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audlittlebookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint at all!
Tropes:
Tropes:
- Second Chance
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Forced Proximity
- Alternating Timelines
- Dual POV
It was such a fun read and really well paced, especially with the alternating timeline and how information was revealed. I was invested in and rooting for these characters the whole time. My only critique would be the ending. It felt a smidge rushed and I wish we had gotten both POVs so that I could understand the characters choices more. It’s a minor thing though and didn’t negatively impact my overall experience.
I will definitely be preordering Soto’s next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
I adored this book - I appreciated the dual POV of Ama in the present and Elliot in the past (for much of the book) as we see how their relationship started and how it unravelled before present day. There was a great mix of wedding planning, design, personal life, and steamy scenes that really brought the characters and their relationship to life.
I actually loved the depth it went into with the MCs feelings, as well as their work, because they were both so important to them for different reasons. The development of relationships and the secondary characters also made the book so much more fun and colourful.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for new books by Julie Soto going forward - her writing is addictive. All in all, this is a new favourite for me!
TW: sexual content, workplace emotional abuse, injury detail; mentions cancer, death of a parent, sexual harassment
I actually loved the depth it went into with the MCs feelings, as well as their work, because they were both so important to them for different reasons. The development of relationships and the secondary characters also made the book so much more fun and colourful.
I will definitely be keeping an eye out for new books by Julie Soto going forward - her writing is addictive. All in all, this is a new favourite for me!
TW: sexual content, workplace emotional abuse, injury detail; mentions cancer, death of a parent, sexual harassment
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
middle_name_joy's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
lifeonasofa's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.0
“You may think everything ends one day, but you haven’t had ‘everything’ with me” - Julie Soto 🩵
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Stars
I loved this book 😭 it was really cute. A wedding planner and a florist just worked so well! I could feel the heat burning between them. 🔥
I loved Elliotts blunt comments throughout. I wasn’t as much of a fan of Ama and her flakiness but the emotional exploration from both POV throughout made it work. 🥰
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
☀️ Second Chance
☀️ Slow Burn
☀️ Dual Timeline/POV
Also this @afterlightbooks edition has the cutest edges and endpapers 🪻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Stars
I loved this book 😭 it was really cute. A wedding planner and a florist just worked so well! I could feel the heat burning between them. 🔥
I loved Elliotts blunt comments throughout. I wasn’t as much of a fan of Ama and her flakiness but the emotional exploration from both POV throughout made it work. 🥰
☀️ Grumpy x Sunshine
☀️ Second Chance
☀️ Slow Burn
☀️ Dual Timeline/POV
Also this @afterlightbooks edition has the cutest edges and endpapers 🪻
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
stephmc27's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
“That’s not how it works. There is no falling out of love for people like you and me."
I finished this in one day because I was obsessed with the romance between our two main characters and the weddings of other characters. Usually I shy away from second chance romance, but this one sold me on trying more!
In this story:
💐 Dual POV
💐 Dual timeline
💐 Second chance romance
💐 Grumpy sunshine trope
💐 Gorgeous celebrity wedding
💐 Reality TV
2.5/5 🌶️
I finished this in one day because I was obsessed with the romance between our two main characters and the weddings of other characters. Usually I shy away from second chance romance, but this one sold me on trying more!
In this story:
💐 Dual POV
💐 Dual timeline
💐 Second chance romance
💐 Grumpy sunshine trope
💐 Gorgeous celebrity wedding
💐 Reality TV
2.5/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Cancer, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Death
sydapel's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So I knew that this was from a fanfiction author but I had no clue until I read the acknowledgements that it was an author I have read and adored (Dramonie fans, rise up). I'm really happy Julie Soto is writing original stories, and I don't think this was a bad book by any means, but it's painfully obvious it's her first time working with characters she's created. All of the elements of a good story are here, but something felt missing from both Ama and Eliot in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. However, I really did enjoy the flashback/flashforward way their relationship is revealed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Injury/Injury detail
clearingthebookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
cassiealexandra's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
3.5
Ama is a small-scale wedding planner who offers personal touches. When she has the chance to work with a huge social media influencer and finds out that Elliot Bloom is the only florist the couple wants, she almost passes. Can she overcome her past and be a professional for the job of her dreams?
I had mixed feelings about this one. I started it on audio and decided it wasn’t for me (my big issue was a slight midwestern accent voiced on a person who was supposedly born and raised in Sacramento, CA; I’m picky, okay? And I’m not a cheetah listener like some of y’all nor do I want to be). Anyway, when I picked this up again in print several weeks later, I almost didn’t finish it again, but I was able to skim to the 38% point quickly and kept going to the finish line. Here’s what didn’t work so well for me:
The romance. And this is a romance book. I didn’t mind the workplace aspect or the grumpy-sunshine trope (and this one is GRUMPY: “Rude is Elliot’s brand”), but the “big reveal,” avoiding the subject of what happened 3 years ago is frustrating to me in any book. Add to that the number of skipped scenes and the commitment-averse, no-strings plot in the past timeline and this just wasn’t a winner for my taste.
Here’s what held my attention: the wedding planning, architecture, design, and creativity; Ama’s strange relationship with her step-siblings (her mom had been married 16x!); and the dual POV and timeline. Some readers would have preferred that both voices were set in the present, but I thought reading Elliot’s thoughts from the past was a brilliant way to frame the story. Finally I loved that this was a love letter to the city of Sacramento and to hometowns in general (the author says that over 70% of the locations in the book are real and she was intentional in making Ama someone who never had to “get away” from home to make something of herself). Overall, not a rave review, but this one had its moments.
To modify this to closed door, skip parts of chapters 13, 16, 18, 20, and 33. Yikes!
I had mixed feelings about this one. I started it on audio and decided it wasn’t for me (my big issue was a slight midwestern accent voiced on a person who was supposedly born and raised in Sacramento, CA; I’m picky, okay? And I’m not a cheetah listener like some of y’all nor do I want to be). Anyway, when I picked this up again in print several weeks later, I almost didn’t finish it again, but I was able to skim to the 38% point quickly and kept going to the finish line. Here’s what didn’t work so well for me:
The romance. And this is a romance book. I didn’t mind the workplace aspect or the grumpy-sunshine trope (and this one is GRUMPY: “Rude is Elliot’s brand”), but the “big reveal,” avoiding the subject of what happened 3 years ago is frustrating to me in any book. Add to that the number of skipped scenes and the commitment-averse, no-strings plot in the past timeline and this just wasn’t a winner for my taste.
Here’s what held my attention: the wedding planning, architecture, design, and creativity; Ama’s strange relationship with her step-siblings (her mom had been married 16x!); and the dual POV and timeline. Some readers would have preferred that both voices were set in the present, but I thought reading Elliot’s thoughts from the past was a brilliant way to frame the story. Finally I loved that this was a love letter to the city of Sacramento and to hometowns in general (the author says that over 70% of the locations in the book are real and she was intentional in making Ama someone who never had to “get away” from home to make something of herself). Overall, not a rave review, but this one had its moments.
To modify this to closed door, skip parts of chapters 13, 16, 18, 20, and 33. Yikes!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gaslighting
supercoolfrog's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Characters were cute, the romance was perfectly paced, and I liked how the conflict was resolved. Compared to other romance books I’ve read this year, it’s definitely the best.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content