Reviews - How Freaking Romantic

692 reviews for:

How Freaking Romantic

Emily Harding

3.82 AVERAGE

lisaannclive's review against another edition

4.0

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

marrieta10's review against another edition

3.75

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

swamanda's review

2.75

emotional funny slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A good debut, with some sharp wit shining through. The author writes most characters a bit one-dimensionally. While I was distracted by the FMC’s off-putting personality, I would read the author’s next book to see how they grow.

katieodonnell_21's review against another edition

5.0

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

briannehuffman's review

3.5

adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

seekaygee's review against another edition

4.5

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don't read a lot of romance books. So this was a bit out of my typical oeuvre, but it was so, incredibly delightful, and I'm so glad to have taken a chance with it.

Beatrice is pretty much always angry. Rage has been her default in order to protect herself from the various disappointments she's experienced in life, as well as what helps propel her through the tumultuous time leading up to finishing law school and taking the bar exam. So it's not totally unusual that when two of her best friends get a divorce, it's the emotion that guides her straight into the offices of one of their divorce attorneys, screaming at him about how he's ruining her friends life, and thus, hers, as well. But Bea quickly realizes her mistake when the same attorney is assigned to run the L1 class she's the TA for in her upcoming semester of school, placing her entire career in this infuriating--and obnoxiously attractive--man's hands.

While this book does not have the usual depth that the stories I usually read do, it is exactly what I wanted it to be: an easy-to-read, funny and hopeful tale about finding love (romantic, familial and platonic) in unexpected places, even when you think that love is lost. It reads like watching a romcom, taking the reader for a ride where you may know exactly where the storyline is heading, but it's still an utter delight to take part in. There's no deep emotional dive into most of the characters that usually makes or breaks a book for me, but here, it's unnecessary. How Freaking Romantic is more about allowing ourselves to be who we are, flaws and all, and caring for those we hold dear, even when they make us angriest. It's about choosing your family, and recognizing that you can move on, in peace, from the family you were born into. It was a light story, but it didn't fail to give me hope and joy along the way.