Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Romantic Comedy

A breath of fresh air romance. While it brought back the strange loneliness that came with the pandemic, it gave a new lovely lens to view the experience through.

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danielcrogers's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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amphytrite's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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finsleft's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective

4.75

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kgc8's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and will check out more by the author. The main character Sally goes through a lot of growth throughout the book. She starts off full of feminine rage and defensive, but over time learns to open up and be more forgiving and accepting of herself and others. I loved the SNL setting and the side characters who added a lot of color. I also enjoyed the middle section of the book which is a modern day epistolary romance. Seeing the emails between the main characters fly back and forth really conveyed the feeling of anticipation and eagerness to connect. The book does not wave away the difficulties of being/dating a celebrity like in a fairy tale, but sometimes the amount of privilege made me roll my eyes. Additionally, if you don't want a story set during the pandemic, you should avoid this as it brings up some really scary moments at times.

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shaunashares's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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neetarattan's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a cute read. You'll love it if you are a superfan of SNL, which is dubbed "TNO" in the book. Sally is a seasoned writer for the show and Noah is a celebrity host and musical guest. The first chapter provides a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of production from writing to pitching to editing to rehearsal and finally culminates in the live episode’s filming.

I tandem read: audio & physical book. Complaint about the formatting: if you listen to the audiobook, be forewarned that the first chapter is some-250-odd-mins long, no joke. I'd have preferred it split into smaller chunks by date rather than 3 large chapters with no further granularity. The second chapter switches from diary- to email-format with literal html headers and from/to/date/time/subject lines. The concept of having a COVID pen-pal is cute until it goes on too long to the point they're talking past each other and one wonders how they haven't moved this to at least voice if not video chat.

When they finally meet up in Chapter 3 I find myself smiling and rooting for them, despite the fact that this a highly improbable pairing. Noah is too good to be true, and the Danny Horst rule less far-fetched than I'd like it to be. The MMC being a hunky, ripped, surfer-like heart-throb, propelled to fame as a teen, with gals and paparazzi throwing themselves at him wherever he goes, makes it hard to fathom that even if he did notice and appreciate Sally's talent, that he would fall so hard and so fast after knowing her for a period of less than a week. It might have been less dubious for him to have emailed her out of regret for what could have been after 2 years of no comms, had she not been rude, cold, condescending, and generally unpleasant to him. Not to mention that she's a bit of a plain-Jain.

Still, I was able to suspend my disbelief and flew through the second half. It was funny. There was a depth to it. It highlighted real issues, insecurities.

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