10 Blind Dates: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

When her parents decide to spend Christmas with Sophie’s very pregnant older sister, Sophie plans to stay behind for some quality time with her long-term boyfriend Griffin.

Unfortunately, Griffin isn’t as excited about this plan as Sophie had hoped. Heartbroken, she retreats to her grandparents’ house where her nonna proposes a radical plan to help Sophie get over the sudden breakup: For the next ten days Sophie’s entire extended family can sign up to set her up on blind dates.

Sophie doesn’t know what to expect from the dates, especially with her boisterous relatives involved, but it soon becomes obvious that Nonna’s crazy plan might be the perfect way to avoid wallowing for her entire vacation.

With dates including an elite underground party, a living nativity, and a drive through that does not bear further mention, Sophie’s in for a whirlwind of excitement and maybe even some fun with her estranged cousins.

But with Griffin suddenly keen to win Sophie back, a boy who is probably not available, plus the suspense of waiting for her baby niece to arrive, Sophie will need more than her family’s support to figure out what really matters this holiday season in 10 Blind Dates (2019) by Ashley Elston.

Find it on Bookshop.

10 Blind Dates is a standalone contemporary set over the course of Sophie’s hectic winter break with chapters for each day (and date). Sophie is an approachable, authentic narrator who handles (almost) everything her family throws with a lot of humor and grace.

While she’s slow to realize her breakup might not be the end of the world, Sophie’s growth throughout the novel is obvious as she begins to understand her own role in the awkward space that has grown between herself and her cousins and their childhood friend. Even better, Sophie starts to realize her priorities need to shift and puts in the work to make some necessary changes.

10 Blind Dates is as funny as it is festive. A delightfully entertaining novel filled with memorable, lively characters and lots of seasonal shenanigans. Recommended for anyone in search of a sweet holiday romance that will leave them smiling.

Possible Pairings: Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway; 29 Dates by Melissa de la Cruz; Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Aimee Friedman, Nic Stone, Kasie West; I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo; Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks; Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno; Save the Date by Morgan Matson; My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins; My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma; Recommended For You by Laura Silverman; This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration at BookExpo 2019*

Snow in Love: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Snow in Love (2018) collects four holiday stories for the first time. Find it on Bookshop.

“Snow and Mistletoe” by Kasie West: Stranded at the airport without a car, Amalie finds unlikely help from a former classmate, Sawyer, who offers Amalie a ride when she needs it most. Can one detour filled road trip, numerous pit stops, a secret crush, and special gifts lead from a snowy mess to new beginnings? You’ll have to read more to find out but I’ll tell you that this story was a banter filled delight.

“Working in a Winter Wonderland” by Aimee Friedman: If Maxine can save up for the perfect party dress, she knows that everything else will fall into place–including finally catching the eye of her crush. There’s only one problem: The only job Maxine can find on short notice is working as an elf in a department store’s holiday department. This story was a lot of fun. Maxine is Jewish and completely overwhelmed by the way Christmas everything seems to take over once December rolls around. After years of being a wallflower, Maxine is ready to make some changes and I love that while she gets everything she wants, none of it is quite what she expects.

“The Magi’s Gifts” by Melissa de la Cruz: Kelsey and Brenden are still figuring out what it means to be in a relationship over the holidays. As both of them try to find the perfect holiday gift they realize that showing someone how much you love them sometimes means sacrificing what you love most. This retelling of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi” is one of the shortest stories in the collection. It’s an interesting spin on a familiar tale but some of the details never quite come together.

“Grounded” by Nic Stone: Leigh is more than ready to spend the holidays on a beach with her family. The problem? She’s stranded at the airport during a snowstorm. And so is her childhood friend Harper. Leigh fell hard for Harper when she was fourteen but not knowing if Harper would reciprocate (or if Harper even liked girls), Leigh tried to shut that down. Now as she leads Harper on a scavenger hunt through the airport before they reconnect, Leigh has to decide if now is the time to take a leap or play it safe. Nic Stone is one of the best contemporary voices around right now. This story is snappy, sweet, and a really smart examination of intersectionality (Leigh and Harper are both black and Leigh is also Jewish) and being true to yourself. And did I mention it was also a sweet romance?

