Reviews: STARRY-EYED LOVE & SEE YOU YESTERDAY

Hey everyone! I know today is usually Top Ten Tuesday but I wasn’t feeling this week’s topic and I’m behind on reviews, so I decided to use this slot to play catch up.  Today I’m sharing my thoughts to two new releases that I really enjoyed, one from a new-to-me author, Helena Hunting, and one from an auto-buy author, Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Author: Helena Hunting

Publication Date: May 10, 2022

Publisher:  St. Martin’s Griffin

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.  All opinions are my own.

Starry-Eyed Love is the second book in Helena Hunting’s contemporary romance series, Spark House, a series that follows three sisters who run a small boutique hotel together.

London Spark is the focus of this second installment, and I loved her from the opening scene when we encounter her and her two sisters, Avery and Harley at a bar together.  London has just broken up with her boyfriend and the sisters are celebrating her newly single status. London is ready to focus her attention on the family business and has no interest in dating right now, so when a handsome stranger at the bar flirts with her, she tells him she’s not available.  Little does she know at the time, but that man, Jackson Holt, is about to change her life in more ways than one.

I really loved the chemistry between London and Jackson right from that first meeting and was actually disappointed when she blew him off.  Color me tickled then when London is invited to a meeting to discuss bringing Spark House on board as a partner for a huge environmentally friendly initiative.  If you guessed Jackson Holt is the founder of this initiative, you would be correct.  This of course forces London in close proximity to Jackson, whether she likes it or not, and things take off from there.  London and Jackson are a great match on pretty much every level and there are plenty of flirty sexy moments between them, but I’ll say now to prepare yourself for a slow burn since they do have a working relationship and there are some angsty moments as they try to figure out how to navigate the professional and the personal.

As much as I enjoyed London and Jackson’s story, I was also a big fan of the relationship between the sisters.  They are experiencing some growing pains as the hotel expands and so even though they adore each other, there is still the occasional tension.  London, in particular, is in an awkward position.  She has somehow landed in the position of business administrator, so she is responsible for bringing in new clientele and planning events.  This isn’t her wheelhouse at all, as she is more of a creative type, and as much as she wants to help her sisters with the business and doesn’t want to create drama, this particular job and the way Avery is pushing her and refusing to hire outside help, is running her ragged.  I loved how realistically Hunting portrays these relationships, especially the angst and tension, as London comes to terms with the idea that the only way out involves confronting Avery.  Hunting hits that perfect and very relatable balance of “I love you more than anything but something has got to give.”

Starry-Eyed Love was my first time reading something from Helena Hunting but it definitely won’t be my last because this book was just such a delight – equal parts charming, and funny, and with a delicious side of drama and angst to spice things up. 4 STARS

See You Yesterday Goodreads

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Publication Date: May 17, 2022

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley.  All opinions are my own.

I love Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books and I love stories that feature time traveling or time loops, so you can imagine how excited I was to learn that Solomon’s latest YA novel See You Yesterday features a Groundhog’s Day style romance.  I couldn’t hit that request button on Netgalley fast enough and I’m thrilled to share that this book was everything I hoped it would be and more!

The story follows Barrett Bloom, a college freshman who is really hoping this year will be a fresh start for her after a pretty rough senior year of high school.  Instead of being a fresh start, however, her first day of classes is an absolute nightmare. She learns that she’s stuck rooming with an old friend she had a falling out with in high school.  Then, an obnoxious know-it-all embarrasses her in Physics class, and she goes on to completely blow her interview to be on the school newspaper, and then as if all that isn’t bad enough, she goes to a frat party that night and accidentally sets the place on fire.  All she wants to do is crawl in bed and pretend this day never happened.  Instead, however, she wakes up and it’s the first day of classes all over again. Needless to say, Barrett is perplexed by this, especially when it keeps happening.  After another encounter with Miles, the annoying guy from her Physics class, Barrett soon learns that Miles has also been similarly trapped and has been repeating the same day for over two months now.  The two of them set out on an interesting quest to try to fix their timelines and free themselves from this endless loop.

I loved this story so much! Barrett and Miles are adorable together even when they’re plucking each other’s nerves.  Their relationship also slowly transforms as they explore all avenues to freedom – researching at the library, trying to right wrongs from their pasts, trying to find closure from events where they’ve left loose ends, etc.  While nothing they try works, what does happen is that the two of them get to know each other and grow close, first as friends but then as more than friends.  I loved this so much for them because they’re both so lonely and out of sorts, even before being trapped in the loop.  It was lovely to see them connect with each other and also so much fun to watch some of the antics they would come up with to pass the time while they’re stuck. There’s also tremendous growth for Barrett as she finally conquers some demons from her past and is able to move forward.

There’s also the huge question of what happens to Miles and Barrett if and when they finally come unstuck from time.  Will they still be a couple, will they still know each other?  Or will they go back to being alone?  If you want to know the answer to those questions, you’ll have to check out See You Yesterday.  You won’t regret it! 4.5 STARS