Weekend Reads: Love and Other Great Expectations by Becky Dean

 

Source: Goodreads.com

Love & Other Great Expectations, Becky Dean's debut novel is one of my favorite books of 2022 and ranks high among all books I've read. It's so fun and engaging! I had to force myself to put the book down to eat, work, sleep, and generally adult.
It's rare that I identify with heroines and a non-bookish athlete is not one I expected to find such a connection. And yet I did. Probably because our heroine is a thinks-before-she-speaks extrovert. So many authors are introverts and consequently, so are YA heroines often spilling more about themselves with pens or keyboards except for the dystopian chosen ones. Then their few words flip Shakespeare and swords take on the might of their authors' pens. But Britt wields neither pen nor sword but a soccer ball. Or at least she used to...

Britt Hanson is neither bookish nor brawny. She's a wounded athlete with no hope of attending UCLA once her soccer scholarship is pulled after a career-ending injury. That is until her English teacher invites Britt, her former best friend, an ambitious classmate, and an annoying one on a literary scavenger hunt in England.

Equipped with only a battered gym bag with a less than sturdy construction, Britt becomes an international traveler. Albeit one with a rather embarrassing baggage claim arrival. Whisked off to a posh London townhouse, Britt with her rule-following "babysitter" she sets off on a series of literary quests.

At their first stop, an orphanage, Britt meets Luke a bookish and very cute British boy with a future as uncertain as Britt's. Through their scavenger hunt (Luke can't help - that's against the rules), the clues teach Britt about Dickens, Chaucer, Austen, and other things she didn't learn in English class. But this is a competition with one winner, and all competitors have reasons they need the prize.

While unraveling the clues they experience a sword fight, high tea, and a camping trip with a quirky family. But someone is determined to win at all costs, and Britt is put in danger. One stop forces Luke to encounter the place of his greatest pain.

All the while, Britt's key to victory, completing a journal of her adventures, eludes her and may keep her from her dreams. She's a YA heroine. She has to be born to write great things and win the day. Except Britt is "not like every girl" (er, YA heroine) in a great twist on this classic trope. Writing is not her thing. And even as a writer, I love her for it.

But lest you think Britt is nothing but a vapid chatterbox, the pool under her churning waters is deep. Britt hides a soccer-career ending medical condition, not the obvious ACL-surgery scar but one that runs literally to her marrow. It's in that depth she connects with Luke the kind boy who is good with the written word. And in her enthusiasm, she pulls Luke out of his own pain.

Labor Day is around the corner, and this is the perfect weekend read. And feel free to pass it to the teenage girls in your life. It's a clean read with PG content. There are late-night talks and a few kisses but no heat, and I don't recall any objectionable language or content.

Weekend Reads: The Demon King (Lauricia)

 Greetings, all!

I hope all is well with you and yours! As I type, I'm enjoying a much-needed rain, the third-ish in a chain that recently broke a months-long drought with consistently record highs. Most of the trees, bushes, and grasses have been dry brown for most of the summer. Now, thanks to three days of afternoon showers, they have green tops! It's kind-of bizarre. Needless to say, I have avoided the scorching dryness by staying inside my air-conditioned home and reading. My most recently discovered treasure is this weekend's recommended reading: The Demon King (Seven Realms Book One) by Cinda Williams Chima.

Within the Seven Realms, the Queendom of the Fells is divided between the wizards, the Spirit Clans, and the Fellisians. Each group has scorned and despised the others for over a century, since the Breaking. Antagonized by the economic and political strains that accompany the civil war in other realms, tempers in the Queendom flare among the groups, ratcheting tensions to the breaking point. Raisa ana'Marianna, daughter of the clans and thirty-seventh descendant of the warrior queen Hanalea, longs to unify the peoples of the Queendom, but all of her efforts are blocked by Lord Gavan Bayar, the High Wizard of the Wizard Council who seems to be scandalously more than her mother the Queen's advisor.

Han Allister is a reformed Streetlord known for his silver cuffs, wide bracelets worth a fortune if he could only remove them. In order to stay off the streets, Han spends most of his time among the Spirit Clans, hunting for game and herbs he can sell in the Fells. It's a modest living, but it works well enough until wizards come to the Clan's lands, where they are forbidden. Han's encounter with Micah Bayar, son of the most powerful wizard in the Queendom, incites a series of events that go from bad to worse and cause Han to wonder if he wouldn't have been better off on the streets.

The Demon King is the first book in a four book series that is a refreshingly different story about trust and love in the face of insurmountable odds. This series takes place in an original cultural setting that blends the usual medieval trappings with tribal elements of cultures like the Indigenous Americans. Raisa is a strong female lead who is unique in her lack of reactivity. Instead of believing what she's told and reacting to unfounded revelations, she consistently insists that accusers provide evidence for their claims and only proceeds when she knows the facts of a situation, which I found very satisfying. The story is also masterfully woven across the entire series. I normally take small breaks between the books in a series, but I devoured all four of these books back-to-back. You will, too, so make sure you have all four books before you start.

If you read any of this series, I'd love to know what you think. Leave a comment or connect with me on Facebook or Instagram.

Until next time, happy reading!