This is just a set of reviews of ARCs that I’ve finished (or DNF’d) and need to tell you about so that Netgalley doesn’t think I’m quite as bad at this as I actually am. The list these books are listed in the title is more or less a ranked list, if I’m being honest, so let’s go ahead and talk about them! Funny Guy by Emma Barry is a really great friends to lovers romance that is going to really work for a lot of people who already like the trope, but will likely not work for people who specifically dislike like longterm friends turned lovers. It’s also available via Kindle Unlimited, which is exciting! Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly is not the Friday Night Lights expose you may be looking for, but is actually a remarkable grief memoir, even if that’s not how it’s marketed. Kelly had a difficult childhood and her relationship with her mom is complicated. I appreciated her perspective so much. The first DNF I’m going to talk about is Once More with Feeling because honestly, I just read 77% of the book and then put it down and I have negative willingness to return to it. It isn’t bad, I’m just horrifically bored. The second DNF is The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake, where I read 60% in March and literally haven’t been able to convince myself to return to it even though I absolutely adored the first book in the series. So… That’s not good. Anyway, let me break this down a little more book by book, shall we?
Funny Guy by Emma Barry
If you already like friends to lovers romance and particularly longterm friends to lovers, I think you will enjoy this book. Emma Barry captures the emotions of being convinced that the relationship cannot go romantic or the friendship will be ruined type situation, but that’s also the type of thing that can frustrate people who don’t love the trope. Personally I really appreciated that.
The other key aspect of this book besides the childhood friends to lovers is that our MMC is a mess. He is messy and has no filter and also pulls his life apart for comedy, which makes him good at his job, but also his boundaries are maybe not the best. In contrast, our FMC is extremely well put together. She’s so good at her job. She seems to adult well. And she’s struggling to decide if it’s time to move on. So, I think that if you’re not the biggest fan of that sort of dynamic, you may not appreciate this book as much as I did.
My final note specifically about this book is that I really do think Emma Barry has a really great writing style that is extremely engaging and easy to fall into. So I definitely recommend if you’re looking for a quick read with some interesting characters!
If you love Scoring Off the Field by Naima Simone, pick up this book. If you loved this book and you haven’t read Scoring Off the Field, I’m going to need you to pick that up immediately.
Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly
Minka Kelly’s writing in this book is really beautiful, which is not always something I pay attention to. But there was something about her writing that often had me wishing I had a physical copy in front of me to highlight in this one.
Minka Kelly did not have an easy life. She grew up impoverished, with a mom who was addicted to some sort of drugs and had inconsistent access to money. When they were living with the man she grew up calling dad even though he’s not her dad, there was a lot of domestic violence. Her biological dad was in and out of her life as a kid. Basically, her life was very chaotic and involved being bounced around from place to place for such a long time. I really appreciated how she recognized, repeatedly, how that inconsistency made it difficult in her adult life to figure out how to be in a healthy relationship.
I wish that there had been a little more about her time on the set of Friday Night Lights, but at the same time, what she did share made it clear that she spent a lot of her time on the set of the show being separate and holding herself apart from people, intentionally or not. Plus, her mom was really sick while she was filming the show. I really appreciated all of her talk about therapy and mostly, after reading this book, I just really wish Minka Kelly the best. She seems to be on the right track and I just really hope that everything goes well for her in the future.
Once More with Feeling
by Elissa Sussman
I read 77% of this book and then I set it down for nearly two weeks and just to be honest, I’m just not even remotely interested in picking it up. Sussman’s writing is engaging enough when you’re reading it, but I just cannot bring myself to care about any of the characters she’s created. I don’t care to find out what the third act conflict will be. I don’t even care if these two people wind up together because I don’t really understand why they should. I’m 77% into this book and I could not even tell you why they like one another. I wish I liked this, but it’s just not for me and I’m going to go ahead and call it.
I usually try and come up with reasons why this book could work for you, but this book is just so genuinely forgettable to me already that I cannot come up with a reason for you. I guess if the synopsis works for you, give it a shot? Idk. I hope you like it more than me if you try it.
The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
I read 60 something percent of this book and I just… I still want to know what happens but not if I have to read it to find out. I think I just don’t like the characters when L isn’t there to interact with them, ya know? And this is a deeply character driven story even if there is a plot. So it’s not that I like, actually like all of the characters, but I find them interesting, and right now, I’m just not interested. But I know a lot of people like it so yay for you! Please feel free to spoil me. The audiobook, for what it’s worth, remains great because a full cast audio is always excellent, but it’s not enough to make me keep reading.
Closing Thoughts
Not my most successful set of ARCs, but Funny Guy and Tell Me Everything are both great so that’s something. Have you read any of these? Let me know your thoughts if so!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 