A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

 Liza Yang lives in Houston where her mom owns a bakery and her dad owns a restaurant next door.  Liza feels like she is expected to be perfect like her sister, but she feels anything but.  Her mom is CONSTANTLY trying to set her up with a "nice, Taiwanese or Chinese boy", but Liza wants to choose her own boyfriend.  As Liza finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and dumps him, she meets a boy who steps in  to protect her from his lashing out.  

Liza's mom has an annual baking contest and Liza wants to enter, her mom says no, but she can be a judge.  Little does Liza know her mom is stacking the contestants with all boys!  As Liza is dealing with her mom and her set-ups, she finds people are not always what they seem or what you expect.  

I am NOT a romance book person, but this was actually a fun read.  I would definitely recommend it for my romance readers, but really anyone looking for a fun read.  Great Houston life mentioned and very reminiscent of Jenny Han books!

Remember Me by Chelsea Bobulski

 

Nell and her father are moving to the Winslow Grand Hotel for him to be the social director.  She starts to have weird "memories" and feelings like she remembers stuff from there.  Aurelea is also telling her story of how one summer she went to stay with her family and was marrying a wealthy man at the end of the summer to save her family from poverty.  Nell lives in 2019 and Lea in 1907.  Told in alternating voices from the past and the present until they collide into one another.

Really enjoyed the book, story and premise.  Has all the elements for me...horror, mystery, supernatural and then adds some romance to the mix.  

Recommended For You by Laura Silverman

 Shoshanna is working in an independent bookstore, Once Upon, for the holiday season.  It is her home away from home.  She loves the owner, the books, the customers and helping people find their perfect book.  The owner hires a new worker, Jake, who is a non-reader and Shoshanna and he do NOT hit it off.  In fact, they rub each other the wrong way.  The owner starts a contest for whoever sells the most books will win a $250 bonus.  Shoshanna really wants to win so she can have enough money to fix her old car.  She is working double shifts and has a great chance to win, but Jake is also trying to win and the rivalry really starts up.  

Shoshanna is also dealing with her moms not getting along at home and she is worried they will get divorced.  Then she hears that Once Upon may be closing!  Overall, a diverse, clean romance with some real life struggles thrown in.

One Way or Another by Kara McDowell

 Paige's best friend is Fritz, with her next best friend being Clover.  Paige has kinda a crush on Fitz, but watches him go out with all other girls, and it's hard, so she writes him a letter telling him she loves him, but hates him and can't be friends anymore.  The problem she faces is should she give it to him or not???  In a turn of events, he grabs the letter, but promises he won't read it because she tells him it is part of his Christmas gift. Fritz then invites her to his cabin to spend the holidays with his family, which she wants to do.  Her mom comes home from work and says she won a trip to New York over Christmas, now Paige has to make a decision, cabin in the woods or NY city???  Paige has a horrible time making decisions and plays the what if game, but about what all could go wrong.  HEr friend Clover has her download the Magic 8 ball app to help her make a decision about what to do and as they are leaving the store Paige slips and hits her head.  

This leads to the book splitting into two realities.  In one she goes to New York with her mom, meets Harrison, and experiences the city life.  In two she goes to the cabin with Fritz and Molly (Fritz's ex) shows up.  The back and forth from one reality to another intertwine some, but in the end both realities come together, and Paige learns about herself and why she is the way she is.

Recommended for anyone in the mood for a clean romance and anyone who struggles with anxiety.  

 

Love & Olives (book 3) by Jenna Evans Welch

 The third book in this series is really a stand alone.  Olive doesn't really know her dad because he left when she was 8.  She has moved around with her mom and now lives with her stepdad and younger step brother and her mom is pregnant.  Olive has re-imaged her self into Liv, but can't be honest with her friends and boyfriend about her past self.  As Liv has plans for the summer they are interrupted by a postcard and plane ticket to visit her father in Greece!  She does NOT want to go, but her mother insists.  As she travels to Greece and meets her dad, she can't help but feel anger, insecurity, and sad about missing out on the relationship with her dad all those years.  She meets Theo, whose mom owns a bookshop with her dad.  Theo tries to help Liv see that her dad never forgot her and throughout the book Liv learns/ remembers about her dad and why he left in the first place.  

Good book, but by this one for me was a little formulaic.  It would be fine for any middle school student to read.  

Love & Other Detours by Jenna Evans Welch

This book is a two in one.  Welch's first novel Love & Gelato focuses on Lina, whose  mother just died from cancer, traveling to Italy to spend the summer or longer with her dad, who she never even knew existed.  Lina is not thrilled to go to Italy, but she promised her mother she would.  She is leaving her best friend, Addie, and all their summer plans.  As she arrives in Italy, she discovers she will be living in a cemetery that is a memorial for WWII American soldiers killed there.  Ugh.  She also discovers one of her mother's journals and with the help of a neighbor, Ren, starts to research into how her mother lived in Italy and met her father and why she left.  

The second book Love & Luck features Addie and her travels to Ireland to celebrate her Aunt's wedding.  While there she is supposed to visit Lina in Italy for a few days, but her brother, Ian, makes a change in plans when he and Addie get into a fight at their aunt's wedding and their mother puts strict restrictions on them.  Addie has a secret that Ian knows and thinks she should tell their mother about, but Addie just can't!!  She hasn't even told Lina!  As Addie misses her flight to Italy because of Ian and his friend, Rowan, Lina makes a plan to come to Ireland with Ren to see Addie.  As Addie, Ian, and Rowan travel across Ireland together, she ends up learning about herself and that she is more than she thought she was.  

The first book is fine for middle school.  I would say the second is as well, but I would feel more comfortable with 7th or 8th and up because of the nature of sending some photos to boys.