The One Where They Fall in Love by Cristina Wolf - #bookreview #blogtour

This cannot be said enough: Living in New York City in your twenties is nothing like Friends makes it out to be. Really, nothing about being in your twenties is how Friends made it out to be. I'm thirty years old, and I have not had an all-consuming romance like Ross and Rachel...

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I am required to make it clear at the beginning of my reviews that I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources. I have not been paid for doing this and all opinions are my own. I am Bookshop.org affiliated, which means I earn a very small amount of money if you buy from there using my direct link. Although I include purchase links to Amazon, I am not affiliated with them. I include them to make it easy for you to navigate to them if you so wish.

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The Blurb

You never know when love may come knocking…

Hopeless romantic and romance editor Elle Thompson lives for happy endings—but real-life love? Not so much. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t thrilled when her best friend gets engaged. Really. Not jealous at all.

Meanwhile, Oliver Cole likes things a certain way. Schedules and routines and order. So when his move back to New York is disrupted with the unwelcome addition of Thor—the dog his sister adopted for him—he’s less than enthused. Even less enthused than Oliver? His neighbour, Elle.

When Elle can’t bear to hear Thor howling all night, the two agree to strike a deal: she’ll dog-sit while he’s on shift.

But what starts as a reluctant arrangement soon turns into late-night chats, sizzling chemistry, and two lonely hearts daring to let each other in.

My Review

I absolutely loved the slow burn of friendship, later followed by desire between the two main characters in this book.

Elle and Oliver are neighbours. They meet when Elle is shocked by the noises coming from Oliver's flat above hers, where he has left his dog alone for hours. Full of indignation, Elle confronts Oliver, resulting in them sharing care of the dog, Thor.

The chapters are told from both Elle's and Oliver's perspectives, and I really liked this about the story. We can see how they are both dealing with life, both professionally and personally, and the challenges that they both face. As understanding of themselves and of one another grows, we observe this wonderful friendship blossoming into something more.

I found both Elle and Oliver easy to engage with, and the author does an excellent job of bringing them alive on the page. I felt very invested in their story, and I found myself wanting to get back to this book when life forced me to put it down for a while.

Through both narrative and dialogue, the storyline moves along nicely. It is a fast and entertaining read which I enjoyed enormously.

I haven't read anything by this author before, but I shall be seeking out her other books. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy romantic comedy with a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers trope.

Publishing today, this book is worth getting your hands on.

Book Details

ISBN: 978 1035915392

Publisher: Aria

Formats: e-book, audio and paperback

No. of Pages: 288 (paperback)

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org

Amazon UK

Amazon US

About the Author

Cristina Wolf wrote her first book in the third grade. It was an adventure book about her beagle, Abby, complete with hand-drawn illustrations and top-notch handwriting. Needless to say, writing and reading has been a passion of Cristina’s from the beginning. After graduating from Marist College with a double major in Business and English, Cristina pursued a career in the publishing industry while earning her Master of Science in Publishing from New York University. Cristina has experience working at literary agencies and as an editorial assistant at a publishing house. Finding life in NYC a bit different than she expected, Cristina returned to her native New Jersey where she earned her Master in Teaching from Monmouth University. She now shares her love of books with her students as a middle school English teacher.

You can also find Cristina at:

Author Website

Instagram

My Other Blog Posts Featuring Enemies to Lovers

Wedded to Her Enemy Knight by Lissa Morgan

The Freshman Parents by Ko Porteous

Clues to You by Claire Huston

The Viscount's Daring Miss by Lotte R. James

I Followed the Rules by Joanna Bolouri

(ARC and media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)

(all opinions are my own)

(Bookshop.org affiliated)

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara - #BookReview

When four classmates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they're broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel painter pursuing fame in the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity.

Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented lawyer yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by a degree of trauma that he fears he will not only be unable to overcome - but that will define his life forever.

In a novel of extraordinary intelligence and heart, Yanagihara has fashioned a masterful depiction of heartbreak, and a dark and haunting examination of the tyranny of experience and memory.

Some people are put off reading long books. Personally, I quite like them as I see it as a book that I can really get my teeth into. That said, by the time I am drawing towards the denouement I am usually looking forward to getting on with something new. Which is why I was surprised that when I came to the end of this totally engrossing book I was sad that it had come to an end. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that I feel slightly bereft that this cast of characters are now out of my life.

Within the unassuming cover of this book lies a novel of exquisite intensity. Bearing in mind that I finished reading this a couple of weeks ago and that I have read a couple of other books since, the fact that I am still mulling this book over in my mind speaks volumes concerning what a fantastic novel it actually is.

Each of the characters are flawed but are written with such absolute honesty that they are very easy to engage with. Although this book is about the four college classmates it focuses on Jude, whose previous life is a mystery to his friends and everyone that he knows. His life is gradually explained to the reader and the author presents us with some extremely difficult themes. However, she deals with Jude with such sensitivity and compassion that, as readers, we are able to bear these revelations.

This is an intelligent character driven novel which looks at the true meaning of love and friendship. Written with tenderness, care and compassion, the author has ensured that this a book I will never forget reading.

As always, there are not any spoilers within this review. What I will say, is that I cannot decide whether I think that the conclusion of this book was the perfect one or whether I really hated it. Have you read this? What are your thoughts?

ISBN:  978 1447294832

Publisher: Picador

About the Author:

A Little Life is Hanya Yanagihara's second book and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2015 and was a finalist for the National Book Award in the same year.

She is an American novelist, editor and travel writer. She grew up in Hawaii and now lives in New York.