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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Thank you to Hachette Audio for access to the ALC.
It was my first novel by this author but it was cute. If you like romance novels centered around dogs and getting to know your colleagues while in the midst of falling for each other, this will fit right up your alley. Holly wants a chance at a fresh start away from Washington State. So the job she is interning at is giving the interns a chance to pick up a job in Scotland. They just have to create a fundraiser to promote their non profit work. While the male love interest does have my brother’s name - I just substituted him in my mind for someone else. lol. Lauren Ezzo does a great job at narrating Holly’s POV. I do wish this had been dual so I could get some insight from J’s perspective but overall, a well rounded novel with a plot, cute moments and a HEA.
It was my first novel by this author but it was cute. If you like romance novels centered around dogs and getting to know your colleagues while in the midst of falling for each other, this will fit right up your alley. Holly wants a chance at a fresh start away from Washington State. So the job she is interning at is giving the interns a chance to pick up a job in Scotland. They just have to create a fundraiser to promote their non profit work. While the male love interest does have my brother’s name - I just substituted him in my mind for someone else. lol. Lauren Ezzo does a great job at narrating Holly’s POV. I do wish this had been dual so I could get some insight from J’s perspective but overall, a well rounded novel with a plot, cute moments and a HEA.
emotional
funny
inspiring
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:
No
Holly needs a fresh start.
Her job and relationship imploded, and now she's hoping this internship will mark the beginning of her next phase of life. If she can win the big fundraiser and get a job in Glasgow, then she knows everything will be all right.
Anna E. Collins creates a fully realized woman in Holly. It's nice to see because not all rom-coms allow their main characters to be so actualized. Holly is open and honest about everything and an open book as she meets new people.
Those traits are extra confounding for Jonathan, the office grump, when she sets her sights on him to work with her on said fundraiser.
I loved how Collins gave Holly and Jonathan their own 'dark' pasts to overcome and found ways to make them both open, yet flawed in their approach to sharing and evolving.
It's a really fun read, and the humorous moments peppered in through the photo shoots are also fun.
Her job and relationship imploded, and now she's hoping this internship will mark the beginning of her next phase of life. If she can win the big fundraiser and get a job in Glasgow, then she knows everything will be all right.
Anna E. Collins creates a fully realized woman in Holly. It's nice to see because not all rom-coms allow their main characters to be so actualized. Holly is open and honest about everything and an open book as she meets new people.
Those traits are extra confounding for Jonathan, the office grump, when she sets her sights on him to work with her on said fundraiser.
I loved how Collins gave Holly and Jonathan their own 'dark' pasts to overcome and found ways to make them both open, yet flawed in their approach to sharing and evolving.
It's a really fun read, and the humorous moments peppered in through the photo shoots are also fun.
funny
medium-paced
📆 Bookish Thoughts
This one started off strong with classic romcom energy and some witty banter.
But wow, that last 15 percent really lost me. Our FMC turned selfish and pretty closed-minded, and she really PMO. Enough that I almost DNF’d at 85 percent. It felt unnecessary and frustrating. I’ll always be a hater of the third act breakup 😤.
But wow, that last 15 percent really lost me. Our FMC turned selfish and pretty closed-minded, and she really PMO. Enough that I almost DNF’d at 85 percent. It felt unnecessary and frustrating. I’ll always be a hater of the third act breakup 😤.
That said, I’m giving it 3.5 stars purely for the narration. The narrator absolutely performed this book and I’ll be searching out more audiobooks that she narrates!
🐾 What to Expect
• Grumpy X sunshine
• Calendar fundraiser
• Dog lovers
• Workplace romance
• Forced proximity
• Flirty banter
📖 Book Score: 3 stars
🎧 Audio Score: 5 stars
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo
📅 Pub Date: July 1, 2025
Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
I enjoyed this so much more than I was expecting to. I went into this thinking it would be cheesy based on the title and cover, and obviously that’s part of it (I love a cheesy book), but it was also beautiful. We got to see Johnathan and Holly grow emotionally and within their careers (or.. career changes). They really found themselves both together and separately, which I think is important in a romance.
I can also anticipate a lot of people not liking the FMC (mainly towards the end) because she does snap at people quite a bit. But personally, I was able to relate to that quite a bit. She almost always apologized right away and it was resolved, and she was in an extremely stressful situation towards the end so I understood the crashouts lol.
I really enjoyed the narrator of this book as well. She was able to capture every emotion, including crying, frustration, and anger perfectly. This is extremely tedious and doesn’t matter, but the only part of the production that I found a little frustrating was the amount of time between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the narrator saying the next chapter. I kept having to check if my audiobook stopped playing haha.
All in all, this was a super cute book. If you like hot guys, dogs, grumpy men turned softies, photography, lots of sex, women in their 30s starting over in their career, and even more dogs, then this book is for you.
Thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for the ALC!
notes: extreme claustrophobia rep (MMC)
I can also anticipate a lot of people not liking the FMC (mainly towards the end) because she does snap at people quite a bit. But personally, I was able to relate to that quite a bit. She almost always apologized right away and it was resolved, and she was in an extremely stressful situation towards the end so I understood the crashouts lol.
I really enjoyed the narrator of this book as well. She was able to capture every emotion, including crying, frustration, and anger perfectly. This is extremely tedious and doesn’t matter, but the only part of the production that I found a little frustrating was the amount of time between the end of one chapter and the beginning of the narrator saying the next chapter. I kept having to check if my audiobook stopped playing haha.
All in all, this was a super cute book. If you like hot guys, dogs, grumpy men turned softies, photography, lots of sex, women in their 30s starting over in their career, and even more dogs, then this book is for you.
Thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for the ALC!
notes: extreme claustrophobia rep (MMC)
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to start off by saying wow what a narrator! So much emotion! Definitely one of the better I’ve listened to.
I honestly really liked Jonathan. From office grump to a guy literally willing to put his ass on the line (see what I did there). Honestly, he was so much more complex than I anticipated with his previous career and implosion of his previous career to his caretaker role over his father.
Now Holly I have much more conflicted opinions of. While she does have the past trauma with her previous career and relationship. It’s very apparent she’s one way or the highway, and it comes off very selfish. And how everyone around her must be putting her wants and needs first and heaven forbid they make a mistake.
That being said, after the third act breakup, I did enjoy the ending. But the entire time I couldn’t help but think that the FMC came off as “woe is me” until the MMC solved all of her problems.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC!!
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This book was just okay for me but I think a lot of people will enjoy it. I really enjoyed Rachel and Holly’s friendship. I love a good female friendship in a romance and this one delivered, and I also liked Holly’s relationship with her brother Jude and niece Ava. I liked that Holly and Jonathan weren’t a traditional enemies to lovers and that as they got to know each other they realized they had lots in common. I also liked that Holly was in a second phase of life and was an intern who was older than the rest. It kinda gave me The Intern movie vibes. I just didn’t necessarily gravitate to the main characters so this one was just okay for me.
🛑Content Warnings:
•claustrophobia
🌶️🌶️🌶️Open Door Romance
Closed Door Mods:
* End of ch. 20
* Ch. 23
* First half of ch. 33
🛑Content Warnings:
•claustrophobia
🌶️🌶️🌶️Open Door Romance
Closed Door Mods:
* End of ch. 20
* Ch. 23
* First half of ch. 33