January 11 releases

 

Bad Luck Bridesmaid
By Alison Rose Greenberg
Publisher: ‎St. Martin's Griffin (January 11, 2022)
Paperback: ‎320 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1250791596
ISBN-13: ‎978-1250791597

 Publisher’s blurb:

It’s official: Zoey Marks is the cursed bridesmaid that no engagement can survive. Ten years, three empire waist dresses, and ZERO brides have walked down the aisle.

After strike three, Zoey is left wondering if her own ambivalence towards marriage has rubbed off on those she loves. And when her building distrust of matrimony culminates in turning down a proposal from her perfect All-American boyfriend, Rylan Harper III, she and Rylan are both left heartbroken, leaving Zoey to wonder: what is it exactly about tying the knot that makes her want to run in the opposite direction?

Enter Hannah Green: Zoey’s best friend, who announces that she’s marrying a guy she just met (cue eye roll). At a castle. In gorgeous, romantic Ireland, where Rylan will be in attendance, and Zoey will be a bridesmaid. It’ll be fine.

Okay, the woman definition of fine (NOT FINE).

Determined to turn her luck around, Zoey accepts her role and vows to get Hannah down the aisle―all the while praying her best friend’s wedded bliss will allow her to embrace marriage and get Rylan back.

But as the weekend goes on, Zoey is plagued with more questions than answers. Can you be a free spirit, yet still want a certain future? Can you have love and be loved on your terms? And how DO you wrangle a bossy falcon into doing your bidding?

 My thoughts:

I really loved the premise of this book, and I really wanted to like the book.

I quit about 12% of the way through. I tried, but why would I want to spend several hours of my life immersed in the life of someone so unlikeable?

Zoey has a real chip on her shoulder about the idea of not just marriage, but even committing to a long-term relationship. Her parents are very happily married, and she just sort of assumes that she can’t get anything close to their relationship.

She’s a self-made success in advertising because she thinks outside the box, and she’s decided marriage is a box that she will never fit into. She has to have everything her way, she’s kind of snotty about some of her clients, and she’s not willing to compromise. At all. Even when she finds a really perfect guy.

After the 12% mark, I read a few pages here and there, but there was nothing there that convinced me to dive back in.

Possible objectionable material:

Based on the 12% I read, a lot of swearing, drinking, sex, and talking about sex. One character is lesbian.

Who might like this book:

If you like rom-coms and don’t mind unlikable protagonists, sure, give it a try.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the EARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Dream Spies
The Nightmare Thief #2
By Nicole Lesperance
Publisher: ‎Sourcebooks Young Readers (January 11, 2022)
Hardcover: ‎368 pages
ISBN-10: ‎1728215374
ISBN-13: ‎978-1728215372
Reading age: ‎8 - 12 years
Grade level: ‎3 – 8
 
Publisher’s blurb:

Maren's life has finally gone back to normal. Her sister, Hallie, is doing much better, she's still allowed to work in her family's dream shop, and there's been no sign of Obscura, the evil nightmare thief.

 

But when Lishta, Maren's grandmother, finds an ad for a sleepaway camp designed for dreamers, alarm bells start to ring. Lishta's never heard of the camp directors, and she's worried and wants to investigate. Maren and Hallie pose as campers with Lishta taking a job as the lunch lady.

 

Almost right away something seems off. Campers all wake up humming the same song, a whole bunk of girls does their hair the exact same way, and everyone seems to have had the same dream. And things go from bad to worse when Maren discovers most of the camp population has been sleepwalking.

 

As the girls investigate the camp, Maren and Hallie discover a nefarious plot that could affect the entire world. Maren will have to figure out who's really behind the camp and stop them from turning more dreamers in sleepwalking zombies, before it's too late.

 My thoughts:

I have not read the first book in this series and my library did not have it. Nonetheless, the action of this book was easy to follow. There were mentions of the previous book, but I was able to get along fine without having read it.

The worldbuilding was interesting, with the idea of being able to custom craft dreams as one might compound a recipe or a medicine. Maren is still clearly feeling some guilt and trauma from events of the previous book. She’s also jealous of her twin’s popularity. While this is mentioned several times, it is not an actual part of the action of the book, and nothing comes of these unresolved feelings.

When Maren, twin Hallie, and best friend Amos, go undercover with “Gran-Gran” Lishta to a sleep-away camp all about dreaming, they find that things are definitely veering more into the nightmare category. The dreams seem to be affecting campers waking lives. Then they start sleepwalking…and some of them won’t wake up. It is up to Maren and company to figure out what’s going on. Maren has to decide who at camp is trustworthy and whom to avoid.

The actual plot behind this camp was telegraphed fairly well, and I was unsurprised when the baddie announced their evil plan. (As baddies are wont to do.) Getting the problem solved took a lot of ingenuity and some backbone that shy Maren, in contrast to her popular sister, didn’t always have.

The characters are fun and realistic for their age. The spunky grandma is a bit cliché for my taste. But her parrot, Henri, who can insult everyone in both French and German, is a delight.

If another book in this series comes up on my NetGalley lists, I’ll be sure to request it.

Possible objectionable material:

As with so many middle-grade novels, sneaking around is an issue. People lie. The kids break into an office. There is no swearing, no romance. There is the magic of making dreams.

