[44] Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
Fiction / Literary, heard about from Stephany, read on Kindle

Synopsis: It’s 2016 and the Cubs have finally (finally!) won the World Series! But the Sullivans, long-time fans, can’t fully celebrate. They’re still grieving the sudden death of Bud, the family patriarch, biggest Cubs fan, and life of their restaurant, JP Sullivan’s. Nothing feels right. And the world starts to feel even more wrong after the 2016 election. All of the family grandkids have personal crises that bring them back to the place they are most comfortable – JP Sullivan’s – and they work through their issues with the distraction of the restaurant life.

Review: I love family dramas, so this was for me! Especially since it was set in Chicagoland and I’m familiar with many of the areas discussed. The stereotypes of them really made me laugh. The book gets into family relationship drama, but really focuses on the personal life issues of each grandkid (mostly all adult age), and how they come back to the family restaurant to find themselves. This is definitely character driven, with lots of interesting details that kept me entertained!

Recommend? Yes, if you like character-driven family dramas

[45] The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
Fiction / Romance / Multicultural & Interracial, saw in “Available Now” on Libby, audiobook

Synopsis: Catalina told a lie to her family that she doesn’t see a way out of – that she has a date for her sister’s wedding in Spain. She’s actually not dating anyone! But she can’t show up alone – her ex that she had a horrible breakup with is the best man and her family already think she’ll be a spinster for life. But who will want to fly from NYC to Spain for a weekend with only a few week’s notice? When her nemesis coworker Aaron overhears her telling her best friend Rosie about the predicament, he offers to go. Catalina wants to say no, but is desperate, and as she spends more time with Aaron before they go, she finds out he isn’t as horrible as she thought.

Review: These premises, right? They make me laugh, but they’re so silly and fun. This book was cute, and also layered with actual issues (sexism in the workplace, losing family to cancer, family estrangement, false rumors, getting over emotional trauma), which I appreciate. I enjoyed this one!

Recommend? Yes

 [46] Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Fiction / Asian American, Green Light on The Popcast, read on Kindle

Synopsis: June lives in her friend Athena’s shadow, and the jealousy she feels eats away at her every day. Athena is everything June wants to be – a famous, well-known, and respected author. June knows that if she wasn’t white, and June wasn’t Chinese, their roles would totally be reversed. She knows it’s because the industry wants diversity. When they’re together and Athena dies from a freak accident, June steals her latest manuscript, touches it up, and publishes it as her own, and she finally has Athena’s life. It’s all fine and dandy for a minute, until people come after June for cultural appropriation, and for how suspiciously similar this book’s style is to her late friend Athena’s.

Review: This book is such a ride. It almost felt like a thriller to me. You’re just waiting for June to get caught. And you aren’t sure if you want her to because she is horrible, or if you feel so bad for how pathetic she is, that you want her to get away with it. This book dives deep into the insecurity and loneliness of authors, which I thought was very interesting. It’s also a timely commentary on social media hysteria, race, cancel culture, and so much more. I found a huge part of it to be a bit predictable, and was hoping there would be more of a twist, but it’s not actually a thriller, ha. It left me feeling icky, but thinking about a lot of things. So well done.

Recommend? Yes