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thenovelbook's review
5.0
This novel is easily my favorite discovery of the year. Warm, witty, and wistful, its two central characters took up residence in my heart and I'll never forget them. Really.
Savannah is an assistant editor at a small publishing house in Nashville--one with high standards but decreasing profitability. When the boss's son Will Pennington shows up, fresh from his prestigious New York City job and ready to prop up the dying family business, everyone is sure that he's not there to play nice. Savannah can't afford any missteps... so it's a good thing that no one knows that she's been writing her own novel. Her own romantic fiction novel, that is. Because the one thing that the publishing house would never, never, never sully its reputation with is light romantic fiction.
After her manuscript is almost exposed during an office meeting, Savannah stashes it in the most secret place she knows in the building. Her very own magical, private, bookish refuge.
So how does it come about that when she goes to retrieve it, she discovers in one heart-stopping moment that it's covered with notes from a mystery editor?
There are so many delightful moments, conversations, and exchanges in this book that it's hard to know where to start with all the things I liked.
I liked that even though there is never any question about what is going to happen in the last chapter, the story doesn't feel hackneyed. It's genuine. It has heart.
(Although, I will say, the attempt to muddy the waters and provide a possible alternative for who else could be Savannah's mystery editor fell pretty flat for me, but I'll grant that it's probably a necessary facet in this kind of "You've Got Mail" story.)
I liked that the author gave Will and Savannah a *little* edge of friction and wariness in their in-person interactions... but I'm so grateful she didn't make them enemies. Just enough tension to make things zing delightfully when they're around each other. There's also never any game-playing between them, just a refreshing innocence and give-and-take in conversation that absolutely won my heart.
I liked that even though I started the book thinking, "Oh, no, this is written in the present tense," by the end I was thinking, "You know, this present tense thing is okay."
I liked that there's a mature, thoughtful approach toward what makes a good relationship, and that it was dreamy and grounded at the same time.
The takeaway? I will be buying this book when it comes out. And I will be re-reading it. I don't know if other readers will be affected the same way I was, but when I estimated it would probably take me until 2 in the morning to finish it, I thought, "Well, that's unfortunate, but it can't be helped." It filled me with a personal angst (you know, the kind that comes from reading about a story or relationship that you want to be in) and sense of introspection that I haven't recovered from yet. This book. This book.
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Initial review:
It's an indecent hour of the night and I'm done. And dead. 5 stars.
---------------------------------------------------------
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Clearly.
Savannah is an assistant editor at a small publishing house in Nashville--one with high standards but decreasing profitability. When the boss's son Will Pennington shows up, fresh from his prestigious New York City job and ready to prop up the dying family business, everyone is sure that he's not there to play nice. Savannah can't afford any missteps... so it's a good thing that no one knows that she's been writing her own novel. Her own romantic fiction novel, that is. Because the one thing that the publishing house would never, never, never sully its reputation with is light romantic fiction.
After her manuscript is almost exposed during an office meeting, Savannah stashes it in the most secret place she knows in the building. Her very own magical, private, bookish refuge.
So how does it come about that when she goes to retrieve it, she discovers in one heart-stopping moment that it's covered with notes from a mystery editor?
There are so many delightful moments, conversations, and exchanges in this book that it's hard to know where to start with all the things I liked.
I liked that even though there is never any question about what is going to happen in the last chapter, the story doesn't feel hackneyed. It's genuine. It has heart.
(Although, I will say, the attempt to muddy the waters and provide a possible alternative for who else could be Savannah's mystery editor fell pretty flat for me, but I'll grant that it's probably a necessary facet in this kind of "You've Got Mail" story.)
I liked that the author gave Will and Savannah a *little* edge of friction and wariness in their in-person interactions... but I'm so grateful she didn't make them enemies. Just enough tension to make things zing delightfully when they're around each other. There's also never any game-playing between them, just a refreshing innocence and give-and-take in conversation that absolutely won my heart.
I liked that even though I started the book thinking, "Oh, no, this is written in the present tense," by the end I was thinking, "You know, this present tense thing is okay."
I liked that there's a mature, thoughtful approach toward what makes a good relationship, and that it was dreamy and grounded at the same time.
The takeaway? I will be buying this book when it comes out. And I will be re-reading it. I don't know if other readers will be affected the same way I was, but when I estimated it would probably take me until 2 in the morning to finish it, I thought, "Well, that's unfortunate, but it can't be helped." It filled me with a personal angst (you know, the kind that comes from reading about a story or relationship that you want to be in) and sense of introspection that I haven't recovered from yet. This book. This book.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Initial review:
It's an indecent hour of the night and I'm done. And dead. 5 stars.
---------------------------------------------------------
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Clearly.
pothosethos's review
I think I'm allergic to the Cade family toxic positivity/productivity lol
anamustacho's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
avispa_nightriver's review
2.0
Boring, poorly edited and the main character was stupid and sucked at her job
gabrielle_mendez's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
sarsarsarsarsar's review
3.0
This was weird for me, lots of descriptions about things I thought were irrelevant, very interesting emotional twists that didn’t get a lot of attention and/or from outside characters. Extremely cheesy at parts but overall a fairly interesting story!! The ending was extremely rushed with lots of loose ends
el_36's review against another edition
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
kaylaaa2395's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0