"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.

I was going through a bit of a reading slump, and this book brought me right out of it.

Bobby is such a relatable character. He is someone who loves love, and it was fun to watch. He speaks and lives romance. Then you have Luke, a forever realistic who doesn’t believe in romance novels and how they tend to play out.

This starts with Bobby making a grand gesture to show his crush how he feels for him, and it’s a disaster. To top it off, it’s all being recorded. Naturally, there are consequences on top of Bobby’s embarrassment. As a result, he ended up working at an indie bookstore (my kind of place) owned by his “uncle” Andy. There, we meet Gladys, who I will probably grow into. She pulls no punches and has no filter. The interactions between Gladys and Bobby are gold. The patrons have come to love this store because Bobby has become the “book whisperer.” He knows just the book you need to get you over the hump… whatever that hump may be.

However, the interactions between Luke and Bobby just melted my heart. What I appreciated about Luke was that he played no games. Grand gestures aren’t necessary. But on the flip side, what I appreciated about Bobby was his optimism. Romance isn’t dead; sometimes, the person just needs a little push. They perfectly balanced each other out.

In most cases, your love is right in front of you. You just have to see them with new eyes. In Bobby’s case, he let his history dictate how to proceed with Luke, and he almost missed out. There was a bit of miscommunication between Bobby and Luke toward the end, but remember, this is a YA.

I would love a follow-up with Bobby and Luke (specifically about their relationship) and catch up with the secondary characters. This was a nice time, and Bobby knew precisely what I needed.

I need to stop judging books by their cover because this one set me up for disappointment.

The two men, looking all cuddly and cosy together made me think that they would have a nice romance that would blossom throughout the story and would also be the most prominent plot point. You guessed it, I was wrong. There was very little pining or actual romance. It is that I know how to spot a love interest, but otherwise, I wouldn't have guessed that something would happen between them. Luke, the love interest, was probably pining very hard, but that was barely shown because it was told through Bobby's pov and he was rather oblivious.

The bookstore part was alright. I liked reading how Bobby grew to love his uncle's bookstore and how he put in the effort to make it even better, but it reminded me of a white saviour complex. The new guy comes in, fixes the interior design and gives out a few recommendations, which changes it from a dusty old store to a well-known shop. As if those who have worked there for decades have no clue what they are doing.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for giving me access to an e-arc for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was slow to get into the book. I enjoyed the overall story and the representation of bigger queer characters.

I think the over all sweet moments make you feel the warmth that is sometimes, missing in romance books. But this was a really nice book.

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read it!

*ARC provided by Netgalley, this did not influence this review in any way*

This book was so camp, I have no other word for it.

We follow Bobby in his summer before college and he has every intention to make it the greatest one yet. He loves reading, grand gestures and being a matchmaker. But everything goes wrong when he plans to ask out the guy he’s smitten with but instead ends up breaking the window of a bookstore and almost losing his spot at his college.

Bobby was a fun main character to follow. Sure, he was self-absorbed at times, sure he was whining about stuff that I (an almost 30 year old) found irrelevant, but he’s a teenager and I feel like he’s allowed to be this way. All of his problems might not have been the end of the world, but they were to him, and I was exactly the same when I was his age.

This book was also SO GAY. I loved every single queer thing that happened, no further notes on that.

The only reason that this book didn’t get 5 stars from me is that I found the romance to be a bit lacking. It was obvious who the love interest was from the start and they had their moments throughout the book, but I feel like they were underdeveloped? Or just simply didn’t quite hit like the author wanted them to?

But nevertheless, I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you Hear Our Voices Tours & Paul Coccia for sending me an early physical copy as well as an eARC on NetGalley for the tour! 🥰🫶
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Okay, let me start by saying, that I ADORED this book so much! 🥹🫶 It has my whole heart! I loved the MC Bobby and I absolutely loved the fat representation and felt so seen as a fellow fat, queer, and bookish person.

However, different from me, Bobby is outgoing, loud, and extra (in a good way!). Bobby has been known around his small town as a love guru and has helped many couples get together utilizing a grand romantic gesture - similar to those in the rom-com books and movies Bobby loves. The book starts with Bobby attempting his own romantic gesture and ends up failing horribly sending his “Summer of Bobby” plans crashing out the window (wink wink 😉, IYKYK 🪨). After the accident, Bobby swears off romance for himself and focuses on his new summer job at his Uncle Andy’s used bookstore. Corner Books’ only other employee is an older woman named Gladys who is a bit prickly, to say the least. 😅 However, she DEFINITELY grows on you throughout the book!

While working, Bobby meets new-in-town, Luke, who isn’t a big fan of romance and much prefers a good documentary. I love how Bobby and Luke challenge each other's views on romance and just life in general. This included a lot of fun banter resulting in the nicknames “Love Grinch” for Luke and “Cassanova” for Bobby. ☺️ I love the character of Luke as he is the perfect fit for Bobby and such a sweet guy! I love how he never judges Bobby for his physical appearance and insists on “looking past the cover”. This book definitely has all the slow burn but I just loved it so much with these two! It was so nice to see their relationship progress even if the romance doesn't come until later. 🫶

I loved how Bobby is portrayed as a fat character. He is confident and dresses how he wants, however he is aware of how society views bodies like his. “…I don't own many dark clothes. They blend in and since this body doesn't, I've made the conscious decision to work with my assets.” (Recommended Reading, Paul Coccia). This awareness sometimes leads to moments of feeling too fat for love or for some opportunity or whatever have you. I think this is one of the most relatable things I’ve ever read! I myself am confident and love my body. I try not to care what other people think but that anxiety of how people perceive me always creeps up. Besides this, I love the little moments shown throughout the book that convey how living as a fat person is; such as having a large enough towel, getting hot in the summer, and more.

Another thing I enjoyed was yes, Bobby is fat and queer, but that's not the focus of the story! It's a regular coming-of-age story about a teen dealing with life stuff. This is just such a sweet read with low stakes, funny moments, memorable characters, and a bookish boy trying to figure out romance. 😊

oh my goddddd

this book was wonderful. i love bobby and gladys haha my fav characters. luke was incredible as well, im glad bobby and luke met.

small town vibes, everyone stressed about the festival.

A funny, light-hearted YA summer rom-com set in a small town bookstore about Bobby, a hopeless romantic and "book whisperer" who helps revive his uncles bookshop. After an incident at his college where he will start in the Fall, Bobby declares his love in an exuberant way. But when the feelings aren't mutual, he's embarrassed. The incident leaves him heartbroken, in trouble with the dean, and is fired from his job at the campus bookstore. This leaves Bobby turning to his uncle Andy who has a position open at his store, Corner Books. There, Bobby helps market the store and bring in more customers. When he recommends a book to a customer, he is quickly given the title, "The Book Whisperer" throughout the small town of Little Elm.

In comes Luke, a customer at the store, sneakily reading a romance novel. We learn Luke is anti-romantic and pansexual. Due to his lack of believing in love due to his family's history of divorce, Bobby is blindsided by Luke's flirtations.

I enjoyed this rom-com for the humor, small town vibes, characters, and the lighthearted story. I devoured this book! It was a fast paced and fun read. I also liked the integration of video game streaming as Bobby's friend, Wendy is a popular video game streamer. My only critique is the romance was too slow for me and I wish we had gotten more build up + time with Luke and Bobby to see more of their chemistry. The ending was fun, but I felt like it was too rushed. Coccia is a great storyteller and his characters are loveable. I would read more from him in the future.

CW: Body shaming, bullying, blood

overall this book was very cutesy and queer in the best way. our MC is a plus-sized bookish teen who working in a quaint cute bookstore after he publicly embarrassed himself professing his love to another boy. while he is getting to know Luke he's questioning if what he's feeling is truly romance or if he's wrong all over again. overall this book is very sweet and quick witted with representation we hardly ever see in books. I love that Bobby is a book-loving matchmaker so much,

thank you netgalley for an early copy <3

4.25 ⭐️

🌈 Rainbow Ratings:
Representation: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Intrigue: 8
Narrative: 8
Build-up: 8
Originality: 8
Wow Factor: 8

In Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia, Bobby Ashton is a rom-com-loving bookseller whose epic romantic gesture goes terribly wrong. Retreating to his uncle’s bookstore for the summer, he finds an unexpected connection with Luke, a romance-skeptical lifeguard, challenging everything he thought he knew about love.

Casanova and The Love Grinch are everything you want in a relationship—seeing one another authentically, forgiveness, and community. I truly enjoyed Recommended Reading from beginning to end. The Book Whisperer is easily the best nickname anyone could receive! The character development was thorough, balanced, and oh-so-worthwhile.

Thanks to Hear Our Voices Tours for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher, Hear Our Voices and Paul Coccia for my gifted copy! I’m so happy to be a part of this BookTour.

Bobby Ashton has his perfect summer all planned out. However, one mistake and suddenly those plans are shattered like broken glass. In order to stay out of trouble and stay in the Dean’s good graces, he finds himself a job at Corner Books.

Bobby loves the romance genre and has used his knowledge of the genre to help others find love. He is the small town’s matchmaker and has the ability to recommend the perfect book for any situation someone might be going through. It made me think of What You’re Looking For is in the Library, romance edition. However, he’s unable to help himself when it comes to finding love.

