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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
That's one of my favorite rom-coms now! I give this book 4.5 / 5 stars, because I just absolutely LOVED it.
Perci (Persephone) Mayfield is at the dentist's office when she hears her boyfriend breaking up with her for some concert tickets. Then Perci sees her ex at her job, so she decides to quit. Now Perci doesn't have a boyfriend or job, so she makes some New Year's resolutions. But at the family gathering, Perci accidentally tells her parents that she's actually dating her neighbor, Nate. Yes, that's a fake dating trope, everyone!
I enjoyed this book so much! Perci's a ray of sunshine, she's a little bit awkward, but at the same time, she can stand for herself. Her character development is one of the best parts of this book. The chemistry between Perci and Nate is just the chef's kiss. Every time they were in the same room I just couldn't stop reading, because I wanted to see more of them. They act like real adults with their own problems and scars they're trying to heal.
Besides Perci/Nate love story I was also interested in getting to know some other characters. Like Lilah, Nate's child, who is obsessed with birds. Or Mimi, Perci's eccentric grandmother, who is definitely one of the best characters. And, of course, Phee and Matthias, Perci's younger sister and best friend. I was really invested in their storyline, though it wasn't the main focus of the book.
Highly recommend reading this rom-com with some family drama, because I fell in love with all those characters. I'm definitely going to read the next books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Perci (Persephone) Mayfield is at the dentist's office when she hears her boyfriend breaking up with her for some concert tickets. Then Perci sees her ex at her job, so she decides to quit. Now Perci doesn't have a boyfriend or job, so she makes some New Year's resolutions. But at the family gathering, Perci accidentally tells her parents that she's actually dating her neighbor, Nate. Yes, that's a fake dating trope, everyone!
I enjoyed this book so much! Perci's a ray of sunshine, she's a little bit awkward, but at the same time, she can stand for herself. Her character development is one of the best parts of this book. The chemistry between Perci and Nate is just the chef's kiss. Every time they were in the same room I just couldn't stop reading, because I wanted to see more of them. They act like real adults with their own problems and scars they're trying to heal.
Besides Perci/Nate love story I was also interested in getting to know some other characters. Like Lilah, Nate's child, who is obsessed with birds. Or Mimi, Perci's eccentric grandmother, who is definitely one of the best characters. And, of course, Phee and Matthias, Perci's younger sister and best friend. I was really invested in their storyline, though it wasn't the main focus of the book.
Highly recommend reading this rom-com with some family drama, because I fell in love with all those characters. I'm definitely going to read the next books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Grief
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sharon M. Peterson for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my review!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
“Don’t judge a book by its cover. At least you know it’ll be better than the movie” -Mimi(isim)
Our main character Perci is extremely likeable. We first meet Perci as an insecure woman who’s always shrinking under what her mother has to say to her, comparing herself to her sister, and stuck in a job she hates. But we slowly watch her grow into a stronger, more confident, happier version of herself as she finds a job she truly loves, and learns to live for herself.
While I loved the bits of romance in this book with Nate, that definitely didn’t feel like the focus here. I guess it’s still technically a rom-com, but I just really felt like it was more focused on us watching Perci grow into a stronger woman, while finding love along the way.
I was surprised with how much I liked this! I couldn’t put it down from the very beginning. This is an amazing debut novel from the author! So well done. Well put together, funny, and really great writing. I would have loved to see more details regarding the romance between Perci and Nate, and maybe more of a detailed ending, but either way I’m looking forward to seeing more books from the author!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
“Don’t judge a book by its cover. At least you know it’ll be better than the movie” -Mimi(isim)
Our main character Perci is extremely likeable. We first meet Perci as an insecure woman who’s always shrinking under what her mother has to say to her, comparing herself to her sister, and stuck in a job she hates. But we slowly watch her grow into a stronger, more confident, happier version of herself as she finds a job she truly loves, and learns to live for herself.
While I loved the bits of romance in this book with Nate, that definitely didn’t feel like the focus here. I guess it’s still technically a rom-com, but I just really felt like it was more focused on us watching Perci grow into a stronger woman, while finding love along the way.
I was surprised with how much I liked this! I couldn’t put it down from the very beginning. This is an amazing debut novel from the author! So well done. Well put together, funny, and really great writing. I would have loved to see more details regarding the romance between Perci and Nate, and maybe more of a detailed ending, but either way I’m looking forward to seeing more books from the author!
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting
A really charming book about finding yourself and moving forward in life. The characters are a delight and everyone gets the ending they deserve. I wouldn’t call this romance as much as a “coming of age, if that age is 30” tale. Perci is an excellent heroine and is easy to fall in love with.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I listened to this audiobook and loved it! The narrator did a great job bringing Perci’s story to life.
Who knew when you stopped making New Years resolutions that your life would go the way you actually want it to?
Perci was dumped over the radio so her BF could win some concert tickets, which turned out to be the best thing for her. She finally started sticking up for her self, introduced herself to her neighbor Nate, and found a job she loved. Don’t worry there is still plenty of drama in her life before she fully lands her happily ever after.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture audio for a copy of this audiobook. This is my voluntary honest opinion.
Who knew when you stopped making New Years resolutions that your life would go the way you actually want it to?
Perci was dumped over the radio so her BF could win some concert tickets, which turned out to be the best thing for her. She finally started sticking up for her self, introduced herself to her neighbor Nate, and found a job she loved. Don’t worry there is still plenty of drama in her life before she fully lands her happily ever after.
Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture audio for a copy of this audiobook. This is my voluntary honest opinion.
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Pregnancy, Classism
Minor: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Perci feels life is not working her way after she is dumped by her boyfriend and boss on the radio. So she makes non-resolutions with her friend Mathias to help her stop doing what everyone wishes of her. She is to stop trying to date, stop trying to lose weight… This sets up this cute and utterly charming listen.
While I love a good fake dating trope, I did have a little trouble seeing Nate as the bad boy. And while the rom com is good, Grandma MiMi steals the show. She’s spunky and larger than life. And each chapter starts with a MiMi-ism. As with most rom coms, you can predict it, but the journey was so enjoyable with the Peterson’s writing and Elise Roth’s narration.
This is a great debut rom com and I enjoyed every minute of my listen.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture Audio for the complementary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I REALLY wanted to love this book. At the end of the day, I found the overall plot to be quite disorientating. At the beginning I thought they handled the topic of weight and body dismorphia quite well, but as the story progressed it because too centralised and Percy’s mother became too fixated on her daughters weight for it to not to be the centre of the story. Her mother also displayed some straight up toxic characteristics as the story went on and as a result, I found it quite frustrating to listen to; especially with the constant comparisons between Percy and her ‘perfect’ sister Fi. I did however like the comic relief MiMi brought to the story as the fun-loving grandmother, but I found it really hard to look past the obsessive focus on Percy’s weight defining her entire personality.
I REALLY wanted to love this book. At the end of the day, I found the overall plot to be quite disorientating. At the beginning I thought they handled the topic of weight and body dismorphia quite well, but as the story progressed it because too centralised and Percy’s mother became too fixated on her daughters weight for it to not to be the centre of the story. Her mother also displayed some straight up toxic characteristics as the story went on and as a result, I found it quite frustrating to listen to; especially with the constant comparisons between Percy and her ‘perfect’ sister Fi. I did however like the comic relief MiMi brought to the story as the fun-loving grandmother, but I found it really hard to look past the obsessive focus on Percy’s weight defining her entire personality.