Posting on Forever Young Adult blog on 2/17/22.

First Impressions: Sunny With A Light Breeze

This cover is adorable. I’m personally burnt out on cartoon covers, but if we have to have it, I’m glad it’s more than just the character’s faces. I like leaving the mystery of what they look like under the open umbrella and the cute rain boots (I have duck boots, too, Russell! They’re super comfy!).

What’s Your Type?

Light-hearted workplace romance
Matchmaking scheming a la Set It Up / The Parent Trap
Frank discussions on depression
Fat hero without any toxicity
Oops, I need help undressing because of an injury
Actual “nice” characters
Jewish representation
Dating Profile

Ari is your early morning meteorologist on KSEA, Seattle! She knows that what people love is a pocket full of sunshine in their weather and their people, and so as someone who has been dealing with her clinical depression for years, she’s determined not to let it rule her life. If she isn’t the cheeriest, most positive one in the room, then she doesn’t feel like she’s doing her job.

Russell works the sports desk, and he’s always been that quiet, nice but kind of distant guy around the office. After Ari’s recent break-up with her fiancé, she’s been finding all sorts of random people attractive, but Russell, with his professor-esque fitted jackets and sparkling blue eyes, has been catching her eye more than normal.

Meet Cute: Clear Skies All Day

Ari grew up loving Torrance Hale, Seattle’s favorite meteorologist, but working for her the last three years hasn’t been the dream she expected it to be, mainly because Torrance and her ex-husband, newsroom manager, Seth, make everyone’s lives a living hell with their constant bickering. After an explosive white elephant gift exchange at the office Christmas party, Russell and Ari bond over their bosses’ unprofessional behavior and hatch a plan to get Torrance and Seth spending time together in more constructive ways. Of course, this has the unintended—but not unwelcome—side-effect of bringing Russell and Ari closer together, too.

The Lean: A Light Drizzle

From While You Were Sleeping, Bill Pullman explains attraction to Sandra Bullock
I’ve realized: I’m not a super-nice person. I can be a sarcastic bitch sometimes. I love snark in all its forms; I can’t help it. So, if there’s going to be a “nice” person in a book relationship, then for me there’s got to be someone else who balances that out with some irreverent behavior.

Thus, my problem is Ari and Russell are two perfectly lovely people, but their romantic powers combined give less thunderclaps and lightning bolts and more like solid gray skies of drizzle. Like, as a real person, I’m happy they found love. They both deserve someone kind to care for them, because they’ve both got “baggage” that at first glance makes any relationship tough to pursue. But as a reader, I needed more oomph. More banter! Ari was smitten-kitten on Russell right away, plus she’s a huge people-pleaser and would never say something out of line to someone. Russell is kinda bashful, sweet, and mild-mannered, and so thoughtful and respectful that there was just no danger, no je ne sais quoi. In short: milquetoast.

Dirty Talk

He grins before lowering himself down my body. Slowly, he nudges my legs apart, lips burning a path from calf to knee to thigh, and I feel the earth simply dissolve beneath me, one great swoosh of air leaving my lungs. He kisses me through my underwear at first, because he is awful and terrible and so extremely cruel, and I love it. I love it all. I’m too desperate for his tongue, bucking my hips, fisting a hand in his hair. Begging for what I’ve asked him to do. When he finally slides down my panties, I’m on the verge of passing out.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose

Teacher types on laptop while talking to student
Typing a romance novel on a computer screen
Beware, there are weather-puns in abundance. I do love Solomon’s straightforward, breezy style that can slip from the serious to the sweet. Her books are easy to take in, even if this one didn’t leave me as enamored as I’ve felt with her previous stories.

We Need To Talk: Scattered Showers

I started losing reading momentum at around 60% in, when I realized Ari and Russell are already very cute together, and they’d already worked through most of their relationship blocks at the 80% mark. Which meant, uh oh, here comes the third act “blow up”, and, honestly, I was kind of exhausted just thinking about it. Could we normalize in the romance novel industry that it’s okay sometimes to just have two people get together and be good?! I don’t need a huge miscommunication or someone’s relationship fears break them up briefly when we know that won’t last because of the HEA contract. Believe me, I love a good drama-filled book as much as the next gal, but there’s enough publishing space out there that not every story NEEDS that.