Snow in Love is a effervescent collection of stories sure to leave you smiling–a perfect choice to get you in the holiday spirit at any time of year.

Possible Pairings: Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love edited by Elsie Chapman; Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan; 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han; Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle; My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins; Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks; Recommended For You by Laura Silverman

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street: A Review

The Vanderbeekers have a problem. The family have lived in their Harlem brownstone for six years–so long that the younger Vanderbeekers don’t remember any other home. When their reclusive landlord, Mr. Biederman, announces that he won’t be renewing the family’s lease none of the Vanderbeekers are sure what to think. Even Mama and Papa are at their wit’s end trying to prepare the five Vanderbeeker children and themselves for the move with only eleven days before their lease expires.

Determined to stay in the home they know and love, the Vanderbeeker children take matters into their own hands to try and convince Mr. Biederman to let them stay. But despite the careful planning and heartfelt efforts, it seems like every attempt manages to go horribly wrong. As the days on their lease tick by, the kids begin to wonder if wanting something to happen can be enough to make it so in The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street (2017) by Karina Yan Glaser.

Find it on Bookshop.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is Glaser’s first novel and the start of a series following the Vanderbeekers and their adventures in Harlem. This story follows the entire Vanderbeeker family with a third person perspective that shifts between the five Vanderbeeker children: studious and scientific-minded Jessie (12), violin playing Isa (12 and Jessie’s twin), avid reader Oliver (9), crafty Hyacinth (6), and the youngest Laney (4 and three quarters). While that is a lot of characters to juggle, Glaser gives each kid their due with a distinct personality and a satisfying story arc.

The story never mentions anyone’s race explicitly but it’s worth noting that the Vanderbeeker family is biracial with Mama having dark eyes and straight hair while Papa has big, curly hair and light eyes. Glaser does a good job of painting a fairly inclusive neighborhood but I wish some of the ethnic identities were a little more overt on the page.

As a New Yorker myself my biggest outcry with this book was the concept of anyone having their lease revoked with only eleven days to move. I suppose it’s possible and it certainly lends urgency to the plot, but it also felt wildly improbable. The denouement of the novel also felt a bit too neat without adequate explanations for Mr. Biederman’s behavior (or his sudden change of heart) but both qualms are forgiveable in their efforts to move along a charming story.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street is a funny slice-of-life story with a lot of heart. Readers will feel like part of the Vanderbeeker family as they get to know the kids, their building, and their neighborhood. The delightful start to what will hopefully become a long running series.

Possible Pairings: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donoghue, Clementine by Sarah Pennypacker and Marla Frazee, Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

My True Love Gave to Me: A (Festive!) Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Only in a short story anthology can organization, elves, the holiday season, and some other things besides come together to create a delightfully seasonal assortment of stories. My True Love Gave to Me (2014), edited by Stephanie Perkins, brings together YA authors at the top of their game in this festive collection of romantic stories set during the best time of year.

Find it on Bookshop.

If you enjoy Christmas, especially the decorating and the food look no further than Stephanie Perkins’ “It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown” for a story that combines the wonders of home organization with a first encounter that might lead to something more. “Welcome to Christmas, CA” by Kiersten White is a sentimental story about finding home with some delectable food thrown in to taste.

Not a fan of Christmas? That’s okay too. “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell is a heartfelt New Years’ story while “Krampuslauf” by Holly Black and “The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor are fantasies set in December without being Christmas specific. Although Kelly Link centers her story around annual Christmas parties, “The Lady and the Fox” is more a Tam Lin style story than a specifically holiday story.

Don’t celebrate Christmas? Gayle Forman’s “What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?” and David Levithan’s “Your Temporary Santa” both offer a look at the season from a Jewish perspective.

