Sara and Melissa talk about...90 Day Fiancé

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. This month we're talking about the reality television series 90 Day Fiancé, just to change things up a bit!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them.

Melissa Amster:

Back in 2018, a friend of mine kept talking about 90 Day Fiancé, so I decided to give it a try. I'm not much of a reality TV watcher, so this was a step outside of my comfort zone. However, it did sound interesting. I started from the very beginning and binge-watched until I was caught up to the current season. The next time I met up with my friend, we definitely had a lot to talk about! 

A while back, some friends from college had sent me an article saying that a mutual acquaintance was on a reality show. I kind of dismissed it at the time, but then I saw this person on 90 Day Fiancé and it all came back to me. I might not have even known it was them if my friends hadn't told me in advance. This person wouldn't even remember me anyway, so I never contacted them about it. Small world, though!

I got Sara into this show, and sometimes our correspondence delves into what is happening on the episodes. We even watch the "Tell All" episodes together and comment on everything that is happening. We first did this by text, but now I Skype with her and watch it on her TV through the computer screen. We have a lot of inside jokes now, thanks to this show. I even gave her a magnet based on one of the notorious individuals. 

Anyway, in case you were wondering, 90 Day Fiancé is about these couples in extremely long distance relationships, where they decide to get married and the person from another country gets a K-1 Visa to come to the US. Once they arrive, they have 90 days to get married or the person from the other country has to go back. However, this isn't all hearts and flowers. There is a lot of drama. The show thrives on all the drama! Whether it's due to potential catfishing, mama's boys whose mothers are intent on coming between them and their betrothed, money issues (especially when the in-laws are asking for ridiculous amounts of it), infidelity, large age differences, religious differences, etc., there's always someone crying by the end of each episode. 90 Day Fiancé has a lot of spin-offs, the biggest being The Other Way and Before the 90 Days. In both shows, the American goes to another country to be with the one they love. On The Other Way, it's to move there permanently. On Before the 90 Days, it's to hopefully get engaged so they can move onto the regular show with the K-1 Visa.

There are some couples who really put an effort into their relationship and didn't make it a media circus. I'd like to give a shout-out to the following couples, in honor of Valentine's Day and keeping it real: 

• Loren and Alexei (Side note: My best friend sent me a Cameo from Loren for my birthday last year. It was so nice!)
• Alan and Kirlyam
• Kenneth and Armando (The first gay male couple!)
• Brett and Daya
• Kyle and Noon
• Amy and Danny

If you either watch 90 Day Fiancé and want something to read while waiting between seasons (or episodes) or you don't watch yet and want a taste of what it's like when two people come from different worlds, try out these books:

• Wrapped Up in You by Carole Matthews
• Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles
• Beshert by Erin Gordon
• The Marriage Code by Brooke Burroughs
• Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim
• Where Jasmine Blooms by Holly S. Warah
• Flirting with Forty by Jane Porter (even though it's just in Hawaii, it's about a woman who meets a much younger man while on vacation, and there's still long distance and similar drama involved.)

If you have other book recommendations along these lines, I'd love to hear them!

Sara Steven:

When the original seasons of 90 Day Fiancé had first aired, I had no desire to see any of them. It had nothing to do with a lack of interest where reality television is concerned, because I really enjoy reality T.V. I love Dancing with the Stars and Survivor and the real guilty pleasure shows that I don’t often talk about, like the Teen Mom franchise and America’s Next Top Model when that was still a thing. So, you’d think that the 90 Day episodes would have fit right in.

My initial hesitation stemmed from the concept of the show; random individuals, seeking love from other random individuals in other countries. I didn’t see the potential enjoyment that could come from watching unlikely duos, at times having never met in person before, using online dating sites or video chat or email or the old standby, cell phones and telephone calls in order to communicate with one another, each with a pressing need to potentially marry due to a K-1 Visa. 

Melissa would often talk about the couples from the show, and she’d gently nudge me into seeing even one episode, just to see what I would think. Well, fast forward a few years, and my fifteen year-old son placed this image of Big Ed as my screensaver on my phone a while back, and it’s still there. I think that means I’m pretty much committed to the 90 Day Fiancé franchise.

In fact, when I decided to take the plunge into relationship disasters and oddly eccentric couples, not to mention their overbearing parents--I’m talking to you, Ron and Betty--I never really knew just how deep I’d get into it. The original series. The Happily Ever After series. Before the 90 Days and The Other Way and Strikes Back, too. But I do have my limits, as in, I won’t ever watch The Family Chantel or Darcey and Stacey, because let’s face it, I have to have some limits, somewhere. But overall, I’ve really enjoyed watching couples either fall madly in love and live wonderful lives together which, I know, is hard to believe, but it really does happen. And, I’ve enjoyed watching the shenanigans of other couples (or, sometimes, a man and his mother, as with Colt and Debbie) when the relationship doesn’t work out, and drama ensues. 

It’s also been a lot of fun to share tidbits and thoughts with Melissa, my partner in crime, when we watch the Tell Alls together, the season’s final end and where most of the chaos collects, considering it’s basically a room full of all of the couples from the season hashing everything out that had happened over the last several months, picking sides and at times, nearly coming to blows (or weird body jerk movements, as with Asuelu when he gets angry) or storming off the set into a fit of mass hysterics. Most of the time, you love to hate them, and hate to love them; the 90 Day Fiancé couples.

Here are a few of my favorites over the years. Whether it’s for the good or the bad, it has been entertaining and engaging.

Paul and Karine, season one, Before the 90 Days: One of the side effects of watching 90 Day Fiancé means having a spouse who has walked into the room and has seen some of the show, too. My husband hates to admit it, but he knows the majority of the couples, just as much as I do. Watching Paul run away or talk about poop water, well, it’s been fun. Watching my husband replicate the run? That’s been even more fun.

From TV Fanatic

Asuelu and Kalani, season six, 90 Day Fiancé: Asuelu hooked me in when he danced for Kalani at the airport. He later solidified his place in 90 Day Fiancé history when he got so mad at his season’s Tell All, that he...

  
Big Ed, season four, Before the 90 Days: Ed and Rosemarie didn’t work out. But Ed left behind so many Edisms and memes and gifs, it’s hard to keep up. He takes it all with a grain of salt and seems to manage to handle all of it with a great sense of humor, witnessed on his Strikes Back season.

Alan and Kirlyam, season one, 90 Day Fiancé : Proof that couples CAN make it work. They are by far one of the cutest couples from any season.

Jorge and Anfisa, season four, 90 Day Fiancé: To this day, Melissa and I will exchange gifs or memes referencing Anfisa and her magical eye roll. She provided a lot of explosive moments for her season.

Elizabeth and Andrrrrrrrrrrei, season five, 90 Day Fiancé: He acts like he’s the man of the house, but we all know it’s really Elizabeth who wears the pants. While Chantel’s season created The Family Chantel based on her own familial drama, I might actually watch a series where Elizabeth’s family takes center stage, given the chaos they bring into this couple’s world. 

Colt(ee) and Larissa, season six, 90 Day Fiancé: There has been a ton of drama surrounding this couple; on again, off again, arrests, potential deportation. But the real couple of the show would be Colt (or as Larissa refers to him, “Coltee”) and his mother, Debbie.

From imgflip.com

If you watch 90 Day Fiancé and all of the franchises, who are your favorite couples?

Kathryn Starke is a sweetheart...plus a book giveaway

Today we welcome Kathryn Starke to CLC. She's here to talk about Valentine's Day. In honor of the upcoming holiday, she has a "couple" of copies of her latest novel, The Perfect Blend, to give away!

Kathryn Starke is a literacy consultant, author, adjunct professor, and the founder of Creative Minds Publications, an educational publishing company. The Perfect Blend is her fifth book and first title in the contemporary romance category. Starke is a former elementary school teacher and the creator of Tackle Reading, an annual educational initiative supported by the NFL. 

Visit Kathryn online:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest

Synopsis:

She has no time to date. He has no desire to date. Nevertheless, one sweet treat blends the perfect match. This contemporary romance reminds readers of the power of a variety of relationships in life. You never know what could be brewing right under your nose!

Minnie Logan is the owner of Logan’s Coffee Shop, a staple in a small New England town. Struggling to maintain her grandfather's legacy and rent payments, Minnie has less than a month to creatively preserve and renew her family business. Robert Vaughan, the CFO of a giant coffee conglomerate, arrives in the small town in pursuit of a takeover of Logan’s Coffee Shop. Unbeknownst to Minnie, she falls for the mysterious newcomer while she uses the magic of love and the miracle of faith to give back to the community that has given so much to her. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

A Valentine’s Day Memory

As February 14th approaches every year, what goes through your mind? We single ladies wonder if we will have a valentine while couples debate how they are going to celebrate (and hope they have the same plan in mind). When I think about my own Valentine’s Day memories over the years, I realize I am always in school, which in my opinion, is the best place to celebrate the holiday. In elementary school land, everyone is included, everyone is celebrating, and everyone is spreading the love. I always look forward to seeing the sea of red and pink that is present throughout the hallways of the building and inside every single classroom. The students’ outfits, wall decorations, office deliveries, and bulletin board displays are huge clues that Valentine’s Day is underway.

When I was an elementary school student, I loved writing each of my classmates’ names on envelopes at home then dressing up the next day in a red skirt or pink sweater to deliver them all.  I loved decorating my personalized valentine bag or envelope to hold all of the valentines I would receive from my classmates. When I became an elementary school teacher, the feelings remained the same. I was fortunate to always have plans from 8:30am-3:30pm on February 14th and have at least twenty seven-year-old valentines every single year. I purposely planned holiday themed lessons throughout the day including activities like cinnamon red hot candy math and conversation heart sentences. We read a number of Valentine’s Day themed books and even incorporated a lesson about heart health. I also surprised each student with a personalized love letter, which matches my personal passion of writing-another common theme throughout my Valentine’s Day memories.

In high school, I was a guest contributing writer for our school newspaper. I was thrilled when I was selected to write a piece for the Valentine’s Day issue. The assignment included interviewing ladies and gentlemen about the age-old question What do men and women want? Interestingly enough, the article indicated there is not much difference in the thinking between a seventeen-year-old and thirty-seven-year-old. We want honesty, respect, and communication at any age. During all of my questioning, the best response I heard was when a guy confidently said, “a woman wants a man who would do anything for her.” Romance novels and romantic movies are created for us to fall in love with these characters, the man who fights for the woman he wants and the woman who puts all of her love and faith in this one special person. 

This Valentine’s Day, I am sharing my passion for writing once again with the publication of The Perfect Blend, a contemporary romance novel with a Valentine’s Day theme. The book explores romantic relationships alongside the relationship between a mother and daughter, father and son, and grandfather’s legacy and the community. The book’s setting revolves around Valentine’s Day through the eyes of a single woman, a single man, an elementary school student, and the people in their lives. Valentine’s Day is the best time to make the most important people in your life feel extra special.

This year, Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, and we are still in the middle of a global pandemic. Therefore, I will not be in a school, but I will be focused on writing. This month, along with the release of The Perfect Blend, I will be hosting a virtual Valentine’s Day tea on social media platforms to chat about the book, answer any questions about the title, and talk about the writing world. This book is dedicated to everyone searching for their perfect blend, so anyone can join in the conversation. Publishing for a purpose will also be a topic of discussion. I believe that making an impact beyond a book is essential.  In honor of heart health month, profits from proceeds from The Perfect Blend will be donated to the American Heart Association. I don’t know for sure what my Valentine’s Day will look like in the future, but I do know one quote from the book is true. “You never know when Cupid is going to strike!”

Thanks to Kathryn for visiting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Giveaway ends February 15th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Friends With Benefits

By Sara Steven

Lexie Whittle thought she had life all sewn up, with a gorgeous husband, a beautiful home and a delightful teenage stepson. Until husband Daryl left to work overseas…and everything changed.

A year later, Daryl and Lexie’s marriage is over. Lexie is fighting to stay on top of the bills, juggling her job at the Blue Parrot 1940s cafe in Leyholme with being mum and dad to stepson Connor in Daryl’s absence.

The only thing keeping her from meltdown is the support she gets from Connor’s godfather: Theo Blake, Daryl’s former business partner. Theo might be a jack-the-lad, drifting from one woman to another, but Lexie knows she and Connor can depend on him.

After one too many glasses of wine leads to them falling into bed together, Lexie and Theo begin a friends-with-benefits relationship. What starts as just sex soon becomes something deeper.

But when Daryl returns, Lexie is faced with an impossible decision. Will she be forced to choose between her feelings for Theo and the boy she loves as a son? (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)

Friends With Benefits provided a different kind of perspective where relationships are concerned. On the romantic front, there’s Lexie and Theo, who have been friends for several years and for so long, had been Lexie’s husband’s best friend. Yet, when Daryl goes overseas, she has come to rely and depend on Theo, a man who in many ways stepped into the role that Daryl had left behind. Usually in a friends-with-benefits situation, it’s imagined that there aren’t many deep connections or ties that are involved, but for them, that bond has already been established, which makes that kind of relationship a tough one to adhere to.

