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bettielovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
This author is not for me, in this case by the time we got to the main relationship we had spent hours upon hours just dealing with the ex who never actually went away.
amanda1793's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this! So cute.
The fake dating trope can be done really well or really bad... this one was done well. Some small issues (especially toward the end, so I won't say anything to prevent spoilers).
Overall, so good. I can't wait to read more of McFarlane.
The fake dating trope can be done really well or really bad... this one was done well. Some small issues (especially toward the end, so I won't say anything to prevent spoilers).
Overall, so good. I can't wait to read more of McFarlane.
charltus's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ladywhistledown's review
It's too British I feel like I don't understand half of what's being said
divsies's review against another edition
3.0
listen... it has fake dating... what else could I possibly want from a book...
bookph1le's review against another edition
4.0
Back in the 00s, I used to read a lot of British women's fiction. I don't really know why I stopped doing so; I think it's because that was back in the dark ages before the internet was as ubiquitous as it is now, and finding books was tougher then than it is now, but I took a break.
Having now read this book immediately after finishing Beth O'Leary's The Switch, I've realized my mistake. You see, I've always been a huge fan of the romcom but not so much the romance. This is because I prefer my love stories to take place within the framework of a woman's full story. There's nothing wrong with wanting the romance to be THE story, of course. It's just that, for me, I prefer to watch a women go through some stuff, navigate her life, and watch how her romance fits in with all that. I want to see lots of development of the woman's friendships, family relationships, work life, etc. alongside her budding romance because I find the payoff in these stories bigger. To me, the charm and wonder of romance is in the fitting another person into your life, someone who takes your routine, shakes it up, and makes it something special and new.
All of this is my long-winded way of saying that I really loved this book, and what's more, I love that it's being marketed in the U.S. as a romance. This is a genre I want to see expand, and I'm glad books like this one and another I recently read, One to Watch, help expand that genre. Yes, I want to watch a couple of people fall in love with each other, but I'm more interested in the low, slow burn than I am in racy scene after racy scene. Bridgerton didn't work for me for the precise reason this book did: I got tired of the sex scenes because they were cutting into the story bits. This book gave me all the story bits without the racy scenes. I'm not opposed to the racy scenes, you understand, but I would prefer they take a backseat to the story bits. If you feel the opposite way, you may very well not like this book as much as I did.
I also very much appreciated that this was a romance that began as another romance was falling apart, however strange that sounds. I'm even more glad McFarlane didn't give short shrift to the scenes where Laurie is an absolute mess who's at her worst as she falls apart as her prior relationship dissolves. I read a lot, but I don't often read about women's grief in this way, and this book made me wonder why that was. It's not to say there aren't plenty of books about grieving women--there are--but I can't remember the last book I've read where a female character is given this much space to breathe as she mourns her loss.
Plus, I cannot deny that I love stories where female friendship undergirds everything, and that's very much the case here. The part of the book that made me the teariest was the big moment between Laurie and her best friend Emily. Give me ALL the female friendship, ALL of it.
Lastly, I love the feminism woven throughout this book and the previous McFarlane book I've read. She does such a good job of showing the microaggressions aimed at women at every turn, as well as the double standards permeating society. So much of what happens in this book rang true with me in an awful been there, done that sort of way. I hope someday this portrayal will seem dated, but I am glad authors like McFarlane are calling it out.
So why didn't I give this book five stars? Because, to be honest, I think the ending overdid it a bit, and that put a dent in my enjoyment. I didn't outright hate it, but I would have liked to see it done a little differently.
And with that, I'm off to add the author's other works and any similar to it I can find to my to-read list.
Having now read this book immediately after finishing Beth O'Leary's The Switch, I've realized my mistake. You see, I've always been a huge fan of the romcom but not so much the romance. This is because I prefer my love stories to take place within the framework of a woman's full story. There's nothing wrong with wanting the romance to be THE story, of course. It's just that, for me, I prefer to watch a women go through some stuff, navigate her life, and watch how her romance fits in with all that. I want to see lots of development of the woman's friendships, family relationships, work life, etc. alongside her budding romance because I find the payoff in these stories bigger. To me, the charm and wonder of romance is in the fitting another person into your life, someone who takes your routine, shakes it up, and makes it something special and new.
All of this is my long-winded way of saying that I really loved this book, and what's more, I love that it's being marketed in the U.S. as a romance. This is a genre I want to see expand, and I'm glad books like this one and another I recently read, One to Watch, help expand that genre. Yes, I want to watch a couple of people fall in love with each other, but I'm more interested in the low, slow burn than I am in racy scene after racy scene. Bridgerton didn't work for me for the precise reason this book did: I got tired of the sex scenes because they were cutting into the story bits. This book gave me all the story bits without the racy scenes. I'm not opposed to the racy scenes, you understand, but I would prefer they take a backseat to the story bits. If you feel the opposite way, you may very well not like this book as much as I did.
I also very much appreciated that this was a romance that began as another romance was falling apart, however strange that sounds. I'm even more glad McFarlane didn't give short shrift to the scenes where Laurie is an absolute mess who's at her worst as she falls apart as her prior relationship dissolves. I read a lot, but I don't often read about women's grief in this way, and this book made me wonder why that was. It's not to say there aren't plenty of books about grieving women--there are--but I can't remember the last book I've read where a female character is given this much space to breathe as she mourns her loss.
Plus, I cannot deny that I love stories where female friendship undergirds everything, and that's very much the case here. The part of the book that made me the teariest was the big moment between Laurie and her best friend Emily. Give me ALL the female friendship, ALL of it.
Lastly, I love the feminism woven throughout this book and the previous McFarlane book I've read. She does such a good job of showing the microaggressions aimed at women at every turn, as well as the double standards permeating society. So much of what happens in this book rang true with me in an awful been there, done that sort of way. I hope someday this portrayal will seem dated, but I am glad authors like McFarlane are calling it out.
So why didn't I give this book five stars? Because, to be honest, I think the ending overdid it a bit, and that put a dent in my enjoyment. I didn't outright hate it, but I would have liked to see it done a little differently.
And with that, I'm off to add the author's other works and any similar to it I can find to my to-read list.