The writing is beautiful, but I I can't get into it. 

Jenica Lee and Kpop idol Woon meet by accident at the Great Wall of China. Jenica doesn't know who Woon is, and Woon loves that. The next time they meet, in traffic, Jenica has learned more about Woon, but it doesn't matter because they're already in love--and in danger. This is a short, dumb, but also compelling Kpop romance. The main Kpop trope is the evil label owner, and of course the impossibly handsome and talentedness of its star. 

34-year-old single pansexual lawyer/stand-up comedian Mila Torres is at her regular gyno visit and her doctor brings up that her fertility is waning, and she might want to freeze some eggs or buy some sperm. Mila realizes that even though this MD is kind of a creep, he's right. She does want to have a kid, and time is of the essence. 

At the other end of the birth industrial complex, a persistent reporter wants info on one of Mila's clients, a politician who is trying to block reproductive rights (even though he recently pressured a mistress to have an abortion). 

Mila learns about an app called Baby Bank that connects prospective parents with prospective sperm. Some of the guys only want to donate the old-fashioned way, but there one super sweet guy, Aston, who has helped so many people get pregnant there's a Facebook group for all his progeny, and family reunions. He's got an info packet and references, who Mila calls. The first one is his mom! 

It turns out that Aston is siblings with the persistent reporter, Ari, who Mila developed and instant, mutual crush on. You know the drill from there. 

It's a cute story, but there's something about it that rubbed me the wrong way. 

I hadn't thought a ton about adoption and adoptee's rights, at least same race/nationality adoptions. I learned from a Bluesky follow that there is a lot of frustration with the system as far as adoptees are concerned. The enterprise is entirely built around parental rights, privacy, etc. In this memoir of her search for her natural parents, Florence Fisher faces block after block. She is called an ingrate for even wanting to know about her biological parents. The doctor and lawyer who arranged her adoption are downright cruel to her. 

Fisher is tenacious and eventually does connect to her birth parents. It's a surprisingly quick and compelling read, and now I want to know a lot more!

The hair quote isn't important, I just liked it, for the word "curated." 

The meet cute in this fake dating queer romance takes place at altitude. Olive, a nurse who is terrified of flying, is on a plane for the first time, motivated by a promise she made to her dying brother. Luckily, she's able to snap out of her panic to save a passenger, who turns out to kind of be Mickey Mouse. Stella is the plane's co-pilot and feeling bad for Olive that the plane's diversion to Atlanta is going to keep her from her mission in Orlando, offers to drive her there. 

The two women are immediately hot for each other, but for whatever reasons can't just come out and say so. Therefore, Stella semi-contrives the fake dating scenario, saying she needs the PR to get her captain's wings, which could be her ailing father's deepest desire. 

The most charming relationship is Olive's with her best friend and fellow nurse Derek. There's also a good dog, a very bad ex, and some dumbass orthodox Christian family members. 

It's the 1980s and too-tall Laurie is bored with her life--school, boyfriend, etc. But one day, she gets discovered! She's asked to join a modeling agency. At first her mom is against it, but after a while, she gets hooked. Laurie goes from nobody to top model almost immediately, even becoming best friends with her biggest rival, Taryn. As Laurie and her mom get caught up in fashion life, Laurie's stepdad becomes concerned about what's happening to their family. Laurie's boyfriend is kind of douchey about it, as are her friends.  

They just don't make YA like they did in the 20th century. I love 21st century YA, too, but there's something just so earnest/innocent about the earlier years of the genre. Carolyn lives with twin sister,  brother, parents, and uncle Toddy. Her sister is away at school in Boston and doesn't seem to be coming back. It's a depressed household, except for Toddy, who never seems to age. 

Carolyn is sure he's a vampire. Honey seems to be on the fence and refuses to discuss it. Because she's getting her blood sucked every night, Carolyn is starting to do less well in school, and her personal relationships are suffering. Luckily, one teacher takes an interest, and helps Carolyn share her secret...which isn't what she thinks it is. 

Compelling, but still a little meh? 

Lol I just realized I read a Christmas romance! I'm not pro or anti, I just think it's funny because I'm writing this review on Christmas Eve and have watched a Christmas movie in the last few days and didn't recognize it. Then again, the Christmas miracle takes place on Valentine's Day, which is maybe even more Christmassy? The other thing that only kind of occurred to me while I was reading is that the story is While You Were Sleeping inspired. Cochrun does a pretty good job with that, too. She doesn't hew too closely, except names are similar, and there's a non-member of the family member of the family looking out for the protag, Ellie (also Elena and Elle). 

Ellie, a 25-year-old artist, with shitty, absentee parents is a barista after losing her dream job as an animator. Last Christmas she spent 16 incredible hours with a manic butch dream girl called Jack, and this year she's on the verge of fake marrying Andrew, the guy who owns the coffee shop she works at in exchange for $200k. Ellie is bisexual fyi, and maybe a little chaotic. 

Andrew and Ellie repair to the Kim-Prescott mansion cabin and Ellie falls in love with Andrew's family, especially...

This novel comprises interconnected stories from members of the Palestinian-American community in Baltimore and centers on a cop! And they're all just people living their happy, sad lives.