This Emma-inspired book had charm, humor, and a lot of heart. There’s a hint of a romantic plot, but I felt that it was more focused on Bobby’s personal growth which I really enjoyed. There were several moments that had me smiling and laughing. If anything, I shall leave you with this quote: “Moist wad of cash. Casanova’s pickle jar.” If that doesn’t intrigue you, then I don’t know what will 😂

Recommended Reading has love, heart, a cozy bookstore, a grumpy old lady, a small town matchmaker, and grand romantic gestures. Definitely check this one out if those things interest you!

A super cute M/M romance, featuring a plus-sized, bookish MC named Bobby Ashton, who has a reputation for successful match-matching in his tight-knit community.

Bobby’s a natural-born meddler, with the absolute best of intentions, determined to help those around him find love and happiness, even though his own recent big love pursuit met a publicly embarrassing end that he’s still trying to recover from.

Not one to wallow though, Bobby brushes himself off, puts his own love life on the backburner, and throws himself into having a great, productive summer, helping his “uncle” revitalise his old bookstore, while making new friends, and finding his true worth and happiness along the way.

This story was very sweet and full of charm and wit, as we got to follow Bobby (and his family and friends) over the eventful course of his last summer before college. I enjoyed the small-town vibes and adored the bookstore setting. It’s a book about book lovers for book lovers, and I’m always a sucker for that.

Bobby was a charming MC, clearly inspired by Austen’s Emma but revitalised in this modern YA/NA college-town setting, with great queer and plus-size representation, and a full ensemble cast of quirky characters that kept the whole story flowing with ease.

Naturally, I found myself adoring Bobby’s new friend and love interest Luke, who was the sweetest guy and a perfect match for Bobby. I found myself smiling whenever they shared scenes together, their banter was really good and their chemistry gave me the warm and fuzzies.

I enjoyed this story, but I ultimately decided not to rate higher simply because I read an ARC copy that had a lot of formatting and editing issues (the first time I’ve experienced this through NetGalley), which took me out of the story and had me re-reading passages for comprehension more than a few times. (But I’m sure the final edit has none of these issues ((I hope)) and therefore shouldn’t be a problem for new readers upon the book's official release).

If you’re looking for a low-angst, feel-good M/M romance, or you just love books-about-books, this might just be the story for you!


***A special thanks to the publishers (via Netgalley) for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a cute, queer, YA adaptation of Emma. Really enjoyed this book. It was very well written. Was hooked for the first chapter, could not put it down.

“Recommended Reading” is a charming rom-com inspired by Emma that captures the essence of early 2000s romantic comedies. The story follows Bobby Ashton, a professional romantic, as he navigates love and friendship with a diverse cast of entertaining characters.

This was an unexpected sweet clean story that had me laughing out loud. The cast of characters and the interactions were spot on.

Bobby is this big ball of love, that’s known for his match making abilities and also knowing exactly what a person needs to read next and to me that is a epic power to have, but when he tries this on himself it goes completely awry and he lose that confidence in himself. 
The romance to me felt very secondary to Bobby getting his grove back but it was a great read.

Thank Netgalley and publisher for Arc

I was really excited to read this book - many aspects like a main character being fat, the story revolving around bookstores and books, recommendations, it all sounded like good fun. Unfortunately, fun was the last thing I had while reading this book. And because I don't want to start with the bad things, I have to mention that there were enough scenes in the book I liked - firstly, the bookshop was such a nice setting! I liked Bobby's recommendations and the way he interacted with the shop's customers, especially Cindy and her group. The contrast between Corner Books and Campus Books was a good way to make Bobby work for something and improve, and it seemed like he even would. What happened is another thing, but let's still focus on the better things.
I really loved Gladys, and not because she was the only good character along with maybe Luke. Her whole no-nonsense attitude that toed the line was endearing and liked her growth as she got to know Bobby and worked with him. And I think Luke also worked greatly as a love interested, but there simply wasn't enough for him to live up to the potential he had.
My main problem was Bobby. And that's bad because he is the main character. His attitude towards other people and Corner Books at the beginning of the story was something I found to be rather off-putting. I disliked how he immediately sorted the bookshop into the "low-quality" category, same with Luke and the label of frat bro and how he probably wants to date a "bimbo". Like for someone who reads primarily romance, a genre that is predominantly but not exclusively written by women for women, I would expect Bobby to be better when talking about girls. This really soured my mood. He was so focused on setting people up and sticking his nose into others business, even when he was warned not to do it. And while he definitely shifted his view as the story progressed, It almost seemed that he would learn from his mistakes, but then I simply couldn't sympathize with him when he then went back to his usual meddling to set up his friend, Wanda, and a man who he thought was her potential boyfriend. I should highlight the fact that Wanda told him to cut it off multiple times, but he still decided to read her texts and reply to someone he barely knew just so there would be a romantic meeting between them. I also couldn't really believe how easy it was for him to get away with it, because the story ended very abruptly and there were basically no consequences for Bobby.
Lastly, this book was described as a rom-com, but I couldn't help but despair at the lack of actual romance between Bobby and Luke. There was almost nothing romantic between these two, with the plot focused more on Bobby's work, his meddling and the festival happening. And I already mention how I liked Luke, and if there were more scenes focused on their growing relationship, I would be totally cheering them on, but their romantic arc was mostly awkward. Not to mention that the third-act "breakup" was so weird. It felt like it was there only because it's a staple in the romance genre and to create some tension, but as the story ended abruptly, the confession was hurried and the miscommunication made me feel nothing but frustration. I get that Bobby was getting over his crush on Truman and learning new things, but apart from the banter about romance between him and Luke, there just wasn't much of what I expected when I started a rom-com.
And I just have to mention this one final frustration I had: when Bobby talks about everyone finding their loved one, Luke (very rightfully) brings up people who do not fit into this box - polyamorous people, aros and aces. And I mean it's a really valid argument. As an aroace person, I get tired of the insistence that everyone has to find one true love. But what was icky (and I am sorry for this word, but there isn't any that would explain my feelings better), was the nonexistent answer from Bobby. He learned nothing from it and he still later went and decided to set up people, some who never asked for it.

