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bzliz's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
3.0
I was really enjoying the subversion of a non-bookish bookstore owner up until the third act. It definitely had some standard problems before then- like having to make excuses or shove in side characters with explanations of how Drew can just leave her store at random without consequences- but the third act sucked out some of my joy. We had a third act breakup- which I already dislike- during which Drew goes from 0 to 100 in .2 seconds. I was hopeful that the final conflict was going to be resolving Drew’s terrible father’s greedy attempt to usurp her with Jasper at her side. But no, that was left semi-resolved after Drew overreacted to some pretty inconsequential admissions from Jasper.
The grand gesture also didn’t feel very grand, in my opinion so it soured my feelings about the whole book or I likely would’ve bumped this up half a star or so.
The grand gesture also didn’t feel very grand, in my opinion so it soured my feelings about the whole book or I likely would’ve bumped this up half a star or so.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing and Vomit
bella613's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The blurb is basically the entire plot of the book, but it's cute and funny. Loved the narrator for the audiobook.
Tbf I don't really like reading super graphic sex scenes, plus I listen to most of my audio books at work, so I skipped some brief parts of the book. But if you're into "steamy" romance this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the detail in Drew's love of photography, nature, and hiking. She's a wonderfully, and heartbreakingly, self sufficient character. I think the author did a really good job of writing an interesting and believable FL. But it would have been nice to have literally anything plot-wise for Jasper. He was a supporting character, not a ML. Because of that, I didn't find the main relationship very believable, or the conflict and resolution all that compelling.
I would have appreciated a little more depth about Drew's relationship with her sister, and definitely felt that her dad and grandma were too "good guy/bad guy" flat characters for them to have any effect on the reader.
Overall, the story was nice. Cute, and an easy listen.
Tbf I don't really like reading super graphic sex scenes, plus I listen to most of my audio books at work, so I skipped some brief parts of the book. But if you're into "steamy" romance this is definitely the book for you.
I loved the detail in Drew's love of photography, nature, and hiking. She's a wonderfully, and heartbreakingly, self sufficient character. I think the author did a really good job of writing an interesting and believable FL. But it would have been nice to have literally anything plot-wise for Jasper. He was a supporting character, not a ML. Because of that, I didn't find the main relationship very believable, or the conflict and resolution all that compelling.
I would have appreciated a little more depth about Drew's relationship with her sister, and definitely felt that her dad and grandma were too "good guy/bad guy" flat characters for them to have any effect on the reader.
Overall, the story was nice. Cute, and an easy listen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, and Alcohol
teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.0
Love and a bookstore, what's not to like? On a serious note, I found this book was good at telling and not showing, which I think was a missing element. I felt like the characters were on a different page and it was hard to stay in line. For Drew not being a book or romance person, it didn't convince me of that. It felt like she got with Jasper too quickly for that to feel realistic. And it then didn't take much to get her to read a book. Overall, it was a quick read and enjoyable if you don1t think too much into the storyline, etc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Abandonment
gwenswoons's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
hazelgirl21's review against another edition
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Death and Toxic relationship
book_gremlin42's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Vomit
ohno_joreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Vomit
I really needed to know more about Jasper. I came away not understanding why she fell for him aside from his looks and general kindness.sadiebugreads's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Sexual content
clevergirl216's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Overall, this is a cute, lighthearted romance. The idea of a bookstore owner that hated to read falling for an author is an intriguing one. However, it really seemed like the only reason everyone thought the author was such a great guy was because he was sexy. Didn’t really get much backstory on him or much exploration of his personality. Also, I prefer to read books with fewer F words and sex scenes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
notsobinaryart's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Very cute easy read! Love the concept and how relaxing and chill the book was. I wouldn’t come into it looking for super deep plot, or big character and internal questioning or changes. I’m a sucker for a lighthearted romance, but the book being a bit more surface level made this a less memorable option for me.
Better Than Fiction had a big pet peeve of mine in the first chapter or two, which was using slang abbreviations in the internal monologue. I can forgive that in dialogue, but it feels forced to say super informal abbreviations like “obvi” while reading the text.
An additional issue I experienced is we don’t learn much about the love interest as a person, other than the fact he’s an author, hot, and obsessed with the main character immediately. No friends, family, hobbies, or flaws to be seen other than the third act breakup, which is less of a character flaw and more of a one time thing.
If you want a light, easy read with low amounts of thinking, this is a good book for you! Love the side characters, love how even with stressful topics like grief and family trouble that it never feels too heavy.
Better Than Fiction had a big pet peeve of mine in the first chapter or two, which was using slang abbreviations in the internal monologue. I can forgive that in dialogue, but it feels forced to say super informal abbreviations like “obvi” while reading the text.
An additional issue I experienced is we don’t learn much about the love interest as a person, other than the fact he’s an author, hot, and obsessed with the main character immediately. No friends, family, hobbies, or flaws to be seen other than the third act breakup, which is less of a character flaw and more of a one time thing.
If you want a light, easy read with low amounts of thinking, this is a good book for you! Love the side characters, love how even with stressful topics like grief and family trouble that it never feels too heavy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail