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From the publisher:

The Hilarious New Grumpy/Sunshine, Friends-to-Lovers Romantic Comedy―and your New Favorite Summer Romcom

In this delightfully charming and heartfelt debut love story, two lonely and wildly different strangers embark on a short-term friendship over one London summer—only to discover they may be something more by the time the season ends.

No one would ever call Ava Monroe a people person, which isn’t ideal for a barista in a busy London coffee shop. She’s sarcastic, blunt, and cynical, and her relationships are strictly no strings attached. With her best friend Josie soon leaving for a year, Ava knows she’ll be all alone unless she shakes up her routine. But she can’t risk bringing chance back into her carefully controlled life.

Then insufferably cheerful, country-hopping, undeniably gorgeous Finn O’Callaghan rolls into her coffee shop with a horrifying proposal —a strictly friends-only summer fling. Finn needs a local to help him complete his London bucket list, and Ava needs to reassure Josie she won’t be on her own. And it’s only for a few months.

To Ava’s surprise, their mismatched friendship of convenience becomes oddly tolerable, and as they work their way through Finn’s list and around the sun-drenched city, from rooftops and floating bars to nights at the museum, their adventures—and Finn’s company—start to feel . . . nice. Incredibly, terrifyingly, dangerously nice.

Still, rules are rules—Ava has good reasons for them—and as the days get shorter, Finn’s departure gets closer. Because that’s the thing about summer: it always ends. Right?

https://amzn.to/3F3l7ih

This debut had a surprising twist in the grumpy/sunshine ouvre – she’s the grump, and he is pure sunshine. Ava works as a barista in a London coffeeshop. She hates her job, but it is also perfect for her; she likes the routine but hates dealing with the customers, and she’s none too subtle about it. Her best friend and roommate, Josie, is concerned about Ava because she has no social life other than her one-night stands. Josie wants Ava to make some friends, and when she pushes her, Ava tells her that Finn is her new friend.

Finn works across the street from the coffee shop, but lingers in the store on the regular. He is in London for the summer, then he’s off to parts unknown. Finn has traveled the world, and starts getting antsy when he’s in one place for too long. In every new city he visits, he creates a bucket list of touristy things to do and see, and his London list is extensive. When cornered about being Ava’s new friend, he agrees to deceive Josie but insists that Ava help him with his London bucket list. And a friendship begins.

As Ava and Finn experience what London has to offer, feelings begin to grow. Ava is determined to quash those feelings and continues with her dating app one-night stands until it just stops working for her. But Finn has a deadline – he has applied to work for the same company his father works for, in San Francisco. He has a complicated relationship with his parents, but he figures his father will be impressed with the new job and will want to spend time with him, something he has felt sorely lacking in his life.

But nothing goes as planned for Ava or for Finn. Complicated doesn’t begin to cover the baggage they are both carrying, but their friendship is real and deep. There is a lot of humor here, and their banter is fabulous. I couldn’t help but root for them to find their happy ending, and for Finn especially to learn how to deal with his family and their fraught relationship. Nothing makes me happier than finding a new author. This was a terrific debut, and I’m looking forward to reading whatever Stone comes up with next.

6/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE FRIENDSHIP FLING by Georgia Stone. Harper Perennial (June 3, 2025). ISBN: 978-0063434790. 384p.

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From the publisher:

The HIGHLY ANTICIPATED adult debut novel from #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author Renée Ahdieh

Jia Song has always been destined for greatness. As the daughter of Korean bodega owners, she promised herself that she would have every Fifth Avenue luxury when she grew up, and it is all finally within reach. She has just made junior partner at her prestigious Manhattan law firm, she can count on her two best friends to have her back, and she is about to score the ultraluxe gold-on-gold Birkin bag of her dreams. So when her boss asks her to sit in on the hush-hush family implosion of a high-level client, she accepts without hesitation―only to find out that it is one of the most famous Korean families in the world.

The Park family’s net worth is estimated at a billion dollars, and their megasuccessful Korean beauty brand has shaped the culture for the past two decades. But the patriarch is filing for divorce while his wife is dying, and their three children can’t stop snapping at one another. With both the family fortune and legacy under threat from the worst kind of scandal, it’s up to Jia to set things right―and she only has a month to do it.

As Jia sorts through the lies and subterfuge, chasing the truth across the globe on private jets, she finds herself falling for this broken, badly-behaving family in ways she can’t quite explain. But it is also becoming clear that the Parks are hiding dark secrets. Can she find the truth in time to protect the Parks’ fortune and secure her success at the firm? And can she hold on to what’s most important, even if it means admitting that what she’s always wanted isn’t what she actually needs?

https://amzn.to/3F3l7ih

Ahdieh’s debut adult novel is an enthralling narrative that explores the themes of ambition, family loyalty, and cultural identity. Jia Song, a driven Korean-American lawyer, is the daughter of immigrants who own a bodega. Jia has a deep-seated sense of familial responsibility to achieve success, so when her boss assigns her to a high-profile client – the Park family, owners of a billion-dollar Korean beauty brand, she seizes the opportunity. The family is embroiled in a complex situation: the matriarch is dying, while her husband has abandoned her for a much younger woman. He offers a small divorce settlement, prompting outrage from his three adult children, who don’t agree on anything except this: they know he is concealing assets. Jia is tasked with sorting through the family drama, finding the missing money, and forcing a more equitable divorce settlement. But the Park family and staff are all hiding secrets, and as Jia navigates this intricate web of family dynamics, legal complexities, and hidden agendas, her findings culminate in a shocking ending.

VERDICT A dysfunctional family set against an opulent backdrop makes for an entertaining escape and should appeal to readers who enjoy Min Jin Lee, Jean Kwok, or Jhumpa Lahiri.

©Library Journal, 2025

6/2025 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

PARK AVENUE by Renée Ahdieh. Flatiron Books (June 3, 2025). ISBN: 978-1250897954. 320p.

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