There’s an audience for this book that is going to be head-over-heels for it, and I want that for Weather Girl, because it IS well-written and has a lot of great things to say about living with depression, working through trauma related to a parent with undiagnosed depression, and the feelings of familial and religious community (Ari and Russell are both Jewish, though they aren’t extremely devout). According to the author’s notes, the topic of depression is one very close to Solomon’s heart, and I am loving the fact that there have been a lot of romances coming out in the last year or two that explore all facets of women, not just the plucky, klutzy heroines of ye olde rom-com. Even the emotionally messiest people are deserving of love!

Was It Good For You? Surprise Sun Shower

Jim from The Office nodding side to side making a "meh, I guess" face
I liked it, I’m just not IN like with it. Just like when it’s a sunny day at the park and then suddenly it’s also raining on you and your cheese platter (because even Florida’s weather knows it’s a hot mess), I was having a good day until it was a slightly less good day because now my hair is limp and my sandals are squeaky. The mood is still salvageable, but it won’t exactly be what it was.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Berkley Books. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. Weather Girl is available now.

My first Rachel Lynn Solomon book!

While I enjoyed this book overall, this was a mediocre romance for me.

What I enjoyed:
-The setting! I loved getting the perspective of Ari as a weather woman & Russell as a sports reporter in Seattle.
-The representation! A fat hero + a Jewish heroine who both describe their struggles and feeling of not belonging.

What fell flat for me:
-The romance, which is quite important in a romance book! It felt a little insta-lovey and I couldn’t feel the chemistry between our two characters.
-The plot “twist” made me feel uncomfortable? The reveal at the end between Torrance, Seth, Ari, and Russell just didn’t sit right with me.

Overall, I loved our characters, I just didn’t love their romance!

Really enjoyed this rom-com from author Rachel Lynn Solomon!

This rom-com is fun and sweet, featuring lovable characters and with a deep felt message about learning to live with depression. Ari, our heroine, has had depression since she was young, and has learned to manage it with the help of medication and therapy. However, she still fears being rejected by partners for her moods, so hides behind a smile. Then comes Russell, a lovable DILF who struggles with his body image.

I loved how the author talked about depression through her characters. The subject was dealt with in a very authentic way, and you were rooting for Ari to get with her man. My one issue is that while Ari's fear of a partner not being able to deal with her depressive episodes is talked about in depth, we never see Ari and Russ together through such an episode. I would have LOVED to see Russ support Ari while she was stuck in bed, crying. Maybe he checks in on her, then lets her cry while he does the dishes for her? And Ari would know that she's not too much, and it would have made everything more meaningful. Instead we got an ending that was a bit over the top perfect, even for a rom-com, and it just felt a bit too sunny when the point of the book was supposed to be staying together through the rain.

BUT, I still loved this book, and am so happy a rom-com exists with a female lead that has depression.

Weather Girl, for me, was the perfect blend of sweet and spicy. Those sex scenes were explicit, detailed and in my opinion unique . But they definitely weren’t the whole focus of the story. There was plenty of plot and character development which, for me, I’m more interested in.
Just as a comparison: Neon Gods is very spicy, but has little substance. I still enjoyed that book but I knew what it was and it was not a story for story telling sake. It was for those who enjoy erotica. Anyways I digress. What I’m trying to say is there was a really good balance here where I was invested in the people and the story. It just happens to have a couple really hot scenes which is a bonus.

This is a romantic comedy, but there are some really important heavy themes. The major one being depression. Ari has struggled with depression for most of her life, and watched her mother battle against it and lose all throughout Ari’s childhood. She’s determined not to become her mother and accepts the help of antidepressants and commits to a positive attitude. I have personally never experienced clinical depression so I can’t speak to the authenticity of the rep, but I did appreciate that Solomon portrayed it as unpredictable and that every day tasks feel insurmountable. Those close to me who have experienced depression have explained it quite similarly.

A cute rom com that dealt with some great topics! Overall i enjoyed this book but I did find parts to be a little juvenile for the characters age. I loved the male body positivity and how she dealt with mental health.

