h o l l i s 's Reviews > One-Star Romance

Despite what seems like a rom-com'y cover and title, this is more in line with women's fiction as it's a story told over quite a few years, in a style that's almost ONE DAY-ish/YOU, AGAIN, with the characters popping in and out each other orbit but not being together for.. well, most of the book.

The pitch of ONE STAR ROMANCE is snappy and the moment itself didn't totally disappoint but there's definitely a lot more nuance involved in the act of leaving that one star and it's a situation that carries through almost right to the end. Additionally, this story tackles the ups and downs of life, the pitfalls of being a writer and working in academia, the evolution of relationships and friendships, grief, and more.

I'll admit, though, what kept me from bumping this up any higher (and I continually waffled on the half star) was the main female character, Natalie. While I do felt she had character development and had grown over the course of the story, including reaping some consequences for her actions, I just wish there had maybe been more grovelling, more apologies even. Maybe even a little more discussion about her investment in her best friend's life. We definitely touched on all these things but this wasn't a short book and I think we could've let these bits breathe a little more.

But everything else was pretty great. I really liked Rob, our romantic lead. I loved his bestie, Angus, who was definitely the dark horse of the whole experience. And finally there was Natalie's bestie Gabby who had an unexpected and incredibly emotional plotline that moved me to tears.

If you're looking for a story that doesn't take shortcuts, where the romance and happily ever after is hard earned, with plenty of bookish content and publishing references, you might want to give this one a try.

3.5 stars

** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.