Both a cautionary tale for what happens when you try to make life too much like your favorite romance books and a love letter to the genre, Recommended Reading is almost too cute to handle. I wish that the book delved deeper into the side characters, but it does give a solid insight into Bobby and the pitfalls of being a hopeless romantic - as well as the positives of the same.

4.25 out of 5 stars.

Such a sweet summertime read!

I love modern retellings - fairy tales & classic literature alike - and Coccia does a great job of it with Recommended Reading.

This LGBTQIA2+ inclusive book could have gone a little farther into explaining/exploring Luke’s pansexuality.

As fat person, I appreciate that the main character touches on his insecurities in being so - could have used a bit more of this too, actually!

The cast of characters is wonderful. I wouldn’t mind a series, perhaps with books focusing on Wanda, Cass, and of course Gladys & Gladys!

Will recommend!

Loved the cover and the content. I’m a sucker for a rewrite of the classics, and this one does Emma justice. Here’s to lucky mistakes and pebbles tossed at a window.

#RecommendedReading
#PaulCoccia
#Pebbles
#BookWhisperer
#judgeabookbyitscover

Within a few chapters I knew this caring young protagonist was going to have his narrow view of what love is turned on it's head, and this was a wonderful thing. Bobby's journey of self discovery is relatable to so many people. The way the other cast of characters helped changed his views made me laugh and shake my head a bunch of times because the "help" ranged from looking the other way to a completely caustic Gladys ( loved her.) who reminds me of a few people in my life. I enjoyed the journey this book went through and already know a few people who I am recommending this to!

Perfect for any library young adult collection, this gently queer love story with over the top characters and a believable happily ever after is exactly what my teen patrons have been asking for! Building on a foundation of Austen's eternal matchmaker and meddler Emma, the diverse cast of Recommended Reading explodes across a college town in a dazzling display of book adjacent mayhem. As all sorts of relationships form and grow, the reader gets pulled along, hopefully learning to think ahead and leave room in their plans for serendipity. A great choice for a young adult book club (mirroring the one in the book) or community read along. Thank you to NetGalley for access to this most enjoyable arc.

Oh my god. This was such a lovely read!
You know you're hooked when you're already cringing along in secondhand embarrassment with the mc only ten pages in!

I loved literally everything about it, and my heart broke when you know who discovered the list.
Gosh. I almost cried !

Thank you for allowing me to arc read this gem. I ordered a graphic novel reccomended in this.

Thanks book whisperer!

This was such a sweet and charming read. Recommended Reading is the story of Bobby and how his grand plans for a pre-college summer of fabulousness don’t quite work out the way he’d hoped. Despite flash mob disaster, heartbreak, disappointment and a fair few misunderstandings, he ends up having a break filled with victories while learning some important lessons about love, friendship, collaboration, boundaries, and success.

There was so much to like in this book. Bobby is a flawed main character but in a very relatable and realistic teenage way. It was impossible not to relate to him and his struggles with self-esteem and peer acceptance as someone who was also a nerdy, awkward bookworm. At one point he says that ‘love is for beautiful people not fat bookish boys’ which broke my heart and I was very happy to see him proven wrong by the end of the story. But there’s also much outside of his romantic life that Bobby has going for him and his summer experiences really demonstrate to him the value of his relationships with his family and friends and his organisational and professional achievements. He learns to adjust his grandiose schemes as a result of truly listening to others and to modify his plans in ways that end up working out better for all involved.

The central romantic relationship was also well constructed – friends-to-lovers is a favourite trope and the way these two interacted and their bond developed was tender, believable and rewarding.

Another strength of this book was its cast of diverse and (mostly) delightful side characters. It was a lot of fun to follow along with Bobby’s journey of learning more about the people in his life and of realising the complexities of their existences beyond his previously limited understanding of their lives had been. Thus, while this book is a quick, easy and light read, it contains enough substance to satisfy readers beyond its intended YA audience.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Cute, fun, flirty YA queer romance. Fun characters who are well developed and endearing. I always love a book about books, too!

Stay tuned for this in 2025.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Thank you Zando Young Readers and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This book was a delight, probably one of my favorite 2024 reads, unfortunately it doesn’t come out till next year! One you should absolutely put on your TBR’s! Bobby has always loved reading, especially romance, as a result he is particularly good at helping people to find love and/or helping them find the perfect book to get them through what they need. Everyone that is except himself but that’s going to change. He’s preforming the grand gesture for his crush and everything will be grand. However when it all falls apart he’s shaken and his confidence is blown. Cast out of the prestigious bookstore and almost kicked out of school he begins working at his uncles (no blood relation) used book store. In need of a sprucing up and a rebranding he works hard to turn Corner Books around. Soon he’s back to helping people, this time joined by new to town Luke, who doesn’t really believe in love. The two clash but somehow their opposing views work well together. Bobby’s usually confident with his size and unbothered by being bigger but since his last disaster he has trouble getting out of his head. There’s no way that very handsome Luke could be into him right? As the two become closer Bobby becomes more confused. Are he and Luke into each other? Is Bobby in over his head with his meddling with other peoples love lives? I always love reading about people who look like me in books and the fact that Bobby is as into books as I am was very nice! I also loved the confidence he had, I also love reading about characters having traits you like, it’s like getting a glimpse of who you could be! Funny, sweet, touching, and incredibly heartwarming! A perfect little rom com to get you all in the feels!

Recommended Reading is a sweet young adult romantic comedy inspired by Emma with a great main character Bobby who is an incoming freshman in his hometown college. Bobby is funny and outgoing known as the town makemaker but can't quite get his own love life right. I couldn't put this book down wanting to know what Bobby would do next and who he would end up with. I did like the character of Luke and thought that Bobby and Luke had a lot of great banter between "Casanova" and "the Love Grinch". I did think that there was a bit of a rush at the end since this could be a series with more development. Overall I loved the characters, main and supporting and I would recommend this to anyone that likes funny light rom-com with good story and cute pop culture references.

I don't know If I've been living under a rock but this might be the first time I've seen a plus sized, gay man on the cover of a YA romance book???
This novel follows Bobby who is down on his luck after suffering a humiliating rejection publicly. He finds refuge in his Uncle's used book store and we follow him on his journey to self discovery. It was an absolute pleasure getting to know Bobby. He's what my grandmother would call a "character". His feet could be far off the ground sometimes but there was never a dull moment with him. I loved his relationship with books and the bookstore. The romance with Luke didn't connect all the way for me and fell a little short. But this was still one of the most enjoyable reads of the year for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My review is from the perspective of a librarian serving children and young adult populations.

When I first started reading, I couldn’t put my phone down. I was instantly drawn in to Bobby’s story. I’m at a loss for words as to how wonderful this book truly is. My mind coined it as a Heartstopper for book nerds, with so much detail and brilliance placed throughout. The representation of LGBTQIA+ identity and body positivity alone was done incredibly well and with great success.

This book would be an excellent addition to a library collection serving young adult populations. I highly recommend it as a summer reading material as well.

A sweet story about a young man who needs to find himself but would rather help others live his romance novel fantasies. While he takes his time realizing that he's holding himself back, that's life.

A nice reminder that boundaries are a good thing, even amongst friends. Despite what books and movies may tell you, sometimes simple gestures can be more impactful than grand gestures.

It took me a few days to get into this book, but once I did, I devoured it.

4/5 stars for this absolutely adorable queer YA romance!

I looooved Recommended Reading. Coccia does a great job of giving us an over the top main character with side characters that both ground him but also get their own stories. The one character that unfortunately fell a little flat for me was Luke. It felt like a lot of the relationship building between him and Bobby happened off page through text messages that we don't get to see. I wanted to get to know him as more of a person than just as Bobby's friend/crush. Bobby in general was also a lot but I appreciated that this was addressed and explained in a way that made sense and made him feel more down-to-earth and genuine.

The character growth for everyone in this story was heart-warming and I love to see a fat queer person thrive!!I really loved the characters and while the story wrapped up insanely well (almost too well), I was engaged the whole time! This is the quickest I've read an arc (or anything really) in a very long time and if you're looking for a quick, cutesy, queer young-adult read, this is definitely a good choice. . A huge thank you to Netgalley and Zando Young Readers for this wonderful arc<3

Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia is the perfect novel for fans of rom coms (especially ones that feature bookshops like You’ve Got Mail or Notting Hill) as well as hopeless romantics. It’s above love and believing in It’s power. This is one story you will not want to put down.

Recommended Reading by Paul Coccia is a fun queer YA inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma. Bobby, a rising college freshman, has big plans for the summer before college. He aims to get the dream guy, get the dream job, and to make the town’s annual book festival the best it’s ever been. Then in one fell swoop all those loft plans came crashing down. Now we get to follow Bobby as he picks himself back up from humiliation and navigates this new path. Along the way he meets a really cute new boy and makes some matchmaking errors, but learns so much about himself and his friends and family along the way.
This novel is full heart and humor, and is sure to warm up the soul. Such a rich and loving cast of characters surrounds our lead, and they all are constantly defying expectations. I will definitely be recommending this novel to anyone who needs a bit of sweetness in their life.

Having not read a friends-to-lovers book in recent memory, Recommended Reading was a enjoyable dip into the trope. A fun rom-com with a witty protagonist, the main characters were likeable and easy to root for. The used bookstore environment additionally added to the overall sweet and cozy feeling of the novel. This was a great start to my summer reading!

An adorably sweet and quick witted male-male rom-com with lots of side plots to keep you entertained. A friends to lovers trope with our plus sized main character. A used book store in a small town. A matchmaking main character who sees romance in other people’s lives but can’t quite get his own romance right. A funny and endearing main character who wants the best for those around him. Miscommunications between characters. One of the better YA romances I have read. 4.5 stars, rounded up.

One thing about me, I'm always going to read an Austen inspired work, and Recommended Reading and its Emma-influenced tale did not disappoint! After a very public, very disastrous love confession leads to losing his campus bookstore job, and almost being kicked out of the college before classes even begin, Bobby Ashton finds himself the latest hire at his uncle's small bookstore. This is so not how his perfect pre-college summer is supposed to go. Yet as the days progress things start to look up - he's becoming the town's go to for book recommendations, his uncle's letting him spruce up the shop a bit, and there just might be something happening with Luke, the anti-romantic lifeguard who keeps popping up. Occasionally awkward, wonderfully snarky, and absolutely unashamed of who he is, Bobby made this book a completely joy to read.

Cosy Romance and a perfect read in honour of Pride Month.

I love that the main character is as awkward as I am. I will always read an Austen inspired book, no matter how loosely inspired it may be.

Unputdownable, funny, sweet and touching.

It is such a balanced book and I really enjoyed it.