{Review} Not Like the Movies (Waiting for Tom Hanks #2) by Kerry Winfrey

Page Count: 320

Published On: July 7, 2020

Published By: Berkley Romance

Genre(s): Adult contemporary romance

Source: eARC provided by NetGalley
Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

What happens when your life is a rom-com...but you don't even believe in true love?

Chloe Sanderson is an optimist, and not because her life is easy. As the sole caregiver for her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer's, she's pretty much responsible for everything. She has no time—or interest—in getting swept up in some dazzling romance. Not like her best friend Annie, who literally wrote a rom-com that's about to premiere in theaters across America...and happens to be inspired by Chloe and Nick Velez, Chloe's cute but no-nonsense boss.

As the buzz for the movie grows, Chloe reads one too many listicles about why Nick is the perfect man, and now she can't see him as anything but Reason #2: The Scruffy-Bearded Hunk Who's Always There When You Need Him. But unlike the romance Annie has written for them, Chloe isn't so sure her own story will end in a Happily Ever After.

~ ~ ~ 

Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley for the eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was so fun to read, but still not my perfect cup of rom-com tea. I found that I enjoyed Not Like the Movies much more than Waiting on Tom Hanks, but that was because there weren’t so many references to Tom Hanks and rom-coms that still haven’t seen or haven’t seen in literal AGES.

Not Like the Movies had some really lovely aspects:

•  Chloe — Goodness gracious, I loved her. She was golden-hearted, selfless, a baker, in-tune with her frustrations and adorations, and pretty oblivious at times. I think she’s a fantastic rom-com heroine. She was so freaking relatable and her personality was written and fleshed out so well. I loved her drive and overall nature.

•  NICK! Wow! I wish I had more of Nick in my life. He is the introverted, coffee, and chicken tortilla soup-loving hero that I need. He honestly reminded me so much of my fiancé and I’m so here for it. I loved that he primarily listened to sad, emotional music—because of same! However, I did wish that his backstory had been fleshed out more. He is such a great character, but I want more about how he ticks!

•  Annie’s flaws were addressed! She wasn’t my favorite in Waiting on Tom Hanks, but I’m glad that she wasn’t idolized and made into someone perfect. She still kind of annoys me.

•  UNCLE DON & TYLER! I LOVE THEM!!!

•  GARY! What a beautifully strange older man. He was eccentric and the comedic relief that I always will want in rom-coms.

•  FRED! What a beautiful man and a great partner. He’s going to be so good for Milo.

•  The humor!!! Ugh so many good lines:

“Fred is an angel with a body that won’t quit, and I hope he never leaves you.”

“Annie snort-laughs so hard that she spits Sprite all over her plate.”

“A person shouldn’t make you feel like they always have one foot out the door...”

This was a gem and I’m eager to see what else Kerry Winfrey does next. I need a novella from Don and Tyler’s POV && Fred and Milo’s — I need those now, please.

Please stay well out there, friends!
Olivia
~Liv the Book Nerd~
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{Review} The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Page Count: 352

Published On: November 5, 2019

Published By: Berkley

Genre(s): romance, contemporary, adult fiction, 

Source: eBook copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley
Where To Find It: Amazon // Book Depository

My Rating: 4 stars

Content: Adult content within

Goodreads synopsis:

The first rule of this book club:
You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major-league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. 

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner-hero and win back the trust of his wife.

~ ~ ~

Hey, guys!

It's been a hot minute since I read this super-fun book, but I can promise that the time away from it has caused me to love it more than I initially did. This book was honestly so much fun to read and I didn't want to put it down. I love Lyssa Kay Adam's writing and I cannot wait to get my hands on the companion sequel, Undercover Bromance.

When I first read and finished this book, it was just okay to me. The writing was alright, the romance was decent, and the feminist message seemed parody-like. However, after thinking about it for about 2 months, I realized how much the story genuinely resonated with me.

In contemporary romances like this, there are hardly any romances that are between married couples -- and hardly any between a struggling couple. I adore how this story executed this romance because it was genuinely real and it didn't seem majorly fabricated to me. Sometimes I will go into a romance and it will be majorly cheesy and cutesy, but this was cheesy in the best way and realistic. I love love love when a romance can stay a bit cliched and cute, but also realistic. The best IRL romances are this way, so why can't our books be that way too? 

When I first went into this book, I was worried that this would be wholly focused on repairing the marriage and there would be 0 romance scenes where their spark was being rekindled (i.e. no sexy scenes). That sounds so dumb, but the entire premise surrounds their sex lives! Cut me some slack! Thankfully, my doubts were in vain because Adams really knows how to give characters chemistry. This was so raw, real, and human. I loved it so much!

The focus that this book has on family was just so wholesome and good. I loved the scenes that were focused on repairing their family dynamic and actually loving and taking care of their daughters. I love love love those little girls. This was beautifully done. I need more.

2019 has been a year of cheesy and wonderful romance books. I'm not sure if you've paid attention to my reading choices over the past year, but I've been reading all of the romance books. (They all have similar covers and are so much more than the cheesy romance books you find in used book stores, promise.) Whenever I go into a romance, I kind of throw away my expectations when it comes to the writing. Of course, I absolutely want fantastic writing and a style that resonates with my taste, but if the characters are good, the smutty scenes are decent, and there's an element that makes it original and compelling -- I'll read it. Romance books are quick like that. I'm into it. Anyway, when I go into a book like this, I don't have majorly high expectations. Thankfully, this book's writing style, pacing, and development was A+ fantastic. However, I found myself just groaning and annoyed when the guy characters would basically preach about women and feminist topics. The entire tone and wording choices were so out-there different that it wasn't real or their original voices. It was 100% the author preaching. Of course, I agreed with what they were saying 100%, but it wasn't subtle or authentic! It was almost parody-ish or random. I love a woke male character, but the execution for these parts was just not done well.

After I read this book, I watched a video where Whitney, from the YouTube channel, WhittyNovels discussed this book and she basically hit all of the points that I hit in this review (of course she is was more passionate and had more detail because she was talking about it as she read and reviewed it), but she described it in her Goodreads review as "a Nicholas Sparks book would be if Nicholas Sparks books were actually good" and I cannot agree more. This book was so much fun and so complex, but it was actually written well.

I definitely recommend this book. I'm hoping to get a copy of it soon. 

Happy reading! Please expect more blog posts from me soon! I'm back and better than ever!

Olivia
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