Two for Tuesday: Five Star Romance Edition

 

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It just helps keep this space going.

Two for Tuesday is going all in on five stars today. Two romances, two very different worlds, both worth whatever's left of your summer reading time. 

Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan and The Open Era by Edward Schmit have both been out all summer, so I won't bore you with a big summary eery. Five stars for both.

I listened to Dolly on audio, narrated by Julia Whelan, and she's perfect for this one, which should surprise no one. Dolly herself is everything I want in a romantic lead: a real, down to earth woman with a job that's an actual job and a family that feels like an actual family. She's not twenty-five, and doesn't need to be. Her teenage son could have been written as an eye-rolling cliché and wasn't. Her brother's mental health struggles are handled with real care. There even a subplot where Dolly keep's a relationship with Stewart's mother even after the third act breakup. Monaghan's writing is sharp and funny then sneaks up on you and makes you feel things. Perfection. 

The Open Era is a completely different vibe and just as good. Austin is funny, smart, sweet, grieving, and dealing with real anxiety that's written honestly, including going to therapy for it. Watching him navigate a Grand Slam tournament and sudden media attention as the first openly gay man competing on that stage is moving. Diego might be the sweetest love interest I've read in a long time. The Grand Slam setting gives it this electric, high stakes backdrop, and for a debut novel, Schmit's control of the pacing is impressive. This is Schmit's debut novel and it's a stunner.

If you want romance with characters who have actual layers and depth, who are smart and funny, and feel real, both these books deliver. Crackling tension, great banter, swoon-worthy moments, the whole package. 

These are two five star reads to close out your summer. You can't go wrong with either one. 

You can grab a copy of either book at Bookshop.org and help out an indie bookstore while you're at it.

If you enjoyed this post, you might be interested in my review of Reality Bites. It's a fun romcom by Amy Mass.