⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5 stars | Weather Girl is my second Rachel Lynn Solomon book and I think I can say with confidence that she has a knack for creating charming contemporary romances with heart. Ari Abrams has wanted to be a TV meteorologist since she was a kid and now she's got her dream job and dream boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale. But her boss is more preoccupied with fighting her ex-husband, the station's news director, than mentoring Ari and it's affecting the whole office. She and fellow coworker, sports reporter Russell Barringer, decide to team up to discreetly help their bosses get back together. In the process, Ari and Russell end up in a romance of their own as they get to know one another more and more, but of course both are dealing with individual internal struggles that will determine the future of their relationship.
First of all, I loved the news station setting and how much Ari geeked out over weather (you don't see this a lot in books!). Second, the trope of two people falling in love while trying to set up another couple is just delightful. Predictable -- sure. Does that matter? Not at all. It was just fun to watch the ways in which Ari and Russell thought about getting their bosses together, seeing their excitement when their plans worked, and most importantly of all, seeing the chemistry and romance grow between these two. There are so many layers to Ari and Russell, which I don't want to spoil so I'll keep this as vague as I can. But with Ari, the synopsis alludes to her always running on optimism which isn't something a person can do 24/7, and I related very much to that attempt at keeping a smile on her face even in dire situations. And with Russell, he's just so sweet and reserved (for perfectly good reasons) that I loved seeing the sexier and more carefree side of him with Ari. They just complemented each other so well!
Do I recommend? I do! I will say that The Ex-Talk continues to be my favorite from this author, but I liked this one a lot! The points I "docked" for lack of a better word had to do with what ended up being the conflict (I didn't really see the big deal).
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pub 1/11/22 by Berkley
Received e-ARC/finished copy for review
Adult - Contemporary Romance
Goodreads | Author
Here are some non-bookish articles I really liked this past month and my latest loves.
Do you have any links or loves to share?
Would love to hear about them!
Millie Price is determined to become a Broadway star and is willing to go through some enormous hoops to get there. She’s loud and brash (the total opposite of me and admittedly hard for me to relate to) but I admired her tenacity to go after her dreams. Her introverted dad, who raised her alone, is supportive but doesn’t want her to leave home to pursue said dream. When Millie randomly discovers her dad’s LiveJournal from 2003 (this made me roll my eyes and also aged me quite a bit because now that I think about it, am I the same age as her dad?!), she decides to use his entries as clues to find her mom, who’s been AWOL for most of her life, to help support her. She narrows it down to three women and proceeds to worm her way into each of their lives to figure out who’s the one. It’s very Mamma Mia-like, which is kind of the point, and downright insane in my humble opinion. But like I said, she’s determined. And what ended up grounding this plot point (aside from the group of level-headed people in her life, who I all adored) is that it’s not just about finding her mom to help support her Broadway dreams. It’s about finding herself and discovering her roots, and I think that’s something we all can relate to.
What’s your favorite Broadway show? I will never forget the experience of seeing Wicked with the original cast so that’s what first comes to mind. But Moulin Rouge is a close second.
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| Collaborative feature with Alexa. We read ARCs together and post our reviews on the same date. |
Journal, online and in an actual notebook. My private online photo journal has become a part of my daily routine at this point. It's hard to believe this will be my third year continuing with it but I love documenting each day with a photo and a small snippet. It actually helps me to be in the moment and remember it. Then, a couple months ago I re-reread a bunch of my diaries that I had from 1994 until early 2003. It was both cringe-y and amazing to see my younger self's thoughts throughout the years. It brought up memories I'd long forgotten and also reminded me of the ways I have and haven't changed. It ended up inspiring me to write in a journal again, which I started to do last month and I want to continue with it this year. But no pressure. I don't need to write every single day, just when the mood strikes.
I'm still finding it hard to process that we're 4 days away from a new year! But here we are and I have my final end of year list to share and it's all about music, TV, and movies. I definitely listened and watched in abundance during 2021 so I'm excited to share my favorites.
I cannot believe it's time to share my favorite books of 2021 already! As I do these lists, it always makes me happy to look back on these amazing reads and see how my reading habits have evolved year after year. It's definitely more diverse, and truthfully a lot less YA-centric, which is to be expected. I wish I could say there was a theme to what ended up being a favorite but it's honestly all over the place and I don't think I'd have it any other way. So without further ado, here are my top 10 books of 2021 (in no particular order):
2. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara | I kept seeing my favorite fashion influencers talk about this book (random, right?) and something about the cover kept drawing me in whenever I saw it at the bookstore. I decided to give it a shot and it is one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read.
4. Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez | I have yet to read a Abby Jimenez book I didn't love and Life's Too Short had all the elements and incredible writing I've come to expect from her.
5. The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout | After the way A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire ended, I needed The Crown of Gilded Bones ASAP. I love where JLA has taken the story and I can't wait to see how the next installment plays out.
7. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey | This is the first in a trilogy, which I did binge, but I'm going to pretend the third book doesn't exist (beyond bad) and the second doesn't need to be read (it was fine). But this first book is perfect for fans of horses, fantasy, and the Harper Hall Trilogy by Anne McCaffrey. It gave me that old-school classic children's fantasy vibe and I loved it.
9. The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Warden | Okay, there might be a small theme to my list because this is the third book on here involving horses but hey, I like what I like. It's a fantasy trilogy inspired by Russian folklore that's been around since 2017-2019. While I've always been curious, I only got to read it this year and it, by far, exceeded my expectations.
11. The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren | To be completely honest, I haven't been feeling most of Christina Lauren's recent books which pains me because I love their earlier stuff so, so much. I picked up The Soulmate Equation because both Alexa and DJ highly recommended it and I'm glad I decided to listen. I absolutely loved this book! The chemistry and the steam-factor was a throwback to their initial books while the story and writing showed off how much they've grown and evolved as writers since.
Archangel's Sun + Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh,
Kingdom of the Wicked (+ Cursed) by Kerri Maniscalco,
The Ex Talk by Rachel Solomon,
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec.
We got to have Festive Fun Day with all three of us again this year (myself, Alexa, and Kristin) and it felt so good! Before I dive into the festivities though, I feel like I would be remiss not to mention that we are all very aware and worried about the Omicron variant in NYC. Which is why we took great pains to avoid crowds by starting our day at 8:30AM and leaving mid-afternoon, double-masking the entire time (except when we ate), and tried to avoid congested areas as much as possible. We all have plans to get tested multiple times this week because of the holidays so hopefully all will be well!
And with that out of the way, onto the photos:
We kicked things off with breakfast at Maman, which has truly become one of my favorite restaurants in the city. From there, we had tickets for Museum of Ice Cream to check out their Pinkmas Experience and it was so much fun! (Note: We got tickets for right when they opened and that is truly the way to go!) Both Alexa and I had been to MOIC when it first opened but it was pretty underwhelming at the time. This iteration of the museum is by far its best!
After the museum, it was time to go shopping! We went to Tory Burch and the Hill House Home pop-up store. At the latter, we managed to find the sold-out Bridgerton-inspired nap dresses! You could only imagine how surprised and excited we were. Unfortunately they didn't have my size in the purple but Kristin and Alexa managed to snag a purple and pink one, respectively (so jealous!). The store is adorable though and a must-visit for #NapDressNation lovers in the area. Then we got the holiday special at Taiyaki Ice Cream but no indoor dining was allowed so we ate outside and luckily it wasn't too, too cold. From there we ended our day with Bryant Park to see the tree (too many people though so we quickly left after that) and Kinokuniya Books,
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I'm so grateful that we could continue our Festive Fun Day tradition this year!
Hi, I’m Rachel! New Yorker at heart, Francophile in spirit, and forever wanderlusting. I’m passionate about books, ice cream, photography and finding creativity in my every day life.
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