Ashley Poston, A Novel Love Story

Elsy is struggling in her career, friendships, and nonexistent love life. So she decides to take a vacation, planning to hole up in a mountain cabin and binge-read romance novels. But along the way, she gets lost and ends up in an idyllic small town—one she soon realizes is fictional! It’s the setting of her favorite romance series, which was left unfinished when the author tragically died. Elsy doesn’t know how she came to enter this imaginary world, but she loves seeing her favorite characters in the flesh. She even meets a grumpy yet handsome bookstore owner and dares to think she might belong in this town. I really enjoyed the concept of this novel and liked how it was resolved in the end. But otherwise, I didn’t find it particularly interesting. Elsy adores this town and its residents, but because I haven’t read the (fictional) series Elsy loves, I had no investment in the characters she meets or their problems. Elsy herself is a bit of a wet mop, with few defining characteristics apart from her sadness and her love of romance novels. I also found the prose a bit overwrought. Overall, not a terrible read, but not one I’d recommend either.

AJ Pearce, Dear Miss Lake

It’s the summer of 1944, and Emmy Lake and her friends all know that the war will soon be over. In the meantime, though, the daily grind of wartime life—battle losses, rationing, German bombing raids—is taking its toll on everyone at Woman’s Friend. Emmy is determined to stay positive and adhere to the government’s instructions about publishing upbeat stories that look forward to an Allied victory. But when she starts receiving letters from women whose husbands and sons are prisoners of war and who are unable to get any information about them, she finds a new cause to fight for. This book is a fitting conclusion to the Emmy Lake series. It has the same light tone as the previous novels while still treating the book’s more serious events with appropriate gravity. My only complaint is that my favorite character, Guy Collins, doesn’t get a story of his own—he ought to be a romantic hero in his own book! I hope AJ Pearce will write it someday. But overall, I’d definitely recommend this series to people who enjoy World War II fiction that’s on the lighter side.

Lynn Painter, Maid for Each Other

Abi works as a cleaner for Declan’s posh apartment, but they’ve never met. One night, since her own run-down apartment has a pest problem, she stays at Declan’s place, reasoning that he’s out of town and will never know. But in the morning, she runs into his parents, who have shown up for a surprise visit—and they assume she’s his girlfriend. When Declan finds out, he’s furious, but he also thinks his job would promote him more quickly if he were in a serious relationship. So he proposes a fake relationship to Abi, which she accepts once he agrees to pay off her student loans. But the more time they spend together, the more their relationship starts to feel real. I really love Lynn Painter’s rom-coms, and fake relationship is one of my favorite romance tropes, so this book was right up my alley! Painter excels at writing characters and love stories that feel really genuine and believable. The third-act breakup was unnecessary and irritating, but aside from that, I liked this book a lot and finished it with a big smile on my face.