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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
funny
lighthearted
medium-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:
Yes
When I saw that Lucy Vine had a new book out this year, I know that I was going to get excited over it after loving Date with Destiny I knew that one was going to be even more up my street; this one is a funny, heartwarming read that is full of some relatable characters.
We start with a narrator introducing us to Jemma, who is on a flight and soon to know the name of her “Book Boyfriend”. We are thrown back into the past to fill in all the elements to the back story, and what’s led her to this point. This is told in three part’s, alternating perspectives between Clara and Jemma, who are fraternal twins that don’t really get along. After living separate lived for several years, they are thrust back together, and their relationship is tumultuous and comical. Sisterly bickering, opposites with different views and both with strong opinions.
Clara is a force of nature – big, loud and proud, Jemma is quieter and seemingly measured so they clash. A lot. Jemma is exchanging notes with a mystery man via a library book – her “book boyfriend” whilst Clara has decided that a hot TV actor only needs to meet her, and he’ll fall madly in love with her.
I liked the way that each part of the novel surrounds a different significant and pivotal point in the story. The way Lucy Vine builds through these and then takes a turn is fascinating with her unique writing style the characters all feel so vividly real, and I always feel so immersed in the story. Parts of the book were laugh out loud funny.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A romantic novel about twins Clara and Jemma and their quest for romance with fictional men, Jemma fictional men in books and Clara's parasocial relationship with a TV star. I really enjoyed the pace and complexity of this novel with all the different book references and sort of exaggerated TV show interactions. Clara and Jemma's very different personalities clashes at every turn but it made for such a lovely sibling relationship in the end. I could have seen the mysterious letter writer to be Milo but I enjoyed the dectective mystery it felt throughout the novel. Clara and Harry's romance was super sweet and I enjoyed the friends to lovers arch, Clara deserves a sweet and kind man. A really sweet romcom with a fun sibling/twin relationship and a few cringe gen Z slang.
I was sent an arc of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The premise of this book - sending letters to a stranger in the pages of a library book captured my attention, and the idea of the story following two very different twin sisters and their romantic entanglements sounded great.
Unfortunately however, I really did not gel with this book.
The book begins with an omniscient narrator of who we are not given the identity of until the very end of the book. It then follows the POV of each of the twin sisters. One sister, Jemma is a bookish, reserved character and the other, Carla is an eccentric, over-the-top loud character. Perfect opposites. I absolutely could not stand the chapters in Carla’s POV. They were too immature and the comedic moments which should have been lighthearted and fluffy were just so over the top that I got completely turned off, her character was just so unlikeable.
The focus of this story is on the relationship between the twin sisters rather than the romantic relationships of each twin, which would have been fine, I’m not mad that the focus wasn’t solely on the romantic relationships because this usually adds extra depth to the characters and introduces discussion and thought about familial relationships, and how we can perceive ourselves to be the inferior person in a situation when in reality everyone feels at least a little bit like that.
The premise of the book about the letters sent through the library book was completely overshadowed by the drama and outlandish behaviour of not only Carla but sometimes the other characters too, and whilst I’ve seen others say they laughed out loud, I just found this to be cringy.
I won’t continue to say what didn’t work for me as I don’t believe in completely bashing a book when its probably a case of it just not being the book for me. This was my first book by Lucy Vine and perhaps will be my last.
If you want a lighthearted, almost slapstick comedy with an abundance of modern references to celebrities and current social media trends then I am sure you will have a more pleasurable time with this book and rate it much higher than I have.
The premise of this book - sending letters to a stranger in the pages of a library book captured my attention, and the idea of the story following two very different twin sisters and their romantic entanglements sounded great.
Unfortunately however, I really did not gel with this book.
The book begins with an omniscient narrator of who we are not given the identity of until the very end of the book. It then follows the POV of each of the twin sisters. One sister, Jemma is a bookish, reserved character and the other, Carla is an eccentric, over-the-top loud character. Perfect opposites. I absolutely could not stand the chapters in Carla’s POV. They were too immature and the comedic moments which should have been lighthearted and fluffy were just so over the top that I got completely turned off, her character was just so unlikeable.
The focus of this story is on the relationship between the twin sisters rather than the romantic relationships of each twin, which would have been fine, I’m not mad that the focus wasn’t solely on the romantic relationships because this usually adds extra depth to the characters and introduces discussion and thought about familial relationships, and how we can perceive ourselves to be the inferior person in a situation when in reality everyone feels at least a little bit like that.
The premise of the book about the letters sent through the library book was completely overshadowed by the drama and outlandish behaviour of not only Carla but sometimes the other characters too, and whilst I’ve seen others say they laughed out loud, I just found this to be cringy.
I won’t continue to say what didn’t work for me as I don’t believe in completely bashing a book when its probably a case of it just not being the book for me. This was my first book by Lucy Vine and perhaps will be my last.
If you want a lighthearted, almost slapstick comedy with an abundance of modern references to celebrities and current social media trends then I am sure you will have a more pleasurable time with this book and rate it much higher than I have.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I dove in without having a clue what the story was about.
It read like a British 90s comedy, like AbFab or Ally McBeal.
Did not care for Clara's character at the beginning but she came around eventually.
Absolutely LOVED the pivot joke,
as well as the emails from Clara as 'publicist for a day' to Katys, plural, where you can hear the enthousiasm become less and less with each mail. Hilarious.
I figured out the plot pretty soon, as well as both love interests, but the whole storybuilding was very entertaining.
4,5 stars! Would definitely recommend listening to the audiobook!
It read like a British 90s comedy, like AbFab or Ally McBeal.
Did not care for Clara's character at the beginning but she came around eventually.
Absolutely LOVED the pivot joke,
as well as the emails from Clara as 'publicist for a day' to Katys, plural, where you can hear the enthousiasm become less and less with each mail. Hilarious.
I figured out the plot pretty soon, as well as both love interests, but the whole storybuilding was very entertaining.
4,5 stars! Would definitely recommend listening to the audiobook!
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced