One Old, One New features two books – one old, one new, which are connected in some way. This week I am featuring two books by Lynn Painter. I fell in love with Painter’s stories via her debut, Better Than the Movies, and as she crossed over into adult books, her stories continued to delight me.
Published by Simon Pulse on November 15, 2022
Age/Genres: Romance, Time Loop, Young Adult
Goodreads
In this riotous young adult romp for fans of Recommended for You and A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, a teen girl has the worst Valentine’s Day ever—only to relive it over and over again.
After living through a dumpster fire of a Valentine’s Day, Emilie Hornby escapes to her grandmother’s house for some comfort and a consolation pint of Ben & Jerry’s. She passes out on the couch, but when she wakes up, she’s back home in her own bed—and it’s Valentine’s Day all over again. And the next day? Another nightmare V-Day.
Emilie is stuck in some sort of time loop nightmare that she can’t wake up from as she re-watches her boyfriend, Josh, cheat on her day after day. In addition to Josh’s recurring infidelity, Emilie can’t get away from the enigmatic Nick, who she keeps running into—sometimes literally—in unfortunate ways.
How many days can one girl passively watch her life go up in flames? And when something good starts to come out of these terrible days, what happens when the universe stops doling out do-overs?
I am always up for time loop book. I find myself eager to see how the author uses this construct, and I absolutely loved what Painter did. I think there are so many challenges to properly executing a Groundhog Day style story. The author has to balance the repetitive nature of reliving that particular time period with advancing the story, and I found myself delighted and a bit surprised with this do-over day.
The time loop was fun and filled with lots of hilarious moments, but The Day of No Consequences, aka The DONC, was a definite highlight. I think you can guess what sort of events dominated this do-over, but it was the deeper, more emotional moments of that day that made it standout for me. Painter did a beautiful job embedding these tender and heartfelt bits in this rather hilarious tale, and it was a special treat watching Emilie and Nick grow closer.
I just love Lynn Painter’s books so much! They never fail to make me laugh and smile while filling my heart with warmth and joy. It’s always fun to see what an author will do with a time-loop, and I will say, Painter surprised me with one of the choices she made. I had a great time with Emilie as she learned to find that balance between pleasing others and pleasing herself, planning and living in the moment, as well as being her true self and working through the pain of her past. It was a fun, sometimes wild, and always endearing journey.
*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
Published by Lynn Kirkle on September 6, 2022
Age/Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads
IT STARTED WITH A CUP…
Isabella Shay is usually a very honest person.
But when she’s running late for her first day at a dream job and the barista yells for “Amy” 3x with no answer, she does the unthinkable.
Izzy takes that PSL.
It’s the exact drink she ordered and paid for, only waaaay further ahead in the line, so she mutters “I’m Amy” and grabs the cup.
But when she turns around and runs directly into the most attractive man she’s ever seen, spilling the drink all over his GQ shirt and tie, she ends up having the ultimate meet-cute. Sparks fly and things feel beyond promising until he says the words, “See you tomorrow, Amy.”
Uh, oh – she’ll definitely have to straighten him out the following day.
Only when she gets to her new office and meets the VP of her department, it is none other than Blake Phillips - the hottie from Starbucks. And the man might’ve been charming to “Amy,” but he is an arrogant grump to Izzy, an arrogant grump who dos not find her explanation funny at all.
MEET CUTE + GRUMPY/SUNSHINE + FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS = ACCIDENTALLY AMY
It started with spilling someone else’s PSL and the universe continued to bring these two together time and time again.
The one thing I have grown to rely on Painter for is laughs, and this book was filled with many madcap and humorous moments. Isabella was pretty much the polar opposite of ultra serious Blake. I really enjoyed seeing her bring out his playful side.
One obstacle to this duo’s HEA was the fact that Izzy technically reported to Blake. Therefore, a good part of this story revolved around Blake and Izzy fighting their attraction to each other. During that time, they struck up a true friendship where they exchanged banter-filled texts and ate a LOT of pizza.
This was a quick paced story filled with many laugh out loud moments, and I had a great time reading it. The pizza, the antics, the cats all added to the fun. Overall, a light and breezy read that left me with a smile on my face.
No comments:
Post a Comment