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Buxom Boudoir #2
Accidentally in Love
When Sam is stuck sharing the streets for Chicago’s summer festivals with a man she can’t stand, she’ll find it’s often a bumpy road that leads to love….
As office manager of the city’s leading luxury boudoir and pinup photography studio, lovable grump Samantha Sawyer has everything under control. With an eventful summer season on the horizon, Sam is balancing a hectic workload while preparing the Buxom Boudoir “Photobus,” a vintage coach bus converted into a mobile photobooth and meeting space, to make the rounds at Chicago’s bustling summer street festival roster. Sam’s busy schedule makes avoiding the difficult parts of her life much easier, but there’s one person who can see right through her to-do lists and icy façade, really see her.
A lot has changed in the last year for Russell Montgomery. Years of odd jobs and couch surfing around the country had left him scrambling, but after reconnecting with his brother, Reid (and coming as close to settling down as he’s ever been), Russ now works at a hot local restaurant. Russ has been welcomed into his newly engaged brother’s circle of friends—all except a close friend and coworker of Reid’s fiancée, an intriguingly stormy woman named Sam.
Luckily, Sam is certain that the chaos of her calendar will ensure their distance, and she won’t have to deal with Russ or his irritating, handsome smile. But when Russ is charged with the launch of a restaurant food truck for the festival circuit, the sizzling Chicago heat is no match for the fire between them….
As office manager of the city’s leading luxury boudoir and pinup photography studio, lovable grump Samantha Sawyer has everything under control. With an eventful summer season on the horizon, Sam is balancing a hectic workload while preparing the Buxom Boudoir “Photobus,” a vintage coach bus converted into a mobile photobooth and meeting space, to make the rounds at Chicago’s bustling summer street festival roster. Sam’s busy schedule makes avoiding the difficult parts of her life much easier, but there’s one person who can see right through her to-do lists and icy façade, really see her.
A lot has changed in the last year for Russell Montgomery. Years of odd jobs and couch surfing around the country had left him scrambling, but after reconnecting with his brother, Reid (and coming as close to settling down as he’s ever been), Russ now works at a hot local restaurant. Russ has been welcomed into his newly engaged brother’s circle of friends—all except a close friend and coworker of Reid’s fiancée, an intriguingly stormy woman named Sam.
Luckily, Sam is certain that the chaos of her calendar will ensure their distance, and she won’t have to deal with Russ or his irritating, handsome smile. But when Russ is charged with the launch of a restaurant food truck for the festival circuit, the sizzling Chicago heat is no match for the fire between them….
Audible Audio
First published August 8, 2023
83 people are currently reading
7030 people want to read
About the author
Danielle Jackson
2 books360 followersDanielle Jackson is a contemporary romance author, avid reader, lackluster-yet-mighty crafter, and accomplished TV binge-watcher.
Danielle has had the unique experience of working on almost every side of the book business—as a publicist at a publisher, an editorial manager of a review website, an events coordinator at an independent bookstore, and now, an author. When she’s not writing, Danielle co-hosts a pop culture podcast, moderates and participates on industry panels, and hosts a romance book club.
Danielle lives in Chicagoland with her very own romance hero husband, darling daughter, and two tempestuous cats. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @DJacksonBooks.
Danielle has had the unique experience of working on almost every side of the book business—as a publicist at a publisher, an editorial manager of a review website, an events coordinator at an independent bookstore, and now, an author. When she’s not writing, Danielle co-hosts a pop culture podcast, moderates and participates on industry panels, and hosts a romance book club.
Danielle lives in Chicagoland with her very own romance hero husband, darling daughter, and two tempestuous cats. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @DJacksonBooks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
September 27, 2023
I don’t think anything really happened through this whole book. I do think it needs another editing pass through. Did he see her perform before her surgery or not?? Some chapters say yes. Others say no…
December 18, 2023
2.5-2.75*
I had higher hopes for this one after a clunky reading experience with book1. We met the MCs in the previous book & the groundwork had been laid for an interesting premiss of a summertime fling with the backdrop of festivals and food/photography trucks.
Pity it didn't quite deliver...the fling took way too long to get flung 🤷♀️
It's unfortunate as I like the different representation the author brought to the table with Sam's diagnosis and how she had to learn to handle things differently - but sadly as with book1 the writing style didn't quite flow for me...too much tell; not enough show 🫣
The covers are adorbs and the female friendships are great - not sure I'll be coming back to this series tho...but I guess, never say never 🤗
I had higher hopes for this one after a clunky reading experience with book1. We met the MCs in the previous book & the groundwork had been laid for an interesting premiss of a summertime fling with the backdrop of festivals and food/photography trucks.
Pity it didn't quite deliver...the fling took way too long to get flung 🤷♀️
It's unfortunate as I like the different representation the author brought to the table with Sam's diagnosis and how she had to learn to handle things differently - but sadly as with book1 the writing style didn't quite flow for me...too much tell; not enough show 🫣
The covers are adorbs and the female friendships are great - not sure I'll be coming back to this series tho...but I guess, never say never 🤗
July 9, 2023
Thanks to Berkley for actually approving me for something on Netgalley! This title will be out August 8th.
I hoped I'd enjoy this - although going by reviews of the first book(? Goodreads didn't mention it was a series aahhh) and this one, I'm not at all alone.
The immediate, glaring issues I had with this mostly concerned the writing technique rather than story. I like my representation to feel organic in a story. So when people, settings and other plot markers are announced As If In Capital Letters and checking off some sort of enlightened contemporary novel to-do list, it feels like a writer is shoe-horning it all in for tokenism.
I haven't read the first book in this series, but immediately the writing in this one is an info-dumpy exercise in boredom. If listing off that your characters are curvy, queer, BIPOC, and chronically ill right off the bat is what a reader is looking for, sure, you might like this. But when the delivery is wonky like this? Shoved in my face with clumsy paragraphs dumping it onto the page? Bleh.
There's also parts where the editor was slacking, full of repetition of things already explained to the reader.
There was some good depiction of mental health as concerning body image after chronic illness, and I really felt the friendships between characters. The romance...eh.
I hoped I'd enjoy this - although going by reviews of the first book(? Goodreads didn't mention it was a series aahhh) and this one, I'm not at all alone.
The immediate, glaring issues I had with this mostly concerned the writing technique rather than story. I like my representation to feel organic in a story. So when people, settings and other plot markers are announced As If In Capital Letters and checking off some sort of enlightened contemporary novel to-do list, it feels like a writer is shoe-horning it all in for tokenism.
I haven't read the first book in this series, but immediately the writing in this one is an info-dumpy exercise in boredom. If listing off that your characters are curvy, queer, BIPOC, and chronically ill right off the bat is what a reader is looking for, sure, you might like this. But when the delivery is wonky like this? Shoved in my face with clumsy paragraphs dumping it onto the page? Bleh.
There's also parts where the editor was slacking, full of repetition of things already explained to the reader.
There was some good depiction of mental health as concerning body image after chronic illness, and I really felt the friendships between characters. The romance...eh.
August 22, 2023
it wasn’t awful. but it also wasn’t good. and i probably should’ve dnf’d after about 100 pages. i’ll try my best to organize my thoughts:
there was simply nothing driving this book forward. it just sort of ambles about. so sam dislikes russ and finds him annoying… but she doesn’t? there’s a line where it’s like “she forgot why she was supposed to find him annoying.” yeah girl…. me too…. why don’t we like him again?? because he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life? interesting… plus they agree to have a summer fling but spend a whole month playing hot and cold and not actually having a fling and then two seconds into the fling she says she loves him? anyway. the plot was chaos. in that. there was none.
this book needed some SERIOUS hard core editing. like i said the plot ambles and that’s in part due to the fact that the book is INTENSELY repetitive. every chapter is the same— Russ mentions the food truck and the restaurant and working like crazy, he mentions he really likes sam and doesn’t want to leave chicago, he has to leave chicago though, then he mentions his mother, his mother was never able to settle down, he’s like his mother, he and reid grew up a little differently, he got his mothers attention and reid didn’t, he interacts with sam, it’s good and then he says something and sam decides he’s not worth his time. Sam talks about how she’s super busy and overworked, she complains about her parents finally getting together, she talks about her body image issues, Sam mentions that she really likes Russ even though she shouldn’t.
THIS IS EVERY CHAPTER. it was so repetitive and boring. there was so much info dumping and telling instead of showing me.
At one point Sam’s friend Dana straight up tells her 1. that she’s playing a weird hot and cold game w Russ and 2. that she’s extremely hard to talk to and very moody (both of which I thought but felt bad thinking it and judging the main character too harshly). SO IM SO GLAD HER FRIEND SAID IT.
idk the thing is the writing isn’t atrocious and the cast of characters is adorable and fun. it was just like…. clearly the second book in a series where the author didn’t have much of an idea what to do w these characters and stretched out a very thin plot into 360 boring pages.
i haven’t read the first book so maybe there’s a lot of Russ/Sam development that i’m missing but even so this book fell flat in a lot of ways.
there was simply nothing driving this book forward. it just sort of ambles about. so sam dislikes russ and finds him annoying… but she doesn’t? there’s a line where it’s like “she forgot why she was supposed to find him annoying.” yeah girl…. me too…. why don’t we like him again?? because he doesn’t know what he wants to do with his life? interesting… plus they agree to have a summer fling but spend a whole month playing hot and cold and not actually having a fling and then two seconds into the fling she says she loves him? anyway. the plot was chaos. in that. there was none.
this book needed some SERIOUS hard core editing. like i said the plot ambles and that’s in part due to the fact that the book is INTENSELY repetitive. every chapter is the same— Russ mentions the food truck and the restaurant and working like crazy, he mentions he really likes sam and doesn’t want to leave chicago, he has to leave chicago though, then he mentions his mother, his mother was never able to settle down, he’s like his mother, he and reid grew up a little differently, he got his mothers attention and reid didn’t, he interacts with sam, it’s good and then he says something and sam decides he’s not worth his time. Sam talks about how she’s super busy and overworked, she complains about her parents finally getting together, she talks about her body image issues, Sam mentions that she really likes Russ even though she shouldn’t.
THIS IS EVERY CHAPTER. it was so repetitive and boring. there was so much info dumping and telling instead of showing me.
At one point Sam’s friend Dana straight up tells her 1. that she’s playing a weird hot and cold game w Russ and 2. that she’s extremely hard to talk to and very moody (both of which I thought but felt bad thinking it and judging the main character too harshly). SO IM SO GLAD HER FRIEND SAID IT.
idk the thing is the writing isn’t atrocious and the cast of characters is adorable and fun. it was just like…. clearly the second book in a series where the author didn’t have much of an idea what to do w these characters and stretched out a very thin plot into 360 boring pages.
i haven’t read the first book so maybe there’s a lot of Russ/Sam development that i’m missing but even so this book fell flat in a lot of ways.
August 12, 2023
𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗜 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗜𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲
𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻
𝟴/𝟴
⭐⭐⭐
Thank you #partners @berkleyromance & @prhaudio for my #gifted copies.
When Sam is stuck sharing the streets for Chicago’s summer festivals with a man she can’t stand, she’ll find it’s often a bumpy road that leads to love….
This book has so much going for it! Body positivity, disability rep, and a diverse cast of characters. I loved the friendship and family components (particularly Sam's parents), as well as the photography scenes. Unfortunately there were some things that didn't work for me: it felt a bit bogged down in the middle, certain aspects felt far-fetched, and the spicy scenes felt a bit off.
Either way, it was still an easy, entertaining read and I'm certain this will tick all the boxes for some readers. 😊
I switched back and forth between print and audio, and my favorite part was the narration! It was a 5 star performance from Zenzi Williams.
𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗜𝗻 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲
𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘀𝗼𝗻
𝟴/𝟴
⭐⭐⭐
Thank you #partners @berkleyromance & @prhaudio for my #gifted copies.
When Sam is stuck sharing the streets for Chicago’s summer festivals with a man she can’t stand, she’ll find it’s often a bumpy road that leads to love….
This book has so much going for it! Body positivity, disability rep, and a diverse cast of characters. I loved the friendship and family components (particularly Sam's parents), as well as the photography scenes. Unfortunately there were some things that didn't work for me: it felt a bit bogged down in the middle, certain aspects felt far-fetched, and the spicy scenes felt a bit off.
Either way, it was still an easy, entertaining read and I'm certain this will tick all the boxes for some readers. 😊
I switched back and forth between print and audio, and my favorite part was the narration! It was a 5 star performance from Zenzi Williams.
February 17, 2024
If you’re looking for a diverse, short and easy read I would recommend this one. It’s a perfect summer read that has family drama, career growth and romance in it as well. Loved how the fmc learned to love her body and self after some medical issues. The romance was okay, it was sweet but I wasn’t as invested. Some of the things the characters did irritated me but overall this was an okay read with great female friendships and character growth.
Read if you like:
- Diverse romance
- Workplace romance
- Plus size fmc rep
- Nice female friendships
Read if you like:
- Diverse romance
- Workplace romance
- Plus size fmc rep
- Nice female friendships
August 8, 2023
This was a fantastic no-strings attached Chicago summer romance between two career-driven individuals set in the same close-knit friend universe as The accidental pin-up. I loved Sam and Russ's dynamic as they circle each other for months with Russ finally convincing Sam that she deserves some fun.
Recently diagnosed with a autoimmune thyroid condition (Grave's disease), Sam is still self-conscious about her newly plus-sized, scarred body and adjusting to her new look. A former Burlesque dancer and office manager/photographer for Buxom Boudoir, Sam is overworked and looking for some fun.
When she keeps running into Russ on the street fair circuit, she finally caves to his romantic overtures. But since he's planning to move to NYC to start culinary school, she doesn't want anything too serious. This was full of sizzling chemistry, complex family relationships and wonderful found family/friends.
Great on audio narrated by Zenzi Williams and perfect for fans of authors like Denise Williams, Jodie Slaughter or Anna P. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!
Recently diagnosed with a autoimmune thyroid condition (Grave's disease), Sam is still self-conscious about her newly plus-sized, scarred body and adjusting to her new look. A former Burlesque dancer and office manager/photographer for Buxom Boudoir, Sam is overworked and looking for some fun.
When she keeps running into Russ on the street fair circuit, she finally caves to his romantic overtures. But since he's planning to move to NYC to start culinary school, she doesn't want anything too serious. This was full of sizzling chemistry, complex family relationships and wonderful found family/friends.
Great on audio narrated by Zenzi Williams and perfect for fans of authors like Denise Williams, Jodie Slaughter or Anna P. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!
April 7, 2023
3.5 stars rounded up
February 16, 2023
Now I enjoyed The Accidental Pinup and was anxiously awaiting this upcoming release ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE, but I am SO glad I dropped everything to read it when I was given access to an early copy to read and review thanks to Edelweiss + Berkley Romance I truly LOVED this book. I didn't know I could fall more in love with the side characters from Pinup, but the friend group/co-workers of Buxom Boudoir stole my heart with their fierce love for one another and the community they're building through their businesses.
The things I loved MOST about Jackson's writing style in the first book of the series took it even further in this title, I was thrilled to see Sam, who we met in book 1, get her own love story. I had never read a title with a main character dealing with thyroid issues, and it was such an endearing, realistic struggle to read about, as a close family member has shared many of the thoughts and insecurities in her personal life while learning to maintain the responsibilities of that new work/life balance much like Sam. I connected with so many of the thoughts and feelings that made up her character, and I absolutely adored the events, the photobus, the restaurant + boudoir details, ALL OF IT.
While the love story was a big part of the book, I really enjoyed the growth both Russ and Sam displayed, supporting one another and really finding themselves before falling for each other, the best kind of slow burn IMO!
Here's to hoping KIT gets her story next!
The things I loved MOST about Jackson's writing style in the first book of the series took it even further in this title, I was thrilled to see Sam, who we met in book 1, get her own love story. I had never read a title with a main character dealing with thyroid issues, and it was such an endearing, realistic struggle to read about, as a close family member has shared many of the thoughts and insecurities in her personal life while learning to maintain the responsibilities of that new work/life balance much like Sam. I connected with so many of the thoughts and feelings that made up her character, and I absolutely adored the events, the photobus, the restaurant + boudoir details, ALL OF IT.
While the love story was a big part of the book, I really enjoyed the growth both Russ and Sam displayed, supporting one another and really finding themselves before falling for each other, the best kind of slow burn IMO!
Here's to hoping KIT gets her story next!
June 19, 2023
Let me first say that I LOVE this cover. The colors, the illustration. It's gorgeous! It definitely made me want to pick this one up.
I enjoyed this book. The push and pull between Sam and Russ was good and the steamy scenes were great. That scene on the photobus! PHEW! It was hot!!!
It fell a little short in terms of the x factor between the two of them that I look for in romance books. There was a lot of internal dialogue and a lot of scenes with Sam and Russ and their friends and family and not enough of just the two of them, in my opinion.
Overall, a good read but the Danielle Jackson's first book is my favorite between the two.
Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: chronic illness
I enjoyed this book. The push and pull between Sam and Russ was good and the steamy scenes were great. That scene on the photobus! PHEW! It was hot!!!
It fell a little short in terms of the x factor between the two of them that I look for in romance books. There was a lot of internal dialogue and a lot of scenes with Sam and Russ and their friends and family and not enough of just the two of them, in my opinion.
Overall, a good read but the Danielle Jackson's first book is my favorite between the two.
Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: chronic illness
June 24, 2023
Overall, I did enjoy this one. Despite a pretty typical storyline, Jackson highlights many aspects of life that are not highlighted as often, such as women's, specifically Black women's issues with thyroid and its effects, but also men with mommy issues.
The pacing of this book is on par which I appreciated because if it were any longer it could feel like a drag.
The constant mentioning of food did make me hungry lol.
I also loved their supportive friend group.
The pacing of this book is on par which I appreciated because if it were any longer it could feel like a drag.
The constant mentioning of food did make me hungry lol.
I also loved their supportive friend group.
June 3, 2025
definitely a cute fun book but this slump is absolutely wrecking me rn and i think hindered my ability to finish this book and well… enjoy it. it was good enough for what it was but truly nothing special to grab my attention
April 2, 2024
one step forward three steps back
I genuinely don’t know if anyone reads these, but they’re for me so…I have to be honest. I’ll try not to rip into shreds too much since this is the internet, though.
I was so excited for this story. I had my issues with the first book, but I was still excited for Sam and Russell’s relationship to unfold. But I feel dissatisfied and extremely frustrated and bored.
From the get-go, I literally wrote in my notes “Don’t say ‘and stuff.’ Just say there’s w***** here.” (The Nice Guys coming in clutch!) There was literally an “and all that” in there! Lol. At first you could take the writing for being wordy, thorough in setting up plot and characters, or summarizing things from the first book in case people missed it. Describing the same characterizations or plot over and over again. But no! I’m pretty sure I read the same few sentences twenty times each, at least, every other page, it felt like!!! I swear, THIS HAPPENED THE ENTIRE BOOK. Even up until the end, which is honestly a little impressive. How many times can you say “between work and thyroid and parents and a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w x y and z, Sam is feeling very exhausted.” I GET IT. You’re overworked. In fact, I KNEW THIS THE MINUTE SHE GOT “promoted” and didn’t immediately get someone to take over her old job. I liked Cassie in the first book but this one made me despise her. I don’t care how many times you say she’s such a bad-a boss btch, she’s a horrible boss, friend, and business owner for being so selfish and clueless and dense, focusing on her freelance work before her business, adding SO MANY HUGE PROJECTS onto Sam’s plate, volunteering her for things without asking her. I get it, she sees Sam as this powerhouse. And Sam had to be overworked, had to gain the courage and self-respect to stand up for herself. But Cassie is an idiot for not thinking that giving Sam two-and-a-half new full-time jobs is too much. I don’t care how great Sam is. I’ve never been a boss and I was floored that Cassie didn’t immediately start looking for more assistants. If she’s SOOOO successful and in-demand and expanding the business to weird world-domination, she can pay attention and hire people to do a normal share of work each!!!!
Wow, I didn’t mean to rant about how angry that made me! I think I just got very tired of all the work talk, which again, I get it part of these characters’ stories. But it was SO BORING. Even one of the BB friends said so! Ugh. Especially because most of everything was just told, not shown.
Which is my over-arching big complaint. I’m not even a stickler for writing rules. Telling has its place. But this book felt like it was almost nothing but. Maybe it’s to their detriment that we started a year into them knowing each other and having Russ continuously ask her out. I just felt like I missed out on so much of their actual interactions and chemistry, it made any building up of anything they grew to have together just pointless. And Sam was so hot-and-cold, it made ME upset. I don’t blame Russ for retreating, although I actually did because at the end it felt like he didn’t even care enough to try anything!!!
I felt like I barely got to know them beyond that they’re workaholics, and their insecurities and back stories that were told the same ways six thousand times throughout the book. I was GASPING for any moments of plot for some fresh air.
Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. The friends were engaging, if a bit annoying. Heck, even the restaurant friends Russ hung out with in the last couple of chapters felt more interesting than the main couple, and not because the main couple was not interesting, but because they did literally nothing but avoid each other and work most of the book.
I don’t know if this is just a realistic way to write a romance or if workaholics just aren’t my cup of tea. But idk, I feel like in a book, things are supposed to happen that push leads together. Characters are supposed to want to be together in at least some way. Speaking of, how DARE Russ tell his mom Sam meant SO much to him if he wasn’t even going to bother TRYING to see her again before he left? What a weak, loser man. I hate having to see the woman do the grand gesture, especially because SHE was the one to ask him to stay and tell him she loved him before that as well! I understand he was going through it but his inaction really disappointed me. Well, I guess he decided he was going to stay before we found that out, but he was SO determined to do his New York culinary school, it didn’t feel believable at all. It wasn’t even a shock to me because I didn’t care or have any clue where it came from. Gabby was a better unseen character than he was, and I really tried to buy into his lovable-ness the whole time!
I don’t want to pick them apart. It was just really difficult to get through. I read nothing but romance. I want to feel excited for each chapter and character development. It was hard to root for them when I was so bored.
I genuinely don’t know if anyone reads these, but they’re for me so…I have to be honest. I’ll try not to rip into shreds too much since this is the internet, though.
I was so excited for this story. I had my issues with the first book, but I was still excited for Sam and Russell’s relationship to unfold. But I feel dissatisfied and extremely frustrated and bored.
From the get-go, I literally wrote in my notes “Don’t say ‘and stuff.’ Just say there’s w***** here.” (The Nice Guys coming in clutch!) There was literally an “and all that” in there! Lol. At first you could take the writing for being wordy, thorough in setting up plot and characters, or summarizing things from the first book in case people missed it. Describing the same characterizations or plot over and over again. But no! I’m pretty sure I read the same few sentences twenty times each, at least, every other page, it felt like!!! I swear, THIS HAPPENED THE ENTIRE BOOK. Even up until the end, which is honestly a little impressive. How many times can you say “between work and thyroid and parents and a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v w x y and z, Sam is feeling very exhausted.” I GET IT. You’re overworked. In fact, I KNEW THIS THE MINUTE SHE GOT “promoted” and didn’t immediately get someone to take over her old job. I liked Cassie in the first book but this one made me despise her. I don’t care how many times you say she’s such a bad-a boss btch, she’s a horrible boss, friend, and business owner for being so selfish and clueless and dense, focusing on her freelance work before her business, adding SO MANY HUGE PROJECTS onto Sam’s plate, volunteering her for things without asking her. I get it, she sees Sam as this powerhouse. And Sam had to be overworked, had to gain the courage and self-respect to stand up for herself. But Cassie is an idiot for not thinking that giving Sam two-and-a-half new full-time jobs is too much. I don’t care how great Sam is. I’ve never been a boss and I was floored that Cassie didn’t immediately start looking for more assistants. If she’s SOOOO successful and in-demand and expanding the business to weird world-domination, she can pay attention and hire people to do a normal share of work each!!!!
Wow, I didn’t mean to rant about how angry that made me! I think I just got very tired of all the work talk, which again, I get it part of these characters’ stories. But it was SO BORING. Even one of the BB friends said so! Ugh. Especially because most of everything was just told, not shown.
Which is my over-arching big complaint. I’m not even a stickler for writing rules. Telling has its place. But this book felt like it was almost nothing but. Maybe it’s to their detriment that we started a year into them knowing each other and having Russ continuously ask her out. I just felt like I missed out on so much of their actual interactions and chemistry, it made any building up of anything they grew to have together just pointless. And Sam was so hot-and-cold, it made ME upset. I don’t blame Russ for retreating, although I actually did because at the end it felt like he didn’t even care enough to try anything!!!
I felt like I barely got to know them beyond that they’re workaholics, and their insecurities and back stories that were told the same ways six thousand times throughout the book. I was GASPING for any moments of plot for some fresh air.
Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. The friends were engaging, if a bit annoying. Heck, even the restaurant friends Russ hung out with in the last couple of chapters felt more interesting than the main couple, and not because the main couple was not interesting, but because they did literally nothing but avoid each other and work most of the book.
I don’t know if this is just a realistic way to write a romance or if workaholics just aren’t my cup of tea. But idk, I feel like in a book, things are supposed to happen that push leads together. Characters are supposed to want to be together in at least some way. Speaking of, how DARE Russ tell his mom Sam meant SO much to him if he wasn’t even going to bother TRYING to see her again before he left? What a weak, loser man. I hate having to see the woman do the grand gesture, especially because SHE was the one to ask him to stay and tell him she loved him before that as well! I understand he was going through it but his inaction really disappointed me. Well, I guess he decided he was going to stay before we found that out, but he was SO determined to do his New York culinary school, it didn’t feel believable at all. It wasn’t even a shock to me because I didn’t care or have any clue where it came from. Gabby was a better unseen character than he was, and I really tried to buy into his lovable-ness the whole time!
I don’t want to pick them apart. It was just really difficult to get through. I read nothing but romance. I want to feel excited for each chapter and character development. It was hard to root for them when I was so bored.
August 25, 2023
2.5, rounded up. I'm glad this book exists because the representation (folks of color, body positivity, main character w/ chronic illness, burnout, etc.) is solid, and it's great to see it normalized in romance. I also loved the fun, silly abandon of Chicago summer; it reminded me of my years spent in the city.
The writing, unfortunately, doesn't flow well; there are many moments that feel stilted and awkward or inserted for the sake of inclusion rather than incorporated into the story. (The narrator for the audiobook does an admirable job with what she's given, though.) The chemistry between Russell and Sam also felt off--that might have had something to do with how persistent Russell was at the beginning, though.
The writing, unfortunately, doesn't flow well; there are many moments that feel stilted and awkward or inserted for the sake of inclusion rather than incorporated into the story. (The narrator for the audiobook does an admirable job with what she's given, though.) The chemistry between Russell and Sam also felt off--that might have had something to do with how persistent Russell was at the beginning, though.
July 29, 2025
Jackson’s books have the unique quality of feeling like comfort reads. I’m in the biggest reading slump but absolutely loved this book!
July 28, 2023
Samantha Sawyer is curvy, has Graves disease (w/thyroid removed) and is busy working as an office manager for her best friend at Buxom Boudoir. She takes on the added responsibility of a vintage bus mobile photo booth with plans on it hitting the various festivals near Chicago. Russell Montgomery is working as lead bartender at an upscale restaurant. After years of being a wastrel he finally is getting his act together with the help of his brother. He just finished his associates degree and plans to go to culinary school. His boss at the restaurant wants him to man a food truck for the festival season.
I read as a stand alone but this is a sequel to The Accidental Pinup (July 2022). The MCs from that book are Sam’s boss and Reid who is Russell's brother. They appear often in this story. Sam and Russell are pushed together by their friends. Russ has been asking Sam out again and again with her say no many times. This is supposed to be endearing but I found it crossing boundaries and not appealing. Of course they are going to get friendly and light some sparks. But she doesn’t know he’s leaving soon.
There is a good bit of information dump so you don’t need to read the first book. And from how I read this neither Reid or Russ have the greatest backgrounds. I’m talking about their actions in the previous book not how they were brought up. If the author wasn’t a person of color I might think the writer was using stereotypes. I’m not sure how being a great bar tender qualifies a person to set up menus for a food truck either but I went with it for the story’s sake. I love the cover but the didn’t find the writing great. It is a typical story with a good friend group but nothing made me laugh or made this stand out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC and I leaving a voluntary review.
I read as a stand alone but this is a sequel to The Accidental Pinup (July 2022). The MCs from that book are Sam’s boss and Reid who is Russell's brother. They appear often in this story. Sam and Russell are pushed together by their friends. Russ has been asking Sam out again and again with her say no many times. This is supposed to be endearing but I found it crossing boundaries and not appealing. Of course they are going to get friendly and light some sparks. But she doesn’t know he’s leaving soon.
There is a good bit of information dump so you don’t need to read the first book. And from how I read this neither Reid or Russ have the greatest backgrounds. I’m talking about their actions in the previous book not how they were brought up. If the author wasn’t a person of color I might think the writer was using stereotypes. I’m not sure how being a great bar tender qualifies a person to set up menus for a food truck either but I went with it for the story’s sake. I love the cover but the didn’t find the writing great. It is a typical story with a good friend group but nothing made me laugh or made this stand out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC and I leaving a voluntary review.
August 25, 2023
Unfortunately, I didn’t love this novel as much as I had hoped I would. I was excited about the diversity, chronic illness rep, and mental health rep this book promised, which ended up being pretty well done, however other major aspects left me wanting more. The book felt repetitive regarding many subject areas and really caused the book to drag at times. I also just really wanted more out of the romance and the fact that the promise of a summer fling ended up being a bad and forth if miscommunication and not actually having them come together until summer was almost over was just too much of a slow burn for me. The ending was cute and the female friendships were really great but didn’t save this one for me.
Thank you Berkley Romance #berkleyromance #partner for the free copy.
Thank you Berkley Romance #berkleyromance #partner for the free copy.
November 7, 2023
What do you a call a BIPOC with no flavour?
August 11, 2023
** I received an arc for an honest review**
Sam and Russ....whew! This was such a fun alternative read. Alternative in the sense that the characters and their interests were eclectic and super fun. I think what I enjoyed and what made it special was the location, all of the careers of the characters and the cast didn't feel one note, each person we were introduced to had a story and a depth that was interesting! Once Sam got over herself and Russ made it through his issues they found such a beautiful happiness that was legit made just for them which makes this story special. I don't think I read a book where I wanted to shake bot of the main characters so much!!! Liiiike your person is right there!!! I do wish we could have gotten to them falling and being together a little quicker, I was on the verge of being annoyed that they were both in their head but also in love with the other person. The book was a bit too slow of a burn for me however I enjoyed the other aspects of the writing! I will be telling my friends about this book!
Sam and Russ....whew! This was such a fun alternative read. Alternative in the sense that the characters and their interests were eclectic and super fun. I think what I enjoyed and what made it special was the location, all of the careers of the characters and the cast didn't feel one note, each person we were introduced to had a story and a depth that was interesting! Once Sam got over herself and Russ made it through his issues they found such a beautiful happiness that was legit made just for them which makes this story special. I don't think I read a book where I wanted to shake bot of the main characters so much!!! Liiiike your person is right there!!! I do wish we could have gotten to them falling and being together a little quicker, I was on the verge of being annoyed that they were both in their head but also in love with the other person. The book was a bit too slow of a burn for me however I enjoyed the other aspects of the writing! I will be telling my friends about this book!
July 6, 2024
*taps mic*
What -- and I cannot stress this enough -- the fuck did I just read?????
Idk what happened between the first book and the sequel, maybe time has given me a case of amnesia, but, I simply do not remember the writing being this bad... Where was the editor? In the first 25 pages I found so many errors that I had to switch to audiobook to get past it. And then once I was past that, it was SO hard to muddle through what seemed to be big-word-stuffing. Was my college composition professor grading this for word count?
Somehow, this book managed to have elements from two of my special interests and fucked them both up royally. All the photography information sounded like Chat GPT wrote it and it was edited by a first year photographer. And then referring to bowling lane panels as BOWLING ALLEY FLOORING???? girl, that's a lane, it's not for feets. You're not supposed to step there. I was at my wits end.
I wonder if the first book was this bad and I blocked it out, because I simply can't fathom how a person gets 4 stars from me on the first in a series and then I nearly dnf the second.... OOF.
What -- and I cannot stress this enough -- the fuck did I just read?????
Idk what happened between the first book and the sequel, maybe time has given me a case of amnesia, but, I simply do not remember the writing being this bad... Where was the editor? In the first 25 pages I found so many errors that I had to switch to audiobook to get past it. And then once I was past that, it was SO hard to muddle through what seemed to be big-word-stuffing. Was my college composition professor grading this for word count?
Somehow, this book managed to have elements from two of my special interests and fucked them both up royally. All the photography information sounded like Chat GPT wrote it and it was edited by a first year photographer. And then referring to bowling lane panels as BOWLING ALLEY FLOORING???? girl, that's a lane, it's not for feets. You're not supposed to step there. I was at my wits end.
I wonder if the first book was this bad and I blocked it out, because I simply can't fathom how a person gets 4 stars from me on the first in a series and then I nearly dnf the second.... OOF.
October 7, 2023
Accidentally in Love was the perfect love letter to summer in Chicago! Sam and Russ had a great slow burn, will they or won’t they situation going on. Their friend and family group is top tier (and hanging out with them would be a fun time!) Danielle Jackson did a phenomenal job with their character development and describing everything in just the perfect way to make you feel like you were right there in the book, from the clothing and food descriptions to the fun nights out. I recommend this one to folks who love a romance where love takes the couple by surprise while they are trying to figure life out. I Received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review. Thank you Berkley and PRH audio!
August 28, 2024
This was good! Personally though, I didn’t really feel much of a connection between Russ and Sam. I really was wanting more there especially at the start. Russ asks her out multiple times, and she turns him down every time… and then he gets the message and stops, they go like 2 months without speaking, and then suddenly she’s like possessive over him. It just didn’t really make a ton of sense to me. Then from that point on, their attraction seemed purely casual. So, I had a hard time believing their feelings for each other for a lot of this. However, what I enjoyed most was their own journeys in their careers and personal growth.
November 11, 2023
This book was… fine. Admittedly, I read this book and not book #1. So perhaps there was some character connection I missed.
I wasn’t overly enthused by either MC. I felt both of their backstories were underdeveloped and I would have loved some more from each or them in lieu of some of the side characters. Their connection didn’t do it for me. It came out of no where but also felt like it never truly developed beyond their physical attraction? I felt… bored. And uninspired by their love story.
It was cute. Any easy read. Nothing necessarily wrong but nothing I’ll remember for years to come.
I wasn’t overly enthused by either MC. I felt both of their backstories were underdeveloped and I would have loved some more from each or them in lieu of some of the side characters. Their connection didn’t do it for me. It came out of no where but also felt like it never truly developed beyond their physical attraction? I felt… bored. And uninspired by their love story.
It was cute. Any easy read. Nothing necessarily wrong but nothing I’ll remember for years to come.
June 8, 2023
When I read The Accidental Pinup, I fell in love with the main and side characters. And reading this book, I am just a bit disappointed that there were written the way they were. I thought this book was a bit repetitive at times, and had a bit too many time skips that I felt, as a reader, left out important parts of the characters’ development. Furthermore, the connection between Russ and Sam wasn’t as strong and sizzling as I was led to believe.
August 8, 2023
If you love a good slow burn romance then this book is for You. Overall it was a good read after reading The Accidental Pinup I was hyped to read this second book. I love that their circle of friends was everything and exactly what they needed. I was all here for the character growth which lead to an incredible romance between Sam and Russ.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review
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October 3, 2023I had to DNF at 144 pages. I'm not going to rate it since I didn't finish, but I got tired of waiting for something, anything to happen. There was way too much inner monologue for both the main characters and repeating the same story beats ad nauseum. I really think there could be a good story in here, but the book feels like it only got a cursory editing pass, when it needed a heck of a lot more editing.
September 8, 2023
4.25 stars! How I love the Buxom Boudoir world. This book was a highly anticipated read for me and it was so great!
Sam and Russ are flawed and messy and hot and so great together, I love them. I really appreciated how realistic their relationship felt, they really had to earn their HEA.
Can I pleaseeee get Kit’s book next?
Sam and Russ are flawed and messy and hot and so great together, I love them. I really appreciated how realistic their relationship felt, they really had to earn their HEA.
Can I pleaseeee get Kit’s book next?
October 20, 2024
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)
-m/f contemporary romance
-friends to lovers
-pining
-summer fling
-plus size rep
A soft romance of being scared crapless for a variety of reasons to trust in love.
I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)
-m/f contemporary romance
-friends to lovers
-pining
-summer fling
-plus size rep
A soft romance of being scared crapless for a variety of reasons to trust in love.
September 30, 2023
This was a great addition to the series! I was amazed by this story and how well put together it was. I loved Sam’s character and how she grew throughout the book. I enjoyed every second of this sweet romcom! Also, loved the Chicago references!! Giordano’s pizza is one of my favorites.
October 30, 2023
2.5 but I’m rounding up in solidarity. I hate having to rate this low. The representation between a Black lead, curvy FMC, and disability rep is needed but the book just wasn’t for me. Somehow felt like nothing happened and their chemistry felt non-existent??? I should’ve DNF’d when the MMC decided the best time to have their first kiss was immediately after she learned her father was in the hospital.
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