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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Really great, wish there were a TINY bit more of the romance and less of the rest.
Not my favorite book by Christina Lauren but it was still pretty good.
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
This book provided such an interesting contrast between the growing of a new relationship, and watching a marriage fall apart. Carey and James work for Melissa and Rusty, two relationship and home renovation gurus, and Carey and James are responsible for making sure that the public doesn’t see how much Melissa and Rusty’s relationship is falling apart. Melissa and Rusty are preparing to go on a west coast tour for their new book, but they need Carey and James to come along to manage the possible crises that could arise. This puts Carey and James into much closer proximity than usual, which allows them to share their experiences of working for Melissa and Rusty, but also grow in their own relationship.
I usually really enjoy books from Christina Lauren, and this book is no different. However, I didn’t love how quickly the two of them seemed to fall in love. We started the book with no romantic vibes between the two of them, just with them both sharing that they have been single due to the intense commitment of this job. Then, by the mid-point of the trip, they are already getting together. This isn’t an issue I have specifically with this book, I just have this issue with the trope, overall. I really loved how Christina Lauren talks about them growing in their relationship, learning more about each other, and finally dating one another. Melissa and Rusty are a great catalyst for them to get together and talk about real issues, and I loved how funny this book ended up being!
I usually really enjoy books from Christina Lauren, and this book is no different. However, I didn’t love how quickly the two of them seemed to fall in love. We started the book with no romantic vibes between the two of them, just with them both sharing that they have been single due to the intense commitment of this job. Then, by the mid-point of the trip, they are already getting together. This isn’t an issue I have specifically with this book, I just have this issue with the trope, overall. I really loved how Christina Lauren talks about them growing in their relationship, learning more about each other, and finally dating one another. Melissa and Rusty are a great catalyst for them to get together and talk about real issues, and I loved how funny this book ended up being!
Thinking I’ve already read all of their good books and can stop now.
Good but not the best Christina Lauren and the ending was way too rushed.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Overall I really enjoyed this book. My main reasons for giving it four instead of five stars are the book excerpts, I felt like they were boring and unnecessary. I assume the point was to help with the persona of the Tripps marriage but it was again, unnecessary. The “I love you”s at the end were an issue for me as well. While I don’t expect these books to be realistic at all it’s just unbelievable that they are saying I love you when all they know are surface level things about the other for the most part. I think it would have been more realistic and more effective if he would have said “I’m falling for you”.
All in all I found this to be another fun CL book and I anxiously anticipate their next book.
All in all I found this to be another fun CL book and I anxiously anticipate their next book.
“𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚋𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞.”
Wowzers. I did not like Melissa at all in this book. JAMES MCCANN. I love that man. Obviously he made some mistakes, but god was he perfect. I hated Melly. Rusty was okay. I’m not happy that he didn’t get a divorce though. Melly didn’t deserve much after everything she did to Carey. I wish Carey wouldn’t have pulled her temper tantrum that she did and ghost James. Sometimes main characters are dumb. I’m glad they got back together though. The ending of this book was cute. I kinda hoped we could have had less about Rusty and Melly and more about Carey and James. All in all, this wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t terrible.
Wowzers. I did not like Melissa at all in this book. JAMES MCCANN. I love that man. Obviously he made some mistakes, but god was he perfect. I hated Melly. Rusty was okay. I’m not happy that he didn’t get a divorce though. Melly didn’t deserve much after everything she did to Carey. I wish Carey wouldn’t have pulled her temper tantrum that she did and ghost James. Sometimes main characters are dumb. I’m glad they got back together though. The ending of this book was cute. I kinda hoped we could have had less about Rusty and Melly and more about Carey and James. All in all, this wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t terrible.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This reminded specifically of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year in its use of excerpts of police interviews that hint at what the end of the book will lead up to. That and the forced proximity of characters. But overall, this felt a bit too mundane. The main conflict and the levels of communication each character had were good, realistic, and ultimately a little boring. Very little happened in terms of action and instigation, but I admit this was 100% a romance novel so it wasn't meant to be especially deep. Overall, I didn't have anything against the characters, but I didn't find myself deeply attached to them. It wasn't bad.
I like when the chapters keep switching between timelines until they eventually match up, and the mystery of it was interesting enough, but I just wasn't super interested in this story or the characters as a whole. The ending just fell kind of flat and I didn't really care about the whiney FMC, which is disappointing because I typically LOVE Christina Lauren books. They're usually easy, happy winners for me every time.