Scan barcode
kristina4967's review
4.0
I debate between giving this book a 3 or a 4. I went with the 4 but it was probably more like a 3.5 for me. Overall, this was a fun, easy to read romcom. The pop cultures references felt very current but included enough older references as to not feel dated if someone reads it a few years from now. Honestly, my biggest complaint was the use of the phrase “get it done” in the way you typically hear “get it on.” I’m not sure if this a regional thing but many characters said it and it drove me a little bit nuts. The last quarter or so of the book felt like it dragged on a bit but it wasn't a dealbreaker for me.
rosinaw's review against another edition
4.0
I was definitely attracted to this book because of the cover!! I wanted to love this book (for that reason) but I didn't love it....I thought the plot was realistic and Jude & Molly were cute (semi-immature but i can ignore it). I wish there was a bit more spice! I usually don't say that about
books but I felt the scenes just fizzled out way too fast for my liking! Maybe I'm just used to the more intense stuff now lol
books but I felt the scenes just fizzled out way too fast for my liking! Maybe I'm just used to the more intense stuff now lol
alreadsitall's review
DNF when the two adult MCs literally fought over who got to hold someone else's iPad while at a restaurant. It seems like their immaturity is an issue through the entire book, so I'm saving myself the trouble.
emmas_bookshelf's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Honestly I didn’t like this book. It just wasn’t for me, I think. I thought the main character was very immature. I did enjoy the second chance romance rep. It does have Jewish rep and includes some Hanukkah celebration.
bookishlifeofabbyh's review against another edition
3.0
3.5! This book was enjoyable, but I found a lot of the characters to be super annoying at times.
Molly Blum is a former lawyer that changed career paths after 1 year to become a recruiter for other lawyers. She is the youngest of 3 sisters. Her parents are best friends with the Starks, who also have 3 kids, all boys around the same age as Molly and her sisters. The two families set up to surprise their parents for their milestone anniversaries. Molly gets set to help the youngest Stark in finding a venue. One problem, Molly can't stand Jude.
These two were best friends as small children, but then something happened and they became enemies. Will they be able to put their differences aside to get the perfect venue?
If you like enemies to lovers, you'll love this book. You've got some miscommunication in there as well as long-term friends, dogs, and many more reasons to like it. I found Molly to be obnoxious with her having to be perfect and plan everything, but I can see why she was the way that she was. Overall, it was good and I plan to read more from Schorr.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Molly Blum is a former lawyer that changed career paths after 1 year to become a recruiter for other lawyers. She is the youngest of 3 sisters. Her parents are best friends with the Starks, who also have 3 kids, all boys around the same age as Molly and her sisters. The two families set up to surprise their parents for their milestone anniversaries. Molly gets set to help the youngest Stark in finding a venue. One problem, Molly can't stand Jude.
These two were best friends as small children, but then something happened and they became enemies. Will they be able to put their differences aside to get the perfect venue?
If you like enemies to lovers, you'll love this book. You've got some miscommunication in there as well as long-term friends, dogs, and many more reasons to like it. I found Molly to be obnoxious with her having to be perfect and plan everything, but I can see why she was the way that she was. Overall, it was good and I plan to read more from Schorr.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
emjm's review against another edition
4.0
I am about to write quite possibly the most self-indulgent, subjective review I've ever written. I am aware that all book reviews are technically subjective (though technically and actually tend to be pretty exclusive terms for me). I guess what I mean is, my personal rating system is a bit strange. Some people rate purely based on feeling (how much they actually enjoyed the book) and some cosplay as a sophisticated book reviewer for some high-brow publication like The New Yorker. I find myself constantly ebbing between those two extremes, but today, we're throwing all metrics out the window.
Simply put, this book had just about everything necessary for me to absolutely love it; not necessarily for YOU, keep in mind. I have no idea if this is a recommendation because my internal biases and inclinations are flaring so bright I couldn't be impartial if I tried. I regularly give books I love 3 stars, if that tells you anything, because I am aware of their shortcomings. With this one? I couldn't see or care about the shortcomings if I tried, so I'm tempering myself and giving it a glowing 4 star review.
Let's start with the tropes. You've got two 27-year-old main characters with opposite personalities, whose families happened to be next-door neighbors growing up and extremely close. As the babies of both their groups of siblings, they were best friends growing up until differing personalities led to them growing apart into high school where a back-and-forth of pranks kept them in opposition, cementing their "enemy" status by adulthood. Now, as twenty-somethings in NYC, they rarely see each other or even speak unless joint family events require it, and as you would guess, a celebration of both sets of parents' upcoming anniversaries, as planned by the older siblings, now put our two main characters back in each others universe where they're forced to work together to find a venue for the event. Naturally, the pranks and verbal jabs start back up.
