On Rotation: A Novel🥼
by Shirlene Obuobi
Pub Date – 6/21/22 – Out Now!
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OMG this book had me all over the place with emotions!

I just couldn’t put it down yesterday! And I absolutely loved Angela. She was stuck in a box I had found myself in, in my 20’s. Good enough to flirt with but not good enough to date or love.

The evolution of her relationship with Ricky was so perfect. The way they met just showed his personality trying to cheer her up but it was the wrong timing. But he just couldn’t get her out of his head and she thought she was alone in her feelings.

They were lucky or unlucky that both of their very best friends started dating so they could get some details or find insight. Sometimes you don’t have a clue and just pass cause you assume they don’t want you but if you can ask someone if you will be well received then it makes things not as scary.

The other huge side of this story was her studying and medical rounds. As a woman of color her perspective on the medical field is very different from the other students around her and I have heard stories about the assumptions and the inappropriate questions that can be asked. Her project to bridge the gap in the disparities is something needed. I loved and was anxious listening to her experiences in each department. The med field is so interesting that you can go into each practice and find what interests you while you are learning. (Accounting doesn’t have that.)

Her parents were very strict on her career progression and her dating life. They really wanted a say in every step of the way. 

I need this physical copy on my shelf!! I love romances that make me feel all the feels of the ups and downs of the relationship as if it’s happening to me. I wanted to shake them at times and the one unlikely person was the one that brought them together.

And Ricky’s Abuela was the sweetest and her and Shae were my fav supporting characters.

Thank you avonbooks and netgalley for my honest and voluntary review.

🖼️From the series West Oakland by Joanne Leonard at SFMOMA

Synopsis:

For fans of Grey’s Anatomy and Seven Days in June, this dazzling debut novel by Shirlene Obuobi explores that time in your life when you must decide what you want, how to get it, & who you are, all while navigating love, friendship, and the realization that the path you’re traveling is going to be a bumpy ride.

Ghanaian-American Angela Appiah has checked off all the boxes for the “Perfect Immigrant Daughter.”

– Enroll in an elite medical school
– Snag a suitable lawyer/doctor/engineer boyfriend
– Surround self with a gaggle of successful and/or loyal friends

But then it quickly all falls apart: her boyfriend dumps her, she bombs the most important exam of her medical career, and her best friend pulls away. And her parents, whose approval seems to hinge on how closely she follows the path they chose, are a lot less proud of their daughter. It’s a quarter life crisis of epic proportions.

Angie, who has always faced her problems by working “twice as hard to get half as far,” is at a loss. Suddenly, she begins to question everything: her career choice, her friendships, even why she’s attracted to men who don’t love her as much as she loves them.

And just when things couldn’t get more complicated, enter Ricky Gutierrez— brilliant, thoughtful, sexy, and most importantly, seems to see Angie for who she is instead of what she can represent.

Unfortunately, he’s also got “wasteman” practically tattooed across his forehead, and Angie’s done chasing mirages of men. Or so she thinks. For someone who’s always been in control, Angie realizes that there’s one thing she can’t plan on: matters of her heart.