So… I am very behind in reading my ARCs, but I’m trying the best I can to start catching up and these three are the first three I’m releasing to y’all! First up, we have The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon, which actually came out in 2022. Please don’t judge. Then we have The Art of Scandal by Regina Black, which I am still flabbergasted was a debut that came out in August. And finally, we have For Never and Always by Helena Greer, which came out in Fall 2023.
The Hookup Plan
by Farrah Rochon
The Hookup Plan kicks off with highly successful and a bit of a perfectionist London being hyper focused on making sure that her ten year high school reunion goes off without a hitch and right away, I’m deeply invested in London. We were introduced to her in The Boyfriend Project and I’ve been excited about her story since then because there’s something about following fellow gifted kids trying to figure out how to create an identity not solely focused around their accomplishments that resonates for me. (To be fair, this book doesn’t actually talk about her having been in gifted, but… Let’s be real, she fits the type.) ANYWAY, London is trying to find a hobby (she’s picked up crochet) but her friends also think she needs a good one night stand. London is a little shocked at herself for not only having a one night stand, but having one with her high school rival, Drew. But she’s comfortable enough with the experience because she’ll never have to see him again since he’s going to go back to NYC, where he lives. Except… Turns out, Drew is actually in town to audit the hospital London works in.
While I’m not sure the pacing of this book entirely worked for me and tonally, the book really seemed to shift from fun and light to more deeply emotional than my brain was quite ready for (Drew’s still grieving his mom who passed away from an aggressive form of cancer about a year ago), I did really love the character work in this book and found it to be a really successful conclusion to Rochon’s trilogy. And all in all, I would recommend.
The Art of Scandal
by Regina Black
Sometimes I really love a good messy book and I sort of wish I’d waited until I was in the exact perfect mood for that before I picked up The Art to Scandal because talk about messy!!! Rachel realizes her husband is cheating on her at his birthday party. She takes off and finds her way to a local drive in theatre where she winds up having a connection with a much younger man, Nathan, and their lives start to become entangled. Rachel’s husband is a politician with his eyes on the White House and as a white man with a Black wife, he likes his chances. Unfortunately for Rachel, Matt’s love has a) faded and b) become stifling, but she’s having a hard time trying to figure out her next steps because her life prior to their relationship was a little rocky and returning to a life of financial instability is not really calling to her. Meanwhile, Nathan doesn’t have a great relationship with his dad** and he also doesn’t really have much ambition, though he is simultaneously passionate about his art. He’s an interesting character.
Anyway, this book is just full of mess and the fact that it’s a debut is wild to me because Black’s writing is really quite stunning and the pacing of this book is really well done. Ultimately, this book is a four star for me because despite the quick pacing, I did wish that certain parts of the emotions were a bit extended. Or that Matt had disappeared from this book more quickly (which is why I know if I had just waited to be in the perfect mood for mess, this book would have been a full five star for me). The good news is, I can re-read it whenever that mood strikes so that’s exciting!
**Content Warning: terminal cancer
For Never and Always
by Helena Greer
The cover of For Never & Always makes it look like it would be another book set around the Christmas or Hannukah season, but actually it’s set in the Spring (I think). So if you were afraid you shouldn’t pick it up outside of the winter holiday season, have no fear. This book can be read at any time. As for what it’s about, this book follows Hannah and Levi, who are childhood best friends turned lovers turned exes with quite a bit of animosity between them. Okay, mostly just on Hannah’s side. The two of them each have a deep emotional wound that fully drives this story and so the character work is really incredibly well done in this one. Greer shines with the way she layers those wounds into the story and carefully weaves in healing. Hannah and Levi are Jewish and Hannah has this awesome Rabbi who they eventually turn to for some guidance in how to move forward in their relationship. I really loved the way this book talked about faith and romance. It was well done. I can’t wait for the next book in this series. I rated it a four star and I think it’s probably closer to a 4.5 because I am still thinking about it two weeks later.
Closing Thoughts
I really enjoyed each of these books and I’m glad to have read them, even if it was a few months (years) after their respective releases. Have you had a chance to read any of these? If so, what did you think?
xx
firewhiskeyreader 