What Evie is Reading
I love finding new authors thanks to the passion of readers who recommend their books. This month I was introduced to three authors whose books I just adored. We’ve got a single dad friends-to-lovers romance set in the world of stand-up comedy that had me from the dedication, a wonderfully layered and structured second chance romance between a movie star and a journalist, and a gloriously sexy and funny fish out of water love story between a grumpy mechanic and a romance novelist whose lost her mojo. Read on, my friends, to find out more!
______________________________________
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
Funny Feelings had me at the dedication:
This book is dedicated to all the women who’ve ever been told that they’re Too Much. Maybe you’re too loud, too crass, too open, too bawdy. You overshare too often, say too many bad words, you’re too weird, or too emotional. To the women who, in their quiet moments, still think back on their social interactions and wonder if they really are too much, or if they should feel embarrassed, or ashamed. You are fucking incredible. You are my people. Don’t you dare dilute yourselves to make yourselves more palatable. You are all heart and fire.
All reviews are coloured by the lives, likes and dislikes of the reader. Sometimes one line can bug a reviewer to the point of throwing an author and their work under the bus, or inspire them to make the book the one they recommend to everyone who will listen. Funny Feelings reached down to the bottom of my soul, gathered up everything wild and untethered, brought it up into the light and yelled ‘This Should Be Celebrated!’ This story spoke to me as a woman, a mother, a creator, a comedian, someone riddled with self-doubt and someone who yearns for connection. It deals with imposter syndrome, mental health, and the creative process of putting your heart and soul out on a plate for the world to devour or despise.
At the centre of Funny Feelings is Farley. DeWitt writes – ‘I wanted to write a woman who has a ‘foul’ mouth, who tells sex stories to the public, who is loud and obnoxious and willing to be self-depreciating and even makes a living out of it. I wanted to write a character that makes silly, stupid jokes, but is deceptively brilliant, driven and feels deeply.’ At the start of Funny Feelings, Farley’s career is about to take off. In a few months she’s embarking on a nationwide tour, supporting two huge names. These two comics tell Farley she needs to raise her profile, and that the best way to do this is to fake a relationship with her manager and best friend, former comic Meyer. Farley isn’t sure, but has been in love with Meyer for years so goes along with the plan.
Funny feelings is a friends-to-lovers, fake relationship, single dad, age gap, workplace romance, where each trope feels natural, organic and real. Written in first person, each voice is completely unique and utterly absorbing. It’s brilliantly written, mature, polished, emotive, funny, and an example of an indie published book that should be front and centre in every bookstore. Funny Feelings gave me all the feels and I could not recommend it more highly.
Official Book Blurb
When falling in love is the punchline…
Farley Jones is being forced to date Meyer Harrigan, the man she has come to love, in order to make all of her stand-up dreams come true.
It’s agony— a tragedy, even. In lieu of flowers, please send cash…
Meyer and his daughter Hazel have been everything to her since they came into her life three years ago. So, all joking aside, the stakes are especially high when it’s not only her career, but both of those relationships on the line.
A former stand-up star himself, Meyer has been vital to the trajectory of her career since he began managing her… Since he became her closest and most treasured friend, in the process.
This friendship is the only reason why, when the biggest opportunity of Farley’s career includes thrusting him back into the spotlight to stir up publicity, he agrees— in spite of his grumpiness, his protectiveness over Hazel, and his disdain for public attention.
It doesn’t take long for their act to bring all those other funny feelings out into the open, and, like most matters of the heart, it quickly begins to feel like anything but a joke.
Funny Feelings is a swoony story about friendship, love, and looking for the laugh in life. It touches on the creative spirit and all that comes with sharing that gift, and how oftentimes the comedians in our lives are the most sensitive, or struggling. It features two friends, one incredible little girl, and a kaleidoscope of feelings along the way.
Get your hands on a copy of Funny Feelings by clicking here!
