If you loved the sweet but dramatic teen romance of To All the Boys I Loved Before, you’ll love these books with a similar vibe.
Happily Ever Afters
About the Book
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
Genre: YA Romance
Book Review
Super cute and sweet YA romance with a love triangle!
Tessa’s in a new town starting a new school. It’s not easy being the new girl. Tessa’s always felt different both because of her race and because of her disabled brother. But when she starts at her new prestigious fine arts school, Tessa feels like a new imposter. She’s never shared pages of her novel with anyone other than her best friend Caroline before. She doesn’t know if she can find the courage to keep writing.
Tessa begins carpooling with Sam, the boy next door with a love of Hawaiian shirts and baking pastries. But the second Tessa lays eyes on Nico, one of the most popular boys in school, she has an instant crush. He looks just the love interest she’s writing in her current novel. When Nico finally notices she exists, Tessa has some choices to make about what she wants – both as a writer and in love.
The author’s writing moves from sweet and bubbly to decadent when she’s describing the yummy desserts Sam makes. I enjoyed how some of Tessa’s novel that she’s writing is incorporated into the story. I also loved how fiercely protective Tessa is of her brother. The author did a really good job of dealing with the issues of race that Tessa encountered at school and in life.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Sunkissed
About the Book
Sunkissed by Kasie West
Genre: YA Romance
Book Review
First of all, I just love Kasie West books. They always leave me feeling warm and happy, like a giant hug. This teen romance was no exception.
Avery Young is headed with her parents and sister to a two-month long ritzy camp. She’s happy to leave her real life behind, where her best friend just kissed the ex-boyfriend Avery was hoping to get back together with.
When she meets handsome camp employee Brooks, she’s immediately smitten, especially as he plays in a band. But unfortunately, staff are forbidden to date guests, and Brooks needs his job. But Avery and her sister Lauren quickly befriend the band, especially after aspiring filmmaker Lauren sells them on making a documentary of them. As the summer wears on, both Avery and Brooks have choices to make, about each other and who they want to be.
The summer camp was a fun setting, and having no WiFi was an interesting twist, especially as it made Avery take a break from her friends and Lauren take a break from her social channel.
This is such a sweet romance. This book left me with a smile on my face.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book.
American Royals
About the Book
American Royals by Katharine McGee
Genre:
Book Review
American Royals imagines a world where George Washington chose to become king, establishing the American monarchy. Now Beatrice is poised to become the next Queen.
Fans of The Crown will see many similarities between Queen Elizabeth and Beatrice. They both have the same unflinching sense of duty to crown and country.
Sparks fly when Beatrice’s chosen suitor has a chemistry-filled moment in the coat room with her younger sister.
I fell in love with these characters and hoped they would find a way to be with the person they loved. This book had an ending that I didn’t see coming. I cannot wait until the next one to find out what will happen with Beatrice, Teddy and Sam.
About the Book
The Matchbreaker Summer by Annie Rains
Genre: YA Romance
Book Review
This YA summer camp romance is saccharine sweet as Paisley struggles to make the most of her last summer at Camp Starling. Two different romances, one teen and one adult, are at the heart of this story, which brings everything you want in a camp romance: ridiculous camp traditions, camp counselor romances and daring water rescues.
Paisley’s parents built Camp Starling together, and every tradition is tied up in memories of her dad, who passed away a few years before. Now her mom is dating Dave, who struggles with everything outdoorsy and wants to move the family to his hometown in Wyoming. When Paisley learns that her mom plans to sell the camp and move to Wyoming, she feels like her world is falling apart.
Then she catches bad boy Hayden Bennett spray-painting dragons on the walls of the cabins, and as punishment, the adults make him serve as a counselor at Camp Starling. Paisley is livid until Hayden proposes a solution to all her troubles: he’ll help her break up her mom and Dave. But the closer she gets to Hayden, the more Paisley falls for him as she learns he’s struggling to deal with the death of a parent, too. And she begins to feel guilty for making things harder for perpetual nice guy Dave, especially after spreading honey in his sunblock gets him sent to the hospital due to an unknown bee allergy. Paisley must decide if she really wants to be the kind of person who bullies Dave out of her life.
Hayden’s relatable as the bad boy with a heart of gold who’s struggling to deal with his emotions in a healthy way. Paisley’s a good girl turning bad due to her struggles to deal with all the changes her mom and Dave are introducing into her life. Together, they balance each other out and bring a lightness to each other’s lives.
I also liked the discussion of best friendships through Paisley’s rocky friendship with Nora, which is experiencing growing pains as Nora tries to control who all her friends “like” and date, selecting the best matches for them herself. In Nora’s opinion, that’s in no way, shape or form Hayden, so she does her best to split up him and Paisley. The two girls have to learn what it really means to be best friends as they face new challenges.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and TBR & Beyond Tours for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What I Like About You
About the Book
What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter
Genre: YA Romance
Book Review
Anyone who’s ever had a bookstagram should read this super cute story of a girl who’s in love with her online best friend, but when she meets him IRL, she’s too scared to tell him who she is. Marisa Kanter has perfectly nailed the awkwardness of teen romance and figuring out who you are, both IRL and online.
As the creator of One True Pastry, Kels bakes cupcakes to go with book covers. She makes online friends, including a talented comic book artist, Nash.
But Kels is really Halle, and when she happens to move to Nash’s town and meet him in the library, it seems like fate. Except Halle is worried that she wouldn’t be cool enough to match up to the picture in Nash’s head. As their friendship grows and sparks begin to fly, Halle almost tells him the truth several times, but can’t quite bring herself to do it. It’s a perfectly awkward situation where Halle finds herself in a love triangle where she’s competing with herself.
Need more recommendations? Find more YA recommendations here.
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