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Relative Fiction: A Spicy Small Town Romance
Two ex best friends reconnect twelve years later by studying romantic comedy films & writing to help grow through loss & grief... But can they be each other's happy ending?
Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet either—back to his three jobs, sky-high rent, and the dream he’s been running down since high school—because he’s home to care for his sick dad. Add on his tumultuous career as a romance author and crippling writer’s block and…maybe he’s ready to admit that he’s not quite happy anymore.
Enter his ex-best friend, Julia Ward, who he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years.
Julia’s stuck, her trust in herself shredded, and she’s left in proverbial and actual ruin by her cheating ex-fiancé. So she does the only thing she can throws herself into her corporate job. And unfortunately moves back in with her parents in Starling Hills. But seeing Thomas stirs up parts of her that she’s lost. Her fingers begin to yearn for the keyboard, like back when she wrote fan fiction and the two planned to study in New York City together and become writers.
One awkward get-together later and Thomas is desperate to rekindle their friendship, despite his lingering attraction to Julia and looming deadline for his next book. So they make a bet to see who can write 50,000 words first before Thomas returns to NYC, while studying romantic comedy films for inspiration in their writing…and in life.
As their deadline grows closer, they learn that happiness is relative and fleeting. But between the loss of a parent and career shake-ups, past secrets and new betrayals, they realize this could be their second chance and that their love is worth fighting for.
Relative Fiction is the first novel in an interconnected series set in Starling Hills, Michigan.
Relative Fiction contains explicit sexual content and sensitive topics. Content warnings can be found in the first pages of the book.
Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet either—back to his three jobs, sky-high rent, and the dream he’s been running down since high school—because he’s home to care for his sick dad. Add on his tumultuous career as a romance author and crippling writer’s block and…maybe he’s ready to admit that he’s not quite happy anymore.
Enter his ex-best friend, Julia Ward, who he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years.
Julia’s stuck, her trust in herself shredded, and she’s left in proverbial and actual ruin by her cheating ex-fiancé. So she does the only thing she can throws herself into her corporate job. And unfortunately moves back in with her parents in Starling Hills. But seeing Thomas stirs up parts of her that she’s lost. Her fingers begin to yearn for the keyboard, like back when she wrote fan fiction and the two planned to study in New York City together and become writers.
One awkward get-together later and Thomas is desperate to rekindle their friendship, despite his lingering attraction to Julia and looming deadline for his next book. So they make a bet to see who can write 50,000 words first before Thomas returns to NYC, while studying romantic comedy films for inspiration in their writing…and in life.
As their deadline grows closer, they learn that happiness is relative and fleeting. But between the loss of a parent and career shake-ups, past secrets and new betrayals, they realize this could be their second chance and that their love is worth fighting for.
Relative Fiction is the first novel in an interconnected series set in Starling Hills, Michigan.
Relative Fiction contains explicit sexual content and sensitive topics. Content warnings can be found in the first pages of the book.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2023
70 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
About the author
Alaina Rose
6 books41 followersAlaina lives in Michigan with her spouse and grumpy cat, Gary. She self-publishes angsty & sexy romance novels.
find me, my newsletter, & more on Instagram, @alainarosebooks
find me, my newsletter, & more on Instagram, @alainarosebooks
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
April 13, 2023
I am a sucker for a book about writers, and the writing process, so when I spotted this title, I didn’t mind that the synopsis sounded a lot like “Beach Read” (Emily Henry). It’s the same reason that I downloaded “The Writing Retreat” (Julia Bartz). I wanted to read about writing.
“Beach Read” delivered the friendly competition between writers that it promised, but “The Writing Retreat” seemed more focused on “sexual exploration”.
Unfortunately, THIS title more closely resembles “The Writing Retreat”.
Julia and Thomas were best friends in high school, who both wanted to be writers. She wrote smutty Fan Fiction back then, and he wanted to be a Rom-Com author.
It’s been twelve years since they have seen each other, but both are back in their home town, temporarily living with their parents. He is an author, who was living in N.Y. before coming home to care for his father who is dying from Lung Cancer, and she found out that her fiancé cheated just weeks before they were supposed to marry.
He wagers a friendly bet-rewatch their favorite Classic Rom-Coms, to help him with his writer’s block, and to give her hope that HEA does exist, and reignite her passion for writing. Whoever writes 50,000 words first-wins.
SOUNDS CUTE, right?
But, what LITTLE “writing” ✍🏻 there is occurs off page, and is rarely even mentioned.
What does occur on page is a lot of explicit OPEN DOOR sex, with body parts being referred to in their crudest terms, (which isn’t sexy to me) and a “play by play” of what each character is doing to one another, often in clinical terms.
Chemistry between people for me includes playful banter. Without that component in a relationship-its just great sex.
Not at all what I was hoping for, when I took a chance on this title. And, at 406 pages, way too much of what I wasn’t looking for.
NOW AVAILABLE
Thank You to the author and NetGalley for the gifted copy. Alaina Rose is an Indie Author, and thoughtfully provides a list of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book.
“Beach Read” delivered the friendly competition between writers that it promised, but “The Writing Retreat” seemed more focused on “sexual exploration”.
Unfortunately, THIS title more closely resembles “The Writing Retreat”.
Julia and Thomas were best friends in high school, who both wanted to be writers. She wrote smutty Fan Fiction back then, and he wanted to be a Rom-Com author.
It’s been twelve years since they have seen each other, but both are back in their home town, temporarily living with their parents. He is an author, who was living in N.Y. before coming home to care for his father who is dying from Lung Cancer, and she found out that her fiancé cheated just weeks before they were supposed to marry.
He wagers a friendly bet-rewatch their favorite Classic Rom-Coms, to help him with his writer’s block, and to give her hope that HEA does exist, and reignite her passion for writing. Whoever writes 50,000 words first-wins.
SOUNDS CUTE, right?
But, what LITTLE “writing” ✍🏻 there is occurs off page, and is rarely even mentioned.
What does occur on page is a lot of explicit OPEN DOOR sex, with body parts being referred to in their crudest terms, (which isn’t sexy to me) and a “play by play” of what each character is doing to one another, often in clinical terms.
Chemistry between people for me includes playful banter. Without that component in a relationship-its just great sex.
Not at all what I was hoping for, when I took a chance on this title. And, at 406 pages, way too much of what I wasn’t looking for.
NOW AVAILABLE
Thank You to the author and NetGalley for the gifted copy. Alaina Rose is an Indie Author, and thoughtfully provides a list of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book.
August 25, 2023
"He felt the seismic shift, his deformed pieces slipping back into their original form. One word repeated on loop in his mind: hope."
°•*⁀➷
Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am absolutely the target audience for this book. When you can get past adults acting like teenagers for about half a book simply because you're enjoying it so much... well, that's a pretty big deal. I loved following Thomas and Julia's love story. Whether it be because I have my own ideas of what I always wanted my love life to look like and they all seemed to be reflected here, or if I just love a good friends to lovers coming home story, the world may never know.
I love when your partner motivates you, and always wants to be next to you, and is completely and utterly in love with the idea of wanting to spend life beside you. I adored watching Thomas' crush turn into full blown love, watching Julia realize maybe not all guys suck. I love a good "we haven't seen each other in years and you look amazing" stare. I love when forced proximity turns into voluntary proximity with a side of "oh my god I love this person?"