Already, we've got the childhood friends trope, a *light* enemies-to-lovers setup (they just butted heads throughout high school, and while there's animosity, they clearly don't hate each other, which is a fine E2L set-up in a "real" world scenario, in my opinion). AND we've got two families that doubt they can actually work together because of the way they revert to immaturity in each other's presence? I feel as if I pick up every book hoping the story setup is even anywhere near this kind, and when I actually find it? Perfection.
I also love that neither one of them actually *liked* each other like that, at least not consciously, until adulthood. There was no annoying each other as a form of secret pining. They truly shocked themselves as much as anyone, which was a refreshing twist on this kind of trope.
Me looking for this specific set of romcom circumstances in every book I read, is kind of like how Jude and Molly unknowingly look for each other in all their romantic partners. *Picture that meme of Snoop Dogg holding up a sign that reads "this is the cutest shit I've ever seen." Also, when the big reveal of the fact that these two don't hate each other, not even a little bit, happens with regard to their families... the outcome is everything I want. There are few things I despise more than when there is an "unlikely" couple, but nobody in their life reacts or makes a big deal, or when the situation is just brushed over in the book. I mean, give me the DRAMA. Here, the moment got the attention and freakout it deserved.
Another thing I loved in this one was how it truly felt like 3 full stories. The "getting together" part was my favorite (so satisfying) and I honestly thought the book was almost done at that point, then I realized we had a good third of the way to go. Books often show you that getting over yourself and getting together, but rarely acknowledge that it's just the start... actually being together? That's a whole other deal.
This story was a major bang for your buck in how it delivered and kept going. The only thing that would've made it better was if we had Jude's POV, but nobody is perfect (except Jude; carefree, funny, baseball-loving, irritating Jude. He's more "himbo" than the typical book guy I like, but oh did I like Jude and all his punny glory).
I won't even get into the side characters and plots, like disappointing family with life decisions, family drama in general, professional dissatisfaction and putting your worth in whatever job you have, late 20's ennui (ennui is my favorite word, btw), or just reconciling who you are with who you've been and how you proceed (you know... growing up and life in general). It was all great.
As an aside, I find myself loving these romcoms about Jewish girls in their mid-to-late 20s, usually set in the Northeast because they are always SO relatable to me personally. I mean, on the surface, I should not relate much, but I think singleness with Jewish families has similarities to singleness as a woman in the South, and man, does it hit. I also love living vicariously through twenty-somethings in NYC just living life and dating and figuring it out. Some other books that fit this vibe are For the Love of Friends by Sara Confino Goodman and The Un-Arranged Marriage by Laura Brown, which happened to be two of my favorite books I read last year.
Simply put, this book had just about everything necessary for me to absolutely love it; not necessarily for YOU, keep in mind. I have no idea if this is a recommendation because my internal biases and inclinations are flaring so bright I couldn't be impartial if I tried. I regularly give books I love 3 stars, if that tells you anything, because I am aware of their shortcomings. With this one? I couldn't see or care about the shortcomings if I tried, so I'm tempering myself and giving it a glowing 4 star review.
Let's start with the tropes. You've got two 27-year-old main characters with opposite personalities, whose families happened to be next-door neighbors growing up and extremely close. As the babies of both their groups of siblings, they were best friends growing up until differing personalities led to them growing apart into high school where a back-and-forth of pranks kept them in opposition, cementing their "enemy" status by adulthood. Now, as twenty-somethings in NYC, they rarely see each other or even speak unless joint family events require it, and as you would guess, a celebration of both sets of parents' upcoming anniversaries, as planned by the older siblings, now put our two main characters back in each others universe where they're forced to work together to find a venue for the event. Naturally, the pranks and verbal jabs start back up.
Already, we've got the childhood friends trope, a *light* enemies-to-lovers setup (they just butted heads throughout high school, and while there's animosity, they clearly don't hate each other, which is a fine E2L set-up in a "real" world scenario, in my opinion). AND we've got two families that doubt they can actually work together because of the way they revert to immaturity in each other's presence? I feel as if I pick up every book hoping the story setup is even anywhere near this kind, and when I actually find it? Perfection.
I also love that neither one of them actually *liked* each other like that, at least not consciously, until adulthood. There was no annoying each other as a form of secret pining. They truly shocked themselves as much as anyone, which was a refreshing twist on this kind of trope.
Me looking for this specific set of romcom circumstances in every book I read, is kind of like how Jude and Molly unknowingly look for each other in all their romantic partners. *Picture that meme of Snoop Dogg holding up a sign that reads "this is the cutest shit I've ever seen." Also, when the big reveal of the fact that these two don't hate each other, not even a little bit, happens with regard to their families... the outcome is everything I want. There are few things I despise more than when there is an "unlikely" couple, but nobody in their life reacts or makes a big deal, or when the situation is just brushed over in the book. I mean, give me the DRAMA. Here, the moment got the attention and freakout it deserved.
