young-adult – Enby Yourself

Title: The Name Drop

Author: Susan Lee

Year: 2023

Genre: Coming of age, family expectations, economic class,

Queer shit: not that I remember

Vibe Check: Wealthy Elijah and lower middle class Jessica accidentally swap lives for the summer and decide to not correct it, sweet and funny romance and exploration of breaking free from family expectations and building your own future

Pile of Opinions: A mix-up with names at the airport leads to a summer of opportunities. Elijah and Jessica decide to take advantage of the airport’s mix up and swap jobs for the summer. Elijah, set to spend the summer in New York at his fathers company, decides to go incognito and live the summer as a regular intern and leave the executive training program to Jessica. Elijah is from a 1% family in Korea and Jessica from a middle class family in Southern California, the two get to explore New York City together and realize they enjoy spending time together. This is a beautiful coming of age story about breaking free from toxic family values and learning who supports you in living the life you want and finding happiness. This book also tackles class and financial privilege, misogynistic companies too set in their old ways, as well as complex family dynamics. This book is for romance readers, YA readers, and anyone who wants to read about someone else’s family drama for a few hundred pages. This is my first read of Susan Lee’s and I’m looking forward to jumping right into Seoulmates asap. Let me know if you’ve read this one and what you think in the comments.

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Title: Dungeons and Drama

Author: Kristy Boyce

Year: 2024

Genre: YA fiction, YA romance, Dungeons and Dragons, Musical Theater,

Queer shit: mlm side relationship, musical theater, D&D

Vibe Check: Musical theater fan fake dates a D&D fan, not only do they enjoy fake flirting but they find their interests overlap in beautiful and magical ways

Pile of Opinions: Soooo cute!!! Adding this to the list of books I wish I’d had as a teenager along with everything Elise Bryant, Michelle Quach, and Anna-Marie McLemore ever write. I’m looking forward to going back and reading the author’s other books. I love all the characters and everything felt so real and believable and raw in the way only good YA writing can feel. This book had me laughing out loud and getting second hand butterflies and I am here for it. A musical theater fanatic gets grounded and her “punishment” is working at her dad’s gaming store for 8 weeks. She is trying to revive the canceled spring play but gets sucked into the world of D&D. What starts as part of her cover fake dating Nathan so her douchey ex boyfriend stops pitying her and so Nathan’s crush will get jealous and finally give him the time of day quickly turns into an “is this real or just part of the act” as the two start to fall for each other. This felt every bit the teenage dream of exploring the world beyond what is right in front of you and finding friends in unlikely and unexpected places. This book is for Dungeons and Dragons fanatics, musical theater enthusiasts, and readers of sweet romance and young love. I am definitely buying the physical copy when it comes out January, 2024, and will be on the lookout for the author’s other books as well. Let me know if you’ve read this and what you thought in the comments!

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