And follow Tarah’s work through her social media
______________________________________
Forever Endeavor by Barbara Kellyn
What do you do if you’re a bestselling romance writer who doesn’t believe in love anymore? When Billie’s husband left her, he walked out the door with her creativity, leaving her with nothing but a broken heart and writer’s block. Now her agent is hassling her for an overdue manuscript and Billie’s all out of ideas. In desperation she accepts her agent’s advice and heads for the Caribbean, armed with her laptop and a bumper pack of condoms hoping to recapture her mojo. However, she doesn’t quite make it to Catalina island as her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere on the way to the airport. Stranded, she’s rescued by Sonny, the hottest and grumpiest mechanic on the face of the earth, who wants to get her out of his truck and life as quickly as possible. The trouble is, parts for Billie’s car aren’t available until next week, and the small town of Janus Lake doesn’t have a hotel. Luckily for Billie, fisherman Cal offers her a place to stay, failing to mention he lives in the house with his nephew, Sonny.
Forever Endeavor is a small town, enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy with steam, sass, and snort laughs. It’s utterly charming and captivated me from the start. As well as watching the relationship develop between Billie and Sonny, there’s a side story that weaves in Uncle Cal, Billie’s writing, the past and the future which I absolutely adored. Kellyn is a brilliant writer. Her words sparkle and pop and the story flows so effortlessly it is a joy to read. If you like super smart and easy-going romantic comedy with the bedroom door left firmly open then you’ll love this book!
Official Book Blurb
Inspiration walked out on bestselling romance author Billie Mustard the day her husband blindsided her with divorce papers, leaving her clouded by writer’s block and soured on happily ever after.
Time-pressed to deliver a new manuscript about everlasting love, Billie embarks on an exotic vacation to find her muse, only to be forced to detour to dinky Janus Lake, a speck on the map known for its fishing and a bizarre statue of a Roman god in the middle of town. It’s bad enough that she’s missed her flight and stranded with a useless suitcase of beachwear, but now she can’t escape the small-town suckitude of Sonny Hayes, the surly grease monkey in a distractingly tight t-shirt who towed her car and seems to get off on pushing her buttons.
While counting the hours until she can leave, Billie’s imagination is revived by a 40-year-old tale of star-crossed lovers. She sets out to engineer the perfect happy ending that the story is missing, her unwritten book is lacking, and her marriage never got. What could possibly go wrong?
Get your hands on a copy of Forever Endeavor by clicking here!
And follow Barbara Kellyn’s work through her website here and on social media
______________________________________
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
Ten years ago, journalist Chani Horowitz spent a weekend interviewing Hollywood heartthrob Gabe Parker, and the article she wrote arguably made both of their careers. Now, ten years on she’s interviewing him for a second time and the stakes have never been higher. He’s a recovering alcoholic trying to resurrect his career, and Chani is desperate to find closure on what happened between them a decade ago.
Funny You Should Ask deftly weaves together past and present, truth and fiction, articles, blog posts, reviews and social media posts into a rich tapestry of a story that reveals itself slowly as we get to know Chani and Gabe. It examines commonly held beliefs that certain writing and subject matter is inferior to others, and the inherent misogyny underpinning women in the workplace. The self doubt that Chani experiences is all too real, and I was cheering her throughout the book as she grew into her confidence and slowly learned to value herself as she should.
Funny You Should Ask is engaging and brilliantly crafted. It’s a clever, modern love story and I adored it.
Official Book Blurb
Then. Twenty-something writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. While her former MFA classmates are nabbing high-profile book deals, all she does is churn out puff pieces. Then she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker: her number one celebrity crush and the latest James Bond. All Chani wants to do is keep her cool and nail the piece. But what comes next proves to be life changing in ways she never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing–and Chani getting closer to Gabe than she had planned.
Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a healthy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles as a successful writer with the career of her dreams. Except that no matter what new essay collection or online editorial she’s promoting, someone always asks about The Profile. It always comes back to Gabe. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. She wants to pretend that she’s forgotten about the time they spent together. But the truth is that Chani wants to know if those seventy-two hours were as memorable to Gabe as they were to her. And so . . . she says yes.
Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, this deliciously irresistible novel will have you hanging on until the last word.
Get your hands on a copy of Funny You Should Ask by clicking here!
And follow Elissa Sussman’s work through her website here and on social media
______________________________________
So there you go! Three funny books that will give you all the feelings. Have you read any of these yet? Got any recommendations for my next read? Get in touch via email or social media and let me know!
Evie x
A History of Hot Men in Kilts
