User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
I’m smiling! My cheeks , my chin, my entire face hurts! The laugh lines at my cheeks look scarier, reminding me of deep lines belongs to something between Nicholson’s Joker blends with Phoenix’s Joker! But I don’t care! I’m feeling so good!
I love reading thrillers to bend my nerves and I love reading feel good romcoms to heal those poor nerves after the destruction those thrillers have made!
And this book is definitely the best cure to calm my nerves, making me sing aloud and rehearse my dance moves ( at COVID days I invented crouching tiger meets twerking panda dance: I plan to show it on a YouTube video but my husband insists the world is not ready for this kind of eye bleeding experience ) ! It’s freaking awesome!
I’m proudly rounding my 4.5 stars to 5!
Lovable MCs, more lovable, quirkier but also smarter neighbors made me sing “ A beautiful day in neighborhood” and wear my read sweater.
This sweet, so heartwarming book tells about no matter what family we come from we can choose our own people to love and make them our own family by sharing our true hearts, we can also choose what kind of person we want to be! And we must always give a chance to love by taking risks, learning to be reckless, rash: because a unique love always worths to every risk you take.
Will and Nora met 16 years ago when they were two little teenagers. Will didn’t see Nora’s face, it was too dark to decipher her real figures but he heard her laugh and watched her throw tomatoes at his way to scare the squirrels. And he knew he was in trouble : he already started to fall for her at first! She didn’t realize he was there watching her.
And 16 years later they meet at the same building: but right now they’re too nemesis because Will inherited his recently deceased uncle’s apartment he has never seen for long time ( actually he has seen him very same day he’d fallen for Nora) and he doesn’t want to live there: he wants to rent this place out. Of course the long time inhabitants of the building including Nora don’t want their place turn into an Airbnb friendly motel kind of unit! Nora declares war and does anything she can to stop Will rent his place.
Their frenemies kind of starting with wrong foot relationship eventually turns into good friendship as like Will’s relationship with the other neighbors because even though he is coming from neglecting family and it’s so hard for him to open his heart to people, he cannot resist to the true charm and genuine manners of those lovely people.
From Marian to Salas family, Benny to shy Emily and 80 years old Jonah: all of the characters are realistically portrayed, reminding you of your own family members, neighbors, your colleagues.
Overall: I’m so happy that I loved this book so much more than “Love Lettering”! This time author touched my feelings softly and warmed my heart, gently brushed my soul! She did such an amazing job!
It earned each stars I gave! Maybe it deserved more! I highly recommend to anyone who desperately seeks inspirational, motivational reads and die hard romcom lovers like me!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sharing this reviewer digital copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.
Rating: really liked it
much like my feelings towards hit band The Fray, i hate this book for no particular reasonjust... why was this written. who is the target audience. people who like watching paint dry? people that drink glasses of whole milk with meals? accountants?
i don't think i've read a book this inoffensive and this flavorless, like... ever. you've got a dude who inherits an apartment from an uncle he didn't like and barely knew. and we've got a strangely immature heroine who is trying to sabotage the dude's ability to sell the ramshackle unit. it certainly
could have been fun, but the author didn't give either of these characters personalities. the closest we get is a mildly sad prologue from the hero's past. that's it.
i wanted to DNF this so so bad, but i'm a glutton for punishment (and ya know, list videos and all that).
Rating: really liked it
i really dont have much to say about this, surprisingly. i mean, i enjoyed the story overall. its cute, its light, it has some adorable moments. but its also a little forgettable? that sounds a bit harsh, but this isnt really something i will be thinking about years to come, if that makes sense.
i found myself much more invested in will and his backstory, and i would have loved to see more of that. actually, i would have had will and nora meet when they were teenagers. i think that would have helped their chemistry, because i found it to be lacking at times. although i do think both of their individual character developments are quite nice.
but other than that, this just feels like any other romance novel. which isnt a bad thing, because i still really enjoyed this whilst reading it in the moment.
a big thanks to kensington book for the ARC!↠ 3.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
I've never been so conflicted post-reading. Love at First is one of the occurrences where I judge a book by its title and I was initially disappointed. However, for some reason, I ended up enjoying this
(probably bit way too much).The romance enthusiast in me knows this book is literally as average as it gets for someone who reads romance all her life but I still can't find myself to rate this lower. This book gives me so many butterflies, my heart just flutters. And I think it has to do with the author's beautiful style of writing that was just so delightful and grounded. At other times, I would dislike this book for how slow it is, but the writing made up for it.
