This was a really sweet, cozy romance and it was full of Jewish rep! I loved how believable the main characters were—complete with mental health issues, complicated families, and real bodies. And their chemistry was so fun and gentle. However, I didn't really find their "struggle" to be as believable as the rest of their relationship.

Read this if you like:
the Parent Trap! Yeah, the movie...
workplace romances
characters who are honest about their struggles with mental illness

Ari Abrams isn't always the bright ray of sunshine she seems to be on the local Seattle news station. The rain-loving weather girl has her good days and her bad ones. Fresh off a breakup, she joins forces with sportscaster Russell Barringer to bring their two bosses — who used to be married but now are divorced, and they just bicker constantly bringing the whole office down. Working closely together, maybe there's another couple that sees sparks flying in the office.

What a delicious treat this book was oh my gosh. I loved Ari and Russell and the commentary on depression and mental illness. I LOVED The Ex Talk so much and am so pleased Rachel Lynn Solomon came back with another rom-com for me to devour.

Read if.. you loved Morning Glory and if workplace romance is tooootally your trope.

Rachel Lynn Solomon does it again. I loved The Ex Talk and it had me waiting on edge for her next book, which did not disappoint. Two coworkers fall in love yet again and the story was so sweet.

In Weather Girl, meteorologist Ari Abrams loves her job but feels she is being held back by the tangled love life of her boss. Sports reporter Russell Barringer suffers in his work due to his boss’ anger at his ex wife. Ari and Russell act as match makers and pair up their bosses so they can finally advance in their careers. Weather Girl is a fun romantic comedy and will be the perfect book to bring along on a spring vacation!

Meh… I really wanted to love this one but there just wasn’t really anything exciting or memorable about it. I wanted to like it but I honestly just struggled through it. Thank you netgalley for my free copy.

Weather Girl was my first read by Rachel Lynn Solomon and certainly won't be my last! The Ex Talk has been on my TBR for so long and after reading Weather Girl, I have to move it up!

Ari has her dream job. She's wanted to be a meteorologist ever since she was a little girl. Russel is finally doing sports reporting on air. The only issue is, the work environment has become toxic. Their bosses, Torrance and Seth, used to be married to each other, and the in-office fighting between them is putting everyone on edge. Ari and Russel devise a plan to help Torrance and Seth fall back in love, but while doing so, Ari and Russel start to fall for each other...

This book was so charming and had such real characters! They didn't shy away from insecurity, depression, or anxiety. Rachel's writing brought up these serious topics but effortlessly mixed in humor and lightheartedness throughout the story.

A cozy and fun romance. Loved the weather talk peppered throughout. Was a fun light read and gave a peak into the life of a weather person (a career I bet many of us fantasized about as children.

Book Format & Source: Finished paperback via publisher . I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Review & Thoughts:

The author introduces us to the topics of the story in the author dedication page at the beginning of the book. I love that she features mental health and acknowledges that everyone’s journey is different.
This was such a wonderful romance; one of the best I’ve read in a while and it’ll definitely be my favorite of the month; hands down a winner. It’s got a few super steamy scenes but it’s not overly done or there just because. It all adds to the story and it’s part of the progression and builds with their relationship. I absolutely loved the characters and loved the scheming match-making. I enjoyed the way the relationships grew both romantically and with family. This was a great read and I highly recommend it!
I absolutely loved the reference to The Parent Trap! I’m not one for matchmaking but I love the scheming that goes along with it, doing things in hopes of getting two people together that were made for each other.
Important topics & themes: juxtaposition of fun and serious tropes, depression, mental health, toxic masculinity, female bread winner, jealously, honesty in a relationship, being vulnerable in a relationship
I appreciated the way Ari’s mental health is a big focus and the fact that Russell has a real body. Most men aren’t ken dolls and women are attracted to real men, even if they’re not in super ridiculously good shape.
Romance tropes: close proximity, office romance & colleague relationships, mental health, lgbtq+ characters
Fun & misc. facts:
Ari is short for Arielle…. loved reading about a female main character that has the same name as me. 🙂
I loved the names of the chapters and the cute illustrations that went along with them. One of my favorite chapter names: It’s raining gelt (and Chardonnay)
I loved the way Ari connects with Elodie. I also loved the names of her brother’s kids.
Location: Seattle
This was my first read by this author and I need to quickly remedy that by devouring her previous books.
Future blog post idea: featuring the importance of mental health in female main characters.
Favorite Quote: If there’s anything I’ve learned about depression, it’s that it is an intensely personal journey, one that never really ends.
Recommend for: anyone that enjoys steamy romance, those interested in destigmatizing mental health & depression, own voices novel

My Review Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥ – Loved it!

