Yerba Buena | 
pickThis book is darker than the cover makes it seem. The characters have to deal with a lot in their lives, but try to move on, not always succeeding, but anyway. I couldn't really tell where this story was going, but liked it in the end. But I had troubles of telling the characters apart and sometimes I wasn't sure whom we were following. But the ending is so touching, that it just cannot not be a Pick.
@Puddlejumper #queerbc
so-soI got the hardcover from #botm one month because I wanted an add on. It‘s just sat on my shelves. Full disclosure: I don‘t have a good track record enjoying YA authors‘ adult debuts, and this is no exception. The characters felt wooden to me but were put in these heightened dramatic situations. She didn‘t seem to know how to make an adult romantic relationship work on paper. Glad I knocked this out on audio and can donate my BOTM copy. 🤷🏻♀️
pickCan you call a novel a coming-of-age story if the characters are in their late 20s when it's over? I'm going to. Simple yet engrossing and effective prose. Leads who felt like real people. Storylines that converge and separate and converge again, and a romance I was rooting for. This novel has it all! #fiction
pickI've been in the worst reading slump since September. I've no desire to pick anything up, and when I do nothing kept my interest! So many DNFs after 30 pages or so. Today I finally forced myself to (sucessfully) get through a one-sitter.
This wasn't my favorite LaCour, but I love what she did here. Each relationship--romantic, queer, or otherwise--was given proper space to grow authentically, without the bow-tie perfection we often expect 💜
I picked this book up off a list of sapphic romance, and let me tell you, just because you are writing about a lesbian relationship, does not make it a sapphic romance. All the trigger warnings for this book; I wish I was properly warned before opening this book. It took me nearly six months to finish this book because it was so heavy. Proceed with caution.
pickWhile I didn't find the writing exceptional I enjoyed the story line. Also, if you enjoy descriptions of food and drink, you may like this. The novel once again reinforces how one's family of origin can mess up a human for years if not their lifetime.
pickWhile I didn't find the writing exceptional I enjoyed the story line and this novel once again reinforces how one's family of origin can mess up a human for years if not a lifetime.
very slow meandering plot, split between 2 MCs perspectives. they aren‘t together til after half way through the book. my take away from this book is how addiction impacts different families in similar but different ways, overcoming past traumas and being comfortable in your own sexuality. please please check trigger warnings. this is not a sapphic romance, it is literary fiction with a lot of intense moments. Didn‘t love it as much as I‘d hoped.
#AlphabetGame #LetterY
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
This is Nina Lacour's adult debut! I liked it a lot, but I didn't end up thinking it was a favorite of the year, which I was expecting! Still a solid pick, though! 💕 #catsoflitsy #rumpel
A fun foodie book for you all that is an easy read! It‘s a sapphic love story that I really connected with. It‘s not a romance novel, more fiction. It had me hungry for more 😆
I gave it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ but I don‘t have a 5 star book to recommend for #lettery! #alphabetgame #lgbt @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#AlphabetGame
Only one more letter to go @Allylu
A truly beautiful, but at times uncomfortable story of two young women: Sara & Emilie - each harboring pain, loss, regret and family secrets.
so-soThis was my book for #lmpbc. I‘m surprised because I love this author, but this book wasn‘t great for me. A lot of it is pretty depressing, and I am not in a great mindset for that, I guess. I‘ll be really curious what my fellow readers think, though, and I hope they love it!
“Mama, that book is not nearly as interesting as I am.”
pickI liked this. My biggest takeaway is the many directions addictions can take and how each addiction uniquely but negatively impacts a family.
pickI‘ve not read LaCour‘s previous (YA) novels, but I am in love with this, her first ‘adult‘ novel. Beautifully written, complex and melancholy, this is a character-driven story about two women and their messy lives, and it just feels so authentic to me. The author‘s ability to make fictional characters seem so painfully real put me in mind of Sally Rooney (that‘s high praise).
Great on audio: Julia Whelan is one of the best narrators.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
pickAbsolutely loved this. Beautiful step into adult novels Nina La Cour, brava!
I very rarely drink, but when I do I love a signature unusual cocktail, and the titular one sounds delicious. The friendships, the families, the love story, all of it was wonderful. I can‘t wait to see what the author does next.
(Trigger warnings! Check before reading.)
pickThis one grew on me. I wasn‘t sure about the shifting perspectives and timelines and had plenty of those “I wish we spent more time with x situation/character” moments…but then often we did! So that was fun. What I loved most were the California settings and how having two of those (NorCal - Russian River area and SoCal - LA) added depth to the CA sense of place. I also loved the complexity of how the title of the book was woven into the story.
so-soThis is my first read by Nina LaCour, so I was not sure what to expect. This is a story of two damaged lives finding each other in a plant shop. It has a lot of triggers: sex, drugs, abuse, and young death. The first couple of chapters were great paced, but as I kept reading I found myself not carrying about the story because the character's were not that interesting and it was a little hard to follow the changes of POV.
pickNina LaCour weaves the stories of two fractured people from two fractured families as they discover who they are and who they're not. It's a character driven plot with beautiful, direct prose that draws you in and carries you through.
pickI came in with high expectations (LaCour is one of my favorite authors) and those expectations were blown away. I‘m not sure I have words for how much I loved this. The prose is more bare, more raw, more simple than some of LaCour‘s other work but somehow, still, rich and full and so very lovely. She creates characters and dynamics and journeys and trauma so familiar and still so unique. A love story you root for before they even know each other.
