Lisa’s Looking Forward To #115 – July 13th, 2021

Posted July 7, 2021 by Lisa Mandina in LLFT / 18 Comments

Lisa’s Looking Forward To #115 – July 13th, 2021

Once again I’ll be joining up with the Can’t Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.

Seem to be several this coming week!

That adorable cover and it sounds so cute!!! I also really enjoyed the other book I read by this author, My So-Called Bollywood Life.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

To All the Boys I Loved Before meets World of Dance in this delectable love story that combines food, dance, and a hint of drama to cook up the perfect romance. 

Radha is on the verge of becoming one of the greatest Kathak dancers in the world . . . until a family betrayal costs her the biggest competition of her life. Now, she has left her Chicago home behind to follow her stage mom to New Jersey. At the Princeton Academy of the Arts, Radha is determined to leave performing in her past, and reinvent herself from scratch.

Jai is captain of the Bollywood Beats dance team, ranked first in his class, and an overachiever with no college plans. Tight family funds means medical school is a pipe dream, which is why he wants to make the most out of high school. When Radha enters his life, he realizes she’s the exact ingredient he needs for a show-stopping senior year.

With careful choreography, both Radha and Jai will need to face their fears (and their families) if they want a taste of a happily ever after.

A delicious YA rom-com full of heart, flavor, and just enough heat. -JULIE MURPHY, New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’ 

A tasty treat! Nisha Sharma always delights. -MEG CABOT, author of The Princess Diaries 

A sumptuous tale of dance, food, and culture. I savored every last page! – PINTIP DUNN, New York Times bestselling author

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Another fun cover, of course I love dogs on a cover! And it sounds like it could be both a fun, but also emotional read too.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

He’s never met a rule he didn’t break… She’s followed the rules her whole life… When they meet, one golden rule is established: stay away. Sparks fly in this edgy own voices novel, perfect for fans of Sandhya Menon, S. K. Ali, and Kristina Forest.

They were supposed to ignore each other and respect that fine line between them…

Guillermo Lozano is getting a fresh start. New town, new school, and no more reckless behavior. He’s done his time, and now he needs to right his wrongs. But when his work at the local community center throws him into the path of the one girl who is off-limits, friendship sparks…and maybe more.

Regan London needs a fresh perspective. The pressure to stay in her “perfect” relationship and be the good girl all the time has worn her down. But when the walls start to cave in and she finds unexpected understanding from the boy her parents warned about, she can’t ignore her feelings anymore.

The disapproval is instant. Being together might just get Guillermo sent away. But when it comes to the heart, sometimes you have to break the rules and be a little bit reckless…

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I’ve been seeing some good reviews for this one!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I love the idea of the Groundhog Day theme with this one.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

In this delightful and romantic debut novel―with a Groundhog Day twista couple calls off their wedding after a disastrous rehearsal dinner, only to wake up the next morning trapped in a time loop. Together.

Two people. One wedding. No end in sight. 

“Irresistible . . . A fun, yet thought-provoking, rom-com.” —Elin Hilderbrand, author of Golden Girl

“A clever, enchanting story about finding our way back to ourselves and to those we truly love.”—Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus

“Christie writes with honesty, heart, and a great deal of charm.” —Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

Megan Givens and Tom Prescott are heading into what is supposed to be their magical wedding weekend on beautiful San Juan Island. But with two difficult families, ten years of history, and all too many secrets, things quickly go wrong. After a disastrous rehearsal dinner they vow to call the whole thing off—only to wake up the next morning stuck together in a time loop. Are they really destined to relive the worst day of their lives, over and over? And what happens if their wedding day does arrive?

A funny, romantic, and big-hearted debut novel, The Rehearsals imagines what we might do if given a second chance at life and at love—and what it means to finally get both right.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

This one sounds soooooo good! I may end up buying my own personal copy, as well as one for my students in my library. The two comparisons in the synopsis are both things I really like!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Get Out meets Danielle Vega in this YA horror where survival is not a guarantee.

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact he sees the dead around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they don’t interact often with people. But then Jake meets Sawyer. A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life. Now a powerful, vengeful ghost, he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood. High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I always enjoy a story based around a reality tv show.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding meets Some Kind of Wonderfulmeets Kara McDowell’s Just for Clicks with diverse characters, perfect for readers looking for feel-good YA romance and those who like “clean teen” reads 

Dakota McDonald swore after “The Great Homecoming Disaster” that she’d never allow her romantic life to be a plot line in her parents’ HGTV show again. But when the restaurant run by the family of her best friend (and secret crush), Leo, is on the line, Dakota might end up eating her own words.

