I loved this book so much I nearly finished in one day! I had to force myself to go to sleep at 2 AM and finish the last couple chapters the next day, but it was a fight I almost didn’t win. It’s been awhile since a book had me so hooked that I could stay up late reading. I was beyond invested in these characters and seeing how this story played out. Alaina Erdell has been on my TBR since her debut. This is her third book and I now need to go read her first two ASAP! 🤩

All Things Beautiful was filled with a lot of tropes I love like age gap, forbidden romance, and found family. But these tropes are all encapsulated in a unique and extraordinary story that doesn’t feel in the least bit “tropey.” The chemistry between Leighton and Casey is both unexpected and instantaneous. They have the most adorkable, and also very sexually charged, meet-cute on Casey’s first day as a student at Leighton’s atelier. It’s in many ways a kind of “love at first sight” story, but it’s not done in the cheesy way it can be sometimes which can quickly turn me off from a story. And given that they were both pretty much already infatuated with the other as an artist, the physical attraction just magnifies the intellectual attraction already there.

The tension between them could be cut with a knife anytime they were in the same room together. It’s amazing they had the willpower they did to fight their attraction for as long as they managed to. I think I was getting as worked up from all the tension as they were 🥵 (which is partly why I couldn’t put it down and wasn’t even a little tired at 2 am)! I kept pleading for them to just kiss already! 

And oh! The art! 😍 I know nothing about art, but the way Erdell described the artistic process made the paintings come to life and make me wish I could walk through the gallery to witness their beauty. If I closed my eyes for a moment I felt as if I could see each stroke being added to the canvas. Erdell has a way of truly pulling you into all elements of the story with her descriptive writing. 

Then add into all that two completely adorable little kids basically becoming best friends as their moms develop a bond of their own. Kalyssa and Andy literally could not have been any cuter. 🥹 And all of the other side characters were wonderful and added so much to the story. Like Casey’s roommate and best friend Mark, and the other students, and Leighton’s quirky best friend and co-teacher Stefan, and the seemingly straight-laced Maxine. And Andy’s grandma. Ugh! I just love them all.  I absolutely cannot wait to read more of Erdell’s books!

I received an advance copy of this book through Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.