Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

The kind of trope I love the best is such a niche and unpopular trope that I struggle a lot finding books that fit what I’m looking for. To put it in simpler words, I love friends to lovers, but specifically best friends to lovers. I feel there’s just something more special in their relationship already and the transition to more always brings its own complications that is enjoyable for me to read. It probably stems from experience because I definitely fell for my best friend once upon a time, and it’s nice to see (at least fictionally) it could work out.

But besides best friends to lovers, I guess it’s the romantic angst of some unrequited love that’s a common denominator in such books. Usually one person feels something first/more than the other because their relationship has already settled into another mold for a while. I just like seeing how it gets resolved and people working through such roadblocks.

So without further ado, these are the few titles I have found that fit my favourite, super narrow trope. If you have ANY recommendations that sound like they’d fit this, PLEASE let me know in the comments below. I’m always looking for more!

Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West

Seventeen-year-old Abby Turner’s summer isn’t going the way she’d planned. She has a not-so-secret but definitely unrequited crush on her best friend, Cooper. She hasn’t been able to manage her mother’s growing issues with anxiety. And now she’s been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” So when she gets another opportunity to show her paintings, Abby isn’t going to take any chances.

Which is where the list comes in.

Abby gives herself one month to do ten things, ranging from face a fear (#3) to learn a stranger’s story (#5) to fall in love (#8). She knows that if she can complete the list, she’ll become the kind of artist she’s always dreamed of being.

But as the deadline approaches, Abby realizes that getting through the list isn’t as straightforward as it seems . . . and that maybe—just maybe—she can’t change her art if she isn’t first willing to change herself.

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Is it ever too late to leave the friend-zone?

Hi, my name is Bree Camden, and I’m hopelessly in love with my best friend and star quarterback Nathan Donelson (so is half of America, judging by the tabloids and how much the guy dates). The first step is admitting, right? Except, I can never admit it to him because he clearly doesn’t see me that way, and the last thing I want is for things to get weird between us.

Nothing but good old-fashioned, no-touching-the-sexiest-man-alive, platonic friendship for us! Everything is exactly how I like it! Yes. Good. (I’m not crying, I’m just peeling an onion.)

Our friendship is going swimmingly until I accidentally spill my beans to a reporter over too much tequila, and now the world seems to think me and Nathan belong together. Oh, and did I mention we have to date publicly for three weeks until after the Super Bowl because we signed a contract with…oops, forgot I can’t tell anyone about that!

Bottom line is, now my best friend is smudging all the lines and acting very un-platonic, and I’m just trying to keep my body from bursting into flames every time he touches me.

How am I going to make it through three weeks of fake dating Nathan without anything changing between us? Especially when it almost-sort-a-kinda seems like he’s fighting for a completely different outcome?

Send help.
XO Bree

The Fine Art of Pretending by Rachel Harris

According to the guys at Fairfield Academy, there are two types of girls: the kind you hook up with, and the kind you’re friends with. Seventeen-year-old Alyssa Reed is the second type. And she hates it. With just one year left to change her rank, she devises a plan to become the first type by homecoming, and she sets her sights on the perfect date-Justin Carter, Fairfield Academy’s biggest hottie and most notorious player.

With 57 days until the dance, Aly launches Operation Sex Appeal and sheds her tomboy image. The only thing left is for Justin actually to notice her. Enter best friend Brandon Taylor, the school’s second biggest hottie, and now Aly’s pretend boyfriend. With his help, elevating from funny friend to tempting vixen is only a matter of time.

But when everything goes according to plan, the inevitable break up leaves their friendship in shambles, and Aly and Brandon with feelings they can’t explain. And the fake couple discovers pretending can sometimes cost you the one thing you never expected to want.

Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn

What do you do when your soul mate marries your best friend?

If you’re Kate Evans, you keep your friend Rachel, bond with her kids, and bury your feelings for her husband. The fact that Shane’s in the military and away for long periods helps—but when tragedy strikes, everything changes.

After Rachel, pregnant with her fourth child, dies in a car accident and the baby miraculously survives, Kate upends her entire life to share parenting duties. Then on the first anniversary of Rachel’s death, Kate and Shane take comfort in each other in a night that they both soon regret.

Shane’s been angry for a year, and now he feels guilty too—for sleeping with his wife’s best friend and liking it… liking her. Kate’s ability to read him like a book may have once sent Shane running, but their lives are forever entwined and they are growing closer.

Now with Shane deployed for seven months, Kate is on her own and struggling with being a single parent. Shane is loving and supportive from thousands of miles away, but his homecoming brings a betrayal Kate never saw coming. So Kate’s only choice is to fight for the future she deserves—with or without Shane…

Falling for your Best Friend by Emma St. Clair

I know how this story ends. And it’s NOT with the best friends falling in love.

Even if Chase checks all my boxes–and then some.

He’s the perfect guy, and he deserves the perfect girl. Which, to be clear, is not me.

I knew one day I would have to let him go. I just didn’t know it would be so soon.

Or that my traitorous friend would be the one setting him up with a string of potential girlfriends.

Now, I have an impossible choice to make…

I can watch Chase find love with someone else.

Or I can throw my hat in the ring and face my biggest fear, one not even he knows.

One that might make him run for the Texas hill country.

But if I don’t make a play, I might lose my best friend and my only chance at love…

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

The Stand-In Boyfriend by Christina Benjamin

Sometimes the person you’re meant to be with is standing right in front of you.

Parker Reed has been in love with Beth Bennett since he was four years old. She grew up next door to him, holding his hand and now his heart. The problem is, Beth has no idea Parker is in love with her. He’s stuck in the friend zone, forced to stand by while Beth dates a parade of losers. But with their senior year of high school winding down, Parker finds himself wondering how much longer he can hide his feelings for Beth.

Beth Bennett’s life is perfect. She’s convinced she has it all—the world’s best friend and the world’s best boyfriend. Now if only she could get the two to get along. With her spring break trip to Aspen just around the corner, Beth feels the pressure to spend time with both the guys in her life. But as usual, her older sister throws a wrench into Beth’s plans by hijacking her perfect spring break with a shotgun wedding.

As Beth scrambles to balance being a girlfriend, best friend and sister, her perfectly planned life spirals out of control. As always Parker is there to catch her. And when Beth’s boyfriend decides he’d rather go skiing than be her wedding date, Parker steps in to take his place. He decides the wedding is his big chance to tell Beth how he feels. What does he have to lose . . . besides the girl of his dreams?

Who will Beth choose? Her boyfriend, or the boy who’s never let her down?

Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

For Macallan and Levi, it was friends at first sight. Everyone says guys and girls can’t be just friends, but these two are. They hang out after school, share tons of inside jokes, their families are super close, and Levi even starts dating one of Macallan’s friends. They are platonic and happy that way.

Eventually they realize they’re best friends—which wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t keep getting in each other’s way. Guys won’t ask Macallan out because they think she’s with Levi, and Levi spends too much time joking around with Macallan, and maybe not enough time with his date. They can’t help but wonder . . . are they more than friends or are they better off without making it even more complicated?

What do you think of these titles? Any that seem interesting? Am I a little weird for being SO very specific with my favourite trope? (Yep?) Please let me know if you have any recs for me!

Happy TTT!

Buddy Review: Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay

March 7, 2022March 7, 2022 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world—and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment—is plunged into chaos.

Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men in women working in offices across the city refuse leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.

Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its Friday night ribbon-cutting.

Welcome to our next buddy read! This time we decided to experiment with an author neither of have read before, Linwood Barclay. We were completely intrigued by this snazzy title, and wanted to give it a try. However, as a mystery/thriller novel, it kind of fell short. Read on to find our thoughts!

Pacing and Suspense Build-Up

A: What I love about mysteries and thrillers is the build up to the climax. Being new to Linwood Barclay, I didn’t know what to expect. The multiple POVs took away a lot from the suspense because you don’t follow anyone for very long. It’s the same event being observed from different perspectives for a good chunk of the book. The main mystery took too long to ramp up. Even from the synopsis, we know there’ll be multiple incidents by Wednesday but each day took too long to get through. I swear Wednesday came more than halfway through the story. Being the omniscient reader also made it frustrating when it took characters so long to realize there was an issue.

F: Overall there wasn’t much what I would call “suspense” in the sense I was expecting. There was certainly a lot of build-up and intrigue. It wasn’t exactly slow per se, but the endless build up made it overall feel slow. I didn’t mind the pacing, but the payout at the end was slightly unsatisfactory. This is probably the weakest section for my review; as you’ll see as you keep reading, this book really didn’t fall into the mystery/thriller category like we thought it would.

Plot Elements

F: Like a mystery book, it did have a few red herrings dropped here and there. However, I really wasn’t a fan of how it was used and how it all tied together at the end. On the bright side, what I found the best about this book was probably its writing style. It was super easy to read, super easy to follow, good with the different voices and POVs. On the whole it was a very character-driven book, which was a bit unexpected given the synopsis and genre of the book. The premise of the book was excellent, but perhaps not executed in the expected way.

A: Likewise, I didn’t feel the red herrings were perhaps the most “useful” or relevant. I felt dissatisfied with how some closed out. This book also felt less like a mystery and more prominently like a literary fiction piece. Having that perspective helped change my view on what I was expecting this book to give me. It was definitely more character driven rather than plot drive which is a bit unusual for mysteries in my experience. The use of romance or other character-driven plots was at times distracting from the mystery as well but it fit better when discovering more of the unique backstories and struggles of each character whose POV we followed.

