Miranda’s Book Nook is back, once again, with a slate of some of the new books that I’ve been completely obsessing over these summer months. So, keep scrolling for my fave book picks from June, July and August, and as always, happy reading!
Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Rating: Four Stars
Available: Now
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
When in Rome girlies, this one is for you! Sarah Adams is back with her second book in her Rome, Kentucky, “series” and it is BEYOND. Practice Makes Perfect follows Noah’s baby sister, Annie Walker, as she is tutored on all things romance by Amelia’s bad boy bodyguard, Will.
Annie, an innocent virgin who runs her own flower shop in Rome, has been embarrassingly pining for future sister-in-law Amelia’s capital H-O-T bodyguard while searching for her own HEA love story like her long-deceased parents. To help her get past her long-held anxieties about dating and put herself out there, Amelia enlists Will to serve as Annie’s relationship tutor. Will, a commitment-phobic military veteran, grapples with his own feelings for Annie while using his womanizing experience on a series of practice dates and practice kisses together.
Told in dual perspectives, Practice Makes Perfect is a sweet fake dating, opposites-attract, mutual pining contemporary romance full of cute language that immediately drew me in. The small town setting gives off strong Gilmore Girls‘ Stars Hollow vibes and I’m here for it. This novel, chock full of banter galore, offers even more insight into the Walkers and Rome than When in Rome. A perfect companion to When in Rome, and I already can’t wait for Adams’ next book in the franchise.
Rating: Four Stars
Available: Now
The Last Word by Katy Birchall
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Available: Now
The Boyfriend Candidate by Ashley Winstead
Rating: Four Stars
Available: Now
Picture-Perfect Boyfriend by Becky Dean
Becky Dean’s debut novel, Love & Other Great Expectations, was such an unexpected gem of a YA novel and so, I was beyond excited to read her next book. Picture-Perfect Boyfriend is a standalone YA, fake-dating romance with a dash of mystery (re: our love interest’s true identity and motives).
In Picture-Perfect Boyfriend, Kenzie is an aspiring nature photographer who grapples with her family’s disappointment in her less-than-traditional future plans. To change their perception of her, she decides to become the picture-perfect daughter and even concocts a fake relationship with an equally perfect (albeit fake) long-distance boyfriend. So, imagine when her BF “Jacob” shows up on their family vacation to Hawaii! Rather than come clean about her lies, Kenzie goes along with Jacob’s assertion that he’s really her boyfriend to hide his equally deceitful agenda.
It’s very fun, cute and, dare I say, a little quirky, which made me fall even more in love with this one. Dean uses such compelling, first-person language that pulls me in and makes me not want to put down this read. While I’ve found several authors have, like, a “sophomore slump” with their second books, Dean disproves that tenfold because I enjoyed Picture-Perfect Boyfriend basically the same as Love & Other Great Expectations and that’s a win! Love it.
Rating: Four Stars
Available: Now
Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey
While Unfortunately Yours is a companion novel to author Tessa Bailey‘s Secretly Yours (and starring Julian’s sister Natalie), I personally preferred this tenfold. Unfortunately Yours combines marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes, which is told in such compelling and intriguing language.
Here, Natalie Vos is a down-on-her-luck Napa Valley heiress after she returns home to lick her wounds after her Manhattan fiancé dumps her and she loses her high-profile Wall Street job. She’s desperate to get access to her trust fund to start her own investment firm and prove herself. The catch? It is only accessible if she’s employed and married. She soon enlists August Cates (which, hello Hot Boy Name alert) to be her quickie groom despite being irritated by him and his gross wine. August, for his part, opened a winery in honor of his late BFF but he can’t get his vintage to, you know, taste good. August’s vineyard is on the verge of closing and Natalie’s name could help him secure a loan that could keep things afloat. It’s not just a business arrangement for August though, he’s been secretly fantasizing about Natalie for months before she springs her sham marriage idea on him.
I absolutely loved their spiteful banter, which made me unwilling to put this book down. Fair warning, things do get spicyyyyy, like, A LOT. Plus, that ending and HEA was so flipping cute and made me so happy.
Content Warning: Grief, PTSD
Rating: Four Stars
Available: Now
Wanderlust by Elle Everhart
I had no preconceived notions of this book other than it’s a vacation romance, it’s opposites attract, forced proximity and it’s second chance, and boy did I enjoy this one. Like, dang, it’s so much fun and was so cute that I literally devoured this ARC while (fittingly) sitting on a plane.
Here, Dylan Coughlan is a magazine writer based in London who, on a whim, dials into a radio contest and wins a trip around the world. The catch? Her travel companion is a contact in her phone selected at random. Dylan is stunned that the contact roulette game selects “Jack the Posho,” who was a hottie she met on a night out months and never texted after exchanging numbers. Jack throws caution to the wind and agrees to travel with her, potentially setting off a sweet second-chance romance, if only he wasn’t so short and gruff every time they interacted. Dylan is also tasked with writing about the journey for work, which could lead to her own column if it does well. While her boss is keen on a loved-up, steamy story, Jack doesn’t want anything to do with the article. Is Dylan willing to embellish the truth of their definitely not romantic trip for the sake of her career, which had stalled after being doxxed over her now-viral opinion piece about abortions?
Wanderlust features so much compelling language and banter in spades, plus Elle Everhart’s characters are so dynamic and authentic. I truly did not want to put this one down, I dug it.
As a journalist who’s been bashed for writing the literal truth (insert eye roll here), protagonist Dylan’s perspective really resonated with me especially with that isolating feeling that comes with it and not wanting to burden anyone with your problems. Like, these people who hide behind their anonymous profiles truly suck. And like, yes, we can block them and act strong but it’s tough as hell to process. It hurts so bad and no one should have to deal with that. I admire Everhart for including this as a poignant message of what to/not to do.
Wanderlust, all in all, was very, very, very cute and fun, and like, Jack is such a melt but in the best way and I’d totally get the ick IRL but on the page, it’s just super sweet and endearing. I just wish I could start from scratch and read for the first time all over again.
Rating: Four and a Half Stars Five Stars (Hey, I literally re-read this ARC twice and it’s still just as good!)
Available: Now
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
Obviously, I’ve heard of The Wall of Winnipeg and Me through the Internet because I don’t live under a rock but for some reason, I never picked it up before now. Well, that was a big mistake on my part. This novel has got a marriage of convenience, a slow-burn love story, forced proximity, banter, a sports romance and even an only-one-bed moment. Like, what isn’t there to love?
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me, named after the love interest’s pro football nickname, follows Vanessa when she quits her years-long job as the personal assistant to famed defensive end Aiden. While she is ready to move on professionally, she’s shocked when Aiden knocks on her door with a proposition: Marriage in exchange for a green card. Vanessa agrees once he proclaims that he will pay off her student loans (hard to argue with that logic, no judgment!). Plus, now Aiden is *actually* showing emotions and like swoony ones??
Told from MC Vanessa’s POV, author Mariana Zapata writes with such compelling language that pulls me in. It reads quite quickly because I was so curious to find out what would happen next. This new version does include some post-HEA content that makes an absolutely adorable epilogue.
Rating: Three Stars
Available: Now
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
I am so beyond hyped about this book, you don’t know the half of it. Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series was my favorite franchise growing up (and my signed copy is still one of my prized possessions), so I couldn’t believe that she was making her adult romance debut with another female-lead spy novel. I literally started tearing up when I downloaded my ARC and again when I read the GG-centered dedication.
The Blonde Identity starts with our unnamed heroine, who has woken up in Paris with amnesia to find a strange (yet very attractive, of course) man standing over her and instructing her to run from dangerous villains after her identical twin sister, who actually is a rogue spy. They then embark on a road trip of sorts to stay safe and clear her sister’s name. Mr. Hot Spy (whose name is eventually revealed, as is hers) reluctantly agrees to help her find safety. They even need to pretend to be newlyweds on a European honeymoon to stay undetected. Love a good fake dating and travel romance!
The Blonde Identity, told in dual point-of-views of “Him” and “Her” because amnesiac, is such a compelling mystery that had drawn me into the story that was written with such intriguing language. It’s really fun, like you are trying to piece together the main character’s pre-amnesia memories along with her. It’s so witty, clever and funny, like, I really love it. This novel is just so much fun to follow along with her and Mr. Hot Spy (a grump, naturally) as they trek around Europe on a secret mission to find her twin sister and stay alive. As a romance, The Blonde Identity had EVERYTHING from banter (in spades!), enemies to lovers (well, more annoyance to lovers), forced proximity, only-one-bed trope, fake dating (and pretend marriage/honeymoon) and such an endearing love story.
All in all, this one is totally unputdownable and an absolute must-read for any fellow Gallagher Girls fangirls. Plus, there’s a subtle joke about “spy school” which had me reminiscing about the Gallagher Academy and Blackthorne (IYKYK).
The Blonde Identity is so witty and funny yet authentic, making it a compelling read. Also, holy f*kkkkkk, there are two major plot twists that even I (who has become a pro at predicting tropes) didn’t see coming. That unpredictability makes this book an instant winner. And that HEA! Oh my, it is EVERYTHING, like I literally got butterflies which means it’s a literal swoon-worthy romance, and I sincerely hope a spinoff/sequel is in the work after that cliffhanger because I just need more to read. F**k it, I’ll give this one five stars, it’s just SO flipping good.
Rating: Five Stars
Available: August 8, 2023
Silicon Hearts by Robin Miyashita
Silicon Hearts is like The Bold Type but for the tech world/Silicon Valley, and I’m here for it. Sure, there’s a dash of romance in this New Adult novel but it’s more about discovering your found family and pursuing your dreams than anything.
The novel follows Camila, a 21-year-old inspiring tech whiz, as she gets hired as one of five pages at Beeker Industries’ postgrad program. Beeker is one of the biggest tech firms in the world, and it’s Camila’s dream to work there (At the end of the page program, she’s eligible to receive a full-time job at the company). Camila, a small-town girl, is instantly overwhelmed by life in the big city and her four roommates: Avery, Sofia, James and Marcus.
This fish-out-of-water tale is fun, cute and so dang engaging. I just wanted to savor this one — until the very last page.
Rating: Four Stars
Available: August 8, 2023
Rent to Be by Sonia Hartl
Available: August 15, 2023
Advance reader copies of the books listed were provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.