One of my favorite authors. Love this book and the genre. The narrative is compelling. No cliches. No tropes. It’s all about telling an authentic story with compelling characters.

Contains minor spoilers.

This was a cute but serious romance. I liked how it was basically love at first sight, and that the male MC was a strong (both mentally and physically) man who was able to help the female lead work through some of her personal issues. I liked the HEA too :)

I liked this book - but I didn't love it. Bevin is a sweet, smart, beautiful woman who cares deeply for her friends and her family. She struggles with her self-image, despite claiming to own it. She is typically the one who makes sure everyone gets home safe after a night out. Her friends are surprised when suddenly Bevin is the focus of interest for a very sexy Navy SEAL. Tim is pretty much as down-to-earth, sweet, and sexy as it gets. He sees Bevin and isn't interested in anyone else. He pursue's her with a single-minded focus that Bevin isn't used to.

I loved watching them learn about each other and coming together. It was so sweet and sexy.

I didn't love the way Bevin's friend Courtney treated her - and how Bevin pretty much let her. I also didn't love the lack of external conflict in the story. This is a true - dating story more which isn't something we see as much in Romance anymore. It also - even though it has apparently been re-edited. Feels a little dated.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, but these opinions are all my own.

I must admit, I am biased as I interview Savannah Frierson for my podcast. That being said, I will try to be as fair as possible with this review (LOL).

SN: This has to be the 4th or 5th book that I've read that a couple met in a bar/club/dive. I thought meeting partners at the bar was a dead pastime. I am glad to see the authors I've been reading reviving it.

Tim and Bevin are serious, normal, likable people that anyone would fall in love with. Their relationship had normal ebbs and flows. I like that, although Tim was in the military; he had a sensitive way about him, especially in his pursuit of Bevin. I love that even in the first chapter, Bevin draws Tim to her instantly. He is a big, hulking country boy who loves that Bevin is exactly who she is: black, plus-sized, and self-deprecating. Enjoyed the humor and banter between the two of them.

Courtney was insufferable, which is what I like in a secondary character, to be honest. It makes us root for the protagonist even more. My only negative is that I wish I had more of an insight into her relationship with her other friends, like Rosita. I just didn't understand why Bevin would keep someone like Courtney around. She wasn't good for her self esteem at all. And sometimes she put herself down in front of Tim, often. I didn't always think that was necessary and didn't propel the plot.

Overall, I really enjoyed Trolling Nights

This ARC was provided by NETGalley

Bevin is out with the Femme Crew (what a name) she is the mother of the group, vetting the guys before her friends take them home. Tim who is a SEAL notices Bevin sitting in the booth and is immediately intrigued about her, however her friend Courtney wants him for herself and sends him over to be vetted.
From there Tim pursues Bevin to make her see it's her that he wants, eventually she realises that he does want her after a few tumbles.
I really liked the fact that Tim just said it like it was, the only time I was annoyed at him was during a scene when the waitress was being rude as hell. I felt as though he should have said something but I think that's my only gripe with him.
Bevin could be frustrating sometimes e.g. with Courtney walking all over her, pulling away from Tim.
I enjoyed this book but I felt they moved very quickly and for me personally it took me out of the story a little bit.

Such a sweet book. You really get sucked into the story from the first part of it. It makes you want to know more about the other characters in the book.

I really enjoyed Bevin and Tim's love story; it was a slow burn, but it was sweet and full of so much intimacy, passion, and love. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Bevin and Tim are meant to be :)

The only things I struggled with were Bevin's low self esteem and her terrible group of friends. Bevin's relationship with Courtney was complicated at best and parasitic (on Courtney's end) at worst, yet Bevin was committed to maintaining the relationship. Bevin also made a series of really cringeworthy comments about her her race and complexion when she was with Tim. While it's critical to show a wide range of emotions in Black woman characters, including vulnerability and insecurity, I think that the portrayal of a character as deeply insecure as Bevin who has a white partner and very close white friends should be done with a bit more intentionality and care. I of course recognize that Bevin's friend group was made up of folks of other races, but her relationship with Courtney was the most detailed and Bevin seemed to have real and true genuine love for someone who treated her in an incredibly terrible fashion. As a consequence, it was difficult for me, as a Black woman reader, not to think Bevin was grappling with a lot of internalized anti-Blackness. That said, I truly did love Tim for Bevin, but I wish that I had seen more of her relationship with Rosita or received some other kind of assurance she had really full, loving relationships with Black characters outside of her parents.

When I first read the synopsis of the book I thought it was going to be just an average love story. However Tim and Bevin’s love story is so much more. Sure Tim is a little bit cheesy with his love, and man do I love it, but Bevin I feel is like what a real normal woman would think if she was in a love story. She was so easy to relate too. I absolutely loved this story.