rowan_reviews's reviews
702 reviews

Dara is a powerful, high-earning executive who also has Generalized Anxiety Disorder, runs a Jewish dating app & is single. Coming from a line of matchmakers, and her bubbe's health failing, can she find Mr. Perfect?

Cute, and sweet, and relatable, and uplifting. How love changes us, how it makes us brave and more ourselves.

I loved it.

 Unfortunately, following You're My I.T., Two-Damage My Heart didn't meet my expectations and hopes.

In Two-Damage My Heart, Blaine's old roommate Ruth has a man that broke her heart almost a decade beforehand suddenly show back up in her life - and can't seem to stop running into him. Or thinking about him.

My main issue with the book, is as the romance with the male lead ramps up, so does the jealousy from one of Rue's male friends from her LARP group - a male friend who is set up from the start to be very interested in Rue, and maybe a little over-enthusiastic in trying to become something more.

But as this character's uncomfortable behavior escalated, I couldn't help but compare some of his actions to some of the male lead's. And find that... there really wasn't that much different between their interactions with Rue until the very end. I would say the only difference is Rue's reciprocation, except.... the male lead spends at least half the book trying to get her to forgive him and talk with him again despite her clear and justified anger for how he'd treated her in the past.

Things also escalate in the last 10-15% of the book in a way that the ending feels incredibly abrupt and, in some ways, unresolved. I saw the set-up for this pretty early on and spent a big chunk of the book waiting for things to escalate, which wasn't the kind of romance read I was hoping for either.

The parts that I liked, I really liked. I love nerd culture, I love the connection, I can relate so hard to Rue's agonizing over whether or not to risk being hurt again. I can even relate to having a not-so-close male friend becoming extremely jealous when he witnesses someone else entering her life (though luckily I haven't had to deal with that level of escalation). There's a lot to enjoy in here, but what I mentioned above pretty much completely sours it all for me. 

 This is an absolutely adorable read. I did struggle a bit around the halfway mark when there was a lot of dancing around fatphobia & Lysander realizing how differently people were treating him once he lost weight. I really appreciate that Blaine's feelings for him never hinged on his looks.

I needed a happy, hopeful little book & You're My I.T. delivered. 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 is about two men who are investigating a.. well, a haunted tram car, and it's not as straight forward as they thought it'd be.

I enjoyed how the seemingly unrelated background cultural/societal/political information was woven within and throughout the story, with all the loose ends neatly tied up. The story takes a few twists and turns, which adds to the fun.

All in all it was a satisfying and quick read.