Dipping My Toe in the mAiNsTrEaM bOoK gEnRe

written: 9/19/2023

Finished: 9/21/2023

(Okay, so perhaps bloggers don’t quite plan their burn-outs, so when their energy is drained, there’s none left to work up an announcement that they can’t badger their readers for a while. Expect this to happen more often. But I’ll be back to my regular schedule by the following week…probably. Unless life throws some curveballs.)

Romance.

Is.

Scary.

But it wasn’t enough to stop me from giving it a chance. Wait, wait, wait! I haven’t read one yet. I couldn’t think of doing so without informing you. Me? Never!

O-kay. Sure, but why?

Well, first of all, remember that retelling I posted about? Something about Swans in Lakes? (It’s this one.) Yeah. I forgot about it, too.

Then a friend reminded me of it, and I gathered the courage to show it to her, and guess what? She wasn’t utterly disgusted or horrified, and neither was I! You see, it had been months since I last updated my doc, which is enough for my goldfish memory to recall its existence yet not the contents.

And you know what they say—you’ve got to read it to write it!

No one says that? Then we improvise. I said it, and therefore, you shall. We’ll make it a thing. Take the world by metaphorical storm.

Second, I am desperate to get my hands on a new book. A thrift book even, though I don’t go out and therefore cannot gauge if secondhand book shops are nearby. However, I am taking my sweet time with A Christmas Carol, which is so much a masterpiece I couldn’t wait for Christmas, but I do desire, nope—crave, no—need a contemporary romance. One. Just one. But if there’s more, don’t mind if I do!

Lastly, I have a confession—but don’t tell anyone! You take it TO THE GRAVE, you hear?

*whisper* I’m a sucker for rom-coms. You’ve Got Mail, The American President, and uhm, Breanna Can’t Think of Anything Else at the Moment, But Rest Assured She Know Others. Etcetera. (And any explicit content was forwarded; don’t you worry. It seems Hollywood wasn’t made for kids. Who would’ve thought?)

Anyway, two books I’ve awaited—Better Than the Movies by Lyn Painter and Caraval by Stephanie Garber—are nearly in my possession. The first has been flooding my (mom’s) Instagram FYP, and the second was a recommendation from a close friend, who I’m hoping has stupendous book taste. Fingers crossed.

I’d initially planned on getting them as ebooks, but plans are rarely followed through, so that’s not happening anymore. However, I did prepare myself by reading their Google previews, which is where this post comes in.

Here, I shall list at least 3 assumptions about how much I’ll like both and what each will include. Starting with…

~Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

• Young Adult, 13+
• Contemporary Romance
• Enemies-to-Lovers
• Fake Dating
• Pop Culture References

CW (from research): swearing, drinking, underage smoking, diSoBeDiEnCe towards father, lying, and-

Yup, I figured it out. Goodreads, you are a gem.

-“Oh, my gosh! There’s kissing on the cover!”

No poop, Sherlock. But actually, (*DING DING DING* HOLIER-THAN-THOU ATTITUDE ALERT) I was slightly put off by that fact alone. What? Lip-y stuff is for married couples, thanks very much.

Personal conviction.

Then again, book characters aren’t real. You know what? I don’t know anymore, but for the living, breathing, you-have-a-life-outside-someone’s-imagination, you know where I stand.

I am happy to state I correctly guessed one couple on the cover. That mean girl from Mean Girls who’s also in the Doctor Strange movies and Ryan Gosling from The Notebook, right? Don’t answer; I already know. (I watched the movie and don’t remember there being a notebook. Forgive me.)

Hey, no fair! Those two in the top left corner whose heads are cropped out are Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land. He gets two, and you don’t even include a Tom Hanks?!

Kidding! I think.

Assumption #1

I’m very much going to enjoy the author’s writing style. I’d merely read a few pages, reminding myself that my cheapness would always override my desire for some book.

Well. It didn’t last long.

Where are my manners? You’re probably in the dark and wondering what in the world I’m blabbing about. Here’s the synopsis:

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar – and maybe snag him as a prom date – even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic-comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love – and rethink her own ideas of what happily ever after should look like.

