Mixed Signals: All Mixed Up, Book 1

All Mixed Up #1

by Mia Heintzelman

Get ready for a fun detour of heart, humor, and heat in this opposites attract, enemies to lovers romance about looking beyond the surface to find love.

When corporate banker Julie Laurich gets stuck in traffic beside the man of her dreams and promptly forgets how to use adult words, it's typical. When the universe merges their lanes again and she runs into him a second time at the gym, it's anything other than matter-of-course.

The adorably sexy guy in the black truck proves Nico Farfalla could have been the perfect candidate for a hot rebound. That is, until he opens his mouth...

Julie doesn't even know him and already she pre-hates him. And because her universe is apparently blind to all the warning signs, Nico's chances keep on coming. Their paths continue to cross, and soon Julie discovers he is not what she thought. As much as she doesn't want to put any stock into Nico's words, every second she spends with him blurs the lines.

Before long Julie's attempts to keep her distance from Nico and focus on work are blocked when she's assigned to his elementary school classroom for a community program. Their chemistry is undeniable and unyielding. So when the opportunity for a major promotion in a new city lands in her lap, Julie must Is a love she never saw coming worth the risk of her career?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Adult, Chick Lit, Anthologies

Audible Audio

First published June 11, 2019

About the author

The Wedding Crush releases on June 11th everywhere books are sold!

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Reviews

[Sydni]

practicing self-love....DNF

[Yna from Books and Boybands · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Serendipity was the only way to explain it. Like she was finally in the right place at the right time. When her eyes had met his, it was like luck was finally on her side. And then it was gone."

Buy This Book: Amazon ⏺ Barnes and Noble ⏺ Kobo 📖

Much thanks to NetGalley and Levi Lynn Books for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.

📚 Series: Yes. First of a series.
📚 Genre: Romance ❤
📚 POV: Third person, single POV
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings: A lot of push-and-pull, dealing with grief
⚠ Read if: you are looking for a quick, light romance read.

Mixed Signals was definitely promising. But after the clever blurb and the cute cover, there is nothing else to offer.

It is a story that has been told time and again, with a main character that is a little bland and boring aside from the times when she is mean. The story also focuses on hating other women, too, which should not be a thing anymore.

The push-and-pull in this thing was so intense and prolonged, it's all the book had to offer. A bit mindless and weirdly plotted aside from the MCs pining, self-questioning and double taking every few pages.

I mean, I enjoyed it still because it was light and quick to read. I appreciate that since I had limited time to read this past few days.

Author must work on plotlines and character development, should she continue this series.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌻 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Hero:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Character Development:⭐⭐
🌻 Romance:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Pacing:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Ending:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Page Turner:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐⭐

☁FINAL VERDICT: 3/5 ☁

Review also appears on my blog.



Initial Thoughts:
The book cover is so prettyyyyy. I am wishing so hard that this will be a better read than the last. Please be deserving of the pretty cover.

Thank you to Levi Lynn Books and Netgalley for this e-arc! ♡♡♡

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. The beginning should have a catchy part for readers to get hooked to the story. I don’t think meeting a handsome man will make the readers get hooked? I’m not sure. But it didn’t give me anything. The story is so flat, i didn’t feel any excitement. The story sticks to one setting for so long I just feel it’s so boring. Sorry, my first ever DNF.

Thank you for netgalley for the free copy. I thought i would at least like it but , nope.

[Sentranced Jem · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book.
This book gave me so much hope with it's fun and bright cover plus a blurb that got me excited... it all fell flat.
I was so bored out of my mind 🤦🏻‍♀️



*ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pedí este libro porque la sinopsis tenía buena pinta y la portada es del tipo The Kiss Quotient o The Hating Game, dos libros que adoro, así que esta lectura ha sido un pequeño chasco, no únicamente porque no aguante la comparación, sino porque, por sí mismo, es un libro que no se sostiene.
He tenido dos grandes problemas con él. Uno es que la trama amorosa es bastante floja. Nico, el chico (no puedo llamarle "protagonista" porque es más bien un personaje secundario), es total y absolutamente fantástico, pero su historia de amor con Julie es simplona y muy mal desarrollada. En ningún momento he logrado entender cómo se enamora ni de dónde surge el amor entre ambos. Y esto está directamente relacionado con mi otro gran problema: la protagonista. No he sido capaz de conectar con ella en ningún momento, incluso me ha llegado a caer mal. Supongo que su mal comportamiento con Nico tendrá un sentido pero yo no he sido capaz de verlo.
Se ve que el libro tiene un buen punto de partida pero, para mí, tiene un desarrollo bastante pobre y, además, lioso, ya que se centra mucho más en los aspectos de la vida de Julie (y de los que la rodean) que en su relación con Nico y consigo misma. Una pena.
En cualquier caso, esto es solo mi opinión y no hay nada como leer y juzgar por uno mismo. Al menos el libro se lee rápidamente y las secuencias hot entre Julie y Nico son bastante decentes.
Estaré pendiente de lo que escriba Mia Heintzelman porque creo que puede escribir historias acordes a mi gusto.

[Sarah]

Unable to finish at 45%. Julie is a wildly unlikable character, mean and jaded for unknown reasons and seems to hate all other women. Liz is allegedly trying to help Julie after a breakup, by mean girling her into a new beauty and fitness regimen and berating her about punctuality. Nico is not a fully fleshed out character by the point I had to stop reading, but he seems like a general bland nice guy. However, he is weirdly described as looking like a combination of khal drogo and superman - those two don't visually go together, nothing relevant to the plot but a general logic quibble.

Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review. This is no way influenced my opinion.

[TinaNoir · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 25%

I had this book for over a year. I actually got an ARC for it. I started it back then but then put it down. Each time I went to Netgalley and saw it was there waiting for my review, I'd remember and pick it back up again. Only to struggle and then put it back down. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

This week I made a concerted effort. I tried. But I just couldn't get engaged. Nothing about the start of the book hooked me. I didn't hate it or anything, I just couldn't get interested.

Honestly I tried. After a year and several re-starts I really don't think it is gonna happen.

Sorry.

[Ezi Chinny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[Despina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review.

4 1/2 stars

Mixed Signals was an unexpected surprise for me. At the beginning, I thought I was going to dislike Julie and this had me a little worried, as I continued to read her story I started to like her more. So Julie has been dumped by her ex and she hasn't been able to let it go. In this story, Julie keeps running into Nico, sometime literally and she can't help but like him but there are a couple of moments of misunderstanding which make her confused about how she feels about him. I liked Nico, I only wish we could have had his POV, it would have made the connection between these two deeper for me. Otherwise, this book had me cringing and laughing, sometimes at the same time.

[Karschtl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice enough story about a woman recently left by her stupid ex, and meeting (again and again) a possible rebound candidate.
But it takes a while for Julie to convince herself that she indeed is interested in this adorable guy called like a butterfly. By that time I wasn't unfortunately not so interested anymore in their story. And I don't think that it has so much do to with the plot (the plot was ok) but more with the characters. I somehow didn't really care about either of them very much (although they are by no means disagreeable! you just cannot connect with every protagonist you encounter).

I only got hooked during the last quarter of the book. What will happen? How will it all be resolved? What's with the others?
But being really interested only for a quarter of a book is suffice for only 3 stars in the end.

[Hunter Carney · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was as if a 10 year old girl wrote a book about what they thought being an adult woman was like. Was a train wreck I couldn’t look away from but I wish I’d never read

[Jypsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea for Mixed Signals had potential, but it veered off into bland territory. It's a cute typical premise and nothing you haven't read before. There are okay moments. I'm bothered by the shallowness of the characters. I'm really bothered by the body shaming. I wanted to put this book down because of that, but I hate to not finish a book. It lost me,though, and I couldn't connect with it enough to really care about the outcome. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Formerly Known as Spoiler W · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @26%

The story didn't hold my attention so therefore I was completely bored with the story. Maybe the story worked for others but it didn't work for me at all. Wishing well with this author.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

[Tianna✸loves books✸]

Thank you for the arc.

This is not my jam.

[Antonella · Rating 3 out of 5]

* Thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me with an arc for review



Other then that if you can turn off your brain and have some light fun with undeveloped characters but otherwise intriguing plot line...go for it...

2,5 stars

[Karami Mantz · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 40%ish when the main character said “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”
Main characters “best friend” is also incredibly toxic and makes Julie join a gym, wants her to lose weight and alter her appearance after she’s broken up with. Hard pass on the rest of this book and probably anything else by this author.

[Stacia | stacialovestoread · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Mixed Signals is a cute start to the series. Julie is a believable character who’s just recently suffered a breakup and her best friend, Liz, is trying to get her back in the game.

Nico is a friend of a friend who seems to be perfect for Julie but she’s resistant to let him in.

Heintzelman has written a cute story about second chances and being willing to put oneself out there and the prospect of finding love

[Sigal Ehrlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mixed Signals is a wonderfully written, heartfelt, and often witty love story. It is a perfect blend of sweet, fun, and sassy.

[Dini - dinipandareads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This... was really not my cup of tea and I'm pretty disappointed because the blurb sounded good, that cover is really cute, and who doesn't love a sweet romance about fate and tangled lines? But, no. I struggled to get through this and skimmed through the majority of it because we all know I hate to DNF, especially when it's an ARC. I could see the potential in this, but honestly, the story and the characters were so sorely underdeveloped I ended up feeling zero connection to any of it. The writing was also all over the place, which made it even more difficult to get into the story, though what I enjoyed the least was the main character, Julie Laurich.

Julie grated on my nerves. She was unbearably rude, selfish and completely self-absorbed. Her character found everything irritating and she lost her shit, going from 0-100 in the blink of an eye, so frequently and over nothing that it was just stupid. I absolutely couldn't stand her attitude at all. I understand what it's like to be defensive and to want to protect your own heart, but Julie's character had absolutely zero reason to blow every little thing out of proportion, especially when it came to Nico. None of it made sense to me, and if she did have a reason, it wasn't clearly articulated in the story. If I met someone like her IRL, I would likely run in the opposite direction, fast!

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Levi Lynn Books for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on my blog closer to the date of publication.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Synopsis: Julie is trying to get back out there after a break up when one day, while stuck in the traffic, saw Nico, whom she finds attractive physically but didn't like him once he opened his mouth. They ran on each other a few times more until Julie got assigned to his classroom where they got to know each other, and then things happened

The story is typical; I may not be a big fan of Julie for all her judgments and assumptions towards Nico because her previous relationship broke her heart. But she made up for it at the end. The main characters are right, and the story is promising and cute. I recommend it if you want a light rom-com read.

[Michelle Claypot_Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this one with high hopes - that blurb had me hooked. Unfortunately I didn't quite get the story I wanted. It's definitely not a bad read. I found myself smiling in parts and happily reading away. The second half of the book was a little harder for and that's why it gets a 3 instead of a 4. I'd definitely check out more from this author though as there was plenty to enjoy.

I received an arc of this book.

[Cate]

DNF @35%

I’m very bored with this. She doesn’t like herself, her boyfriend didn’t like her, all we’re hearing about is her being a pushover, even her best friend isn’t too nice. Don’t want to waste more time on this.

[Marietere T]

I’ll say I don’t like the way this books talks about women’s body. The whole premise of revenge body is gross. The words “anorexic twig” made me so angry as a person who people assumed I was anorexic when I was not. I will not give this book grace for being published when people didn’t know better and skinny was in fashion, but this book was published in 2019.

[Sarah Parker · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF
Couldn’t get past 12%
Her alleged best friend spent an entire chapter fat shaming her then gets her a trainer who is just awful. I’m sorry but this is not worth my time or energy

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC of this novel. Regardless of the way I acquired the novel, the thoughts, opinions, and views stated in this review are completely unbiased and one hundred percent my own.

This book had such a good start! I was hooked right off the bat. While our MC isn't necessarily the most likable, I can think we can all admit that we've been there, or been our worst version of ourselves at one point or another. I'm a reader who doesn't need to like a character to be able to like a book, if that makes sense. So I took our MC's outbursts, and poor interactions with fellow human beings with a grain of salt. Not to mention that her father had died, and her boyfriend had out-of-the-blue broken up with her. The girl was probably due an outburst or two. Some people (coughs-me) hide away in their room eating their body weight in ice cream until they're ready to face the world again, while other people just take out their aggression on the wrong person. That's how Julie meets Nico.

I really enjoyed how their lives were constantly crossing paths. It put me on the edge of my seat, wondering when they would by chance meet again. Nico is honestly described like a saint. He handles all of Julie's outbursts, bad behavior, and vomit (uh...yeah) like a champ. If there is one redeeming character in this book, it's Nico, Nico's mom, and Julie's mom (okay, I guess there are a couple redeeming characters).

I do think a few of the relationships portrayed here borderline on toxic. Julie's relationship with her best friend is in many ways uncalled for, and how the women in her family treat each other was a little displeasing. As a personal note, I've dealt with a lot of toxic relationships in my own life, and tend to see them everywhere. Maybe girlfriends really do yell at each other, tell each other they are ruining their lives, and then five seconds later say they're the best in the world? To each their own.

In terms of writing, this was an admirable attempt. I felt at times really thrown off when scenes would cut in and out of each other. One second we were in a conversation with Julie and her mom and the next second she was with Nico two days later. There was no explanation of how things left off with conversations, or how a date would end. Suddenly, after a major event (like running into the ex), we just flashed forward to the next day with no mention of how Nico reacted? It felt really unrealistic and pulled me out of the story a few times.

I think the overall plot was super cute, but felt the novel was strongest in the first half of the book. It sort of lost steam after that, and I stopped caring what happened to our characters. I finished the book because I wanted to know how their love story ended, but I didn't necessarily need all of the descriptions of why her ex was such a tool, or how her heart was changing now that she had Nico. I think a little more editing would have been beneficial, but it wasn't an overall disappointment.

[Isabelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed Signals by Mia Heintzelman is a summery read for those looking for an uncomplicated book for the beach or back porch. I really enjoyed the blurb when I requested this book but have some reservations after actually reading the whole story. When I’m looking for a beach read, I’m not looking for a very complicated plot with interesting sentence structure and an in-depth analysis of characters. I want a quick read with a cute guy and their happy ending. If that is all you’re looking for, then this book does deliver.

But for someone that wants more than that and pays attention to grammar and dives just a little below the surface of the characters’ personalities, this might not be as enjoyable. While I liked Nico’s character, both Liz and Julie at times seemed too shallow, selfish and dramatic to me. I could not get myself to like them, which made it more difficult for me to relate and get into the story. I enjoyed Nico and Julie spending time together but was not a big fan of some of the other relationships (with friends and significant others) in the story. Julie also seemed more of a love-struck teenager with her very first love to me than a grown woman with other things to do and worry about than thinking of her boo all day long. The ending also seemed very rushed and too dramatic.

As somebody else stated, this does seem like a good first draft. I like the idea for the storyline a lot, but think that the characters need to be developed some more to make them more likeable (since this does not seem like a story where they would be unlikable on purpose). I have not read any other books by this author yet but do think there is potential for a very good story here.

[Ruth Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an aptly titles book: Mixed Signals garnered Mixed Feelings in me about what I thought of the novel.

If you’re looking for a light hearted book, easy to flip through without devoting too much time and energy and don’t mind underdeveloped characters, then this is for you.

For me, however, I hated Julie, the main character. I hated the fat shaming. I hated her best friend. The relationships in her life were toxic. I can deal with this if characters are developed further. But this wasn’t. This book seemed to throw bits down and expected you to make what you could of it.

I liked the premise; I enjoyed the revenge body idea - who hasn’t broken up with someone and decided to revamp their hair or wardrobe? I just thought it could be a little more sensitive and bypass the body shaming our main characters goes through. Who’s best friend would tell them to go to the gym because they’ve got fat, and allow them to be measured in front of an audience and then screamed at until they accepted they were angry with themselves for allowing themselves to become so disgusting? Urgh. It just puts me on edge.

I liked that Nico and Julie kept running into each other. I thought that was well done.

Overall I wouldn’t recommend this book. It made me more angry than happy and when I open a book like this I just want to feel better, not worse.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.

[Kaeley Scruggs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I badly wanted to like this book. It was gearing up for a great plot (I assumed by the cover it was hate to love), and speaking of the cover, I absolutely love it as a hate-to-love.

I didn't end up reading all of this book, actually just 10 percent. But it felt shallow and sad to me. From the first interaction with Liz, she's othered and it might be nice to include someone who's Puerto Rican in the book if her ethnicity wasn't introduced by this paragraph: "Hints of her Puerto Rican roots flared with spice and attitude the way it always seemed to do when she smelled disaster."

At the beginning of the book I found Julie pretty relatable, although her friend Liz seemed to cross into the mean zone from blunt a few times. But about 15 percent into the book we see Julie going to a gym to lose weight because she's "let herself go" and there's a lot of fat-antagonistic comments in just the space of a couple pages.

I'm not sure exactly what we're supposed to like about the supposed love interest, and the main character did a great job of objectifying him; I guess that's the only thing we're supposed to like about him?

I also didn't care for the writing style. It's not that it's bad necessarily, but I felt like it didn't match the tone. I think we are meant to sympathize and feel bad for Julie, but the writing just comes off really bitter.

[Eliza - The Librocubicularist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fun Cosy Read

Mixed signals is a real take on heartbreak as an adult trying to ‘make it in the real world’.

We all get down on ourselves and feel like we are at our lowest and Julie is no different.

In fact in Mixed Signals, her life seems like the epitome of being kicked when you’re down. And meeting a hot guy (more then once) at her lowest point just seems to prove that fact.

The second guessing, complicated family and messy but steadfast friendships paint a picture that isn’t drawn through rose colored glasses.

I was glad to see the healthy aspects of self love and self rebuilding hand in hand with the unavoidable self doubt that comes with a breakup.

Nico is a character who slowly steals your heart. His down to earth qualities make you want to keep him around. The story kept me engaged. There were a few instances where transitions left me wanting.

But, armed with a best friend whose picture should be in the dictionary when you look up the word honest.

As she falls in love with herself and takes chances at happiness, Julie proves that there is no way to go but up.

Mixed Signals is a funny, snarky, and heart warming romance that I couldn’t put down. While I agree to the mixed signals, there’s no mixed feelings on this one, I’m glad I read it. I can’t wait for the next book in the series.

[Kara Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed signals is a real take on heartbreak as an adult trying to ‘make it in the real world’. The second guessing, complicated family and messy but steadfast friendships paint a picture that isn’t drawn through rose colored glasses. I was glad to see the healthy aspects of self love and self rebuilding hand in hand with the unavoidable self doubt that comes with a breakup. Nico is a character who slowly steals your heart. His down to earth qualities make you want to keep him around. The story kept me engaged. There were a few instances where transitions left me wanting. While I agree to the mixed signals, there’s no mixed feelings on this one, I’m glad I read it. Thanks to NetGalley, publisher, and author for this ARC in exchange for honest review. ““This is why I haven’t called you. Can’t you just see how I’m doing and not ask about him? It’s hard enough as it is, but when you keep bringing it up, I’m back at square one. And maybe I’ve got more things going on in my life that have nothing to do with him.”