This book had it all. Add to it the love shared by two writers and fleeting happiness and the acknowledgement that happy isn't the default and you have to work for it every day. I thought this book was so fun, so sweet, and I can't wait to buy myself a copy now that I know I love it as much as I did. I'm so thankful that I get to try books out and love them before getting my own copy and loving that even better.
Feeling as lucky as Thomas and Julia are to sit next to each other and write.
- Paige
°•*⁀➷
Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am absolutely the target audience for this book. When you can get past adults acting like teenagers for about half a book simply because you're enjoying it so much... well, that's a pretty big deal. I loved following Thomas and Julia's love story. Whether it be because I have my own ideas of what I always wanted my love life to look like and they all seemed to be reflected here, or if I just love a good friends to lovers coming home story, the world may never know.
I love when your partner motivates you, and always wants to be next to you, and is completely and utterly in love with the idea of wanting to spend life beside you. I adored watching Thomas' crush turn into full blown love, watching Julia realize maybe not all guys suck. I love a good "we haven't seen each other in years and you look amazing" stare. I love when forced proximity turns into voluntary proximity with a side of "oh my god I love this person?"
This book had it all. Add to it the love shared by two writers and fleeting happiness and the acknowledgement that happy isn't the default and you have to work for it every day. I thought this book was so fun, so sweet, and I can't wait to buy myself a copy now that I know I love it as much as I did. I'm so thankful that I get to try books out and love them before getting my own copy and loving that even better.
Feeling as lucky as Thomas and Julia are to sit next to each other and write.
- Paige
May 24, 2023
Came for the spice and got it. The story was a brave attempt at reconciling failed dreams and trauma/grief. Wished there was more focus on the writing challenge.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 23, 2023
I love a good love story with second chaNces. I think everyone can relate in some way with this book. The characters had a good chemistry and had me wanted to read more. I found that I did not want to put the book down.
Thank you Net Galley for approving a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Thank you Net Galley for approving a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
May 12, 2023
What a lovely debut novel! The characters were honest and messy. I enjoyed the Midwest references and the relatable writing. The author took care in disclosing possible sensitive topics and handled sexuality and gender identity in a way I really appreciated. Great read!
March 20, 2023
Twelve years ago, Thomas and Julia's high school friendship fell apart in the small town of Starling Hills, Michigan. They once dreamed of being writers in New York City together, but that vision never materialized. And now that Thomas has come home to handle a dire family situation, old feelings don't stay buried for long. Thanks to some loaded text exchanges and a bet between them, Relative Fiction had a strong start but began to show some cracks about halfway through. Though I enjoyed Thomas and Julia's characters and how they slowly came back to each other after so long, some of the decisions they made in the back half of the book felt childish and frustrating. Now, don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the read overall since the characters were relatable, as were the struggles they faced as individuals facing uncertainty in their personal and professional lives. My main struggle had to do with the conflict they face since I didn't see it being worth all the pain and grief it caused them. A quick conversation could have shaved a few chapters off the book, creating a stronger foundation for the future romance they hoped to have.
Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Alaina Rose for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and Alaina Rose for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 , 🌶️🌶️
Dual POV
Second chance romance
friends to strangers to friends to lovers
Small town romance
Bisexual representation
ate up the first 40% of this book, it was funny, lighthearted and loved watching Julia & Thomas go from strangers to friends (if you have read from love and other words their friendship reminded me a bit of Elliot and Macy). They had such a strong connection with a complicated past which left them out of touch for 10+ years. & I loved that they were both aspiring authors and rooting each other on! I did find myself a little bored with the story line from 40-70% in the book and then it really picked up again and the ending was a whirlwind of emotions! & towards the end of the book I was a little upset in the shift of Julias character, blaming Thomas for things they had an equal part in. I do love that it ended on a happy note and they were about to talk it through!
I think Thomas character growth was done so well! & I really enjoyed Julia’s friend, Susan (the very supportive, I’m here if you need me friend).
I look forward to reading more books from this author!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
Dual POV
Second chance romance
friends to strangers to friends to lovers
Small town romance
Bisexual representation
ate up the first 40% of this book, it was funny, lighthearted and loved watching Julia & Thomas go from strangers to friends (if you have read from love and other words their friendship reminded me a bit of Elliot and Macy). They had such a strong connection with a complicated past which left them out of touch for 10+ years. & I loved that they were both aspiring authors and rooting each other on! I did find myself a little bored with the story line from 40-70% in the book and then it really picked up again and the ending was a whirlwind of emotions! & towards the end of the book I was a little upset in the shift of Julias character, blaming Thomas for things they had an equal part in. I do love that it ended on a happy note and they were about to talk it through!
I think Thomas character growth was done so well! & I really enjoyed Julia’s friend, Susan (the very supportive, I’m here if you need me friend).
I look forward to reading more books from this author!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
April 14, 2023
Julia's life is in shambles. After she broke off her engagement with her lying, cheating ex, she couldn't feel worse. Then, she recieves a text from her high school best friend Thomas after not having spoken for over a decade. He's back in their home town and he wants to see her. While Thomas and Julia try to rekindle their friendship and restore Julias faith in love they both have to deal with their own feelings about their lives, their homes and each other.
Oh boy. I absolutely thought I'd be the target audience for this book. Writers and rom coms and a dash of friends to lovers? Sign me up. Sadly, I didn't really connect to either of the main characters even though both have a huge passion for writing. The large amount of fandom references - even though I have seen and/or read the majority of the relevant stories - made me feel like I was a little too young to grasp what exactly the characters were drawing from their preferred pieces of media. I really enjoyed the author's general voice though, as well as the sibling relationships. If you're really into circa 2015-tumblr-fandoms, writing and friends to lovers, this might be for you!
Oh boy. I absolutely thought I'd be the target audience for this book. Writers and rom coms and a dash of friends to lovers? Sign me up. Sadly, I didn't really connect to either of the main characters even though both have a huge passion for writing. The large amount of fandom references - even though I have seen and/or read the majority of the relevant stories - made me feel like I was a little too young to grasp what exactly the characters were drawing from their preferred pieces of media. I really enjoyed the author's general voice though, as well as the sibling relationships. If you're really into circa 2015-tumblr-fandoms, writing and friends to lovers, this might be for you!
April 12, 2023
I really wanted to love this book, and while it wasn’t a bad read i had some issues with the writing and characters.
I was super excited to read about authors! It’s become a fun niche i enjoy being in and getting to see an author’s process / behind the scenes of a successful knowledge. I feel like Relative Fiction mentions a bet between our two MCs to see who can write more and while there mentions of writing goals you don’t really get to see anything of the writing.
The third act breakup / conflict just really irked me. It was something really stupid and cuz of that it wasn’t believable. While the characters had a strong backstory to believe on for this romance i felt the last 25% of the book was rather rushed and because of that the romance side of their relationship was somewhat silly.
Overall, this one was a miss for me. It felt like i was struggling to get through it. It’s giving friends to enemies to lovers.
I was super excited to read about authors! It’s become a fun niche i enjoy being in and getting to see an author’s process / behind the scenes of a successful knowledge. I feel like Relative Fiction mentions a bet between our two MCs to see who can write more and while there mentions of writing goals you don’t really get to see anything of the writing.
The third act breakup / conflict just really irked me. It was something really stupid and cuz of that it wasn’t believable. While the characters had a strong backstory to believe on for this romance i felt the last 25% of the book was rather rushed and because of that the romance side of their relationship was somewhat silly.
Overall, this one was a miss for me. It felt like i was struggling to get through it. It’s giving friends to enemies to lovers.
December 26, 2023
Featuring two people who were best friends in high school and are now back home in the same city. Thomas made the escape from small-town Michigan to New York after high school for college. He was chasing his dream to become a published writer. He thought his best friend Julia was going to head to New York as well, but she stayed in Michigan. They haven’t talked for a dozen years.
Now Thomas is back in Michigan because of his father’s failing health. He pretty quickly meets up with Julia and they patch up their differences. Julia has given up her writing but Thomas tries to encourage her to take it back up. They soon embark on a romance.
From the description, I thought this would be more about writing and the life of writers, and I’m always up for books with that theme. And romance is usually appealing. Overall, though, this one just didn’t click for me. There wasn’t enough about the process of writing and the romance fell flat and was too unnecessarily spicy!
Now Thomas is back in Michigan because of his father’s failing health. He pretty quickly meets up with Julia and they patch up their differences. Julia has given up her writing but Thomas tries to encourage her to take it back up. They soon embark on a romance.
From the description, I thought this would be more about writing and the life of writers, and I’m always up for books with that theme. And romance is usually appealing. Overall, though, this one just didn’t click for me. There wasn’t enough about the process of writing and the romance fell flat and was too unnecessarily spicy!
April 3, 2023
3.5
This was an enjoyable romance! I love second chance romances and this one had all the great elements of one: a would be teenaged romance, miscommunication to drive a wedge, returning home after tragedy. I enjoyed the characters and really wanted to see them come together. Also, the spicy scenes were a great addition ! Nice and hot.
-second chance
-coming home
-overcoming trauma
-writing
Release day: 4/12
This was an enjoyable romance! I love second chance romances and this one had all the great elements of one: a would be teenaged romance, miscommunication to drive a wedge, returning home after tragedy. I enjoyed the characters and really wanted to see them come together. Also, the spicy scenes were a great addition ! Nice and hot.
-second chance
-coming home
-overcoming trauma
-writing
Release day: 4/12
June 22, 2023
Everything I love in a friends-to-lovers romance!
The secret pining, the unrequited love, the longing and the angst of not knowing if this love can be or not. All wrapped up in a page-turning, super emotional plot that pulled my heartstrings and kept me glued to my kindle.
Hot, heartfelt and romantic! I can't wait for Danny's story!
The secret pining, the unrequited love, the longing and the angst of not knowing if this love can be or not. All wrapped up in a page-turning, super emotional plot that pulled my heartstrings and kept me glued to my kindle.
Hot, heartfelt and romantic! I can't wait for Danny's story!
April 6, 2023
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review.
Relative Fiction tells the story of Thomas and a Julie who both find reason to return to their home town of Starling Hills, rekindling an old friendship. The story is funny, engaging, and you will root for the characters along the way.
Relative Fiction tells the story of Thomas and a Julie who both find reason to return to their home town of Starling Hills, rekindling an old friendship. The story is funny, engaging, and you will root for the characters along the way.
April 9, 2023
I found it hard to get into this book. The characters did not work well together. The romance was not believable at all and the steamy scenes were not sexy (to me). Even the peripheral characters did not work for me here. A lot of bossy friends and family types.
July 6, 2025
I really didn’t care for this book. It was very slow going.
April 16, 2023
Ex best friends turned lovers?? I’m in every goddamn time! I just don’t know what it is about this trope that just SUCKS me in every single time! I think I just really enjoy seeing the deep history between the characters and trying to figure out what went wrong and how can it be fixed.
I really loved Thomas. A bisexual romcom writer with dark curly hair and a love for NYC? He’s all mine. He’s kinda stubborn but I let that slide cause he’s going through enough with his father’s sickness. His secret love fro Julia was so sweet and I ate up all the pining. His family’s dynamic was so cozy and I loved getting to see him work in his family’s restaurant (even if he hated it)
Julia was a more complicated character for me. I think the issue is that her and I are very much not alike in many ways so I had a hard time connecting with her. Especially in the third act…I wanted to commit a crime against her because of her irrational behavior…Thank god for my main girl Susan talking some much needed sense into her and eventually she redeemed herself. Speaking of Susan, I LOVED her. She is exactly what you want in a work bestie!
Overall, I think this was a great debut novel and I’m so excited to read more from Alaina in the future!
Thank you to Alaina Rose for the ARC 🫶🏽
I really loved Thomas. A bisexual romcom writer with dark curly hair and a love for NYC? He’s all mine. He’s kinda stubborn but I let that slide cause he’s going through enough with his father’s sickness. His secret love fro Julia was so sweet and I ate up all the pining. His family’s dynamic was so cozy and I loved getting to see him work in his family’s restaurant (even if he hated it)
Julia was a more complicated character for me. I think the issue is that her and I are very much not alike in many ways so I had a hard time connecting with her. Especially in the third act…I wanted to commit a crime against her because of her irrational behavior…Thank god for my main girl Susan talking some much needed sense into her and eventually she redeemed herself. Speaking of Susan, I LOVED her. She is exactly what you want in a work bestie!
Overall, I think this was a great debut novel and I’m so excited to read more from Alaina in the future!
Thank you to Alaina Rose for the ARC 🫶🏽
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March 29, 2023Thanks to Alaina Rose, NetGalley, and BooksGoSocial for letting me read this ARC!
I loved the premise of the novel, and how old high school friends (who should’ve been lovers) are both in their hometown at the same time going through life changing events. I really enjoyed the Thomas chapters, and enjoyed his character development. I had a difficult time relating to Julia, and found myself wanting to skip her chapters. However, there was a long stretch in the middle of the novel that I had to push myself through, and ultimately enjoyed the ending.
I think Alaina has an amazing writing style, and I can’t wait to read more from her.
I loved the premise of the novel, and how old high school friends (who should’ve been lovers) are both in their hometown at the same time going through life changing events. I really enjoyed the Thomas chapters, and enjoyed his character development. I had a difficult time relating to Julia, and found myself wanting to skip her chapters. However, there was a long stretch in the middle of the novel that I had to push myself through, and ultimately enjoyed the ending.
I think Alaina has an amazing writing style, and I can’t wait to read more from her.
April 21, 2025
This was such a disappointing read. I kept waiting to fall in love with one of the characters,or their romance, but I was bored the entire time. The sexy scenes were far from sexy and it just felt like the author was trying too hard to be inclusive to everything. It all felt very forced and I considered not finishing this one.
April 16, 2023
This debut novel from Alaina Rose had a lot packed into one book. Personally, I feel like a little too much to be able to adequately give ENOUGH to each moment. I had a very hard time finding any redeeming or likable qualities about Julia, which made it hard to root for her. I did love how Alaina was cognizant of pronouns and preserved sexuality and gender.
Special thanks to Net Galley and Books Go Social for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Special thanks to Net Galley and Books Go Social for sharing this digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
April 16, 2023
I can't believe this is a debut novel! There are lots of things I enjoyed about this ex best friends to lovers story. I think the biggest thing is the character development. Throughout the book we get to know Julia and Thomas so well, along with their relationships with their family and friends, which makes all their emotions, thoughts, and actions believable. It even helps explain the third act break up, which can always be hard to read, but was necessary in this case to set up the perfect, heart warming reconciliation.
Also, the pining and then subsequent spice was perfection! The emotional connection in those scenes made them even more enjoyable to read!
Also, I loved all the rom-com and pop culture references! These days I like when characters are in their 30s and closer to my age, because it makes them more relatable and makes for some great references.
This book is a mixture of swoon, heart break, nostalgia, and humor and I loved it all! I read it in 2 sittings because I was so invested in Julia and Thomas's story.
I highly recommend! Also, follow @alainarosebooks on Instagram for the best memes!
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Also, the pining and then subsequent spice was perfection! The emotional connection in those scenes made them even more enjoyable to read!
Also, I loved all the rom-com and pop culture references! These days I like when characters are in their 30s and closer to my age, because it makes them more relatable and makes for some great references.
This book is a mixture of swoon, heart break, nostalgia, and humor and I loved it all! I read it in 2 sittings because I was so invested in Julia and Thomas's story.
I highly recommend! Also, follow @alainarosebooks on Instagram for the best memes!
Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!
August 13, 2023
This was such a lovely read! I am really enjoying sweet and gentle romances lately, and this was definitely a fave. Thomas and Julia are both trying to figure themselves out, and are back in their hometown to do just that. They’re both writers at different stages of their careers and help each other move forward with their writing, which leads them to moving forward with their lives and romantic relationship too! I loved their growth as characters, both finding direction and passion in themselves and each other.
A beautiful debut by @alainarosebooks ♥️
A beautiful debut by @alainarosebooks ♥️
April 12, 2023
I didn't like it. The main characters had no chemistry, the sex scenes were boring (I skipped through them cuz I just couldn't stand them – they felt so unnecessary), and Julia was so annoying. She didn't make sense at all. By 44%, I felt like DNF-ing the book, but I don't ever DNF books, plus I had to review it on NetGalley (and I currently want to keep my 100% feedback ratio going), so I decided to push on, keep an open mind and PRAY that I will grow to like it again.
Honestly, the book started out strong. Julia Ward broke her engagement with her boyfriend of 12 years from high school because he was a cheating liar. Thomas Callaghan, her best friend from high school, returned to town because his father was dying from lung cancer. It had such a nice setting, but the book failed to live its potential.
First point: The main characters had no chemistry.
Look. I like Thomas. He was a nice guy. I think he was such an amazing friend to Julia. But Thomas and Julia started to lose chemistry as the book went on. I just couldn't feel the spark between them. I couldn't feel the pining that was supposed to be there.
Second point: The sex scenes were boring.
As I said, I skipped through them. I just couldn't stand them. They felt like they were there for the sake of having smut. Maybe it's cuz I didn't feel the chemistry between them to begin with, so the build-up to the sex scenes just felt so bland.
Third point: Julia was so annoying.
She was so annoying. Full stop. I'll need a spoiler tag if I elaborate on it, and I recently decided not to include spoilers in my reviews because the Goodreads app just blocks off the entire review instead of just selected portions of the review. Anyway, I think she's unrealistic and toxic when it comes to what she got upset about at the 81% mark, which is where you saw me go WTF in my progress update. Her anger made no sense to me. She just came off as an unreasonable person. Whatever character growth that supposedly came about after didn't make sense to me either. Nothing made sense after that outburst. It felt like a forced third-act breakup. And I felt that Thomas deserved better.
This story is about two writers. I'm glad that the story stayed true to the theme, with consistent mentioning of their bet to write 50,000 words first. However, that's it. It's just mentioned. They didn't talk about the writing process at all. It's just done off the pages. That's not really an issue, though. But for people who were expecting lots about writing, there isn't.
The saving grace of this book was the twist at the end. I had a good time swearing at you-know-who, which was that one moment when I was on Julia's side after starting to lose my liking towards this book. Another great thing about this book was bi rep. That felt natural (or at least, more so than the other woke stuff in the story). Unlike the unnatural parts in other parts of the book where it started to feel like this book was woke for the sake of being woke. And I hate that so much. It felt like the author was trying too hard to be woke to the point that it was so cringe-worthy. And insensitive.
This book was available to be read on NetGalley. Since it was free, and it sounded nice, I thought, "Hey, let's give it a go!" The average rating on Goodreads was 3.62 at the time of writing this review, so it couldn't be that bad. That's what I thought. In all fairness, this book wasn't utter trash, which is why I rated it 2 stars and not 1, but it wasn't good. I'm sorry. There were so many problems to point out. That's just how it is. And I'm the type of reader that's very lenient on ratings. Most of my reviews have 5- or 4-star ratings. I'm sure there are people who are more simple-minded and can easily enjoy this book. I did enjoy it fairly well at the beginning. But it just got worse.
I'm not going to nitpick on the grammar because it's an ARC that I read, but they were definitely there. BUT they were also not that jarring. I wasn't exactly looking out for mistakes because it's an ARC, so that's that.
I believe that every book has someone who likes them, so while I wouldn't particularly recommend this book, I think that people who like second-chance small-town romance stories between high school best friends who reunite after 12 years might enjoy this. I mean, clearly, a lot of people enjoyed this book, judging by the 3.62 average ratings (at the time of writing). I highly do not recommend this book to people who hate forced wokeness and unreasonable main characters.
To the author, this book had potential. I'm so proud of you for publishing this book as an indie author. This book wasn't for me, but I'm sure many people will enjoy it. I'm sorry for the low rating, but this is my honest opinion. Maybe if Julia had a better reaction at that 80% mark, this might've been a 3- or 4-star review. All the best for your future stories! If I ever read them in the future, I hope I'll enjoy them better than this one <3
Honestly, the book started out strong. Julia Ward broke her engagement with her boyfriend of 12 years from high school because he was a cheating liar. Thomas Callaghan, her best friend from high school, returned to town because his father was dying from lung cancer. It had such a nice setting, but the book failed to live its potential.
First point: The main characters had no chemistry.
Look. I like Thomas. He was a nice guy. I think he was such an amazing friend to Julia. But Thomas and Julia started to lose chemistry as the book went on. I just couldn't feel the spark between them. I couldn't feel the pining that was supposed to be there.
Second point: The sex scenes were boring.
As I said, I skipped through them. I just couldn't stand them. They felt like they were there for the sake of having smut. Maybe it's cuz I didn't feel the chemistry between them to begin with, so the build-up to the sex scenes just felt so bland.
Third point: Julia was so annoying.
She was so annoying. Full stop. I'll need a spoiler tag if I elaborate on it, and I recently decided not to include spoilers in my reviews because the Goodreads app just blocks off the entire review instead of just selected portions of the review. Anyway, I think she's unrealistic and toxic when it comes to what she got upset about at the 81% mark, which is where you saw me go WTF in my progress update. Her anger made no sense to me. She just came off as an unreasonable person. Whatever character growth that supposedly came about after didn't make sense to me either. Nothing made sense after that outburst. It felt like a forced third-act breakup. And I felt that Thomas deserved better.
This story is about two writers. I'm glad that the story stayed true to the theme, with consistent mentioning of their bet to write 50,000 words first. However, that's it. It's just mentioned. They didn't talk about the writing process at all. It's just done off the pages. That's not really an issue, though. But for people who were expecting lots about writing, there isn't.
The saving grace of this book was the twist at the end. I had a good time swearing at you-know-who, which was that one moment when I was on Julia's side after starting to lose my liking towards this book. Another great thing about this book was bi rep. That felt natural (or at least, more so than the other woke stuff in the story). Unlike the unnatural parts in other parts of the book where it started to feel like this book was woke for the sake of being woke. And I hate that so much. It felt like the author was trying too hard to be woke to the point that it was so cringe-worthy. And insensitive.
This book was available to be read on NetGalley. Since it was free, and it sounded nice, I thought, "Hey, let's give it a go!" The average rating on Goodreads was 3.62 at the time of writing this review, so it couldn't be that bad. That's what I thought. In all fairness, this book wasn't utter trash, which is why I rated it 2 stars and not 1, but it wasn't good. I'm sorry. There were so many problems to point out. That's just how it is. And I'm the type of reader that's very lenient on ratings. Most of my reviews have 5- or 4-star ratings. I'm sure there are people who are more simple-minded and can easily enjoy this book. I did enjoy it fairly well at the beginning. But it just got worse.
I'm not going to nitpick on the grammar because it's an ARC that I read, but they were definitely there. BUT they were also not that jarring. I wasn't exactly looking out for mistakes because it's an ARC, so that's that.
I believe that every book has someone who likes them, so while I wouldn't particularly recommend this book, I think that people who like second-chance small-town romance stories between high school best friends who reunite after 12 years might enjoy this. I mean, clearly, a lot of people enjoyed this book, judging by the 3.62 average ratings (at the time of writing). I highly do not recommend this book to people who hate forced wokeness and unreasonable main characters.
To the author, this book had potential. I'm so proud of you for publishing this book as an indie author. This book wasn't for me, but I'm sure many people will enjoy it. I'm sorry for the low rating, but this is my honest opinion. Maybe if Julia had a better reaction at that 80% mark, this might've been a 3- or 4-star review. All the best for your future stories! If I ever read them in the future, I hope I'll enjoy them better than this one <3
March 28, 2023
For once, can they just move back to the big city?
There was a lot in this book that I liked, but more that I disliked.
The good: Thomas is an endearing character, the chemistry between Thomas and Julia was amazing, the pining was god tier (and I’m so weak for pining), explicitly bisexual leading man!!! who has relationships with other men!!
But overall it felt like it was trying too hard to be woke and wholesome without like… sensitivity readers?
There was a point where the book lumped nonbinary people in with “she/hers” which is reductive, to say the least.
The constant use of “folk” instead of “people” where it didn’t fit – like “hassidic Jewish folk”. People is also gender-neutral.
There were parts where the tense was off – it should have been past perfect when Julia and Thomas would reminisce about the past in present-set chapters, but instead it was simple past? Honestly, a lot of weird grammar stuff that even a good second set of eyes (if not an actual editor) should have caught. Lots of awkward “insert character description several sentences long here”, too, rather than letting it flow organically. And some jarring use of Briticisms – really weird coming from an American author writing American characters in America.
Also it’s weird that the author took the time to explain what a Meijer’s is but not Coney Island?
The sex scenes were generally good, but what irked me was the constant “is this okay?” with every little action. Romance novels are not meant to be guides to perfect communication; the constant checking in tears the reader out of the fantasy (besides, verbal consent is not the only kind of consent).
Also there was a mention of “ample boob” which is just a jarring phrase.
And the leaving New York for the boring small town they both explicitly feel smothered in! Why?
What irked me the absolute most, though, was the music. It’s five years out of date, which doesn’t matter much for the 2023 scenes, but it sure does for the 2009 scenes. Like Thomas, I was sixteen in 2009, and no one was listening to Blink-182 on the radio except maybe a throwback to “All the Small Things”… and Transatlanticism by Death Cab???? Absolutely not. There’s some early pop-punk/emo that was still being played (trust me, I was both a theatre and an emo kid their exact age at that exact time), so I wouldn’t have batted an eye at Say Anything or Saves the Day or Green Day, but these specific choices were absolutely out of date and completely jarring.
Also, where were the musical numbers??? Where was Next to Normal???? Any self-respecting theatre kid blasts show tunes and N2N was absolutely huge that year. There could have been a neat line drawn between Natalie’s desperation to leave (with music as a lifeline) and Julia and Thomas’s. But instead we got outdated pop-punk and a handful of references to Les Mis without anyone breaking out into One More Day.
A lot about this book didn’t make sense.
There was a lot in this book that I liked, but more that I disliked.
The good: Thomas is an endearing character, the chemistry between Thomas and Julia was amazing, the pining was god tier (and I’m so weak for pining), explicitly bisexual leading man!!! who has relationships with other men!!
But overall it felt like it was trying too hard to be woke and wholesome without like… sensitivity readers?
There was a point where the book lumped nonbinary people in with “she/hers” which is reductive, to say the least.
The constant use of “folk” instead of “people” where it didn’t fit – like “hassidic Jewish folk”. People is also gender-neutral.
There were parts where the tense was off – it should have been past perfect when Julia and Thomas would reminisce about the past in present-set chapters, but instead it was simple past? Honestly, a lot of weird grammar stuff that even a good second set of eyes (if not an actual editor) should have caught. Lots of awkward “insert character description several sentences long here”, too, rather than letting it flow organically. And some jarring use of Briticisms – really weird coming from an American author writing American characters in America.
Also it’s weird that the author took the time to explain what a Meijer’s is but not Coney Island?
The sex scenes were generally good, but what irked me was the constant “is this okay?” with every little action. Romance novels are not meant to be guides to perfect communication; the constant checking in tears the reader out of the fantasy (besides, verbal consent is not the only kind of consent).
Also there was a mention of “ample boob” which is just a jarring phrase.
And the leaving New York for the boring small town they both explicitly feel smothered in! Why?
What irked me the absolute most, though, was the music. It’s five years out of date, which doesn’t matter much for the 2023 scenes, but it sure does for the 2009 scenes. Like Thomas, I was sixteen in 2009, and no one was listening to Blink-182 on the radio except maybe a throwback to “All the Small Things”… and Transatlanticism by Death Cab???? Absolutely not. There’s some early pop-punk/emo that was still being played (trust me, I was both a theatre and an emo kid their exact age at that exact time), so I wouldn’t have batted an eye at Say Anything or Saves the Day or Green Day, but these specific choices were absolutely out of date and completely jarring.
Also, where were the musical numbers??? Where was Next to Normal???? Any self-respecting theatre kid blasts show tunes and N2N was absolutely huge that year. There could have been a neat line drawn between Natalie’s desperation to leave (with music as a lifeline) and Julia and Thomas’s. But instead we got outdated pop-punk and a handful of references to Les Mis without anyone breaking out into One More Day.
A lot about this book didn’t make sense.
June 12, 2023
As teenagers, Thomas and Julia were insperable. Two shy nerds who preferred backstage and writing. Both of them shared the dream to move to New York City for university to become writers. Then Julia reneged on their pact after finding a boyfriend, and the two of them stopped speaking to each other.
Twelve years later Thomas has returned to their Michigan town to support his family while his dad is dying of cancer. Julia, meanwhile has had a very public break up with long-term high school boyfriend after learning from his mistress that he'd been cheating on her. Julia gave up her dreams to be subsumed into her ex's world and control. With Thomas returning and getting into contact with her, both can see feel the old sparks, and the unsaid love they had for each other as teenagers.
The problem is Thomas will leave again, so where does that leave Julia?
Relative Fiction is a second chance story of grief (including anticipatory grief) and lost dreams. Thomas has achieved being a published author with the New York life but is missing the partnership he longed for with Julia. Julia did everything her parents and ex wanted her to but is also missing writing and Thomas.
I really enjoyed the characters. The regret and wistfulness for the past and all that was unsaid. It's also a book with positive queer rep. Thomas is bisexual and luckily for him, his family have never had any issue with it.
The problem I had with this book though was, in my opinion, unnecessary 'past' chapters. We already know that Julia's ex boyfriend is a huge part of why they stopped speaking to each other, so I don't think the past chapters added to anything. Given its also not some huge secret I feel it best just revealed upfront, along with the pining they had for each other as teens but being scared kids unable to voice it. The other issue I had was the pressure on Thomas to remain in their hometown to take over his dad's dream - a fast food restaurant. While I understood New York was also not quite the dream he thought, it seemed ridiculous that he and Julia couldn't go live there for a while (instead when she finally gets there she dismisses it. Like come on, this is your chance to break free! Perhaps you and Thomas together could enjoy a stint).
The other issue I had was the two of them had a friendly bet to get to 50,000 words to encourage each other with their writing - Julia to return to it after it falling by the wayside, and Thomas with his publishing deadline. We didn't see much of this, so I wondered why this became a plot point.
Overall though this was a good read for me. I liked it and I would suggest anyone who likes a second chance book to pick this up. I am also curious to read any further stories by this author as its a promising debut, even if I had my own issues with it.
Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC.
Twelve years later Thomas has returned to their Michigan town to support his family while his dad is dying of cancer. Julia, meanwhile has had a very public break up with long-term high school boyfriend after learning from his mistress that he'd been cheating on her. Julia gave up her dreams to be subsumed into her ex's world and control. With Thomas returning and getting into contact with her, both can see feel the old sparks, and the unsaid love they had for each other as teenagers.
The problem is Thomas will leave again, so where does that leave Julia?
Relative Fiction is a second chance story of grief (including anticipatory grief) and lost dreams. Thomas has achieved being a published author with the New York life but is missing the partnership he longed for with Julia. Julia did everything her parents and ex wanted her to but is also missing writing and Thomas.
I really enjoyed the characters. The regret and wistfulness for the past and all that was unsaid. It's also a book with positive queer rep. Thomas is bisexual and luckily for him, his family have never had any issue with it.
The problem I had with this book though was, in my opinion, unnecessary 'past' chapters. We already know that Julia's ex boyfriend is a huge part of why they stopped speaking to each other, so I don't think the past chapters added to anything. Given its also not some huge secret I feel it best just revealed upfront, along with the pining they had for each other as teens but being scared kids unable to voice it. The other issue I had was the pressure on Thomas to remain in their hometown to take over his dad's dream - a fast food restaurant. While I understood New York was also not quite the dream he thought, it seemed ridiculous that he and Julia couldn't go live there for a while (instead when she finally gets there she dismisses it. Like come on, this is your chance to break free! Perhaps you and Thomas together could enjoy a stint).
The other issue I had was the two of them had a friendly bet to get to 50,000 words to encourage each other with their writing - Julia to return to it after it falling by the wayside, and Thomas with his publishing deadline. We didn't see much of this, so I wondered why this became a plot point.
Overall though this was a good read for me. I liked it and I would suggest anyone who likes a second chance book to pick this up. I am also curious to read any further stories by this author as its a promising debut, even if I had my own issues with it.
Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the ARC.
May 20, 2023
GENERAL INFO
Year Pub: 4/12/23
Date read: 5/15/23
Format: Kindle
Source: e-ARC, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Page Count: 326
Setting: Starling Hills, Michigan and NYC
Genre: CR
Tropes: 2nd chance romance, bisexuality
Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone
HEA/HFN ending: HEA
Epilogue Included: six months later
Character(s)POV Spoken: H/h Julia and Thomas-alternates between them
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Synopsis/Plot Summary:
Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet because he’s home to care for his sick dad. He's also a romance author w/ writer’s block and…maybe he’s not quite happy in NYC anymore.
He hasn't spoken to his ex-best friend, Julia Ward in twelve years. She moves back home to Michigan with her parents after her fiancé cheated. She becomes a workaholic at her corporate job. When she sees Thomas, it stirs up memories of their childhood and dreams for the future. They planned to move to New York City together and become writers.
Rekindling their friendship and love for writing, they make a bet to see who can research and write 50,000 words first w/ a HEA.
M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F, M/M
Contains Children: yes, H/h as teenagers.
Flashbacks: yes, Julia and Thomas as teens writing fanfiction together and dreaming about going to school in New York together.
Overall Smex Rating: 5, a little too much for me
OW/OM/Exes: Julia's ex-fiancé Josh-together since she was 17 years old.
AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Alaina Rose
New or read before & any favorites: new author
CONTENT/TRIGGERS WARNING:
death of a parent, grief, cheating,
PERSONAL OVERVIEW
Overall Rating: 4*
Do You Recommend This Book: yes
Will You Re-read This Book: yes
Would You Read More Books By This Author: yes
Comments/Notes: I enjoyed Thomas and Julia's characters and how they slowly came back to each other after over a decade. They both had struggles to face in their personal and professional lives.Thomas had hard choices to make. His grief over his dad was written so well and I really connected with him. The side character Susan was great. Julia needed someone like her who could tell her like it is.
Year Pub: 4/12/23
Date read: 5/15/23
Format: Kindle
Source: e-ARC, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Page Count: 326
Setting: Starling Hills, Michigan and NYC
Genre: CR
Tropes: 2nd chance romance, bisexuality
Standalone/Cliffhanger/Part of a Series: standalone
HEA/HFN ending: HEA
Epilogue Included: six months later
Character(s)POV Spoken: H/h Julia and Thomas-alternates between them
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Synopsis/Plot Summary:
Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet because he’s home to care for his sick dad. He's also a romance author w/ writer’s block and…maybe he’s not quite happy in NYC anymore.
He hasn't spoken to his ex-best friend, Julia Ward in twelve years. She moves back home to Michigan with her parents after her fiancé cheated. She becomes a workaholic at her corporate job. When she sees Thomas, it stirs up memories of their childhood and dreams for the future. They planned to move to New York City together and become writers.
Rekindling their friendship and love for writing, they make a bet to see who can research and write 50,000 words first w/ a HEA.
M/F-M/M-M/M/F-etc: M/F, M/M
Contains Children: yes, H/h as teenagers.
Flashbacks: yes, Julia and Thomas as teens writing fanfiction together and dreaming about going to school in New York together.
Overall Smex Rating: 5, a little too much for me
OW/OM/Exes: Julia's ex-fiancé Josh-together since she was 17 years old.
AUTHOR OVERVIEW
Alaina Rose
New or read before & any favorites: new author
CONTENT/TRIGGERS WARNING:
death of a parent, grief, cheating,
PERSONAL OVERVIEW
Overall Rating: 4*
Do You Recommend This Book: yes
Will You Re-read This Book: yes
Would You Read More Books By This Author: yes
Comments/Notes: I enjoyed Thomas and Julia's characters and how they slowly came back to each other after over a decade. They both had struggles to face in their personal and professional lives.Thomas had hard choices to make. His grief over his dad was written so well and I really connected with him. The side character Susan was great. Julia needed someone like her who could tell her like it is.
April 13, 2023
The premise of this book sounded cute, hence the reason I chose to read it from NetGalley, but from the beginning I was disappointed. About 80% of the way through I had an “Aha!” moment and realized I think I am not the intended audience.
Julia and Thomas were best friends in high school and had plans to leave their home state of Michigan and go to New York for college and chase their dreams of becoming writers. Julia backed out at the last minute, creating a rift between them. 15 years later, Thomas, who accomplished his dream, finds himself back in Michigan and he decides to reconnect with Julia, who never left and is at a dead end job and has given up on her dream.
I found the writing of this to be very juvenile. While it’s told from 3rd person, the narrative is written as though it’ should be told from a first person perspective and I probably would have enjoyed it a tad more if it had been written that way.
I know I’m a harsh critic, but certain things jump out at me and can completely ruin a book despite how good the storyline is (full disclosure: this one was just meh). I am a stickler for grammar and one of my biggest pet peeves is the use of pronoun and proper noun followed by the subject (her and Thomas went to dinner.). Even if it’s used only once in the book I’m immediately turned off and it takes a lot to get me back. Unfortunately, this novel didn’t have enough substance to reel me back in after that one particular sentence.
The writing was flat and very one dimensional. Alaina Rose made sure to include the fact that her characters are Zennials several times throughout this book, so I figured it meant that their parents are my generation, but I didn’t connect with them at all. It felt like they were there to add substance to the story, but in the scenes with them, they barely popped up from the background.
When I was in my 20’s my favorite books were the romcoms published by Red Dress Ink and while this reminded me greatly of those, the writing was subpar to what I remember. It makes me almost want to go back a reread one just for a better comparison. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advanced copy of this book. This hit the shelves on April 12.
Julia and Thomas were best friends in high school and had plans to leave their home state of Michigan and go to New York for college and chase their dreams of becoming writers. Julia backed out at the last minute, creating a rift between them. 15 years later, Thomas, who accomplished his dream, finds himself back in Michigan and he decides to reconnect with Julia, who never left and is at a dead end job and has given up on her dream.
I found the writing of this to be very juvenile. While it’s told from 3rd person, the narrative is written as though it’ should be told from a first person perspective and I probably would have enjoyed it a tad more if it had been written that way.
I know I’m a harsh critic, but certain things jump out at me and can completely ruin a book despite how good the storyline is (full disclosure: this one was just meh). I am a stickler for grammar and one of my biggest pet peeves is the use of pronoun and proper noun followed by the subject (her and Thomas went to dinner.). Even if it’s used only once in the book I’m immediately turned off and it takes a lot to get me back. Unfortunately, this novel didn’t have enough substance to reel me back in after that one particular sentence.
The writing was flat and very one dimensional. Alaina Rose made sure to include the fact that her characters are Zennials several times throughout this book, so I figured it meant that their parents are my generation, but I didn’t connect with them at all. It felt like they were there to add substance to the story, but in the scenes with them, they barely popped up from the background.
When I was in my 20’s my favorite books were the romcoms published by Red Dress Ink and while this reminded me greatly of those, the writing was subpar to what I remember. It makes me almost want to go back a reread one just for a better comparison. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an advanced copy of this book. This hit the shelves on April 12.
April 4, 2023
3/3,5*
Thomas and Julia were high school best friend, both shy and nerdy and with a common dream about writing.
They fell in love with each other but neither had the guts to make the first move, too afraid to lose the other.
Now 12 years have passed since they parted ways after a fight: Julia is working in a company and has just broke her 12 years engagement with Josh, her cheating boyfriend; Thomas, who's published two books, but it's still struggling to pay the rent, is back in Starlight Hill to be near his family because of his dying father.
Will they be able to move on from the past?
I have to say when I read the book plot I was mostly attracted to the "writing" theme of the story, I read some other books about authors struggling with writers block, or in search of inspiration, but I was kind of disappointed because though writing is often named through the book is not really developed...
We mostly read about how Thomas can't get past his block, but suddenly we discover he has met his 50000 word target; most of the writing action regards Julia reconnecting with her passion about writing fanfiction but it's not deeply explored... So I felt a little let down about this expectation.
Anyway I loved Julia and Thomas, I loved the flashback about how they met and started their friendship, and I also liked their get together after all this year aparts, each with his insecurities and doubts.
I really appreciated the fact that most of the first half of the book didn't felt too fictional, the characters are struggling with deep emotional moments of their life: Julia has to get her life together, understand where she is and where she's going; Thomas has to take care of his family, deal with his grief and expectation about his dream.
As this is a debut novel I think it's not a bad one ,most of the themes are nicely developed, but I think the last 25% of the book could have been handled better, as the author was able to build such strong premises. I will surely look for more title by this author in the future.
Thanks NetGalley and Booksgosocial for providing a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
Thomas and Julia were high school best friend, both shy and nerdy and with a common dream about writing.
They fell in love with each other but neither had the guts to make the first move, too afraid to lose the other.
Now 12 years have passed since they parted ways after a fight: Julia is working in a company and has just broke her 12 years engagement with Josh, her cheating boyfriend; Thomas, who's published two books, but it's still struggling to pay the rent, is back in Starlight Hill to be near his family because of his dying father.
Will they be able to move on from the past?
I have to say when I read the book plot I was mostly attracted to the "writing" theme of the story, I read some other books about authors struggling with writers block, or in search of inspiration, but I was kind of disappointed because though writing is often named through the book is not really developed...
We mostly read about how Thomas can't get past his block, but suddenly we discover he has met his 50000 word target; most of the writing action regards Julia reconnecting with her passion about writing fanfiction but it's not deeply explored... So I felt a little let down about this expectation.
Anyway I loved Julia and Thomas, I loved the flashback about how they met and started their friendship, and I also liked their get together after all this year aparts, each with his insecurities and doubts.
I really appreciated the fact that most of the first half of the book didn't felt too fictional, the characters are struggling with deep emotional moments of their life: Julia has to get her life together, understand where she is and where she's going; Thomas has to take care of his family, deal with his grief and expectation about his dream.
As this is a debut novel I think it's not a bad one ,most of the themes are nicely developed, but I think the last 25% of the book could have been handled better, as the author was able to build such strong premises. I will surely look for more title by this author in the future.
Thanks NetGalley and Booksgosocial for providing a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
March 29, 2023
It was a sweet light-hearted read perfect for someone who’s just starting out to read romance novels. I believe if I’d read this book when I was a teen I would’ve loved it more. But even as an experienced romance reader I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The best thing about this book for me was the author’s language. This is a debut novel, and while I thought the plot could do with certain improvements and development, the language was brilliant. Descriptions of feelings, surroundings, relationships, intimate moments, and romance didn’t fail to warm my heart and make me all fuzzy inside. Characters’ back stories were great and I sympathised with Julia and Thomas a lot throughout the book.
What put me off a little was how quickly the plot developed. As a reader I almost felt like I didn’t have time to have a breather and process what was happening. Another unnatural thing for me was the characters’ families, who were made into these villains just to “make life harder” for the characters. I understood the dynamic the author wanted to show, but it was just a bit too aggressive sometimes.
However, besides a few things that didn’t sit well with me, I enjoyed the overall story, and I thought it was very good for a debut novel. Pick this book up if you want a fast light-hearted small-town romance with a cheeky “teenage crush finally growing into something more” plot line. It has a pinch of heavier topics of self-discovery and grief processing aspects which add great dimension to the story. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in the author’s next work. It’s exciting to see how the writing develops, which I’m most definitely sure it will. Thank your for this journey, Alaina. Especially for Thomas and Julia’s first kiss and staircase scenes. They were top notch amazing!
The best thing about this book for me was the author’s language. This is a debut novel, and while I thought the plot could do with certain improvements and development, the language was brilliant. Descriptions of feelings, surroundings, relationships, intimate moments, and romance didn’t fail to warm my heart and make me all fuzzy inside. Characters’ back stories were great and I sympathised with Julia and Thomas a lot throughout the book.
What put me off a little was how quickly the plot developed. As a reader I almost felt like I didn’t have time to have a breather and process what was happening. Another unnatural thing for me was the characters’ families, who were made into these villains just to “make life harder” for the characters. I understood the dynamic the author wanted to show, but it was just a bit too aggressive sometimes.
However, besides a few things that didn’t sit well with me, I enjoyed the overall story, and I thought it was very good for a debut novel. Pick this book up if you want a fast light-hearted small-town romance with a cheeky “teenage crush finally growing into something more” plot line. It has a pinch of heavier topics of self-discovery and grief processing aspects which add great dimension to the story. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in the author’s next work. It’s exciting to see how the writing develops, which I’m most definitely sure it will. Thank your for this journey, Alaina. Especially for Thomas and Julia’s first kiss and staircase scenes. They were top notch amazing!
March 28, 2023
Another great debut novel! This book was so good! I love a second chance romance so much. And it has some flashbacks which are my favorite!
Julia is trying to figure out what she’s doing after ending her relationship with a HORRIBLE person of over ten years. And Thomas is in town because his dad is sick and he’s trying to take some responsibility off his families shoulders all the while trying to figure out what he’s doing. And since they’re back in the same place for the first time in twelve years of course they reconnect.
I loved how easily they were able to pick up their friendship again. Yes it was so awkward, but of course it is, they hadn’t seen each other in twelve years. But it was also the easiest thing either of them could have done. They were honestly so sweet together.
I appreciated all of the trigger warnings! I don’t actually like reading about parental death, but since I knew it was happening, and it was set up pretty early it felt okay. And that story really revolves around Thomas and the choices he has to make and not necessarily his dad dying. And his grief was written so well and I really appreciated that.
I didn’t like the third act conflict. Julia overreacted and blamed Thomas for her choices? Like either of them knew how their life was going to go when they were seventeen? And I felt like it was 100% Julia’s move to resolve the conflict not Thomas. But I did end up liking the resolution! It felt right, even though it wasn’t EXACTLY what I wanted - it made much more sense of course!
Thank you so much to Alaina Rose and BookSiren for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Julia is trying to figure out what she’s doing after ending her relationship with a HORRIBLE person of over ten years. And Thomas is in town because his dad is sick and he’s trying to take some responsibility off his families shoulders all the while trying to figure out what he’s doing. And since they’re back in the same place for the first time in twelve years of course they reconnect.
I loved how easily they were able to pick up their friendship again. Yes it was so awkward, but of course it is, they hadn’t seen each other in twelve years. But it was also the easiest thing either of them could have done. They were honestly so sweet together.
I appreciated all of the trigger warnings! I don’t actually like reading about parental death, but since I knew it was happening, and it was set up pretty early it felt okay. And that story really revolves around Thomas and the choices he has to make and not necessarily his dad dying. And his grief was written so well and I really appreciated that.
I didn’t like the third act conflict. Julia overreacted and blamed Thomas for her choices? Like either of them knew how their life was going to go when they were seventeen? And I felt like it was 100% Julia’s move to resolve the conflict not Thomas. But I did end up liking the resolution! It felt right, even though it wasn’t EXACTLY what I wanted - it made much more sense of course!
Thank you so much to Alaina Rose and BookSiren for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
April 29, 2023
Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet either—back to his three jobs, sky-high rent, and the dream he’s been running down since high school—because he’s home to care for his sick dad. Add on his tumultuous career as a romance author and crippling writer’s block and…maybe he’s ready to admit that he’s not quite happy anymore.
Enter his ex-best friend, Julia Ward, who he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years.
Julia’s stuck, her trust in herself shredded, and she’s left in proverbial and actual ruin by her cheating ex-fiancé. So she does the only thing she can do: throws herself into her corporate job. And unfortunately moves back in with her parents in Starling Hills. But seeing Thomas stirs up parts of her that she’s lost. Her fingers begin to yearn for the keyboard, like back when she wrote fan fiction and the two planned to study in New York City together and become writers.
One awkward get-together later and Thomas is desperate to rekindle their friendship, despite his lingering attraction to Julia and looming deadline for his next book. So they make a bet to see who can write 50,000 words first before Thomas returns to NYC, while studying romantic comedy films for inspiration in their writing…and in life.
As their deadline grows closer, they learn that happiness is relative and fleeting. But between the loss of a parent and career shake-ups, past secrets and new betrayals, they realize this could be their second chance and that their love is worth fighting for.
I really enjoyed the story. Will recommend to others.
Enter his ex-best friend, Julia Ward, who he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years.
Julia’s stuck, her trust in herself shredded, and she’s left in proverbial and actual ruin by her cheating ex-fiancé. So she does the only thing she can do: throws herself into her corporate job. And unfortunately moves back in with her parents in Starling Hills. But seeing Thomas stirs up parts of her that she’s lost. Her fingers begin to yearn for the keyboard, like back when she wrote fan fiction and the two planned to study in New York City together and become writers.
One awkward get-together later and Thomas is desperate to rekindle their friendship, despite his lingering attraction to Julia and looming deadline for his next book. So they make a bet to see who can write 50,000 words first before Thomas returns to NYC, while studying romantic comedy films for inspiration in their writing…and in life.
As their deadline grows closer, they learn that happiness is relative and fleeting. But between the loss of a parent and career shake-ups, past secrets and new betrayals, they realize this could be their second chance and that their love is worth fighting for.
I really enjoyed the story. Will recommend to others.
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