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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was good. And realistic. Her writing style is both humorous and interesting. Loved the way she built her characters. The only thing I feel like was a bit bitter for my taste was the ending. The MMC got his closure but I feel like the FMC didn’t get the chance to tighten few screws herself. Although yes that’s probably how things would have gone down IRL, just in my literature I like to see the change I wish would happen. The other reason why I got some reservations is that the plot and conflict was realistic, but their love story felt a bit rushed. One minute they’re getting to know each other under the sheets, next thing you know, the MMC is in love. Love that for her, but it didn’t give me enough time to get attached to their story if that makes sense.
Otherwise, good banter. Great representation. Love the family dynamic too. Good overall, I could reread it for sure.
Otherwise, good banter. Great representation. Love the family dynamic too. Good overall, I could reread it for sure.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First of all, I’ll start by saying how much I love office romances, and this book nailed it, in my opinion. I thought the romance in this story had the perfect cadence to it - while the attraction was immediate, Ari and Porter did not jump in head first, but it also wasn’t a slow burn romance where you have to wait until the end for something to happen.
This story was a perfect combination of steamy scenes, heart-to-hearts, vulnerability, and romance. The way Porter and Ari slowly opened up to each other was really cool to read. I personally loved that Porter was basically trying to convince Ari to be in a relationship for half of the book. It was a bit of a change from the stereotype, which usually says it's the other way around.
I loved Ari’s confidence in herself and how the author still included moments of vulnerability and doubt for the character—it showed the complexity of humanness. Even the most confident can have their bad moments. I can’t wait to read more by this author!
This story was a perfect combination of steamy scenes, heart-to-hearts, vulnerability, and romance. The way Porter and Ari slowly opened up to each other was really cool to read. I personally loved that Porter was basically trying to convince Ari to be in a relationship for half of the book. It was a bit of a change from the stereotype, which usually says it's the other way around.
I loved Ari’s confidence in herself and how the author still included moments of vulnerability and doubt for the character—it showed the complexity of humanness. Even the most confident can have their bad moments. I can’t wait to read more by this author!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
Tati Richardson’s dual POV debut novel The Build Up focuses on architects Ari James and Porter Harrison competing for a partnership in their firm. They are assigned to work together on a project that could help one of them land the partnership. Despite themselves, their unlikely alliance soon leads to love. Richardson’s natural dialogue, vivid description, deft character development, and insightful narrative style quickly grabbed hold of my imagination, investing me in her characters and their journey from the first scene to the very last.
Ari James shows up disheveled for her first day at a new firm—not the first impression she was going for. To make things worse, her new, hot colleague walks in on her at the absolute worst time. When she’s assigned to collaborate with him on the project she hopes will get her career back on top, she knows it will be much more challenging to stay focused on her big comeback. A partnership at his architectural firm is on the line, and Porter Harrison can’t afford anything getting in his way of excelling on his new project—including his unpredictable brother, an obnoxious work rival, and especially not his new co-worker Ari. Ari, whose stunning curves he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since the moment he accidentally walked in on her changing her first day. Neither Ari nor Porter is looking for love. But creatively, they make a dynamic team. And the longer they work together, the more it becomes clear that the connection developing between them is more than creative. However, making a romantic relationship flourish won’t be easy. It may even jeopardize their jobs, Porter’s partnership, and the new life/fresh start that Ari is building for herself because both are focused on winning and reaching the top of their field.
It’s interesting how Richardson shows two characters, each at different ends of the spectrum, in how they allow others’ perceptions of them to control their life choices and happiness. A gorgeous, intelligent, shapely, quirky, talented, confident, and gifted architect, Ari’s making a fresh start with this job and the home she’s renovating. Betrayed by a co-worker who stole her work, lied about her, and ruined her professional reputation, Ari’s sole focus is getting her career back on track. I love Ari’s hard-won confidence. She counters the stereotypes of fat girls being lonely and needing other people to boost their esteem. I love her. Porter is a sweet, fascinating, thoughtful artist who needs to focus on his career because being an architect doesn’t come naturally to him. His life is a façade. In reality, he’s shy, nerdy, insecure, and loves painting more than architecture. It’s not what he wants to be doing or the career or life he chose for himself.
Ari and Porter make a fantastic team once they settle into their partnership. I love Ari and Porter’s flirty, funny, sexy banter; and steamy interactions/love scenes. Ari and Porter talk to each other about all kinds of things and hang out just watching TV. These scenes may be Richardson’s best. Porter falls fast and deeply for Ari. But because of her past, Ari holds back, trying not to make the same mistakes. Not that it keeps her from falling for him before she can keep from being hurt or hurting him. She’s drawn to him despite herself because he makes her feel safe and comfortable.
I love Richardson’s nuanced exploration of the treatment and stereotypes plus-size women face, particularly when Black—through her heroine Ari—and how being judged by appearance affects them in their personal and work lives. She also thoughtfully explores issues of colorism and race and how it continues to impact Black men and women within their families and the workplace. Richardson examines this within the relationship between Porter and his brother and through Porter’s career. Being fair-skinned may have given Porter some advantages career-wise and positively affected his relationship with his grandparents. However, it also increased the expectations and pressures placed on him and created strife/issues between him and his brother, whose skin is darker and a problem for his color-struck grandparents.
The Build Up is a sweet, sexy, funny, emotional, steamy, and a bit angsty romance about taking risks, following your dreams, finding new dreams, letting go of the past, making fresh starts, and taking advantage of second chances. It explores themes of grief, prejudice against people based on appearance—weight, skin color—betrayal, family baggage and emotional trauma, sibling rivalry, colorism, classism, and sexism.
Advanced review copy provided by Carina Press via Netgalley for review.
Ari James shows up disheveled for her first day at a new firm—not the first impression she was going for. To make things worse, her new, hot colleague walks in on her at the absolute worst time. When she’s assigned to collaborate with him on the project she hopes will get her career back on top, she knows it will be much more challenging to stay focused on her big comeback. A partnership at his architectural firm is on the line, and Porter Harrison can’t afford anything getting in his way of excelling on his new project—including his unpredictable brother, an obnoxious work rival, and especially not his new co-worker Ari. Ari, whose stunning curves he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about since the moment he accidentally walked in on her changing her first day. Neither Ari nor Porter is looking for love. But creatively, they make a dynamic team. And the longer they work together, the more it becomes clear that the connection developing between them is more than creative. However, making a romantic relationship flourish won’t be easy. It may even jeopardize their jobs, Porter’s partnership, and the new life/fresh start that Ari is building for herself because both are focused on winning and reaching the top of their field.
It’s interesting how Richardson shows two characters, each at different ends of the spectrum, in how they allow others’ perceptions of them to control their life choices and happiness. A gorgeous, intelligent, shapely, quirky, talented, confident, and gifted architect, Ari’s making a fresh start with this job and the home she’s renovating. Betrayed by a co-worker who stole her work, lied about her, and ruined her professional reputation, Ari’s sole focus is getting her career back on track. I love Ari’s hard-won confidence. She counters the stereotypes of fat girls being lonely and needing other people to boost their esteem. I love her. Porter is a sweet, fascinating, thoughtful artist who needs to focus on his career because being an architect doesn’t come naturally to him. His life is a façade. In reality, he’s shy, nerdy, insecure, and loves painting more than architecture. It’s not what he wants to be doing or the career or life he chose for himself.
Ari and Porter make a fantastic team once they settle into their partnership. I love Ari and Porter’s flirty, funny, sexy banter; and steamy interactions/love scenes. Ari and Porter talk to each other about all kinds of things and hang out just watching TV. These scenes may be Richardson’s best. Porter falls fast and deeply for Ari. But because of her past, Ari holds back, trying not to make the same mistakes. Not that it keeps her from falling for him before she can keep from being hurt or hurting him. She’s drawn to him despite herself because he makes her feel safe and comfortable.
I love Richardson’s nuanced exploration of the treatment and stereotypes plus-size women face, particularly when Black—through her heroine Ari—and how being judged by appearance affects them in their personal and work lives. She also thoughtfully explores issues of colorism and race and how it continues to impact Black men and women within their families and the workplace. Richardson examines this within the relationship between Porter and his brother and through Porter’s career. Being fair-skinned may have given Porter some advantages career-wise and positively affected his relationship with his grandparents. However, it also increased the expectations and pressures placed on him and created strife/issues between him and his brother, whose skin is darker and a problem for his color-struck grandparents.
The Build Up is a sweet, sexy, funny, emotional, steamy, and a bit angsty romance about taking risks, following your dreams, finding new dreams, letting go of the past, making fresh starts, and taking advantage of second chances. It explores themes of grief, prejudice against people based on appearance—weight, skin color—betrayal, family baggage and emotional trauma, sibling rivalry, colorism, classism, and sexism.
Advanced review copy provided by Carina Press via Netgalley for review.
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
If it wasn’t for that third act/ fourth act break up or fight. I loved the confident and sex positive FMC until she would do a 180 and take out her anger on her best friend and PJ. it just seemed out of character for her.
Pros:
1) Strong black characters and a diverse secondary cast. If a white face shows up, it is a bit part like a waitress with two lines.
2) Fat main character who is described and seen unequivocally as sexy by the other main character.
3) Descriptions of characters enjoying FOOD. Oh my, I was jealous of what they were eating at more than one point in the book.
Cons:
1) I was told a lot about how the main characters found each other attractive, but I didn't feel it. I prefer romance novels where more time is spent building up the relationship so I really feel invested in the characters and what they have together.
2) A number of the supporting characters felt flat, like tropes pulled off the shelf to fill a spot rather than full dimensional human beings. The douchebag villain bosses, the over-the-top asshole coworker blatently violating HR rules, the mother and best friend cheerleading from the corner with no nuance. I wish the story had delved more into the "trust fund" aspect of the male protagonist as this presents a potential power imbalance that could impact a relationship. I also never figured out why such a handsome and rich guy was still single well into his 40s.
3) Though the male character found the female character attractive just as she was, not in spite of her body, I wish the female character had used the word "fat" to describe herself. Instead we got a smorgasbord of euphemisms. Per the fat activists I follow, using "fat" as a neutral descriptor is important to supporting the understanding that "fat" isn't negative, but just another aspect of being human like short or blonde.
I did get into the book in the end and the story wrapped up neatly (a little too neatly?). It was a diverting read, but it lacks the depth of writers like Talia Hibbert, Jasmine Silvera, or Helen Hoang.
1) Strong black characters and a diverse secondary cast. If a white face shows up, it is a bit part like a waitress with two lines.
2) Fat main character who is described and seen unequivocally as sexy by the other main character.
3) Descriptions of characters enjoying FOOD. Oh my, I was jealous of what they were eating at more than one point in the book.
Cons:
1) I was told a lot about how the main characters found each other attractive, but I didn't feel it. I prefer romance novels where more time is spent building up the relationship so I really feel invested in the characters and what they have together.
2) A number of the supporting characters felt flat, like tropes pulled off the shelf to fill a spot rather than full dimensional human beings. The douchebag villain bosses, the over-the-top asshole coworker blatently violating HR rules, the mother and best friend cheerleading from the corner with no nuance. I wish the story had delved more into the "trust fund" aspect of the male protagonist as this presents a potential power imbalance that could impact a relationship. I also never figured out why such a handsome and rich guy was still single well into his 40s.
3) Though the male character found the female character attractive just as she was, not in spite of her body, I wish the female character had used the word "fat" to describe herself. Instead we got a smorgasbord of euphemisms. Per the fat activists I follow, using "fat" as a neutral descriptor is important to supporting the understanding that "fat" isn't negative, but just another aspect of being human like short or blonde.
I did get into the book in the end and the story wrapped up neatly (a little too neatly?). It was a diverting read, but it lacks the depth of writers like Talia Hibbert, Jasmine Silvera, or Helen Hoang.
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Loved the main characters and the antagonist really did his job of antagonizing me.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A