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bottleblondebookworm's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this Parisian inspired romance novel! I found myself transported to Paris, walking along the banks of the Seine right next to Liam and Evie. I loved the nods to old Hollywood and Gene Kelly. It made me want to watch An American in Paris and Singing in the Rain again!
Now, let’s get into the romance. Fake dating is always a good idea, right? To be honest, it’s one of my favorite tropes, and I felt like it was done well here. Liam surprises Evie in Paris and she is not pleased to see her high school tormenter in her favorite place. However, her brother’s wedding is coming up and she needs a date before her mom completely steamrolls her. Enter Liam Kelly. From the get go you know Liam is head over heels for Evie, but she absolutely refuses to see it!! While I found myself frustrated with Evie and her constant self doubt and insecurities, I did understand why she felt that way. When she finally set aside some of that doubt and started trusting Liam, oh it was so cute!! Liam Kelly is such a sweetheart!!! He takes care of Evie when she needs him, but doesn’t ever try to fix her illness like everyone else in her life, he’s just there to support her in whatever way she needs. It was really beautiful to see Evie lean into that trust and let herself fall in love.
I did take off one star due to the third act breakup. I understand why the author made that decision, but I felt she could have resolved the issue without Evie and Liam breaking up. The epilogue was cute and provided some closure I felt was needed, but I would have loved to have seen a bit more of Evie and Liam’s life after the final resolution.
This book does cover some heavy topics, but the author put a wonderful note and content/trigger warning at the beginning of the book that lays it all out without giving away any of the story. Why don’t more authors do this?? It’s brilliant!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!! All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Infertility, and Body shaming
heather_freshparchment's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Vomit, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
I received a free ebook ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm not a huge reader of contemporary romances, but the references to classic movies drew me in. I'm so glad it did. It's not high literature, but it's engaging and honest. The thing I appreciate most is its no-holds-barred descriptions of life with endometriosis. I thought I understood it, but I clearly knew nothing. There was clear communication between our love interests in the second two thirds of the book, too, which I really appreciated. Any problems they encountered were realistic, as were their solutions. Overall, it was a highly enjoyable read.britreadsbooks_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
CWs pinned on the author’s Instagram & on storygraph.
HEART ON FLOOR. HEART ON FLOOR. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’m just gonna tell you how much I adored this. Torie Jean has delivered a total emotional gut punch that also lends itself to humour and chaos. Let me just say if you’re looking for a story with unrequited love and pining, this will be right up your alley. Did I mention Liam’s love language is taking care of Evie? Any man who would drop everything to bring a woman in need bread is a total keeper. Would I have appreciated this more if I had an attachment to Gene Kelly and Audrey Hepburn? Probably. But that didn’t stop me from absolutely swooning into oblivion. Especially every time Liam blushed. I was also weak in the knees every time a pun was delivered. Word play is my soul food. I also love that Evie’s character gives insight into life with endometriosis. Torie doesn’t paint a pretty picture either; she gives a raw, uncensored look into life with chronic illness. We need more of that in romance. If you enjoyed books like Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, and Always Only You by Chloe Liese then you might want this on your tbr.
CWs pinned on the author’s Instagram & on storygraph.
HEART ON FLOOR. HEART ON FLOOR. Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’m just gonna tell you how much I adored this. Torie Jean has delivered a total emotional gut punch that also lends itself to humour and chaos. Let me just say if you’re looking for a story with unrequited love and pining, this will be right up your alley. Did I mention Liam’s love language is taking care of Evie? Any man who would drop everything to bring a woman in need bread is a total keeper. Would I have appreciated this more if I had an attachment to Gene Kelly and Audrey Hepburn? Probably. But that didn’t stop me from absolutely swooning into oblivion. Especially every time Liam blushed. I was also weak in the knees every time a pun was delivered. Word play is my soul food. I also love that Evie’s character gives insight into life with endometriosis. Torie doesn’t paint a pretty picture either; she gives a raw, uncensored look into life with chronic illness. We need more of that in romance. If you enjoyed books like Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert, The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, and Always Only You by Chloe Liese then you might want this on your tbr.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Pregnancy and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Infertility, Sexual content, Vomit, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
josephinecatherine's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
Disclaimer: I was given an ARC of this release by the author in return for my honest opinion and review.
This is an Own Voices review for endometriosis representation.
I was in love at first sight (sigh of the dedication and the content warnings).
Over a year ago, I ventured into a university project which was entirely self-inflicted. The unit I was taking focused on disability and inclusivity and the coordinator asked us to create an assignment which related to the unit theme in some way. As an avid romance reader and person with disability, I decided to read the good, the bad, and the ugly of romance novels with disability representation.
The ten books I read largely fell into the ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’ category and left me feeling rather pessimistic. Even books I classified as ‘good’ were limited in their representation of my disability experience. I believe many sufferers of chronic pain will relate to the wider chronic pain and disability experience, but ache to feel drawn with detail. Detail that is not simply the pages of our medical history. Endometriosis is nowhere in romance books. In saying this, I discount those instances wherein endometriosis is used as a throwaway plot point to explain infertility or miscarriage. It is never explored or defined in a manner representative of most endo-sufferers. It is, in those cases, simply a means to justify tragedy by one’s own body.
As a young woman who is in daily pain, Finding Gene Kelly is a lifeline. I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 14 years old. Six years later, I am still learning how to navigate a life shadowed my condition. In order to picture myself as a romance novel heroine, I must omit endometriosis from my character background. It is another way in which my invisible disability remains invisible. I want to give my fourteen-year-old self a copy of this book before her diagnosis. I want that girl to have known that spending half your high school in hospital does not deem you in any way ‘unlovable’.
