Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Can't Wait Wednesday


Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I am combining CWW with Books From the Backlog hosted by Carole at Carole's Random Life in Books. This will allow me to feature some newly "rediscovered" books, which I plan on reading, alongside a new release.

This week I can't wait for:
Look
Zan Romanoff
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Dial Books
Release Date: March 31, 2020
Goodreads
Things Lulu Shapiro's 10,000 Flash followers don't know about her:
* That the video of her with another girl was never supposed to go public.
* That Owen definitely wasn't supposed to break up with her because of it.
* That behind the carefully crafted selfies and scenes Lulu projects onto people's screens, her life feels like a terrible, uncertain mess.

Then Lulu meets Cass. Cass isn't interested in looking at Lulu's life, only in living in it. And The Hotel—a gorgeous space with an intriguing, Old Hollywood history and a trust-fund kid to restore it—seems like the perfect, secret place for them to get to know each other. But just because Lulu has stepped out of the spotlight doesn't mean it'll stop following her every move.

It's a story about what you present vs. who you really are, about real intimacy and manufactured intimacy and the blurring of that line. It's a deceptively glamorous, feminist, emotionally complex, utterly compelling, queer coming-of-age novel about falling in love and taking ownership of your own self—your whole self—in the age of social media.
Why I want to read this book

I like the sound of this one. Social media has become such a big player in the world, and it's always interesting for me, when authors take on that giant in their stories. The setting also sounds quite wonderful - a historic old Hollywood hotel. And, it's a romance, which you all know, I love with all my heart.

Jesse's Girl
Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks, #6
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Goodreads
Practice Makes Perfect.

Everyone at Hundred Oaks High knows that career mentoring day is a joke. So when Maya Henry said she wanted to be a rock star, she never imagined she’d get to shadow *the* Jesse Scott, Nashville’s teen idol.

But spending the day with Jesse is far from a dream come true. He’s as gorgeous as his music, but seeing all that he’s accomplished is just a reminder of everything Maya’s lost: her trust, her boyfriend, their band, and any chance to play the music she craves. Not to mention that Jesse’s pushy and opinionated. He made it on his own, and he thinks Maya’s playing back up to other people’s dreams. Does she have what it takes to follow her heart—and go solo?
Why I want to read this book

I have nothing but love for this series. Before this year, I had only read the first two and the last book, but I am so happy I decided to finish the series. Every book has been a hit for me, with some earning all the stars. Aside from the fact, that this one makes me sing the Rick Springfield song all day, I love the premise of a rock star coming to mentor one of the Hundred Oak students. I am here for a good rock star romance with a twist, and I know Kenneally will give me a fantastic and meaningful story.

What are you waiting on?
Any backlog books you want to read soon? 
Let us know in the comments!

40 comments:

  1. I loved the Miranda Kenneally series, girls playing sports in male dominated environments is brilliant and I wish more books explored females playing sport. A great reminder that I need to pick the series back up as well Sam, I hope you enjoy these two, great choices!

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    1. This one is not sports orientated, but I know she will focus on something of substance. I love reading her author's notes at the end of her books, because she always shares her inspiration, which usually comes from her own personal experiences. I am happy I picked the series up again, but sad that I am almost finished

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  2. I really like the sound of look; I also enjoy books that explore social media and how it affects our lives.

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    1. It's interesting, but expected, to see more and more books focusing on social media, as it has become a HUGE part of our lives. The youth are especially shaped by it

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  3. I need to read more books about social media. I pretty much live on those sites, so they’re obviously interesting to me. I hope you love these books!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I don't tool away as much as I used to on social media, but it is definitely a part of my life.

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  4. Love the cover of Look, and books about social media are definitely so interesting these days! Hope you get these both soon!
    Check out my Wednesday post

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    1. I think it's relevant, and something many of those in the target market could relate to

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  5. I need to try the Hundred Oaks series. Nice picks!