And I adore both Nora and Will so much. I thought this love at first sight wouldn't work since I just don't believe in the overall sentiment. However, Clayborn's romance has a magnificent, boundless hopefulness about it. Almost none of the characters had the life they had envisioned for themselves or would have chosen. Everyone has had their share of grief but Clayborn's language exudes a wonderful feeling of optimism. You'll find yourself enjoying every single moment of it, from the romance to the found family presented in the book.
Instead of making this book stilted and drama-filled, Clayborn chose a heartfelt and emotional plot, which you'll still love for its simplicity. While I'm not entirely fascinated by Romeo and Juliet but when they said Love at First is the comforting rewrite of Romeo and Juliet you didn’t know you needed, I think there's an ounce of truth in it.
Rating: really liked it
This wasn’t a bad book, I just didn’t care? I mean yes it was sweet and i love books with side characters that are like a small community and so neighbourly and on each other’s business. So yes I liked all of that, but my main issue was with the two main characters. They were just so flat. Two dimensional and so repetitieve. I don’t feel like I get to know them no matter how hard i tried. I also found the romance kinda boring, lacking, and with a nonexistent chemistry. When did they start falling for each other? Because I think I missed it. Even the enemies to lovers part felt kinda one-sided? The premise is interesting and the book started out well, but once I get to know the characters I started to dislike it.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this copy.
Rating: really liked it
A cute story that has me going back and forth between 3 and 3.5 stars.
Will Sterling first had contact/no contact with Nora Clarke in the form of tomatoes thrown off a balcony when he was a teenager. What? Yes, he heard her sweet voice and felt the falling tomatoes. She had no idea he was there, and he never really saw her because he could not see very well. But she piqued his curiosity. Then, as teenagers do, they both grew up.
Now, sixteen years later as he enters the apartment building his uncle left to him, he recognizes that voice he has never forgotten at the very same apartment building. What luck he has! But will she be happy to meet him when she learns his plans for the building? She is not happy.... but he is so handsome...she is being difficult...but has that voice....
He has plans and she has plans of her own - mainly to sabotage his plans. Then there is the quirky fun group of residents that make up the building. This book was a little bit of a slow burn for me. It is a light book, and it was nice to turn to this in between heavier books and subject matter. Will I remember this book in a year? Not sure, but as I said it was a nice distraction.
Thank you to Kensington Publishing Corporation and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rating: really liked it
I have a major, unpleasant confession to make.
This is the sort of truth-telling that not only reflects poorly on this book, but on myself and my character and my intelligence and my morals and who I am as a person.
When I took a gander at my to-review shelf, my daily wander through my unreviewed books, I saw this and -
1) did not know what it was
2) did not recollect reading it
3) could not remember a single thing about its characters, its plotline, its worldly existence.
Nada. Zero. Zilch.
It's a blank spot in the ol' memory.
Then, upon reading the synopsis, it all came rushing back.
And let me tell you, I wish I could file it all back under DO NOT RECALL, because - unfortunately for me, you, the universe, and the story in question - there is nothing memorable or even worth remembering here.
Sorry!
Bottom line: An almost comically forgettable book!
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pre-reviewkind of crazy that me and lily are the two most perfect and deserving people alive and yet are constantly suffering.
review to come / 1.5 or 2 stars
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currently-reading updateswelcome to yet another meeting of the Picky Readers Trying To Reform Themselves and Desperately Wanting To Find Another Romance They Like That Isn't The Same One book club
(in other words, buddy read with lily)
Rating: really liked it
Love at First by Kate Clayborn
Contemporary romance. Chicago location. #LoveatFirstNovel
Nora inherited her condo/apartment/unit from her grandmother. It’s a small building with elderly owners that have made themselves into a family unit. Will inherits his uncle’s unit and wants only to rent it out. He’s not interested in living in the unit but he does want to get to know Nora better. Will finds himself drawn into building activities with the shared welcome casseroles and the monthly poem readings.
This is a sweet, almost naive and heartbreaking slow build romance. Not clean but not a lot of sexual tension either. It’s a darling story and I loved the pace and the feeling of beloved self-made family throughout.
