The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren (2024)An accidental email sent on Valentine's Day leads to a decade-long "friendship" that might just turn into something more in the most unexpected of ways. I listened to this short story as an audiobook, which might have been a bit of a mistake because the first half of it is email exchanges between the two main characters. It wasn't really fun to listen to email addresses, dates, and subject lines being read aloud, but I did enjoy that there were two separate narrators. When the story finally moves away from the emails that T and C exchange every year on Valentine's Day, I got way more into it, as we finally get to know them a little better. I enjoyed the twists and turns that finally got these two together. Fun, quick read/listen. 4 stars
A mistakenly delivered Valentine's Day card brings together a hospice nurse and a handyman, but will their penpal notes lead to a real-life meeting? OMG, how does Abby Jimenez do it? This short story was just utter perfection. Even though it was only 61 pages (and a quick listen), it felt much longer (but in the best way!). I loved how John and Holly got to know each other through the notes they left on her car and was just itching for the moment they would finally meet in person. There was so much character development, too - I feel like we got to know Holly and John so well, despite the shortness of the story. They were both such fleshed-out characters, especially Holly, a hospice nurse taking care of her own grandmother at the end of her life, verging on burning out and healing from a breakup. John, too, is starting over after a breakup, and both realize that they need to be better to themselves. But this story wasn't just about romantic love, but also familial love, as Holly is facing a hard time with her grandmother's decline. I loved the relationship she has with her family. I laughed, I cried - I just loved this story! 5 stars
Princess Ilaria just wants one weekend where she can be a normal person, so she switches places with her assistant and heads out into Rome. She meets a Scottish photographer and in their short time together, the two begin to fall for each other. However, will it all come crashing down when he finds out who she really is? I love a good royalty/commoner romance, but unfortunately this was a miss for me. I didn't think Ilaria and Callum's meet-cute was particularly swoonworthy, and while it is romantic to feel that love/lust at first sight, the writing in this story was a bit of a letdown. So overdone, so cringey, and the characters felt very immature. As for the audiobook, I wish there had been two narrators, because a female voice trying to do a male Scottish accent was just.. not great. There was a twist I didn't see coming, but overall I was just disappointed with this one. 3 stars
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