Friends with ARCs: The Love Hypothesis

Olive Smith is determined to show her best friend that she's moved on from her last romantic relationship. If Anh requires proof, she'll get it - and that's how Olive finds herself in a panic-induced kiss with the first man she sees. The man in question just so happens to be Adam Carlse…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: The Pick-Up

I've been keeping up with all of Miranda Kenneally's work since I first read her debut Catching Jordan  years ago, and I was looking forward to her latest YA contemporary novel The Pick-Up . The novel follows two teens, Mari and TJ, who first meet when they end up sharing a ride to a music fe…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: XOXO

XOXO  is the latest young adult novel from author Axie Oh, and it was an absolute delight  to read. Our heroine Jenny is a cello prodigy who is working hard to achieve her goal of going on to study at a prestigious music conservatory. One night, she encounters the mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her u…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: Arsenic and Adobo (+ Q&A with Mia Manansala)

I'm so excited to bring you this year's posts for Mabuhay! My best friend Rachel  and I have done this feature almost every year since 2014, both as a celebration of Filipinos in literature and to share a little bit about Filipino culture just in time for Philippine Independence Day on June …

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: An Emotion of Great Delight

An Emotion of Great Delight invites readers to intimately get to know and walk with main character Shadi. She's struggling to keep her head down in the wake of the harassment and targeting of the Muslim community in the wake of the political climate in the United States after 2001. She's al…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: People We Meet on Vacation

After reading and loving Emily Henry’s adult contemporary debut last year, I was really eager to read People We Meet on Vacation . Poppy is a free-spirited young woman who lives to wander the world and is lucky enough to call that her job. Or at least, she felt that way up until recently, when she r…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: Float Plan

Having read most of Trish Doller’s body of work, I was eager to get my hands on her adult contemporary debut Float Plan… especially after I found out about its compelling premise. Our heroine Anna is still grieving the loss of her fiancé (spoiler alert, but also content warning: suicide); her life’…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: You Have a Match

I adored Emma Lord's debut novel Tweet Cute so much, and with her sophomore novel, she's further cemented herself as an author whose work I'm bound to enjoy. You Have a Match  is about Abby, who ends up signing up for a DNA service with her best friend. With the results comes a surprisin…

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: Chasing Lucky + Rebel Rose

Chasing Lucky is the newest contemporary young adult novel from author Jenn Bennett. The story centers around Josie St. Martin, who returns with her mom to their family hometown determined to simply get through her senior year and then get out of this place to go and live with her father. But when …

Read more »

Friends with ARCs: A Golden Fury + Crazy Stupid Bromance

A Golden Fury follows Thea Hope, a young woman who has spent her entire life learning alchemy from her famous alchemist mother and who is currently assisting with the creation of the elusive Philosopher's Stone. On the cusp of their success, Thea's mother destroys the nearly completed creat…

Read more »