I have been a fan of Solomon's writing for a long time but I just wasn't in the right mood for this one, or something about it just didn't work for me. A lot of people are loving this one though so I'm thinking it may just be me. I was looking for more high jinx in the story, it was missing that spark that really makes a book stand out. The writing was great, it was a nice easy read and the characters were great on their own. It was just together that they didn't work for me. Overall it wasn't for me but I still think its worth the read.

Rachel’s books hold a special place in my heart. We went to the same elementary school, and met when I was her big buddy. Years later, we randomly played a game of tennis doubles on the courts of Greenlake and reconnected a little. All of her books have these little details that I just GET so deeply! Like how no one understands why they built an outdoor mall in a city that’s cloudy 90% of the time. Legitimate local mystery. Or how massive our hometown has grown since we’ve graduated. Or that wild snowstorm that knocked out the power grid for a week. I, too, have danced at Century Ballroom and hung out at Discovery Park.

Weather Girl is another sweet, swoony romance novel from author Rachel Lynn Solomon. After a disastrous Christmas party, meteorologist Ari Abrams makes a drunken plan with sports reporter Russel Barringer to play matchmaker. Their goal is to make their work environment better for everyone, since their bosses are constantly at each other’s throats. What follows is a sweet, steamy, silly romp around the Pacific Northwest.

Representation:
✨ Jewish MC & love interest
✨ depression
✨ curvy male love interest

Having a plus sized male love interest was fun, especially since I’ve also been rereading Crescent City, where all the men seem to have eight packs. You don’t have to be a gym rat to be hot and worthy of love!

This is the first romance I've read with a plus-sized hero! And I loved him! Bravo, Rachel.

WEATHER GIRL is a warm, lighthearted, and charming office romance. It also offers a very reader-friendly/gentle depiction of depression--meaning it shouldn't, in my opinion, be triggering.

I enjoyed this one! I felt a little bit of a special kinship to our main character Ari – for the longest time growing up I wanted to be a meteorologist, so it was fun to read about a heroine who is one.

I liked how Ari and Russell’s friendship started out and how it grew into more. It felt very natural and well-paced in that regard. I saw the author mention her own experience with depression, and that she wanted to write a heroine who also deals with it. To open yourself up like that, to be vulnerable and pull from your own experience takes a lot of courage. It was nice to see that Ari didn’t need to be ‘fixed’ or ‘cured’ of her depression to find love and be loved. I haven’t seen that often in romance, and it was a welcome addition.

I’m not rating it super high though because something did feel like it was missing. I loved the author’s adult romance debut THE EX TALK. I hate to compare books, but WEATHER GIRL felt like it was missing some sort of spark that THE EX TALK had. I can’t put my finger quite on what it is.

Overall though, I had a good time reading this one.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I'm now adding Rachel Lynn Solomon to my list of favorite rom-com writers! After loving her first adult fiction, The Ex Talk, I was hesitant if I would love another book by her so much but I'm happy to report that Weather Girl lived up to my expectations!

What I especially love about Solomon's books is that her characters feel like real people to me. The people you know and grapple with the emotional experience of what it means to be human. Sure, there are some steamy scenes too, but the bulk of her books deal with heavier issues which I really appreciate.

I loved the Ex Talk so much, and while Weather Girl was very similar to that, I didn’t like it as much. The whole thing was very predictable and I didn’t find the characters cute. I felt they were all immature and annoying. I love the cover though. A+ for that!

4.5 stars

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book! I adored they had a diverse set of characters, including LGBT representation and a non-stereotypically chiseled main male character. I also really appreciated her incorporation of mental health into the story. Overall I found her writing style very engaging and my only qualm is I felt the original plot got abandoned/resolved pretty early on but I found I honestly didn't mind, because I loved Russell and Ari.

Weather Girl is a cute, easy to digest contemporary romance. I read it for book club as well, and we discussed how there were some moments that required you to suspend belief in order for the storyline to work and that it was refreshing to see a regular male lead and a main character with a mental illness. I would have liked to see a little more development in both storylines- it occasionally felt like the author didn't know where to go with them. The Jewish rep was excellent and felt very natural in the story and also taught me more about the Jewish culture!

I recommend picking Weather Girl up if you’re in the mood for a fun romance that’s got a bit of additional story to it.

Another great read from Rachel Lynn Solomon! I loved The Ex Talk and am happy to say that Weather Girl was just as charming. The MC and love interest had great chemistry and I loved seeing their relationship develop. I enjoyed the exploration of depression in the context of a rom-com, it is a topic that is rarely talked about in this genre and it was a breath of fresh air. The Jewish MC representation was also great. I can't wait to see what we get from Solomon next.

This was a solid rom-com! My favorite thing about this book was that it had depth. I liked that the story went beyond the typical romance parts to also explore deeper topics, such as the struggles of mental health/depression. While the book started and ended strong, the middle felt a little repetitive to me. However, I think this slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance will do very well among rom-com lovers! It's funny and witty, while also maintaining a serious undertone in a way that felt balanced and natural. Ari's struggles with mental health, relationships, and her career were all very relatable and realistic, and I think that's something that will really resonate with a lot of readers.

Thank you so much to Berkley and Netgalley for an arc of Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon.
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I absolutely love Solomon’s writing and reading this book has reminded me that I definitely need to read more of her backlist. I rooted for Ari ! I definitely connected with having to show my sunny side all the time. I love the setting of this book since it’s so close to wear I live, we use to go down to Seattle pretty often and I love that the Kraken are included!
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Solomon has become an auto read/buy author for me and I’m so excited to read her next book!
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content/trigger warnings: descriptions of depression, parental abandonment, descriptions and reflections of growing up with a parent who has depression, teen pregnancy

"What I'm realizing," I continue, "is that I like myself the most when I'm around you. And I think it's because I'm the most honest version of myself. I don't have to try as hard, and I don't have to hide. I can just...be."

I have always been a fan of Soloman's work, and once again, she has intrigued me with her latest book. Ari Adams has always had a passion for weather. She loves her job as a TV meteorologist, especially since she gets to work with her role model Torrance Hale. However, Torrance is too busy battling with the news director of the station, her ex-husband Seth, to give Ari any attention. Ari's fed up with the lack of support, and turns to her coworker, sports reporter Russell Barringer, to help their bosses get back together. That way, Torrance will notice the hard work Ari's been doing and mentor her, while the workplace will be an easier and quieter place for Russell and the other workers. But, when Russell and Ari, team together and try all these romantic gestures for their bosses, what happens when Ari starts to notice how cute and charming Russell is? As easy as it is to follow one's heart, Ari struggles with depression. After everything that went with her ex-fiancé, where he stated that she's not "real" enough, Ari refuses to get close to anyone and let them see her bad days. Especially when she saw her father leave her mom for being too sad all the time, she believe that she must always be the positive and outgoing one. But, Russell teaches Ari that she's perfect, dark days and all. Russell's got baggage of his own, when he was forced to enter fatherhood at the age of 17. I love how this book touches on mental health and depression, as these are topics that must be discussed in society today. Also, Ari's dad is ABSOLUTLEY DISGUSTING. SMH. But, Ari's brother? The most kindest person you'll ever meet. A WONDERFUL BOOK Y'ALL.

A fun fact about me is that I am fascinated by the weather! I could sit and watch hurricane/blizzard coverage for hours and in another life I’d be a storm chaser! THE EX TALK was one of my favorite romances of 2021, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this novel!

Ari and Russ, both miserable at work because of their divorced bosses, team up to “Parent Trap” them back together. This was so much more than your traditional rom com. You can really tell that this was a personal novel for Solomon.

I loved the characters in this one, they all felt three dimensional and their struggles were deeply relatable. Ari is a newly single women struggling at work, with her mental health, and with her family. She’s the type of character that you can really get behind and root for.

I live for a Seattle setting and am a huge hockey nerd, so I lived for all the hockey references! After reading this novel, I look forward to reading more of Rachel’s backlist and reading whatever she comes out with next.

Rachel Lynn Solomon just further cements her place as a must-read romance author with her latest book. Weather Girl is an absolutely endearing and swoon-worthy workplace romance that will make readers dread the final page. As always, Rachel Lynn Solomon always perfectly captures realistic and messy characters with real emotions and complicated pasts. Ari and Russell just come alive on the page and readers will be instantly invested in their love story. This is perfect for fans of Set It Up and The Honey Don't List. The secondary romance between the Ari & Russell's bosses was also so fun to read.

This book includes Jewish representation and a fat male love interest. Solomon provides a ton of fun behind-the-scenes content of a TV news station that was well researched and super interesting to read. Every element of this story was so well done!

I really enjoyed this book! Since I too struggle with mental heath issues, I found it a little difficult to read some parts. But I'm glad the author addressed that struggle and I'm glad that Ari was able to find someone out there that was able to help her with her illness. I also liked the fact that Russell was on the heavier side!

Rachel Lynn Soloman is one of my new favourite authors. Weathergirl goes further than the typical light hearted romance, delving into mental health snd the impact it can have on relationships and self worth. Loved it.

This was a sweet yet serious story about relationships and depression. I think the topic of depression was handled realistically. There was a lightheartedness as well. My having worked in local news also endeared this book to me. I recommend this book. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy. #NetGalley #WeatherGirl

Absolutely loved this book! Well thought out characters in a plot that stayed with me long after the final page. I definitely recommended this to friends who need a good read.

I am in love with everything about this book. I appreciate my romance with a side of issues, peopled with real, imperfect characters, and Weather Girl's protagonist Ari Abrams struggles with depression, managed by therapy, anti-depressants, and a fake-it-til-you-make it attitude. She struggles to keep her game face some days at her job as a television meteorologist, where her boss and her boss's ex are creating a toxic work environment instead of the mentoring Ari had been hoping for. After an Emmy gets hurled through the window at the local Hilton, Air and the sports broadcaster on her shift, Russell Barringer, make a drunken pact at the annual Christmas party to Parent Trap their bosses into getting back together to create more office harmony, and find themselves bonding at swing dance lessons, a company retreat where Ari slips and breaks her elbow, her first hockey game on a double date with the bosses, and finally, an actual date to watch a solar eclipse.

Ari is fresh off a breakup and single dad Russell hasn't dated in years, and it's quickly apparent that the sparks between them aren't just desperation. While Ari accessorizes with weather-themed jewelry and is on a single-handed mission to bring back the brooch and seems very comfortable in her skin and with her own desire, Russ defines himself as fat and is more self-conscious than Ari about getting naked in a refreshing and vulnerable twist. Part of Ari's evolving to be more authentic is coming to terms with her own mother's mental illness, that is just now getting addressed, and her mother's lack of stability as a parent and in her romantic relationships.

The scheming to get Seth and Torrance back together seems to be working, and Ari is finally getting the things she needs to grow at her job, and things are great with Russell... until the bosses figure out what's going on, and Ari sabotages the whole thing.

I loved Ari's voice, which is sometimes funny, sometimes anxious, and wholly real. The chapters are titled like weather headlines and are cute, clever, and yet not over-the-top. Ari's brother, his chef husband and their wise beyond their year five-year-old twins are strong characters, as is Russell's twelve-year-old musical theatre geek daughter. Jewish practice is woven throughout, and an importance touchstone in the book. The sex is real - not just PiV, no immediate effortless orgasms, and with a hefty dose of consent, anxiety and insecurities. Most satisfying is the adult conversations Ari manages to have -- with her brother, with her therapist, with Torrance, with her mother and with Russell. Her bravery to sort out the messy parts of her life is aspirational. This is book I want to own and re-read, and it's going on my shelf next to Get a Life Chloe Brown.

I received an advance reader's review copy of #WeatherGirl from #NetGalley.