Humor is also prevalent in many of these stories, none more so than “Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus” by Myra McEntire.

Themes of family are just as prevalent in this collection as romance which can be seen in “Angels in the Snow” by Matt de la Pena and Ally Carter’s “Star of Bethlehem” both of which offer very different (but true) takes on what it means to find or just think about the importance of family over the holiday season.

The story I have thought about most since finishing this story is by Jenny Han. “Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me” offers a tantalizing look at what life might be like on the North Pole for Santa’s daughter in a story that I can only hope will one day become a full-length novel.

Considering the range of authors and writing styles in this anthology, My True Love Gave to Me is a stunningly solid collection with a high quality of writing that spans every genre and story presented. This is a delightfully festive (and often secular) assortment of stories with something that will appeal to everyone. Perkins has done an admirable job of editing and organizing this anthology where whole exceeds the sum of its parts and is sure to leave every reader with a smile on their face.

(Careful readers may also want to examine the cover to find their favorite couple on the ice rink. The ARC I read also promises interior illustrations which I can’t wait to see.)

Possible Pairings: Ex-Mas by Kate Brian, Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love edited by Elsie Chapman; Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan; Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Aimee Friedman, Nic Stone, Kasie West; 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han; Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones; Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle; Recommended For You by Laura Silverman; Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford

Cold Nights and Warm Books Holiday Book Swap

Well, dear readers, it’s that time again. I’m excited to be part of the

This is a great opportunity to give some books to people who share your interests, and GET some books to add to your library! But it only works if lots of people sign. Up. You can sign up either at Emily’s blog or Enna’s blog. Sign ups are open until November 22nd.

SIGN UP TODAY!

Tour de Christmas 2011: In which I share photos (and videos!) of NYC Holiday displays

The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. Today, Christmas Eve, is arguably one of my favorite days of the entire year including other holidays and my own birthday (Christmas day is probably my favorite). One of the best things about the holiday season is spreading good cheer and giving gifts.

In the spirit of giving, I have some fun things to share in this blog post.

Earlier this month my friend Nicole (AKA The Book Bandit) and I took a day to look at what I deemed all of the noteworthy holiday trees and window displays to be had in Manhattan. There were multiple modes of transportation, maps, and itineraries involved but the end result was a really fun slice of holiday cheer in something I’m calling the Tour de Christmas. I fully expect to make the Tour de Christmas an annual part of my holiday activity.

And, now, I also plan on sharing some of the fun with you, dear readers.

To begin the Tour we first had to get to 81st Street.

American Museum of Natural History: Origami Tree

After a trip through the maze-like lower level and first floor of the museum, Nicole and I found the giant canoe that shares space with the museum’s origami tree during the holiday season. The tree is filled with origami animals every year (previously it had just been cranes but this year there was a whole assortment of animals and even key pieces from museum exhibits).

Even the base of the tree had some fun origami art:

An important part of the Tour de Christmas is documenting the sights as well as posing with them.

After leaving the Museum of Natural History we moved crosstown through Central Park to

The Metropolitan Museum: Angel Tree

The Met’s tree is enormous and has point of place in the museum’s Renaissance Wing for the entire holiday. The tree is well-known for its beautiful 18th Century angel ornaments as well as the creche that surrounds the base of the tree.

Because the tree is in a section of the museum that is always kept dark to preserve the historic items on display (and perhaps because much of the Met’s gift shop items around this time of year document the tree), photography is not allowed. I, however, may or may not have very carefully ignored that rule to take a very quick shot of the tree with my iPhone.

Upon leaving the Met this year’s Tour was a straight shot down Fifth Avenue.

FAO Schwarz: Fifth Avenue at 58th Street

FAO is fun most times of year but they did have a special Lionel Train display set up for Christmas:

Conveniently located directly across the street from FAO is Bergdorf Goodman.

Bergdorf Goodman: Fifth Avenue at 58th Street

While I have never stepped inside Bergdorf, I make it a point to check out their holiday windows annually. Every year the store has a different theme and creates stunning, artistic windows in the spirit of that theme. This year’s theme was Carnival of the Animals. I took about a million pictures of theses windows because they were all so fantastic but here are some of my favorites:

This one (above) was made entirely of paper and features a Boston Terrier in the lower left.

I really loved both of their “all white” windows this year.

This one (above) has lots of metal items. It felt very steampunk to me with the flapper-esque mannequin and coppery tones.

One of Bergdorf’s last window’s didn’t relate directly to the others (sometimes with smaller or sides street windows the store does something slightly different). I’d be hardpressed to pick any one as my favorite but I really enjoyed this tall lady and her giraffe:

Originally Bergdorf was the last stop until Rockefeller Center at 50th Street. But then something caught our eyes across the street.

Tiffany & Co: Fifth Avenue at 57th Street

Although the actual windows were tiny, Tiffany went all out with a carousel theme in their windows that even extended to the exterior of the store. Inside each carousel-like marquis was a window display (several of which were animated) bordered with mirrors.

If you are so inclined, you can also watch my recording of the Tiffany windows to see what they look like animated. (This adventure was my first ever experiment with making and editing videos so you’ve been warned!)

After Tiffany’s it was a quick trip down Fifth Avenue, past the Cartier building wrapped up in its famous bow, to get to our next stop.

Rockefeller Center: Fifth Avenue at 50th Street

We took about a million pictures of New York’s most famous tree because it was really exciting to be there aside from being quite good looking this year. But really it just takes one to see the magic of the place:

And, because I can, one more view of the plaza facing away from the tree which proved to be an excellent spot to pose for photos. (We had to wait about ten minutes for our turn.)

Having photographed the Rockefeller Center Tree from every possible angel numerous times, we were ready for to cross the street.

Saks Fifth Avenue: Fifth Avenue at 49th Street

Except for this one, sad, photo the Saks windows were actually moving too fast to photograph with any degree of quality. I did, however, make a video of all of the Saks Christmas windows to document their frenetic animation.

After that it was time to head farther down to the next stop on the Tour de Christmas.

Lord & Taylor: Fifth Avenue at 38th Street

Fun Fact: Lord & Taylor is the only store in New York City (at least the only one that does holiday windows–maybe the only one period) that has moveable windows. Instead of having to crawl inside the displays to install the sets and figures, Lord & Taylor window designers can lower the windows into the basement of the store to install the windows. For this reason, and perhaps because the designers are awesome, Lord & Taylor always has really beautiful, well-realized windows. This year was no exception.

Each of the windows looked at what Christmas was made of (as seen by children whose drawings framed each animated window display):

By this point I was finally getting the hang of my video camera. So you are welcome to view my video of the Lord & Taylor Christmas windows.

Lord & Taylor was the penultimate stop on the inaugural Tour de Christmas. For anyone who has ever seen Miracle on 34th Street, the Tour’s last stop will probably not be a surprise.

Macy’s: Herald Square

Macy’s windows are sometimes wonderful and sometimes just bizarre. This year, happily, they were delightful. The windows were bright and sparkly (not to mention a little bit steampunk!) and told a clever story of the journey ornaments take.

As you can probably imagine, I also made a video of these windows for your viewing pleasure.

With all of the trees documented, and all of the windows viewed, there was nothing left to do but call it a day and declare my first ever Tour de Christmas a success.

I hope this post finds  everyone in good health and high spirits whether you celebrate Christmas or a different holiday entirely (or perhaps even several at once). Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you, dear readers.

If you would like to see all of my photos from the Tour de Christmas 2011, you can find them on my website.

For your convenience here, again, are the video links:

Tiffany’s 2011 Holiday Windows

Saks’ 2011 Holiday Windows

Lord & Taylor’s 2011 Holiday Windows

Macy’s 2011 Holiday Windows

Dash and Lily Day: A Book Adventure

I had big plans for the holiday season this year. Part of those plans included planning and hosting my first ever Cookie Swap (which went really well–it was the first Sunday in December and we’re finally out of cookies!). Another part included something that quickly came to be known as Dash and Lily Day.

