Book Lovers

Rating Description:

1.0 - DNF/Despise

1.5 - Almost DNFed and wish I had

2.0 - Almost DNFed but had redeeming qualities/just boring

2.5 - Alright with lots of notes

3.0 - Alright with notes but I'm not raving about it

3.5 - Technically good but I'm not raving about it

4.0 - Love but with notes

4.5 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book but still with notes

5.0 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book and notes are very positive

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To be transparent, I compare most contemporary romance/romance-comedy books with ‘Animal Husbandry’ by Laura Zigman. It’s a book I read back in my 20s (in the early 2000s). I may not remember all aspects of that book, and I don’t know if I would still love it as much as I did if I do a re-read now, but I remember how I felt when I first read it. And if I don’t feel that when I read a book of the same genre, then I probably won’t rate it high.

That said, Book Lovers didn’t come close to my experience when I read ‘Animal Husbandry’. So now we all know why I rated this the way I did.

This isn’t a bad read and it also isn’t the kind of book that you would immediately forget after reading. But it wasn’t outstanding either. It’s alright.

The premise was interesting enough. The protagonist, Nora, was positioned as the woman the man leaves when he finally finds the one. Not necessarily a woman scorned but more like the wrong match in a conventional love story.

Given that set-up, one should be rooting for the protagonist but I just could not. I don’t know if it’s because I just felt like she didn’t need to be in a relationship or if it’s because I just didn’t find her love interest, Charlie, very interesting. I mean…he’s a good match for her. He’s good looking and shares Nora’s core values. But other than that, he’s…blah. Actually, both of them were blah. While I am not a fan of over-the-top romance, that does not mean I clamor for…this.

I am not averse to normal people being the subject of romance. But the story should somehow convince the reader that they find each other very interesting. I didn’t get that here. Again, there was no build up. There was just attraction, some sad background, and then bam, they’re in love.

Maybe this is, again, an issue I have with the timeline. The whole thing happened in a month’s time. But I don’t think so. A month is long enough to develop a romance. So, I think it’s because I can’t buy into the scenario that two very much guarded, careful, and professional people would easily shift gears without much awkwardness. There was awkwardness but it doesn’t seem enough and it was very run of the mill. Dare I say it…tropey.

Quite a few folks loved this book because the protagonist remained true to herself and didn’t give up her life for the sake of love. It also had a guy who loved her for who she is and didn’t try to change her. Yeah, yeah. Applause for the protagonist and the dude. Boss Babes rule, and all that. But that whole thing was ruined for me by Nora’s sister.

Libby, who loves and understands Nora the best, undermined her by trying to trick her into doing what she wants. And yes, there’s a lot of issues going on between them that would explain why Libby would go this route. However, I think Libby’s actions infantilized Nora. It’s almost as if Libby saw Nora as a child that you have to play “airplane” with in order for them to eat what’s on the spoon.

Another thing I had an issue with is the title. The title is Book Lovers. While loving books was a big factor in the story, the pivotal plot point here is loving city life. Loving books seems incidental compared to how much loving city living factored into the issues that came up in the story. So yeah, I think there’s a mismatch with the title. But given how the author’s other book was titled ‘Beach Read’ when the story’s setting was by a lake, this issue seems to be part of an on-going pattern.