I really liked Rosie and Aled, although I wish Rosie had a bit more self confidence. At times things felt a bit repetitive, but overall very enjoyable! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Thank you for the ARC opportunity with this book.

In the beginning when you find out her job I smiled because I am also an insurance claims adjuster. That little tidbit was fun for me and made me want to read a bit more.

I enjoyed the story. It was a good quick romcom book for me to read. The characters are well written. I like Rosie, not only because we have the same job, but because she blooms throughout the story. She seems a little unsure of her self in the beginning and I wish she was more confident. I think it would have made the breakup better for me if she didn't question her looks or abilities.

I liked that Aled was shy but has a huge heart. His personality and Rosie seem to go together very well. I enjoy the forced proximity stories and I like how they are friends before a relationship.

This was a great story! Thank you again for the opportunity.

4.25🌟
Rosie is a kind-hearted, gentle soul who would do anything for those around her. She's waiting for the day her long term boyfriend will FINALLY propose, until one day, everything changes.

Aled is the mysterious man next door, who sparks her interest as soon as she sees him for the first time.

Both characters are written to be cute and lovable. Written as a kind of slow burn, you know they're destined to be together and you're constantly hoping they'll get there soon. A little bit of drama here and there keeps the book plodding along and made it an easy, medium-paced read for me.

Laura Starkey has gifted us with a delightfully charming and utterly sweet rom-com!

Rosie’s life is in shambles after her long time boyfriend dumps her. No longer able to afford her rent and out of options, Rosie offers her spare room to the mysterious, handsome upstairs neighbor while his flat is being renovated. Will their close proximity spark something between them?

I adored Rosie and found her completely relatable. She’s spent her life making everyone else’s life easier at the expense of herself and her dreams. Her journey of self-discovery had me cheering for her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC of this one. This was a slow one for me and I don't think I really started to enjoy it until at least half way through. It was fairly predictable in plot, which is fine for a romance, but it was such a slow burn that I found I was bored for a lot of it.

Rosie is a thirty something living in London who has just been brutally dumped by her boyfriend of almost a decade and she has also quit the job she didn't really like in the first place. While trying to figure out how she can afford the apartment she loves by herself, her upstairs neighbor, Aled, who also inherited the building (unbeknownst to her) offers to stay in her spare room while he updated his space. She accepts and the forge a sweet friendship and eventually fall in love. She also learns to love herself and value herself. It's a cute one overall, but as I said SUPER slow. 3 stars for me but I would consider reading others by this author. Thanks for the opportunity to review!

This book had no business being so relatable. 20% in and my eyes had welled like 4 times already bc I see so much of myself in Rosie. (Final count: Idk how many times I cried but that's on me, it only makes you wanna cry if you literally feel like you and Rosie are the same.)

But now about the book, 4.6 at least to me! I really really enjoyed it!!
Fun, sweet, charming read!

I loved Rosie, A.Thomas, Rhianne, Niamh, the deli team! Their interactions were amazing, and they felt real to me; with fights, breakdowns, support and pick ups.
Also the growth of the characters was really amazing and significant!

The slooowest burn and I was here for it! The built tension, the little touches, the so beautifully grown friendship...
A.Thomas THE MAN YOU ARE (I think the finding out his first name throughout the book is fun so not gonna spoil it)
Fell in love with him along with Rosie and I wanna keep him in a hug forever!

Reasons why it's not exactly 5 stars for me:
- the beginning felt a little dragged out, I get that it was important to the development of the plot, but I think it could've done with a little less
- also bc of that, even though I saw so much of myself in the fmc, it took me a while to really get connected with the story
- wanted mmc pov😭😭 would DIE to know what was going through that man's head throughout the whole thing!!!

Love the cover of this book and this is the first i have read from this author and it didn't disappoint.

The book was a quick and easy read. Sometimes it fell flat but for the most part i enjoyed reading this book.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Lovely little book!
A bit slow and cozy and just lovely. Not the best book I've ever read but really warm. Liked the characters and theme. Good plot progression. The last 10% felt a bit fast in comparison but that added to the drama I reckon.
I don't think the cover suits it though.

This book was utterly charming from start to finish. I absolutely loved Rosie, who I identified with straight away.

I then proceeded to fall in love with the guy who eventually becomes her flatmate (nope, not telling you his name) and the other cast of vibrant characters.

The romance element is there from the beginning but it's slow burn - that's normally not my thing but it was written so well that I absolutely did not want Rosie and her flatmate to rush things. I relished the pining. It was totally worth the wait, and Rosie had to awaken, open her eyes and see what was around her before she could appreciate what was in front of her. She's got some body hang ups too, which were written sensitively. It's Rosie's empathy and kindness, not her body image, that is the real focus of this story.

It's all from Rosie's point of view but there are subtle hints that he falls first, and hard. It was so much fun to read, and funny too. There's some lovely classic literary references for book nerds and though there is not much steam, there's plenty of sexual tension.

I haven't read anything by this author before but I am already a dedicated fan.

If you want to read something light, funny, sweet and emotional then read this book.


I received an advance copy of this book from Embla Books and Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4🌟

For fans of the lighthearted, romcom genre, this one is for you guys. I read a few reviews before writing this and was shocked to find quite a few people didn’t enjoy this book as much as I did. Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions but well, they’re wrong 🤣

This book made me giddy. The romance in this story was so adorable and the build up was written so well! I loved Rosie, I thought she was incredibly relatable. I liked that the tough moments she went through weren’t overshadowed and that they were actually spoken about. Her family, her job, her flat. I also really liked Aled! He was such a soft, shy guy with a heart of gold. I really liked his personality and how he wasn’t that classic cocky main character who thinks he’s the shit. I liked that they became friends first and foremost before pursuing a relationship. It made the romance that much better.

This is such a fast paced, easy read and written so well. The only little gripe I had with the story is that there were a couple of filler chapters that felt unnecessary but they weren’t a major issue. Also I wished we saw more of Rosie and Aled’s relationship, there just wasn’t enough!

Overall, I really enjoyed this ARC. It was funny, heartwarming and left me feeling all smiley. It was my first book by Laura but won’t be my last. Definitely an author to add to your TBR’s.

Starkey delivers a fun and quick rom-com esque story that has many pop culture references and feels incredibly British. I'll admit, the use of some stereotypical british slang very heavily in the start did make me feel like I was reading something written by someone who wanted to be british but was not. I still don't know whether that is the case or not, but in the first few pages it is really shoved in your face, yet the descriptions aside from that are not very thorough or detailed. We know Rosie is fat to some extent, though whether that is just in comparison to her mother and societal expectations we don't know. We know she is blonde. We know Aled is tall, dark, and handsome, without going much further than that. I do believe that Rosie's size is a critical point in the story unlike some other reviews because it is a confidence hurdle she has to jump like many others. For people who aren't fat it can be uncomfortable to read, but for someone who is it is refreshing reading a romance where you see the protagonist already love her body (while needing to occasionally remind herself to against some harsh comments) and just grow in her confidence after it's smashed by a man with a worthless opinion. Speaking of a man with a worthless opinion, James is a piece of crap and I want to say he's poorly written but experience with men says he is just a coward. The ending and his large declaration are pathetic on his part, there were no redeeming qualities in him which I think is an aspect of him that is poorly written. I will say I liked Rosie and Aled's chemistry, it was nice to see the quiet moments of them together. I wanted more of that and less of the conflict and pining from afar. Overall, fairly decent, but nothing spectacular.

I hate writing negative reviews but I just couldn’t gel with the characters, the premise of the book sounds really good it just…. I couldn’t get into it so I had to DNF I am so sorry!

Thank you Netgallery for this opportunity to read this.

This book was a easy read. It wasn’t great and wasn’t terrible. The FMC was a carbon copy of all other romantic comedy FMCs and her constant body negativity and insecurities were annoying to read. She had no discernable character traits apart from being curvy and “kind”. I understand it was part of her character arc but was still boring and had little pay off.
Thank you NetGalley for this eARC

This was a lovely little read however not a book to get you out of a reading slump and not the story took a long time for the plot to takeoff.

This is the perfect definition of a slow burn.

I am going to be perfectly honest. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book. I decided to go into it with an open mind and I am so happy I did.

I think what I loved the most about this book was how relatable Rosie is. She’s a character that a lot of people can see themselves in, myself included, with the insecurities and struggles she faces. I also loved that this story wasn’t centred around her self-worth being based on another man but her realising it for herself.

Also, Aled? I love him

This was a great palate cleanser when all I've been reading lately are horrors.

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Really great book with really lovely characters. I though this book moved prety quickly but I enjoyed it overall. 3,5 stars!

3.5 stars

Cute, sweet, funny. I appreciate that there wasn’t a lot of explicit sex scenes.
This was predictable yet still so endearing. The characters were good, and the storytelling was well done.
This was just what I was looking for in a rom-com.

This was a cute read, however I would’ve loved more spice. I thought as a romcom it was pretty good and actually the focus on finding oneself after a break up was very refreshing for the genre. However, I felt like I hardly knew the main male character and I would’ve like to get to know him better.

I really enjoyed this one!

I picked this up as an “easy read” to start the new year after reading a few heavy ones, and I’m so glad I did.

The perfect blend of drama, romance and comedy. Aled was a swoon-worthy love interest, and Rosie a likeable and relatable leading lady,

I’m a huge Mhairi McFarlane fan and would put this in the same league. I’ve not yet read Starkey’s previous novels but I certainly will now!

This book was just "ok" to me. It was pretty predicable and honestly, the constant talk about her weight was just depressing. It was a pass for me.