Today's plans. Skullbert is rockin' his new headband. 🏳️🌈
pickYerba Buena is the adult debut of author Nina LaCour. It is a contemporary “coming of age” novel featuring two young women living on their own terms in Los Angeles. This novel has everything from cocktails, flower arranging, home renovation and Creole culture. I highly recommend it to readers that enjoy gritty stories about complicated young women. 5 stars
June TBR 🌈 Continuing with my annual tradition of focusing on books featuring LGBTQIA+ authors and characters during Pride month! And lots of 2022 releases, too.
So excited for this book! I managed to get to my local indie store @AaronsBooksLititz just before closing tonight to pick it up! 😊
pickI really liked this one a lot! I have loved all of Lacour's YA books so I had high hopes for it! It wasn't extraordinary; it didn't shake my world up, but it was enjoyable and pleasant and a great read! 💕📖 #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #rumpel
pickThe first novel I‘ve read by this author—and her first piece of adult fiction (she usually writes YA)—is an emotional and gut-wrenching journey through the lives of two young women. Publication is expected May 31. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#yerba-buena
#NetGalley #MacmillanAudio #YerbaBuena
I received this promotional poster for preordering the tagged book! 📚💕 I forgot this was coming, especially since I canceled my original preorder when I chose it for my Book of the Month pick! Oops! 😳 Isn't the artwork so pretty? 😍
pickRead through this #botm in a day!
A story of two women and how their lives eventually intertwine. Literary lesbian romance, with more focus on the literary than romance angle. This lives and the struggles they go through are detailed, making them seem more real.
Rating this 4/5, great quick queer read. Spoiler thoughts in comments.
bailedSo yeah, I‘m not a fan of romances, but sometimes I can do literary ones, which is what this is. However, I just finished another literary romance (Carol by Highsmith for Author a Month), so I‘m putting this one in the vault…
Maybe I should‘ve gone with the thriller…🤔 #botm
pick#ARC #Audio #NetGalley #SapphicNovel
A beautiful, mesmerizing story of Sara & Emilie - each harboring pain, loss, regret and family secrets.
Both looking to unburden their past, both too afraid to let go.
I LOVED this book 💜
Audio narration was excellent 🎧🙌🏻
LOVING this - audio is 🫶🏼#NetGalley
#BOTM picks for this month! I was also tempted by Darling Girl but decided to go with Yerba Buena in the end.
Hunger I‘ve always wanted to read so I figure why not add it on?
I‘m so behind in reading BOTM books though, I‘ve bought two each month and only read one of them 😂 so many books so little time.
My May #botm picks! I was planning to skip & add Book of Night to a later box based on the picks spoilers, but I was so happy to see Yerba Buena as a surprise pick, since that's been on my tbr for awhile.
WHOO HOO!!! THE BOTM CHOICES ARE LIVE TODAY! 🎉🎉🎉
What is everyone going with this month? I am super excited about the tagged book! 💕📚💕
#botm
Yay yay it‘s #botm day!
This was just an okay month for me despite getting three books. I‘m really excited about the two add ons, but once again, the main selections were underwhelming. I would‘ve gotten Bloomsbury Girls, too, if it had been a regular pick. 🤷🏻♀️
#UpNext #ARC #NetGalley #ThingsInCommon @Clwojick
So while reading my current ARC, I discovered the mention of #YerbaBuena which is another #ARC I need to read #Kismet
pickPut this on your tbr for May. This is Nina Lacour‘s first adult novel. I loved her YA novel We Are Okay, and this one did not disappoint. There is a lot of sorrow in her novels, but also hope and love. The audio was great. Julia Whelan does a great job narrating as always.
panGood narration on #audiobook. Based on the blurb and cover, I expected (WANTED) a full-blown romance. The love story is in here, but it‘s mostly two parallel stories and the coming together is slow and painful.
pickA perfect book? Just lovely: gorgeous, understated, evocative prose; a rich sense of place; a focus on pleasure, beauty, and growth while not forgetting pain, loss, and grief; intricate queer characters whose lives felt so true. LaCour follows two women, Emilie and Sara, from teenagehood to late twenties, charting their journeys until they have a chance meeting and are instantly drawn to one another. This book made me feel good about being alive.
Loving this book so far, gorgeous writing and very real characters. I also love mint chocolate chip ice cream. #QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks #LGBTQ #BisexualBooks
pickThis book is great. I like this author but I loved this book which is her first adventure into adult fiction. I read this so quickly but it may be a pretty short book.
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
Pub date is 2/8/2022
#ARC #Netgalley
