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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
I have loved every book that Julie has written and it seemed like a natural for her to write this book. She is wonderful at making us care about the characters and feel their emotions, I didn’t want the story to end. I want to know what happened next , maybe continue but have Cecily be the main character ….
I look forward to reading all Julie’s future novels and highly recommend to all my book loving friends.
I requested and received an advance reader’s copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
I look forward to reading all Julie’s future novels and highly recommend to all my book loving friends.
I requested and received an advance reader’s copy from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own and in no way have been influenced.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
My arc copy had 261 pages. This books made me laugh, learn a few things, it was a nice quick ok read.
This was a fun romance that included bookshops, letter writing and learning to put yourself first.
Emma decides to take a break from like and find herself. This is a romance that was easy and quick read and it is Emma's way of finding herself and finding happiness again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This was a fun romance that included bookshops, letter writing and learning to put yourself first.
Emma decides to take a break from like and find herself. This is a romance that was easy and quick read and it is Emma's way of finding herself and finding happiness again.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Emma is tired. Tired of feeling left out of her family, tired of not connecting with her sister and tired of working at her parents bookstore so they can retire and not getting to have any time off from it all.
So she rents a place for 6 weeks to become like her hero, Emily Dickinson. She has a plan and the last thing she wants to do is fall in love, she's given up on that.... But will Davis (as infuriating as he is) change her mind?
I was mad at Davis for the underhanded thing he did to Emma. He should have told her the truth... When he didn't, he felt like his dad to me. But stuff got better with him and I liked the friendship that developed. The letter writing class sounded like fun, no one writes letters anymore. I liked the small mystery of the bouquets of flowers and the "Forever Yours" letters (though that one was not quite a mystery to me).
So she rents a place for 6 weeks to become like her hero, Emily Dickinson. She has a plan and the last thing she wants to do is fall in love, she's given up on that.... But will Davis (as infuriating as he is) change her mind?
I was mad at Davis for the underhanded thing he did to Emma. He should have told her the truth... When he didn't, he felt like his dad to me. But stuff got better with him and I liked the friendship that developed. The letter writing class sounded like fun, no one writes letters anymore. I liked the small mystery of the bouquets of flowers and the "Forever Yours" letters (though that one was not quite a mystery to me).
I devoured Not Quite By the Book in a 24-hour span! A delightful story about family and self-discovery with a backdrop of romance. I appreciated that the first 60% of the book focused on Emma’s journey to re-discover herself. The highs and lows of her quest to live the life of Emily Dickinson, complete with gardening, letter writing, and making Victorian-era foods were both cozy and comical. The writing also painted a beautiful portrait of an idyllic autumn in Amherst that made me extra excited for fall. This book is quite reminiscent of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers and will especially hit home for overachieving eldest daughters with people-pleaser tendencies who love classic romantic gestures (flowers, letter writing, and just overall SEEING a person). I will be recommending this to friends! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. #NotQuitebytheBook #NetGalley
slow-paced
Not quite by the book: Julie hatcher
This was a super cute and cozy bookish romance perfect for lovers of classical romance.
I loved that Emma was such an old soul, wanting to find herself by living like Emily Dickinson for 6 weeks for a break from reality. Not expecting to find love, with only the goal of finding herself.
You could feel the relationships and bonds of friendship formed between the character’s as Emma was on her journey, which left me wanting to know about every single person. The entire book had such an adorable small town feel & was such a cute read!
Thanks to NetGalley, lake union & Julie Hatcher for providing me with an ARC of this book!
This was a super cute and cozy bookish romance perfect for lovers of classical romance.
I loved that Emma was such an old soul, wanting to find herself by living like Emily Dickinson for 6 weeks for a break from reality. Not expecting to find love, with only the goal of finding herself.
You could feel the relationships and bonds of friendship formed between the character’s as Emma was on her journey, which left me wanting to know about every single person. The entire book had such an adorable small town feel & was such a cute read!
Thanks to NetGalley, lake union & Julie Hatcher for providing me with an ARC of this book!
Unfortunately, Not Quite by the Book was Not Quite a good Book.
I love a coming-of-age for women in their thirties. I love the premise of her taking a much-needed vacation and experiencing growth both personally and romantically. The relation to Emily Dickinson, the discussion of her as both a woman to admire but not to emulate, was wonderful and a great exploration of the modern views of classics. The letter-writing classes added some flair, especially in how Emma bonds with others in her class and in her small town. Emma's best friend was a riot too, and I hope she gets her own story with the reality TV show.
Maybe other people find Emma to be an enjoyable character, but there was a lot I couldn't get past. She was repetitive in her problems, incompetent, and self-absorbed. Maybe she was supposed to be an unlikable character that grows on you as she comes of age, but that didn't come across to me.
Side note: in my ARC copy, the author switched back and forth between saying Emma would be on vacation for 30 days and 6 weeks. Yikes. It also read like the author has never been to Massachusetts. She talks about how terrible things are for independent bookstore owners in Mass, but there is a thriving community of indie bookstores that are continuing to grow.
If you can get past these things, then you'll love this book. But it wasn't quite for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I love a coming-of-age for women in their thirties. I love the premise of her taking a much-needed vacation and experiencing growth both personally and romantically. The relation to Emily Dickinson, the discussion of her as both a woman to admire but not to emulate, was wonderful and a great exploration of the modern views of classics. The letter-writing classes added some flair, especially in how Emma bonds with others in her class and in her small town. Emma's best friend was a riot too, and I hope she gets her own story with the reality TV show.
Maybe other people find Emma to be an enjoyable character, but there was a lot I couldn't get past. She was repetitive in her problems, incompetent, and self-absorbed. Maybe she was supposed to be an unlikable character that grows on you as she comes of age, but that didn't come across to me.
Side note: in my ARC copy, the author switched back and forth between saying Emma would be on vacation for 30 days and 6 weeks. Yikes. It also read like the author has never been to Massachusetts. She talks about how terrible things are for independent bookstore owners in Mass, but there is a thriving community of indie bookstores that are continuing to grow.
If you can get past these things, then you'll love this book. But it wasn't quite for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book, this is my objective review. This was a quick read that drags a bit in the middle but ends with a satisfying resolution. Our fmc is Emma, who runs her parents' family bookstore. She is over-worked and under-appreciated by her family, and she's dissatisfied with her love life. She spontaneously takes a long-overdue vacation to live like Emily Dickinson for six weeks, before settling down to take over for her parents when they retire. Overall, I enjoyed the main message of this book of getting to know one's self before you can move forward with your life. Emma's frustration with not being heard by her family resonated with me, and I found myself becoming frustrated with their attitude towards her when she tried to communicate her needs to them (and them labeling her as overly dramatic when she tried to do so, and accusing her of not asking for help). Although she persevered and ultimately felt more assertive with telling them how unhappy she was, the collective family attitude really bugged me. I will say that the author effectively communicated just how unhappy and frustrated Emma was with how her life was currently playing out. I think I was just kind of aggravated with the poor overall communication between characters in this book, as it also echoed in her blossoming relationship with Davis (although the communication problems were more from him keeping things from Emma rather than vice versa). Davis felt a little under-developed as a character, but considering the book was primarily focused on Emma's journey of self-growth and breaking out of old patterns, it feels appropriate. The romance was nice but very slow burn. Overall I enjoyed reading this earnest love letter to books, reading, and Emily Dickinson. Publishes 3-1-25.
Emma takes care of everyone- except herself. After taking over the family business because everyone else seemed to just let her do it all, she realized her life was passing her by. Her sister happily married with a baby on the way, her parents sliding into retirement, Emma decides to do something completely for herself, to find herself and change her life with her favorite writer, Emily Dickinson, in mind. She has a list she’s determined to complete, sure it will give her the life she wants.
