The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
cambelle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
disclaimer if youâve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: Youâre correct that I donât really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and donât like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyoneâs reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not.
Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I really enjoyed this slow burn, forced-proximity, workplace, will-they-or-wonât-they, age gap sapphic romance !!! I do think it dragged on a bit during the middle, but I appreciated the setting against Hollywood and the film / tv industry in general. It was familiar, fun, and I could absolutely see this being adapted on tv as a fluffy little romcom đ Jo & Emma were such goobers and played into the trope I like to call âtwo idiots who need to kiss alreadyâ đ đđ
Â
I thought Meryl took such great care with the topics touched upon, such as sexism, power dynamics, homophobia, ageism, racism, the lack of diversity âin the roomâ in Hollywood, the invasive American paparazzi, & parasocial relationships. Even though it wasnât my favorite book by Meryl Wilsner, I am still their stan forever!Â
đ¨ Steam: 1/5Â
Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
I really enjoyed this slow burn, forced-proximity, workplace, will-they-or-wonât-they, age gap sapphic romance !!! I do think it dragged on a bit during the middle, but I appreciated the setting against Hollywood and the film / tv industry in general. It was familiar, fun, and I could absolutely see this being adapted on tv as a fluffy little romcom đ Jo & Emma were such goobers and played into the trope I like to call âtwo idiots who need to kiss alreadyâ đ đđ
Â
I thought Meryl took such great care with the topics touched upon, such as sexism, power dynamics, homophobia, ageism, racism, the lack of diversity âin the roomâ in Hollywood, the invasive American paparazzi, & parasocial relationships. Even though it wasnât my favorite book by Meryl Wilsner, I am still their stan forever!Â
đ¨ Steam: 1/5Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual content
marcylikesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
3.5
3.5 stars. This is a good book, especially for a debut and Iâm honestly really impressed with the authors work so far. I picked this one up after reading their other book Mistakes Were Made because I loved their writing so much.Â
This one was different and I was pleasantly surprised at the authors range within sapphic romance. This one is a very slow burn and for 96% itâs so chaste which is kind of adorable. I liked the slow burn, I liked the characters, the setting, the writing. Itâs very easy for me to step into the world theyâve made and thatâs one of the things I truly love about reading.
The story has a few things I didnât like but also didnât hate, just things that maybe could have been done better (but again, debut book so that makes sense).
I really like slow burn generally but this is too slow, there still needs to be progress. Itâs pretty angsty which I also like as long as it goes somewhere but the progression in their relationship stalls or regresses for long periods of time which ends up feeling drawn out which can be little frustrating to read at times.
They also donât actually get together until right at the very end which it almost feels like a cliffhanger because you donât get to see them be a couple at all. Itâs almost like the book ends when their romance is at the 60 or 70% mark because the book is getting long and too much time was spent drawing things out.
The first real conflict they face felt kind of silly and manufactured to me where a non-issue becomes this source of hurt and the drama thatâs generated from it seems incongruent with what actually happened.
The book is also set in Hollywood and one of the plot points explores the systemic sexual predation of women in that culture which Iâm conflicted about. On one hand I think itâs really important that more people talk about it and being set in Hollywood it makes sense to and it was handled well. On the other hand I personally donât like reading about creepy sexual predators in my romance books and itâs possibly the biggest mood killer I can think of.
I really need to learn how to write reviews that donât just outline the things that could have been better because I did really enjoy it. Honestly this story was a good, enjoyable read with potential to be great and given how much the authors next book improved, Iâm really looking forward to what they write next because Iâm sure itâs only going to get better and better.
This one was different and I was pleasantly surprised at the authors range within sapphic romance. This one is a very slow burn and for 96% itâs so chaste which is kind of adorable. I liked the slow burn, I liked the characters, the setting, the writing. Itâs very easy for me to step into the world theyâve made and thatâs one of the things I truly love about reading.
The story has a few things I didnât like but also didnât hate, just things that maybe could have been done better (but again, debut book so that makes sense).
I really like slow burn generally but this is too slow, there still needs to be progress. Itâs pretty angsty which I also like as long as it goes somewhere but the progression in their relationship stalls or regresses for long periods of time which ends up feeling drawn out which can be little frustrating to read at times.
They also donât actually get together until right at the very end which it almost feels like a cliffhanger because you donât get to see them be a couple at all. Itâs almost like the book ends when their romance is at the 60 or 70% mark because the book is getting long and too much time was spent drawing things out.
The first real conflict they face felt kind of silly and manufactured to me where a non-issue becomes this source of hurt and the drama thatâs generated from it seems incongruent with what actually happened.
The book is also set in Hollywood and one of the plot points explores the systemic sexual predation of women in that culture which Iâm conflicted about. On one hand I think itâs really important that more people talk about it and being set in Hollywood it makes sense to and it was handled well. On the other hand I personally donât like reading about creepy sexual predators in my romance books and itâs possibly the biggest mood killer I can think of.
I really need to learn how to write reviews that donât just outline the things that could have been better because I did really enjoy it. Honestly this story was a good, enjoyable read with potential to be great and given how much the authors next book improved, Iâm really looking forward to what they write next because Iâm sure itâs only going to get better and better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Homophobia
wintah's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
very cute, very light-hearted, i like them both a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual harassment
jkeishia's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault and Xenophobia
erica_0000's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-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
3.5
 This book was an entertaining read that kept me captivated and was easy to get through. The plot follows the two main characters in dual POV, Jo a famous Hollywood figure, and her assistant Emma. While the book was entertaining enough and did have a few lines that made me chuckle, it was not the best Rom-com I have ever read. I did enjoy the representation, but I definitely think that the chemistry between the characters could have been a little stronger as well as giving them both a bit more depth. That being said, I think both the main characters were interesting, but my favorites were the side characters of Joâs best friend Evelyn, and Emmaâs sister, Avery. I think they added a lot to the plot and made the book flow better. Overall, I did enjoy the read and it kept me captivated but could have been improved on as well.Â
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia
india_pullinger's review
emotional
reflective
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Racism and Biphobia
cjblates's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
j4cq's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
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
absolutely so cute and the perfect slump pick me up.
  There were only a few issues that i had. First being how many things were touched on in the beggining that the author seemed to just forget about? like thenon profit jo wanted to start or the bakery thing with jo and avery that i feel like couldâve been included again, even if just mentioned in a sentence every once and a while.Â
  Second thing is the actual romance. The age gap was big. i didnât find that it contributed to the actual story. i can handle maybe like 8 years at most, but 13? ALSO the fact that at the end it was mentioned that Jo found when emma called her âbossâ to be sexually enticing. which is weird because A) she had never showed that and B) she let emma call her boss the ENTIRE time she worked for her. that is weird as hell.Â
  the slow burn was great i loved it. but, i will admit the first kiss was way too scary close to the end. and then BAM 7 and a half page sex scene. not even a little cozy date in between<\3. otherwise i loved it i loved it i loved it so much.Â
  There were only a few issues that i had. First being how many things were touched on in the beggining that the author seemed to just forget about? like the
  Second thing is the actual romance. The age gap was big. i didnât find that it contributed to the actual story. i can handle maybe like 8 years at most, but 13? ALSO the fact that at the end it was mentioned that Jo found when emma called her âbossâ to be sexually enticing. which is weird because A) she had never showed that and B) she let emma call her boss the ENTIRE time she worked for her. that is weird as hell.Â
  the slow burn was great i loved it. but, i will admit the first kiss was way too scary close to the end. and then BAM 7 and a half page sex scene. not even a little cozy date in between<\3. otherwise i loved it i loved it i loved it so much.Â
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
ginadapooh's review
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Panic attacks/disorders