megs2kool's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
n1colez's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
thathappyreader's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! Adi and Finn are interesting characters who meet in a town so different than the ones found in Hallmark movies. The idea that all small towns reflect those found in the movies was certainly dispelled in this book.
Adi is a free-lance journalist hoping to gain a full-time job with an online magazine. She currently lives with her Mom, but desperately wants to start her true adult life. She has 2 other part-time jobs in addition to her free-lance work, but there are not leading her to the career she truly wants.
After she successfully pitches her idea for her story to a prospective employer, she sets off to write a story set in the small town of Pleasant Hollow. Her assignment is to get the town’s perspective on a new large development project which is currently being built. The town is filled with plenty of quirky characters that kept me highly entertained.
Finn is the attractive construction manager who is in charge of the job site. He’s also staying in the same Bed and Breakfast as Adi is. As they two begin to learn more about each other, it’s easy to see their chemistry. But what they truly want for their own lives is something very different.
I enjoyed the Gilmore Girls-like relationship between Adi and her mother and the references to the show throughout the book, including the town’s name and Adina’s surname (same as Rory’s friend Paris). On a more serious note, the author does a great job of discussing difficult subjects such as alcoholism with compassion. This balance of comedy and serious subjects makes for an enjoyable read.
Adi is a free-lance journalist hoping to gain a full-time job with an online magazine. She currently lives with her Mom, but desperately wants to start her true adult life. She has 2 other part-time jobs in addition to her free-lance work, but there are not leading her to the career she truly wants.
After she successfully pitches her idea for her story to a prospective employer, she sets off to write a story set in the small town of Pleasant Hollow. Her assignment is to get the town’s perspective on a new large development project which is currently being built. The town is filled with plenty of quirky characters that kept me highly entertained.
Finn is the attractive construction manager who is in charge of the job site. He’s also staying in the same Bed and Breakfast as Adi is. As they two begin to learn more about each other, it’s easy to see their chemistry. But what they truly want for their own lives is something very different.
I enjoyed the Gilmore Girls-like relationship between Adi and her mother and the references to the show throughout the book, including the town’s name and Adina’s surname (same as Rory’s friend Paris). On a more serious note, the author does a great job of discussing difficult subjects such as alcoholism with compassion. This balance of comedy and serious subjects makes for an enjoyable read.
kcornett22's review against another edition
1.0
It was fine. That is all I have to say.
I really didn't want to finish it, but by the time I had a definitive "this is boring," I was deep into it and just kept going.
There is a primase that the lead character goes to a town to do an article regarding a Hallmark town.
I really didn't want to finish it, but by the time I had a definitive "this is boring," I was deep into it and just kept going.
There is a primase that the lead character goes to a town to do an article regarding a Hallmark town.
jessicat10's review
4.0
Great story. I like how the characters grew. I liked the way it challenged the small town trope. The main character has a love of Hallmark movies which are frequently referenced. If you are a fan of Hallmark movies like I am, I think you will get a kick out of them. Unlike a Hallmark movie though this book has some spicy scenes in it.
Overall it was a really fun read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Overall it was a really fun read.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
curiouskatreads's review against another edition
If imagining what I’ve read of this book so far as a dating profile, it would look something like “Aspiring single NYC woman looking for a small town Hallmark-movie inspired romance. I live in a fantasy world where this type of relationship exists. I’m also immature and frequently love to speak in crass ways.”
This book and I are breaking up. It was a short-lived relationship. Maybe it wanted to take things further than I did, but after getting to know about 40% of it, I can clearly see we’re not meant to be. I wanted sweet and happy, with maybe a little bit of “Ooo la la” *wink, wink* later. This book initially seemed like it might be that, but quickly after meeting one another it went all Penthouse magazine on me, with such enticing phrases like ‘boning’, ‘gets a lot of tail’, ‘getting drunk and laid’, ‘f*ck buddy’, ‘hot’ and ‘pound’. Be still my heart! How could I resist such romantic eloquence?
Sorry, As Seen on TV. I know I agreed to this date, but you and I just aren’t compatible. I’ve seen great feedback from many of your other dates and I’m sure plenty more will fall for your charms and swipe right. I wish you all the best!
(no rating)
Thanks to Forever/Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and author Meredith Schorr for the opportunity to review this ARC. It will publish June 7, 2022
This book and I are breaking up. It was a short-lived relationship. Maybe it wanted to take things further than I did, but after getting to know about 40% of it, I can clearly see we’re not meant to be. I wanted sweet and happy, with maybe a little bit of “Ooo la la” *wink, wink* later. This book initially seemed like it might be that, but quickly after meeting one another it went all Penthouse magazine on me, with such enticing phrases like ‘boning’, ‘gets a lot of tail’, ‘getting drunk and laid’, ‘f*ck buddy’, ‘hot’ and ‘pound’. Be still my heart! How could I resist such romantic eloquence?
Sorry, As Seen on TV. I know I agreed to this date, but you and I just aren’t compatible. I’ve seen great feedback from many of your other dates and I’m sure plenty more will fall for your charms and swipe right. I wish you all the best!
(no rating)
Thanks to Forever/Grand Central Publishing, NetGalley and author Meredith Schorr for the opportunity to review this ARC. It will publish June 7, 2022
mzdeb's review against another edition
2.0
I received a digital ARC from NetGalley. Stopped at 20% before I started skimming.
I wasn't pulled into Adina's character, which is obviously a big problem. I've never seen "Gilmore Girls," nor am I obsessed with the Hallmark Channel, but I suspect even those fans would find Adina's stereotypes of what small towns are like annoying if not offensive; and her attempts to shape Pleasant Hollow into what she thinks a small town should be even more so. Or not--again, I'm not the target audience.
There was a fair amount of exposition. A love interest I totally didn't buy. Glad some people loved it--just was not for me.
I wasn't pulled into Adina's character, which is obviously a big problem. I've never seen "Gilmore Girls," nor am I obsessed with the Hallmark Channel, but I suspect even those fans would find Adina's stereotypes of what small towns are like annoying if not offensive; and her attempts to shape Pleasant Hollow into what she thinks a small town should be even more so. Or not--again, I'm not the target audience.
There was a fair amount of exposition. A love interest I totally didn't buy. Glad some people loved it--just was not for me.
trinitysmet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
allysonkreh's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
taylornoellefox's review against another edition
2.0
1.5/5 ⭐️.✨
I'm just going to start off by saying that I did not like this book. I found myself just not caring what happened to these characters and wanting to call it quits. Adina and Finn's love story is one of the most unconvincing things I have ever read and I don't think they make a good pairing. He clearly has issues he has to work though (issues we are not really told enough about) and she reminds me of a lost puppy that didn't get nearly enough character development.
Adina's reason for going to Pleasant Hollow was to write about small town life and how the residents think they will be effected by the development of new apartments. She goes thinking she will get the Hallmark movie treatment and quickly discovers she was very wrong. When she finds that she can't write the article she originally hoped to send to a magazine she's been trying to get a job with for years, she attempts to change the dynamic of the town in one day. I found this to be obnoxious. I mean come on. You've been here a week and think the town owes you something? Get a grip.
Moving on to Finn. We know virtually nothing about him. He is working on the apartments that Adina is trying to "expose", he wants to work on building affordable apartments, and his dad is a drunk. Oh! And he has a sister that plays absolutely no role in the story at all yet is mentioned several times with no useful information.
They hook up, start dating, break up after one day, and get back together.
SPOILER ALERT: His “grand” gesture to get her back was to make his Hinge profile all about her and how much he loves and misses her with the hope that she would see it... She did not in fact see it on her own. Her best friend is the one that sent her the screen shots of his profile (her best friend has a boyfriend and was just casually scrolling through a dating app which was very weird). The fact that he thought she would be on dating apps after "everything they went through" (virtually nothing), confirmed that he knows very little about Adina. I simply do not understand why he didn't just come to her apartment with flowers and an apology. A love letter also would have sufficed.
This book didn't make sense. If this wasn't my book club book of the month, I would have DNF'd.
Ugh. Rant over.
I'm just going to start off by saying that I did not like this book. I found myself just not caring what happened to these characters and wanting to call it quits. Adina and Finn's love story is one of the most unconvincing things I have ever read and I don't think they make a good pairing. He clearly has issues he has to work though (issues we are not really told enough about) and she reminds me of a lost puppy that didn't get nearly enough character development.
Adina's reason for going to Pleasant Hollow was to write about small town life and how the residents think they will be effected by the development of new apartments. She goes thinking she will get the Hallmark movie treatment and quickly discovers she was very wrong. When she finds that she can't write the article she originally hoped to send to a magazine she's been trying to get a job with for years, she attempts to change the dynamic of the town in one day. I found this to be obnoxious. I mean come on. You've been here a week and think the town owes you something? Get a grip.
Moving on to Finn. We know virtually nothing about him. He is working on the apartments that Adina is trying to "expose", he wants to work on building affordable apartments, and his dad is a drunk. Oh! And he has a sister that plays absolutely no role in the story at all yet is mentioned several times with no useful information.
They hook up, start dating, break up after one day, and get back together.
SPOILER ALERT: His “grand” gesture to get her back was to make his Hinge profile all about her and how much he loves and misses her with the hope that she would see it... She did not in fact see it on her own. Her best friend is the one that sent her the screen shots of his profile (her best friend has a boyfriend and was just casually scrolling through a dating app which was very weird). The fact that he thought she would be on dating apps after "everything they went through" (virtually nothing), confirmed that he knows very little about Adina. I simply do not understand why he didn't just come to her apartment with flowers and an apology. A love letter also would have sufficed.
This book didn't make sense. If this wasn't my book club book of the month, I would have DNF'd.
Ugh. Rant over.