Why does this book (that focuses on February every year for a decade) feel like it's a perfect fall read? Can't tell you. Got nothing.

But it does.

All the banter, all the warm fuzzies, all the Ryan and Hanks vibes. My "only" complaint was totally demolished in the acknowledgments, so I am here to acknowledge that. And really, it was 100% true to Olivia's character that she said something so criminal... the movie snob that she is. (Love you, Liv!)

Okay, seriously. I went into this expecting to like it, and I closed the book with a solid 4.5 stars in my heart. There were tiny minor things that had bugged me during the reading, so I felt that for plot and characterization, and consistency... originality... Yeah. That's where my 4.5 went. Because the more I thought of it, I realized that everything that had bugged me would have bugged me MORE if they hadn't been there. Because that's how brilliant Turner's creative choices had been. Fixing what I "didn't like" would have actually damaged the integrity of the story.

And I'll be honest. My only disappointment was the lack of an observable faith in the characters. That would have killed a star too but for one thing. Despite the publisher, the synopsis didn't even hint at one. I decided it would be unjust to rate what I wanted instead of what I chose to read. I knew going in not to expect it. And I think that's an important distinction. There are solid Christian themes throughout, however, and seriously... aside from his humanity causing a few hiccoughs (realistically and understandably and not Marty-Stu of him), one of the men in this book is such a beautiful type of Christ's steadfast love.

And the more I think and type, the more solid I think those 5 stars are.

I liked this book. In my opinion, the beginning was very misleading in regards to who the love interest is, but I guess it does eventually get clearer. I guess I'm just really accustomed to the romance novel "rules", which weren't followed in here. So I was thrown off for at least half the book. And because of that I started to root for one guy, while still thinking it could be some other guy and I was so confused, and I didn't want to be disappointed... Anyway, eventually it was obvious and I could really focus on the story. But even while I couldn't, I really enjoyed the writing, the characters, the struggle the MC goes through while writing her manuscript. Even when you really want to work on a project, life gets in the way. Time flies by. The projects never moves forward as much as you'd like. I love how long it takes her, I love how passionate she is, but how true and realistic her work is in the book.
The mix of emotions and highs and lows between the characters were quite beautiful and very well portrayed. I really liked a lot about this book, and at the end, I wasn't as mad about the beginning. It did throw me off, but I think it was necessary for the story.

If you have to read one quirky, witty book this year - let this be the one! Filled with twists and turns and humour and heart :)

I found this story boring and tedious. I did not finish it. I think the story had a lot of potential, but it was never realized.

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I am drawn to books about books and writing as a rule and this book was a delight to read from the very start until the ending. Very likeable characters I was swept up into their worlds from the very beginning. I found myself wondering what the characters were up to when I wasn't reading it, like they were actual people I know. An engaging feelgood read.⭐⭐⭐⭐ #plottwist #bethanyturner #netgalley #tea_sipping_bookworm #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #amazonkindle #chicklit #bookqueen #bookstagram

I usually love Bethany Turner's books, but this one got to the point where I was jumping ahead so I could finish it faster. I listened to most of it and, while the premise was great, it bogged down at about year 5 of "Ironic Day". And there were five more years to go...

Olivia Ross is a writer for Heartline greeting cards, and she's very good at it. However, she's working on a screen play, one she's sure will put her name right up there with the greats, if she could only finish it. On Feb. 4, 2003, she walks into a coffee shop and has an encounter with a handsome man who "claims" to be an actor. Since she only goes to girly movies at her best friend's insistence, she's never seen this leading man, so she has no idea if he's famous or not. All she knows is, he has a sexy accent - could be Scottish, could be Irish - and he's one of the handsomest men she's ever seen. As they strike up a conversation, she shares that she's writing a screenplay. They make a pact that in 10 years, they will meet again at the same coffee shop, and they will make a movie together - her screenplay, his acting.

