ARC Review: Millie, Be Mine by Courtney Corlew

 A huge thank you to Courtney Corlew for allowing me to read an E-Arc of this novel, I am super grateful. These thoughts are my own. In Millie, Be Mine, our FMC is Millie, a small-town event planner/florist who is the definition of a people pleaser and our MMC is Will, a guitar player who is Millie's brothers' best friend and her former friends with benefits who moved away to the city. When the book starts, Will is back in town to check in on his aging grandpa. This book had all the makings of a good romance - the tropes are some of my favorites from brothers' best friend to found family to second chance romance and the small town is cozy and adorable, but this book just didn't hit the mark. 

    We have to start with the things that I liked - Courtney Corlew created a lovely cast of characters and a cozy small town. The characters all had depth - Millie being a people pleaser who is running herself a bit thin between event planning and running her flower shop. She also has an obsession with writing to do lists and as a Virgo with ADHD, I related to that a lot. Will is a guitar player who needed to get out of their small town for a bit, he never quite felt at home in the city like he wanted and had a failed engagement while there. Millie's parents & friends were supportive and fun. I really liked the quirky Miss Jane and meddling ways.

    Now, the things I did not enjoy as much- their reason for fake dating was flimsy, like he really just needed to tell a woman that he wasn't interested in her but decided it would be better to fake date Millie. The story would have been the same if they had just picked up their friends with benefits arrangement due to being back in town at the same time. We are told a lot that they have deep feelings for each other due to their past and how long they have known each other but I never felt like we were shown that - like the spark just wasn't there. I also felt like all of the things they had going on in their lives really took away from them as a couple making the romance feel like more of a side plot. I do wish that things had been handled differently with Will's grandpa and his dementia but that could be just based on my own experiences with my grandma. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tell Me Something Tuesday: Choosing your next read

   That's What I'm Talking About 's Tell Me Something Tuesday   is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general.  June 17th: How do you choose what to read next? I am a big mood reader, and my mood is always changing so I typically don't follow any kind of schedule for reading - I just kind of look around at what I own and grab what sounds best. My library holds usually end up choosing for me as once I get a book up from the library, I usually want to jump right into it. I have gotten super into applying for and reading ARCs lately so deadlines for the reviews have been choosing for me lately. The time of year is also a big factor in how I choose because once September rolls around, I kick into a gear where I only wanna read horror & mystery and that won't stop until Halloween and by then I am ready for Winter and Christmas themed reads. 
Read more

Tell Me Something Tuesday: How Do You Read?

That's What I'm Talking About 's Tell Me Something Tuesday   is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general.  June 3rd: Paper, electronic, audio… How do you read? Has it changed in recent years? This year I sit at 75% of the books I read being physical copies and 25% being electronic which is slightly higher than normal for me - my all time stats have ebooks making up only 18% of my total reading, I think I have been on the rise this year because I have gotten into applying for and reading ARCs. I have tried multiple times to get into audiobooks but I get distracted too easily for them. Last year I got back into going to the library and 35% of the books I have read this year have come from there instead of from my own collection of unread books. 
Read more

Tell Me Something Tuesday: New To Me Authors

  That's What I'm Talking About 's Tell Me Something Tuesday   is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general.  June 10th: New to me authors: who have you discovered in the past year? I have discovered so many authors that I love in the past year! I made myself pick my top five though to keep this post from ending up too long. 1. Rebecca Ross - After ages of putting it off because I was worried it would be overhyped, I read Divine Rivals in July of last year and I immediately fell in love with her writing. She has a way with words that is so whimsical. I love the worlds and characters that she creates. I have read two more of her books since Divine Rivals and have loved every single one. I really need to focus on catching up on her backlist. 2.A.B. Poranek - I discovered this author through their debut novel, Where the Dark Stands Still. Their writing is also whimsical - the world in this book was beaut...
Read more