Both Will and Nora have childhood issues to overcome. They ignore but finally resolve.
A charming romance feel.
“Two weeks and two days since he had seen her.
Not that he was counting.
But he was counting.”
I received a copy of this book as part of a contest win by the publisher.
Rating: really liked it
I want to say that if you loved LOVE LETTERING you will also love this but it's not something that I would even compare one to the other. Unless you consider all the emotions I felt for both. In which case yes. Just.. yes.
[..] he couldn't really explain it, the relief he felt. Out of all his visitors today, she was the enemy he should be dreading the most; she was the most dangerous to him. Frankly, she was probably here to finish him off. But he didn't think any of that, at first. He looked up and saw her there and all he could think was : finally. Finally she came.What I love so much about Clayborn is how quiet her books are even as they yell in your face, in your heart, in your soul. I might even have to call it the Quincy effect. You might end up a mess from the experience but you love it anyway (I swear this'll make sense to people who've read this book, haha, except in this case the mess is tears). But back to my point, few authors I've read have successfully and consistently translated tenderness into text. And I don't mean tender moments.. but she's fully capable of those, too, pure tenderness into a moment between characters, but also in a turn of phrase, an inner thought, the touch of a hand, the desire to suddenly use a term of endearment. There were so many moments in this book (in so many of this author's books, in fact) where I just died quiet little deaths because of how much I was made to feel.
"
You don't have to love people the way you learned to love at first."
What sets this apart from LOVE LETTERING, too, is that we get a dual POV this time. And I just.. it was perfect? But the characters are not; they have baggage, flaws, and there is some angst. But it's not big blow ups, dark secrets, epic tragic pasts, huge breakups. It's real slights, tiny devastations, waves of grief, it's learning to let go when you're holding on too tight while at the same time it's also letting yourself hold on instead of drifting away and remaining impermanent.
On a maybe more cheerful note, there's also a wonderfully wholesome element in the secondary cast of characters that bring so much joy and fun to the lives of our leads. I absolutely wanted to jump into these pages and take up residence in one of the units (sorry Nora!) and take part in the hijinks and gossip and community. In the less wholesome category, if you're looking for a solid romance? Attraction, chemistry, push and pull, and steam? There's also that. Because that first kiss? Hoo boy. Might've fogged up the glasses. This also have one of my all-time favourite tropes but I don't even want to mention it and spoil it. That's how good it is. And how much you will enjoy watching it unfold.
I absolutely want everyone to read this and as I write this review it's October twenty-third, which means it's four months to the day before this is even released into the world, which means I'm shouting at my fellow Clayborn lovers to request and read this now. Because I am so alone in my feels and want everyone to experience this. I want everyone to laugh where and when I laughed. Cry where and when I cried. Do the kindle-clutch-to-the-chest during every tender scene (I'm not the only one who does this, I know I'm not!). And just bask in these feelings I feel.
Also, there are kittens. Just incase you needed one more reason to convince you to read it. Kittens.
4.5 stars
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 StarsA sweet and gentle frenemies to lovers story about love, community, grief and fateSixteen years ago Will Sterling almost met the girl of his dreams, outside his estranged uncle's building. Now a doctor, Will unexpectedly inherits his uncle's apartment, and plans to renovate it and rent it out.
Nora Clarke, is living in her beloved grandmother's apartment, working remotely for a digital design and marketing agency for sustainability focused brands. Nora is fiercely protective of the building and it's residents. Nora doesn't want Will ruining the close knit community she has found, so declares war, but can they fight their connection?Told from a third person dual perspective, Love at First was a cosy, romantic tale which felt a bit like getting a warm hug! It was comforting, heartfelt and made my heart feel tender at times!
This was essentially a girl meets boy story, but somehow Kate Clayborn made it feel like much more. It was full of genuine and loveable people, who had delightful relationships and connections, and yet the main characters had flaws, baggage, and were complex. The secondary characters definitely elevated this story, from Nora's quirky neighbours, who were adorable, to Nora's fun best friend Dee. Most of all though, I loved Gerald! Will's boss Gerald Abraham was just the cutest man! I loved how supportive he was of Will, and how their friendship blossomed, despite their apparent differences! And I loved his little side plot with his ex wife Sarah! The assortment of people in both Nora and Will's life were like a kind of found family, and after both not having ideal childhoods, this was so wholesome and good.