Then there’s the parental bond between Lexie and Connor. Lexie has been there for most of Connor’s life, and even though she isn’t his biological mother, she feels as though she is and would do anything for him, and it often shows within this story. It was interesting to see the dynamics of a father-son bond that has been strained for so long, and even though Lexie has continued to be there for Connor and provide for him when Daryl has chosen not to--legally, it isn’t enough. 

As the synopsis indicates, Lexie has to make a decision between Theo and Connor, and while she is entirely sure of her feelings for Connor, she’s undecided on what kind of future she might have with a man who has never had a serious relationship. It would seem to be an easy choice to make, but given the type of past that Theo has had, and the pressure that Daryl places on her, it’s really not as easy as it seems.

I felt frustration at Daryl, particularly when he would have interactions with Connor. Yet, there is backstory there, too, that lends into why Daryl behaves the way he does. It was nice to read this story through three different perspectives; Lexie’s, Theo’s, and Connor’s, because it gave the reader a deeper look into how they feel and a much deeper perspective. I also appreciated that I wasn’t sure how Friends With Benefits would end. Will Lexie choose to be with Theo, or will she decide to make additional sacrifices for her family’s sake? Either way, it was a five-star experience for me!

Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US * Amazon UK * Kobo * Apple

Lisa Swift grew up in rural West Yorkshire in the UK, right in the heart of Brontë country… and she’s still there. After graduating from Durham University with a degree in English Literature, she dallied with living in cities including London, Nottingham and Cambridge, but eventually came back with her own romantic hero in tow to her beloved Dales, where she first started telling stories about heroines with flaws and the men who love them.

Lisa also writes romantic comedies under the pen name Mary Jayne Baker. 

Visit Lisa online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter 

Visit all the stops on Lisa's blog tour:

Susan Meissner is a natural storyteller...plus a book giveaway

Photo credit: Berkley

We're pleased to have Susan Meissner back at CLC today! Her latest novel, The Nature of Fragile Things, published last week. Melissa loved it and can't stop recommending it. Check out her review. Thanks to Berkley, we have one e-book (via NetGalley) for a lucky reader!

Susan Meissner is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper, and an award-winning columnist. She is the award-winning author of The Last Year of the War, As Bright as Heaven, A Bridge Across the Ocean, Secrets of a Charmed Life, A Fall of Marigolds, and Stars over Sunset Boulevard, among other novels.

Visit Susan online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Pinterest

Synopsis:

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin's silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin's odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn't right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear. (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is a favorite compliment you have received on your writing?
Funny you should ask this because just today, like minutes ago, I received this email from someone who read AS BRIGHT AS HEAVEN and it’s my new favorite compliment: “On a random perusal of our library's fiction section I came across your book. Intrigued by the setting as so appropriate for our current world pandemic, I began reading. I have just this moment finished the story and delighted to find an author so readable and so vividly expressive. I rarely read fiction (I'm a civil engineer whose focus is usually quantum physics and cosmology) but found your skills as a storyteller to be so appealing I shall search for your other novels. Well done on my transformation."  I wanted to pop open a bottle of champagne. 

How is Sophie similar to or different from you?
In my mind I see me as being similar enough to be her sibling. Like, I can imagine having been raised in the same environment and thus adopting the same “nurture” characteristics. But as far as “nature,” Sophie is more of an Enneagram Six and I am a solid Two. The Enneagram Institute describes a Six as “the committed, security-oriented type: engaging, responsible, anxious, and suspicious.” Twos like me are “the caring, interpersonal type: generous, demonstrative, people-pleasing, and possessive.”  And yet I know with every character I create, there is some of me in them. There has to be. And here’s something interesting to consider. Twos and sixes are often misidentified for each other because they share a number of key traits, like being compassionate and engaging and friendly, but a six desires the approval of others, and twos want to be loved by them. And now I have given away one of my secrets to character development. I give them the Enneagram test…

How did you decide to set this particular story during the San Francisco earthquake? 
California is my home state so its history is naturally of interest to me and living here means the research was easier to approach than other locales I have written about. Aside from that though, it has always been astonishing to me that a simple and moment-long rubbing together of two tectonic plates one hundred miles below the surface of the earth could bring about such cataclysmic results. San Francisco was forever changed by the 1906 earthquake and firestorm. That quake was so devastating because this beautiful city, San Francisco, had been built on a major fault zone: San Francisco was a city of fragile structures piped with gas lines and water mains that were also fragile. Fragility’s opposite, which is strength, was found in the people that survived it. I wanted to imagine a few of them.

What TV series are you currently binge watching?
We loved our recent binges: The Queen’s Gambit and the entire Homeland series and every episode of The Great British Baking Show. Oh, and Manhunt (the Richard Jewell one – very good) and now I think we are moving on to Broadchurch, unless someone in the audience has a better idea?

What have you learned about yourself during the pandemic?
I only need ten articles of clothing. Maybe eight.

All kidding aside, I have learned that I get through a tough time by focusing on hope. If I didn’t have hope right now, I would probably collapse in despair. I miss human faces and hugs and crowded cafes and the theater and parties and book tours and book clubs and travel. I miss all of these things. Sometimes I just have to cry a little at how much I miss seeing a person’s entire face and hugging them and laughing with them from just inches away. (Did I mention I’m an Enneagram Two??) But my hope is sure that it won’t always be this way. A day is coming when the masks will be put away, maybe even thrown away, and hugs and kisses will again be freely given. There will be a day when we can again see a play on Broadway and attend a big wedding and sit in a stadium and watch a game. I thought this would be the year I’d see Machu Picchu, but my sure hope is that place is not going anywhere. I will see it. Not in 2021, maybe not 2022. But I will see it. I hang my hat on hope.

Please share a favorite Valentine's Day memory with us.
It was the strangest Valentine's Day ever but and one I would not like to repeat but February 14, 1993 was the most memorable and the sweetest. My husband and I and our four little kids were going through a time of transition, moving back from living overseas, getting out of Air Force life and into civilian life. There were a lot of other complicated things going on besides trying to find a new job in the private sector during a recession. We didn't even have our own place yet, everything we owned was in storage. We were hanging out with my husband's parents and somehow Bob was able to get to the Chuao store in La Jolla and get me a box of Valentine’s Day chocolates. I woke up that morning not in my own bed, separated from all my own things except for my husband and children, I was recovering from a broken arm no less, and we still didn't know where we were going to land, but on my pillow was that red box of chocolates. I guess that’s just me riffing on hope again. That hard time of transition didn't last, thank heaven, but the memory of those chocolates lives on.  Hope and perseverance – and chocolate! – got us through.

Thanks to Susan for chatting with us and to Berkley for sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Giveaway ends February 14th at midnight EST.

What's in the mail

Melissa:
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland from Berkley (e-book via NetGalley)
Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly from Ballantine (e-book via NetGalley)

What Could Be Saved by Liese O'Halloran Schwarz from Atria  (e-book via NetGalley)

The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto from Sourcebooks (e-book)

Happy Singles Day by Ann Marie Walker from Sourcebooks (e-book)

Make Up Break Up by Lily Menon from St. Martin's Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne from William Morrow (e-book via NetGalley)
The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda from Get Red PR (e-book via NetGalley)

The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent from Putnam (e-book via NetGalley)

The Second Season by Emily Adrian from Blackstone Publishing (e-book via NetGalley)

The Savior by/from Abdellatif Radja (e-book via NetGalley)

Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson from Inkyard Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Blush by Jamie Brenner from Putnam (e-book via NetGalley)

Flowers of Darkness by Tatiana de Rosnay from St. Martin's Press (e-book via NetGalley)

The Choice I Made by Cynthia Ellingson from Bookouture (e-book via NetGalley)

Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan from Inkyard Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Sara:

The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan from Harlequin  (e-book via NetGalley)

Shoulder Season by Christina Clancy from St. Martin's Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Three Words for Goodbye by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb from William Morrow (e-book via NetGalley)

Jami:

After Happily Ever After by Leslie A. Rasmussen from She Writes Press (e-book via NetGalley)

Book Review: Meet You in the Middle

By Cindy Roesel

“There’s a special place in hell for people who waste my time.” ~Kate Adams

Democratic Senate congressional aide, Kate Adams has no time to waste. In Devon Daniels rom-com, MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE (Berkley), Kate works for Senator Carol Warner and has been working for nearly a year on a Families Act that she hopes to get to the floor. She’s been trying to get her Republican counterpart to meet with her for weeks to no avail. Then she finds an email from a staffer willing to take a meeting at the end of day. Immediately her back is up.

Kate’s average day on the Hill goes something like this: 9:00 a.m. brimming with optimism, 10:00 a.m. inflammatory headlines, 12:00 noon putting out fire of errant quotes, 2:00 p.m. fielding calls, 3:00 p.m. questioning one’s job choice, 4:00 p.m. hanging on by a thread. A 5:00 p.m. meeting is asking for trouble, and trouble she gets.

