Stephanie - firstly this round up is excellent. I just started How Freaking Romantic but I am inclined to agree with your assessment and I have also loved the Austen retellings (I think Anne of Avenue A is out later this year!).
Laura Wood is an author that had totally escaped my notice and I just added Under Your Spell to my TBR - I'm excited to read a new voice!
Secondly - THANK YOU for your incredibly kind words about my work. I admit to feeling a little vindicated that you also agree with my assessment of People You Meet on Vacation. I had to reread it for my column and I found myself so irritated at Poppy but so grateful Emily Henry was good enough that I didn't mind as much as I would otherwise.
Finally - In reading this roundup, I clicked back to your top ten of 2024 post and saw your review of Summer Romance and I think you and I are reading twins because I could NOT agree more. Nothing happened in that book - it was so quiet! And yet, and YET - why was it so good? Why was it more exciting to me than the nine other high concept books I read that year? Annabel really is that good. Not sure if you saw this week's column on Smart Romance but this is basically the thesis of the whole thing - you might enjoy it if you haven't seen it yet! It also agrees with the point you made in your longer review of the book - that Annabel is so good that even if you don't usually read Mom characters, you'll read her anyway!
YES reading twins!!! I did indeed read your column this week and, once again, am struck by how we share nearly identical thoughts on books — but of course you convey your ideas much more eloquently and comprehensively than I do! The way you explained why Annabel's mom characters seem to captivate me more than her childless ones was especially astute and had me nodding along.
Cannot wait to hear what you think about both Emily Harding's and Laura Wood's novels 💖
Thank you for picking up Meghan Quinn's book after reading my rec. I am so glad you had fun! It's such a fun summer romance. The setup is ridiculous, but sometimes those are the best escapes!
I am picking Emily Harding's book this week based on your review. I really love her work with the Austen re-tellings and I think this might be a fun book to pick up this weekend/
Completely agree, sometimes the good kind of absurd is just what you need to read, and Meghan Quinn is the queen of that! Hope you enjoy Emily's book — excited to hear what you think!
Stephanie - firstly this round up is excellent. I just started How Freaking Romantic but I am inclined to agree with your assessment and I have also loved the Austen retellings (I think Anne of Avenue A is out later this year!).
Laura Wood is an author that had totally escaped my notice and I just added Under Your Spell to my TBR - I'm excited to read a new voice!
Secondly - THANK YOU for your incredibly kind words about my work. I admit to feeling a little vindicated that you also agree with my assessment of People You Meet on Vacation. I had to reread it for my column and I found myself so irritated at Poppy but so grateful Emily Henry was good enough that I didn't mind as much as I would otherwise.
Finally - In reading this roundup, I clicked back to your top ten of 2024 post and saw your review of Summer Romance and I think you and I are reading twins because I could NOT agree more. Nothing happened in that book - it was so quiet! And yet, and YET - why was it so good? Why was it more exciting to me than the nine other high concept books I read that year? Annabel really is that good. Not sure if you saw this week's column on Smart Romance but this is basically the thesis of the whole thing - you might enjoy it if you haven't seen it yet! It also agrees with the point you made in your longer review of the book - that Annabel is so good that even if you don't usually read Mom characters, you'll read her anyway!
https://smartromance.substack.com/p/annabel-monaghan-hates-the-office
Excited to report back on Under Your Spell!
YES reading twins!!! I did indeed read your column this week and, once again, am struck by how we share nearly identical thoughts on books — but of course you convey your ideas much more eloquently and comprehensively than I do! The way you explained why Annabel's mom characters seem to captivate me more than her childless ones was especially astute and had me nodding along.
Cannot wait to hear what you think about both Emily Harding's and Laura Wood's novels 💖
Thank you for picking up Meghan Quinn's book after reading my rec. I am so glad you had fun! It's such a fun summer romance. The setup is ridiculous, but sometimes those are the best escapes!
I am picking Emily Harding's book this week based on your review. I really love her work with the Austen re-tellings and I think this might be a fun book to pick up this weekend/
Completely agree, sometimes the good kind of absurd is just what you need to read, and Meghan Quinn is the queen of that! Hope you enjoy Emily's book — excited to hear what you think!