Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet.
The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.
But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.
To write a review of this without spoilers is almost impossible (pun intended)…. But let me try
I liked it overall. It took a very surprising turn that totally flipped what I thought it would look like – which was nice. The writing was good and I liked the email elements. There was a bit much swearing and other throw away attitudes that I didn’t appreciate, which contributed to at least one star down in my rating. I liked the characters and their “impossible” love story was quite interesting. The ending… I am on the fence as to how I feel about it but will say it punched me in the stomach, but by the final line, I was almost okay with it… almost. (I listened to the audiobook and loved the two voices for the two characters).
I didn’t care that this book was somewhat predictable, because I had so much fun reading it. The characters had great chemistry, they were flawed but willing to do something when they had a chance, and there was all the drama! I love books about readers and writers, so this was IT for me. Editors meeting in the margins over the course of a month and working on a book? Yes! There was a lot of really funny but genuine moments, and the BANTER was just so great. Melissa wrote this book with a great flow and it was easy to speed through and stay up way too late just to finish it!
Loved this one – it was funny, entertaining, and somehow made you forget the Groundhog Day trope being so overdone. I didn’t mind one bit, and instead got to thoroughly enjoy myself as we followed Em throughout. Funny, entertaining and relatable. I thought some of it became predictable and I could see the direction, but I enjoyed it in spite of that. The characters had a natural feeling progression and sometimes surprised you. This one was beautifully executed and I loved listening to the audiobook!
I must admit, this book surprised me. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but the characters were fun, the story quite good and even though it was a trifle similar to many other books written in the time period, I think it stood its ground. I didn’t enjoy some POV head hopping, and I would have liked an extended ending, but otherwise it was most enjoyable.
I have decided – at the last minute possible – to read romance books in the lead up to Valentines day! I probably should have been a little more on top of my life, but honestly I always forget that V Day is a thing… so yeah, here we are.
I will hopefully be able to share the final thoughts I had on these books with you on Feb 14th, but for now here is the list of what I am hoping to read over the next ten or so days!
The Do-Over (Lynn Painter)
Okay, full disclosure this book is the reason for this last minute, panic induced attempt at reading romance books for V Day. When I’m writing this post, I have actually listened to more than half of this book on audio book so I will succeed at reading at least ONE of my book goals before the 14th – yay!
This book is groundhog day meets Valentines day – a high school student has the perfect day planned and ready to go, but everything (and I mean everything) goes wrong. When she wakes up and finds herself living the same day over again, but nobody else realises she tries to right the wrongs. It gets old quick, and she wants the day to finally click over to the 15th so she can keep living her life.
Meet Me In The Margins (Melissa Ferguson)
A writer is working on her manuscript, but leaves it behind after a meeting. When she comes back to get it, she sees that somebody has read it without permission, and left their own notes in the margins for her on how to change it and make it better. They go back and forth and fall in love during the process – though our main character has no idea who this person really is.
This one has been on my list for a while now! It was really talked about over the past little while, but as always I’m late to the party (not that unusual for me in real life too). I love books about readers and writers, but I feel like that’s pretty common for readers and writers… anyway I can’t wait to finally get to this one!
Better Than The Movies (Lynn Painter)
Liz has RomCom ideas about love, and when her boyhood crush moves back into town, and hits it off with her annoying neighbour Wes, she asks him for help. As she and Wes try to make the romance happen, Liz is going to find out that maybe Wes isn’t as annoying as he seems…
ANOTHER Lynn Painter book you ask? Yes, yes it is. I actually bought this book first, but found the audiobook of The Do-Over so it ended up being first on the list. I can’t wait to read this, it’s honestly been raved about so much and sounds like just what I want for Feb. Plus, solid RomCom movie vibes is exactly where it should be at!
Miss Invisible (Laura Jensen Walker)
Freddie is a wedding cake baker who is plus size and looking for love. When a cute Vet shows interest in her, she begins to figure out who she really is, and how love really looks.
I’m excited for this one! Though I don’t believe in glorifying being overweight and unhealthy, it will be interesting to see how this love story will unfold. I have been smaller, bigger and now hit somewhere in the middle so it was interesting to see what this kind of dynamic would look like.
Super Fake Love Song (David Yoon)
Sunny accidentally lets his crush believe that he is in a band.. and when the lies spiral out of control, he forms a “fake” band and continues the charade. When he then has to keep it up or let the lies get away from him – then the girl and the school will see that maybe he isn’t as cool as he seems.
This sounded funny, light hearted and just the kind of book that should be easy to speed through. I love music, and teen romances, so this will be a blast! I read the first chapter when I first looked into the book and already could tell it will be a fun and witty ride… so I can’t wait.
All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes (Betsy St. Amant)
Kat is a cupcake baker (another one!) who is stalled with her life. When her best friend Lucas signs her up for a reality baking show, her dreams are now looking like they are possible. As Lucas sees her slipping away and into potential jobs in New York, he regrets potentially driving the person he loves away.
There’s something about a baking romance that just seems to speak to so many… and when you combine the reality TV bake off element to it, it’s a recipe (see what I did there…?) for a good story. Can’t wait to bite into this sugary story.
Okay, hands up to all those who think this goal is possible in less than ten days while also working a job, dealing with family and friends, and trying to write and live my life??? Because I’m thinking half of these will remain sitting on my shelf with the spine uncracked. BUT you just never know, so let’s get reading!
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