Netgalley – WVRed Reads Romance

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Summary of book:

This is the story of Kathleen Rosenburg (Katee Rose) and Cal Kirby, who were previously involved in a scandal that resulted in the destruction of her career. Now, Katee has left her pop star image behind and is living an ordinary life as Kathleen Rosenberg. However, Cal reappears in her life with an opportunity to star in a Broadway show he’s directing written by her best friend specifically for her.

As the story unfolds, Kathleen is torn between her desire to pursue her dreams of performing and her apprehension about working with Cal again. Both characters blame each other for their past, creating a tense and ego-driven atmosphere during rehearsals. Despite their reservations, Kathleen and Cal find themselves drawn to each other once again, unable to deny the chemistry between them.

The story’s central question revolves around whether it’s a good idea for Kathleen to rekindle her relationship with Cal, considering their history of being burned by their past choices. This theme explores the complexities of second chances, forgiveness, and the risks involved in pursuing one’s passions.

The story blends elements of romance, drama, and the entertainment industry, delving into the challenges and pressures faced by celebrities. It also explores themes of personal growth, self-discovery, and the pursuit of happiness.

General Review:

I take handwritten notes for my Netgalley reviews, but this book literally has two lines in my notebook. I was so into Sussman’s book that I stopped thinking in terms of a review and just fell into this story. I stayed up until I was finished because I loved these characters so much and the story had so many of my favorite tropes and plot points. I enjoyed the Then/Now structure which gives what happened then tension to the story. Enemies to Lovers and Second Chance romance tropes are done so well here. The anger Kathleen has for a system that punishes her for her choices is so relatable and her anger at Cal for not stepping up for her drives the story in a way that is relatable and believable.

Characters:

Loved the fleshed-out main characters and unlike so many other stories found the secondary characters multi-dimensional and realistic. Harriet’s wrestling with the baggage of her friend and the man who holds her musical’s success in his hands was well done and totally human.

Tropes and Triggers:

Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers, Second Chances / Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Eating disorder

Quotes:

“His mouth found my throat and I found myself thanking whatever lovers he’d had between then and now, because this? This wasn’t a boy unsure of himself.”

“I just wanted you to know. That I love you. Harriet thinks I have been in love with you since we were kids and I think she’s right.”

Stars:

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Summary of book: Gracie Landing, a romance writer, is going through a difficult time with a recent breakup and writer’s block. To cheer herself up, she turns to alcohol and ends up emailing her high-school crush, Colin Yarmouth. To her surprise, Colin responds with a friendly and flirty message, sparking an unlikely friendship between the two. As they get to know each other, Gracie becomes inspired by Colin’s own experiences with heartbreak and with his encouragement incorporates his story into her work-in-progress. However, she has no idea that borrowing Colin’s story could have negative consequences on her life, career, and chances at finding love. How this impacts Gracie’s relationship with Colin and how her use of his story affects her writing and personal life is the crux of the story. Will she be able to navigate these challenges and find happiness, or will her actions lead to further complications?

General Review: For me, this book would have been better if there had been more of our couple and less of the secondary plots and characters. In the beginning I really didn’t like Gracie and I think that in trying to make her relatable Micciche made her a TMI mess. As the story progresses and you get less of that and more insight into her career development and Colin’s family life the better the story gets. I also wish there had been more focus on developing their relationship before they were lovers. As the story progresses you begin to root for them more and more and I really liked the third act resolution was not immediate.

Characters: Everyone is a hot mess. Gracie grows on you as the focus is less on her TMI screw ups and more on the character flaws. Colin is pitiable and pretty much from the start you want him to walk away from his friends and family. Which leads me to my biggest complaint about this book. I hated all the secondary characters. Not in the good way but in the “I wanted to skip over pages that included Dom and Colin’s Dad and the rest” kind of way.

Plot: I liked the plot of the story, struggling writer finds story with her childhood crush and it leads to romance and chaos. Literary plots are a favorite of mine, but I would have liked more of this and less flashbacks and softball.

Tropes and Triggers: Second chance (sort of), Divorce, cheating (not MCs), bullying, emetophobia warning

Quotes:
“He laughs. ‘You’re ridiculous.’
‘You love it,’ I say.
‘I just might,’ he says.”

“All I’m trying to say is that I really care about you, Gracie. I feel like I screwed up the chance to get to know you in high school, and I don’t want to screw it up now.”
“That’s the thing, Gracie.” He looks deep into my eyes. I’m hoping it never ends.”

Stars: