This was a fantastic retelling of Emma with a gay twist! I will be recommending this to my YA romance readers.

With Recommended Reading we follow the story of Bobby and Luke. Bobby is a young man, a great book lover. He enjoys recommending books and getting involved in his classmates' romantic lives, but he struggles more with his own love life.
Luke has just moved to the city for his studies and by chance meets Bobby.

I really liked the character development, especially Bobby, whom we follow in particular. He learns to take a step back, to choose his battles and his loves. His relationship with those close to him also evolves in interesting ways.
The book is sweet and fresh. The love story is sweet. I would have liked to see more of the Bobby-Luke couple.

This was an adorable, queer, rom-com style book about books -- everything I love. I really liked Bobby and his best friend Wanda. This was a retelling of Emma, so if retellings are your thing, I'd definitely recommend. It felt like a bookish Heartstopper. It would have been a 5 star, but I felt like the relationship happened too fast to be realistic so that took me out of a bit. Overall I had a lot of fun with this!

CW: body shaming, toxic friendship, vomit, fatphobia, panic attacks, death of a spouse (mentioned)

I would like to thank NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I wanted to like this book so much and it seem like it had all the things I would love in a YA romance. However, while the writing wasn't totally bad (although not something super remarkable), the cringe in this book was too much and I legit suffered secondhand embarrassment from some of the things that happens in this book.

I gave this 36% and then gave up. It's a cute premise but Bobby was just kind of annoying and nothing was drawing me in.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Recommened Reading was an aboslutely adorable book about Bobby, a plus size gay young man about to start college and his big goals for the summer. Instead a romantic grand gesture goes arwy and Bobby is humilaited. He loses out on several things on his goal list. This book details Bobby pivoting from his self imposed list of expectations for himself and lead to him discovering things that he really has a passion and talent for. I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope between Bobby and Luke, a guy that just kind of turns up around Bobby now and again, until they form an unlikely friendship. I loved their banter and how the reader can see right away what kind of guy Luke is. I also enjoyed a secondary plotline about Bobby working in his uncle's tiny bookstore and his banter with his crankly colleague who may be more than she seems. While it doens't break free of many other books of this type, I still found it very adorable and enjoyabl eto read and hope that others will as well.

The way I almost DNFed this only for it to then become one of my favorite reads of the year should be studied 🧐

First things first, I have not read the novel by Austen this is inspired by so I can absolutely not tell you whether fans of that book will enjoy this take. What I will say is that it's over the top, hilarious, ridiculous, heartbreaking and downright tear-inducing in the best of ways.
I nearly DNFed it in the beginning because I couldn't quite get over the MC's actions but once we get to know him and the reason for why he is so insistent on romance and love persevering, you can't help but root for his own happily ever after.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with this book and while I'm docking off one star (third-act conflicts that were unnecessary in my opinion and only made me angry), I would highly recommend this to fans of TJ Klune's humor and Alison Cochrun's story flow.

This was a did not finish as I simply could not get into this book. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you Paul Coccia, Zando Young Readers, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Such a cute, cozy little story with some of my favorite things: Jane Austen re-tellings, small towns, bookstores, and gays. It's YA, so there's a coming of age aspect that sometimes overpowered the romance but I didn't mind. It's a true modern adaptation of Emma in that Bobby's relationship with others and how he views himself gets called into question. Centering the story during the summer before freshman year of college, a time when everyone is sort of finding themselves, was a clever way to freshen up the story. I also really loved the slow-burn relationship between Bobby and Luke and appreciated that the queer representation wasn't too tropey or over the top. In a time where book bans and stupid shit like that is on the rise, it reminds me that cozy little books for teens with great queer representation like this are SO important.

4.25 stars

This story was so camp which definitely grew on me as the story went on. At first, I will admit, Bobby's blunders felt like a lot and were a bit of a cringe factor but Coccia let the rest of the story unfold in such a way that it totally made up for it and made for a surprisingly well-rounded character.

Seeing an unapologetically gay and plus-sized MC was refreshing. I hope this openness and pride continue throughout more releases this year. It can make many queer people feel more seen in literature.

My favorite character by far in this story was Gladys (the OG, read the story and you will know what I mean). Her wit and quips towards Bobby were the best. Seeing her slowly warm up was the best. Characters like her are one of my favorite microtropes.

Please see my blog for a more in-depth review: https://readintowonderland.blogspot.com/2025/01/recommended-reading-by-paul-coccia.html

I received this book as an arc from Hear Our Voices. My review is honest and voluntary.

This was a fun very low angst, feel-good m/m romance! I also very much loved the love of books included! It was a fun read for sure!

Plus size, nerdy, queer romance was an instant MUST read for me! Bobby is sweet, whitty and oh so charming and I really loved his character!! I LOVE Emma, so naturally I also loved this story. This felt like a really fun fresh take on the classic Austen tale. I really loved how Bobby and Luke's relationship developed throughout this book. Essentially, this was DELIGHTFUL and a true YA romance. I really liked it overall! I will say, I am growing a little tired of Jane Austen retellings, but I was okay with it in this case.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. It was wonderful from the very first page!

This was such a fun and fast paces read with a romantic main character. I had a really good time reading it and would love if this would be turned into a book series. All the side characters have so much potential and I would love to learn more about them, even about Evie!

Bobby loves books and love. He wishes for a book worthy declaration of love and has the perfect plan for it but the real life is sadly not like it is in the book and nothing goes according to plan. It takes a lot of coincidences and time to show Bobby what he really wants and needs.

In the beginning I was a bit sceptic if I would like Bobby because he was a bit annoying and he actually never stopped being annoying (in my opinion) but that was what made me love him so much. He just wanted the best for everyone and tried to help, even if the others didn't really want it. The insecurities about his body felt real, and I could relate with him. He really only deserves the best.

The writing was fast-paced and nice to follow.

I would have liked it more if Lukes sexuality had been explored/explained a bit more. It was mentioned briefly, but it could have been a bit more in depth.

This was overall a really lovely book and I had a lot of fun while reading it. Some moments made me roll my eyes, while other moments made me laugh out loud. It was the perfect mix for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zando Young Readers for this EARC!

I received an e-ARC and I am giving my honest review

It was hard to finish this as I just really disliked the MC’s view on the world. I was very excited to read this, as a chubby gay man, but how oblivious Bobby was really took away from the romance and pining.

⭐ Rating: 4.5/5 stars
🗓 Publish date: Jan 28, 2025
🏷️ Tags: achillean romance, gay MC, pansexual LI, fat MC, Canadian author

Aww this was a very sweet story full of great characters and so readable!

I had some minor issues with the plot, including how the miscommunication trope was used near the end, as well as how easily everything seemed to work out. But I did like Bobby as an MC, and there were lots of great SCs (particularly Gladys, I loved her!).

If you're looking for a light-hearted gay romance with a fat MC, I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for the ARC. All thoughts shared are my own.

DNF after the first ten chapters. I wanted to like this one, but there was just a little too much going on. The story felt a little unfocused.

Perfectly frothy with a dramatically romantic mc, Bobby, trying to have the best summer of his life and still hold onto his future.

If you need a to disassociate into sweetness this’ll fix you.

This was a sweet summer romance that was great. At first, I was hesitant because it second hand embarrassment is real. By the end, it was good.

"Recommended Reading" is a delightful, campy YA rom-com that follows Bobby, a self-proclaimed bookworm and aspiring matchmaker, whose grand summer plans fall apart after a disastrous romantic gesture. While Bobby’s flaws (self-absorption and teenage angst) can be grating at times, they make him an incredibly relatable character. The book captures the awkwardness and intensity of being seventeen, where small issues feel like the end of the world. What really stood out was the book’s unapologetic queerness, and Bobby’s journey of realizing that love isn’t just for the “beautiful people.” While the romance between Bobby and Luke is sweet, I found it underdeveloped, and the connection didn’t feel as satisfying as I hoped. Despite this, the diverse, lovable side characters and Bobby’s growth make this a fun, touching read.