Tag:

Romantic Comedy

Review

The Game is Afoot

by Brian Kenney

When is a cozy so much fun that you need to put down everything you are reading (or streaming) to just enjoy it? When that book is written by Elise Bryant, author of It’s Elementary. Here Mavis, our supermom hero, has way too many balls in the air. There’s the DEIB workshop in her daughter’s school that she has to attend—that’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging—where “I’ll be forced to sit here and smile and pretend like all the microaggressions that are surely coming are okay….” Plus her job which she finally abandons after imagining leaving for years. Add in her ex-husband, who is behaving exactly like she always wished he would when they were married. And a totally charming boyfriend. Then there’s the bevy of activities her daughter Pearl needs to be chauffeured to (almost-eight-year-old Pearl, BTW, is as sophisticated as she is funny.) It all comes slamming down one Saturday morning at soccer when Coach Cole drops dead, gasping for air. Sounds like a heart attack? Sure does. Except it turns out to be homicide. And who should take on investigating the Coach’s death? Fun and fearless—with an occasional anxiety attack—Mavis is the perfect character for 2025.

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Review

The Matchmaker

by Henrietta Thornton

Nura Khan has taken over Piyar, her grandmother Khala’s matchmaking business, which is a mix of old and new. Matchmaking is traditionally how young people in her Pakistani American community find their spouse, but Nura will only work with the prospective bride or groom, not their parents, and the young couple meets and dates before marrying. Nura grew naturally into the role; her father died before she was born and after her mother died in an accident, she went to live with her loving, successful aunt Khala, eventually taking over the Atlanta business. She loves the work, but there’s a problem: she’s single, and for a matchmaker who’s already reached the ripe age of 31, it’s not the best look. That’s why she brings Azar, her childhood friend who at one point almost became more—how she wishes it did!—to the many events involved in desi wedding celebrations. A worse problem arises when Piyar’s matches start to go terribly wrong and the business is getting trashed on social media. It’s a dangerous path to finding out who could have a grudge against Nura, one that brings in handsome doctor Azar and Nura’s lovable circle of friends and employees. Desi readers, fans of the reality shows dedicated to matchmaking, and everyone who loves a mystery and romance combo will savor YA author Saeed’s first novel for adults.

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Review

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

by Jeff Ayers

Carter’s latest novel answers the question: What if Agatha Christie wrote a rom-com? Maggie Chase writes cozy mysteries, and Ethan Wyatt writes thrillers for the same publisher. Maggie wants nothing to do with Ethan, and for some reason, he keeps calling her Marcie. Forced to fly together when a private jet takes them to a Christmas party hosted by a reclusive fan of their books, they are stunned to learn the host is none other than their favorite author, Eleanor Ashley, who inspired Maggie to start writing. Things get complicated when Eleanor vanishes, and shortly after that, murder joins the party. Maggie and Ethan are forced to trust each other since nobody else on Eleanor’s invite list appears innocent. This fast-paced novel reads like a mix of a terrific Hallmark movie and a Cary Grant movie from the 1930s. The dialogue alone is worth the price of admission. This is the perfect book for fans of Christmas romance and locked room mysteries and it’s understandable why it’s being compared to the last Knives Out movie.

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Review

It’s Elementary

by Brian Kenney

Mavis is one busy single mom. Pearl, her seven-year-old, is smart, funny, and chatty. Her ex, who tries to be a good dad, is a musician who is regularly on tour across the country. The non-profit Mavis works for has the bad habit of skipping her over for promotions. And Trish, the incredibly bossy head of the PTA—when will a house fall on her?—tricks Mavis, as one of only a handful of Black moms at the school, to head its DEI committee. “DEI means diversity, equity, and inclusion, sure,” Mavis says. “But it also means free labor to be given willingly to fix problems we didn’t create.” The novel is barely underway when the new school principal suddenly disappears while Mavis, while walking her dog late at night, passes the school, only to see Trish loading up her car with cleaning supplies and heavy plastic bags…filled with the remains of Principal Smith? Joining forces with Jack, the “superhot” school psychologist, Mavis sets off to find the lost principal. Beautifully written and well-paced, this delightful novel explores the many friends and family who surround Mavis, the struggles she experiences, and the love that flows throughout. Elise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of the young adult novels Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, and Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling.

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Review

Finding Mr. Write

by Henrietta Thornton

At first, Finding Mr. Write reads like hearty rom-com fare: Daphne McFadden, a struggling writer who can’t get an agent, hires a dishy man to pose as the author of her book. She wants to hate “Zane Remington” but can’t, and complications ensue, not to mention increasingly lingering looks. While the enjoyable rom-com type misunderstandings and drama continue throughout the book, there’s also more here. Crime and mystery come into play when Daphne’s publisher and the book’s rabid fans get ever closer to finding out that Zane isn’t really the author of the wildly popular “dark zombie thriller with a teen girl protagonist,” and Daphne worries about her legal future. There’s also a lot to absorb about the economics, biases, and general messed-up-edness of the publishing industry, with an overworked publicist, one in a long string of underpaid young women, one of the tale’s quiet heroes. This well-plotted look at a maybe-romance and the bizarro world writers inhabit is a fun mix of mystery and romance, and well worth a read.

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