A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston on June 25, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Paranormal / General, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
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“Sometimes a book can change your life. Some books are a comfort, some a reprieve, others a vacation, a lesson, a heartbreak.”
Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year, she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures, no matter what. But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel… Because it is. This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect, and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story. Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending. Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place, a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book. Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.
Well, it wasn’t terrible but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I had higher expectations going into this book, as I’ve seen so many good reviews, but it was not what I expected and was disappointed. I can see how people would love this though. I still enjoyed the story, but it was too much insta-love than a slow burn, which I wasn’t a fan of but I still managed to enjoy despite that. I didn’t catch on to when they were able to get to know each other. The book went into detail on the other characters and the town more than Ander’s and her, that when they got together it was completely out of left field. I didn’t understand their connection.
I gave this novel a three star rating. I had an objectively good time and I feel like I’m focusing on the negative but I don’t have much to say about it in retrospect. While I would still recommend it, I wouldn’t personally reread it or even really think about these characters again.