Lynn Painter (Goodreads), published May 4, 2021

There will be Meg Ryan references; I’m nearly 93.33% sure. But I’m 100% certain of the Taylor Swift ones, which will make my heart plump and full of joy after recognizing more than three songs. (Even after a friend accused me of being a fake swiftie. The gall. Cornelia Street forever. )

✨LoVeRrR✨

Assumption #2

I don’t want to be all sunshine and rainbows, expecting all that’s good to erupt from this novel, so let me take a jab at it: As with most stories, no matter how the author tries to justify it, I won’t understand why Liz would go to such great lengths for a guy she doesn’t plan to settle down with.

There. But I’ll be happy to be proven wrong.

Assumption #3

Since we were still in Liz’s POV by chapter two, it’s safe to suppose this novel will succeed where not many romances do—presenting a likable female main character.

More often than not, male leads overshadow their counterparts, which is understandable. Those slaving behind a laptop are usually ladies with a draw toward men who can both annoy and endear with a mask of I-told-you-so that melts away because of raw concern toward the girl they loved all along.

This is a childhood-enemies-to-lovers, fake dating one, you guys. Brace yourselves.

Assumption #4

He’ll fall first.

I think my searching skills should be monitored. I’m just that good. Somehow, I discovered it from somewhere, and though the source slipped my mind, what happened didn’t. How rude.

I’ll have known either way, but I’m irked about it. Hmph.

Final Notes

I saw from a review stating another review that someone thought Wes was bland and like every other YA love interest. It was countered, but I don’t remember how, so my mood was soured.

Also, help me. A pdf doc exposed the ending, and I couldn’t stop myself when I’d started. I’m angry at my lack of self-control, but oh, well.

Our solution: the middle plot should blow me away.

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I’m listening to my daily dose of Tayluh while I write this. I’m not sure why I told you that, but you’re not my friend until I shove music recommendations down your throat and passive-aggressively force you to like them.

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Anyway.

~Caraval

• Young Adult, 13+
• High Fantasy
• Romance (subplots, including Enemies-to-Lovers, from what I’ve heard)
• Adventure & Mystery
• Magic

CW: I’m too lazy to search.

*angelic music in the background because of the high-quality picture*

So, it’s not contemporary, contradicting what I said in the opening. But it’s fine. Being fantasy, this is better practice than Better Than the Movies for my Swan Lake thingymajig, anyway.

I know less about Caraval than the first. I’m traversing unknown territory here, people. Which is good! Suspense and all.

This one isn’t an underrated book—Some say it’s overrated!—so, discovering snippets of it and finding fans raving here and there was unavoidable.

“A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.“

Stephanie Garber (Goodreads), published September 29, 2016 (A bit of an old one, I see.)

Assumption #1

There will be a guy named Jack with floofy hair. I’m taking my shot and saying he’s the enemy-turned-lover. It’s loaded, but I have no explanation.

Assumption #2

I won’t like Scarlett that much. I didn’t finish the preview, but I saw enough to conclude she’s the goody-two-shoes who has a better reputation than her sister yet lacks stable morals when validation from higher-ups—in this case, her father—is stripped from her. Also loaded. My explanation? Middle child gut feelz.

If this is wrong, it’ll be embarrassing on my part, but whatever.

Assumption #3

The author set the set-up up to make Julian, the guy Tella manipulates into aiding her and her sister to escape 🏝the island🏝, seem like a fleeting character—at least, for me, it felt like that—but I’m not that gullible.

Shh, let me believe my lies.

But nice try, author.

He’ll probably stay for—uh—longer than we’ll think he’s stay, which is not vague. Yup.

Final Notes

Like I said, I’m crossing a bridge, and I don’t know what awaits, which is both nerve-racking and thrilling, so EEEE. (read: girlish squeal)

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Thanks for reading!

Fun fact: this was supposed to be a very light post. Something to welcome you back to my blog. Then, my perfectionist took over, and here we are.

How are you all? And how many colons did you count from the entire post?