Love at First was about self discovery, learning to be yourself, whilst dealing with losing someone, and all the grief, heartbreak and sometimes resentment that comes with that. It was a quiet look at healing, and moving on after losing someone close. Even though Will and Nora didn't get off on the right foot, and had some differences of opinion, they both learnt to start taking risks, showing some vulnerability.
"You don't have to love people the way you learned to love first." This line kind of broke my heart a little bit! It was perfect for this couple, who after the initial mild pranks, developed respect for each other, were good for each other, and fit well. There was even the odd steamy moment! And that first kiss....
However, even though I enjoyed this, I cannot give it top marks, as I felt there was something holding me back from the main characters. After falling in love with The Switch and Dear Emmie Bluerecently, this one didn't feel as emotional? I didn't connect with the main characters as much, and sometimes they felt a bit flat.
Nevertheless, I liked this easy and comfortable read, and would like to try Love Lettering by this author 🍅🍅🍅 1/2
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review, I enjoyed reading it!
Rating: really liked it
3.5 starsLove at First by Kate Clayborn was an enjoyable read, but at the same time, it never quite hooked me. I liked Nora and Will and their story was sweet, but I never felt truly connected. This one was a little slow moving for me. I enjoy Kate's writing as this is the second book I've read by her, but overall it was just okay for me.
Audio book source: Libby (borrowed)
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Lauren Ezzo
Narration Rating: 3.5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 10 hours and 36 minutes
Rating: really liked it
4.5
Such a quintessential Clayborn novel in many ways, and now that she’s written a handful, it’s pretty easy to note her unique stylistic features and themes. I sunk effortlessly into the world she creates here from the first pages and felt comforted by her vision of a world as it could or should be, complete with a community of people who love and support each other as much as the main couple. At times I will admit that I felt that I was waiting for more romantic emotional discord or “angst” and when it didn’t arrive, I could feel a little disappointment hovering in the back of my mind. This is perhaps Clayborn’s quietest novel, or maybe it’s best to say that it’s her most adult one. Taken on its own terms though, quiet has its rewards, especially at the end of a chaotic year, and so I forced myself to let go of a desire for more fraught plotting and relish a subtler love story between people who consciously agree to work through differences and in kindly ways.
As a teen Will had secretly pined for a young woman he had overheard but never actually saw. Years later and as adults in the midst of a love affair, Nora confesses that if Will had seen her in all her awkward teenage-ness, there would have been no unrequited love story. But Will knows that his love for Nora is intrinsic to all of Nora, inside and out, and not to any superficial glimpse of her when she was young. The novel conveys well the idea that their love is based on valuing so many meaningful qualities they find in each other. They love early and resolutely from beginning to end, and there is little doubt of the feelings they have for each other. And yet the conflict in the book takes form primarily in Will’s insecurities of losing himself in love. I have to admit that I am not a fan of books featuring adults who are unable to overcome bad parenting, and this is definitely a book that attributes much of Will’s commitment issues and solitary life choices to neglectful parents. It’s tragic to see adults struggle to overcome childhood problems, and it also makes me fear for significant others who devote themselves to a relationship with that person. Nora’s response to Will’s insecurities truly is the stuff of adult relationship coping at its finest. Perhaps I’m too much of a romance trope reader in that I expected Nora to behave differently any number of times, and my surprise with her is that she is the quietest and kindest of Clayborn’s heroines. She’ll probably end up one of my favorite heroines of 2021. Will earned my sympathy in the end, although I do think I would have enjoyed the resolution of conflict a little more if it didn’t require a bevy of supportive characters sitting the protagonists down for forced epiphanies.
On the topic of supporting characters, they are one of my favorite features of Kate Clayborn novels. As usual, Clayborn represents and in wonderfully subtle ways. Older characters are central, as are an older lesbian couple and a middle-aged couple struggling to rekindle the romance in their lives. Socially awkward introverts such as Will’s boss, Gerald, are priceless. Elderly people are valued. Diversity is just there, as it always is in a Clayborn novel, and it doesn’t need to scream for attention. Didactic authors can learn much from reading the artistry behind Clayborn’s writing. And in what has come to feel to me as a subtle yet powerful nod to urban life, once again she depicts life in a big city as a place where loving families and communities exist. Urban life in America has becomes so politically toxic that simply representing it in a positive light feels charged and important. While this novel wasn’t a perfect read for me, it was nonetheless another lovely book in the Clayborn canon.
Rating: really liked it
4.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
“It's the golden hour.” Will is fifteen when his mother takes him to the apartment of an uncle he never even knew existed. He's outside about to talk to a girl on a balcony, that unknowingly dropped tomatoes on his head, when he overhears his mother begging her brother to take him. His uncle refuses saying Will is probably like her, rash, reckless, and selfish. Hearing all this dramatically impacts Will and he decides then and there to grow-up, which he does as his mother and father cling even more to each other through his father's sickness and then the ten months after his father's death, his mother passes away too. When he sends her obituary to the uncle and never hears anything back, Will begins calling himself an orphan at seventeen.
The girl on the balcony from sixteen years ago, and the woman he met this morning. That...could not be. Nora loves her hour of quiet time on her balcony, four a.m., or the golden hour, as she likes to call it. When the person that inherited the downstairs apartment comes onto their patio, she can't help but try and take a peek. After accidentally knocking some potting soil on him, she meets Dr. Will Sterling. There's an instant awareness but after she inherited this apartment from her nonna, she and the other apartment dwellers are worried about this new guy, they love their little community and don't like change. When Will reveals that he plans on using the apartment as a sort of Airbnb, Nora declares war to get him to change his mind. She first plans to kill him with kindness but when that doesn't work, she plans on showing him how unsuitable this apartment building would feel to vacationers because of how weird and quirky the building dwellers are. It's a battle between two sides that can't help consorting with each other.
Everything he saw when he looked at Nora, it was still a problem: his weakness, his past, his fear for how he figured he was destined to turn out, if he let himself get too close to her. Love At First, is a story that is all sweetly aching heart. The story fabric is woven a little differently, the set-up alludes to fate and soulmates, so the love between Will and Nora feels present by the third chapter. Since the love already feels developed, their journey is more about navigating the emotional pitfall maze to reach it. Will's parents all consuming loving each other to the point of ignoring him and then his abrupt loss of childhood has made him a self-sufficient but tender and scared to love man. Nora's parents were dedicated to their career but she had her grandmother and the apartment building's residents to create a family with. Their parental similarities and Will's gentle pushing to get Nora to accept change enough to live her own unique life and Nora showing him that human connection doesn't have to be scary showcased how well these two went together.
She laughed quietly, the sound somehow so intimate. What else could it be, really, to laugh with someone in your bed? It felt like the most secret, private, special thing. It felt like a fever dream. She gave up on thinking there was anything normal or casual about it. Some of the first half had me questioning how Nora and Will already had these deep feelings, which I think is where the soulmates comes in, but the middle had the characters opening up more and layers get colored in and understanding why Nora and Will were the way they were becomes more clear. This story also had some of the best use of secondary characters I have ever read. They were stars in their own right and provided emotional heft not only in support of Nora and Will but the overall story. The residents of the apartment provided heartfelt depth to some of the underlining message of the importance of human connection and how valuable found family is. Gerald, Will's boss, who dances between a pseudo father and friend, ends up slyly softly giving the story and Will one of it's most important messages, that loving can be learned and unlearned, as long as you put the acknowledgment and effort in.
You don't have to love people the way you learned to love at first. This enemies-to-lovers was all about the gentle emotions instead of sparking heat and it really worked. These two do have some open door bedroom scenes but I got the most hits to the heart when every time Nora made Will feel and that connection made him pull away in fear. Nora and Will's first two meetings, sixteen years apart, were sweetly cute but their second chance romance ending balcony scene, will have your heart aching in all the best ways. If you're looking for something a little quiet, a little soft, and a little subtle,
Love At First will deliver.
She thought about his laugh and his way of making conversation with almost anyone; she thought about the secret, tender heart that hid behind his practicality, and she thought about how he pushed her, so gently, in the directions she always wanted to go herself. She thought about the way she wanted him, the way she could be a certain version of herself with him, some different from who she was with anyone else in her life, ever.
