I feel like a lot of other bloggers/vloggers have been branching out into adult contemporary romances lately, and it is definitely something that I’ve been doing as well. I don’t know if it’s because I started to pay more attention to the genre myself, or if there’s really been more of these books lately, but I feel like there’s been a huge surge in popularity for romances. The first authors that generally come to mind are Christina Lauren, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang, but I’m sure there are a lot more! As I mentioned in my YA romance post last week, I wouldn’t specifically consider romance a favourite genre, but I do tend to enjoy romance storylines in most cases, as long as they are well done. My TBR list has definitely grown exponentially in terms of the number of adult contemporary romances, and while I still think I need to be in the right mood to pick many of them up, there are a ton of them that just seem like they will be so much fun. Like with YA romances, I tend to get bored easily unless the book has some kind of unique angle to hook me into the story, but there seems to be a lot more variety in the ones that I’ve been finding recently.
Top 5 Wednesday is a meme created by Gingerreadslainey on Youtube, and is now hosted by Sam at ThoughtsOnTomes. The official GoodReads group with the weekly topics can be found here.
1) Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
I feel like I’ve been seeing this book everywhere lately, and I’m very interested in reading it! It is about a woman named Evie who is at risk of losing her job at a film agency unless she can convince their biggest client, Ezra, to finish writing the script for a romantic comedy. Ezra is struggling with writer’s block and is only willing to keep writing if Evie can prove to him that people really can fall in love the way they do in movies, causing Evie to set up real-life versions of meet-cute scenes from famous movies to persuade him. In a way, I almost feel like this would work better as a movie itself, but it sounds so cute and fun! There seem to be a ton of books lately that involve people involved in film in some way, either as aspiring filmmakers themselves or working behind-the-scenes somehow. I’ve heard such great things about this book so far, and it sounds like something I might really enjoy. Unfortunately, it is not currently in my plans for this year, but I may need to rearrange things a bit and find a place for it!
2) The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel
Hate-to-love has become one of my favourite romance tropes, as long as it is done well. I think I can mostly blame Pride & Prejudice for that. This book is about a woman named Liya who realizes that her parents’ latest dinner party was a setup to introduce her to the man they want her to marry. She quickly leaves the party, but soon meets this man again a week later, when he shows up at her office as the new lawyer hired to save her company. This man, Jay, is arrogant and infuriating to her, but as their banter starts to turn into late-night conversations, Liya starts to change her mind about him. I’ve been looking for more books that have an office setting, and I think an office romance could be very cute. The plot itself sounds a bit on the generic side compared to other romances I’ve read, but if it is done well, it can be really good! This is also the author’s debut book, so I’m curious to see whether I like her writing.
3) Not That Kind of Guy by Andie J. Christopher
I didn’t even realize I’d put two office romances on this list, but I guess it was something I was really looking for. This one is about an attorney named Bridget who has been slow to start dating again after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend. When she suddenly needs a date to her brother’s upcoming wedding, she sets her sights on the intern who is almost done with his program. The intern, Matt, has also been interested in her, but held off because of her role as his boss. Once their professional relationship is over, Matt asks her on a date which leads them on an impulsive trip to Las Vegas. I think I had this book confused with Not the Girl You Marry, which turns out to be by the same author! I think this is one of those romance “series” where the books are technically standalones, but are set in the same world and have overlapping characters. Of the two, I think I’m a little more interested in Not the Girl You Marry, and it seems like that one chronologically comes first anyway so I will likely start there when I decide to give these books a chance, but it sounds like something I might like.
4) Beach Read by Emily Henry
I have all of Emily Henry’s books on my TBR, despite never reading anything she’s written, although I’m planning to read one of her books before the end of this month! This book is her most recent release, due out in May, and it really sounds like something I would love. It is about two bestselling authors, Augustus and January who are living in neighbouring beach houses for the summer, and both are struggling with writer’s block. Augustus only writes literary fiction, and January is a bestselling romance author. Deciding that it will help force them out of their comfort zones, the two of them make a deal to try writing a book in each other’s genre, and spend the summer helping each other do research for their books. All of Emily Henry’s books sound great to me, but I think this is the one that I’d be most excited to try. I will be starting with The Love The Split the World since I’ve owned it for a while and have been meaning to pick it up for years, but I’d love to find a way to fit this one into my plans for the year too.
5) The Switch by Beth O’Leary
The Flatshare is next on my list to read after I finish my current book, and I’m really looking forward to it! I was very excited to see another upcoming release by this author due out so soon, at least assuming I like the first one. This book is about an overachiever named Leena who is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical from work after messing up on a huge project at work, and decides to stay with her newly single grandmother, Eileen, who is looking for a second chance at love. Leena decides to offer a two-month swap, so Eileen can stay in her home in London to look for a new partner, and Leena can relax at Eileen’s house in her tiny village. Switching places proves to be more difficult than either of them expected, and they both soon realize that love may be found in unexpected places. To be honest, I’m always a bit on the fence about books that focus on characters who are in Eileen’s age range, for some reason, but this story sounds very cute. It doesn’t quite appeal to me as much as The Flatshare, but I think if I like the author’s writing, I’ll hopefully enjoy this one too.
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