She’s written the perfect romance . . . for someone else
Greetings card copywriter Phoebe Chapman knows a good romantic line or two – and it makes her a fantastic Cupid.
So when she lands in the Hollywood Hills – a place that proves film stars, golden beaches and secret waterfalls don’t just exist in the movies – she can’t resist playing matchmaker for her handsome neighbour, carpenter Ren.
But you can’t hide from love in La La Land.
And isn’t there something a little bit hot about Ren, her own leading man next door?
This is a sort of modern-day Cyranode Bergerac or more to the point, the updated film version, Roxanne.
If you’re not familiar, Phoebe is the wordsmith behind the scenes, in this case helping her friend, Bel, convince her oh-so-hot neighbor, Ren, that she is the one for him. The only problem is that Phoebe is strongly attracted to Ren as well, and Bel isn’t really her friend. It’s a bit complicated, but Phoebe is in Los Angeles on a two week vacation from her home in the UK, ostensibly visiting her super successful sister, but said sister leaves town almost immediately on a business trip. Bel is her personal trainer, who doesn’t know she is gone and shows up anyway. Bel proceeds to adopt Phoebe as her new best friend, and it is a terrific friendship for sure, despite Phoebe’s attraction to Ren. Still with me?
Phoebe writes Ren a love letter, an actual pen-to-paper letter, but signs it Bel. He immediately falls for the writer, not knowing that Phoebe actually did the writing. It’s much more understandable/believable reading the book! There are lots of outings around the L.A. area, and a lot of laughs along the way.
Kelk has a great sense of humor, and I have enjoyed all of her books. This one is a bit of a rush seeing that Phoebe is only in town for two weeks, but no worries, it is all believable in this writer’s hands. She invited me into her world, and I had a blast! Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride, you won’t regret it. Highly recommend!
9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
LOVE ME DO by Lindsey Kelk. HarperCollins (September 5, 2023). ISBN: 978-0008619329. 384p.
A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this small-town love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception.
Adalyn Reyes has spent years perfecting her daily routine: wake up at dawn, drive to the Miami Flames FC offices, try her hardest to leave a mark, go home, and repeat.
But her routine is disrupted when a video of her in an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, the team’s owner—who happens to be her father—sends Adalyn to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors, as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice (impractical), keep pet goats (messy), and are terrified of Adalyn (counterproductive), and are nine-year-old kids.
To make things worse, also in town is Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy whose presence is somewhat of a mystery. Cam is the perfect candidate to help Adalyn, but after one very unfortunate first encounter involving a rooster, Cam’s leg, and Adalyn’s bumper, he’s also set on running her out of town. But banishment is not an option for Adalyn. Not again. Helping this ragtag children’s team is her road to redemption, and she is playing the long game. With or without Cam’s help.
This book was a….long read. It took me days to get through it. I liked it enough to stick with it, but it was definitely slow going. This was my first read from this author.
The characters were well-developed, but their chemistry was unexplored for most of the book. I just felt like I was waiting for something to happen.
The best parts of the book were the kids and the animals. The setting was a small town in North Carolina, and one of the running gags was that Adalyn insisted on wearing her Florida clothes and heels, despite the dropping temperatures of late fall.
Both main characters had interesting backstories, but again, it took too long to piece it all out. Maybe it was me? If you’ve read it, I’d love to hear from you!
9/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE LONG GAME by Elena Armas. Atria Books (September 5, 2023). ISBN: 978-1668011300. 384p.
In the swoon-worthy finale of her Love on Holiday series, Christy Carlyle takes readers to the breathtaking coast of Ireland where a pretty, young countess’s secretary agrees to impersonate her mistress to help a duke appease his fortune-hunting family…until he falls for her instead.
Miss Evelyn Graves has never had a holiday. She is much too busy as the personal secretary to the Countess of Waverly. But the Duke of Ballymore Castle in Connemara, Ireland, has invited the countess to visit—and as the countess cannot travel, she has insisted Evelyn go in her stead. Except when Evie arrives, everyone mistakes her for the countess—and it’s clear the family who owns crumbling Ballymore were hoping to match the widowed countess with Alexander Pierpont, Duke of Rennick. Though Alex knows the truth of Evie’s identity, he has an unusual request. He’ll happily show her hospitality if she’ll agree to let others think she’s the countess during her visit.
There’s just one problem: as time runs out on their arrangement and Alex increasingly fears he must in fact marry an heiress to save his family’s fortunes, he finds that his heart now belongs to Miss Evie Graves…and he can’t bring himself to let her go.
“Carlyle completes her Love on Holiday trilogy (after Lady Meets Earl) with characters fans will adore. Hand to readers who love the fake-dating trope and the hijinks of a romantic comedy.” — Library Journal
“With its charming Cornish setting, lively writing enhanced by a blithe sense of wit, and a memorable cast of characters, Duke Gone Rogue, which kicks off Carlyle’s Victorian-set Love on Holiday series, blossoms into an absolute delight.” — Booklist
I’m not sure how I missed the first two books in this series, but this third one was so much fun to read that I will hunt down the first two. I always enjoy Carlyle’s books and this is no exception.
I love the setting in Ireland; I’m not sure I’ve ever read a historical romance set there. Usually, it’s England, sometimes Scotland, and occasionally America. I also like the Duke falling for a commoner trope, which is so popular that it has become a subgenre of historical romance, as far as I’m concerned.
The Duke was actually a second son, and he never planned on becoming Duke, but when his eldest brother and his father died, he inherited the title. Unfortunately, his father was a terrible steward of the family fortune, and they are now in dire straights. The only solution is for the Duke to marry someone with a large dowry. Except he really doesn’t want to. But there is stipulation in the will that says if he isn’t married within six months, his uncle will inherit the castle in Ireland, and that is the only place the Duke really cares about.
His family set about matchmaking but he isn’t being too cooperative until he accidentally meets Evelyn Graves in the garden at a ball. They have a strong connection, but he doesn’t know who she is and she takes off. He next sees her when she appears at his home instead of her employer, a rich widow his family is trying to matchmake for him. Confusion soon ensues, but while parts of their story may be fake, their feelings for one another are very real.
I really enjoyed this story; there were a lot of laughs, some heart-wrenching scenes, and some heat as well, making this a terrific read. Now I’m off to find the first two books in this trilogy!
All of the fun, none of the heartache…as long as they stick to the agreement.
The proposition is simple: if ER nurse Claire Harper and her roommate, firefighter Graham Scott, are still single by the time they’re forty, they’ll take the proverbial plunge together…as friends with benefits. Maybe it’s the wine, but in the moment, Claire figures the pact is a safe-enough deal, considering she hasn’t had much luck in love and he’s in no rush to settle down. Like, at all. Besides, there’s no way she could ever really fall for Graham and his thrill-seeking ways. Not after what happened to her father…
Just as things begin to heat up way before the proposed deadline, Graham’s injured in a serious rock climbing accident—and he needs Claire’s help to heal. She’ll do whatever it takes to nurse him back to health…even if it means moving in to Graham’s bed and putting up with his little dog, who hates her. But with this no-strings arrangement taking a complicated turn, keeping “for now” from turning into “forever” isn’t as easy as they’d planned.
“Claire and Graham’s chemistry jumps off the page…Friends-to-lovers fans are sure to be pleased.” —Publishers Weekly
This was my first read from this author, and it was really good! I was surprised to learn it is the second book of the series, so I will have to go back and read the first book, Would You Rather.
This books turns the time-honored tradition of “if we’re still single by 40, we’ll get married,” into if we’re still single, we’ll hook up; a friends with benefits situation. The friends are Claire, an emergency room nurse, and Graham, a firefighter. Graham is also a thrill seeker – when he’s not fighting fires, he’s off rock climbing and participating in any kind of risky, dangerous outdoor sport. They share an apartment with another roommate and Graham’s little dog, who seems to hate Claire.
Claire lost her father fairly young, and she is averse to any kind of risk-taking because of that. That’s why she won’t agree to marrying Graham. But when he is seriously injured in a rock climbing accident, she immediately jumps into her caretaker role, even though the dog doesn’t want her around. As they spend time together, Graham realizes he is falling in love with Claire, and as much as Claire is attracted to Graham, she is more afraid of losing him to another accident and refuses to get more involved. She may be guarding her heart, but the heart wants what it wants, and rest assured, Claire & Graham find their happily every after.
If you are a fan of first responders, (and really who isn’t?!) and sassy dogs, this is your book. There were a lot of laughs in this sweet rom-com, and it was a very enjoyable read.
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE ROOMMATE PACT by Allison Ashley. MIRA; Original edition (August 1, 2023). ISBN: 978-0778334248. 320p.
Bernadette, Eleanor Oliphant, Rosie, Ove . . . meet Amazing Grace Adams, the funny, touching, unforgettable story of an invisible everywoman pushed to the brink―who finally pushes back.
Grace Adams gave birth, blinked, and now suddenly she is forty-five, perimenopausal and stalled―the unhappiest age you can be, according to the Guardian. And today she’s really losing it. Stuck in traffic, she finally has had enough. To the astonishment of everyone, Grace gets out of her car and simply walks away. Grace sets off across London, armed with a £200 cake, to win back her estranged teenage daughter on her sixteenth birthday. Because today is the day she’ll remind her daughter that no matter how far we fall, we can always get back up again. Because Grace Adams used to be amazing. Her husband thought so. Her daughter thought so. Even Grace thought so. But everyone seems to have forgotten. Grace is about to remind them . . . and, most important, remind herself.
Tales of extraordinary women abound, but the title character of Littlewood’s debut novel is a seemingly relatable everywoman. The timeline bounces around between the Grace of her 20s, 30s, and 40s, and the story begins as Grace spends the day trying to deliver a birthday cake to Lotte, her estranged 16-year-old daughter. She abandons her car in gridlock and starts hoofing it, taking off on a deeply personal pilgrimage of sorts. Her journey takes her to the bakery where she ordered the overpriced cake to an incident with the police and other assorted encounters. Grace is obviously troubled, and her journey to her daughter is also one of insight into her own life. Perimenopause rears its ugly head, divorce seems imminent, and unemployment all contribute to what appears to be Grace’s break with reality, but it is all underscored by the worst tragedy a parent can face. Although the story seems inconsistent at times, it only enhances the surreality that is Grace’s life. Despite this, we can’t help but root for her.
Verdict: An utterly charming debut, sure to appeal to readers who loved Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.
My daughter got me watching Gilmore Girls when she was in middle school. We missed the first couple of seasons, which I didn’t realize at the time, and watched it sporadically. Several years ago, as streaming became a thing, I found them on Netflix and started watching from the beginning. The show had been rather abruptly canceled, so the creators of the show, the Paladinos, never got the ending they wanted. Then came the reboot, which I also watched – my friend Caitlin had a viewing party, which was so much fun! I even made homemade pop-tarts for the event.
Since I’m letting that secret out, here’s the other: I have two shows that are my guilty pleasure – I watch the entire run of Gilmore Girls, then watch the entire run of The West Wing, another show I didn’t watch when it aired the first time around. A co-worker pestered me into watching – she had the whole series on DVD, and I fell in love with Aaron Sorkin. I’ve watched everything the man has written, and I’ve watched Sports Night and The Newsroom several times, and The American President, the forerunner to The West Wing, more times than I can count. But The West Wing & Gilmore Girls remain in constant rotation.
I’ve watched all the Palladinos’ shows that I know about, too: Bunheads was terrific but short lived, and I loved The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, too. One of the things I like about rewatching shows is that I don’t have to pay as close attention; I can read while I watch, always a bonus for me. I’ve been rewatching shows that I love for as long as I can remember – I watched I Love Lucy over and over throughout my childhood and even some years into adulthood. And I still watch an episode now and then, especially when I want to cheer myself up. I’ve always credited that amazing cast with getting me through my parents’ divorce.
Are there any shows you watch over and over?
The thing that I don’t understand is how emotionally invested I am with these shows. You would think after watching the President get shot over and over on TWW I’d be immune to it, but no, I still cry at that episode and several others. I’ve tried watching other shows that the stars of these shows moved on to with limited success; I loved a few, gave up on the rest.
I totally bought into this little Gilmore Girls gift from Wirecutter at the New York Times, and agree with their reasoning. If you are a fan of the show, let me know what you think!
Using ChatGPT’s guidance, the Mason City Community School District removed 19 titles—including Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Toni Morrison’s Beloved—from its library shelves. But there is another truth: Educators who must comply with vague laws about “age-appropriate” books with “descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act” have only so many options.
Food News
Stop Trying to Convince Me Tinned Fish Is the Height of Luxury
Can we all admit that tinned fish is just okay?
This article made me laugh! When my husband and I were in Portugal in April, we noticed a lot of tinned fish. Entire aisles of supermarkets were filled with the little tins. And my personal favorite, a chain of touristy tinned fish stores that were incredibly beautiful; their design was based on the world’s most beautiful library at the University of Coimbra. Can you tell which is which??
Hint: In the center photo, those gold brick-looking things are actually cans of tuna packed in olive oil with gold leaf! Those were the most expensive in the store, around € 20. The fish in the supermarket was much less expensive; that’s how I knew this was a tourist trap. The cheapest cans in this fancy store were about €4, which was about the same price as the most expensive cans in the supermarket! Then again, I didn’t see any cans with gold leaf there, but I didn’t look very hard.
In the photo on the right, you can see books wrapping around the wall into the ceiling. Those were trompe l’oeil, painted to look like a library. It was an interesting store for sure. And thanks to Eater, I guess my trip to Portugal was on trend.
LibraryTinned Fish StoreTinned Fish StoreThe view of the University of Coimbra from our hotel; the library is at the top
Apparently, the library was used as inspiration for some of the scenes in the Harry Potter movies. The students at the university wear a uniform of – wait for it – long black robes! They are not mandatory, but it seems most students wear them.
Other News
My kids came to visit a few weeks ago. My grandson, Jonah, is almost 2 1/2 years old and loves to help in the kitchen. We made chocolate chip cookies, and he truly did help! I had everything measured out and ready to go for him. He cracked the eggs and helped me put them in the mixing bowl. He dumped the sugars, flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips in next (and blew my mind when he told me we need flour and baking soda to make cookies!) Then, he helped scoop out the cookie dough. He got a few chocolate chips as a “chef snack” for helping.
A few days later, he helped make the frosting for my daughter’s birthday cake and carefully placed confetti on top. But the funniest thing was he found this giant “dinosaur egg” in with the toys I keep for him. He immediately ran to the counter to crack the egg! Then he surprised himself by putting it back together without any help. We had so much fun together!
As always, thanks for reading, and stay safe.
Thanks to The New York Times and The Washington Post for allowing me to “gift” my readers with free access to these articles, a lovely perk for subscribers.
Comments Off on BookBitch Diary: September 1, 2023 | Ramblings | Permalink Posted by Stacy Alesi
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.
Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she’s lived since college still looks like she’s just moved in. But she’s got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She’s at peace with her plus-size body—at least, most of the time—and she’s on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she’s always wanted.
Yet Abby can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t right…or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she’s happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind.
But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group—Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there’s a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she’s still trying to undo.
Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways…and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.
Incredibly fun . . . A lovely, compulsively readable story about finding your path and believing in your own worth.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“This is a winning combination of a light read with serious emotional depth, the very mix Weiner’s many fans have come to expect from her. Weiner’s annual summer release is a welcome (and highly anticipated) treat for readers of relatable relationship fiction.” —Booklist, starred review
“Charming…lively banter reels the reader in…this breezy outing goes down easy.”—Publishers Weekly
“What do women get to do with their bodies? may be the central question of “The Breakaway,” and Weiner answers it brilliantly…sexy and suspenseful and so much fun”—New York Times
I was working for Borders Books & Music when Weiner’s first book, Good in Bed, came out and I was smitten. That has turned into a deeper love for her writing over 20+ books, and I’m happy to say that I absolutely loved The Breakaway! I even loved the movie based on In Her Shoes, and let’s face it, it’s rare when a movie does justice to a book.
Abby is in her early thirties but still trying to find herself. She’s walking dogs to pay the rent and has been in a two-year relationship with Mark, a Jewish doctor, and now he wants her to move in with him. They met at fat camp, and he was her first love, so everything should be great, right? It kind of is, but Abby feels a little overwhelmed about moving in with him. He’s a good man, he’s kind, he’s crazy about her, all the good things, but Abby feels like maybe there should be more. And then she feels guilty for thinking that.
Mark had surgery to get the weight off, and now he’s half the size he used to be. He’s determined to stay thin, too, by eating all lean protein and running six miles a day, no matter what. On the other hand, Abby is fairly comfortable in her body, which her doctor calls obese, and she just calls fat. She loves to ride her bike and belongs to a bicycle club in Philadelphia. When one of her friends begs her to lead a two-week bike trip through New York State on the Empire State Trail, she decides it’s the perfect way to get out of her head and think about her future.
Two years earlier, before she was in a committed relationship with Mark, she went barhopping for a friend’s bachelorette party. She met Sebastian at a club and spent the most memorable, fulfilling night of her life with him. But he lives in NY, she lives in Phillie, and she snuck out at dawn before either of them could exchange any info. So, it is no great surprise that one of the two single men on the bike ride is Sebastian.
Weiner never takes the easy way in any of her books. Relationships are complicated, people are complicated, and such is the case here. I loved Abby and wanted her to be happy – one of Weiner’s gifts is getting us so involved with her characters that you just can’t put down the book, and you can’t stop thinking about it when you finally do. This was a book that tempted me to call in sick to work just so I could finish it! But, ugh, I am way too responsible to do that. Unfortunately, it did keep me up half the night, and I was very happy when I finally turned that last page. That’s the best possible outcome from reading a book, don’t you think?
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE BREAKAWAY by Jennifer Weiner.Atria Books (August 29, 2023). ISBN: 978-1668033425. 400p.
Miss Georgianna Eleanor Heyford may be naught but a gentleman’s daughter, but even she’s heard the rumors about the Earl of Stannis’s exceptional charm and good looks. Surely she can cater his luxurious yacht party without getting swept away. But a terrible misunderstanding leaves Georgianna fired, furious, and with little recompense. Which is precisely when her opportunity for vengeance washes ashore…
Daniel Rutherford, the Earl of Stannis, has absolutely no memory of who he is. They tell him he must have fallen overboard, and the only person he seems to recognize is the lovely Georgianna―who strikes a chord of familiarity…and the faintest memory of heating his blood. Only now this inelegant, poorly dressed woman claims to be his wife!
But the truth is, Georgianna is finally getting her revenge. The dashing earl will work off the money he owes her and no one will be the wiser. Except the longer he stays with her and her younger sisters, the more it feels like he belongs there. And that perhaps he’d find a forever place in Georgianna’s heart…at least, until his memory returns…
Each book in the Unforgettable Love series is STANDALONE: * A Matter of Temptation * An Earl to Remember
This is a historic rendering of the film Overboard. This book is closer to the characteristically-reversed remake with Anna Faris and Eugenio Derbez rather than the original with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, but either way, it is a fun read.
Georgiana has lost her parents and is basically parenting her younger sisters and running the household. Money is very tight, but Georgiana loves to cook and decides to try it as a paid position. She lands a gig for the Earl of Stannis, cooking for a hedonistic party aboard his yacht. Unfortunately, he is very attracted to her, which his mistress notices. She insists that he fire the chef, and he does, and in the ensuing argument with his mistress, she pushes him overboard. He bangs his head on the ship, and the next thing you know, he floats ashore in the small town where Georgiana lives. When he wakes up, he has amnesia.
Georgiana had been promised £300 to cook for the weekend, but only receives a small portion of the money. She is quite upset as that money would have carried her family for a year. So when she realizes who the man is who washed up on shore, she claims he is her husband. She takes him home with her and puts him to work, fixing up the house that had fallen into disrepair. Earls don’t work with their hands, or work much at all, but with no memory, all the Earl can go on is his gut feeling that something isn’t adding up here. But the more time he spends with Georgiana and her family, the more he feels like he belongs there.
When his memory suddenly returns, the Earl leaves for London and his home. There his mother and grandmother are bound and determined to get him married, but he shocks them when he says he is married. Yes, they are in love, but there are so many deceptions and other obstacles to overcome that it just feels impossible. They get their happy ending, and I can’t wait for the next book in this series. I loved it.
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
AN EARL TO REMEMBER by Stacy Reid. Entangled: Amara (August 22, 2023). ISBN: 978-1649372727. 400p.
Bridesmaids meets Emily in Paris—in London—in this hilarious and heartfelt story of one handsome neighbor, one no-good ex, and the summer Amy Duffy makes the comeback of her life.
Her past is a mess. But her present is about to get delicious.
Amy is more than one disastrous night of drunken revenge on her boss/ex-boyfriend’s Audi—the night that tanked her rising TV producer career and led to a hasty move to London for a fresh start. She is thirty years of awesomeness. At least, that’s what Amy tells herself every morning before trekking to her mediocre job making trailers at a failing British TV channel.
Two years later, she’s finally starting to believe it. Sparks are flying between her and Jake, her handsome new downstairs neighbor, and there’s a competition at work that just might get her career back on track while bringing her and Jake even closer. But then, in a twisted turn of fate, the ex-boyfriend who wrecked her life is hired as her new boss and past and present are about to epically, hilariously collide.
Amy was on the fast track as a television development producer until her boyfriend/boss gave her some bad news. Instead of going to her cousin’s wedding and standing up for her as a bridesmaid, Amy gets drunk at a local watering hole and gets her revenge on the now ex’s car. Someone videos the whole thing, it goes viral, and Amy is humiliated and out of a job. She escapes across the pond and lands a job several rungs below where she was, but at least she has an income.
Amy’s co-workers are all abuzz with the latest reality TV show, Fantasy Island, and she’s hooked, too. Then a bombshell drops at work; her new interim boss is none other than her ex. She takes off from the office only to bump into Jake Jones, her new neighbor. Amy doesn’t know Jake; she just knows him as the guy who humiliated himself on Fantasy Island and got kicked off and has all his packages delivered to her apartment for some reason. She has a bit of experience with public humiliation herself, not that she is going to share that with Jake.
When her ex announces a contest at work to come up with a new reality TV show, Amy teams up with Jake, a writer, to put together something that will get her back on top. But can she trust her ex? Would you?
I enjoyed this light-hearted romp through England and the very happy ending. The language is a bit coarse, so if that sort of thing bothers you, look elsewhere for your next read. But you will be missing out!
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THE SWEETEST REVENGE by Lizzy Dent. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (July 25, 2023). ISBN: 978-0593545478. 368p.
USA Today Bestseller! One of Amazon’s Best Romances of August!
She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn’t on it—yet somehow he’s become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.
Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that’s always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it’s ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it’s a fun place to work, even if “fun” isn’t exactly Lauren’s middle name.
Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World—whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn’t know how to enjoy herself, he’s surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn’t serious about anything, she’s surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.
As Lauren and Asa work to save their beloved wintery spot, they realize the real attraction might be the heat generating between them.
“With this swoony enemies-to-lovers rom-com, Thompson gets in well ahead of the annual slew of Christmas romances, taking readers to Florida’s Cold World amusement park, where the winter holidays are celebrated year-round….This will have readers dreaming of sugarplums at any time of year.”—Publishers Weekly
Since I live in Florida, I am quite familiar with all the theme parks that abound here. And while there isn’t a “Cold World,” there is ICE! at the Gaylord Palms Hotel. It is not year-round, but rather a holiday event that is very popular with tourists and locals alike. My family visited several years ago, and I get the appeal for sure. They do a beautiful job, and to be honest, it seems lightyears better than Cold World, but that is at the heart of this story. (There is also an Icebar in Orlando, but I haven’t been, and it is open year-round.)
Cold World is in trouble. The owner has kept it going for many years, but she really needs an infusion of cash to keep it going. To that end, she asks her son, vice president in name only, her long-time employee Asa, and her bookkeeper, Lauren, who’s been there for just a few years to try and come up with some ideas about ways to increase the business.
While Lauren has a bit of a crush on the good looking VP, her and Asa have been butting heads since she started work there. He teases her endlessly, and she tries to ignore him and most of her co-workers; she’s a head down, all work and no play kind of girl, while Asa is her extreme opposite. While Lauren jumps at the chance to spend time with VP, she blows off Asa, until the night they get accidentally locked in to Cold World.
Asa is bisexual and open about it, and Lauren isn’t quite sure what to think about that. But as they get to really know one another, their differences seem to fall away. They both have had difficulties in their past and have learned to deal with it in very different ways, but together they are stronger and can more easily deal with their pasts.
These characters were complex individuals, and I really wanted both of them to find their happily ever after. This was a fun read and surprisingly fast for a 400-page book! If you like the opposites-attract, enemies-to-lovers themes in your romance, then this is the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
WITH LOVE, FROM COLD WORLD by Alicia Thompson. Berkley (August 1, 2023). ISBN: 978-0593438671. 400p.
Posted by Stacy Alesi 
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