Welcome to Litsy!

I recently bought Courtney Milan‘s second Cyclone novel, HOLD ME, and it seemed like a good excuse to reread TRADE ME. I dove in last night, with the usual amount of help from Casey.

Tina and Blake come from different worlds, but both are dealing with traumas and the results of that trauma. Milan incorporates a diverse group of characters, mental and physical health, societal and family pressure into one book.Tina is from a Chinese family that came to the US to escape persecution and just wants to be able to support her family.Blake is the son of Cyclone‘s CEO billionaire and feels the pressure from his father to take over.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ WOW! Just Wow! How have I never read Courtney Milan book before! Fantastic well developed characters, interesting believable story and some steamy MC chemistry ❤️ I can‘t wait to read the next book in this series.

This is the best laugh I‘ve had in weeks😂😂😂

I've really enjoyed Courtney Milan's Cyclone series! This is the first of the series, and has our rich hero "switching lives" with our heroine, thinking that running away from money and business responsibilities to take on someone else's responsibilities will give him space to fix his problems. Of course it mostly gives him the chance to fall in love.

#romantsy

Courtney Milan is so damned good, y'all. She takes an out-there scenario--two students, one a billionaire, the other impoverished, trade lives--and turns it into an honest and affecting look at poverty, privilege, grief, unconventional parent/child bonds, and so much more.

Of course, all this meaty goodness only brings the characters closer together while they negotiate it all as a team. SO DAMNED GOOD. 4.5 stars. #caseyplusbooks

Wee Casey's not feeling well. Cue a night of books, tea, and puppy snuggles.

I've been looking forward to TRADE ME since I first fell for Courtney Milan's books, but I was also a teensy bit nervous. It's a contemporary in first person present tense; a big contrast to Milan's historicals in third person past tense.

I'm pleased to report I made it 90 pages in with zero effort. Turns out I DO love Milan in all time periods and tenses.

I couldn't resist doing a midnight open for #cupidgoespostal, and I had SO MUCH FUN unwrapping everything @BookishTrish picked out for me! I seriously did little dances when I opened the Storm Dorbz and TRADE ME, and I'm excited for the Leavitt and the Gratton. (I love her short fiction and her work on TREMONTAINE, but this'll be my first of her novels.) And Steven Brust! I've had a hell of a time finding him used!

Thank you! This was awesome.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would, especially considering I don‘t generally read romance books. The cast of characters was diverse and layered and it‘s not a bad read even for those inexperienced with the romance genre.

Romance romance romance 💙💙💙

I went with the money/class trope with this contemporary romance by one of my favourite author. It has been in my TR pile for over a year, waiting for a time when I am at lost at what to read because Milan is my atomic bomb remedy to cure my reading allergies aka not finding a good book to read. Bonus Cute Beatles Memorabilia #heyjune @Cinfhen @GypsyKat

I‘m fairly new to romance novels, thanks to Pop Culture Happy Hour‘s Linda Holmes. I always thought romance was really badly written. And honestly, a lot of what I‘ve tried has been. Milan is a great writer. The characters were well written, no one was a caricature. I‘ll definitely read more from her.

Looooooved!

"I'll finish this chapter then switch over to my other book to finish"

I thought this about twenty times tonight.

I'm a liar. Only a hundred pages left now, let's do this!

Started my first contemporary romance today (not counting some ya stuff...so first adult Contemporary romance). I planned to read more of Milan's historical romances but this cover really jumped our to me for some reason.

I finished listening to this late last night. I loved it!
1) A diverse romance!
2) An honest conversation about poverty
3) Discussion of eating disorders, grief, and other heavy topics

It was super sweet and I'm already looking forward to the next book.

My only complaint is the male narrator couldn't do a believable female voice to save his life. Nasal voices and Valley intonations. Ugh. I much preferred the female narrator.

Trying the Audible Romance Package with this book while addressing holiday cards. Especially poignant talk about living in poverty.

Really enjoyable read! It deals with some serious issues (grief and the effect it can have on people, immigration, poverty and political persecution) with compassion and it doesn't drag the book down at all.

I loved the relationship dynamics, especially those between parents and their children.

I just found out that my local used book store allows trades. Three of my books for one book credit to spend in their store. Gears are turning in my head. 🤔

If you are in Northern Virginia, this is at Reston's Used Book Shop.

I'm a huge fan of Courtney Milan and Trade Me doesn't not disappoint. The relationship between Tina and Blake is an amazing one, it's a very real relationship that tackles so many different issues. One of the aspects of the book that really hit home for me was the look into the life of first generation Asian American immigrants and everything that it entails. It's a brilliant book and I'm loving reading more diversity in romance.

I feel like she's poking fun at Fifty Shades lol

I was definitely in one of those fluffy romance moods and this did perfectly. It managed to be very swoony and still managed to have a diverse and very unique cast. I'm not going to lie, as someone who had Blake's same 'problem' I'm high school when he finally gave it a name I might have gotten a little teary eyed. This whole book was adorable. I can't wait for book two.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book since I devoured it last night. I'm so excited to get my hands on the next two books in the series! #romantsy

Eh. Ehhhhhhh. I think Milan is one of the best romance *writers* out there, but books filled with Young People Who Are Wise Beyond Their Years and who have Problems! and Angst! aren't quite for me.

I could see so much of Courtney Milan's Twitter persona in this book. It was fun to get a peek into an imaginary world like Apple (inc), and to meet these rocking, effortlessly diverse characters. Tina's fear felt a little unrealistic at times, and the self reflection on her mountain drive--well, it "drove" me crazy. But the romance drove me crazy in a good way--definitely a series I'll keep reading.

Intelligent, diverse and hot. It took immense willpower not to rush out and buy the next in the series (which, I'm thrilled to see, centres on a trans woman).

It's Beltane in the Southern Hemisphere, so I'm taking the day off & treating myself to a romance novel. I'm not usually big on contemporary, but I'll follow Courtney Milan anywhere.

Milan moves into New Adult with mixed results.