1.5 ⭐️s
Goodreads, I implore you to get the half star ratings for reviews already.

This was an Amazon Prime first read book and I’ve found that those can be hit or miss. In this case, this was a hit. When I saw this was set in Barcelona, a city I visited only once and fell in love with, I knew I needed to revisit through the characters of this book.

This was my first read by this author and what I love the most was the simplicity of the writing, but also the duality of the story. This was told in a dual point of view, giving us both Alice’s and Andy’s perspectives, but the genius lies in the way the story unfolds in Alice’s narration of the present that juxtaposes with Andy’s narration of the past as they both recount their history while dealing with their present. Add in the flavors of the food they cook together and the magic of Barcelona and this book was a chef’s kiss.

As most love stories go, there is the tragic untold trauma attached to both characters that complicates their love story, but you will find in the end, it brings them closer together.

A solid four star rating with me now craving paella, churros, vanilla ice cream with hints of cinnamon, walks in Parc Guell and the pure magic of Barcelona. *looks up flights expeditiously*

Where to start?

First, thank you to the publisher, Random House and NetGalley for this eARC for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I found it incredibly engaging and interesting. There are similarities between this book and the Netflix show, Sex/Life, but not so much to where it feels redundant. Diana and Oliver seem like the perfect couple, but they are going through it—their biggest issue is lack of communication and being honest about the lack of desire in their marriage on Diana’s side. The unfortunate thing is Diana can’t help but be reminded of her former self and the vivid and sensual relationship she had with the mysterious, Jasper.

I loved reading about Diana and Jasper. I could see their situationship play out vividly in my head for the beautiful disaster that it was inevitably going to be.

However, reading about Oliver and Diana post strip club was rough. I hated the lack of honesty and the games that Diana was playing with him that seemingly backfired in her face at the end.

The only thing missing for me, which I know this is about uplifting the feminine perspective, but Oliver’s motivation in the end didn’t really make sense to me—to go immediately to the nice apartment, hanging out with Raleigh, and turning his back on his wife without asking for a divorce first. It just didn’t seem in line with his character, so a chapter from his POV would have cleared things up a bit.

I would definitely read the next book to see how things unfold with Jasper and Diana OR with Diana and Oliver.

4.5 after rereading.

Nothing much to say except, I love Dorian and I love the playfulness between him and Caleana.

So, The Sword in the Stone is one of my favorite Disney movies, so having the legend of King Arthur show up in such a raw and original way—intertwined with the darkness and evil of American history—was not what I was expecting when I decided to read this book. Add to that, the grief and struggle of finding oneself when losing your mother—this book instantly became one I couldn’t put down. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because of all the background knowledge needed to kind of understand the historical context of the medieval period. Because I taught British literature for years, I was able to grasp and catch on for the most part, but think that might be a bit challenging for someone without that prior knowledge. A fantastic read nonetheless.

I didn’t think I’d like a book of hers more than Beach Read, but I stand corrected.