* This review is spoiler-free *
3.5/5 ⭐
Tropes
➮ Neighbors to lovers
➮ Slice-of-life
➮ Forced proximity
➮ Instalove
Synopsis
When Laura Costello moves to LA to escape her overprotective family and the memories of an accident, she doesn’t expect to be homeless after a week. She also doesn’t expect to find herself adopted by a rogue bookseller, installed in a lovely but completely illegal boardinghouse, or challenged to save a losing trivia team… but that’s what happens. Add a regretful landlady, a gorgeous housemate, and an ex-boyfriend determined to put himself back in the running and you’ll see why Laura is so frazzled. Luckily for her, her new friends Nina, Polly, and Bob aren’t sure either, but maybe if they put their heads (and hearts) together they’ll be able to make it work.
Best Quote From the Book
“Someone once told me that anxiety lives in the unknown future, depression lives in the unforgettable past, and peace lives in acceptance of the present moment"
LGBTQ+ Representation
3.75/5 🌈
Every single character in the book is incredibly chill about people being LGBTQ+. Polly in particular is incredibly supportive of anyone and will ask about your sexuality and not just assume. It was refreshing to see a group of potentially straight people just be such open allies.
My Thoughts
This book feels like it truly does not know what genre it wants to be in. Most of the book honestly just feels like general fiction, a slice-of-life type story. Then it shifts back and forth to being a romance story. It is too much romance to be a subplot but not enough to really feel like a romance story. For some reason, this ambiguity really diminished my reading experience. I have seen this book described as chick-lit lit which is the best term I've seen to describe it so far.
The best part of this book was the Winnie the Pooh reference. For context, I absolutely adore Winnie the Pooh. Any moment it is so much as alluded to makes my heart very happy. It got at least a bonus quarter-star just for that. (Another example of my ratings being highly subjective).
My favorite character in this story is Polly. She is just a hoot! I love her eclectic vibe and overall calm nature. She adds some much-needed kookiness to the story. I wish I could befriend her myself!
The family drama in this book feels quite generic. I would've loved to see some element of it to make this book more unique. Laura acts like her relationship with her parents is incredibly stilted and full of bad memories. Honestly, it just seemed like they were poor communicators. That said, it is very realistic for that reason. It is a delicate balance between uniqueness and realism.
I found myself getting frustrated when it was incredibly obvious Laura and Bob fancied each other. Neither of them was willing to make a move or even outwardly convey their feelings to the other. The plot couldn't propel forward because the characters did not have the guts to say anything.
Overall, this story was quite cute. The side characters are what drew me in and made me want to keep reading. The romance elements and the story as a whole just didn't hit.
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