When I stumbled upon Beach Read in the technical services department at the library where I work, I immediately added it to my TBR list. Everything about this book screamed fun romance, from the cover art to the back cover description.

The first act of the book fulfilled my expectations - two rival authors happen to live next door to one another at the beach one summer and love brews. They make a bet to write outside their comfort zones. Hunky, emotionally complicated Augustus Everett's last literary fiction novel is still on the New York Times best seller list one year after publication. Meanwhile, our witty, hopeless romantic protagonist January Andrews churns out romance after romance that tie up nicely with a happily ever after. Having known each other since college (and not-so-secretly crushing hard then and now), January and Augustus challenge each other to write a full-fledged manuscript in the other's genre by the end of summer. Whoever's book gets published first will get a glowing review from the loser.

But after the first act, Beach Read doesn't follow your stereotypical beach read's plot. Our protagonist, whose father died unexpectedly, goes through all the stages of grief throughout the book. She stays angry for a long time, due to the new knowledge that her father lived a secret second life. The house she is living in was actually his hookup spot with his mistress. January even runs into said mistress on multiple occasions during her summer. Writing a not-so-happy book is cathartic for her, as is falling head over heels in love with her neighbor, who has his own troubles to work out on his own.

While the ending was predictable, the journey along the way was unexpected. If you're looking for a beach read, Beach Read may not be the book for you. But if you're looking for a romance with substance and characters with complications, it may be the perfect escape. You can borrow Beach Read from your local library or purchase it from your local bookstore or order it on Amazon here.

Three stars.

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After reading The Unhoneymooners, I knew I wanted another laugh when I’d go to Arkansas for a mountain and lake respite. Per usual, I packed entirely too many clothes I could possibly wear while hiking and social distancing and, of course, too many books I could possibly read in one week. I was sure to check out The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman for some humor, but I thought I’d finish it quickly and would need more reading materials.

I went overboard. Beside downloading an Agatha Christie short story and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in audiobook format for the drive, I stowed away an entire bag of other books from the library: three Wonder Woman comics, Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty and two biographies for Grant (the Pulitzer Prize-winning Frederick Douglass biography by David W. Blight and the humorous George Washington biography You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe). I also threw in a historical fiction novel I received for Christmas that I have yet to get around to, and upon further inspection, I realized Grant snuck in Casino Royale and Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew.

Needless to say, between our outdoor adventures in the Natural State, we hardly made a dent in our TBR stack.

In the hot afternoons, I settled in with The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. This family dramedy was the perfect light read and escape from other people and life back home!

I believe Nina Hill would be one of the few of us who actually enjoy social distancing. She works at a small bookstore and loves to spend her free time doing nothing else but reading books alone, sitting by her cat Phil. She occasionally forces herself to socialize by competing with her trivia team in local watering holes, but is now and then overwhelmed with anxiety.

Her secluded life comes to an abrupt halt when she is contacted by her unknown dead father’s attorney. He informs Nina she is listed in the multi-millionaire’s will.

Now Nina is not only forced to have awkward conversations with her new siblings (ranging in age from 10 to 59), but she also must save the bookstore that’s six months behind on rent and pursue a romantic relationship with the dreamy guy on the rival trivia team!

The shining moments of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill are those in which the author allows our title character to explore her emotions. Nina and a few of her new-found family members suffer from anxiety. Abbi Waxman perfectly explains what anxiety feels like and how it affects our title character’s life. Waxman doesn’t sugarcoat or romanticize the mental illness, like many authors are prone to do. She also doesn’t let the disorder define Nina. As someone who battles anxiety, I related to Nina the most in these moments. I love that Nina is a well-rounded character with many attributes, one of which is anxiety disorder. Anxiety doesn’t define Nina, but it does affect certain situations she finds herself in.

Nina explores new emotions when building relationships and discovering similarities between her new siblings. The loveliest scenes are between Nina and her youngest sister Millie. Nina hesitantly, but gladly, accepts her role as big sister and mentors the little girl Nina sees so much of herself in.

A fun read, the only times I found myself mildly bored was with the romantic storyline between Nina and Tom, the rival trivia team’s sports wiz. At times, their relationship lacked chemistry and I found the overall storyline to be forced.

Nevertheless, the book is charming and at times funny and sentimental. The family drama, Nina’s awkward, bookish quirks and the way Waxman delivers anxiety are worth the read. If you’re like Nina and don’t exactly want to be around other people right now, definitely check this one out at your local library or purchase it from your local bookstore or order it on Amazon here.

Three stars.

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After reading a few beautiful, heavy, thought-provoking and at sometimes, dark, books in a row, I knew I needed a palette cleanser. 

When I chose The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, I thought I would get a few laughs, relax for a bit before bed and mentally prepare myself for my next high-brow "literature" read (I know, I know, I'm a snob.). 

But what I received in these pages was a delightfully fun, hilarious romp on the beach. I allowed myself to be more than just distracted by this book. I purely enjoyed this book. Reading The Unhoneymooners gave me the same sensation of eating a popsicle on a summer day with the sugary syrup dripping down my thumb.

Hot. Sweet. Carefree.

Every time I came to a stopping point (which was difficult because I wanted to binge read the entire 400 pages in one sitting), I said to myself out loud, "This is FUN!"

Writing duo Christina Lauren sets up The Unhoneymooners like any great rom-com movie. When everyone gets food poisoning at Ami and Dane's wedding, the bride and groom send their respective sister and brother on their honeymoon to Maui in their stead. The only catch is that Ami's perpetually unlucky twin sister Olive and Dane's hunky brother Ethan are sworn enemies. They vow to one another to enjoy separate vacations... in the same hotel room.

What could go wrong? OR TERRIBLY RIGHT?!

The Unhoneymooners is Fun, with a capital F. There's witty banter stuffed with sexual tension you could cut with a knife. There's hilarious misunderstandings and little white lies. There's beautiful sunsets and paintball adventures and true love!

Is the book predictable? Of course. But if you needed a mental break like I did, do yourself a favor and check this one out.

Five FUN stars.

You can check out The Unhoneymooners at your local library, or purchase it from your local bookstore or on Amazon here.

Want more books? 
Follow me on Instagram at @daniellekelleytolbird and on Goodreads here.