esdeecarlson 's review for:

Not Just Gal Pals by Elizabeth Luly
3.0

[This book was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review]

2.5 stars

Sweet, but corny in a not-very-self-aware way. It’s not the best sapphic romance I’ve read, but it’s still a fun, easy read. The stakes are very low and the story is cute.

I like Jenny and Blake as our heroines. Jenny isn’t a glitzy, glamorous internet star, but a realistic influencer, struggling to establish and keep her modest following and working through an adult dyslexia diagnosis. Blake is also unglamorous, a rural doctor spending half her time helping patients apply for financial assistance. They are both absolutely awkward and adorable about it.

Blake has a niece and nephew, who are too sickly sweet for my taste, and the Hallmark-perfect fall New England backdrop is played very straight. There is a period where the characters dress up in regency garb for a party and I am a big fan of it.