Another thing I loved in this one was how it truly felt like 3 full stories. The "getting together" part was my favorite (so satisfying) and I honestly thought the book was almost done at that point, then I realized we had a good third of the way to go. Books often show you that getting over yourself and getting together, but rarely acknowledge that it's just the start... actually being together? That's a whole other deal.
This story was a major bang for your buck in how it delivered and kept going. The only thing that would've made it better was if we had Jude's POV, but nobody is perfect (except Jude; carefree, funny, baseball-loving, irritating Jude. He's more "himbo" than the typical book guy I like, but oh did I like Jude and all his punny glory).
I won't even get into the side characters and plots, like disappointing family with life decisions, family drama in general, professional dissatisfaction and putting your worth in whatever job you have, late 20's ennui (ennui is my favorite word, btw), or just reconciling who you are with who you've been and how you proceed (you know... growing up and life in general). It was all great.
As an aside, I find myself loving these romcoms about Jewish girls in their mid-to-late 20s, usually set in the Northeast because they are always SO relatable to me personally. I mean, on the surface, I should not relate much, but I think singleness with Jewish families has similarities to singleness as a woman in the South, and man, does it hit. I also love living vicariously through twenty-somethings in NYC just living life and dating and figuring it out. Some other books that fit this vibe are For the Love of Friends by Sara Confino Goodman and The Un-Arranged Marriage by Laura Brown, which happened to be two of my favorite books I read last year.
hannaecrook's review
3.0
i got an eARC of this and i’m so happy i did. i really enjoyed this book. it was so fun and such an interesting look at the line between hate and love. and lots of miscommunication. it didn’t make me ache and feel heartsick the way i wanted it to, but it was still very good. i loved it and highly recommend.
mamanaja's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
jaxbemusing's review
2.0
I LOVE an enemies-to-lovers trope, so when I saw this was an archnemesis to lovers, I couldn't sign up fast enough! I wanted to like this book so badly, but it just fell flat for me. Honestly, I considered DNF-ing at several points along the way, but held out hope that it would get better.
What I Liked:
- Esther is the true star of the show! I hope we get a spin-off of her story one day.
- Loved how both our MMC & MFC came from large chaotic families. It was so fun to see how they all interacted with themselves and intermingled between families.
I've hidden the "What I Didn't Like" section in case you want to form your own opinion first.
What I Didn't Like:
- The immaturity of our main characters: The never-ending pranks, the grudge-holding, the trying to solve everyone else's problems (Molly's parents and Jude's), the binder (IYKYK). It all made the main characters really unlikeable for me, which in turn made it difficult to get into their romance. Our main characters are in their late 20's, which I realize is not old by any stretch of the imagination, but it is old enough to act like an adult in public.
- The banter was a level of cringe I was not prepared for. If a man ever pulled out a condom and uttered the word 'Abracadabra!', he would need way more than a genie in a lamp with three wishes to ever get back in my good graces.
- The subplot of Molly's parents being separated seemed unnecessary. There were other areas of conflict in Molly's life that this felt unneeded. Plus her reaction was over the top. Now, as someone who was devastated when her parents divorced, I completely understand the shock and pain this can cause. But locking her parents in the basement at Thanksgiving goes back to my earlier comment about immaturity. Especially, when both parents were so amicable about the split.
Overall, this just wasn't the book for me.
------
Thank you NetGalley & Forever Pub for this ARC. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
What I Liked:
- Esther is the true star of the show! I hope we get a spin-off of her story one day.
- Loved how both our MMC & MFC came from large chaotic families. It was so fun to see how they all interacted with themselves and intermingled between families.
I've hidden the "What I Didn't Like" section in case you want to form your own opinion first.
What I Didn't Like:
- The immaturity of our main characters: The never-ending pranks, the grudge-holding, the trying to solve everyone else's problems (Molly's parents and Jude's), the binder (IYKYK). It all made the main characters really unlikeable for me, which in turn made it difficult to get into their romance. Our main characters are in their late 20's, which I realize is not old by any stretch of the imagination, but it is old enough to act like an adult in public.
- The banter was a level of cringe I was not prepared for. If a man ever pulled out a condom and uttered the word 'Abracadabra!', he would need way more than a genie in a lamp with three wishes to ever get back in my good graces.
- The subplot of Molly's parents being separated seemed unnecessary. There were other areas of conflict in Molly's life that this felt unneeded. Plus her reaction was over the top. Now, as someone who was devastated when her parents divorced, I completely understand the shock and pain this can cause. But locking her parents in the basement at Thanksgiving goes back to my earlier comment about immaturity. Especially, when both parents were so amicable about the split.
Overall, this just wasn't the book for me.
------
Thank you NetGalley & Forever Pub for this ARC. All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
kerrylonsdale's review against another edition
5.0
fun and delightful. jude and molly's banter and antics and (eventually) love for each other kept me turning the pages. i'm so glad i read this story. it was a treat.