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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
No spice, all fade to black scenes. The whole thing just felt flat and emotionless to me - the process of the main characters getting together was so clinical. The premise had a lot of potential, but the story didn’t hit.
This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but not in a bad way. The only thing I really disliked was Jackleen’s name. It was supposed to be a shortening of Jacqueline to two syllables instead of three, but in my head, all I could hear, was Jack-lean and it was stupid and persisted throughout the whole book. I also thought the author did Mandy dirty. She should’ve had a better outcome, but I guess I would’ve been too happily ever after.
All right, so you may not know it from that first paragraph, but I really didn’t joy this book. It wasn’t fast paced at all. If you’re looking for a light romcom, this isn’t the book. It’s definitely a romance and it’s definitely light. But think of it more as a meandering journey over six months. There are lots of asides and memories and other detours. The pages just flyby. I felt like I was just reading along and suddenly I was 3/4 of the way through the book.
I can see complaints about it being kind of boring, but really it’s just something to sit back and savor. The romance took a little bit to get going, but once you figure out that Perry is a little shy, it makes it better.
All in all a very well, written book, and a good story. Would recommend.
All right, so you may not know it from that first paragraph, but I really didn’t joy this book. It wasn’t fast paced at all. If you’re looking for a light romcom, this isn’t the book. It’s definitely a romance and it’s definitely light. But think of it more as a meandering journey over six months. There are lots of asides and memories and other detours. The pages just flyby. I felt like I was just reading along and suddenly I was 3/4 of the way through the book.
I can see complaints about it being kind of boring, but really it’s just something to sit back and savor. The romance took a little bit to get going, but once you figure out that Perry is a little shy, it makes it better.
All in all a very well, written book, and a good story. Would recommend.
You know what makes me love a book even more than I might already? SHORT. CHAPTERS.
Honestly, the low rating of this one made me a smidge dubious to pick it up, but once I discovered how much I enjoyed the writing style, the pacing of the plot, the actual PRESENCE of a plot, the romance, this microcosm of people living in New York City and how their lives are intertwining - I was smitten. Totally smitten. I loved the writing style (I would love to be able to write with such charm and wit and humour). It was chaos, but honestly, it was the kind of chaos I could suspend my disbelief for. Adding all her novels to my TBR as we speak.
Honestly, the low rating of this one made me a smidge dubious to pick it up, but once I discovered how much I enjoyed the writing style, the pacing of the plot, the actual PRESENCE of a plot, the romance, this microcosm of people living in New York City and how their lives are intertwining - I was smitten. Totally smitten. I loved the writing style (I would love to be able to write with such charm and wit and humour). It was chaos, but honestly, it was the kind of chaos I could suspend my disbelief for. Adding all her novels to my TBR as we speak.
It's been a while since I read an Elinor Lipman book and I forgot how enjoyable they can be.
I read this in one sitting and kept waiting for it to hook me.
Jane is suspended as a lawyer because a neighbor sees her in a compromising position and calls the police. The biggest missed opportunity came from not exploring the trial and instead we get an overview that makes Jane sound vapid and entitled.
The first half of the book is focused on Jane’s obsession with the older woman who called the police and finding ways to fill her time while she’s under house arrest. She starts a cooking TikTok after being pushed by her identical twin sister.
When the doorman mentions another tenant in a similar situation we meet Perry: a man with no personality. What could have become a romance just wasn’t and I couldn’t quite figure out why he and Jane got together.
The side bar Mandy and the Polish siblings was just so outlandish. I’ve heard this author described as quirky and there is quirky and then there is weird. It was just weird and made the entire book feel very disjointed. It was like the author had a handful of ideas and forced them together even though they didn’t belong.
Thank you Harper Perennial for sending me a copy to review.
Jane is suspended as a lawyer because a neighbor sees her in a compromising position and calls the police. The biggest missed opportunity came from not exploring the trial and instead we get an overview that makes Jane sound vapid and entitled.
The first half of the book is focused on Jane’s obsession with the older woman who called the police and finding ways to fill her time while she’s under house arrest. She starts a cooking TikTok after being pushed by her identical twin sister.
When the doorman mentions another tenant in a similar situation we meet Perry: a man with no personality. What could have become a romance just wasn’t and I couldn’t quite figure out why he and Jane got together.
The side bar Mandy and the Polish siblings was just so outlandish. I’ve heard this author described as quirky and there is quirky and then there is weird. It was just weird and made the entire book feel very disjointed. It was like the author had a handful of ideas and forced them together even though they didn’t belong.
Thank you Harper Perennial for sending me a copy to review.
I have so many issues with this book. Let's just start with Jane and Perry.
So after being put on house arrest, Jane finds out that Perry is also on house arrest and decides to get to know him. The relationship that they get into is a little strange to me. Although they are friends with benefits it doesn't seem like it's because there is an initial attraction. It just feels like a relationship of convenience. It also doesn't feel like they are great friends to begin with.
Then the fact that they got engaged before saying "I love you" was weird to me. It's like as soon as house arrest was over they got engaged almost immediately. They also got engaged before it seemed like they were officially dating, they were still just friends with benefits.
The fact that we never find out who killed the neighbor was so upsetting to me. I feel like Jane spent a lot of time playing detective and it was all for nothing. The police officers were incorporated into the story a lot and then just never follow up on who killed her.
Duncan leaving Jackleen was a HUGE red flag in my book. But then he just comes back and proposes and they get back together like nothing happened. I don't get it. He was so unsupportive of her supporting her sister and I don't see how him coming back and proposing fixes any of that.
Mandy getting married to Krzysztof so that he could get his green card was WILD. Then having him leave the country almost immediately made it seem like the marriage was all for nothing. Krzysztof and his sister were walking red flags the whole time and I feel like that part of the story was just left as a loose end.
I don't get why everyone was rushing into marriage in this book. It just felt out of place. Then having the mysterious death be such a big part of the story and then not completing that story line was disappointing to say the least.
There were too many things happening and I just feel like if only 2 out of the 6 things that were happening were focused on in detail, that could have made for a much better story.
So after being put on house arrest, Jane finds out that Perry is also on house arrest and decides to get to know him. The relationship that they get into is a little strange to me. Although they are friends with benefits it doesn't seem like it's because there is an initial attraction. It just feels like a relationship of convenience. It also doesn't feel like they are great friends to begin with.
Then the fact that they got engaged before saying "I love you" was weird to me. It's like as soon as house arrest was over they got engaged almost immediately. They also got engaged before it seemed like they were officially dating, they were still just friends with benefits.
The fact that we never find out who killed the neighbor was so upsetting to me. I feel like Jane spent a lot of time playing detective and it was all for nothing. The police officers were incorporated into the story a lot and then just never follow up on who killed her.
Duncan leaving Jackleen was a HUGE red flag in my book. But then he just comes back and proposes and they get back together like nothing happened. I don't get it. He was so unsupportive of her supporting her sister and I don't see how him coming back and proposing fixes any of that.
Mandy getting married to Krzysztof so that he could get his green card was WILD. Then having him leave the country almost immediately made it seem like the marriage was all for nothing. Krzysztof and his sister were walking red flags the whole time and I feel like that part of the story was just left as a loose end.
I don't get why everyone was rushing into marriage in this book. It just felt out of place. Then having the mysterious death be such a big part of the story and then not completing that story line was disappointing to say the least.
There were too many things happening and I just feel like if only 2 out of the 6 things that were happening were focused on in detail, that could have made for a much better story.
funny
lighthearted
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Potential spoilers in this review.
So. Our main character is a lawyer who is enjoying some late night *ahem* "play time" on the rooftop of her NYC apartment when she is seen by a nosy neighbor with binoculars. The neighbor calls the cops, and long story short, Jane's law license is suspended, she loses her job at the firm and she's placed on house arrest for 6 months.
From this starting point there are *many* plot points introduced...
1. A twin sister (going through a breakup)
2. A guy in her building (also on house arrest)
3. The nosy neighbor (dies, leaving a note framing Jane)
4. Another neighbor (desperately wants marriage/kids)
5. A friends-with-benefits situation
6. A green card marriage
7. A Tik Tok "cooking old recipes" account
8. Polish "royalty"
Etc.
It's a lot. Some might say too much. My main complaint is that the story lines I thought would be the main lines ended up fizzling out, and I was surprised to find that relationships that had zero chemistry and development were suddenly the most important in the book.
The uneven pacing and the dangling plot lines made this a miss for me. Others may see a delightful and quirky read. 3.5 stars.
So. Our main character is a lawyer who is enjoying some late night *ahem* "play time" on the rooftop of her NYC apartment when she is seen by a nosy neighbor with binoculars. The neighbor calls the cops, and long story short, Jane's law license is suspended, she loses her job at the firm and she's placed on house arrest for 6 months.
From this starting point there are *many* plot points introduced...
1. A twin sister (going through a breakup)
2. A guy in her building (also on house arrest)
3. The nosy neighbor (dies, leaving a note framing Jane)
4. Another neighbor (desperately wants marriage/kids)
5. A friends-with-benefits situation
6. A green card marriage
7. A Tik Tok "cooking old recipes" account
8. Polish "royalty"
Etc.
It's a lot. Some might say too much. My main complaint is that the story lines I thought would be the main lines ended up fizzling out, and I was surprised to find that relationships that had zero chemistry and development were suddenly the most important in the book.
The uneven pacing and the dangling plot lines made this a miss for me. Others may see a delightful and quirky read. 3.5 stars.
Fun story but confusing characters and storylines. It felt like there was a lack of direction: is it a mystery? A romance? Slice of life? I found myself getting bored at times because I wasn’t sure if what was going on really mattered in the grand scheme of things.
The dialogue felt very stilted at times, esp with Jane. It was a bit ironic because she would note how odd others talked and she herself seemed a bit robotic.
Also, with a synopsis like the one it has, you would think they would be a little spice here or there. But no…fade to black every. Single. Time. Which to be honest, I didn’t even really mind because I’m not sure what the two main characters were doing with each other in the first place. I sensed a little spark or connection between them for 95% of the book. The communication that they had with each other didn’t seem particularly special. Honestly, I just didn’t get it.
I was also very confused with her relationship with her sister. There seems to be so much unspoken between them. Other characters even call it out, but they both continue to sweep whatever was going on between them underneath the rug. It was honestly a bit frustrating because Jane would continuously put words in her sister’s mouth and sometimes her accusations seemed valid, but I couldn’t even tell if she was actually onto something because they dismissed it two seconds later.
Also, and this may be petty, I have no idea why they threw in a TikTok storyline. It did nothing for the book, but date it.
Overall, it was a fun story with cute moments, but I think I would’ve enjoyed this more with maybe one or two fewer storylines, and a bit more depth to the main characters.
The dialogue felt very stilted at times, esp with Jane. It was a bit ironic because she would note how odd others talked and she herself seemed a bit robotic.
Also, with a synopsis like the one it has, you would think they would be a little spice here or there. But no…fade to black every. Single. Time. Which to be honest, I didn’t even really mind because I’m not sure what the two main characters were doing with each other in the first place. I sensed a little spark or connection between them for 95% of the book. The communication that they had with each other didn’t seem particularly special. Honestly, I just didn’t get it.
I was also very confused with her relationship with her sister. There seems to be so much unspoken between them. Other characters even call it out, but they both continue to sweep whatever was going on between them underneath the rug. It was honestly a bit frustrating because Jane would continuously put words in her sister’s mouth and sometimes her accusations seemed valid, but I couldn’t even tell if she was actually onto something because they dismissed it two seconds later.
Also, and this may be petty, I have no idea why they threw in a TikTok storyline. It did nothing for the book, but date it.
Overall, it was a fun story with cute moments, but I think I would’ve enjoyed this more with maybe one or two fewer storylines, and a bit more depth to the main characters.