September 9, 2020

Recommended for You Blog Tour: Q&A with Laura Silverman


Hey, everyone, I'm so happy to recommend Laura Silverman's latest book, Recommended for You, which is a contemporary holiday season romance. That's everything we need after this roller coaster of a year. I'm also excited to have Laura Silverman on the blog to talk about other YA books.

The Interview

Laura, it's so lovely to have you on Awkwordly Emma again. Since I asked fairly standard questions when I interviewed you in 2017 for the release of GIRL OUT OF WATER, I thought I'd structure the questions around a theme this time. :)

Emma: When you give your friends book recommendations, do you try to suit their tastes or primarily share books you've loved? 
Laura: A little bit of both! I think for my friends who read less often, I definitely think more carefully about what might appeal to them. But I love recommending books tailored for their tastes and also just being really enthusiastic about any great book I’ve read!

Emma: What would be on your dream winter break or summer vacation TBR list? 
Laura: This might sound a little strange, but I often love reading darker and more twisted books in the summer. There’s something really nice about reading a scary book out in the bright sun! And I love reading romcoms as it gets colder outside to brighten up the drearier days! 

Emma: What book makes you feel the same way your favorite Jewish foods do? (And feel free to wax poetic about food, too.) 
Laura: Oooh, Jewish foods feel like a giant, warm, comforting hug. Some titles that pop to mind are Eliza and Her Monsters, The Upside of Unrequited, and This Is How We Fly!

Emma: A teen comes into Once Upon looking for some books that are like a recent hit TV show. What books would Shoshanna recommend to them? (You pick the show!) 
Laura: Let’s see, if they came in looking for books like Love, Simon, I’d recommend You Should See Me in a Crown and Late to the Party!

Emma: Enemies-to-lovers or friends-to-lovers? 
Laura: I really love both! I feel like RFY has a little bit of enemies to friends to lovers happening. I’m 100% down for both tropes!

Emma: Obviously you can't leave without giving my readers some recs. What YA have you read and loved recently? 
Laura: I’ve already mentioned some in this post! Let’s see This is How We Fly, You Should See Me in a Crown, Today Tonight Tomorrow, and Late to the Party. I’ve also been reading some adult fiction over quarantine and recently loved The Vanishing Half and One to Watch!

Laura: Thank you for your wonderful questions! This was such a fun idea ☺ 


The Book

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To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets You’ve Got Mail in this charming and hilarious rom-com following two teen booksellers whose rivalry is taken to the next level as they compete for the top bookseller bonus.

Shoshanna Greenberg loves working at Once Upon, her favorite local bookstore. And with her moms fighting at home and her beloved car teetering on the brink of death, the store has become a welcome escape.

When her boss announces a holiday bonus to the person who sells the most books, Shoshanna sees an opportunity to at least fix her car, if none of her other problems. The only person standing in her way? New hire Jake Kaplan.

Jake is an affront to everything Shoshanna stands for. He doesn’t even read! But somehow his sales start to rival hers. Jake may be cute (really cute), and he may be an eligible Jewish single (hard to find south of Atlanta), but he’s also the enemy, and Shoshanna is ready to take him down.

But as the competition intensifies, Jake and Shoshanna grow closer and realize they might be more on the same page than either expects…


The Author


Laura Silverman is an author and editor currently living in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her MFA in writing for children at the New School. Her books include Girl Out of WaterYou Asked for PerfectIt’s a Whole Spiel, and Recommended for YouGirl Out of Water was a Junior Library Guild Selection. You can contact Laura on Twitter @LJSilverman1 or through her website LauraSilvermanWrites.com.


Blog Tour Schedule

Week 1


8/24/2020
Author Q&A
8/25/2020
Review
8/26/2020
Book Highlight w/ Giveaway
8/27/2020
Mood Board
8/28/2020
Top 10 List
Week 2


8/31/2020
Review
9/1/2020
Author Q&A
9/2/2020
Book Highlight w/ Giveaway
9/3/2020
Review
9/4/2020
Review
Week 3


9/7/2020
Review
9/8/2020
Book Highlight W/ Giveaway
9/9/2020
Author Q&A
9/10/2020
Review
9/11/2020
Review
Week 4


9/14/2020
Review
9/15/2020
Author Q&A
9/16/2020
Review
9/17/2020
Review
9/18/2020
Review

August 10, 2020

Rewind & Review #166


~The last few weeks have been varied and weird, hence why this post is up a day late.
~Anyways, Save the USPS, y'all. Buy stamps and contact your reps and senators.

