Reading Recommendations: All About The Rom-Com
A new month means another batch of reading recommendations! This month’s theme is centered around Romantic Comedy stories that are swoon worthy and full of humor.
Love, Comment, Subscribe
Back in high school, Lily Wang wanted to be popular, but she considered herself lucky to be part of a tight group of oddballs and honors students called the Nerd Herd. Now, at twenty-eight, she feels like she’s finally on the cusp of succeeding as a beauty influencer—if she can hit five million subscribers, brands will take notice and she could get her own makeup line.
Fellow Nerd Herd alum Tobin Bui has had a lot of success as a YouTube gamer. But the road to online stardom has been rocky. First, he disappointed his parents by dropping out of college, and now, after years of pranks, skits, and playthroughs, he’s struggling to come up with new content to satisfy his ever-growing fan base. His agents say he needs cross-audience appeal, a new twist.
When Nerd Herd frenemy Lily approaches Tobin about teaming up to do a video to bolster her brand and reinvigorate his, he agrees. But when their first collab video goes viral, their relationship heats up too. With the whole internet watching, will these two former misfits finally realize they’re perfect together?
With a synopsis that had enemies-to-lovers, I knew I had to pick up Love, Comment, and Subscribe. I was very excited to read it! The novel follows two former best friends Lily Wang and Tobin Bui who both have their perspective YouTube channels and have lived separate lives since high school. Not only is the witty banter really cute but I really enjoyed the video collaborations they come up with. I like the commentary about content creation and all work that goes behind making these forms of media content. This is a novel where the characters show a lot of growth. It made me laugh out loud and smile at the humorous bits.
The Dating Prohibition
Now that Kendra’s returned home, she can’t help feeling like a kid again—back in her big brother’s shadow, trying to get her restaurant off the ground while his new venture is flying high right out the gate. It doesn’t help that everyone refuses to stop calling her Keke, the childhood nickname she loathes.
The only bright spot is her longtime crush BJ. He’s been her big brother’s best friend for most of her life, and he’s always been that cool, chill guy who was easy to talk to and made her laugh. Now he’s looking at her like she’s all grown up, and there’s nothing childish about the chemistry brewing between them. Even better, he takes her dreams seriously, and he’s ready to help her make her supper club a reality.
But then BJ extinguishes the sparks flying between them, insisting nothing romantic can ever happen because she’s “off limits.” As her investors fall through and her best chance at fulfilling her professional dreams points toward leaving home again for a fresh start, will BJ be ready for love before Kendra moves on? Or will he sweep her off her feet when she least expects it?
This romance novel is fast-paced and lighthearted in tone. I loved the play on words of the title and in the concept of the story itself; opening a prohibition-themed restaurant while pursuing a romance that is “off-limits”. It showcases the life of a restauranteur and all of the working pieces of how a restaurant comes to be. We see Kendra’s ambitious nature in crafting a unique dining experience, an appetizing menu, and trying to source the funds/location for her business. As for the romance, it’s very obvious except for our two main leads that they have long have feelings for each otherThere are definitely a number of spicy scenes within the novel, but its also balanced out with tender moments between the two.
Exes & Foes
Emma has been a thorn in Caleb’s side since middle school. Having tarnished their friendship in eighth grade, she’s now little more to him than an unkempt, unruly, disastrous bisexual mess. Over the years, she’s gotten in the way of every romantic relationship he’s attempted to settle into, using little more than mischievous charisma to lure them into her clutches.
To Emma, Caleb sets the record for World’s Largest Stick in the Mud. Uptight, unbearably tidy, and a rule-follower, he’s exactly the kind of boring person her mother wishes she was. When she discovers they’re both after Juliet, the new girl, Emma proposes a competition to nudge him out of the way. Whoever can get Juliet to kiss them first wins, and the opposition must bow out with the promise of never talking to her again.
But plans go awry when Juliet seems mostly interested in hanging out with both of them together. Emma and Caleb just have to figure out whether winning Juliet’s heart is worth the torment of constantly dealing with each other, and the risk of reopening wounds from a past they thought they had left behind.
The novel leans heavy into the romantic comedy elements which often lead to tension-filled but witty banter, misunderstandings, and wacky hijinks that give the book its light-hearted vibe. I enjoyed the dual point-of-views between the two leads that led me get a glimpse inside of their heads especially when they interact more since the latter part of the novel. I felt that the characters felt fleshed out and relatable even when it came to the friend group consisting of Juliet, Jas, and Alice that is presented in the story. Their friendship grounded the story when some of the cringe rom-com moments occur plus I feel like they added to the overall story feeling fleshed out. Most of all in this novel, I enjoyed the balanced focus of two friends reconnecting in love and the overarching theme of knowing your worth.
Not The Girl You Marry
Jack Nolan is a gentleman, a journalist, and unlucky in love. His viral success has pigeon-holed him as the how-to guy for a buzzy, internet media company instead of covering hard-hitting politics. Fed up with his fluffy articles and the app-based dating scene as well, he strikes a deal with his boss to write a final piece de resistance: How to Lose a Girl. Easier said than done when the girl he meets is Hannah Mayfield, and he’s not sure he wants her to dump him.
Hannah is an extremely successful event planner who’s focused on climbing the career ladder. Her firm is one of the most prestigious in the city, and she’s determined to secure her next promotion. But Hannah has a bit of an image problem. She needs to show her boss that she has range, including planning dreaded, romantic weddings. Enter Jack. He’s the perfect man to date for a couple weeks to prove to her boss that she’s not scared of feelings.
Before Jack and Hannah know it, their fake relationship starts to feel all too real—and neither of them can stand to lose each other.
I love romantic comedy books and I was excited to read about this book as soon as I heard the synopsis. While the novel is mostly lighthearted it also tackles issues such as careers, relationships, dating apps, and racial identity. Hannah has struggled with previous relationships because her exes try to put her in box or label her as exotic. Jack has been struggling with his career for some years and wants to be independent. I love these two together! The cheeky banter, humor, and they way they really connect with one another is so genuine. You can see that they truly care for one another and their feeling run deep. They make such a good couple and reading the hilarious antics of their dates made me enjoy the book even more.
The Worst Best Man
A wedding planner left at the altar. Yeah, the irony isn’t lost on Carolina Santos, either. But despite that embarrassing blip from her past, Lina’s managed to make other people’s dreams come true as a top-tier wedding coordinator in DC. After impressing an influential guest, she’s offered an opportunity that could change her life. There’s just one hitch… she has to collaborate with the best (make that worst) man from her own failed nuptials.
Tired of living in his older brother’s shadow, marketing expert Max Hartley is determined to make his mark with a coveted hotel client looking to expand its brand. Then he learns he’ll be working with his brother’s whip-smart, stunning—absolutely off-limits—ex-fiancée. And she loathes him.
If they can survive the next few weeks and nail their presentation without killing each other, they’ll both come out ahead. Except Max has been public enemy number one ever since he encouraged his brother to jilt the bride, and Lina’s ready to dish out a little payback of her own.
I love a good rom-com and this book was full of fun laughs, tender moments, wacky wedding antics, and chatty banter. I liked that even though there was a second chance kind of romance going on (even though Lina was engaged to Max’s brother) the novel focused on Lina’s character growth as well. She had a lot of past pain to work through and though a romance was blooming a lot of focus was her trying to find her path in life and her career. I enjoyed that even though there was some angst that this book was so lighthearted and funny. There were so many scenes that made me laugh out loud! My favorite parts besides the cute moments between Lina and Max, were the interactions with her family.
That concludes my reading recommendations for Rom-com reads! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!
You have me craving a rom com now!
Yay! 🙂