Romance Steam Factor: R – Super steamy

[Thank you to Berkley Romance and Negalley for my gifted e-ARC copy of this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own]

Rachel Lynn Solomon does it again, proving why she is one of my favorite romance authors. Each book of hers introduces relatable characters, LOL dialogue, and fun spins on classic tropes. Read this book if you love:

- The Parent Trap (or Set It Up)
- Body Diversity
- Jewish Perspective
- Steamy moments

It was refreshing to see a fat character introduced, especially that character being the male love interest. Rachel also seamlessly included conversations surrounding mental health and depression, giving the story much more depth than your average "rom-com".

4/5 stars. Will absolutely auto-buy and devour anything this author writes.

☔️ I am going to tell you right off the bat what I liked about this book – it wasn’t riddled with tropes I usually encounter in romance novels. I absolutely loved that this story was different. The relationship between Ari and Russell felt like a real connection that was based on communication and respect and not just hormones. I loved that!

☔️ I love love love books that feature women in STEM fields! We need more of those!

☔️ This is not your typical, light-hearted romantic comedy because it touches on the themes of mental health and depression quite prominently. Initially, this made the book feel a bit more somber than I think was intended. But ultimately, I appreciated the representation of depression and how it can impact and influence relationships.

☔️ I enjoyed the clever, if looong, chapter titles.

☔️ There were a few suspension of belief occurrences and convenient plot points necessary to make the “get our bosses back together” scheme to work, but I didn’t really mind because I was enjoying the story!

☔️ The book ended nicely and appropriately. All in all, I enjoyed it and I think you would too.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @berkleypub for providing an eARC for me to review, which I have done honestly and voluntarily.

Weather Girl is the 3rd book I’ve read by Rachel Lynn Solomon. I’m still not over The Ex Talk, I loved that one so much.

While I really liked this one, I did feel like it was missing something.
I also found our MC Ari somewhat annoying and frustrating. I understand and truly love mental illness rep im books. This is marketed as a romcom and I’m just not sure I agree with that. That may have been my problem, I was expecting a light book but this isn’t it.

Our male MC Russell was perfect, I absolutely loved him! I’m a sucker for a good dad.

I did love the plot, it was very much ‘The Parent Trap’ and I was immediately obsessed.

One thing I didn’t love was the ending. I don’t wanna spoil anything but if you read this you may know what I’m talking about. I just wasn’t a fan of that.

Overall I enjoyed the book and I’m looking forward to what she writes next.

Thank you Berkley for the eARC.

Weather Girl is one of those books I love- it has quirky characters, great banter, and feels light but has some real depth to it. I loved the chemistry between Ari and Russell and how real they were (she has depression and he's overweight). I love the friends to lovers trope when it's done right and this one really hits the mark. This was my first Rachel Lynn Solomon book, but it won't be my last!

It wasn’t exactly my cup of tea but I can see that it would work for others. Overall it was an ok read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Enjoyable read but would have been better published as a YA with slight clean up of the steamy scenes.
Deals with depression in a useful way..suited to a YA audience. Likeable characters. Happy ending.

Book was a cute, fun, office romance. Loved the Parent trap storyline to get bosses back together which happens to make work easier and bring on its own love story. I appreciated the twist towards the end, and the explanations it gave of some things seen earlier in the book. I appreciate the matter of fact info about Ari's depression, it was a nice addition to her character, but definitely not her only personality.

I’m so in awe of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s ability to marry delightful premises (fake exes hosting a radio show??? coworkers trying to help their divorced bosses fall back in love???) with incredibly complex characters & nuanced discussions on heavier topics. I loved Ari and Russell so much, both together and separately. this book was so thoughtful and cozy and sexy and and tender and everything I needed it to be.

This book was like a mixture of the romantic comedies "Morning Glory" and "Set It Up." Essentially, two weather station employees set up their bosses to bring about workplace harmony and end up falling in love themselves. It was cute if predictable, with compelling asides about living with depression and the stigma of young parenthood. Would I buy this in a store? No. Would I check it out from the library? Yes. Good for fans of contemporary romance with deeper themes.