This year my friend The Book Bandit and I read Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. We both really loved the characters and the story. Even more fun, the book takes place at Christmas right here in New York City.

One of the cool things about living in New York is that a lot of books are set here. This year, The Book Bandit (Nicole) and I decided to make the most of that. Earlier this month we picked a Sunday to recreate some of the more memorable moments from Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares if not in perfect accuracy at least in perfect alignment with the spirit of the book.

Being a book-centric blog, I thought it would be fun to share the itinerary for the day for any curious readers or any New Yorkers who might want to do something similar:

With festive clothes and cameras in tow, we began where the book started–The Strand in Union Square.

While we did not find any girls wearing Majorette boots or surly boys checking up on their favorite book, we did spot the book that inspired our adventure.

After The Strand we started to modify the itinerary on the fly.

First stop: the Holiday Market at Union Square to admire all the festive things for sale (because you know Lily would be all over that).

Photo taken by The Book Bandit (Nicole)

Initially after browsing Union Square, we planned on stopping at Max Brenner: Chocolate by the Bald Man.

We did get close enough to take pictures in front of it.

(That’s Nicole on the left and me on the right.)

But we couldn’t even get near an actual table.

So we did what any intrepid traveler would. We went up to Times Square to catch a movie. Not just any movie, of course, but Hugo in 3D.

Photo taken by The Book Bandit (Nicole)

While the movie was much longer than either of us expected (causing a 3D-induced headache for me), it was a lot of fun. I sorely missed the voice over narrative structure of the book as well as some of the more memorable illustrations from Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret but overall the movie was a lot of fun. One of the coolest things was seeing the silent films that play such an important role in the story being played out as actual films instead of as still shots. Definitely a must-see for fans of the book and film enthusiasts.

I’m still sorely disappointed that the Pixar movie about office supplies in Dash and Lily is not a real movie, but Hugo more than made up for it.

Our next stop was the Build-a-Bear store to . . . build bears. (Dash has Lily make a puppet in the book so this seemed like the obvious, and more affordable, alternative.)

At first it was difficult to make the right choices, but as often happens, the right bears found us.

Nicole made a blue bear and named her Lily (for obvious reasons) while I made a brown bear and named her Clarice (because Nicole and I decided it really was the most festive name choice–you know, because of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.)

(Lily and Clarice: BBF–Bestie Bears Forever)

Conveniently located right next to Build-a-Bear, Nicole and I found Little Miss Matched–a delightful store that sells socks in sets of three. Because they are designed to be worn without matching. What could be better? Honestly, very little. We enjoyed picking out socks and admiring some of the sillier hats (I actually bought that pink one–it’s super comfy).

We had bigger plans after building bears and buying socks. A ceremonial trip to FAO Schwarz uptown. A pilgrimage to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn to admire the Christmas lights.

Unfortunately in addition to being a long, activity-filled day, Dash and Lily Day was also one of the coldest days of the winter season (which is really saying something since it’s only been serious winter weather for about a week all told). Defeated by fatigue and the increasingly cold night air, we packed it in with our bears and our socks before finishing Dash and Lily Day with a nice diner dinner.

But fear not, I more than made up for the lack of Christmas-decoration-viewing with my Festivity-packed itinerary for the Tour de Christmas. But that, dear readers, is a story for another blog post. Soon.

Ho-Ho-Holiday Swap: In which I present my . . . presents

I haven’t been that great with non-review posts (or tweets to be honest) BUT I have been fully entrenched in some good old fashioned Holiday Cheer. One relatively new tradition for me has been participating in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap each year.

I am happy to say I have on good authority that my gifts were well-received and I am also happy to say here that I’m simply delighted by the gifts I received as part of this year’s swap from Christi the Teen Librarian.

