Showing posts with label Belinda Missen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Belinda Missen. Show all posts

Friday, September 25, 2020

Accidentally in Love by Belinda Missen: A Lighthearted English Escape

Accidentally in Love by Belinda Missen
Published: September 11th, 2020

Publisher: HQ Digital

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, opposites attract

Heat level: 🔥🔥

My rating: 4 stars

Acquired this book: From the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration

Add to Goodreads

Buy: Amazon Canada || Amazon US || Kobo


In the space of a week, Katharine Patterson has quit her job, decided to move back home, and broken up with the guy she thought was the one.


No big deal.


Because Katharine has a plan. She’s going to open her own art gallery, just like she’s always wanted. What she’s not going to do is worry about boyfriends.


Then she meets Kit, a handsome and talented local artist. He might be the most stubborn person Katharine has ever met. He might also make her feel like no one ever has before.


And Katharine might be about to fall accidentally in love…


 

Accidentally in Love was such a fresh, funny romcom. I love stories about self-discovery and following your dreams, and this was very much that, along with a story about family, friendship, and finding the type of love you deserve.


Katharine works in a job where she’s overlooked and underappreciated, she’s semi-dating a guy who never makes her a priority, and her best friend has shuffled her aside except for when she needs her to do something for her. She’s almost at her breaking point, so when the opportunity arises for her to quit her job and leave London, she takes a risk and jumps in head first. Katharine was so relatable. I think we’ve all felt like we weren’t a priority when we should be, whether it’s in a job, a friendship, a relationship, or in our own families. Katharine has it coming at her from all sides, so she decides it’s time to make herself a priority and do something that fulfills her, even if she fails. I loved her gumption.


When she meets Kit, they immediately rub each other the wrong way. She wants nothing to do with him, but they’re connected through her family and their small community, whether she likes it or not. They form a tentative agreement that slowly morphs into friendship and then something more. Even when things were good between them, these two still butted heads, but it provided for a lot of fun banter.  


I loved the family dynamics in the book. Katharine had such a great relationship with her brother, Adam, and her dad and his girlfriend were a lot of fun. The friendship between Katharine and Lainey was painful to read at times, mostly because I’ve been in her place and related so much to feeling forgotten, taken for granted, used. I liked what it added to the story and that it tied in with Katharine learning to speak up and do what was right for her own life, even if it looked different than she thought or different from what others expected.


Overall, Accidentally in Love was a fun, lighthearted read. I could see this being made into a Hallmark movie - girl starting over in the small town she grew up in, quirky family, enemies to lovers - and I’d definitely watch it!



Read my review of Belinda's 2019 Christmas romance, One Week Til Christmas


Have you read Accidentally in Love? What did you think? In the book, Katharine is a photographer and Kit is a painter; what are some of your favourite artistic pursuits?




*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

One Week 'Til Christmas by Belinda Missen: Romantic and Delightful

One Week 'Til Christmas by Belinda Missen
Published: November 1st, 2019
Publisher: HQ Digital
Genre: Romantic comedy
# of pages: 179
My rating: 5 stars
Acquired this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest consideration
Add to Goodreads
Buy now: Amazon US || Amazon Canada

Two people. One chance meeting. Seven days to Christmas.

Isobel Bennett is waiting for the number 11 bus when a man quite literally falls into her lap. Snow is falling, Christmas lights are twinkling, and a gorgeous man with dark brown hair has just slipped on ice and is now pressed against Isobel.

Isobel knows she’s not imagining the chemistry between them. But then his ride arrives and, embarrassed, he beats a hasty retreat, murmuring apologies – and Isobel realises only too late that she didn’t manage to catch his name…

When she runs into him again the next morning, she decides it’s fate.

It’s a second chance for Isobel and Tom – but there’s only one week until she’s leaving London for good. Seven days of enjoying all the festive delights the city has to offer: ice-skating at Somerset House, mulled wine on the Southbank, Christmas shopping at Liberty.

There’s magic in the air and mistletoe in the trees – but what will happen when the week is over?



I came across One Week ’Til Christmas one day while browsing Netgalley for Christmas titles, and I requested it immediately. I’m so glad I did because I devoured this book and it soared right onto my list of favourite festive reads. It was witty, charming, and gave me the warm fuzzies. I basically had a big cheesy grin on my face through most of the book.

I’ve always wanted to visit London around Christmastime, so the setting drew me in and made me completely starry eyed. I felt like I was there with Isobel and Tom as they explored the city, and it all felt so wonderfully magical and festive. I loved Tom and Isobel together. Their banter was hilarious, as was a lot of Isobel’s inner dialogue. Tom was so swoony, and I loved that he turned out to be completely different from what I initially expected. {MILD SPOILER}: I think it’s a fantasy for a lot of people to meet, spend time with, and maybe even fall in love with a celebrity. I know I’d certainly like to spend a few days hanging out with Richard Madden! That bit of the story felt different from the other celeb-dates-normal-person story for a lot of reasons, but mostly because Tom really felt like a real person. He never used his celebrity to get his way or try to impress anyone. He was passionate about his job and enjoyed talking about it, but he was humble and charming, and I adored him. {END SPOILER}

I absolutely loved this magical, whirlwind of a romance and I know I’ll be recommending it a lot this holiday season and for many more to come.



Have you read One Week 'Til Christmas? Is there somewhere you've always wished you could visit at Christmastime? If you could spend the day with any celebrity, who would it be?



*Please note I'm an Amazon affiliate, and some of the links in this review are affiliate links. All income made through affiliate sales goes directly back into maintaining Ramblings of a Daydreamer. Thank you for your support!  
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