I loved the first two books in the A Sweet Mess series, and BOOKED ON A FEELING was a wonderful follow-up. Lizzie is an attorney with a large Los Angeles firm, on the rise to a partnership. But she's feeling burned out and suffers from anxiety and panic attacks. After fainting in the middle of an important trial, she decides to take a three-week vacation and spend it in her best friend's hometown of Weldon. Jack and his family own Weldon Brewery. His brother and sister handle the beer side of things, while he's the business side. After a trip to Los Angeles, and seeing his best friend faint during a trial, he's pleased to have her company and get to spend some time with her back home in Weldon.
There are lots of moments that made me smile or even laugh. Lizzie and Jack are both fun characters to hang around with. They've been best friends since they were ten, so they're very comfortable with each other and there is a lot of teasing and bantering between them, something I always love. But there's suddenly a new awareness between them also, as Lizzie starts to see Jack as a sexy attractive man rather than just a friend, which led to a lot of sizzling and fraught-with-sexual tension moments. Jack's always had a secret thing for Lizzie, but for the first time, he lets himself think maybe something could come of that.
Going from friends to lovers is a risk, and I appreciated that the author didn't rush them into a romantic relationship. Watching Lizzie and Jack dance around each other and quietly explore their own growing feelings for each other was such an enjoyable journey. But it wasn't just about them discovering each other. They both also needed to discover themselves. While they are each good at their jobs, and successful, neither is fully satisfied with the path they are on, and each of them had to do some soul searching, and find the courage to change their path, and the author did a great job with leading both Jack and Lizzie to come to some realizations about what they want (aside from each other) out of life. I like the author's writing. This is a rom-com of a book (I would love to see all three of the books made into movies!), and while it's easy to read, there is more than just romance and comedy. The characters are fleshed out and have a depth to them. Even Lizzie's mother, who we only know about from Lizzie's thoughts and the occasional phone call. And the descriptions of Lizzie's anxiety were well written, conveying the feelings that accompany a panic attack. At least in my experience, as I imagine it may be different from person to person.
Oh, and there's a bookstore! Lizzie's childhood dream was to own a bookstore, and I had that dream as well, so watching Lizzie help the owner of the local bookstore spruce the place up and explore ideas to attract more customers gave me a bit of a sense of wish fulfillment!
All in all, a delightfully enjoyable treat. Although BOOKED ON A FEELING is the third book in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, but I would still urge you to read the first two books as well. I'm certainly looking forward to more from Ms. Lee!
If all goes to plan, she will check off that last box in a couple years, make her parents proud, and live a successful, fulfilled life in L.A. What was not in her plans was passing out from a panic attack during a pivotal moment in her career. A few deep breaths and a four hour drive later, Lizzy is in Weldon for three weeks to shed the burnout and figure out what went wrong. And what better place to recharge than the small California town where she spent her childhood summers with her best friend, Jack Park.
Jack Park didn't expect to see Lizzy back in Weldon, but now he's got three weeks to spend with the girl of his dreams. Except she doesn't know of his decades-long crush on her--and he intends to keep it that way. She's a high-powered attorney who lives in L.A. and he's a bookkeeper at his family's brewery who never left his hometown. He can't risk their friendship on a long shot. Can he? When Lizzy decides that the local bookstore needs a little revamp, of course, Jack is going to help her bring it back to life. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore there might be more than just friendship among the dusty shelves and books...
Sometimes the path to the rest of your life has been in front of you all along.
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