ALL TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS LISTED AT LINDSEYCORD(dot)COM
Luciana “Lucy” Flores is a seventh grade history teacher with an affinity for Abraham Lincoln, pickle juice, and The Milky Way milkshakes. She’s happy, content,, and likes her life the way it is. This summer she’s going to be the maid of honor for her best friend, and as much as she hopes to one day experience love, it’s not something she thinks she’s missing in her life just yet. That is, until she meets the best man. Nash Phillips is a sales rep in New York. He has a tiny dog named Roxanne and an apartment even smaller, but he loves the city and nothing will ever change that. He’s only back in the Midwest to fulfill his best man duties and then he’ll catch the first plane back to NYC. But when he and a beautiful woman collide on his first night in town— he can’t look away. The only problem? He’s only in town for one week. Making a pact of “low expectations”, Lucy and Nash find that a casual fling isn’t as easy as it seems… not when the feelings they are trying to shove down keep circling back around. The feelings that make it impossible not to wonder… Is one week and a gut feeling enough to uproot your entire life? Or can Nash and Lucy really keep things casual with no strings attached?
Without sharing too much about the process: I was given the privilege of being part of the beta team for Love and Low Expectations. I feel so grateful to have been allowed along this journey to see the story as it transformed. Lindsey is an author who listens to her readers while ensuring that she stays true to herself and to her characters, qualities I greatly respect.
It’s difficult to review a book that you know so intimately. Love and Low Expectations is full of lovable characters, lots of laughs, love, and even grief. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll feel everything in between, it’s quite a roller coaster ride 😉
The triggers are listed on Lindsey’s website, so be sure to check those out.
After reading “unexpected” i read everything Lindsey has available to the public and when she gave me the opportunity to ARC read it was a no brainer. I didnt think the books could get any better… and this book proved me wrong. Im obsessed with Nash. He is charismatic, funny, and SO SWEET. Lucy is sassy, funny, and just an overall ray of freaking sunshine. I get major golden retriever vibes from Nash in the absolute best way. There are twists and turns that kept me on the edge of your seat, banter that made me squeal, and romance that made me giddy.
⚽️ The vibes: - middle school teacher - Dual pov - Age gap - Friends with benefits - Quirky FMC
📖 My thoughts: Ok. We have Lucy and Nash. Lucy is the Maid of Honor. Nash is the Best Man. They meet and sparks instantly fly. Then they realize their best friends are THEEEE couple and that they’re in the same wedding party. Not to be deterred from a good time, they agree to keep things casual and fun for the week, because what could come out of this anyways? Nash is a city boy who lives in New York and Lucy is a middle school history teacher in a small town with no interest in moving. What could go wrong with a little fling? 👀
📖 Guys. This book. Oh. My. God. There are moments that I was like 😳 🫢. The shocks is what made this one so high rated. It literally had me gasping out loud multiple times and explaining the entire plot to my husband more than once. 😂. I had a great time on this wild journey because I love it when a book keeps me on my toes.
📖 Not only did I love seeing Birdie from book 1, but I liked Nash’s siblings also and need their books asap. I also really loved Grammy. What would we do without Grammy ???? She’s just so precious.
📖 As a final note on the plot- it’s heavy on miscommunication/ lack of communication. So go into knowing this is a heavy element.
📖 Short chapters made this one just so binge-able. I can’t say much on the plot because I always keep it spoiler free- but go into this one with no expectations (😉) and I think you’ll have a great time and end up falling for Lucy too. Also- I SWEAR this book is The Vampire Diaries coded which is an automatic bonus for me. (I have since discovered that Lindsey is just as obsessed with the Vampire Diaries as me *squeeling*)
🖤This book is closed door - but with the plot of a fling- there’s a lot of the deed that’s happening off page. There’s also language in this one. For those reasons, this book would fall into my own category of “edgy closed door”.
‼️ Check CW for this one if you have concerns.
💬 if you could live in a small town that feels like Stars Hollow, would you??? It’s low key my dream.
I've read all of Lindsey's work and will continue to read all of Lindsey's work. I'll be completely honest and say I started reading this one with more skepticism simply because it's part of a series. I feel like it's not easy to write a series and write it well. When I learned that this book would be about Lucy & Nash, I immediately thought "what can she really do with this 'side' story?" Well, I was definitely wrong! I think I liked this one more than Unexpected (1st in the series).
Lindsey is so good at bringing characters to life, so much so that you really feel like the characters are real people and this is a true story about them. Because of this, you feel a range of emotions when reading her books and, to me, that's what pulls you into a book and makes you want to ignore your family for the day and binge read it.
Some of Lindsey's other books had jaw-dropping twists in them so when I started reading The Milky Way Series, I thought they would be all rainbows and butterflies and too "easy" of a love story for me to get into. Again, this is why I'm not an author, because I was wrong again. You'll think you have it all figured out and then here comes a twist that leaves you in shock and needing to read more. The way that Lindsey weaves surprises into her stories so you never see it coming is amazing to me.
Looking forward to any other additions that might be added to The Milky Way Series. Don't miss out on reading work by this author. You won't be disappointed!
I was given the wonderful opportunity to beta read this book, and it definitely did not disappoint! This is one of the cutest romance books I’ve read in a while!
This book follows 7th grade teacher Lucy Flores and sales rep Nash Phillips. Both of them happen to be in Lucy’s small town in Indiana for Nash’s friend Miles and Lucy’s friend Birdie’s wedding. The two of them quickly fall in love, yet Nash is only staying for a week! They make a pact for “low expectations” in their relationship for that week, but what happens when that isn’t enough for them?
Ahhhh I loved this book SO MUCH!! Nash and Lucy are perfect together!! This book really made me go through almost every emotion. This was such a heartwarming book, but it also made me laugh, and made me sad and angry during some parts.
The plot twists in this book were INSANE! I never saw them coming, but when looking back at the beginning of the novel, I could definitely see all the foreshadowing. It’s one of the craziest twists I’ve read in a romance
READ THIS IF YOU LIKE… - small town romances - interconnected romance books - lots of milkshakes - interesting flight companions - roller coasters
Make sure to read this book asap, and have a wonderful time reading about Lucy and Nash <3
*This is a sequel to Unexpected, but I read this as a standalone, and had no issues with anything!
⭐⭐⭐/-🔥 Nash Phillips, owner of the Milky Way diner comes to town for his best friends wedding. This is where he meets Lucy Flores, best friend of the wife. Their attraction is instant, and they decide to have some fun together while he is in town. They get to know one another while being physical with each other, so when Nash goes home they both are feeling off. Nash comes back to town to profess his feelings to Lucy when he sees her with another man. When the person from the diner who was practically family to Nash growing up is sick, he is forced to come back to town and face to face with Lucy again. This is where he sees her with none other than his estranged brother. What he doesn't know is that Lucy told his brother she can't offer him more than friendship since she is hung up on someone else. When the truth finally comes out, Nash decides to move home to explore a future with Lucy.
This book was cute, the characters were cute, the story was cute, it was just cute. Not great, not bad, but I feel like I was expecting a bit more.
It's a really light and sweet read! There are, of course, some challenges and a little bit of heartbreak,but this story is one that will live rent free inmy head for months! Nash and Lucy had something so special here in this story. I didn't want the story to ever end!!! The playful banter and light and corny jokes were so beautiful and natural and really helped show the personalities of the characters!! I couldn't peel myself away from their love until I finished that last page! Thank you so much, Lindsey, for another outstanding story ❤️
I knew I loved Lucy after reading Unexpected, and after reading Love and Low Expectations, I love her even more. Getting to follow her journey with Nash was a rollercoaster of emotions that I didn’t want to get off of. Lindsey did it again with her second installment of The Milky Way series and I can’t wait to see what she does next!
Love this book even more than the first one. Lucy and Nash are so much fun and there are interesting twists and turns throughout this book. Can't wait for the third book. Now, I'm craving a milkshake!
I was hesitant to read this book because I didn't think I could like it as much as Unexpected. So glad I read it. I might even have enjoyed it more! So many happy moments, so much grief. Once again a book with lots of feels!
Honestly obsessed with Lindsey’s writing. I thought I loved Birdie and Miles but Lucy’s story is so so good. Cannot wait to see where this series takes us. Lindsey is definitely on my autobuy author list!
Tropes: • Tiny Dog Daddy • Found Family • Maid of Honor + Best Man
Thoughts: What happens when you make an agreement to have a one week fling with no strings attached...and then the strings nearly undo you. I didn't know what to expect with this story especially in the closed door/fade to black/mild spice end of things but I left it completely adoring this couple. Sometimes books with a similar premise focus solely on the physical but that's not the case with this story. The found family vibes, the beloved Grammy, the sisters, the milkshakes and the diner will give you all the cozy vibes. I can't wait to read book three!
(Dual POV & Fade to Black/Very Minimal Mild Spice) *Language
Tropes: * MFMC * Long distance * Found family * Text convos * Dual POV
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because everything @lindseycord writes is magic✨
Let me start by saying that Lindsey just has this way of making you feel every emotion possible while you are reading her books. You think everything is fine and you’re happy…then she hits you with something that just breaks you😅
Anyways, Nash and Lucy meet right before their best friends’ wedding. There is immediate chemistry between the two of them. Nash is only in town for one week, so they decide to hang out, enjoy each others company, and get to know one another, all while having low expectations…you can guess how that turns out😏🥰😂 Nash returns to NYC, Lucy goes on a date with another man, and suddenly everything is a mess. But I’m true Lindsey fashion, that is not all there is to it😅
When I say I laughed a lot while reading this, I literally lol’d several times😂 There are so many reasons why I love Lindsey’s books. One big reason is the detail she puts into each character. Lucy loves drinking pickle juice from the jar and Nash has never been on a roller coaster🎢 You start to love the characters simply for the little details — making them seem more real than fictional💛 Lucy references going to bed early, eating dinner before second dinner, and she has quite a few hilarious stories about her life as a teacher which all hit home for me🥹
I am convinced there is nothing Lindsey can write that I won’t love (that is not a challenge😉)
Favorite Quotes:
* “Who would cheat on that man? That would be like cheating on a Greek god.”
* “I am who I am, ya know? No point in pretending to be someone else. People are going to love you or hate you. I’ve been told I’m ‘a lot’ on more than one occasion, and I always tell them thank you. Because someone, somewhere, will think I am just the right amount of whatever it is I am.”
* “I realized that there is a very fine line between love and low expectations.”