This could have easily been an angst-filled romance novel which represented the darkness of endometriosis. Torie Jean’s decision to lean against the inherently dark content was an expert one. I admit my hesitation when I saw a pink cartoon cover attached to the tag ‘endometriosis representation’. I thought that my condition could never be represented authentically in a romantic comedy, or any romance with ‘soft’ connotations. I never imagined an endometriosis romance could take place in the City of Lights as opposed to my hospital room...of fluorescent lights. I will forever be grateful to Torie Jean for proving me wrong.
Romance comes from your partner noticing the timer on your heat pack. Romance is being recognised for your strength when you feel your most fragile. Romance is writhing in pain but being held. Romance is being loved through pain with words and with actions.
For Evie, Liam is her Gene Kelly. This book, however, shows every Endowarrior (and disabled person) that we will not only experience love platonically, nor will we only experience romance through a television or book. We will find our Gene Kelly. A person who we love and who loves us in return.
The book not only explores romantic relationships, nor does it explore chronic pain from a purely romantic lens. It explores how endometriosis bleeds (pun intended) into every part of life.
Moments of celebration are simultaneously moments of pain.
The realities of pacing.
Surrendering to your body.
The anger, the sadness, the isolation, the self-loathing.
The pregnancy announcements.
The fatigue.
The nausea.
The bloating.
The brain fog.
The feeling out of control… constantly.
The relationships with family.
The relationships with friends.
The perseverance.
The constant decisions (if I take this medication now, I can’t do this, but if I don’t take it now etc).
This book could have been written had it not been for the author’s lived experience. You can feel the pain through these pages, but you can also feel the power. No one else can articulate the endometriosis experience like endometriosis sufferers can. Torie Jean writing this book has taken her pain and given us her heart. This would have been physically and emotionally draining, and yet I am grateful. I never thought this book would exist. If I did, I thought it would be my own.
This book made me cry and I am so glad that they were mostly happy tears. Happy because this book even exists. It hugged me through a flare up and understood. Torie – thank you for showing me my story can exist outside the tragedy genre. I wish I were more eloquent in my gratitude, but I look forward to seeing you grow. Thank you.
This is an Own Voices review for endometriosis representation.
I was in love at first sight (sigh of the dedication and the content warnings).
Over a year ago, I ventured into a university project which was entirely self-inflicted. The unit I was taking focused on disability and inclusivity and the coordinator asked us to create an assignment which related to the unit theme in some way. As an avid romance reader and person with disability, I decided to read the good, the bad, and the ugly of romance novels with disability representation.
The ten books I read largely fell into the ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’ category and left me feeling rather pessimistic. Even books I classified as ‘good’ were limited in their representation of my disability experience. I believe many sufferers of chronic pain will relate to the wider chronic pain and disability experience, but ache to feel drawn with detail. Detail that is not simply the pages of our medical history. Endometriosis is nowhere in romance books. In saying this, I discount those instances wherein endometriosis is used as a throwaway plot point to explain infertility or miscarriage. It is never explored or defined in a manner representative of most endo-sufferers. It is, in those cases, simply a means to justify tragedy by one’s own body.
As a young woman who is in daily pain, Finding Gene Kelly is a lifeline. I was diagnosed with endometriosis when I was 14 years old. Six years later, I am still learning how to navigate a life shadowed my condition. In order to picture myself as a romance novel heroine, I must omit endometriosis from my character background. It is another way in which my invisible disability remains invisible. I want to give my fourteen-year-old self a copy of this book before her diagnosis. I want that girl to have known that spending half your high school in hospital does not deem you in any way ‘unlovable’.
This could have easily been an angst-filled romance novel which represented the darkness of endometriosis. Torie Jean’s decision to lean against the inherently dark content was an expert one. I admit my hesitation when I saw a pink cartoon cover attached to the tag ‘endometriosis representation’. I thought that my condition could never be represented authentically in a romantic comedy, or any romance with ‘soft’ connotations. I never imagined an endometriosis romance could take place in the City of Lights as opposed to my hospital room...of fluorescent lights. I will forever be grateful to Torie Jean for proving me wrong.
Romance comes from your partner noticing the timer on your heat pack. Romance is being recognised for your strength when you feel your most fragile. Romance is writhing in pain but being held. Romance is being loved through pain with words and with actions.
For Evie, Liam is her Gene Kelly. This book, however, shows every Endowarrior (and disabled person) that we will not only experience love platonically, nor will we only experience romance through a television or book. We will find our Gene Kelly. A person who we love and who loves us in return.
The book not only explores romantic relationships, nor does it explore chronic pain from a purely romantic lens. It explores how endometriosis bleeds (pun intended) into every part of life.
Moments of celebration are simultaneously moments of pain.
The realities of pacing.
Surrendering to your body.
The anger, the sadness, the isolation, the self-loathing.
The pregnancy announcements.
The fatigue.
The nausea.
The bloating.
The brain fog.
The feeling out of control… constantly.
The relationships with family.
The relationships with friends.
The perseverance.
The constant decisions (if I take this medication now, I can’t do this, but if I don’t take it now etc).
This book could have been written had it not been for the author’s lived experience. You can feel the pain through these pages, but you can also feel the power. No one else can articulate the endometriosis experience like endometriosis sufferers can. Torie Jean writing this book has taken her pain and given us her heart. This would have been physically and emotionally draining, and yet I am grateful. I never thought this book would exist. If I did, I thought it would be my own.
This book made me cry and I am so glad that they were mostly happy tears. Happy because this book even exists. It hugged me through a flare up and understood. Torie – thank you for showing me my story can exist outside the tragedy genre. I wish I were more eloquent in my gratitude, but I look forward to seeing you grow. Thank you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Infertility, Ableism, Pregnancy, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit and Toxic friendship
Tense relationship with mother
More...