This was my first book by Solomon, and I was so pleasantly surprised. Weather Girl is hard not to love! I was expecting a lighthearted romance, but got so much more than that.

I loved both Ari and Russ both as individuals and together. One criticism I usually have of romance, is a lack of depth in the characters. This does not apply here! We got to see so much depth into the characters. From Ari’s mental health struggles, to Russell’s experience as a teen dad, I felt like I really got to know them.

The premise totally reminded me of the Netflix movie Set It Up, which is one of my favorites. I also was bit of a weather nerd growing up and took a severe and hazardous weather course in college. So of course, I really enjoyed this book!

If you read Rachel’s adult debut last January and thought “hmm, this is nice, but it could use more open-door sex. And it would be cool if the love interest was both Jewish and fat and super sexy.” Well, wow, you are in luck. Because Rachel has served up a hero I’ve not seen before (AND I AM NOT EVEN TELLING YOU THE BEST PART ABOUT HIM BECAUSE YOU GET TO FIND OUT WHEN YOU’RE READING LIKE I DID), and a heroine who is both in therapy and on medication for depression.

♥ Ari has struggled with depression since she was a teenager, and when I say her recollections from sessions with a therapist in high school stopped me in my tracks, I mean they stopped me in my tracks and I quite literally had to put the book down for awhile. I was sent to a therapist in high school myself, and one of the things to come out of our first meeting was the phrase “I think that you might be depressed.” I completely blew her off after that, never went back, and never even considered her diagnosis. At this time in my life, I didn’t know a lot about mental health because my family was so deeply religious and the mentality was usually that if you felt bad it was because you were guilty and needed to confess to god and blahdy blah blah. I had been taught that depression was something you could claim only if you had had suicidal ideation at some point, and since that had never been me, I could never have been depressed.

So I skipped through life believing that my mental health was way healthy and that never feeling awesome was just how I was, because who really felt good all the time? No one I knew.

And then I turned 30 and got to Maine. In Maine, I had a new doctor who said again, “I think you might be depressed.” Only this time, I listened. I started taking medication and seeing a therapist.

But it took me until my late 30s and almost an entire book review to get here. And so, when I read about Ari’s high school therapy and diagnosis, it really made me stop. Because what if I had gotten help twenty years ago? (Don’t do the math, pretend I am still young) If I had accepted a diagnosis of depression at 17, what might my life have been like? It was a sobering but ultimately not unpleasant rumination, and this book is the only thing that has ever connected it for me.

♥ I’ve been so into The Morning Show on Apple TV, and I loved that Ari and Russell work at a news station too. It’s a really fun setting that I haven’t ever seen in a book before. Getting to watch the couple flirt and fall for each other while at work was fun, but it’s the accidental forced proximity that comes when the two try to Parent Trap their bosses where this story really shines. There are group dates, dance lessons, even a weekend trip that ends with Ari in the ER and Russell having to help her change into pajamas…not a thing happens but it’s still super hot and heavy.

♥ Both the depression and Jewish rep are written from an Own Voices POV, something Rachel does exceptionally well in all of her work.

And I have to thank Rachel for personally sending me a review copy ALL THE WAY from Amsterdam!

In conclusion did this make any sense? I have to assume no since I basically just stream-of-consciousness typed a bunch of stuff and didn’t at all try to make sure that everything connected well and flowed nicely. Basically, I love Rachel always, she has never disappointed me, and Weather GIrl is no exception. It is a wonderful contemporary romance complete with a HEA and if you haven’t preordered already I beg of you, please go order it now!

Ari is a meteorologist at a Seattle TV station, where the workplace has gotten uncomfortable since the primary meteorologist, Torrance, is at war with her ex, the Producer. Torrance has been Ari’s idol, and after witnessing Seth and Torrance’s tension, Ari and her coworker, a sportscaster named Russell, decide to try to get their two bosses back together. Ari falls hard for Russell, who is self conscious about his hefty size. Ari suffers from depression, and worries that she cannot sustain a relationship due to depression her mother also suffers. There is more to this romantic comedy than the well written sex scenes, and the serious topic of mental illness. I liked the characters, and would recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.