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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Queen of romantic, magical realism has stolen my heart once again in this enchantingly tender, Schmigadoon-esque tale of heartbreak, healing and second chance romance that has me eager to reread it already!
As a booklover I’m always wondering what it would be like to meet my favourite characters (or live in my favourite books), so to explore a story that does just that was soo much fun.
The whimsy of Ashley Poston’s prose, and the immersive charm of the small town setting was phenomenal. As was the detailed, nuanced and relatable cast of characters whose lives I wanted to bask in forever. With possibly haunted toilets, grumpy MIA possums and a community that perfectly embodies the meaning found family — I was pretty glued to my seat and rooting for each and every character to find their HEA. And if you loved The Dead Romantics, you’ll be pleased to know both Benji and Florence make short cameos.
Much like the quaint little village in Beauty and The Beast, the fictional town of Eloraton is a slice of life, Hallmark- movie lovers dream and I enjoyed seeing our protagonist, Elsy, finally begin to work through her personal struggles and confront emotions that’s she’s been bottling up for years.
Her emotional journey was incredibly cathartic, and one I know many people are bound to relate to. However, for me, it was her childlike joy at getting up close and personal with all her fave characters (and her reactions to them) that really won me over. I don’t want to spoil any of it but just know her actions are pretty much how I imagine we’d all respond if given the same chance.
The romance was pretty swoon-worthy too and the tense, chemistry-laden interactions with resident grump/ love interest, Anderson were soo good! Their earlier scenes were very enemies to lovers coded (and you all know how much of a sucker I am for that trope.)
Overall, this was a beautifully written and unputdownable read that pays homage to booklovers (their love of stories and the authors who create them) that fans of whimsy, and romance with a hint of magic should definitely consider checking out.
Also a huge thank you to HQ for the finished copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Infidelity and Car accident
beate251's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for this ARC.
Elsy is an English teacher with a great love for romance books. Her book club meets every year in a deserted cabin but this year none other than her can make it and on the way there she gets stranded in a strange little town called Eloraton which turns out to be the small town from her favourite book series come to life.
Now, who has a favourite
book series they read over and over until they know it by heart? Who are these people who read books multiple times? How do they find the time? I can't ever hope to read all the books on my Kindle and they go a second or fifth time on a book? Also, Eloraton sounds like a name out of a fantasy series rather than a romance read.
I love romance books and this is an ode to romance books, with tons of tropes like insta love, grumpy/ sunshine, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, small-town romance, third-act break up etc.
It should therefore work but it just didn't grab me. It feels like I should have read the fictional book series first to find the fascination in burgers that are always a little burnt and a possum that no one can find.
I'm not sure I liked Elsy as a character. It is not ok to slap a man! He even says afterwards that he deserved it. Now imagine a woman had said that! I really thought we'd left this particular action in the past where it belongs.
Also, no offense but mint green is an awful colour, especially for eyes. It really didn't need repeating that often. We get it, you like his eyes! And they are green! Who cares about his other attributes, the most important thing is his eye colour!
There was quite a bit of swearing in the book and some vulgar descriptions of people's sex lives, something I really don't care for. Why do Americans in books insist on broadcasting their sex life to the world?
This book can't decide whether it wants to be traditional or modern and therefore is neither, landing somewhere in-between. I don't think that's bad but this romance novel within a romance novel just didn't work for me. I didn't find the chemistry between the two main characters believable, the magical realism took over and there were too many characters to keep track of, which also weren't fleshed out enough as they were summarised from four fictional previous books. It's ironic that in a romance book that celebrates romance books the romance fell flat because too much time is spent on back stories for all the side characters that get no real room to grow anyway.
I'm sure this will work for a lot of people as an easy, fluffy, escapist read with a predictable Happy Ever After. However, I needed more of a romantic journey and less of minty eyes. Basically, I love the premise of the book but not the execution.
Elsy is an English teacher with a great love for romance books. Her book club meets every year in a deserted cabin but this year none other than her can make it and on the way there she gets stranded in a strange little town called Eloraton which turns out to be the small town from her favourite book series come to life.
Now, who has a favourite
book series they read over and over until they know it by heart? Who are these people who read books multiple times? How do they find the time? I can't ever hope to read all the books on my Kindle and they go a second or fifth time on a book? Also, Eloraton sounds like a name out of a fantasy series rather than a romance read.
I love romance books and this is an ode to romance books, with tons of tropes like insta love, grumpy/ sunshine, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, small-town romance, third-act break up etc.
It should therefore work but it just didn't grab me. It feels like I should have read the fictional book series first to find the fascination in burgers that are always a little burnt and a possum that no one can find.
I'm not sure I liked Elsy as a character. It is not ok to slap a man! He even says afterwards that he deserved it. Now imagine a woman had said that! I really thought we'd left this particular action in the past where it belongs.
Also, no offense but mint green is an awful colour, especially for eyes. It really didn't need repeating that often. We get it, you like his eyes! And they are green! Who cares about his other attributes, the most important thing is his eye colour!
There was quite a bit of swearing in the book and some vulgar descriptions of people's sex lives, something I really don't care for. Why do Americans in books insist on broadcasting their sex life to the world?
This book can't decide whether it wants to be traditional or modern and therefore is neither, landing somewhere in-between. I don't think that's bad but this romance novel within a romance novel just didn't work for me. I didn't find the chemistry between the two main characters believable, the magical realism took over and there were too many characters to keep track of, which also weren't fleshed out enough as they were summarised from four fictional previous books. It's ironic that in a romance book that celebrates romance books the romance fell flat because too much time is spent on back stories for all the side characters that get no real room to grow anyway.
I'm sure this will work for a lot of people as an easy, fluffy, escapist read with a predictable Happy Ever After. However, I needed more of a romantic journey and less of minty eyes. Basically, I love the premise of the book but not the execution.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Cursing, Alcohol, Grief, Violence, and Vomit
rachelshubin's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is like living in a warm cup of black tea ☕️ I didn’t know what to expect and I absolutely was swept away in Ashley’s lyrical and poetic writing. There’s books, romance, an orange cat named Butterscotch, Taylor Swift nods only real ones will notice, mentions of her two previous romances/characters (that I also gave 5 stars), true friendships, real experiences with grief, and most of all, magic ✨
Anders and Elsy have my heart. Elsy went through such growth to get through where she was at the end of the book. Her journey reminded me of Lemon’s in The Seven Year Slip. It was great character development. Plus strong female friendships! I teared up at the end, especially when I wasn’t sure how it was going to shake out. And of course, there’s fun animals in this one too 🐦
We should all be so lucky to have a book boyfriend like Anders. I will be thinking about his minty gaze for the foreseeable future.
Shout out to leap year for allowing me to get in one more five star read in before the end of February. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Anders and Elsy have my heart. Elsy went through such growth to get through where she was at the end of the book. Her journey reminded me of Lemon’s in The Seven Year Slip. It was great character development. Plus strong female friendships! I teared up at the end, especially when I wasn’t sure how it was going to shake out. And of course, there’s fun animals in this one too 🐦
We should all be so lucky to have a book boyfriend like Anders. I will be thinking about his minty gaze for the foreseeable future.
Shout out to leap year for allowing me to get in one more five star read in before the end of February. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
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