This is set in a lovely New England town, a cozy manor, autumn, baking, tea, hot cocoa and sweaters. Emma experiments with writing poetry, baking, embroidery and gardening. She didn’t, however, count on the handsome handyman who shows up whenever the old manor leaves her with no heat, no power or no electricity.
This book is very sweet and brought me to tears a few times. To me, it was less about loving someone else and more really about loving yourself.
Note to spicy readers, although this is technically romance there is no spice. I give it a:
This is set in a lovely New England town, a cozy manor, autumn, baking, tea, hot cocoa and sweaters. Emma experiments with writing poetry, baking, embroidery and gardening. She didn’t, however, count on the handsome handyman who shows up whenever the old manor leaves her with no heat, no power or no electricity.
This book is very sweet and brought me to tears a few times. To me, it was less about loving someone else and more really about loving yourself.
Note to spicy readers, although this is technically romance there is no spice. I give it a:
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an early ebook release - my review is my own.
I tore through this book. I didn't want to put it down once I had picked it up and managed to read it in one sitting. It was adorable, chaotic, heartbreaking and lovely.
Emma is 32yo, overworked, stressed out, and barely managing to keep up with the demands of running her parents bookshop. Her parents and little sister have all slowly abandoned her to manage on her own - because she does 'such a great job'.
She has been left out more and more as her younger sister got married and is pregnant with the first grandchild. When her parents announce their retirement and that she alone will inherit the store - whether she wanted to or not - Emma freaks out a bit. When she sees an opportunity to get away for a little while - she takes it - by renting a small little house owned by her online Bookstore friend, an hour away in her college city - the same city as her beloved Emily Dickinson. She hatches a plan to embody the lifestyle of Emily Dickinson in order to figure out her own life.
This is a story of self discovery.- finding out what you love and what you need - and how to remember to communicate with your family and friends when things get hard (Even though there is a SEVERE lack of communication due to people intentionally keeping stupid secrets).
There is a little bit of romance thrown in - but it definitely takes a backseat to the story of self love, and familial relationships.
I had a few minor issues with consistency on times (was it six week, or 30 days?!?!?! Make up your mind), as well as a mystery that was not really a mystery - if they had paid any sort of attention.
Slight spoiler:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
I think my favorite part of this is that as she goes along and realizes the differences between her personality and Emily Dickinson's - She doesn't hold too firmly to the idea of BECOMING JUST like her. She soon realizes what fits and what doesn't without excessive resistance.
I tore through this book. I didn't want to put it down once I had picked it up and managed to read it in one sitting. It was adorable, chaotic, heartbreaking and lovely.
Emma is 32yo, overworked, stressed out, and barely managing to keep up with the demands of running her parents bookshop. Her parents and little sister have all slowly abandoned her to manage on her own - because she does 'such a great job'.
She has been left out more and more as her younger sister got married and is pregnant with the first grandchild. When her parents announce their retirement and that she alone will inherit the store - whether she wanted to or not - Emma freaks out a bit. When she sees an opportunity to get away for a little while - she takes it - by renting a small little house owned by her online Bookstore friend, an hour away in her college city - the same city as her beloved Emily Dickinson. She hatches a plan to embody the lifestyle of Emily Dickinson in order to figure out her own life.
This is a story of self discovery.- finding out what you love and what you need - and how to remember to communicate with your family and friends when things get hard (Even though there is a SEVERE lack of communication due to people intentionally keeping stupid secrets).
There is a little bit of romance thrown in - but it definitely takes a backseat to the story of self love, and familial relationships.
I had a few minor issues with consistency on times (was it six week, or 30 days?!?!?! Make up your mind), as well as a mystery that was not really a mystery - if they had paid any sort of attention.
Slight spoiler:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
I think my favorite part of this is that as she goes along and realizes the differences between her personality and Emily Dickinson's - She doesn't hold too firmly to the idea of BECOMING JUST like her. She soon realizes what fits and what doesn't without excessive resistance.