Stacking the Shelves #53!

Stacking The Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and ReadingReality all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks!

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I requested a lot of books this week! Enough to keep me busy.

Blog Tour:

This just looked good and I like that it’s about a high school reunion.

Synopsis: At their milestone high school reunion, a group of friends make a pact to finally achieve their high school superlatives one way or another, in the lively new novel from the acclaimed author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.

In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for Friends. In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400.

Fast forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true? Fueled by nostalgia and one too many drinks, they form a pact to push through their middle-aged angst to bring their teenage aspirations to fruition, dubbing themselves the “Most Likely Girls.”

Through the ensuing highs and lows, they are reminded of the enduring bonds of friendship, the ways our childhood dreams both sustain and surprise us — and why it’s deeply uncool to peak in high school.

NetGalley:

This sounded good. I like stories about sisters.

Synopsis: A story about friends, sisters, motherhood and starting again – one day at a time…

Stella fell in love with Simon hard and fast. He was everything she wanted in a husband, and he seemed to feel the same way about her. More than a decade of marriage later, life is sweet. They have three much-wanted children, a successful business, and a comfortable London home. What more could Stella possibly want?

But then, out of the blue, Simon is gone. Vanished. No one knows where he’s gone or why.

Now Stella, with the help of her friends and family, has to pick up the pieces of her and her children’s life, all the while wondering what she missed. Was her husband who he said he was, and can she trust her own memories of their life together?

Helen McGinn’s latest novel is a love story to friendship, sisters, motherhood and starting again – one day at a time. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Noble, Cathy Kelly and JoJo Moyes.

I’ll admit that it was the cover that got me hooked on this book. Then I read the blurb and thought I would enjoy it.

Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost comes a sweeping story of two star-crossed lovers in post-World War II Italy, and a blossoming relationship generations later that will reveal a long-buried family secret.

Genoa, Italy, 1946. Vincenzo and Giovanna fall in love at twenty-one the moment they set eyes on each other. The son of a count and the daughter of a tailor, they belong to opposing worlds. Despite this, the undeniable spark between them quickly burns into a deep and passionate relationship spent exploring each other’s minds, bodies and their city, as well as Vincenzo’s family’s sprawling vineyard, Villa Della Rosa—until shifts in political power force them each to choose a side and commit what the other believes is a betrayal, shattering the bright future they dreamed of together.

New York, 2017. Cassandra and Luca are in love. Although neither quite fits with the other’s family, Cass and Luca have always felt like a perfect match for each other. But when Luca, an artist, convinces his grandfather and Cass’s grandmother to pose for a painting, past and present collide and reveal a secret that changes everything.

I love the blurb for this. It’s about the other side of reality TV dating.

Snyopsis: A razor-sharp and seductively hypnotic debut novel about the very fantasy of falling in love.

Emily is not particularly interested in dating. She simply wants to change her life after being fired from her dead-end job. So when she is recruited for the popular reality dating show The One, it doesn’t take much thought for her to sign up; it’s not as if she’d actually fall in love. But upon her arrival on set, it becomes clear her producer, Miranda, will do nearly anything to make sure Emily gets engaged by the end of the season, even if it means breaking Emily’s trust. The pressure builds as Emily navigates her connection with the lead and a growing relationship with another contestant. As the arc of the season begins to slot into place, both Emily and Miranda are forced to decide what they want—and what they are willing to do to get it.

A brilliant send-up of our cultural mythology around romance, The One examines how people can confuse wanting to be looked at—to be singled out and desired—with desire itself.

I have read a book by Teri Wilso before and enjoyed it, plus I love the cover and the blurb.

Synopsis: She pretends to be a princess at children’s parties.

But can she melt a real prince’s frosty heart?

Get swept away by a Christmas story from Hallmark.

and bestselling author Teri Wilson—the queen of royal romance!

“I’m Prince Nikolas of San Glacera. Oh, you’ve never heard of us? Well, you’re not the only one. Our country relies on winter tourism, but we’re attracting fewer and fewer visitors. I admit it’s a problem. I just don’t think the solution is an American who likes to play dress-up.

You see, while I was away on a trip, my younger sister convinced the palace to hold a contest. The winner gets to star in our annual Ice Village festivities and accompany our royal family to holiday events.

And who did they choose? Gracie Clark, who runs a children’s party business and performs as—I kid you not—‘Princess Snowflake.’

Of course, I do respect the fact that she volunteers at children’s hospitals. I suppose to some, she might have a certain charm… But the whole cheap spectacle is beneath our dignity.

I’m not going to shirk my duty to my kingdom. I’ll go to every event with her. At least, once Christmas is over, she’ll be gone…”

I saw this around on other Stacking the Shelves and thought it looked cute.

Synopsis: Dumplin‘ meets Well Met in this novel about finding your place in the world, learning love is a risk worth taking, and discovering what happens when you take your fate into your own hands.

Since her mother’s death, Madeline “Gwen” Hathaway has been determined that nothing in her life will change ever again. That’s why she keeps extensive lists in journals, has had only one friend since childhood, and looks forward to the monotony of working the ren faire circuit with her father. Until she arrives at her mother’s favorite end-of-tour stop to find the faire is under new management and completely changed.

Meeting Arthur, the son of the new owners and an actual lute-playing bard, messes up Maddie’s plans even more. For some reason, he wants to be her friend – and ropes her into becoming Princess of the Faire. Now Maddie is overseeing a faire dramatically changed from what her mother loved and going on road trips vastly different from the routine she used to rely on. Worst of all, she’s kind of having fun.

Ashley Schumacher’s The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway is filled with a wise old magician who sells potion bottles, gallant knights who are afraid of horses and ride camels instead, kings with a fondness for theatrics, a lazy river castle moat with inflatable crocodile floaties, and a plus-sized heroine with a wide open heart… if only she just admits it.

I’ve been wanting to read a book by Jesse Q. Sutanto for a while now, and this blurb just sounds adorable.

Synopsis: “A delightful, hilarious, captivating love letter to Indonesia, and coming of age in a large meddlesome family, and the thrill of finding your person where you least expect it!”–Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

A laugh-out-loud YA rom-com about a girl who’s whisked from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia to get back to her roots and finds herself fake-dating the son of one of the wealthiest families there, from the bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties and The Obsession.

After Sharlot Citra’s mother catches her in a compromising position, she finds herself whisked away from LA to her mother’s native Indonesia. It’ll be exactly what they both need. Or so her mother thinks.  

When George Clooney Tanuwijaya’s father (who is obsessed with American celebrities) fears he no longer understands how to get through to his son, he decides to take matters into his own hands. 

To ensure that their children find the right kind of romantic partner, Sharlot’s mother and George’s father do what any “good” parent would do: they strike up a conversation online, pretending to be their children.

When the kids find out about their parents’ actions, they’re horrified. Not even a trip to one of the most romantic places on earth could possibly make Sharlot and George fall for each other. But as the layers peel back and the person they thought they knew from online is revealed, the truth becomes more complicated. As unlikely as it may seem, did their parents manage to find their true match after all?

This sounded cute.

Synopsis: A Christmas countdown to remember!

Zoey Beake is having a bad December. She’s just been dumped, she’s had an extremely dodgy haircut that even the biggest woolly hat can’t hide, and then a tragic accident – involving an elf outfit, stilts, and a red double-decker bus labelled ‘The Santa Express’ – leaves her dead.

But then Zoey is given a second chance at life. Sent back to the start of December, if she can match six couples by Christmas Eve her life will be saved. Which gives her the perfect opportunity to win her boyfriend back too….

Can Zoey find love in time for Christmas?

A funny and uplifting Christmas romantic comedy for fans of Catherine Walsh, Josie Silver and Kristin Bailey!

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That’s all I have for this week. Have you read any of these books? What’s on your list to read? Comment below!