Rating: really liked it
Competing with my friend Hollis for complete lack of chill and worrying about expectations if I save it up, it might not hit the same or I might be disappointed, I dove headfirst into this. I'll re-up my comment on her review. By 15%, I wasn't worried. The characters already felt real and rounded, the story line in that
killing me softly Kate way meanders pleasantly but purposefully to the point it wasn't clear if I cared if I ever finished the book the characters were so wonderful to spend time with. By about midway, I realized my heart was getting a little fragile and heavy, because Kate Clayborn is nothing if not a sneaky author.
First my feelings on Clayborn are absolutely no secret. She writes ordinary humans doing their best, trying their best, learning they are for each other (and they make extraordinary romances!). Her books have a gentle feel. Even in this sorta-enemies-to-lovers installment, the respect and regard for each other makes it feel more like compassionate competition than enemies, which on the whole is much much more convincing. And oh boy, has her writing matured.
The things that floor me and resonate with me as a reader are the way I can feel intensely for the main characters immediately, add they aren't hard to understand, and it's not in some "tell" fashion. She builds worlds and settings: here an apartment and its mostly senior tenants, along with our two main characters. Will is...sigh. Nora...I understood her deeply.
Will. Will is rootless. (I honestly started my review early because I started to feel bogged down in emotion and was worried that it would end up saying "Erp," and indeed, Clayborn's demonstration of Will tumbling along plays out delicately without being frustrating.) And what better than to have him discover himself where everyone's roots are deep and entrenched and the branches are many.
Here's the thing. She builds intimacy and revelations through everyday scenes (again) and Will and Nora feeling too off-guard in their teensy-bit adversarial relationship. But also, the sense of ache I'm coming to recognize as "Clayborn-heartache" builds slowly in this one. So slowly, that at 50% I realized my chest was hurting and I was a bit heartbroken for the two grieving main characters. However, it's this vulnerability that lends itself to how inescapable the love and love scenes feel. And I mean, Will literally suffers from the Falconbridge syndrome of first kisses. So inevitable. And so right.
And the way she uses time and the golden hour. Ugh. So many ways. Kind of like how the title of the book was really clear, until she punched me in the gut with it (I might have sob-guffawed?) I thought the use of sight-glasses-and frankly tomatoes were brilliant and squishy and probably richer than I could ever capture. In employing all these things, these improvements,these settings, these shrines, Kate Clayborn also deftly creates a way for the present-day characters to reconcile themselves with their past-and to make a believable peace with it. I'm...it was...I'm in awe.
And Nora. One of my strongest childhood relationships was with my grandmother. (Nora spent summers through her late childhood and teen years w/ her Nonna) I had separation anxiety throughout most of my young years, but I could stay and travel with my grandparents. She died when I was quite young, but I look like her, got some qualities of hers, and will never forget when I once woke up in their house and started crying bc I was all alone (I didnt ever have my own bedroom!) And she said "hush. I'm right here." Not in a comforting way. In a "I'd never leave you, dummy" way. So elements of grief I get. Loyalty and sentimentality I get. Grandmothers and granddaughters. The way they actually do influence you. And the way your life and person feels like a mash up of who they were, and that it is easy to build a shrine of material things around you instead of letting go.
And my God, Gerald Abraham. I mean all the secondary characters, really. But he is my favorite. So I'm just leaving this here.
I think Kate Clayborn understands love and vulnerability in many different ways. I'm sure a lot of people do. But what she's proving here is that she can tackle universal themes without being tired, she can write character-driven novels that are sneaky and unique. She can break our heart quietly with her pen. What's clear to me, above all else here, is that she's dedicated to a craft and constant improvement. She's giving us what we as readers deserve. I don't think it's hyperbole. I think she's exceptional, and in my opinion looking at her record thusfar, unmatched in contemporary romance.
I'd like to thank Netgalley & Kensington for the ARC. This has not affected my review in anyway, and to prove it, I will own this book in 2 formats at a minimum. I'm only sorry you all have to wait until February for it.
Rating: really liked it
This was ok. I expected to like it as much as I liked Love Lettering, but that wasn't the case.
The storyline is interesting, but the characters aren't. I found them to be one-dimensional and uninteresting. For the most part, the story felt repetitive and uninspired. I expected much more from this story.
I'll look forward to more by this author, but this one was a miss for me.
