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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
Unfortunately this book ended up being more of a skim at times. I nearly DNF'd multiple times.
Although I think the plot was a great idea and I could see where the author was going, I found the main character extremely hard to connect with. She was too negative too corny and too predictable. The plot was there but I found it a bit too much at times, which is probably because I am not extremely into astrology.
I feel I may have enjoyed this one a couple of years ago when I was first getting into romance novels.
The reason I am giving this book the two stars, is because there was some funny aspects and there was a good message trying to be portrayed within this story.
It just really wasn’t my type of rom-com.
Although I think the plot was a great idea and I could see where the author was going, I found the main character extremely hard to connect with. She was too negative too corny and too predictable. The plot was there but I found it a bit too much at times, which is probably because I am not extremely into astrology.
I feel I may have enjoyed this one a couple of years ago when I was first getting into romance novels.
The reason I am giving this book the two stars, is because there was some funny aspects and there was a good message trying to be portrayed within this story.
It just really wasn’t my type of rom-com.
lighthearted
fast-paced
2.5 stars
Mara is too insufferable for me. Her indecisive and self deprecating nature is an intentional part of the story but holy hell it was annoying.
The romance was unbelievable, and Mara’s obsession with Joe never felt endearing…… just creepy.
The highs of the book were the jokey dialog with her new lido friends and that’s really what carried me through to the end. Otherwise I would’ve DNF’d
Mara is too insufferable for me. Her indecisive and self deprecating nature is an intentional part of the story but holy hell it was annoying.
The romance was unbelievable, and Mara’s obsession with Joe never felt endearing…… just creepy.
The highs of the book were the jokey dialog with her new lido friends and that’s really what carried me through to the end. Otherwise I would’ve DNF’d
This was a cute book to read. I thought it was fun and I wasn’t sure how it would end. Mara sees a fortune teller who tells her she will meet a tall man soon and that he’s the One….. then the fortune teller goes into labor and Mara stays to close the shop. Enter Joe. He is tall and Mara believes he fits the description of her One. So what does Mara do? She pretends to be the fortune teller and tells Joe he will meet his ‘the One’ in three months.
The rest of the book is Mara giving herself makeovers, trying to save her cool European pool/work, making friends, getting feelings for her hot new roommate Ash, and stalking Joe’s Instagram. She also has some ups and downs with her friend Charlie. I appreciate their relationship in the book and it was a good example of womens’ relationships and the interesting dynamics once motherhood is factored in.
It took me a week to read through this, and I wasn’t super busy. I related to the main character, Mara, a lot because of her difficulty in trusting her instincts and her indecisiveness. (I literally used to carry around a mini magic 8 ball on my keychain). Like Mara, we both obsess over daily conversations and how people think of us and her other insecurities.
I didn’t like that she basically just dropped joe at the end. Yes she has Ash, but come on. She went all the way there and still didn’t open the door and go in, and she knew he was there. I thought that was shitty of a person to do. Especially after she lied to him about his fortune. I wish there was a follow up on Joe!
Overall fun to read and I don’t regret it! Not highly up on my “OMG you have to read this book” list.
The rest of the book is Mara giving herself makeovers, trying to save her cool European pool/work, making friends, getting feelings for her hot new roommate Ash, and stalking Joe’s Instagram. She also has some ups and downs with her friend Charlie. I appreciate their relationship in the book and it was a good example of womens’ relationships and the interesting dynamics once motherhood is factored in.
It took me a week to read through this, and I wasn’t super busy. I related to the main character, Mara, a lot because of her difficulty in trusting her instincts and her indecisiveness. (I literally used to carry around a mini magic 8 ball on my keychain). Like Mara, we both obsess over daily conversations and how people think of us and her other insecurities.
I didn’t like that she basically just dropped joe at the end. Yes she has Ash, but come on. She went all the way there and still didn’t open the door and go in, and she knew he was there. I thought that was shitty of a person to do. Especially after she lied to him about his fortune. I wish there was a follow up on Joe!
