Technically, You Started It by Lana Wood Johnson
Published By: Scholastic Press
Pub Date: June 25, 2019
Pages: 384
Format: hardcover | Source: purchased
Genres: young adult, contemporary, LGBT+
Rating:

When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you’re talking to. Except there’s two of them (it’s a long story), and Haley thinks she’s talking to the one she doesn’t hate.

A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they’re becoming addicted to each other.

There’s just one problem: Haley doesn’t know who Martin is. And Martin doesn’t know that Haley doesn’t know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . .

Very very cute, the formatting grew on me and it had one of my specific favorite You’ve Got Mail tropes! There was some good mental health and sexuality rep as well, and I really liked how the relationship progressed over the course of the book. It was a little hard keeping the character names straight, especially in a texting convo context, but that’s my only main complaint.

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Published By: Gallery Books
Pub Date: May 14, 2019
Pages: 416
Format: e-book | Source: purchased
Genres: adult, contemporary romance
Rating:

For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.

Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

The Unhoneymooners was exactly how I like my adult contemporary romances: just like a classic movie rom com with plenty of my favorite tropes! Olive and Ethan were such a perfect, bickering, ridiculous pair- I loved their dynamic so much. They had chemistry to spare. The book was also embarrassing and so, so hilarious. I enjoyed every moment, even the over-the-top premise and conclusions. The rep was a little half-hearted, and I don’t feel like the other characters were terribly fleshed out but they didn’t need to be to enjoy this. The feeling of Olive’s giant loving family came through anyway. The Unhoneymooners really does play out like a movie from 2006 and I mean that as the highest compliment 😀

What are some of your favorite tropes? Do you enjoy reading books with alternate formatting? Let me know!