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  6. Jesse's Girl was my first book in that series and I loved it! I hope you do, too!

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    1. Good to know! I think I started at the beginning, read another book, and got an ARC of the last. I just started reading them again during #ReadForGrace, and I am happy to be continuing the series. Though, I am almost done, which is sad

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  7. I’ve only read one from Kennealley but I liked it a lot (Breathe Annie Breathe). I’ve always meant to go back and read more from her but it just hasn’t happened. I’ll be interested to see what you think of Jesse’s Girl. (And now I have Rick Springfield in my head... )

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    1. Yep, Tanya, we are cursed by our age, and that song being forever embedded in our memory. I so in love with this series. I am sad that it's almost over for me

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  8. These both sound really good. I especially like the sounds of Look.

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    1. I have not read anything from the author, but I have all her books on my TBR. They all sound as good as this one.

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  9. Jesse's girl was a sweet one.

    Odd trivia - I was dating a boy named Jesse when the song was out so everyone used to play or sing that to me lol

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. That is funny! Glad you enjoyed this one. I should be starting it today, and I always look forward to reading a Kenneally book

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  10. You're going to love Jesse's Girl Sam! I can't wait for you to read it!!! I'm looking forward to your review on it :)

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. I thought I would, but everyone is just reinforcing my thoughts. So, YEAH!

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  11. Social media is so huge now, I agree, and so integral to the young especially, I love that YA is addressing it so much.

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    1. I think it's important to tackle it from all side, because it is so prevalent in everyday life.

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  12. I love books that focus on social media. I just read a thriller last week that focused on the dangers of oversharing and really liked that its cautionary message was so relevant. I also now have the old Rick Springfield song in my head after seeing that second title, lol.

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    1. It seems everyone of a certain age is getting the Springfield earworm. I know I did. I do think it's important that books feature the good and bad sides of online life, as we spend so much time there

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  13. Both of these sound delightful. I'm leaning towards Look to read first.

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    1. It's newer and a tackles something topical. I am very interested in seeing what the author does there

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  14. Look sounds like something that Id really like. hope you have a wonderful week ahead.
    Muah 💋 Helena

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    1. I have heard good things about the author too. So, curious about the story and her writing. Hope you have great week too!

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  15. I got curious about Hundred Oaks because it sounds familiar so I looked it up and I have indeed encountered this series without knowing Catching Jordan's part of it. I saw that book a lot in the "Readers Also Enjoyed" section when I just got into sports romance.

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    1. The nice part of these book is that Kenneally catches us up with Jordan and Sam in each book. I love that! I read the last book a while back, and just seeing their relationship over all those years was something special I love about this series

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  16. Both sound great! I read a thriller tied to social media last year, and it still makes me stop and think.

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    1. It's amazing how much information we unwittingly give away via social media. I remember this one survey type FB thing, and when someone pointed it out, I realized they were all those security type questions used for verifying identity.

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  17. I'm with you on wanting to read Look -- I am super interested in the different ways authors incoorporate and explore social media. And a romance? Perfect. Looking forward to it! I know you'll read it before me though... Here's hoping it's a 5-star read!

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    1. All that and I have been wanting to try the author. Definitely sounds like something I would enjoy

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  18. I remember when Jesse's Girl was all over the place. Is that a series that needs to be read in order? I also think that the book that deal with social media sounds interesting. Social media is such a big part of our lives anymore. I hope you enjoy both of these!

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    1. I did not read the series in order, but a few have overlapping characters, and Kenneally includes the very first couple in each book (which I love)

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  19. I read A Song to take the world apart by Zan Romanoff and really enjoyed it. I also have her second novel on my kindle but just need to take the time to get around to reading it. So excited for her third release!

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    1. I have been wanting to read something from her forever. They don't have any of her books at the eLibrary, but I keep hoping they will get some soon. Maybe you will read this book, and let me know how it is.

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