madeline's reviews
776 reviews

I enjoyed this way more than I expected, since celebrity romances often stress me out - it was fairly light and definitely fun, with great articles and tweets interstitialed. I didn't 100% buy the chemistry between Liv and Ransom (I think it could it benefitted from some flashbacks), and the author's writing style prevented it from being a real 4 star book for me, but it was still a great time.

Thank you Edelweiss and Atria for the ARC!

Absolutely needs an editor before trad publishing - flat characters, tenuous conflict, and unrealistic dialogue. A disappointment.

Thank you Atria and Edelweiss for the ARC.

I'm withholding this review in solidarity with the HarperCollins Union members currently on strike. I support their right to a fair contract.

What an incredible delight! Rachel Lynn Solomon has done it again. Chandler Cohen has gotten the opportunity of a lifetime: she's a journalist-turned-ghostwriter feeling very disconnected from the process when she's hired to ghostwrite the memoirs of a former teen star. She's never seen the show before, but she's certainly seen him - they'd had a very unsatisfying one night stand the night previously. Chandler signs on not only to write his memoirs, but to give him a little one-on-one tutoring in the bedroom, as well. 

RLS has long been an auto-buy author for me, and the reasons for that are all clear in this book: she writes strong and nuanced characters with a real tenderness and concern for their well-being, the mental health rep is always (to me) incredibly spot-on, there's both religious and cultural Jewish representation, and the humor is incredible. I loved every moment with Chandler and Finn. 

Thank you Edelweiss and Berkley for the ARC!

What an incredibly delightful book to finish 2022 with - it's like if Naomi Novik wrote Veronica Speedwell. An easy-to-follow magic system, a grumpy scientist heroine, a sunshine academic rival love interest, and just so much fun to read. It's all entries in Emily's research journal, with FOOTNOTES (be still my heart) and delightful little research asides. The perfect read for long winter nights with a fire and a cup of tea.

Thank you Del Rey and Edelweiss for the ARC!

Absolutely required reading for anyone looking to deconstruct their fat-hatred. Aubrey is a clear and entertaining writer with tons of citations for further reading, and each chapter ends with some reflection questions or calls to action. Read with a pencil in hand.

I do think that structurally, the book could have been improved by combining some of the chapters. It's tough to have a longer, scientifically-based debunking chapter with lots of citations followed up by one or two more social-emotional ones, which are just as important but are often noticeably shorter and tougher to base in anything more substantial than "this is clearly very mentally harmful." There are a few of them that could have been combined into one more impactful chapter but clearly got broken apart to hit 20 myths.

Thank you Beacon and Edelweiss for the ARC!

full rtc, but this is absolutely classic emily henry.

thank you berkley and edelweiss for the arc!

I'm withholding this review in solidarity with the HarperCollins Union members currently on strike. I support their right to a fair contract.

I feel like it would be remiss of me, though, to not point out that I think this book has a hero who gaslights the heroine, and themes of racism and misogyny.

Thank you Avon and Edelweiss for the ARC.

Tara Chen is floundering, having been through a string of relationships that never quite work out for her, most recently in a failed engagement. When she’s gently kicked out of her sister’s apartment so her fiancé can move in, Tara takes over her soon-to-be brother-in-law’s lease with his playboy firefighter coworker, Trevor. Tara soon launches a project to reconnect with her exes in an effort to understand what went wrong in their relationships, accompanied by a begrudgingly supportive Trevor. The more time Tara and Trevor spend together, though, the more it seems that Trevor is the only one who really gets loving and dramatic Tara - can she convert his non-committal self?

This was such a great read! I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but felt it was a little oddly paced in places, and the conflict a bit underbaked. I think Lea is really in the swing of things here - Trevor and Tara are both fully formed characters, and I especially love that Tara’s a bookstagrammer who loves romance, but Lea doesn’t keep dropping real-life authors and titles in the book, which almost always feels like pandering to me. Trevor’s relationship with his niece is so sweet, and I loved moments where we got to see him through his best friend Scott’s perception. 

I do think again that people may be frustrated with the communication style between the two, but it feels much better reasoned and handled than the first book did. Tara’s desperation for love is a little painful to watch at times, too, but it’s all part of her journey and I can’t imagine her another way. So fun, and I would love to see more from this friend group!

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a really intriguing debut that just didn't fully coalesce for me - in particular, I found Liv's insistence on relying solely on astrological matches to be a little irrational? Certainly she knows people with happy marriages who also have inauspicious zodiac combinations. There were also a few dangling subplots that I think detracted from the overall plotline. Still, I definitely enjoyed this book and will be looking out for Kung Jessen's next one!

Thank you Forever and Edelweiss for the ARC!