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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley and One More Chapter for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!
MCs are Harry and Sally just like the classic romcom, When Harry Met Sally, and they’re similar to the movie characters. Sally is a hopeless romantic (and also has curly blonde hair) and Harry is a cynic who doesn’t believe in love or happy endings. I loved their chemistry and banter! Although the dialogue and texts could be cringy at times.
So cute with references to some of my fave movies, it made my heart so happy with all the nostalgia! The story made me giggle, cry, and blush-yet another reason why I cannot be trusted to read romance in public, no poker face 😂 I flew through the book, reading it in 2 days (technically 3 because I stayed up until 1:30 AM to finish).
Characters are okay, they could both be frustrating because there was a bit of miscommunication in the second half. Or maybe more accurately not wanting to admit their feelings for each other to themselves, and continuously denying their chemistry. Harry is understandable because of his past and the issues he’s dealing with but Sally irritated me. Bringing up the fact that she thought he wasn't ‘the One’ constantly, because of some stupid stereotypes about needing to feel “a spark” or “hear bells” when you’ve found ‘The One’ for about 60-70% of the book, was annoying and got old quickly! I also got tired of every page describing the color of Harry’s eyes; I know Sally they’re grey because you’ll never let me forget it 🙃
Good character development-at first they seemed flat but as they got to know each other you also got to know more about them. It was a lot more depth and dealt with some heavy topics which I wasn’t expecting. There was also a huge amount of character development throughout the novel, which I always love!
There is a third act breakup but thank god it wasn’t miscommunication! Plus it was fairly original and it added to the character development, so I wasn’t as bothered about it.
If you love romcoms, or the grumpy x sunshine trope, pick this one up! This was my second novel from Kathryn Freeman, my first being The Italian Job. I did enjoy TIJ a bit better than this one (mainly because it’s my two fave tropes-fake dating and enemies to lovers) but I’m intrigued to read more from her!
Spice rating: 🌶️ (1.5/3; one very graphic scene and then the rest are alluded to/fade to black)
Tropes: grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, friends with benefits/friends to lovers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer
creativelifeofliz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A romcom about romcoms!
Sally is a classic romantic, but her roommate Harry is a classic cynic. While pretty drunk one evening, they end up badly recreating "the lift" from Dirty Dancing and the video goes viral. Realizing there might be money in working through the romcom lexicon with some more #EpicRomcomReenactmentFailure. As they keep recreating major romcom moments though, their faking starts to feel a lot less fake.
First off, as a major romcom movie lover, reading about another romcom lover recreating iconic moments was exactly what I was looking for. Sally and Harry are so funny as they try (and fail) to implement those moments for the camera. I also really enjoyed the setting of Brighton and getting a taste of the city through the book. Many of the friend group are really fun (Kitty is a bit of an enigma, but I think we could love her) and I want to see their stories as well.
In terms of things I didn't enjoy so much, this is a bit difficult. For some reason I just couldn't really get fully invested in the book. When I was reading the story, I liked it, but I found myself setting the book down much more than I would like. I wish that I could have been more engaged. Sally and Harry were cute, but I don't feel that they had super amazing chemistry, particularly romantic chemistry, which I think impact how much I was invested in their success. The conflict was also entirely expected and extremely frustrating.
Overall, if you enjoy movie romcoms, definitely give this book a go. It's a fun summer, palette-cleanser read. I think it would be the perfect vacation read as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Sally is a classic romantic, but her roommate Harry is a classic cynic. While pretty drunk one evening, they end up badly recreating "the lift" from Dirty Dancing and the video goes viral. Realizing there might be money in working through the romcom lexicon with some more #EpicRomcomReenactmentFailure. As they keep recreating major romcom moments though, their faking starts to feel a lot less fake.
First off, as a major romcom movie lover, reading about another romcom lover recreating iconic moments was exactly what I was looking for. Sally and Harry are so funny as they try (and fail) to implement those moments for the camera. I also really enjoyed the setting of Brighton and getting a taste of the city through the book. Many of the friend group are really fun (Kitty is a bit of an enigma, but I think we could love her) and I want to see their stories as well.
In terms of things I didn't enjoy so much, this is a bit difficult. For some reason I just couldn't really get fully invested in the book. When I was reading the story, I liked it, but I found myself setting the book down much more than I would like. I wish that I could have been more engaged. Sally and Harry were cute, but I don't feel that they had super amazing chemistry, particularly romantic chemistry, which I think impact how much I was invested in their success. The conflict was also entirely expected and extremely frustrating.
Overall, if you enjoy movie romcoms, definitely give this book a go. It's a fun summer, palette-cleanser read. I think it would be the perfect vacation read as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for providing an advanced copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Moderate: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
alisonreadsitall's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
This book seriously gave me the fuzzies! 😍😭🫠 I haven't read anything else by Kathryn Freeman yet, but wow, does she have a way with words! She was able to describe those tricky-to-put-to-words feelings sooooo well! I've already added her backlist to my TBR!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Of course our MC's have one of the most iconic duo in RomCom's names: Harry and Sally. 🥰
Yes, I know this is a romcom so we can predict the cute-ness, but I appreciated that the characters were real and flawed and had so much growth throughout the book! A lot of romcom movies typically tie everything up in a neat bow without any of the real-life nuances of falling in love.
Maybe a?:
My only issue with this was I hated the “conflict” in the third act, but knew it going to happen with the way that scene was left open in the beginning. I just don’t think I would have ever recovered from it if I were Sally. 😳
Tropes:
Opposites Attract
Grumpy/Sunshine
Forced Proximity
A huge thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This book publishes on Feb 28th so be sure to grab a copy! ☺️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Of course our MC's have one of the most iconic duo in RomCom's names: Harry and Sally. 🥰
Yes, I know this is a romcom so we can predict the cute-ness, but I appreciated that the characters were real and flawed and had so much growth throughout the book! A lot of romcom movies typically tie everything up in a neat bow without any of the real-life nuances of falling in love.
Maybe a
My only issue with this was I hated the “conflict” in the third act, but knew it going to happen with the way that scene was left open in the beginning. I just don’t think I would have ever recovered from it if I were Sally. 😳
Tropes:
Opposites Attract
Grumpy/Sunshine
Forced Proximity
A huge thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
This book publishes on Feb 28th so be sure to grab a copy! ☺️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity
romancewithem's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I loved this!! So cute and funny can't remember the last book which had me laughing and knowing it was going to be a great book from the prologue alone!!
So many good and iconic rom-com moments got recreated and had their own spin on it which was so fun!!
The scene where they had their first kiss...it was so freaking cute I was screaming crying throwing up!!! The chemistry is off the charts
I'm unwell over the fact that the MMC wanted to practice kissing like if that doesnt tell you that he's head over heals for her idk what does
Only reason why it's not a 5 star was due to the FMC bringing up the fact that she thought he wasn't the one constantly for the first 50% of the book, it got annoying very quick
- roommates / forced proximity
- recreating iconic rom-com moments
- shes a sucker for rom-coms x hes doesn't believe in love
So many good and iconic rom-com moments got recreated and had their own spin on it which was so fun!!
The scene where they had their first kiss...it was so freaking cute I was screaming crying throwing up!!! The chemistry is off the charts
I'm unwell over the fact that the MMC wanted to practice kissing like if that doesnt tell you that he's head over heals for her idk what does
Only reason why it's not a 5 star was due to the FMC bringing up the fact that she thought he wasn't the one constantly for the first 50% of the book, it got annoying very quick
- roommates / forced proximity
- recreating iconic rom-com moments
- shes a sucker for rom-coms x hes doesn't believe in love
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
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