A carton of ice cream and an infomercial changed my life … Drive, focus, and a solid plan for my future never left time for any of the fun things in school. Not that it mattered, guys never looked at the tall chubby nerdy girl. And they still don’t, now that I’m a thirty-something professional woman. Not that I give them a chance working six days a week and spending most of the seventh doing laundry or watching movies with my best friend. How did the perfect life become boring? When my best friend agrees to jump into the exciting unknown with me, endless opportunities appear. None of them make my heart flutter until I see him. Kent, a luxury hotel manager, is everything I could ever dream of in a man. Kind, thoughtful, a brilliant businessman, and game to join into any zany adventure I come up with. Not to mention he’s taller than me when I wear heels. A guy like that would never like a girl like me …
This sweet clean trilogy is a slow burn romance, but Liz will get her happily ever after … eventually.
So, my review is not good. I'm torn from either reading a poorly written story about two immature women with a food fetish or about two high school girls that's snuck out of the house and taken daddy's car for a joy ride. Its so far from a believable story its not funny. Good thing it was a freebie, I'd be upset if I paid for this .
If you loved Gilmore Girls, then read Not Bored by Aurora Darklight!! This book was freaking hilarious and absolutely adorable from the very moment we meet the FMC and her bestie. The witty, quippy banter between Liz and Gigi is so well composed and believable, it reminded me of Lorelai and Rory, except they’re besties instead of mother-daughter!
Not Bored is book 1 in a contemporary romance trilogy called Sweet Existence and it’s about a pair of girlfriends who are fed up with the bore of everyday existence and decide to follow their dreams of opening a restaurant venture and traveling the world!
I had a blast going on adventures with these two, and the steamy slowburn that begins to build between Liz and Kent was so much fun, but be warned—this first installment does end on a cliffhanger!! Thankfully, the sequels are readily available on Kindle Unlimited!!
What to Expect: —Relatable FMC —Strong Friendships —Swoonworthy MMC —Fast-Paced Plot
I did find the ending a bit rushed and wanted more development after the shocking twist, but this served mostly to make me anxious for the second installment and didn't ruin my enjoyment for the rest of the plot!
And yet, at first, I wasn't sure. Liz is in her twenties and has an appalling self image. Even after losing weight, she sees herself as fat and unattractive. Add to that she's a bit nerdy, and she has reached the conclusion that men are not, and never will be, interested in her. Kent is, but she really doesn't know it. This story is about living, not just existing. Liz has a gung ho attitude, wanting to try new things, and dragging her BFF with her. It seems like a slow start, but Liz's enthusiasm soon wins you over. A bit of a cliff edge ending, and two more books to follow.
Beware: Cliff hanger There are some incredibly difficult things to believe in this story. One, that any successful business woman is so monstrously naive, unaware, and self centered concerning her friend's life and work. She never has the least bit of curiosity or interest in Kent's life or background; but is furious when she is the last to know he's a billionaire. Again this girl is beyond stupid. (And the only person in this solar system against such). I give two stars only bc the story kept my interest enough to wonder how her idiocy and his obvious wealth would be resolved. However, it's not worth my time or energy to pursue the "ending". I'm done.
This book was painful to read. It didn't flow well. Transitions were basically non existent and I had to frequently go back and read things twice to try and make sense of it. The characters had potential and I was excited to see a main character that was a mature 34 year old woman. Yeah... She acted like she was maybe 14 the whole time. So naive and awkward. I don't mind a character starting awkward and having some character growth but she just stayed really annoying the whole time.
The start of the book where they lived conservatively and worked normal jobs and were somehow able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars was absolutely ridiculous and unrealistic. Most of the book, honestly, was completely unrealistic. Even for a romance that are usually cheesy and unrealistic, this one was something else.
Also, she's furious and heart broken because the man makes a ton of money and didn't tell her? What? Is your "love" for him that superficial that that destroys you? If he went around telling everyone that he is a billionaire, he'd never know if the woman he was interested in wanted him or the money. Though with him throwing money around like it's nothing it should have been incredibly obvious. But she's too stupid to figure anything out. Also, you took very little interest in his life if you didn't even bother googling the guy (not to mention just being safe in this day and age of dating). I just can't with this book. I had to finish it because I hate leaving a book unfinished but man... That was painful to read and my IQ went down a few notches.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
First let me just say, I loved Kent, but who wouldn’t. He was a really thoughtful, nice guy. The main characters in the story were Liz and Gigi and it started out slow. I didn’t like how it progressed either. I thought I was reading two different books. The first book, “How to Start Your Own Business “ was like a blog really with the two woman establishing a restaurant and doing daring things to make it a reality. However, once that dream came true the restaurant was forgotten about and the second book took over, “How to Meet A Billionaire Without Trying”. This was the story that carried the book home. The restaurant story could have been woven into the romance better instead of a separate adventure. I liked the romance, but thought that Liz and Gigi were a little dense. The author had two suave and intelligent career women with a successful business and they couldn’t figure out that Kent was more than what he looked like. Come on, a hotel manager with a yacht and always surrounded by men who looked like commandos. Despite this, I was really liking the story until (wait for it) it ended in a cliffhanger!!!!! I Hate Cliffhangers!!! I think they rob the reader of a complete book. Anyway, the next book is “Not Hidden” and I will read it to find out what happens with Kent and Liz because”Not Bored” wasn’t finished. This is why I gave it three stars. I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.
This is what you need to know before starting this book...
It is not going to give you a happily ever after at the end of Book 1. Typically all of Aurora Darklight's books you don't get the happily ever after until book 3 for the trilogies or book 2 for the duets.
And honestly you will want to slap some characters along the way because in your head you will think that the characters should just shape up quick and choose to be happy and in love.
But by the time you finish their other books you realize how much growth needed to occur before they truly could be happy.
So be sure you don't give up or stop reading at one. I promise the journey will be worth it by book 3!
For this book Liz does seem younger especially emotionally but I'm giving her a break knowing that comments people make about you can have life long impacts. And though it may be obvious to all those around you sometimes when you are stuck in your own head it can be hard to see the truth.
Kent is amazing! I can't wait to see more of him and get to know more about his life and story in the next books!
Physical Intimacy Level 2 Zero Swearing Single POV (Liz)
A carton of ice cream and an infomercial changed my life … Drive, focus, and a solid plan for my future never left time for any of the fun things in school. Not that it mattered, guys never looked at the tall chubby nerdy girl. And they still don’t, now that I’m a thirty-something professional woman. Not that I give them a chance working six days a week and spending most of the seventh doing laundry or watching movies with my best friend. How did the perfect life become boring? When my best friend agrees to jump into the exciting unknown with me, endless opportunities appear. None of them make my heart flutter until I see him. Kent, a luxury hotel manager, is everything I could ever dream of in a man. Kind, thoughtful, a brilliant businessman, and game to join into any zany adventure I come up with. Not to mention he’s taller than me when I wear heels. A guy like that would never like a girl like me …
This sweet clean trilogy is a slow burn romance, but Liz will get her happily ever after … eventually.
Does this author know any thing about punctuation? Or grammar?? Was her really in love with he? She either needs to take an English class, stop using autocorrect or get a better editor. If I hadn't been reading it on Kindle I'd have red-penciled about every other line. Also hard to believe was a thirty-something that naive in this day and age, is the author sure Elizabeth wasn't really about eleven? Come to think of it, changing my rating to two stars, taking two off for lack of commas.
They lost me with : “Gigi, we’ve been saving for the last ten years. We don’t travel. We don’t buy flashy cars. We barely even have time to buy new clothes, and none of them are designer. We have hundreds of thousands in savings.” I just can't relate. Clearly I have been doing something wrong these past 30 years. The next day is just as confusing for me since they've decided to quit their jobs and now will spend money like crazy. The tone of the story does not appeal to me. I think I might have read one chapter, maybe not.
Parts of this book were very good. The girls took a huge chance and succeeded in their business. However, personally they both seemed very naive and emotionally immature. It was unrealistic and some behavior of the primary female character was cringe worthy, considering she was around 30 years old. Yes she lived her previous work with no social life, but did she not have access to normal social media? I cannot bring myself to read the next book. I’m sorry, I wanted to like it.
How do I get so seriously invested in these characters?! I read all the time. All the time. I enjoy a good fluff book to entertain when I doing dishes etc. It’s a darn good thing there’s more to this series already out because there would be words….. I love it so much. I love these people like I know them personally. 🚫🤬🚫🌶️ So good. Highly recommended 🩵
Liz and Gigi are amazing! They are smart, adventurous, daring, crazy, hilarious and the most wonderful friends I've ever read about! I smiled through the whole book. Jaw dropped open a few times too! Kent and Patrick together were the best! Gotta start the next book today!
first time reading a book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the story of Liz and Gigi, two women who set out to follow their dreams of opening a restaurant. They are both super smart and absolutely hilarious. The story for me was a bit of a slower start but then when the men were introduced I got so excited. overall a great story and I enjoyed it and recommend it.
When I read a book it is because I want to know the ending. This was such a great story, too bad it was just to get everyone to purchase the next episode. So disappointed to find that even the Link to the next book wouldn’t work. Guess I need to pay attention and start a Trilogy book again.
Liz and Gigi go to the Caribbean to celebrate their restaurant turning its first profit where she sees the very handsome hotel manager. They return to the same hotel the following year and she actually meets the same hotel manager and sparks start to fly between them! I really enjoyed this book!
Unfortunately I was. I tried to give this a couple of more chapters to see if it improved but unfortunately it did not. Despite a lot happening, thanks to time jumps, nothing interesting actually takes place. I’m giving up.
3.5 🌟 I'm a little intrigued to see what happens in the next book. I didn't love the ending, major cliffhanger. I liked the friendship between Liz & Gigi. It's a slower read with lots of dialog.