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A review by wolfiereads
The Layover by Lacie Waldon
5.0
There's so much I want to say about this, but I think I can sum it up in one sentence: I've found my new favorite book!
I love stories about traveling, airports/planes specifically, so naturally I gravitated towards this. I read a lot of romance and every so often, a gem will pop up and leave me stunned. I was blown away by this book. It ticks all the boxes for me - fresh, smooth writing with perfect pacing and chapter breaks, well-rounded/fully fleshed out characters, believable emotional conflict, and an original, intriguing story that feels character-driven and not plot-driven. Also, it's hilarious. Rom-coms tend to reach too far for their humor and it makes me cringe, but this has a great subtle humor weaved in that had me cracking up.
If you're keen on a lot of steam or physical interaction between the two leads in your romance books, you might be disappointed over the lack of them here, but this story fares so well without it. I was so invested in Ava's story that I was far more interested in her character development than any naughty time between her and Jack. The author did such an excellent job at crafting characters that feel like real people with flaws and that's what kept me reading - this book felt so genuine and not far-fetched, it felt like one of those "you're not gonna believe what happened to me last weekend" kind of stories from your friends. I love a healthy dose of realism in my books and if you do too, you're gonna love this one.
Very rarely do I read epilogues because, strangely, most end up ruining the story for me, but curiosity got the better of me and it ended up being the icing on the cake. Without spoiling it too much, two supporting characters get their happy ending in the sweetest way, and it's the perfect end to an amazing book.
If you're a fan of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Beach Read by Emily Henry, you're gonna wanna check this out. It feels like newer titles get those comparisons and don't live up to those high standards in my opinion, but this deserves it. This book feels like it's gonna be a big hit when it's released. Seriously, all the props to Lacie Waldon - you've written an incredible book! I'm already itching to re-read it and am gonna pre-order a copy now!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!
I love stories about traveling, airports/planes specifically, so naturally I gravitated towards this. I read a lot of romance and every so often, a gem will pop up and leave me stunned. I was blown away by this book. It ticks all the boxes for me - fresh, smooth writing with perfect pacing and chapter breaks, well-rounded/fully fleshed out characters, believable emotional conflict, and an original, intriguing story that feels character-driven and not plot-driven. Also, it's hilarious. Rom-coms tend to reach too far for their humor and it makes me cringe, but this has a great subtle humor weaved in that had me cracking up.
If you're keen on a lot of steam or physical interaction between the two leads in your romance books, you might be disappointed over the lack of them here, but this story fares so well without it. I was so invested in Ava's story that I was far more interested in her character development than any naughty time between her and Jack. The author did such an excellent job at crafting characters that feel like real people with flaws and that's what kept me reading - this book felt so genuine and not far-fetched, it felt like one of those "you're not gonna believe what happened to me last weekend" kind of stories from your friends. I love a healthy dose of realism in my books and if you do too, you're gonna love this one.
Very rarely do I read epilogues because, strangely, most end up ruining the story for me, but curiosity got the better of me and it ended up being the icing on the cake. Without spoiling it too much, two supporting characters get their happy ending in the sweetest way, and it's the perfect end to an amazing book.
If you're a fan of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Beach Read by Emily Henry, you're gonna wanna check this out. It feels like newer titles get those comparisons and don't live up to those high standards in my opinion, but this deserves it. This book feels like it's gonna be a big hit when it's released. Seriously, all the props to Lacie Waldon - you've written an incredible book! I'm already itching to re-read it and am gonna pre-order a copy now!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!