Time for another author spotlight! I know my first one was rather negative, but this time it's about a sweetheart who fills my heart with joy and who makes me want to act like a bubbly rom-com heroine: Cara Bastone!
Me & The Author
I love Cara Bastone! The effect that her writing has on my mood is like nothing else. I am not big on relistening to audiobooks, but I would relisten to her books anytime and I know I wouldn't get tired of them!
All the books I read from her are rom-coms, with loveable characters, and with a gimmick that works wonders for audiobooks: they are only dialogue (or maybe at times monologue), but that's it! Oh, and even though I tend to prefer my romance reads with a little bit (or a lot) of spice, Cara Bastone's books have no spice*, but they are still delicious!
*this is applicable only to the books I am reviewing in this post (I have no info on her other books)
But how did we meet? It was last year, around Valentine's Day, when my lovely husband decided to get Covid so we had to miss ourmy favourite event from the year: the Valentine's Day dinner at my favourite fine-dining restaurant in town. I was a bit grumpy - although not at him, just at the timing of things - so I decided to brighten up my mood by listening to some cute rom-coms while working. I had Audible active at the time and I think they just started their Plus Catalogue or I just found out about it and Cara Bastone's books were free to listen to - I just checked and they still are part of the Plus Catalogue! At first I only found Call Me Maybe and it's about a call centre agent and I was one for one year, my first job-job so I had to try it. And that's how I fell in love with the author and discovered her other books!
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| ★★★★★ |
I gave all of them 5 stars and there's a 4th book I will talk about in this post, that one was a 4.5 read, but still a great book. Also this month Cara Bastone published a new book: Ready or Not. I plan to read it soon and it will definitely be on my February New Releases (which I hope to plan and write this weekend).
All the books presented in this post are written especially for audio and I highly recommend listening to them - there are different narrators and a lot of sound effects that will transport you instantly into Cara Bastone's feel-good world.
Call Me Maybe
Call Me Maybe is the first book in the Love Lines series (not really related, you don't need to read them in order) and it follows Vera as she paints her toes, buys coffee, runs errands and gets stuck in traffic while on hold with the customer service for her new website that's not working properly and she needs it fixed asap before the launch at a big business expo convention. Then Cal, the customer service representative, picks up her call and they spend the next 8 hours or so on the phone, fixing her website, ordering each other takeout and... flirting? Is this love at first at first talk?
This book is absolutely adorable. It takes place over a few days, time Cal spends troubleshooting her website, but after their first interaction they exchanged numbers (so she doesn't have to be on hold for three hours again) and they message and leave voicemails and the entire book consists of their interactions over the phone.
This is a messy sunshine heroine and golden-retriever hero that you don't expect to work but they do! While I am a big fan of the grumpy x sunshine romance trope, sometimes even I wish for just sunny-sunny-joy-joy in my books and this is what Cara Bastone's books are!
This is a sweet book and the romance is so swoony! There are other characters too, including Vera's brother who is the cinnamon-roll in the next book!
Sweet Talk
The second book in the Love Lines series is Sweet Talk and it follows Vera's big brother. Eliot, who texts our heroine J.D. (or Jessie) by mistake... but she replies and he soon realises he has no idea who he is texting with but cannot stop! But Jessie knows exactly who she is talking to and he just happens to be his crush. And they end up texting all night.
The thing about Sweet Talk that I was not 100% on board with is the fact that Jessie knows who Eliot is and they have IRL interactions but she never comes forward because she is a bit insecure, while also being an absolute baddie. There is a lot of family drama in this book and even though Eliot is Vera's brother, the book can be read as a stand-alone.
Eliot is an absolute cinnamon bun and he stole my heart in this book. No matter what, Cara Bastone's books will always put a smile on my face at the end of the day.
SeatMate
Seatmate is the final book in the Love Lines series, however it does not share anything with the other two books. They are all set in New York, but I don't even remember if there was a slight mention of the characters in the other books or not. The format is changed too. While Call Me Maybe and Sweet Talk happen mostly over the phone and our characters do not know each other (more or less), in Seat Mate they do. Well, they don't, but they do. It will make sense when I tell you the synopsis.
Gwen and Sam are seatmates on a 5 hour bus ride from Boston to New York City. And that's how they get to know each other and their dreams and passions. And then the bus breaks down but Gwen really really has to get to New York City! Her career depends on it! And Sam will do anything in his power to make sure she makes it there in time.
It was time for a device change because how many books that happen mostly over the phone can you write? And it was a welcoming change. This was a fluffy feel-good read with two characters that I wish I spent more time with. The entire plot takes over a day (half a day?) and it really feels like a rom-com film.
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| ★★★★☆ |
Love at First Psych
I am not exactly sure why Love at First Psych is not considered part of the Love Lines series because the mechanic is similar too. When I first discovered Cara Bastone, this book was not out yet but I knew about it so I waited impatiently until March 2nd, when it was released (so basically a fortnight).
This is almost a grumpy x sunshine romance that follows Marigold and Robbie as they record interviews with five couples about falling in love at first sight and meet-cutes for their Psych class.
It definitely made me feel all the warm feelings that Cara Bastone's books deliver, but for some reason I wasn't as invested into this romance as with the other books. It's still a cute read but it's missing a bit of the cheesy romance that I was looking for. It's 4.5 star read - but I have no symbol for half-stars!
***
In conclusion, Cara Bastone is definitely an author dear to my heart and I am always looking forward to her books. They are light and fluffy and sometimes just what you need to make your day better!
Call Me Maybe was first published in October 2020, Sweet Talk in April 2021,
Seatmate in March 2022, and Love at First Psych in March 2023.