Books I Bought
Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers
Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens

Books I Read
Survival of the Fritters by Ginger Bolton (3 stars)
I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee (4 stars)
Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone (3 stars)
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner (3 stars)
Lucky Caller by Emma Mills (reread)
Stacey McGill, Super Sitter by Ann M. Martin (reread)
Claudia and the Great Search by Ann M. Martin (reread)
Mary Anne and the Search for Tigger by Ann M. Martin (reread)
More Than Maybe by Erin Hahn (4 stars)
Recommended for You by Laura Silverman (4 stars)
Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens (4 stars)
The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi (4 stars)
Tumbling by Caela Carter (reread)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks
   (from 7/27-8/8)

August 7, 2020

So You Like... #99

You had to know this post was coming. With folklore only a few weeks behind us, I've been fully immersed in the album. I listen to the whole thing almost every day. So now it's time for book recs that will pair well with Taylor Swift's eighth studio album.



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What books would you add to this list?

August 4, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Colors in Their Titles


I thought this week's theme would be super easy to follow, but books were surprisingly hard to find on my Goodreads shelves?? Here are ten I managed to come up with though.


1. Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore


2. Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak


3. The Grass Is Always Greener by Jen Calonita


4. Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai


5. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys




7. Princess of the Silver Woods by Jessica Day George


8. Golden by Jessi Kirby


9. Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater


10. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery


What books did you come up with for this week's prompt?

July 31, 2020

Most Anticipated August 2020 Releases

Well now we come to the month that's usually one of the quietest in publishing; instead, a bunch of titles were pushed from May and June releases to now.

Waiting For

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1. The Black Kids by Christina Hammonds Reed (8/4/20)
Historical fiction set during the early '90s about the Rodney King riots.

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2. Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan (8/4/20)
Food memoirs are truly my catnip.

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3. Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers (8/4/20)
The new conclusion to the His Fair Assassin saga.

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4. Death Sets Sail by Robin Stevens (8/6/20)
I am highkey sad this is the last Murder Most Unladylike book, but I need it anyway.

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5. A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan (8/11/20)
Middle grade and food? Yes please.

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6. All Our Worst Ideas by Vicky Skinner (8/11/20)
I have a soft spot for contemporary YA that no one is talking about.

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7. The Knockout by S.A. Patel (8/18/20)
Y'all know I love books that lead to the Olympics (RIP to Tokyo 2020), so here we are with one that isn't my usual gymnastics or figure skating fare.


Already Read - You Should, Too!

Yet again, I have read no upcoming books. Meep.

July 28, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: #QuietYA Recs from 2020


Another freebie topic week! I decided to take this time to highlight a bunch of YA that has slid under the radar so far this year. Of course, a lot of books have been overshadowed by COVID, but there's also the usual bunch that didn't make the NYT Bestseller List, even though they should've.

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1. Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning

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2. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli

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3. This is My Brain in Love by I.W. Gregario

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4. The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne

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5. Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed

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6. Moment of Truth by Kasie West

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7. Not So Pure and Simple by Lamar Giles

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8. Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

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9. In the Shadow of the Sun by E.M. Castellan

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10. The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett


What under-the-radar books pubbed this year have you loved?

July 26, 2020

Rewind & Review #165

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I am somehow, miraculously, functional after folklore. But it'll be the only thing on my mind for awhile still.

Books I Received for Review
You Have a Match by Emma Lord (from Wednesday Books via NetGalley)

Books I Won/Traded for/was Gifted
Recommended for You by Laura Silverman (from Laura's twitter giveaway)

Books I Read
A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette (3 stars)
The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne (4 stars)
The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson (4 stars)
The Do-Over by Jennifer Honeybourn (3 stars)
Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein (5 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

July 14, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make Me Smile


Don't we all need books that make us smile right now? I love an emotionally-wrenching, sweeping story, too, but I think I love the softer, happier stories a little bit more. The books I'm about to list are not all rainbows and sunshine, but they're primarily sunny summer days wrapped in book binding.

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1. From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

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2. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

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4. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

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5. Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

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6. Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills

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7. A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

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8. Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

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10. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

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Bonus pick: Heist Society by Ally Carter


What books make you smile?

July 12, 2020

Rewind & Review #164


~I baked a pie.

Books I Received for Review
The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor (from Inkyard Press via NetGalley)

Books I Bought
Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein
The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning

Books I Read
The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir (3 stars)
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen (4 stars)
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (4 stars)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (reread)
The Jewel Thief by Jeannie Mobley (3 stars)
The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (reread)
The Mall by Megan McCafferty

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

July 11, 2020

Emma's Ultimate Rec Series: Latinx Authors

Though this list is a bit short, I have thoroughly enjoyed all these books I'm about to recommend.


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Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore

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Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson
(Main character is Black but not Latinx, from what I remember.)

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With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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Analee, in Real Life by Janelle Milanes

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Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno

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The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
(Main character is not Latinx. The author's next book is about a Cuban-American girl, however.)


What books by Latinx authors have you enjoyed? Will you be adding these from my list to your TBR?