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loulou88 's review for:
Bookish with Benefits
by Alia Smith
Lara Yates doesn’t believe in fairy-tale endings—she edits romance novels for a living but thinks love stories are better left on the page. She is sharp, skeptical, and is totally over ‘HEA’.
Rory Keane, a bestselling romance author who’s suddenly hit writers block. With a deadline approaching and his story falling apart, he needs someone to help him get back on track—and Lara’s the best in the business.
Their arrangement? She’ll help fix his book, and he’ll help her loosen up and have a little fun. No feelings, no mess, just late-night edits with a sprinkle of chemistry.
But as they work together, fiction starts feeling a lot like reality. Could this be more than just another story?
Bookish with Benefits was adorable, charming, and totally Hallmark.
It’s a friends-with-benefits, forced-proximity romance with a dry sense of humour and a sweet emotional undercurrent.
As soon as I started reading I imagined How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Hating Game with a little Book Lovers thrown in.
Lara is the grumpy, no-nonsense editor and Rory is the cocky, sunshiney author, who are both stuck together in a mutual arrangement: she keeps his book on track, he gets her to loosen up. Classic. I do enjoy a good grumpy/sunshine trope, and this is that but flipped – this time it’s the heroine who’s emotionally closed off, while the hero is the golden retriever energy we all love.
The banter between Lara and Rory is sharp and full of dry wit; it did have me smirking. Their chemistry is palpable, and their relationship has teasing, tension, with the occasional and surprisingly tender moment. However, the execution of this didn’t always match the promise. The flashbacks skimmed over key emotional backstory, especially for Lara, which made certain character choices and the big emotional declarations feel a bit rushed or out of the blue.
One minute we’re in full rom-com flow, and the next… it’s over. I get the Hallmark-esque vibe it was going for, but it could’ve used a bit more breathing room before wrapping up, to really land the emotional payoff.
As for the romance itself—it’s not spicy, but it’s not closed door either. There's tension and buildup, but when things finally happen, they happen fast. One minute they're talking the next they're a tangle of limbs. – I think at one point I had to double back because I genuinely thought I missed something. That said, the story leans more into emotional development than the physical intimacy, which worked well for the characters' arcs—though some of Lara’s emotional back-and-forth started to wear a little thin after a while.
Overall, Bookish with Benefits is a cute, cosy rom-com with snappy dialogue, some great side characters, and a fresh take on the sunshine/grump dynamic. It didn’t quite sweep me off my feet, and I found myself wishing for a little more depth and a smoother landing. But it definitely made me smile—and sometimes, that’s enough.
Thank you to Alia Smith for the opportunity to read and review Bookish With Benefits - all opinions are my own.
Rory Keane, a bestselling romance author who’s suddenly hit writers block. With a deadline approaching and his story falling apart, he needs someone to help him get back on track—and Lara’s the best in the business.
Their arrangement? She’ll help fix his book, and he’ll help her loosen up and have a little fun. No feelings, no mess, just late-night edits with a sprinkle of chemistry.
But as they work together, fiction starts feeling a lot like reality. Could this be more than just another story?
Bookish with Benefits was adorable, charming, and totally Hallmark.
It’s a friends-with-benefits, forced-proximity romance with a dry sense of humour and a sweet emotional undercurrent.
As soon as I started reading I imagined How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Hating Game with a little Book Lovers thrown in.
Lara is the grumpy, no-nonsense editor and Rory is the cocky, sunshiney author, who are both stuck together in a mutual arrangement: she keeps his book on track, he gets her to loosen up. Classic. I do enjoy a good grumpy/sunshine trope, and this is that but flipped – this time it’s the heroine who’s emotionally closed off, while the hero is the golden retriever energy we all love.
The banter between Lara and Rory is sharp and full of dry wit; it did have me smirking. Their chemistry is palpable, and their relationship has teasing, tension, with the occasional and surprisingly tender moment. However, the execution of this didn’t always match the promise. The flashbacks skimmed over key emotional backstory, especially for Lara, which made certain character choices and the big emotional declarations feel a bit rushed or out of the blue.
One minute we’re in full rom-com flow, and the next… it’s over. I get the Hallmark-esque vibe it was going for, but it could’ve used a bit more breathing room before wrapping up, to really land the emotional payoff.
As for the romance itself—it’s not spicy, but it’s not closed door either. There's tension and buildup, but when things finally happen, they happen fast. One minute they're talking the next they're a tangle of limbs. – I think at one point I had to double back because I genuinely thought I missed something. That said, the story leans more into emotional development than the physical intimacy, which worked well for the characters' arcs—though some of Lara’s emotional back-and-forth started to wear a little thin after a while.
Overall, Bookish with Benefits is a cute, cosy rom-com with snappy dialogue, some great side characters, and a fresh take on the sunshine/grump dynamic. It didn’t quite sweep me off my feet, and I found myself wishing for a little more depth and a smoother landing. But it definitely made me smile—and sometimes, that’s enough.
Thank you to Alia Smith for the opportunity to read and review Bookish With Benefits - all opinions are my own.