This book was AMAZING! It was so me—I am Bobby, and Bobby is me, lol! I read all the time, and I have a fantastic imagination. Every situation is a scene from a movie or book. I felt seen!

This book is a ROM-COM bibliophile's dream.

I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

This was such a good time. It was current, relatable, easy, and entertaining.
Bobby could have been a friend of mine; he was so well-written in fact, all of the characters were. The way he took his lumps and just revised his list and readjusted, continuing his mission to make his summer epic. The way he made it his business to fins love for everyone and managed to put a positive spin on things. I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK! This was a hilarious coming-of-age story for book lovers of all ages.

Thank you, NetGalley, Zando Young Readers, and Paul Coccia, for the ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and my tour group for allowing me to read this early in exchange for my review!!

This was literally one of the sweetest and cutest books I’ve ever read. I loved Bobby so much. From his fabulousness to his fearless nature, I felt myself wanting to be more like him. Even when things looked down for him he was able to pick himself back up. I also love how he’s fat and proud. The body positivity was inspiring.

Luke was also such a delightful character. He was so sweet and kind to Bobby and everyone else around him. The people in Bobby’s life seemed to really care about him and I love books set in small towns where everyone knows each other

Even though Bobby made some mistakes and was clumsy, he was able to grow and it was great to see. I just loved Bobby and everyone in this book. And the cute romantic moments here had me giggling and kicking my feet. I was on my lunch break screaming AWWWW. This was so refreshing after reading something really dark and disturbing. I’m a sucker for these types of books!!

What I Liked: The book opens with Bobby's big romantic gesture failing in front of so many people and that completely changes his plans for his summer. At this point in time, I honestly wasn't rooting for Bobby and found him quite annoying because he was very whiney. It wasn't until Bobby met Luke who challenges his perspective on things and makes him think that Bobby started to grow on me.

When Bobby and Luke first meet each other, I was a bit worried that it would be an instant love story, so I was pleased that while it was instant attraction, there wasn't instant love between the two. Bobby was a bit skeptical about Luke's feelings and was pretty sure that Luke wasn't even interested in guys until he finds out otherwise later. The relationship develops between Bobby and Luke naturally and its fun getting to see them get to know each other.

While Bobby is a hopeless romantic, he has given up on love for himself which is hard to see happen. I felt bad for him as he gives up on romance for himself because of his appearance even as Luke is telling him that sometimes you look beyond a cover. Bobby works hard to ensure that all the people around him have a healthy love life so you can't help but want that for himself. It's nice to read as the other people surrounding Bobby are also getting into relationships and how supportive he is of his friends and family.

Final Verdict: Recommended Reading is a great book for those of you who are looking for a cute, fun, and fluffy romantic comedy to get you through these tough times. Young adults will enjoy this book as it gives them hope for romance if they are different from others and adults will enjoy having something hopeful and lighthearted to read.

This was just the sweetest mm romance! I love a romantic lead that is more realistic in weight and his new friend who is the hulky dreamboat is so into him. But since Bobby just got heartbroken he isn’t even trying to find someone also he might get expelled. He is an act of love with an elaborate display type.
I loved that he was a book whisperer and could read people and suggest the book they needed. There are people that are super empathic and just watch and listen and know vast catalogues of media to recommend. They are spirit animals and helpers.
This was so book related since there were two bookstores involved, a coveted book club and culminating in a huge book event. Luke the athletic swimmer was so supportive and always around and Bobby just thought he was an ally. Media and stereotypes leave so many people out and I love when they get a story even when they don't realize they are the main character for awhile :)
This was YA and it helped with recognizing your worth and finding your voice. Also knowing that you can ask for help and you don’t have to take on everything on your own.