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A review by catalogthis
Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
4.0
This ended up on my TBR list because it was mentioned as a winner in the "Competency Boner" category of the Heaving Bosoms 2020 Reading Embrace.
And with good reason! The romance genre has evolved quite a bit since I first swooned over Matt Farrell in Paradise, and one of the welcome trends is that people in these books have ACTUAL JOBS. Not what I call soap-opera jobs, which are just excuses to discuss romantic relationships while in different settings and wearing different outfits (unless the characters are in medicine or law enforcement, in which case the jobs are there for exposition). These are jobs that the characters spend a good chunk of their waking hours doing and/or worrying about. I'm not particularly fascinated by the specifics of Meg's career (I'm not following any hand-letterers on Instagram), but I appreciate that the specifics exist.
So I picked it up because of the competency thing, but stayed for the friendship thing. I really appreciated the fact that the other women in the book weren't simply sidekicks or rivals to our main character. Meg's fractured friendship with Sibby is just as central as her blooming relationship with Reid.
Bonus: between his old-fashioned manners and his letter writing, Reid gives off some very strong Mr. Darcy vibes. A good Darcy vibe will get me every time.
And with good reason! The romance genre has evolved quite a bit since I first swooned over Matt Farrell in Paradise, and one of the welcome trends is that people in these books have ACTUAL JOBS. Not what I call soap-opera jobs, which are just excuses to discuss romantic relationships while in different settings and wearing different outfits (unless the characters are in medicine or law enforcement, in which case the jobs are there for exposition). These are jobs that the characters spend a good chunk of their waking hours doing and/or worrying about. I'm not particularly fascinated by the specifics of Meg's career (I'm not following any hand-letterers on Instagram), but I appreciate that the specifics exist.
So I picked it up because of the competency thing, but stayed for the friendship thing. I really appreciated the fact that the other women in the book weren't simply sidekicks or rivals to our main character. Meg's fractured friendship with Sibby is just as central as her blooming relationship with Reid.
Bonus: between his old-fashioned manners and his letter writing, Reid gives off some very strong Mr. Darcy vibes. A good Darcy vibe will get me every time.