A review by rickireadss
Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows

5.0

ONE MILLION STARS!!!!! this book has officially added itself to my list of all-time favorites. i absolutely devoured this book, and i can't wait for jillian to write more!! okay, let's get into everything i liked.

**potential spoilers after this point**


  • the meet not-so cute! omfg i ate up their first interaction. it was just *chef's kiss* perfect, and it gave me all the best vibes. like i can see this scene in my head so well that the book could 100% be an amazing movie.

  • the grumpy x sunshine dynamic!! i love when the "grumpy" character is actually a "sun hiding behind a cloud" character and FINN ASHFORD IS THAT! that man is quite literally the sweetest, sexiest, and most loving sunshine man but he's hiding behind that little cloud of his grief and uggggh i just wanted to give him a big ole hug.
    • AND HE GOES TO THERAPY!!! we love to see healthy discussions around therapy, and i think its even more important when discussing male characters because of how toxic masculinity is such a big part of our society.

  • THE FOUND FAMILY VIBES!!!! i am an absolute sucker for found family in contemporary romances and this one delivered! i think jillian did a great job at incorporating this through 
    millie and finn's complete-opposite families. millie's family were just like a giant hug and finn's family (outside of the girls!) made me want to throat punch them across the pacific ocean, god i hated them.

  • the oaks' family group chat!! speaking of millie's amazing family, i couldn't get over their family group chat. it may be the fact that i don't have an amazing relationship with my family, but their messages had me tearing up CONSTANTLY. the way they were constantly sending encouragement to millie?!?! CRYING.

  • the care/comfort scenes!!!! omfg i am a sucker for the hurt/comfort or the love interest bringing the MC soup, meds, etc. when they're sick and FINN IS THAT MAN! it was the way he
    went out of his way to contact her dad for his recipe for the soup she mentioned ONE TIME and was on the phone with her dad to make it for her!!!!!
    ugh i am so *painfully* single it hurts.

  • finn's nieces!!! i have quickly realized i love reading romances where one of the MCs is a guardian to either their siblings or nieces/nephews, and this one hit that mark! i love single parent romances as much as the next #singleparentromancewhore, but when reading these, sometimes the way the children are written rubs me wrong because they either A) don't act like kids truly do, B) they don't act anywhere near their ages and/or C) they are just the flattest characters ever. jillian did a great job at developing avery and eloise. they acted like children AND acted their ages, they were SO DAMN LOVEABLE, and they were actually developed, individual characters.

  • the nerdiness and nerdy banter!!! i love MCs that are nerds in someway, especially if i can learn a little about a subject i am not familiar with. millie being into bugs?? BIG HIT FOR ME. i absolutely hate bugs but her passion and love for them made me want to start studying bugs, lol. just the way they would be nerdy to each other about their areas of expertise was just so hot for me..?! idk but i loved it.

  • EMAIL AND TEXT BANTER!!!! i am a girl who LOVES banter but when it is done over a form of non face-to-face communication??? I EAT IT UP. i cannot get over their emails to each other, especially the ones from before they were even like "friends". just amazing.

  • the spice?!?!!? fantastic. this was a slow burn, but boy did it burn when it needed to. finn is just so HOT - he had me blushing with the words that came out of his mouth. LIKE SIR-- SOOOOO HOT.
 

**potential spoilers over**


okay, this is officially one of the longest reviews i have ever written, but i seriously loved this book so much. i am anxiously waiting for jillian's next book, because this was ONE HELL of debut novel.

⚠️: grief, death, terminal illness, cancer, emotional abuse, gaslighting, panic attacks/disorder, stalking
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