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A review by thephdivabooks
Accidentally in Love by Danielle Jackson
3.0
I loved the setting in Chicago and I thought it was fun that this was about two people who are in the same broader friend group as the duo from the first book in this series. This can definitely work as a standalone since each is its own story.
Sam is kind of an interesting and unique character for a romance novel, since she doesn’t fit the typical mold for a heroine of this type of book. She was recently diagnosed with Grave’s disease, which is an autoimmune condition that effects the thyroid and ultimately led to her having it removed.
This condition has left Sam scarred and heavier than before, and she’s still adjusting to her new, plus-sized body that looks different from how she saw herself before. Particularly as a former Burlesque dancer, where her body was part of her career. I thought it was interesting to see a leading lady going through these sorts of struggles that many women face with their bodies and particularly this very challenging disease.
Sam is completely burnt out and running on fumes between her health struggles and trying to grow her business. She continues to run into Russ while working the street festival circuit. Russ has been pretty adrift—couch-surfing through life and working odd jobs around the country before settling back in Chicago and getting a job at a hot local restaurant. Russ is definitely on a journey of seeking stability in life.
The friend group was fun to revisit from the previous book. I liked Sam’s story and seeing those aspects of diversity represented in this genre. I also thought Russ and his brother Reid had a nice growth arc in their narrative.
The romance itself was fairly average as far as these books go. I wanted to see a bit more depth because the set up would have leant to it, particularly with both Sam and Russ being at such pivotal points in their lives and really going through transition periods. This made them attracted to a no-strings-attached fling scenario, but I think more could have been done to really explore the tension both as individuals and as a duo. In general their love story was more mild than I expected it to be.
That all said this is definitely worth a read. I appreciate what Danielle Jackson has done to push the diversity boundaries in romance. I would actually love for a character like Sam to get a more swoon-worthy story because she is so different from the typical lead in romance books.
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.
Sam is kind of an interesting and unique character for a romance novel, since she doesn’t fit the typical mold for a heroine of this type of book. She was recently diagnosed with Grave’s disease, which is an autoimmune condition that effects the thyroid and ultimately led to her having it removed.
This condition has left Sam scarred and heavier than before, and she’s still adjusting to her new, plus-sized body that looks different from how she saw herself before. Particularly as a former Burlesque dancer, where her body was part of her career. I thought it was interesting to see a leading lady going through these sorts of struggles that many women face with their bodies and particularly this very challenging disease.
Sam is completely burnt out and running on fumes between her health struggles and trying to grow her business. She continues to run into Russ while working the street festival circuit. Russ has been pretty adrift—couch-surfing through life and working odd jobs around the country before settling back in Chicago and getting a job at a hot local restaurant. Russ is definitely on a journey of seeking stability in life.
The friend group was fun to revisit from the previous book. I liked Sam’s story and seeing those aspects of diversity represented in this genre. I also thought Russ and his brother Reid had a nice growth arc in their narrative.
The romance itself was fairly average as far as these books go. I wanted to see a bit more depth because the set up would have leant to it, particularly with both Sam and Russ being at such pivotal points in their lives and really going through transition periods. This made them attracted to a no-strings-attached fling scenario, but I think more could have been done to really explore the tension both as individuals and as a duo. In general their love story was more mild than I expected it to be.
That all said this is definitely worth a read. I appreciate what Danielle Jackson has done to push the diversity boundaries in romance. I would actually love for a character like Sam to get a more swoon-worthy story because she is so different from the typical lead in romance books.
Thank you to Berkley for my copy. Opinions are my own.