Characters

A: I struggled a lot trying to figure out who the main character(s) were in the beginning. There were just so many people, perhaps even some irrelevant characters we were stuck following. As mentioned, some didn’t wrap up the character arc very well, which can be expected with so many multiple POVs but it could’ve also been executed better. Besides that initial unease with so many people to follow though, the characters were good, very diverse, unique and interesting. Their voices were easily differentiated and I felt particularly connected with a number of them as I got to know who they individually were. Even in audio format it was still noticeable and that’s the sign of a good author to be able to do so.

F: The characters were all unique and distinct, each with their own struggles and motivations. This was definitely another highlight of the book. Great character construction, and it was easy for me to get invested into many of their storylines. Andge and I would both classify this book as more of a literary fiction, with interesting and intriguing characters driving the drama and plot forward. In that sense, it was a pretty good book! Just not what we were expecting.

Ending

F: Because of the nature of the book being character-driven, the ending was perhaps not enough. It wasn’t a bad ending by any means, but I think for me it left a bit to be desired. I wanted more from the ending for all the characters, considering we followed each of them so in depth for so long.

A: More closure would have been nice? That’s definitely my first thought. It’s not what I expected which can be a good and bad thing. I wasn’t really driven by the need for a conclusion to the mystery, so much as the need to know how the characters’ stories would wrap up. Because it was so character driven, I was invested in them as people and how the aftermath of the climax may impact them all.

Bonus – Audiobook vs. E-book

We “read” this together, but actually using different medias! That made for interesting discussions when we met up for discussions.

A: It was interesting to see if things were different reading the same book in different formats. I wouldn’t have caught some things, such as weird spellings for names and italicized chapters. I couldn’t rewind as easily if I missed something that may have been crucial. But I felt with the narrator reading it for me, the drag due to lack of suspense wasn’t as evident because someone was always pushing me onwards to the end. I really appreciated that ‘cause otherwise I might not have finished this quickly or perhaps even at all.

F: There were occasional things that I caught that Andge didn’t, or vice versa. I think the different methods of “reading” can really affect how some scenes are interpreted, and the visual (or audio) elements can emphasize different aspects of the book. It was easier for me to re-read or go back to find something in an e-book for sure though. And the visual elements of chapter titles reminding me of dates, etc. can also be helpful for grounding a reader. I should experiment more with audio-books though!

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Maintaining a Blog Aesthetic

March 4, 2022 Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

MARCH 4: MAINTAINING A BLOG AESTHETIC (HAYLEY @ ON THIS I PONDER)

Prompts: How much time do you spend on making your blog look nice? Is it more about making it functional? Did it take a long time to set it up? Are you still changing it around? Do you ever feel like your blog design is not properly appreciated (for example, are most people reading your posts via the Reader and not actually visiting your blog)? What are the best tools you use to customize the look of your blog?

Welcome to the first Friday of March everyone! As spring is just peeking around the corner (I hope), hopefully everyone is waking from their winter hibernations. The topic today is actually something we’ve recently talked about behind the scenes here at DTRH, and I’d love to hear what you all think of blog aesthetics. And without further ado, let’s go!

In general, I don’t spend that much time trying to make the blog look nice. I think there’s a base level of efforts for maintaining a certain aesthetic. And of course I try to make everything look neat and orderly, and fit in with the rest of the blog. But I wouldn’t say that the aesthetic of each individual post is of paramount importance. Perhaps if I had the time though, I would put in the effort to really up our aesthetic game.

Functionality is definitely the most important, in my opinion. Although on the surface aesthetics are really important for catching the eye, if your site isn’t functional, it’s unlikely that people will come back or read through your articles. If you can manage the aesthetics though, of course I recommend it. No one says no to a beautiful blog!

For us here at DTRH, we had some help getting started with some of the illustrations (thank you talented artist friends!). But for the most part, the upkeep and new stuff is all on us! One serendipitous but convenient thing is that Andge mostly works off mobile, while I do my work on a laptop, so that tends to help cover the gamut of things when it comes to desktop vs. mobile view. If either of us notice anything wonky on each other’s views, we can immediately inform the other to fix it.

Lately we’ve been talking about fonts here at DTRH. Should we be using something more casual and inviting? Or perhaps something more professional looking. These are questions that we’ve been having, and I find it hard to predict which way would be better. I’m sure either way it’s a mix; some people will enjoy one type over the other, and in the end, we should probably just pick what looks nice to us so that we at least enjoy it.

What do you all think about blog aesthetics? How important is it on a scale of 1-10? Does it overpower any functionality/utility? Or is it negligible, or somewhere in between? Let me know in the comments below!