I forgot about this altogether, until it wove itself back into the story.

“Of course it was weird. It was too much, too forward. Once again, I was tripping over my tongue around this woman, I never said stuff like this to Perrine, much lest people I didn’t know.”

Heartfelt, funny and full of chemistry, In A New York Minute is highly recommended for readers of contemporary women’s fiction and romantic comedies. Readership skews female, 20+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

In A New York Minute
Kate Spencer
April 2022
Pan Macmillan Book Publishers Australia

If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich

Eighteen-year-olds Ruben Montez and Zach Knight are two members of the boy-band Saturday, one of the biggest acts in America. Along with their bandmates, Angel Phan and Jon Braxton, the four are teen heartbreakers in front of the cameras and best friends backstage. But privately, cracks are starting to form: their once-easy rapport is straining under the pressures of fame, and Ruben confides in Zach that he’s feeling smothered by management’s pressure to stay in the closet.

On a whirlwind tour through Europe, with both an unrelenting schedule and minimal supervision, Ruben and Zach come to rely on each other more and more, and their already close friendship evolves into a romance. But when they decide they’re ready to tell their fans and live freely, Zach and Ruben start to truly realize that they will never have the support of their management. How can they hold tight to each other when the whole world seems to want to come between them?

Co-written by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich, YA drama and romcom If This Gets Out is set within the exclusive but fraught world of international musical stardom. When two members of a boy band start dating, they feel stifled by those around them who want to keep their relationship and sexuality a secret.

Written in first person POV and switching chapters between Ruben and Zach, If This Gets Out centres around a male/male relationship between two famous teenagers as they attempt to navigate what others expect of them. It’s an emotional but uplifting story for teenage readers. Amidst relationship turmoil, this YA novel is about a group of young boys who feel exploited by the music industry and the disastrous consequences that ensue.

“I climb into the minibus, following after Jon. Luckily none of the fans try to get into the vehicle. That’s as terrifying as it sounds, and I’d know: a girl jumped onto my lap once trying to get to Jon and she had to be pulled off by Pauline.”

Strengths lie in how Sophie and Cale have captured Ruben and Zach’s voices. Their internal dialogue allows for character depth and also character growth, and it was pleasing to read about their various relationships with family members — the good and the bad.

Sophie and Cale have also captured a realistic and authentic setting with this music world environment. Music producers and record labels are incredibly focused on image and perfection, so much so that what fans see is rarely the real thing — just a carefully constructed image put together by a team of people. From the security team to the manager to the publicity director, there’s a sense of familiarity in this if you’ve been involved in the entertainment industry and therefore know what that environment is like. It’s clear that a lot of research has gone into this book.

“Erin doesn’t deny it, and I suddenly realise I was stupid to think I’d been voted in by adoring fans. Of course Chorus picked who went on the list. I’ve understood the importance of maintaining our roles as romantic fantasies at all costs since the very beginning.”

Whilst Ruben, Zach and Angel all felt multi-layered and well-developed, I felt that Jon was a bit of a loose end in the story. His character arc revolves a little around his father’s power and control over the band, but Jon’s presence in the story felt thin and at times invisible.

Perhaps it’s hard to achieve this when there are four people in the band, plus a large cast of secondary characters, but I got to the end of the novel and couldn’t help but feel there was a missing element to Jon’s characterisation.

“My phone is sitting heavy in my pants pocket, so I pull it out and check it. Ruben is the last person I messaged, and seeing his name makes my heart rate spike. All I can picture now is his wounded expression. It fills my vision, taking over everything, making my stomach sink.”

Punchy, poignant and emotional, If This Gets Out is recommended for young adult readers, and those looking for LGBTQI+ representation in literature. Readership skews 14+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

If This Gets Out
Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich
December 2021
Hachette Book Publishers

Fancy Meeting You Here by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus

Sometimes the man of your dreams is standing right in front of you… only ten years in the past. A charming and unconventional love story about trying to rewrite history.

Evie Berry is a thirty-year-old wannabe screenwriter who spends her days managing a London cinema bar and making the podcast Pasta La Vista with her best friend Ben. She’s also obsessed with Hugo Hearst. Have you heard of him? Of course you have. He’s only one of the most influential and not to mention swoon-worthy bestselling writers of his generation.

When Evie’s not hooking up with her on-again, off-again booty call ‘Ever-Ready Freddy’ (and sometimes even when she is), she fantasises about what might have been if she’d met Hugo years ago, when he was just a struggling writer.

