reading 📓

A Pho Love Story

Loan Le · 2021

“Will leave readers swooning.” —PopSugar<br/><br/>When Dimple Met Rishi meets Ugly Delicious in this funny, smart romantic comedy, in which two Vietnamese American teens fall in love and must navigate their newfound relationship amid their families’ age-old feud about their competing, neighboring restaurants.<br/><br/>If Bao Nguyen had to describe himself, he’d say he was a rock. Steady and strong, but not particularly interesting. His grades are average, his social status unremarkable. He works at his parents’ pho restaurant, and even there, he is his parents’ fifth favorite employee. Not ideal.<br/><br/>If Linh Mai had to describe herself, she’d say she was a firecracker. Stable when unlit, but full of potential for joy and fire. She loves art and dreams pursuing a career in it. The only problem? Her parents rely on her in ways they’re not willing to admit, including working practically full-time at her family’s pho restaurant.<br/><br/>For years, the Mais and the Nguyens have been at odds, having owned competing, neighboring pho restaurants. Bao and Linh, who’ve avoided each other for most of their lives, both suspect that the feud stems from feelings much deeper than friendly competition.<br/><br/>But then a chance encounter brings Linh and Bao in the same vicinity despite their best efforts and sparks fly, leading them both to wonder what took so long for them to connect. But then, of course, they immediately remember.<br/><br/>Can Linh and Bao find love in the midst of feuding families and complicated histories?

Today Tonight Tomorrow

Rachel Lynn Solomon · 2021

“Brilliant, hilarious, and oh-so-romantic.” —BuzzFeed<br/>“Swoony, steamy.” —Entertainment Weekly<br/><br/>The Hating Game meets Booksmart by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.<br/><br/>Today, she hates him.<br/><br/>It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.<br/><br/>Tonight, she puts up with him.<br/><br/>When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.<br/><br/>As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.<br/><br/>Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.

The Wedding People

Alison Espach · 2024

<p><b>A <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i> BESTSELLER</b><br><b>A <i>Today</i> Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick</b><br><br><b>A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew. </b><br><br>It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.<br><br> In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s<i> The Wedding People</i> is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.</p>

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Coco Mellors · 2024

The smash Sunday Times bestseller and Goodreads Choice Award finalist--perfect for readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends. An addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage. Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could've predicted. Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo's marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last. As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.

Intermezzo

Sally Rooney

An exquisitely moving story about grief, love, and family, from the global phenomenon Sally Rooney.<br/><br/>Aside from the fact that they are brothers, Peter and Ivan Koubek seem to have little in common.<br/><br/>Peter is a Dublin lawyer in his thirties—successful, competent, and apparently unassailable. But in the wake of their father’s death, he’s medicating himself to sleep and struggling to manage his relationships with two very different women—his enduring first love, Sylvia, and Naomi, a college student for whom life is one long joke.<br/><br/>Ivan is a twenty-two-year-old competitive chess player. He has always seen himself as socially awkward, a loner, the antithesis of his glib elder brother. Now, in the early weeks of his bereavement, Ivan meets Margaret, an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past, and their lives become rapidly and intensely intertwined.<br/><br/>For two grieving brothers and the people they love, this is a new interlude—a period of desire, despair, and possibility; a chance to find out how much one life might hold inside itself without breaking.

The Book of Lost Names

Kristin Harmel · 2021

A historical fiction novel that intertwines a love story with the backdrop of World War II, featuring a strong female protagonist.

The Garden of Angels

David Hewson · 2021

A poignant tale of love and loss, set in a cafe where the protagonist reflects on her past and the choices she made.

At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities: A Novel

Heather Webber · 2023

A heartwarming tale of love and friendship that unfolds in a cozy coffee shop, exploring the lives of its regular patrons.

It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over

Anne de Marcken · 2024

Co-winner of the 2022 Novel Prize, this incredible life-after-death novel asks us to consider how much of our memory, of our bodies, of the world as we know it ― how much of what we love can we lose before we are lost? And then what happens? The heroine of the spare and haunting It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over is voraciously alive in the afterlife. Adrift yet keenly aware, she notes every bizarre detail of her new reality. And even if she has forgotten her name and much of what connects her to her humanity, she remembers with an implacable, and nearly unbearable longing, the place where she knew herself and was known (and loved), and she is determined to get back there at any cost. Our dead heroine travels across the landscapes of time and of space (heading always west and carrying a dead but laconically opinionated crow in her chest), en-countering and losing parts of her body and her self in one terrifying, hilarious, and heartbreaking situation after another. A bracing writer of great nerve and verve, Anne de Marcken bends reality (and the reader’s mind) with throwaway assurance. It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over plumbs mortality and how it changes everything, except possibly love. Delivering a near-Beckettian whopping to the reader’s imagination, this is one of the sharpest and funniest novels of recent years, a tale for our dispossessed times.

Call It What You Want

Alissa DeRogatis · 2023

Call It What You Want is a nostalgic ode to all ‘almost love’ stories— the ones with no label, no title but an undeniable intensity. Call it what you want, was it love?<br/><br/>Sloane Hart is a hopeless romantic who always believed her great love story was out there, until her parents’ divorce shattered that dream. She swears off dating and is determined to graduate college, become a writer and move to New York City. Until she meets Ethan. Ethan Brady is guarded and mysterious, unwilling to talk about his past or let anyone get too close.<br/><br/>As they start dating without labels, they both know it can’t last forever. Sloane imagines a future with Ethan but he can’t give her the commitment she needs. Will she be able to convince Ethan to take a chance on it? Or will she have to learn the hard way that some things just aren’t meant to be?<br/><br/>Sloane and Ethan’s story is a bittersweet tale of love and self-discovery that explores the complexities of relationships and the challenges of moving on.

The Traveling Cat Chronicles

Arikawa Hiro · 2019

Aku Adalah Seekor Kucing. Dia Adalah Seorang Pemuda Penyuka Kucing. “kau Selalu Tidur Di Sini?” Kenapa Mau Protes? “manisnya ....” Memang. Banyak Yang Bilang Begitu. “boleh Ku Sentuh ?” Maaf Saja, Tidak Boleh. Kukira Dia Hanya Akan Jadi Satu Dari Sekian Banyak Orang Yang Cuma Lewat Dalam Kehidupanku Sebagai Kucing Liar. Akan Tetapi, Dia Menyelamatkan Nyawaku. Sebagai Gantinya, Aku Biarkan Dia Memeliharaku, Karena Aku Ini Kucing Yang Manis. Setelah Lima Tahun Kami Bersama, Satoru Harus Mencari Orang Untuk Mengadopsiku Karena Satu Dan Lain Hal. Maka, Kami Berdua Pun Memulai Sebuah Perjalanan Panjang Mengendarai Mobil Wagon Perak Kesukaanku Ke Berbagai Penjuru Negeri Untuk Menemui Teman-teman Lama Satoru. Akan Tetapi, Ada Satu Hal Yang Satoru Sembunyikan Dariku... The Traveling Cat Chronicles Adalah Salah Satu Novel Karya Arikawa Hiro Dengan Tema Dan Alur Cerita Tidak Biasa Dan Berhasil Diterjemahkan Dan Terkenal Di Berbagai Negara Selain Jepang. Novel Ini Mengisahkan Persahabatan Antara Seekor Kucing Bernama Nana Dan Pemiliknya Bernama Satoru. Lewat Narasi Yang Diceritakan Melalui Sudut Pandang Seekor Kucing, Ikuti Petualangan Satoru Dan Nana Berkeliling Jepang! Informasi Lain: Judul: The Traveling Cat Chronicles Penulis: Arikawa Hiro Jumlah Halaman: 364 Format: Soft Cover Bahasa: Indonesia Tanggal Terbit: 17 Mei 2019 Penerbit: Haru Berat: 0.27 Kg Dimensi: 19 X 13 Cm Isbn: 9786025385858

Tales from the Cafe: A Novel (Before the Coffee Gets Cold Series Book 2)

Toshikazu Kawaguchi · 2021

From The Author Of The International Bestseller Before The Coffee Gets Cold, This Book Follows Four New Customers Who Hope To Travel Back In Time In A Little Japanese Café. In A Back Alley In Tokyo, There Is A Café That Has Been Serving Carefully Brewed Coffee For More Than One Hundred Years. Local Legend Says That This Shop Offers Something Else Besides Coffee—the Chance To Travel Back In Time. With Faces Both Familiar And New, Tales From The Cafe Follows The Story Of Four Patrons Who Visit To Take Advantage Of Café Funiculi Funicula's Time-traveling Offer And Revisit Moments With Family, Friends And Lovers. Each One Must Face Up To The Past To Move On With Their Lives. Kawaguchi's Wistful And Heartwarming New Novel Once Again Invites The Reader To Ask Themselves, What Would You Do If You Could Travel Back In Time?

I Hope This Doesn't Find You

Ann Liang · 2024

Blue Sisters: A Novel

Coco Mellors · 2024

Three estranged siblings return to their family home in New York after their beloved sister’s death in this unforgettable story of grief, hope, and the complexities of family, from the acclaimed author of Cleopatra and Frankenstein.<br/><br/>“Sparkling with wit, shot through with longing, Blue Sisters is a beautiful novel, both dazzlingly joyful and achingly sad.”—Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street<br/><br/>The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left the family reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.<br/><br/>But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize that the greatest secrets they’ve been keeping might not have been from one another but from themselves.<br/><br/>Imbued with Coco Mellors’s signature combination of humor and heart, Blue Sisters is a story of what it takes to keep living after loss—and, ultimately, to fall in love with life again.

Nothing Like the Movies

Lynn Painter · 2024

#1 New York Times Bestseller In this highly anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestselling Better Than the Movies, Wes and Liz struggle to balance their feelings for each other with the growing pains of being a college student in a “worthy second-chance romance” (Kirkus Reviews). For a few beautiful months, Wes had his dream girl: strong-willed girl-next-door Liz. But right as the two were about to set off to UCLA to start their freshman year together, tragedy struck. Wes was left dealing with the fallout, which ultimately meant losing Liz in the process. Flash forward months and months later and Wes and Liz find themselves in college, together. In a healthier place now, Wes knows he broke Liz’s heart when he ended things, but he is determined to make her fall back in love with him. Wes knows Liz better than anyone, and he has a foolproof plan to win her back with the rom-com worthy big gestures she loves. Only…Liz will have none of it. Wes has to scheme like a rom-com hero to figure out how to see her. Even worse, Liz has a new friend…a guy friend. Still, Wes won’t give up, adapting his clever plans and going hard to get Liz’s attention and win back her affection. But after his best efforts get him nowhere, Wes is left wondering if their relationship is really over for good.