Republican Senate congressional aide and gatekeeper for conservative Senator Henry Hammond, Benjamin Mackenzie is waiting for her. When she arrives, the 6’4”, green-eyed hunk is ready to go toe-to-toe about what he thinks of her “absurd bill.”. Words are fired, the volume gets louder and eventually Kate stomps out his office, swearing he is the most arrogant man she’s ever met. He thinks she’s maddening. But, wait a second. Soon he’s in her office continuing to argue. Then an interoffice mail fight starts between the two.

You know this is the perfect set up for a “James Carville and Mary Matalin”-esque romance. Author, Daniels is laser focused on the inner workings of the White House and what the staffers are up against. Her writing is so fast and crisp I had several “West Wing” moments. And let’s face it, opposites attracting is always great for a story!

MEET YOU IN THE MIDDLE is fun! Perfect for would-be lovers on Valentine’s Day!

Thanks to Berkley for the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Lily Menon brings on the romance...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Lily Menon

Today, Lily Menon is here to talk about her debut adult rom com, Make Up Break Up, which published this week. She's also sharing some other fun facts about herself. This novel sounds fun and flirty; perfect for your Valentine's Day TBR! Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have one copy for a lucky reader!

 

Lily Menon (Sandhya Menon) has always been enamored of romantic comedies and happily-ever-afters in all shapes and sizes. Her very first love story, written at age nine, was about a handsome boy who wooed the heroine with books, chocolates, and a very fat puppy. Now Lily lives with her own handsome boy (who indeed wooed her with books, chocolates, and fat puppies) in the mountains of Colorado, where she spends her days dreaming up kissing scenes and meet-cutes.

Visit Lily online:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:

Love, romance, second chances, fairy-tale endings…these are the things Annika Dev believes in. Her app, Make Up, has been called the “Google Translate for failing relationships.”

High efficiency break-ups, flashy start-ups, penthouses, fast cars…these are the things Hudson Craft believes in. His app, Break Up, is known as the “Uber for break-ups.” It’s wildly successful—and anathema to Annika’s life philosophy.

Which wouldn’t be a problem if they’d gone their separate ways after that summer fling in Las Vegas, never to see each other again. Unfortunately for Annika, Hudson’s moving not just into her office building, but into the office right next to hers. And he’ll be competing at the prestigious EPIC investment pitch contest: A contest Annika needs to win if she wants to keep Make Up afloat.

As if it’s not bad enough seeing his irritatingly perfect face on magazine covers when her own business is failing. As if knowing he stole her idea and twisted it into something vile—and monumentally more successful—didn’t already make her stomach churn.

As the two rival app developers clash again and again—and again—Annika finds herself drawn into Hudson Craft’s fast-paced, high velocity, utterly shallow world. Only, from up close, he doesn’t seem all that shallow. Could it be that everything she thought about Hudson is completely wrong?

Could the creator of Break Up teach her what true love’s really about?

How did you decide to switch to writing an adult novel after writing young adult novels in the past?
I’ve always wanted to be an adult romance author. After my YA novel When Dimple Met Rishi came out, my adult romance editor happened to read and enjoy it. She then approached my literary agent about the possibility of me doing an adult romance for her—and I jumped at the chance! That novel became Make Up Break Up.

How are you similar to or different from Annika?
I’m similar in that I, too, broke with family tradition and didn’t become an engineer or a doctor or a lawyer. Sometimes you just have to follow your heart, even when things are discouraging. Annika’s journey with her app closely follows my journey with writing!

If Make Up Break Up were made into a movie, who would you cast in the lead roles?
I’m terrible at these questions! I would definitely want fresh and fun young people; that’s my only requirement. :)  

Melissa: Challenge accepted! I'll be adding this one to my queue soon.

What is the worst breakup you've ever experienced? 
It’s kind of weird, but because I met my husband in high school, I’ve never really experienced a terrible breakup! They were all breakups that I’m super glad happened because they hastened my path to my best friend, who then became my husband!

Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions or rituals?
I’m one of those people who doesn’t like the commercial aspect of Valentine’s Day. I like to think of Valentine’s Day as being year-round—always show the person you love that you love them, never take them for granted, and respect them as much as you respect yourself. Those are my tenets for a happy, healthy romantic relationship—or really, any relationship!

What is your favorite rom com movie?
It’s impossible to pick just one! I’ll go with a Meg Ryan one I recently re-watched: Sleepless in Seattle. :)

Thanks to Lily for visiting with us and to St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.

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