Each year after that, on Feb. 4th, Olivia has a close encounter of some kind with A-lister, Hamish MacDougall. Her friend, Fiona, helped her identify the unknown actor she saw in the coffee shop, and now she sees him somewhere nearly every year. If she doesn't see him, something else completely wild happens to remind her of their pact. In the meantime, she keeps working on the SAME screenplay, and ignoring the chemistry she has with her other friend, Liam. (Grrrr. I was so mad at her by the time she finally woke up...)

Like I said before, the premise of the book is fun, and each "Ironic Day" occurrence is pretty funny, but I was so frustrated with the blinders Olivia wore throughout the book. She wasted 10 YEARS pining for an unattainable person, and basically putting more than her own life on hold.

Readers who like romantic comedies will enjoy this one.

This was a surprising, fun time. I enjoyed getting to spend time with the mc, who is not always likable, but is definitely relateable.

Oh god, I really wanted to like this one but I just didn't. The premise was so fun but the execution was kind of a slog to get through. And then she just ends up with her friend who sucks?? idk not my fav

Cute read!
Olivia, an aspiring writer, makes a pact with an handsome aspiring actor to meet on 10 years’ time and he will be starring in the movie made with her scenario.
In the timespan of ten years, every year at the same day, Olivia and the actor somehow meets, or at least there is...something.
But what to do with her real life attraction to Liam???

I would call this a lovely summer read! While not very deep - but who need that when there is plenty of lovable and cute, generously sprinkled with numerous Hollywood glam and shameless silver screen fangirling? Me, I was sold early and stayed sold. Even if I am truly not a fan of Liam, who is written like picture-perfect (if a bit boring at the beginning) character, but in reality he is very slow in deciding about his romantic inclinations.
Yet...there is that 90´s sweetness, witty dialogues, vulnerability and heart which gets to me always. There IS something romantic about this this novel.

Endless nods to classic romcoms are an instant 4 star from me. I feel like this book provided that 90s romcom esthetic— no steam whatsoever. Clean romance with mot even road map of steamy imagination. Think very Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan clean.

With that, the storyline was cute and was a quick read. Definitely a story you could read on your breaks at work and not be checking every 5 min to make sure no one appeared over your shoulder.

This book was not an OMG amazing title that everyone should read, but perfectly enjoyable for fans of contemporary romance

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However all opinions are of my own.
Loved.
Great character development
Easy to follow
Romance

Thank you to NetGalley & Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

DNF @ 10%

Couldn't get into this one, which is a shame because the premise sounded really interesting.

Though some of Bethany Turner's books have been on my want to read list for a while, this is the first book that I have actually picked up. And overall, I enjoyed the experience. I love the concept of the story so much. My biggest issue was the pacing of the story. And I wasn't really a fan of the ending. I know that this book has a lot of details, as it takes place over ten years. But each chapter was another year forward, and it seemed a little disjointed at times for me as the reader. There was so much that happened in some of the chapters, and then it just switched to the next year. I think this aspect could have been improved on a little bit. But other than this, I enjoyed the story and I look forward to reading more of Bethany's books.

Olivia Ross is a greeting card writer, who's also working on a screenplay. She meets a handsome actor in a coffee shop and makes a pact that in ten years they'll return to this spot to make a film together. We get little snippets of the next ten years, via the same day each year.

I think I may have enjoyed this one more if I'd not read the synopsis first. The idea of the time-lapse story sounded so great in theory. In practice, I didn't love it. I wanted more. More from the characters, more from their stories, just more. I also found Olivia extremely immature, which just irked me. Overall, not terrible, but not really my cup of tea either.

This was really cute! Reminiscent of Kerry Winfrey's books. This was an easy read that I sped through, but I did find the ending a little unsatisfying.

This was very cute, but I felt it was very reminiscent of other rom coms I've read before. I also didn't love the main character, and found her a bit too immature at times.

Such a cute book! I loved reading Olivia's story and super loved the format!!

My first Bethany Turner story, but def not my last!

I gave up on this book- the story was hard to get into and the MC rubbed me the wrong way. I gave it a good try.

This was just an ok read for me. A cute, well written and easy read but not a memorable romantic comedy for me.