kle105's review against another edition
4.0
This was such a sweet friends to lovers story. While it may start off as one sided and a little love at first sight, I loved seeing how Joss and Levi built their friendship. Levi might have decided that her friendship was worth more than losing her but in that decision he got a best friend.
Joss needed time to come to terms with her diagnosis. While she became accustomed to using her wheelchair she was finally ready to do the work to be more mobile. She has also decided she is ready to date and when she finds herself flirting with a customer at the bakery she works at she decides today is the day.
When she tells Levi he of course doesn't take it well. He is the one who is supposed to end up with Joss. With the help of his family he has decided to shift their relationship by showing her just the kind of boyfriend he could be. The friend zone may be where he started but it is not where he plans to stay!
Joss needed time to come to terms with her diagnosis. While she became accustomed to using her wheelchair she was finally ready to do the work to be more mobile. She has also decided she is ready to date and when she finds herself flirting with a customer at the bakery she works at she decides today is the day.
When she tells Levi he of course doesn't take it well. He is the one who is supposed to end up with Joss. With the help of his family he has decided to shift their relationship by showing her just the kind of boyfriend he could be. The friend zone may be where he started but it is not where he plans to stay!
ndouglas11's review against another edition
3.0
Cute read - liked the characters - something was missing for me
theatergeek's review against another edition
5.0
Cute, easy read. Having the main character be a strong woman who happens to be in a wheelchair gives a fresh perspective.
cupofteabookblog's review against another edition
5.0
I went into this book thinking it would be a classic friends to lovers romance, it was that but so much more. There is a depth to this book that will suck you in! Levi and Jocelyn are best friends, what Jocelyn does not know is that Levi fell in love with her at first sight. This book is a slow burn romance that will have you savoring each moment. There are sweet and funny moments that are mixed in with all the feels. The cast of characters that we get to meet in this story just add too the joy for the reader, I want to hang out with Joy and Levi's family... like all the time! Karla Sorensen has done an amazing job add diversity to her story seamlessly, she did such an amazing job exploring Jocelyns experience. This story will bring a smile to your face from page one until you read "The End".
rosewelsh's review
4.0
Every man in the Buchanan family is cursed. Not by bad luck or hardship, by love. Everyone in the family falls prey to a curse that makes you fall in love at first sight to your one true love. Levi's father and brother fell to this spell, and Levi, who always thought it was a load of malarkey, is now suffering the same way. While normally love is a wonderful thing, Levi went and fell in love with the only girl he can't have; his best friend Jocelyn "Joss" Abernathy.
Joss and Levi have been friends for years and years. Levi actually asked Joss out once before but she turned him down at the time, saying she didn't need a boyfriend, she just needed a friend. For five years Levi has known Joss was the one and said nothing, waiting silently and being her friend until the right moment. While neither Joss or Levi have seriously dated, a new, handsome guy comes to town and shows an interest in Joss and she contemplates a relationship for the first time. Is this new guy a potential partner, or do all the signs point to Levi as being her soulmate?
I was pleasantly surprised with this novel! Normally I don't love friends to lovers romance very much as I find it tends to walk the "friendzone is bad!" line way too thinly for my taste and makes everything into the female character's fault, but this one had some really good explanations and payoffs for our main characters actions. This book is written in a revolving style in which we get a chapter from Levi immediately followed by a chapter from Joss. The author does a great job of distinguishing two different voices and characters here, not making us relive every conversation from dual perspectives, which is a big pet peeve of mine when it comes to books with two narrators.
Another interesting aspect of this novel is that our main protagonist Joss, is a disabled woman who is a wheelchair user. I really loved that the description of the book did not state this in the summary, because when I got to the part that explained this, it really picked up my interest in the book. So often disabled people are not given a platform in society and even FAR less in the romance genre. I honestly cannot think of another romance novel I've read recently that featured a character with a physical disability in a lead romance role and not as a quirky friend. The author states in the notes that while she is not disabled herself, she did a lot of research into the particular cause for Joss' disability and had a sensitivity reader go through the book to make sure everything was accurate and not offensive to the disabled community. I think sensitivity readers are an AWESOME thing to have at your disposal as an author, many of my friends do this as a side hustle, so it's fantastic to see writers in the romance novel world taking advantage of their abilities.
Joss was such an awesome character I really wish there was another book about where her life goes after the conclusion. She was confident, spunky, but also allowed herself to be vulnerable when she needed to. I absolutely loved her as a character and considering romance is often such a contrived genre, her reasoning behind not dating and her self-esteem issues was entirely believable and well written. By the end she really felt like a character I wanted to know in person, and I was so impressed by that aspect of the book.
The romance angle is fine in this, I actually enjoyed how quickly the truth came out regarding their feelings for one another and that the rest of the book concerned itself more with how to navigate those feelings. Often romance is the build up to the get together payoff and little of the after. This one has a good mix of both elements, and I was actually more interested in the couple figuring their future out after they had gotten together than when they were still in constant pining mode.
This book is a standalone in a series, but the entire thing takes place in Green Valley, a fictional town created by author Penny Reid. Her series in this town was so popular, she's now allowing other authors to write stories that take place in this fictional town, which I think it's pretty cool. I'm honestly upset none of the other books in this series follow the character of Joy, who I probably loved most after Joss. It seemed like a natural segway for Joy to be the star of book 2 and the fact that she's not is honestly ridiculous.
Overall a really fun romance novel by an author I wasn't aware of, and it did not disappoint.
Blog / Twitter
Joss and Levi have been friends for years and years. Levi actually asked Joss out once before but she turned him down at the time, saying she didn't need a boyfriend, she just needed a friend. For five years Levi has known Joss was the one and said nothing, waiting silently and being her friend until the right moment. While neither Joss or Levi have seriously dated, a new, handsome guy comes to town and shows an interest in Joss and she contemplates a relationship for the first time. Is this new guy a potential partner, or do all the signs point to Levi as being her soulmate?
I was pleasantly surprised with this novel! Normally I don't love friends to lovers romance very much as I find it tends to walk the "friendzone is bad!" line way too thinly for my taste and makes everything into the female character's fault, but this one had some really good explanations and payoffs for our main characters actions. This book is written in a revolving style in which we get a chapter from Levi immediately followed by a chapter from Joss. The author does a great job of distinguishing two different voices and characters here, not making us relive every conversation from dual perspectives, which is a big pet peeve of mine when it comes to books with two narrators.
Another interesting aspect of this novel is that our main protagonist Joss, is a disabled woman who is a wheelchair user. I really loved that the description of the book did not state this in the summary, because when I got to the part that explained this, it really picked up my interest in the book. So often disabled people are not given a platform in society and even FAR less in the romance genre. I honestly cannot think of another romance novel I've read recently that featured a character with a physical disability in a lead romance role and not as a quirky friend. The author states in the notes that while she is not disabled herself, she did a lot of research into the particular cause for Joss' disability and had a sensitivity reader go through the book to make sure everything was accurate and not offensive to the disabled community. I think sensitivity readers are an AWESOME thing to have at your disposal as an author, many of my friends do this as a side hustle, so it's fantastic to see writers in the romance novel world taking advantage of their abilities.
Joss was such an awesome character I really wish there was another book about where her life goes after the conclusion. She was confident, spunky, but also allowed herself to be vulnerable when she needed to. I absolutely loved her as a character and considering romance is often such a contrived genre, her reasoning behind not dating and her self-esteem issues was entirely believable and well written. By the end she really felt like a character I wanted to know in person, and I was so impressed by that aspect of the book.
The romance angle is fine in this, I actually enjoyed how quickly the truth came out regarding their feelings for one another and that the rest of the book concerned itself more with how to navigate those feelings. Often romance is the build up to the get together payoff and little of the after. This one has a good mix of both elements, and I was actually more interested in the couple figuring their future out after they had gotten together than when they were still in constant pining mode.
This book is a standalone in a series, but the entire thing takes place in Green Valley, a fictional town created by author Penny Reid. Her series in this town was so popular, she's now allowing other authors to write stories that take place in this fictional town, which I think it's pretty cool. I'm honestly upset none of the other books in this series follow the character of Joy, who I probably loved most after Joss. It seemed like a natural segway for Joy to be the star of book 2 and the fact that she's not is honestly ridiculous.
Overall a really fun romance novel by an author I wasn't aware of, and it did not disappoint.
Blog / Twitter
alishbatm's review
4.0
This book is exactly what I needed to get my mind off studying. I have been in a bind for the past month I was feeling like I was about to fall into a slump and this book dragged me back up and didn't let it happen.
I loved revisiting the Green Valley universe and seeing new characters within the small town. Can't wait to read the second book in the series
I loved revisiting the Green Valley universe and seeing new characters within the small town. Can't wait to read the second book in the series
laurensalisbury's review
1.0
This was cute-ish but really had no plot. Strange problematics with Levi's pining for Joss.
bookishlifeofgem's review
5.0
This book is amazing and I may be a tiny bit in love with Levi Buchanan! But really after reading this who wouldn’t be.
Friends to lovers, a family curse, a sassy heroine and a totally swoon worthy hero. What more could you want!
Friends to lovers, a family curse, a sassy heroine and a totally swoon worthy hero. What more could you want!
tsubramaniam's review
A cute friends to lovers I picked up because the other Karla Sorensen books I wanted to read weren’t available at my library.
apagetoturn's review
4.0
Levi & Joss are probably one of the sweetest new adult couples I’ve read in a while - am unconventional friendship leads to romance and it was beautiful to see these two souls grow up together and learn how to love each other despite the circumstances of their lives. I look forward to more stories surrounding the bakery, and Green Valley!