Overall fun to read and I don’t regret it! Not highly up on my “OMG you have to read this book” list.
On a trip abroad to Budapest, Mara goes and gets her palm read. The reader informs Mara that she needs to change some things about her life in order to prepare to meet her dream man very imminently. Mara then poses as a fortune teller and tells a man, Joe, that he should come looking for a woman named Mara in a bar in England in August. She believes in fate and that it brought them together so they could start a relationship.
Most of Mara's friends see the huge flaw in the plan but she can’t be swayed in any other direction. There are moments where she comes across as nearly unhinged and downright stalkerish in her obsession with a man she doesn’t even know even though she thinks he is the one she will be with forever. She truly believes in fate and destiny and because of this she is crippled with being unable to make decisions and riddled with indecision at every turn.
This was a cute story overall, though Mara was a little annoying at times because she was always looking for answers anyplace but herself—though that was really the whole point of what she needed to work on!
I like that alongside the romantic relationship aspect Mara also was dealing with a long-time friendship that had changed and her relationship with her parents. Although there is the start of a resolution to those two aspects, I would have like to see little more of the resolution of those. I also liked the smaller town setting and the whole idea of community.
Most of Mara's friends see the huge flaw in the plan but she can’t be swayed in any other direction. There are moments where she comes across as nearly unhinged and downright stalkerish in her obsession with a man she doesn’t even know even though she thinks he is the one she will be with forever. She truly believes in fate and destiny and because of this she is crippled with being unable to make decisions and riddled with indecision at every turn.
This was a cute story overall, though Mara was a little annoying at times because she was always looking for answers anyplace but herself—though that was really the whole point of what she needed to work on!
I like that alongside the romantic relationship aspect Mara also was dealing with a long-time friendship that had changed and her relationship with her parents. Although there is the start of a resolution to those two aspects, I would have like to see little more of the resolution of those. I also liked the smaller town setting and the whole idea of community.
Did the main characters back and forthness drive me crazy? Yes.
Did I find her reliance on fate and astrology tedious? Yes.
Did I keep reading to find out what she chose? Yes.
Did I find her reliance on fate and astrology tedious? Yes.
Did I keep reading to find out what she chose? Yes.
4.5 rounded up to 5 stars! A great fit for fans of Alexandria Bellefleur! Mara believes in fate and astrology and doesn’t trust her own gut. This book is a great look into her journey of trusting herself and finding exactly what she didn’t know she needed. I loved seeing her grow and evolve into her true self and meet her perfect match. The characters were well rounded and leapt off the page.
Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mara is on a solo vacation visiting a fortune teller who tells her she is about to meet a man when the fortune teller goes into labor and has to leave suddenly. Mara is locking up the shop when in walks Josef. He seems to be the man the fortune teller described to Mara takes fate into her own hands, pretending to be the fortune teller and telling him he will meet the love of his life in a pub in an English town the last Friday in August. That gives her just 3 months to get her life together and be ready to meet him and she is determined to make it happen, but her handsome new roommate keeps expressing his doubts.
At first, Mara’s character was not for me. She felt like she was stalking Joe and her obsession with astrology was just not something I could connect with. I also didn’t really feel her connection with her love interest and really didn’t find myself rooting for them for the majority of the story. While the chemistry was never quite there for me the characters ultimately grew on me. I love a cinnamon role of a love interest so I was happy he ended up being such a softie in the end, and I truly loved him. And Mara, thankfully she ended up showing huge growth by the end and really got it together, becoming far more likable by the end of the story.
Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
At first, Mara’s character was not for me. She felt like she was stalking Joe and her obsession with astrology was just not something I could connect with. I also didn’t really feel her connection with her love interest and really didn’t find myself rooting for them for the majority of the story. While the chemistry was never quite there for me the characters ultimately grew on me. I love a cinnamon role of a love interest so I was happy he ended up being such a softie in the end, and I truly loved him. And Mara, thankfully she ended up showing huge growth by the end and really got it together, becoming far more likable by the end of the story.
Thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy.
The Setup by Lizzy Dent
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily
She has a plan. Fate has other ideas.
The last place very average thirty-one-year-old Mara Williams thought she'd be is on a solo vacation impersonating her fortune teller when she finally meets the one. Josef, a gorgeous Austrian cellist, sits down for a reading and before she knows it, she's telling him his destiny will be sitting in a pub in the English seaside town of Broadgate on the last Friday of August. And her name is Mara.
Enter Project Mara: three months to turn herself into the stylish, confident woman she's always hoped to be. Meanwhile, the crumbling, formerly glamorous beachside pool club where she works is under threat and her eccentric colleagues enlist her help to save it, just as a handsome new housemate casts doubts on her ideas about "the one." Can Mara pull off the transformation of a lifetime? And by summer's end, will she know who is her destiny?
This is a cute and easy read full of great characters. If you enjoyed The Summer Job then you should also enjoy this one. For me, this made for an enjoyable summer read. Very quickly you will find yourself invested in Mara's reinvention of herself.
Rating 4/5
I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Penguin and I am leaving this review voluntarily
She has a plan. Fate has other ideas.
The last place very average thirty-one-year-old Mara Williams thought she'd be is on a solo vacation impersonating her fortune teller when she finally meets the one. Josef, a gorgeous Austrian cellist, sits down for a reading and before she knows it, she's telling him his destiny will be sitting in a pub in the English seaside town of Broadgate on the last Friday of August. And her name is Mara.
Enter Project Mara: three months to turn herself into the stylish, confident woman she's always hoped to be. Meanwhile, the crumbling, formerly glamorous beachside pool club where she works is under threat and her eccentric colleagues enlist her help to save it, just as a handsome new housemate casts doubts on her ideas about "the one." Can Mara pull off the transformation of a lifetime? And by summer's end, will she know who is her destiny?
This is a cute and easy read full of great characters. If you enjoyed The Summer Job then you should also enjoy this one. For me, this made for an enjoyable summer read. Very quickly you will find yourself invested in Mara's reinvention of herself.
Rating 4/5
This was such a sweet book, I liked the plot and the characters were funny. The astrology plot line was interesting, I am someone who it intrigued by it but I don’t tend to read my horoscope often. I enjoyed Reading about Mara’s love for her star sign, also her comment at the end was so funny.
I thought Mara was a good main character, I did find her to be naïve in some situations. I think this was due to her strong believe in reading her daily horoscope and expecting it to happen exactly as it was written. I did however see good character development happen with her as we got towards the end. I could tell she became more confident and seemed to be a lot more social towards the end. I loved Ash, he was such a good character and I felt he has such a good connection with Mara as a flatmate. He understood her and was always there to help her.
The plot was going at a slow pace at the beginning, I was excited to see how this book was going to end. I didn’t end how I expected it to end and I did like how the ending of a certain situation was left up to the reader to think about. I found the ending was rushed and the events that happened towards the end all happened at the same time. I would had preferred things to be more spread out throughout the book.
I did like reading this book, I was eager to find out more about the plot and the characters. It was a sweet, fluffy romance with a flatmate/friends to lovers plot line.
I thought Mara was a good main character, I did find her to be naïve in some situations. I think this was due to her strong believe in reading her daily horoscope and expecting it to happen exactly as it was written. I did however see good character development happen with her as we got towards the end. I could tell she became more confident and seemed to be a lot more social towards the end. I loved Ash, he was such a good character and I felt he has such a good connection with Mara as a flatmate. He understood her and was always there to help her.
The plot was going at a slow pace at the beginning, I was excited to see how this book was going to end. I didn’t end how I expected it to end and I did like how the ending of a certain situation was left up to the reader to think about. I found the ending was rushed and the events that happened towards the end all happened at the same time. I would had preferred things to be more spread out throughout the book.
I did like reading this book, I was eager to find out more about the plot and the characters. It was a sweet, fluffy romance with a flatmate/friends to lovers plot line.