Rereads, new reads, reissues and more evidence of my BAC (Book Acquisition Compulsion) problems  [a vertical row of trade paperback books from left to right: Played, Pucked Up, The Garden of Small Beginnings, Get Lost with You, My Big Fat Fake Marriage - on top of a vertical stack of TBR books from top to bottom: Flirting Lessons, Say You'll Remember Me, Scot and Bothered, Savor It, Kills Well with Others]  Comfort reread contemporary romance, Played by Naima Simone and (not shown) historical romance, Devil In Disguise by Lisa Kleypas. Indulged in another angsty YA hockey romance, Pucked Up by Helena Hunting. Emotional upheaval and struggling through the stages of grief in contemporary women's fiction with romantic elements, The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman. More struggles and triumphs of moving forward after returning to one's childhood home in contemporary romance, Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan, and an amusing break from the glorification of a-hole bil...

A woman creates the man of her dreams and sets off a problematic chain of cascading consequences.    [a hardcover book arranged face up: "BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su" with a "NEW" sticker in the upper right corner]  BLOB, A Love Story by Maggie Su  contemporary speculative fiction  Harper, January 2025  Comparisons to a more lighthearted Frankenstein are appropriate for this poignant tale about excavating the fundamentals of identity. Vi Liu is experiencing a very rough entry into adulthood. She's lonely. When a chance to create her perfect mate presents itself, she goes for it. Unexpected revelations and mayhem ensue.  Similar to The Blob movie of the 1950s starring Steve McQueen, once it starts absorbing things it's hard to stop.  BLOB is ultimately a provocative self-love* story that explores the ways in  which people reconcile the various elements of themselves - or don't.    *For romance fans: This is a love story, not a ro...