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It Ends With Us

Book Review

Author : Colleen Hoover

Genre : Romance

Publisher : Simon & Schuster

Year of Publication : 2016

Number of Pages : 384

My Rating : 5 out of 5

Lily Bloom is upset following her father’s very emotionally draining funeral and just wants to be alone on a rooftop where she can breathe in the fresh air and unwind. She does not count on meeting handsome Ryle, a neurosurgeon with whom she makes an instant connection. During their brief chat, they tell each other some ‘naked truths’ about their lives.

Lily is trying to overcome complicated feelings around her father’s death and the life that she left behind when she moved to Boston. Ryle is struggling with his own demons that plague him. After their initial rooftop encounter, Lily doubts she will ever see Ryle again, as they want different things from life. When they reconnect several months later, she finds herself unable to resist him.

In addition to starting a new business, and settling her mother in Boston, she reminisces about her first love, Atlas. She met Atlas as a teenager, at a time when he was lost, and she saved his life. When she unexpectedly bumps into him again, she believes she will finally get the closure she needs to be able to move on with her life.

This is a love story, but not just the usual love story. It is a love story that almost made me cry in some parts and left me frustrated in others. Colleen Hoover is a bestselling author of romance, young adult, thriller and women’s fiction. “And maybe a ghost story soon,” as she says in her Goodreads Bio. It is no wonder then that this was not just a romance story, even though romance is at the heart of the book.

I really rooted for Lily and Ryle and the twist caught me by surprise. I honestly did not see it coming. As it turns out, this is a tale about life and relationships – and how complicated both can get. I found the story gripping, even as it took an unexpected turn. The author uses first person to narrate the story, so I felt all of Lily’s emotions intensely, as I followed her thoughts and experiences.

I loved Lily as a character and wish I had her strength. The other characters were also well developed and easy to relate to. This story seemed so familiar to me, yet the author managed to show me that some circumstances in life are not as they seem at first glance. She shows how easy it is to judge people unfairly when we do not fully understand what they have been through and what makes them act the way they do.

Ultimately, this is a story about one woman’s journey and her quest to overcome her past and build a fulfilling, meaningful life for herself. It tells us that we are not bound by our past – or even our present circumstances and we can make the decision to break patterns. No matter what path we take, there is always time and space to course-correct. This may not always be easy and it requires a lot of reflection to recognize where we went wrong and the right path. It also requires the courage to do what is right as opposed to what is easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and rate it 5 out of 5. I recommend it to anyone who loves a good story with romance and a bit of a lesson.

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Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

Book Review

Title : Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating

Genre : Contemporary Romance

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher: Piatkus

Date of Publication: September 4^th 2018

Number of Pages: 320

My Rating : 4 out of 5

I bought this book after reading The Unhoneymooners, which I found engaging, delightful and full of humor. I’m always on the lookout for new authors to read, so when I come across a good book, I invariably check out all the author’s other books.

Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating did not disappoint, well, not totally. Hazel met Josh Im at a party in college, where she promptly vomited on his shoes – immediately after propositioning him.

Almost a decade later, Hazel is attending a party at her new best friend’s house, only to discover that Josh is the brother to Emily, her best friend.

Josh is a physical therapist with his own business whilst Hazel is an elementary school teacher. Sensible careers right? That’s where their similarity ends. Josh is smart, neat, easy going and calm, whereas Hazel is loud, has no filters, does ridiculous things and is a hot mess.

Whilst Hazel thinks Josh is the blue print for perfect, she strongly believes that he would never date her, due to some catastrophic encounters they had in college. And sadly, it was not just the vomiting.

This does not stop her from declaring that they are going to be best friends. She reckons that since she is undatable, there is nothing to get in the way of their developing a close relationship as best friends. No harm done, right?

Josh thinks :– it might be fun to have her around. Like keeping interesting beer in the fridge that you’re always surprised and pleased to find. Okay……

The two start hanging out together and the rest, as they say, is history.

In as much as Hazel is quirky and a little weird, she is also warmhearted and full of energy. Unfortunately, most men are not able to manage her energy and find her behavior embarrassing.

Given the history these two have from college, I find it a bit strange how when Hazel proclaims that they are going to become best friends, Josh accepts so easily. This despite finding out that Hazel had not changed at all.

I tried really hard to appreciate Hazel as a character, but sadly, I could not fully empathize with her. Right from the start when she described herself as ‘lazy and broke’, among other things, there was zero indication of her wanting to improve herself. Am I being as judgmental as her former boyfriends? Maybe.

I’m all for one accepting oneself as they are, but surely there is room for character development and growth? More to the point, Josh is her polar opposite, the perfect character with no flaws. Whilst commendable, is it really realistic? Is anyone really perfect? Yet somehow, these two end up together, as one would expect in a romance.

But I suppose that’s the premise of the whole story, how such diverse characters can find love and how no one is ‘undatable’, we just need to find that one person who understands us and accepts us for who we are, quirks and all!

This is also an interracial story, as Hazel is American and Josh is American Korean. Though there are no major interracial issues brought out in the story, we do get to see a bit of Korean culture, especially on family dynamics and relationships.

The book was interesting enough to keep me engaged. I found it well written and easy to follow. The authors use first person to narrate the story, switching from Josh to Hazel.

I liked this style of writing as I got to know what each of the lead characters was thinking throughout the book, making it easier for me to connect with the story. I liked The Unhoneymooners more, but this one is good as well.

Due to the above, I rate this book 4 out of 5 and recommend it to lovers of contemporary romance novels. Hazel may be hard for me to take, but some may find her endearing…….

Do you think it’s possible for ‘polar opposites’ to find lasting love together? Let me know!

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And Now There’s You

A NetGalley Book Review

Title : And Now There’s You

Author: Susan S. Etkin

Publisher: Spark Press

Date of Publication: 24^th September 2019

Number of Pages : 326

My Rating: 3 out of 5

Leila Brandt is a widow in her mid-fifties. Her daughter, Hillary, and business partner, Michelle, feel that she needs to start dating again as she has been alone for five years. To get this going, they give her an interesting birthday gift – they sign her up with a matchmaker.

In the meantime, Leila meets Ayden, who is the architect contracted for her latest interior design project. Though she feels a keen attraction to him, Ayden has been divorced for many years and she doubts whether he can give her the sort of relationship she is looking for.

I was drawn into this story by the premise of love at a later stage in life. I wanted to see how the story would progress and how the dynamics of previous spouses, full engaging careers and family would play out. The story started quite well and I loved the way the author described Leila’s character and her state of mind at the beginning.

Unfortunately, after that, the story dragged on a bit. It took quite a long time to develop and I felt like there wasn’t much to hold my interest. While well written and easy to follow, I found some of the detail distracting, I guess I’m not used to being told everything characters in a book eat and drink in such detail!

Whilst the premise was interesting, the story ended up being too predictable for me without much to distinguish it and keep me interested. I found myself wishing the characters were just a little more complex to give the story that edge that would have made it a great love story.

This is Susan S. Etkin’s debut novel. I rate it at 3 out of 5 and recommend it to anyone who loves romance or has an interest in interior design as it features that too.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I Owe You One

Book Review

Author : Sophie Kinsella
Publisher : The Dial Press
Date of Publication : 2019
Genre : Romance
Number of Pages : 469
My Rating : 3 out of 5

I Owe You One is Sophie Kinsella’s most recent standalone novel. Sophie is a British author who has sold over 40 million copies of her bestselling books. I promptly fell in love with Sophie’s Shopaholic Series when I read Confessions of a Shopaholic and later the standalone novel – Can You Keep A Secret? Subsequently, I found that she had authored other books under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, before she started using the pen name, Sophie Kinsella.

I Owe You One is a charming romance featuring Fixie Farr, who has acquired this most appropriate nickname as she cannot help but fix everything around her. Any time Fixie perceives anything that is slightly amiss, she must fix it – be it a person or a wedding reception with missing flower arrangements.

Fixie is intensely loyal to her family, fully living according to her deceased father’s guiding motto of ‘Family First.’ Although all the family is supposed to be running the family shop, Farrs, she typically picks up tasks that her two siblings are meant to be carrying out. Ergo she invariably ends up doing the bulk of the work, leaving her with an immense burden when her mother goes out of town.

One day, a stranger requests Fixie to watch over his laptop in a coffee shop as he takes a call outside. When the cracked ceiling collapses under the crushing weight of leaking water, she swiftly reacts, saving the man’s laptop. Sebastian is so grateful that he steadfastly insists on repaying her for the awesome save. When Fixie gently refuses any payment and fails to name her reward, he presents her with a note that states ‘ I Owe You One _ Redeemable in perpetuity.’ He subsequently tells her to get in touch with him if she ever needs a favor.

Initially, and in line with her generous nature, Fixie has no intention of cashing in the IOU. This undoubtedly changes when Ryan, her brother’s best friend whom she has had a crush on since she was ten years old, returns from abroad. Ryan is in need of a decent job and Fixie cannot help but remedy the situation. She thus reaches out to Sebastian to cash in her IOU. Somehow, this ends up defining their relationship as they continuously trade favors.

This is the familiar story of a young woman’s unwavering endeavors to resolve problems for everyone in her life without devoting enough attention to her own needs. Fixie continually allows her family to push her around. She is unable to stand up to them, even when their reckless and clearly destructive behavior threatens the continued success of the family business.

Having eagerly read the other Sophie Kinsella books, I am familiar with this sort of flighty character. She starts out as completely flawed and fumbles her way through life, humorously getting into all manner of odd scraps along the way. Fortunately, she overcomes her shortcomings and invariably ends up doing the right thing thus saving the day.

Like the other Sophie Kinsella books, this is a fun light read, ideal for a delightful day by the pool or on the beach. That said, I found parts of this book somewhat irritating. Fixie seems to me to be too much of a pushover. Her brother and sister were quite irritating and I felt like the conclusions to their story arcs were incomplete. There were also not as many laugh-aloud moments as I found in the earlier Shopaholic Books, which I thought were totally hilarious!

Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves Chick lit romantic comedies. It is ideal for that relaxed easy day when all you desire is to get lost in a light-hearted romance!