Tag: Reeses Book Club

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Something In The Water

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: A seltzer on the beach

I read Something In The Water at the beginning of quarantine and have found myself repetitively recommending it to people who are looking for a great beach thriller. It has a good balance of twists and turns without getting too dark.

The book actually starts at the ending but there are enough twists throughout that it’s hard to figure out how it will even get there. We then go back and see Erin and Mark on their honeymoon where they find a mystery in the water. Their decisions after the discovery will give you the same feeling as when you watch someone in a horror movie go into a dark basement alone. *Disclaimer: you may scream WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT while reading.* If you’re looking for a thriller but nothing too crazy on the gone girl scale this is a great choice.

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A Jasmine Guillory Appreciation Post

I was introduced to Jasmine and the Wedding Date series when The Proposal was a Reese’s Book Club pick. I loved it and ordered more of her books without realizing they were a series to be read in order. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t NEED to have all the history to enjoy them but I’m here so that you don’t make my mistakes.

Each book has their own story (and perfect romcom ending) and can be read on its own, but each of the main characters stems from the original book. It’s a really fun concept where the timelines and stories tend to overlap between books which makes it interesting to see multiple perspectives of the same events. I love that the characters are all written very authentically and not in the typical perfect romcom way. They have real fights, nights where they only want to eat pizza and watch Great British Bake Off, and are just good people that you want to root for to find love. If you love romcoms you will love these, i’m dying for the movie rights to be purchased for all of them.

The Wedding Date is the first in the series and where it all kicks off. Alexa and Drew turn my worst nightmare, getting stuck in an elevator, into a meet cute and it leads to Alexa agreeing to be Drews date to his ex’s wedding that weekend. The story goes past the wedding where we meet both of their friends and family (and set up the other four books) and see where their relationship goes.

The Proposal is where I started the series and fell in love with Jasmine’s story telling. Carlos (Drew’s best friend) is at a Dodgers game when he sees an awkward proposal on the jumbotron where the girl, Nikole, turns it down. He ends up sneaking Nikole out of the stadium and away from all the media and the book follows their story from there.

The Wedding Party is about Alexa’s two best friends that secretly become friends with benefits. Also, we’re 3 books in, I assume you figured out Drew and Alexa are madly in love and getting married at this point and this isn’t a spoiler? We get more into Maddie and Theo’s lives, jobs, their friends and family and see their story unfold as well as getting to see Drew and Alexa’s wedding process.

The Royal Holiday starts with Maddie taking a stylist job for the royal family and taking her mom along as it’s over Christmas. Her mom Vivian meets Malcolm the personal secretary to the queen and the book is focused on their time together. I love a Hallmark movie so even though this isn’t my favorite of the series it still hits all the classic story points you expect from a British Christmas romance.

Party of Two was my absolute favorite. It follows Alexa’s sister, Olivia, as she moves to LA to start a new law firm with her friend and starts dating a senator. As a romcom lover and a political science major, this was my holy grail. Jasmine also ties in more history to a story about Olivia that we hear about in both The Wedding Date and The Wedding Party which is great.

One last obsessive note: Anyone else that’s read them all – let me know your theories but I’m hoping book 6 is about Theo’s brother, I’m already so entertained by him and his life and I want to know more.

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Such a Fun Age

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Your preferred Saturday morning drink

This story is about a 20-something year old girl living in Philly trying to figure out her love life, what she wants to do with her future and trying to balance a social life. AKA, myself and every one of my friends here in Philly, so I loved it. If you’re from Philly you’ll get a good laugh at the references, like the rich white boyfriend who works out of a WeWork and lives above a CrossFit in Fishtown. Everything down to proof reading your friends texts before she sends them to a guy and evaluating if she actually likes him or if he’s tall is relatable and will have you laughing. This is Kiley Reids’ first novel and I will definitely read anything else she writes after this.

As much as this story is similar to what I know of life in my twenties in Philly, it’s also incredibly different than my experience living here as a white female. I have never had to think before walking into a grocery store in Rittenhouse, not about how I’m dressed, or if security will question why I’m there like she has to in this story. Supporting the BLM movement isn’t just big acts and donations, it’s listening and learning from the perspective of those that are different from you. Continuing to educate yourself, supporting POC in the arts, and making yourself uncomfortable while learning about what others truly go through in their daily lives is how you grow.

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The Last Mrs. Parrish

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Pairs well with: Pinot Grigio and a New England lobster roll

Essentially an East Coast version of Big Little Lies, I couldn’t put it down. I’ve come to trust most Reese’s Book Club recommendations, but this was one of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. The narrator POV bugged me at first because I wanted to understand every side of the story and all my questions answered right away but in the end the narration ended up being perfect for the unfolding of the story.

As part of my completely normal addictive personality, I needed to look up every detail of the authors life after reading. I was surprised that Liv Constantine is actually a pen name for two sisters who write together. There were so many small details that all perfectly came together in the end I cannot imagine how two people wrote it together.

They’ve written two other books that I’d definitely read in the future.