The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You; I'm listening to Gareth Brown's debut fantasy novel, The Book of Doors; and I'm reading Laurie Frankel's newest novel, Family Family.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 Betting on You (Betting on You #1) by Lynn Painter
In Lynn Painter's rom-com Betting on You, seventeen-year-old Bailey and Charlie work together at a hotel waterpark.
They're polar opposites and acquaintances, and Charlie used to drive Bailey crazy.
But now that they're speculating about the private lives of the hotel guests, Bailey thinks Charlie is actually pretty fun, and she looks forward to her work shifts.
When Bailey and Charlie fake date in order to try to avoid the new relationship between Bailey's mom and her boyfriend, Bailey realizes she's got feelings for Charlie.
But the hotel couple's romantic future isn't the only one Charlie has placed a bet on. When Bailey finds out, will any potential relationship between Charlie and Bailey be doomed before it can even start?
Lynn Painter is also the author of a rom-com I adored, Better Than the Movies, as well as Happily Never After, Accidentally Amy, Mr. Wrong Number, and other books I haven't yet read.
02 The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
In Gareth Brown's debut fantasy novel The Book of Doors, Cassie Andrews works in a New York City bookshop and lives a quiet life, content with her best-friend roommate Izzy and the book-loving characters she meets at work.
One of these customers is a kind older man she's become dear friends with. When he dies suddenly in the shop, Cassie is bereft. But along with his copy of The Count of Monte Cristo is a smaller, unusual book. Inside, incredibly, is an inscription...made out to her. And inside the enigmatic pages are the words Any door is every door.
Strange things begin happening to Cassie and Izzy when Cassie takes possession of the book, and soon a rumpled Scottish man, Drummond Fox, appears, with knowledge of The Book of Doors and other Special Books. But Fox isn't the only one who's set out to find Cassie and her book. He just may be the only one without nefarious intentions.
I'm listening to The Book of Doors as an audiobook.
03 Family Family by Laurie Frankel
“Not all stories of adoption are stories of pain and regret. Not even most of them. Why don’t we ever get that movie?”
India Allwood always knew she wanted to act. Each decision she made as a young person was done to try to shape her future as an actor.
Now a grown-up, successful actor, she's supposed to be doing the publicity for her new movie, which exploits the heartbreak of giving a baby up for adoption. India generally keeps her strong opinions to herself (or shares them with her two kids or trusted agent), but she thinks the movie is no good--and that adoption is often not a tragic story. She is, herself, an adoptive mother who believes in the process--and she has a complicated past that adds layers to her feelings about the matter.
When she shares her honest thoughts, a storm of publicity explodes around her. Her precocious ten-year-old kids secretly reach out to family for help--but even India doesn't realize the ripple effect of the contact her beloved children are making.
Laurie Frankel is also the author of This Is How It Always Is, One Two Three, The Atlas of Love, and Goodbye for Now.