Who might like this book:

If you like adventure and solving a mystery, this is a good selection, especially if you like to have fantasy elements to go along.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the EARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My Fine Fellow
By Jennieke Cohen
Publisher: ‎HarperTeen (January 11, 2022)
Hardcover: ‎352 pages
ISBN-10: 0063047535
ISBN-13: ‎978-0063047532
Reading age: ‎13 - 17 years
Grade level:  8 – 9
 
Publisher’s Blurb:

It’s 1830s England, and Culinarians—doyens who consult with society’s elite to create gorgeous food and confections—are the crème de la crème of high society.

 Helena Higgins, top of her class at the Royal Academy, has a sharp demeanor and an even sharper palate—and knows stardom awaits her if she can produce greatness in her final year.

 Penelope Pickering is going to prove the value of non-European cuisine to all of England. Her contemporaries may scorn her Filipina heritage and her dishes, but with her flawless social graces and culinary talents, Penelope is set to prove them wrong.

 Elijah Little has nothing to his name but a truly excellent instinct for flavors. London merchants won’t allow a Jewish boy to own a shop, so he hawks his pasties for a shilling a piece to passersby—but he knows with training he can break into the highest echelon of society.

WhenPenelope and Helena meet Elijah, a golden opportunity arises: to pull off a project never seen before, and turn Elijah from a street vendor to a gentleman chef.

 But Elijah’s transformation will have a greater impact on this trio than they originally realize—and mayhem, unseemly faux pas, and a little romance will all be a part of the delicious recipe.

 My Thoughts:

I received this as both an EARC and an audio ARC—read by an AI voice.

 I have discovered that I’m hopeless at audio books. They just take too darned long. It took me four hours of ironing to get through the first six chapters. Fortunately, I was able to also snag the text version—it took fewer than four hours to read the entire book.

 This book was charming. The inspiration from My Fair Lady was very clear. Fortunately, the ending was not as contrived as the movie. Nor was it exactly like the ending of the source material, George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

 Helena Higgins is very much like Henry Higgins. Convinced (perhaps rightly so) of her own brilliance, bossy, self-centered. Unlike Henry, she does learn some valuable lessons about herself and actually shows growth.

 Penelope Pickering is a delight. Of a mixed-race background in this alternate-universe Britain of the 1800s, she has her own challenges to deal with. And those challenges have made her kind and patient as she helps Helena to instruct Elijah.

 And of course, Elijah. Here is a young man who truly wants to raise his station in life. Like Penelope, the situation of his birth has left him with obstacles. Like Eliza Dolittle, he wants more from his life than just to be a street vendor. Like Eliza Dolittle, he is put into a situation where he can’t go back to his old life, and he’s not sure he wants the life that Helena has planned for him.

 In addition to well-constructed characters and good dialogue, this book talks a lot about food. A lot. And if you’re a food lover, plan to feel hungry as you read. I wish culinarians were a real thing, because I would want to be one. 

The author does include a recipe at the end of the book, so we can all be Helena, Penelope, and Elijah for a while.

 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the EARC and AARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

 The Wedding Setup
By Sonali Dev
ASIN: ‎B09GPDK237
Publisher: ‎Amazon Original Stories (January 11, 2022)
 
Publisher’s Blurb:

Ayesha Shetty lost her brother seven years ago, the same time she lost everything else important to her: her dreams, her fierce independence, and the man she loved. Not wanting to see her mother hurt anymore, she put her wild self away and became the dutiful daughter her mother needed and took on her brother’s role in the family business.

 Now her best friend’s big, fat Indian wedding is a chance to get away from her endless duties at the restaurant and maybe even have some fun (if she remembers how). But a setup arranged by her mother, with a doctor no less, is the last thing she needs. The fact that he checks all her mother’s boxes just makes everything better…and worse.

 Then Emmitt Hughes shows up. Her brother’s best friend. The love she once chose over family duties and her responsibilities. The one she asked to leave, and who did. The one who knows the real Ayesha. Torn between a love from the past that could cost her the only person she has left and her sense of obligation to her mother, will Ayesha find the strength to stop thinking about what everyone else wants and finally put herself first? Or is the old Ayesha truly gone for good?

 My Thoughts:

I have enjoyed Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen-inspired novels, so I was pleased to get a chance at this short story. Like her novels, this one includes Indian culture and food. Unlike the novels, I didn’t notice a Jane Austen connection.

 Dev really packed a lot into this short story. After Ayesha’s brother dies, she subsumes her entire personality into being a good daughter and helping her mother to run their restaurant. She even breaks off with her boyfriend, since he’s not Indian and her mother is opposed to their relationship.

 Seven years later, it’s time for Ayesha’s best friend to marry, and Ayesha and Emmitt are thrown together again. The chemistry is still there, he still loves her, but she tries—really hard—to push him away. He’s not going to go, though, and Ayesha finally decides that she’s ready to let go of her grief and take her chance at living her own life.

 The second chance at romantic love is nice, but it’s the second chance to repair her relationship with her mother that really got my tears going.

 Possible objectionable material:

A fade-to-black sexual encounter. Death. Recovery.

 Who might like this book:

Sonali Dev fans will not be disappointed. Anyone who loves second chances, steadfast love, and family love.

 Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for in exchange for my honest opinion.