I think I’ve been pretty up front that I am the world’s worst at getting books read in a timely fashion, but I do still try and read and review them! This is part of why I don’t write full reviews of every book I read so I still feel like I’m giving these books I was lucky enough to receive e-ARCs of their moment to shine. (Shout out to their respective publishers and Netgalley!) But anyway, the great news is that all of these books are available that I’ll be talking about today if any of them strike your fancy! And it’s even more likely that you’ve maybe picked one of them up since they’ve been out for a little while, so if you have, please share your thoughts and opinions because I want to know too!
Anyway, today we’ll be talking about Waiting for Friday Night by Synithia Williams, which is a contemporary romance set in South Carolina about a woman who had her daughter by science and then lo and behold her daughter figures out that her donor is actually her high school football coach. It is full of Williams’ trademark drama that makes it feel like you’re watching a show and was so fun. Then we’ll talk Kasie West’s adult debut, We Met Like This, which was my first book by her and I loved her writing style so much, I am truly obsessed. And then we’ll cap this post off with a review of Some Kind of Famous by Ava Wilder and I’ll probably ramble a lot because I still don’t know how I feel about the book. So let’s dive in, shall we?
Waiting for Friday Night
by Synithia Williams
Halle is a single mom and the principal of the local middle school in Peachtree Cove and she has decided the respectable new English teacher is going to be the one for her. Unfortunately, she didn’t factor in her daughter figuring out that Coach Q is her biological father, a man Halle never expected to actually meet, considering she had received an anonymous donation to have a baby via science. Considering Peachtree Cove is a small town, this news takes the town by storm because Halle had never indicated that she had a baby by way of science rather than a one night stand or something similar. Meanwhile, she and Coach Q are navigating how to co-parent a child Coach Q didn’t know anything about and Halle never expected to share those responsibilities.
Normally, I’m all in on Synithia Williams’ over the top plots, but I don’t think my brain was exactly there because parts of this made me roll my eyes instead of enjoying the drama like I usually do. I highly recommend her books when you’re in the mood for a soap opera like situation in book form. They will hit the mark for you every time. I think part of it too was that I didn’t really like a single character. They were messy, hence the soap opera drama, but also Halle reminded me of me in high school when the idea of going outside of a plan would send me through the roof because I needed to be in control and make sure that I was meeting/exceeding all expectations. Sometimes it’s not the best to see a mirror, if you know what I mean. But part of Halle’s journey was reckoning with the fact that she had a baby by way of science and knowing and recognizing that people in her small town were going to have things to say about that. I found that so frustrating because I just want people to allow women to make any and all choices about how and when they have children without judgment.
But I do love the friendships that both Coach Q and Halle have with their respective friends, who are basically the leads of the trilogy. I like that friendship and I appreciated how the women show up for one another in this book. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series because that sounds like a messy good time that I am going to be all about.
We Met Like This by Kasie West
Just so you all are aware, this book was on Kindle Unlimited when I actually got around to reading it, so if you have that service and this book intrigues you, go borrow a copy!
Essentially, this book is about Margot and Oliver, who have matched repeatedly on various dating apps over the years since their first relative disaster of a first date. This time they’ve matched while Margot is determined to get her boss to promote her to being an agent for authors. This book, for the record, is Margot’s story. Anyway, so Margot is determined to get this promotion, but she… has a few things standing in her way. Namely her sleaze ball of a boss. Margot makes terrible decisions as far as said boss is concerned and acts in ways that feel counterintuitive to her as a person because she’s trying to listen to her sister’s advice that is given in a one size fits all manner and not even delivered kindly.
In many ways, this feels like a quarter life coming of age type of book, which is something that I love. Margot’s choices are wild and all over the place to me in so many ways, but also Margot loves to read and she’s enthusiastic. She tries to be a good sister and a good friend and she makes mistakes along the way. Margot has to learn how to stand up for herself and she makes a mess out of that too, but again, this feels so much like a coming of age. Ultimately, I absolutely adored Kasie West’s writing style so much that even though there were times I wanted to scream because the plot didn’t go where I wanted, I didn’t even mind.
Some Kind of Famous
by Ava Wilder
Ava Wilder has proven again that she can write messy characters dealing with the aftermath of fame or the perils of fame. She crafts her books so well, matching her writing to the overall mood of the characters. In this case, Merritt has been living with her twin sister and her twin’s husband for entirely too long when Olivia announces that she’s pregnant. The twins have this great, but also deeply strained relationship. If you like the concept of a sister book, but would prefer for romance to be the primary genre, I would recommend this one. It may scratch that itch for you. Because Olivia is going to be having a baby, Merritt realizes that she actually needs to have that house she bought and left unfinished on the outskirts of town ready for her to move in. Enter Niko, a very handsome Greek carpenter, who Merritt really struggles to speak with because she finds him so attractive. Merritt has a history of screwing up her relationships and a history of addiction. Meanwhile, Niko also finds Merritt very attractive. He’s also dealing with the fact that it costs 8 bajillion dollars to live in this small Colorado town that the locals are being priced out of.
This book just has so much to say. I think if I had ever forced myself to sit down and read it in one or two sittings I wouldn’t be so torn about how I feel about it. But I was able to put this book down for weeks at a time. But at the end of the day, I never sat it down for so long I didn’t want to know how the book would continue. I think this is one I need to read, physically, with my highlighter and tabs handy because this book had my brain going so often. There’s just so much to it. Anyway, I don’t know if this review is at all helpful to you, but do not pick this up if you’re in the mood for a fluffy rom com type story. You need to be in the mood to have your feelings hurt, to have bruises you didn’t really know existed to be poked. I hope you love it.
Closing Thoughts
So clearly the theme of these books was actually messy characters with wildly different ways of being presented. In Waiting for Friday Night, Wililams’ delivers a soap opera in book format. In We Met Like This, West delivers a romantic comedy style messy heroine. And then in Some Kind of Famous, you’ve got that serious, melancholic writing style that just makes you hurt. Have you read any of these? Would you agree with my characterization? I would love to know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 