I’m trying to get back into taking pictures again so I submit for your enjoyment some photos of my swap gifts.  (Now might also be a good time to mention I still love getting mail, even as an adult, so I was very excited to not just see a box for me but a BIG box when this package arrived.) Inside the box I found a festive Santa gift bag:

Inside the bag I found many festively wrapped gifts:

And inside all of those wrapped packages I found . . .

• An Eeyore Christmas Card (Eeyore and Tigger are my favorites from Winnie the Pooh!)
• A Charlie Brown Christmas book and tree kit (I have a mini collection of mini books)
• A glittery jingle bell Christmas tree (which was immediately put into a place of honor among our other Christmas decorations–it fits right in)
• Not one but two fabulous pairs of seasonal socks (I only wear socks with fun designs now and I was looking to fill a void for Christmas themed socks so I was really excited about these)
• A beautiful initial bookmark (it doesn’t show up super well in the photo but trust me, it’s really cool)
• And, of course I got books. Because it’s a book blogger holiday swap and that’s how we roll. Now I have a shiny arc of How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr and an even shinier copy of Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (which I am SO excited to read because I loved Anna and the French Kiss).

Thanks again for all of the lovely gifts Christi!

I end this post that everyone receives equally lovely gifts from their friends and family (and secret santas!) this holiday season.

Book Blogger Holiday Swap is back

Once again it is time for the Book Bloggers Holiday Swap and I’m excited to sign up for my second year. The Swap is open to any and all active book bloggers, posting a minimum of 5 times in the last month, and those who have completed prior swap commitments are welcome to participate.

It’s a lot of fun so if you’re a book blogger I highly urge you to sign up and get in on the action!

But be sure to hurry because sign ups close November 11, 2011.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares: A (Christmas in July) Review

Imagine this:

You’re in your favorite bookstore, scanning the shelves. You get to the section where a favorite author’s books reside, and there, nestled in comfortably between the incredibly familiar spines, sits a red notebook.

What do you do?

The choice, I think, is obvious:

You take down the red notebook and open it.

And then you do whatever it tells you to do.

It’s Christmas in New York City and Dash wants nothing to do with it. So great is his hatred of the holiday season that Dash has conspired to spend the entire holiday alone. And he will enjoy it. Oh how he will enjoy it.

Lily, on the other hand, is horrified to find her finely tuned Christmas plans thrown out the window when the rest of her family makes better plans. Left alone with a brother eager to get rid of her, well, writing a book filled with dares for the right boy to find suddenly starts to seem like a very good idea indeed.

When Dash finds said notebook he doesn’t know what to expect. But he does know it’s not an opportunity to be missed.

Dash and Lily don’t have much in common but somehow they connect on the papers bound in that red notebook. Will these two misfits make sense in person? Only time will tell if their fledgling relationship can survive Lily’s family, Dash’s friends, some comical disasters and, of course, the holiday season in New York City in Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares (2010) by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

Find it on Bookshop.

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is Cohn and Levithan’s third collaborative novel. Levithan wrote Dash’s chapters, Cohn wrote Lily’s. The plot was not planned ahead.

And maybe that’s part of why it works so well. Written in alternating chapters from both protagonists, Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is a breezy, hilarious story firmly grounded both in New York City* and the holiday season.

I loved Lily and her zany Christmas-loving ways. I loved Dash’s curmudgeonly yet hopeful narration. I loved them together. And I totally want to see Collation** now.

Truly this book is magical. Not only did it have me laughing out loud on the bus, it put me in such a good mood that I wanted to tell the gentleman who asked WHY it had me laughing out loud on the bus. Such is the inherently festive nature of this delightful book.

*Locations mentioned include: The Strand, Max Brenner’s, Dyker Heights, FAO and more!

**Don’t get the reference? After reading it you will. And believe me, you will also want to see it.

Possible Pairings: Never, Always, Sometimes by Adi Alsaid, So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti, Enchanted Ivy by Sarah Beth Durst, Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley, The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, The Romantics by Leah Konen, Drawing the Ocean by Carolyn MacCullough, Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales, Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando