I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Better than Fiction by Alexa Martin Published by Berkley Books on November 8, 2022
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 336
Source: the publisher
Format: ARC
My Rating:
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Buy on Barnes & Noble, Buy on Audible
Blurb:
Love isn’t always by the books in this charming romantic comedy about a bookseller discovering how to be the main character in her story.
As a self-proclaimed book hater and a firm believer that the movie is always better, Drew Young didn’t anticipate inheriting her grandma’s bookstore, the Book Nook. She’s in way over her head even before the shop’s resident book club, comprising seven of the naughtiest old ladies ever, begin to do what they do best–meddle.
Bestselling author Jasper Williams is a hopeless romantic. When he meets Drew at his Book Nook signing event, he becomes determined to show her the beauty of reading. He curates a book bucket list in exchange for her help exploring the local Denver scene for his current manuscript. From river rafting to local restaurants, Drew begins to connect with Jasper in a way she only thought happened in fiction.
When messy family ties jeopardize the future of the Book Nook, Drew is caught between a bookshelf and a hard place. She’s reminded that real life isn’t always big dreams and sweeping romance. But Jasper is the plot twist she never saw coming and he’s writing a happily ever after just for them.
My Review
So I’ve read and enjoyed another book by this author, Intercepted, and really enjoyed it. I have the second book in that series, but haven’t read it yet. When I first heard about this one, I was a little unsure. I mean the main character doesn’t like to read. And she gets to own a bookstore. That part of not liking reading made me unsure if I would be able to connect at all with her. However there were plenty of other things about her that I did connect with.
This book was kind of slow for me. While I liked the story well enough, it wasn’t one that made me want to pick it back up whenever I put it down. Which meant it didn’t get read by the date I had planned, not just because of the actual blog tour reviews I had to finish before I could read it at times. When I finally had a little bit of time in my review schedule the week of Thanksgiving I was able to pick it up and finish it.
I liked all the little side trips the two characters took for his book research as well as her developing an interest in reading again. There was a lot of good romance, and some definite emotional family back stuff. The big final act had some major drama, that I kind of feel she over-reacted a bit, but in the end it all came together. So not a bad read, and I think if I’d had time to just sit and read it, I might have gotten through it a little quicker.
0
0
0
20
I liked it a bit more than you did. But, I agree the pacing could have been better.
It’s possible it had to do with all the other books I had to put it down to read for blog tours that messed up how I felt about it too.
This sounds really cute! But I’m also a little wary of a character who doesn’t read😁
Yeah, there’s another book coming out next year called Summer Reading I think, with another character that doesn’t like to read, and I just don’t know how much I can go for those characters, you know? lol