missyg324's Reviews (308)

I’ve enjoyed most of the Jennifer Weiner books I’ve read and this one is a winner! I haven’t always felt comfortable in my body and it took me a long time to figure out how to appreciate it for all it can do. Some parts of the Abby/Sebastian story rubbed me the wrong way, but I enjoyed it overall. The mother-daughter pieces were so strong. It’s often hard to understand how a person becomes who they are, especially when they’re your parent. You know them so much in one particular way and Weiner showed that there’s so much more to all of us. 

Solid romcom- not very spicy at all. Could mostly see where it was going from early on but still enjoyed the steps to get there. Would’ve liked more in the epilogue. Linda Holmes does a great job of creating very real characters and Cecily is no different. The “I want” piece is such important advice, especially for women!!

The writing and storytelling is absolutely beautiful. Reichert tells her story as a second generation Holocaust survivor and how her father’s reaction to his trauma deeply impacted her throughout her life. So much of my rating was my mood listening to this book. It just wasn’t a good summer read for me. Excited to make some butterkuchen for book club, though!

This book is getting such mixed reviews but I liked it. The ways Alice and Hayden came together felt very cute and natural. Definitely rushed the ending and mixed two of my favorite and least favorite tropes: grumpy sunshine (fave) with a third act break up(least fave), but kinda saw it coming. Evelyn Hugo vibes throughout, which I’m a fan of. And I enjoyed hearing it as Alice hearing and interpreting Margaret’s story. Not my top Emily Henry, but not bottom. 

I’ve always been a Rachel Lynn Solomon fan and she does it again with this one! The sweetness of first love and the spiciness of re-meeting as adults (and it is spicy!). Not quite a third act breakup, but close. Learning to communicate as grown ups when you first met as teenagers can be challenging! They’re new people and yet find their way back to each other through fake dating. Love it. 
I also appreciate her mental health rep and showing the stigma that depression and questioning your life path/being unaware of burnout and how her characters overcome it. 

If you like Anastasia, you’ll like this book! The jumping timelines was a little rough of audio, especially before I had a handle on the style/format of the book. But once I figured that out I really enjoyed the dual timelines and the mystery that slowly unfolds. 

It’s a pretty basic romance with a twist thrown in. Not sure I totally needed it, but it created an interesting conflict. What I appreciated most about this book is the commentary on parenthood, especially motherhood. I listened to this while my husband was away and I was solo parenting for the week and I felt for Sasha so much! Also, what a lame epilogue! I’d have like to see it farther out in time. 

This book just has all the right vibes. Just like Merritt is looking for, it’s the perfect romcom. Maybe it gets a little trope-y, but that’s what makes it fun!!

This was a great look at motherhood and how sometimes the things we push back against the most are what we end up being. All of these relationships were beautifully and powerfully told. I wanted more of the Starbirds to hear from their perspective, but it wasn’t about them. I didn’t love when I realized the book was kinda meta. I didn’t need that.