After Evie interviews a psychic to the stars on her podcast, her life is catapulted ten years into the past. But the grass isn’t quite as green as she remembers . . .

Romantic comedy Fancy Meeting You Here by Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus explores what it’d be like to re-live your twenties, and pursue the relationship and the life you always felt you were meant to have.

Struggling screenwriter Evie has been ‘writing’ for almost a decade, but hasn’t gotten anywhere. And she’s obsessed with the local – and incredibly famous – writer and actor Hugo Hearst. When she is unexpectedly catapulted ten years in the past, she has the opportunity to meet Hugo while he’s writing his infamous debut novel, and the two spark a connection.

“Evie felt as if she were walking on air on the way home. Apart from her excitement at actually meeting Hugo, and how well they’d seemed to get on, she also felt bolstered by what he had said about his writing process.Her obsession with getting every single word perfect was not only exhausting, but also preventing her from making any real progress.”

Charming and enjoyable, Fancy Meeting You Here is a comfort novel and one that can be devoured in a short sitting. I’m sure all of us have wondered how our lives would alter if we could go back and re-do certain years, and so there’s a universality about this book that readers can relate to. It’s also quite a quirky read — the time travel, the eccentric characters, the novel within a novel.

The premise feels unconventional and unique, so fans of this genre will enjoy the story. Despite being written in third person and solely focused on Evie’s perspective, the book feels intimate and introspective, almost as if it were written in first person. The authors capture the relationship between Evie and Hugo incredibly well — the ups and downs, the chemistry and the tension. Both Evie and Hugo possess insecurities that threaten to throw a spanner in their achievements and career trajectories, and the authors manage the delicate balance of showcasing these characteristics and crafting them to be believable and realistic without appearing over-the-top.

“When she had snuck in well after eleven o’clock, her mum and dad had been on opposite sides of the couch sipping their respective glasses of wine, the tension in the air thick with hurt and disdain.”

There are a few moments in the novel that felt overtly pointed and therefore unnecessary, for example, when Evie is back working at the cinema and feels it’s important to educate her customers and colleagues on feminism and MeToo. This felt too didactic and preachy, borderline cringe. And it was a little too coincidental that a young Freddy would appear at the cinemas while Evie is working there.

Additionally, the ending was predictable but rushed, particularly Evie’s friendship with Ben. There is not as much character development for Evie as I would’ve liked — dating Hugo feels a bit manipulative and resembling entrapment, given how obsessed she is with him and how much she knows about him in the future. I’m not sure she fully registers how unsettling her behaviour is, although I do recognise it in a lot of women’s fiction.

“Hugo looked up at Evie and her heart skipped a beat. His face was so open, his eyes serious. At that moment, he didn’t look like the swanky, celebrity Hugo Hearst. He looked like an insecure man in need of affirmation. In fact, he seemed just like her.”

Punchy and fun, Fancy Meeting You Here is recommend for readers of romance and contemporary women’s fiction. Readership skews female, 25+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fancy Meeting You Here
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus
December 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

Young baronet Robin Blyth thought he was taking up a minor governmental post. However, he’s actually been appointed parliamentary liaison to a secret magical society. If it weren’t for this administrative error, he’d never have discovered the incredible magic underlying his world.

Cursed by mysterious attackers and plagued by visions, Robin becomes determined to drag answers from his missing predecessor – but he’ll need the help of Edwin Courcey, his hostile magical-society counterpart. Unwillingly thrown together, Robin and Edwin will discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles.

Freya Marske’s debut novel A Marvellous Light is both fantasy and queer romance, set in early 1900s Edwardian England. The confident — but slightly clueless — Robin Blyth finds himself thrust into the hidden world of magic and the victim of a curse he can’t control.

Readers will enjoy the premise of the novel, the integration of magical realism throughout the story, and the leading characters Robin and Edwin. Both these men are grappling with the situation before them — Robin, determined but ultimately in over his head, and Edwin, unfortunately plagued with meagre magic and constantly tormented by his siblings.

Notably, this is the first book in a planned series, and Freya does leave much to be answered. There is enough world-building in this as the first book, but still much to be explored in sequels.

“Robin’s second impression was that Lord Hawthorn had also been visited by disruptive thieves during the night, because the room into which they were led was a morass of belongings strewn over every surface.”

