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A review by cheye13
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Full disclosure, this rating may be skewed by a series of coincidences that occurred the weekend I read it. Like four different times I pointed to the book and said [vine voice] I did that!
But I loved it! The characters felt really well-rounded and complex, and it seemed like they really worked as a pair. I absolutely adore their communication style, how miscommunication was never their issue. They both tried to make comfortable space for the other, both to speak or feel free not to, even before they're together.
I'm still on the fence about the single perspective. It likely helped to really dig into Ari's mental illness rather than leave it more superficial, but I ended up completely in love with Russell, rather than with both of them. Seeing Ari directly through Russell's perspective would've maybe balanced the narrative for me, but I can see how it could've thrown the plot way off track.
It did move quite a bit faster than I expected – I thought Ari's roadblocks would be a little bigger (the recent engagement, her mother's illness), but I still appreciated that she was dealing with them internally as formative pieces of her past, even if they didn't create much external conflict. It is a bit heavy-handed with the romance tropes (as in, what's not clear to Air is still pretty obvious to the reader), but I liked it because it felt like getting to the "good parts" faster.
But I loved it! The characters felt really well-rounded and complex, and it seemed like they really worked as a pair. I absolutely adore their communication style, how miscommunication was never their issue. They both tried to make comfortable space for the other, both to speak or feel free not to, even before they're together.
I'm still on the fence about the single perspective. It likely helped to really dig into Ari's mental illness rather than leave it more superficial, but I ended up completely in love with Russell, rather than with both of them. Seeing Ari directly through Russell's perspective would've maybe balanced the narrative for me, but I can see how it could've thrown the plot way off track.
It did move quite a bit faster than I expected – I thought Ari's roadblocks would be a little bigger (the recent engagement, her mother's illness), but I still appreciated that she was dealing with them internally as formative pieces of her past, even if they didn't create much external conflict. It is a bit heavy-handed with the romance tropes (as in, what's not clear to Air is still pretty obvious to the reader), but I liked it because it felt like getting to the "good parts" faster.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail