#5Books: Book recs, and The Baker and the Beauty is the kind of cuteness I needed

I’ve discovered the cutest show: The Baker and the Beauty.

I watched the first episode last week and could not stop smiling through it: Daniel meets Noa, a very famous pretty-person-model-businesswoman-etc-etc on the night he declines a proposal from his long-term girlfriend of four years. In public. After she serenades him with a Taylor Swift song (really well I might add).

Noa and Daniel hit it off big time — the kind of connection where it’s all sideways glances and something-almost-happens-but-doesn’t. And also, there’s the pesky hunky actor that’s her boyfriend. Or ex boyfriend, as she insists and he is trying to change her mind.

So there’s a lot happening, and then there’s Daniel’s glorious family: his parents who still look at each other like they’re teenagers in love, a brother who is trying everything and a little sister who is navigating the shit that is high school. The while family and their bakery exude warmth and love and everything Noa doesn’t have.

Yeah, yeah, I’m gushing. Totally hitting the spot for me. And I think it has stuck with me through my recs for this week.

Camp

From the author of the acclaimed Jack of Hearts (and other parts) comes a sweet and sharp screwball comedy that critiques the culture of toxic masculinity within the queer community.

Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It’s where he met his best friends. It’s where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it’s where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim – who’s only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.

This year, though, it’s going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as ‘Del’ – buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he’s determined to get Hudson to fall for him.

But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn’t know who he truly is?

Screwball comedy? Yes please, and I can appreciate the theme of toxic masculinity as well.

The Happy Ever After Playlist

From the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone comes an adorable and fresh romantic comedy about one trouble-making dog who brings together two perfect strangers.

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back.

Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can’t deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There’s no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

I dunno: I was thinking about getting a dog (even though with life right now, it wouldn’t work) and I may have watched one too many cute dog videos and, yeah, I want the dog and the happily ever after of this.

Pretty Funny

Does anyone ever really want to ‘fall’ in love? Knowing me I’ll just trip over it and graze my knee on the gravel of humiliation.

Haylah Swinton is fairly confident she’s brilliant at being a girl. She’s an ace best friend, a loving daughter, and an INCREDIBLY patient sister to her four-year-old total nutter of a brother, Noah. But she has a secret. She wants to be a stand-up comedian, but she’s pretty sure girls like her – big girls, girls who don’t get all the boys, girls who a lot of people don’t see – don’t belong on stage.

That hasn’t stopped her dreaming though, and when the seemingly perfect opportunity to write routines for older, cooler, impossibly funny Leo arises… well, what’s a girl to do? But is Leo quite an interested in helping Haylah as he says he is? Will Haylah ever find the courage to step into the spotlight herself? And when oh when will people stop telling her she’s ‘funny for a girl’?!

A book that makes me laugh out loud is something to be treasured, and that may be why I wanted to read this at first, but then the deeper themes registered and made me want it more!

A Good Marriage

Big Little Lies meets Presumed Innocent in this riveting novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia, in which a woman’s brutal murder reveals the perilous compromises some couples make—and the secrets they keep—in order to stay together.

Lizzie Kitsakis is working late when she gets the call. Grueling hours are standard at elite law firms like Young & Crane, but they’d be easier to swallow if Lizzie was there voluntarily. Until recently, she’d been a happily underpaid federal prosecutor. That job and her brilliant, devoted husband Sam—she had everything she’d ever wanted. And then, suddenly, it all fell apart.

No. That’s a lie. It wasn’t sudden, was it? Long ago the cracks in Lizzie’s marriage had started to show. She was just good at averting her eyes.

The last thing Lizzie needs right now is a call from an inmate at Rikers asking for help—even if Zach Grayson is an old friend. But Zach is desperate: his wife, Amanda, has been found dead at the bottom of the stairs in their Brooklyn brownstone. And Zach’s the primary suspect.

As Lizzie is drawn into the dark heart of idyllic Park Slope, she learns that Zach and Amanda weren’t what they seemed—and that their friends, a close-knit group of fellow parents at the exclusive Grace Hall private school, might be protecting troubling secrets of their own. In the end, she’s left wondering not only whether her own marriage can be saved, but what it means to have a good marriage in the first place

Mary Kubica described this as Part legal thriller, part domestic suspense, in her review for it, which actually answers my very first thought: I wasn’t sure if this was a thriller or a character piece, and I was sure if I was in the mood for it if it was the latter. But so many secrets, so many lies and… apparently a whole lot about bad marriages! Also, I just watched Presumed Innocent this week and damn, I forgot how good that movie is! Also made me miss Raul Julia.

The Good, the Bad and the Little Bit Stupid

The bestselling author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is in top form tackling money laundering and the state of Britain today in this vibrant, laugh-out-loud novel

George Pantis is in a pickle.

After walking out on his wife Rosie on Referendum night 2016 to shack up with hairdresser ‘Brexit Brenda’ next door, he thinks he’s got it made – especially when he wins millions on a Kosovan lottery he only vaguely remembers entering.

Unfortunately, he’s forgotten his password and can’t get at his money. Which is a problem because he suddenly has to contend with lots of forceful new friends desperate to know his mother’s maiden name.

As things quickly get out of hand, George must make a mad dash from Sheffield to the Adriatic – and into the arms of organized crime gangs who specialize in illegal kidney transplants and heroin smuggling.

George is in need of rescue – both from this pickle and from himself.
But will his son Sensible Sid, Brenda and Rosie put aside their differences long enough to help?
And might the journey bring this dysfunctional family back together?

Snorts. i thought George qualifies for the little bit stupid in the title, yes? And also, Brenda AND rosie working to save his ass? Oh, this i have to see — I mean I giggled my way through this blurb entirely!

That’s it for me. What strikes you fancy this week?

(Also, if anyone has a show to share to watch, please let me know. i refuse to watch regular tv any more, and I need recs)