Every Time You Hear That Song by Jenna Voris
When Darren’s favourite country music star and idol Decklee Cassel dies and leaves the world with a time capsule scavenger hunt with three million dollars and a missing album, Darren doesn’t hesitate. She calls the only friend left in town with a car, her colleague at the gas station Kendall, and hits the open road to Memphis, Tennessee.
Told in alternating perspectives between Darren’s road trip and Decklee’s rise to fame, this is a story made for summer. Road trips, escaping small town life, country music, romance in the air…this is the perfect teen romance with extremely relatable characters.
Coming from a small southern town myself, I was so impressed with Voris’s ability in writing setting. Every time I opened the book, I instantly became homesick for the place I left. She just hit the nail on the head.
Liv and I buddy read this and have had so much fun discussing and gushing. When asked if Liv would like to contribute to my review, she said, “This is Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Dolly Parton. Yeehaw!” – Hannah
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Daphne’s fiancé has just left her for another woman. Even worse? Her new roommate is said woman’s ex. He’s her opposite in every way… and the only person who could possibly understand her predicament. They mostly avoid each other, until one night, after a few too many drinks, they hatch a hare-brained scheme: pretend to be together to make their exes jealous. What could possibly go wrong?
Emily Henry’s books embody everything that I love about this genre. Witty, unexpected, deeply emotional and exceptionally romantic, Funny Story shows why Emily Henry is the reigning romcom queen – Nora Ephron for a new generation! – Liv
Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad
Chris Broad was a young graduate when, in 2012, he blagged his way on to a teaching programme in Japan by feigning enthusiasm for being posted to a remote region. Sent to teach English in Yamagata Prefecture, he was suddenly thrust into a culture he understood little about and expected to educate hundreds of youngsters every day.
Abroad in Japan takes the reader into the everyday of Sensei Broad as he adjusts to life in a new culture, and becomes something of a curiosity as a westerner in this small corner of Japan. Taking in the stunning landscape, naked public baths, weird and wonderful encounters and the local cuisine, this funny, enlightening and very entertaining fish-out-of-water travel book is perfect for fans of Bill Bryson.