Sloth Goes Places - Oregon

 

Sloth Goes Places is a feature where I share books I have tracked from previous Literary Escapes reading challenge hosted by Escape With Dollycas Into a Good Book.

Today we are looking at books set in ....

Oregon

Oregon, another western state I have never had the pleasure of visiting, but I read quite a few books set here every year. From all that I have heard, seen, and read, Oregon sounds like a lovely place to visit, as does all of the Pacific northwest to me. 

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The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on October 31, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

A beautiful story of friendship, and second chances at love.

Imogen Finch has just been through her seventeenth breakup. She saw it coming, so she's not as crushed as she might be, but with all seventeen of her exes leaving her for other partners, she's come to believe a prediction her well-intentioned and possibly clairvoyant mother made over twenty years ago: that Imogen would never come first at anything or to anyone. Is her love life failing due to a magical curse? Insufficient effort? Poor timing or personality mismatches? Everyone has opinions on the matter. Imogen's ready to give up altogether. But when Eliot Swift, her secret high school crush, returns to their small coastal town after a decade of nomadic travels, Imogen has new motivation to try again. Eliot's full of encouragement. He suggests that her curse is not only imagined, it's easily breakable. All they need is one win--any win--and she can believe in love, and in herself again.

From trivia games to swimming races to corn-shucking contests, the pair sets out to snag Imogen her first first. But when victory proves more elusive than Eliot anticipated, and when his deep-seeded wanderlust compels him to depart for far away places, Imogen fears she's destined to remain in second place forever. Fortunately for them both, sometimes magic lingers in the most unexpected places. And love is far from predictable.

I hope people will love Imogen as much as I did. She was so easy to root for, and I was deeply invested in her shaking this curse. Firkins delivered a warm and wonderful romance filled with humor, friendship, and quirky characters who won my heart. 

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Exactly Where You Need to Be by Amelia Diane Coombs
Published by Simon & Schuster BFYR on June 7, 2022
Age/Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Goodreads

Turtles All the Way Down meets Love and Luck in this “lively” ( Publishers Weekly ), romantic road trip story about a teen girl’s last chance to have an epic summer with her best friend before everything changes.

Florie’s OCD and her mother’s worrying have kept her from a lot of things, like having an after-school job and getting her driver’s license. And now that she’s graduated high school, while her best friend Kacey is headed off to Portland in the fall, Florie’s taking a parent-sanctioned gap year off before starting college. When the decision was made, Florie was on board, but now she can’t ignore the growing itch to become the person she wants to be and venture outside the quaint, boring Washington town she grew up in.

Winning tickets to see her favorite true crime podcast’s live show in California gives her the opportunity to do just that, if only for a few days. So—unbeknownst to their parents—Kacey and Florie set off on a road trip to San Francisco. The only downside in Florie’s opinion? Sam, Kacey’s older brother and Florie’s forever crush, is their ride. The Samson Hodge, who Florie hasn’t seen since winter break, and who she’d prefer to never see again, if possible. But Florie is willing to put up with Sam if it means one last adventure with her best friend.

Making it to San Francisco and back to Washington without their parents catching on isn’t a given, but one thing is for this trip will change everything.

I was so invested in Florie’s story, and I found myself bursting with pride many times. A road trip, fantastic friendship, and a sweet romance were the highlights for me, but I also enjoyed seeing Florie move beyond her fear and explore the world. Overall, a fun and fantastic story which was delightful and heartwarming.

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Some of It Was Real by Nan Fischer
Published by Berkley on July 26, 2022
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

A psychic on the verge of stardom who isn’t sure she believes in herself and a cynical journalist with one last chance at redemption are brought together by secrets from the past that also threaten to tear them apart.

Psychic-medium Sylvie Young starts every show with her origin story, telling the audience how she discovered her abilities. But she leaves out a lot—the plane crash that killed her parents, an estranged adoptive family who tend orchards in rainy Oregon, panic attacks, and the fact that her agent insists she research some clients to ensure success.

After a catastrophic reporting error, Thomas Holmes’s next story at the L.A. Times may be his last, but he’s got a great personal pitch. “Grief vampires” like Sylvie who prey upon the loved ones of the deceased have bankrupted his mother. He’s dead set on using his last-chance article to expose Sylvie as a conniving fraud and resurrect his career.

When Sylvie and Thomas collide, a game of cat and mouse ensues, but the secrets they’re keeping from each other are nothing compared to the mysteries and lies they unearth about Sylvie’s past. Searching for the truth might destroy them both—but it’s the only way to find out what’s real.

I loved the psychic-medium stuff, but even more compelling was the mystery of Sylvie’s past. It was so shocking. I think people will appreciate the arcs of both Sylvie and Thomas too. They were complicated, slightly broken people, and they worked through a lot of their personal demons as they sought the truth. Overall, this was an interesting and compelling story laced with romance, mystery, and mysticism.

Have you read any books set in Oregon?
Let us know in the comments!