Book Lovers

3.75 rounded up to 4. Overall I had a fairly good time with this one, even though it definitely had its flaws. What was the most enjoyable aspect of this book was really the hilariously witty banter between the two protagonists, as well as their chemistry, which counts for a lot in a romance novel.

Nora Stephens is a busy career woman carving out an almost fearsome reputation for herself as a successful literary agent. Her younger sister Libby is the opposite, having married and settled down early, and is pregnant with her third child. Feeling herself growing distant from her sister, Nora agrees to go on a month long vacation with Libby to a small town in North Carolina, the setting of Libby's favourite romance novel, where she bumps into Charlie Lastra, asshole editor with whom she had crossed paths (and swords) with a year earlier.

This book wasn't entirely free of tropes or all too convenient plot drivers, but in the face of the entertaining couple at the forefront, the other factors were much easier to ignore and dismiss as simply a function of the genre. Charlie and Nora's conversations had me laughing out loud way too many times than I can recall. This was easily the best part of the book imo. I'm also used to, but dislike, insta-lust and love in romance novels - Charlie and Nora have a bit of that but there's still something believable in their chemistry. Being able to get behind the main couple naturally counts for big points when I'm reading a romance novel. With a lot of romance novels, I always feel like the couple becomes less interesting once they properly get together - there's less tension, less banter, and a lot more un-realism. This somewhat still happened in this book, but wasn't the worst.

Perhaps a divisive aspect of the book is how much it focuses on Nora and Libby's relationship. Personally, I didn't mind it and thought it at least gave us good depth of character for Nora, even if it didn't advance the romance between her and Charlie much. I did enjoy seeing Nora grow as a character through the book, and eventually take a few more steps towards getting closure for some regrets she had in her past. At some points, I thought Nora was overly indulgent towards Libby but later in the book I wondered if her indulgence stemmed from a more selfish place. Especially around Chapters 31 to 33, Nora's distress at Libby deciding to move out of New York felt pretty self centered to me. In the first moments after the news, all her thoughts was about what it would mean for herself, how Libby was breaking up an image of home in New York that only existed to Nora. I was glad when later on she realized Libby was going to be so much happier in Asheville and didn't put up too much of a resistance to the idea after. I did kinda wish *someone* wouldve called Nora out for that bs though, instead of Charlie just giving her the usual “you're so perfect” pep talk. While I don't have personal experience with that kind of incredibly intimately close sibling bond, I did like what I was reading in this one and was invested in seeing how the eventual crisis was going to shape their dynamics.

A lot of things came together all too conveniently to make a perfect neat resolution in the end. This would normally lower my rating by a lot more than this, but I won't begrudge a romance novel too much. I'm also glad that they didn't go for a long distance relationship that miraculously works just because they're magical and special, cos that would be super lame. It wasn't an ending that blew my mind or which I cried about, but I was overall satisfied.

I would consider myself fairly hard to please with romance novels and more than a little jaded with the tropes of the genre. Despite the tropes in this one, I enjoyed myself quite a bit and that counts for quite a bit with me. Recommended to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance novels with a side of sibling reconciliation.