Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: July 9, 2019Published by: Scholastic Point
Read from: August 4-9, 2019Stand-aloneSource: LibraryTW:For fans of: Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, YA
One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?
Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family dramas.
Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Entitled, arrogant, preppy Andrew. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there is Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn’t so bad after all . . .
Told over the course of one year and following Sophie from event to event, this delightful novel from master of romantic comedy Kasie West shows how love can blossom in unexpected places.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I was a little wary about reading this one because I haven’t really loved her recent works like I did her first books, but this one felt a lot like her old stuff. And to me it really felt like coming home. I really hope she’s going to continue this streak and make her next books like this one!
“Your mom is not you,” Micah said. “She may not be me, but we are a reflection of each other, right? Good or bad, Micah, out family defines us.“pg. 83
Sophie lives in a small town and works with the local florist. In this small town any time there’s a need for flowers, they’re called and so is her best friend Micah’s dad and his catering business. But when Micah’s dad calls out celebrity chef Jet Hart to come and help his business grow, he brings his annoying son Andrew Hart, who thinks he knows everything. But as the year goes on and the events pass quickly along, Kasie West shows how a year can change so many things.
“Rose. Hands down the most recognizable and popular flower. Maybe it’s its intoxicating scent or velvety texture that inspires hundreds of poets to compare it to love and beauty, but whatever the case, it’s overrated, just like its comparisons. People seem to forget about its thorns.“pg. 101
I thought I was going to have issues with the way the story was told, but it actually worked well for me. I liked that she gave those small updates of things that happened in-between the events. I know it was just to make the story make sense, but it really worked. It was nice to get a glimpse of them outside the events.
“Andrew nodded toward the hole in the ceiling. ‘That’s kind of like a picture. We only get to see a part of the whole. ‘Except in this case, the part is picked for us. […] How do you ever decide which part of the whole you’re going to include in an actual picture? […] ‘You just find the part that stands out the most or makes the most interesting shapes or tells the best story.“pg. 172
As I said, this book felt like her old stuff. The hate to love romance was done really well. And I really liked how there was no insta-love. And we got to see them be together instead of just at the very end and that’s it. I really liked their romance. It felt organic and not generic, and I liked seeing the way it developed.
“Maybe blood wasn’t always the strongest bond.“pg. 211
The thing I didn’t like about this was the main character. I wasn’t a fan of how she treated her mom and I wasn’t a fan of how she acted towards other people. For fear of spoilers, I will just say I agreed with Micah. (If you read it, you’ll understand.) I just thought she had a lot to learn but she was too stubborn to accept help from anyone. She had too much pride and I felt like she saw what she wanted to.
“…sometimes strange is beautiful.“pg. 281
Her last book I DNF’ed because the character was terrible. In this book the character wasn’t great either, but the good thing is, almost everything else was. It felt like her old works that I loved and this made me very happy. Definitely makes me look forward to her future works.
Overall, I give this
Sammmme. I haven't had any luck with her recent releases either. Maybe I'm just growing out of it. 🙁