Leo Matsuda dreams of escaping his small town Arizona life and the suffocating demands of working in his family’s restaurant, but the closer he gets to his goal–thanks to the help of his best friend (and secret crush) Dakota–the more reasons there are for him to stay.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

The comparison to The Handmaid’s Tale grabbed my attention for this one.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

“Proxy meets Handmaid’s Tale, BREEDER will force readers to ask how far would they would go to decide their own fate.” 

— Joelle Charbonneau, NYT bestselling author of The Testing Trilogy

“Van Rijswijk’s beautiful writing paints a vivid picture of a dystopian future where oceans are acid and the air itself is poisonous. As brutal as the world itself is, it’s nothing compared to the people who inhabit it. Poignant and eerily timely, Breeder is a fast-paced sci-fi that reminds us a value can’t be placed on our humanity.” 

— Lani Forbes, Award-winning author of the Age of the Seventh Sun series

Will Meadows is a seemingly average fifteen-year-old Westie, who lives and works in Zone F, the run-down outermost ring of the Corporation. In the future state of the Corp, a person’s value comes down to productivity: the right actions win units, the wrong ones lose them. If Will is unlucky and goes into unit debt, there’s only one place to go: the Rator. But for Zone F Breeders, things are much worse–they’re born into debt and can only accrue units through reproduction.

Every day in Zone F is a struggle, especially for Will who is fighting against time for access to an illegal medical drug, Crystal 8. Under the cover of night, Will travels to the Gray Zone, where life is less regulated and drugs–and people–are exchanged for gold. There, Will meets Rob, a corrupt member of the Corporation running a Breeder smuggling operation. Will also meets Alex, another teen whom he quickly recognizes as a Breeder in disguise.

Suddenly, Will has an illicit job and money, access to Crystal, and a real friend. As the pair grows closer, Alex shares her secret: she is part of the Response, an uprising to overthrow the Corporation. Caught up in the new friendship, Will and Alex become careless as the two covertly travel into Zone B for a day of adventure. Nothing goes as planned and Will’s greatest fear is realized. Will his true identity be revealed?

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

I like this author, and have seen a few reviews that make me interested to get my hands on this one. Plus the premise seems kind of original to me.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

A fast-paced, thrilling horror novel that follows a group of heroines to die for, from the brilliant New York Timesbestselling author of The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires.

In horror movies, the final girl is the one who’s left standing when the credits roll. The one who fought back, defeated the killer, and avenged her friends. The one who emerges bloodied but victorious. But after the sirens fade and the audience moves on, what happens to her?

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized—someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

But the thing about these final girls is that they have each other now, and no matter how bad the odds, how dark the night, how sharp the knife, they will never, ever give up.

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Now you probably know how I feel about anthologies, I take forever to get through them. But, this one sounds like there would be a few stories I definitely want to read.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

When everyone else goes to bed, the ones who stay up feel like they’re the only people in the world. As the hours tick by deeper into the night, the familiar drops away and the unfamiliar beckons. Adults are asleep, and a hush falls over the hum of daily life. Anything is possible.

It’s a time for romance and adventure. For prom night and ghost hunts. It’s a time for breaking up, for falling in love—for finding yourself.

Stay up all night with these thirteen short stories from bestselling and award-winning YA authors like Karen McManus, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nina LaCour, and Brandy Colbert, as they take readers deep into these rarely seen, magical hours.

Full contributor list: Brandy Colbert, Kathleen Glasgow, Maurene Goo, Tiffany D. Jackson, Amanda Joy, Nina LaCour, Karen M. McManus, Anna Meriano, Marieke Nijkamp, Laura Silverman, Kayla Whaley, Julian Winters, Francesca Zappia

Sound good? Add to Goodreads HERE.

Final Thoughts:

Nine this week, that is more like a number you’d see the first week in a month, but like I mentioned last week, I wonder if the holiday meant less books came out. Have you read any of these yet? What new books are you eagerly awaiting this week?

And while you’re here, make sure to go enter into my monthly giveaway HERE.

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18 responses to “Lisa’s Looking Forward To #115 – July 13th, 2021

  1. You’re like in my reading queue. I just finished Radha & Jai this morning (really liked it) and am reading The Right Side of Reckless (so far, so good). I loved XOXO. It was the fun and fluffy I hoped it would be. Faking Reality was good. I thought the life in the public eye stuff was done really well. I am starting Up All Night soon-ish. I am looking forward to it. I heard great things from a rather tough blogger (as far as ratings go) and there’s so much talent involved.

    • Lisa Mandina

      I think you and I must have a pretty similar TBR. lol You just seem to get to them before I do! Which is good for me because I can read your reviews to decide if I want to read them or not for sure. Thanks for visiting!

  2. The Final Girl Support Group! Yay! I am really looking forward to that one as well. I wasn’t approved for a copy of The Rehearsals, but I still hope to read it. I love the premise. I hope you enjoy all of these if you get a chance to read them, Lisa! Have a great weekend.

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