Family dynamics is a strong element in this story — how Robin and Edwin both interact with family amidst society. I can’t quite explain it, but this book feels suited to seasoned readers — those who know exactly what they’re looking for in a novel. Those who love genre fiction and romance, and unsuspecting characters thrust into an alternate world that they’re ill-prepared for. Personally, I found the opening of the novel quite slow and impenetrable, but admittedly it got better as it went on.

When Robin is attacked by thugs and finds himself cursed, he must work together with Edwin to end the curse and find the object these thugs are so desperate to uncover. Stylistically, Freya writes in third person but moves back and forth between Robin and Edwin’s POV. Freya’s writing is sharp and succinct — her description allows for emotional and depth, without being fluffy or over-the-top.

“Edwin settled himself back against the leather of the seat. It was real. The rattle of the window in its frame was real. Robert Blyth was not exactly imaginary — no, he was too solid, too broad-shouldered, his voice too loud and too warm: the voice of someone who’d never had cause to make himself smaller.”

Admittedly, I felt that the blend of magical realism and romance was not seamlessly executed. Moments of romantic tension seemed so far removed from the plot lines that the core mystery of the novel seemed forgotten. There’s a sequence of sex scenes in the middle of the novel that didn’t feel easily embedded — the rest of the novel centres entirely around the mystery element that I felt quite surprised to find sex scenes in the novel at all. Whilst they were sensual, and I’m sure they’ll be appreciated by some readers, I’m not sure they fit easily into this book where they are.

“Excitement crawled over Robin’s scalp. He didn’t think Courcey actually meant him any harm; the man was far too prickly. If he’d been trying for charm Robin might have been worried.”

Recommended for readers of fantasy romance, and perhaps magical realism. I wouldn’t recommend this book to reluctant readers. Readership skews female, 25+

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Marvellous Light
Freya Marske
November 2021
Pan Macmillan Publishers

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her long-time boyfriend announces that he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex-he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just begun to understand.

However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family, she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that they also have to fight for themselves.

Helen Hoang’s The Heart Principle is both a contemporary romance novel and commercial women’s fiction novel exploring identity, self-sacrifice and belonging. The second half of the novel painfully explores the role of family expectations and caregiving.

Protagonist and violinist Anna is struggling with her music — after experiencing viral fame, she feels her music is riddled with errors. She’s also struggling to connect with her family, and her sister’s continued disinterest and disregard for Anna’s feelings creates friction between them. Anna’s connection with Qual after an intended one night stand allows her to confront her insecurities and her hesitations (particularly relating to intimacy), and work to understand herself a little better.

“There’s a confidence and relaxed coordination in the way he moves that suggests he’s been in a few fights — and won them. Have I lost my mind that this is intensely appealing to me, that hint of danger?”

Helen’s strength lies in her narration and voice. Written in first person, Anna’s voice offers reflection at key moments. She’s wise and intelligent, and she’s considerate. Too considerate. She puts others before herself, and she doesn’t quite understand how unhappy she is — how she’s not living the life she wants.

For most of the novel, Anna battles with herself as she tries to overcome her music struggles and her family’s judgement of her. When Anna’s psychologist tells her that she’s likely autistic, it allows Anna the chance to understand who she really is, and how she can progress in her personal life and her career.

Many readers will understand that multi-faceted feeling of pressure — from family, partners, career, and society. Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, so it’s nice to feel reassured about who you are and where you are in life.

“Parts of me don’t look quite right anymore. That’s the simple truth and something that I feel I need to explain. There’s also the other thing, the thing that I haven’t told anyone yet, because it’s awkward and it sucks and sometimes it still makes me cry.”

Admittedly, the novel does a bit like a clash between priorities. Is this a romance first and foremost? The first half certainly feels like it, but the second half almost feels like a different story. I’m not saying it’s not enjoyable — I binged the book in one day — but it did feel a bit like a jolt as I made my way through the story. The progression of Anna and Quan’s romance certainly felt predictable, and the ending foreseeable.

Personally, I loved that Anna’s relationship with her sister was left unresolved at the end of the novel. It shows that not everything can be fixed or wrapped up in life, and that sometimes relationships can remain broken.

“His words catch me off guard, and I stare at him for a moment. I need to run, to escape, to crumple up tonight like a ruined sketch and start with a fresh sheet. And he’s telling me not to. Worse than that, he makes perfect sense. And he’s smiling again, taking my breath away and making me stupid.”

Heartwarming with a lot of soul and charm, The Heart Principle is recommended for fans of romance and commercial women’s fiction. I can see YA readers loving this as well. Readership skews female, 20+

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Heart Principle
Helen Hoang
September 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers