Reviews

Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean

viclen07's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

lhasa_drag0n's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You could tell that the author has endometriosis because she didn’t sugar coat the diagnosis or what it is like to live with the disease. It does show you can have a happy ending even if the characters are still kinda working on themselves.

thereyloreader's review against another edition

4.0

Evie O’Shea is an American expat living in Paris. She had dreams of being a professional patissier, however with her endometriosis getting worse as she gets older, she felt she had to let that dream go and started a blog highlighting Parisian cafes, locations and baking ideas. She and her former neighbour, Liam Kelly, have a bit of a tumultuous history and she assumed she’d never see him again. That is, until he turned up in Paris at the behest of Evie’s soon to be wed brother. Sparks fly and Evie might just see a side of Liam that she didn’t know was there.

So, this book was charming. First of all, that cover is the most beautiful cover I’ve ever seen. It’s what drew me to this book before I even knew what it was about. And the story itself is also captivating. It’s a childhood friends to enemies to lovers romance and, while it takes a while for the romance to get going, I felt it was nice to have the context for why Evie felt the way she did. Evie struggles with some self doubt issues that stem from her endometriosis as well as her mother. Her mother, Caroline, is honestly cruel to Evie for a good portion of the book. She is a side character but I heartily disliked her.

The side characters were all interesting and had their own stuff going on. No one was just ‘there’ for the sake of being a character. Everyone had a role in the support system and also had a life outside of that which I appreciated. I do think Evie is owed an apology from her brother, but that’s just me.

Also A+ for the Kuzco’s poison reference. That made me so happy!

There were some grammatical errors throughout the book that I noticed, but it wasn’t too distracting. And while the author does an amazing job of describing the locations and food that is in the various scenes, the writing was a little chaotic at times. Not always! Just every once in a while it seemed kinda muddled.

That said, there is amazing representation for endometriosis in this book. I have no experience with this incurable disease and I appreciated how vivid a picture Torie painted of how truly debilitating it can be at times. I feel that I know more about endo now that I did before.

This book was lovely and features fun, goofy characters, a sweet love story and representation for an incurable disease that often gets thrust to the side. Definitely recommended!

Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion

hailstorm4's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

reader_girl19's review

3.0

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC. Finding Gene Kelly is a cute read. If you love the fake dating trope then I would says this book is right up your alley. Evie and Liam have great chemistry together. I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

chey_cant_read's review

lighthearted 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

3.0

A LOT of typos. 

hanany's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Nothing special, it was okay tho

elsg123's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

angelricecake's review against another edition

5.0

This book is beautiful. The romance between Evie and Liam was beautiful and Evie's journey of learning to love herself, her chronic illness, and realizing that she can achieve all her dreams was equally important. Liam is a swoony and pining hero. It was obvious (to everyone except Evie) that Liam has been completely and irrecoverably in love with her his whole life. The way the author describes endometriosis really shows the reader what it's like to live with it. I saw a lot of myself in Evie and understood why she made certain decisions. This book made me laugh and cry, but ultimately this book made me so happy.

tropes: childhood friends to lovers, fake dating, "enemies" to lovers, he falls first, cinnamon roll hero, caretaking, the city of lights, sweet baker

tw: toxic parent, discussions of infertility, eating disorders, chronic pain

lindseyboer's review against another edition

4.0

If you have a loved one with endometriosis, and ever wanted to know what exactly that is like, then read this book. Emotional but so very worth it