Darby Baham

Eh. I wanted to like this book. It has never taken me three days to read one of these books, but I kept finding it easy to be distracted from it. It felt more like a book about Olivia and her friends than a romance. It seemed like Thomas had very little page time. The story was told entirely from Olivia's point of view, and I missed getting his point of view on what was happening. It was like half the story was missing. The series is called "The Friendship Chronicles," but I could have used less girl time and more romance.

When Olivia arrived in New York from London, she was excited about the job opportunity ahead of her. She has her entire career planned out with no room for distractions. Meeting a nice guy who strikes sparks was not in her plan, but Thomas is laid back and willing to be friends. I didn't care for how she kept him to a text-only friendship for months before deciding to grace him with an in-person meet-up.

I liked Thomas. He is a nice guy who deserves better than Olivia. He is sweet, caring, intuitive, and understands her. I liked his support and encouragement despite her taking him for granted.

I understand that she had her fears of getting too close, thanks to previous relationships. But Thomas was clearly different than those other men. I had high hopes for her when she took their relationship to the next level, but she blew it when she got word of an upcoming promotion. She lost what little credibility she'd built up with me with her treatment of Thomas. There is some redemption after a conversation with one of her friends gives her plenty to think about. The ending has promise, but if I were Thomas, I'd be cautious.… (mehr)

For me, this was just an okay book. I had a hard time liking the main character, Rae. Early in the book, she seems to have a constant litany of complaints, from her job to her love life, but no intention of actually doing anything about them. The best part of her life is her vast closet full of shoes, and even there, she shows discontent over the ones she's never worn.

Rae is a journalist who works for an online magazine in DC, writing about political and social issues. She'd love to take her articles in new directions, but her boss is resistant to the idea, and Rae doesn't push. Instead, she backs down and grumbles to her friends about being stifled. She runs into her ex-boyfriend from college, who apologizes for being a jerk and indicates an interest in trying again. But Rae isn't interested in risking her heart on someone who's already broken it once.

Then one of Rae's best friends falls ill. Christine encourages Rae to stop playing it safe and go after what she wants while she can. With the encouragement of her friends, Rae begins a "risk list" of goals to break out of her safe little world. But writing it down and doing it are two different propositions, and weeks go by with no progress. I liked seeing her other friends hold Rae accountable for her delaying tactics.

I was happy when Rae finally started taking those risks, though I ached for her over the catalyst for it. I especially enjoyed her confrontation with her boss, though I initially thought she would back down again. Her fears are understandable, and the realism of her job search was well done. It was great to see that someone appreciated her drive and creativity when she found a good fit for employment.

My biggest disappointment was in the lack of romance. At the beginning of the book, there's a brief sighting of Jake, the college ex, but then Rae gets involved with this other guy. It looked serious, which left me confused. When that relationship crashed and burned, I ached for Rae and understood what happened. I liked the support she received from her friends and family but wondered if/when we'd see Jake again. Though he made a few more appearances, I never felt any connection between him and Rae, so the so-called romance fell flat for me.

This book felt much more like a chick-lit story than a romance. I liked seeing the growth that Rae experienced and enjoyed the linking of her shoes to various life events. It isn't unusual for inanimate objects to trigger memories, which was well done. I would like to have seen an epilogue with a bit more of Rae and Jake together. Hopefully, they will show up in the next book.

#netgalley… (mehr)