The first third of this book was very slow moving. Although I enjoyed the Parent Trap type storyline, the development of the story seemed to take forever. Once the characters, back stories, etc. were established, the book picked up and was very enjoyable. Watching the characters go from friends to lovers was so cute. It felt real. I also loved how the author wrote about Ari's depression. She showed the true dark aspects of depression and the effects it can have on a person and their relationships.

Weather Girl made me laugh... like seriously laugh out loud which is compliments of Rachel Lynn Solomon for her writing and characters. Russell and Ari decide that they are going to matchmake to get their bosses to rekindle their love so that they aren't causing so much drama at work. Ari loves her job as the weather girl but feels like her boss's personal life prevents her from mentoring Ari. Russel pretty much feels the same. So they spend time together coming up with ways of how to reconnect their bosses.

I love this grown up version of The Parent Trap and when sparks start to fly between Ari and Russell it just really seemed authentic. Author Solomon has a way of normalizing therapy and medication for depression and I really respect the way she handled Ari's feelings about depression. Sweet romance with a bit of a twist!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this review copy for me to read and enjoy. As always my opinions are mine and mine alone. My review is voluntary.
#berkleywritesstrongwomen #berkleypublishing #rachellynnsolomon #books #bookstagram #alwaysreading #weathergirl #romance ##berkleyromance #NetGalley

As someone who suffers from depression, this book felt like a love letter. Ari my sweet lovely weather woman - oh my god, the amount of times I related to her. Always being afraid to be too much. UGH. My heart is not okay after reading this, but in the best way possible.

I really am a fan of Rachel Solomon's books. She has such a wonderful way of writing reality into her stories that it makes her characters extremely relatable.

I liked this story, and the relationship between these main characters. There is growth and development, and also misunderstanding and forgiveness. I'm definitely awaiting Solomon's next book.

This month my book club, the LIterary Lovelies, read The Weather Girl for a fun February romcom. It was definitely a fun read with Parent Trap and Set It Up vibes. I can’t say it was the most engaging romcom, but it definitely had some things I liked.

What I liked::
The characters were Jewish- a very underrepresented population.
The lead male, Russ, was a little heavier and was insecure about his body. A nice change from a female who is insecure.
I thought it was sweet that Ari and Russ were trying to help the station owners rekindle the flame and that they all became friends despite the age difference.!
I loved Russ’s daughter and the fact that he became a fathernas a teen and we get to see that side of the equation.
I loved how excited Ari was about her career!
I think it was great that there was a character with mental health issues that helps to remove the stigma associated with it.

I really wanted to love the book but it was missing a little spark that prevented me from getting too excited about it. However, it was still a solid romcom!

I think I got my expectations too high after how much I loved The Ex Talk. I really do adore Solomon’s writing, it’s captivating and easy to follow, but the chemistry fell flat for me. I found Ari and Russell’s first interaction to be a bit convenient and I didn’t feel the spark until halfway through the book. Also, on a very personal note, I can’t really connect with romance books that involve the characters having children. All that being said, it was a fun book with some great steamy scenes, and I’m still excited to pick up Solomon’s next adult book!

This book was such a fun read!! I loved the transparency presented with the depression and therapy talk. It is something that isn't always written about or addressed so I really appreciated it here. Also I absolutely LOVED Russel and I loved that he wasn't your typical male MC with the washboard abs, and all the confidence. I appreciated his realness and his relationship with his daughter and her mother was beautiful. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good love story!

I adored The Ex Talk when I read it last year, so when I saw the author was releasing another adult romance, I could not wait! Much like that book, Solomon once again delivers with a sweet romance between two coworkers, while also diving into some heavier, but important topics.

This story follows Ari Abrams, a meteorologist at a local Seattle news station, and her journey as she navigates her work life and her plan with fellow coworker, Russell, as they basically take a page out of Parent Trap to get their two bosses to rekindle their romance. It also follows along with her personal life including the affects of her mother’s depression as well as her own.

First, I did really find the idea behind manipulating their bosses into falling back in love to be fun and I loved all the homages to The Parent Trap movie itself. I also really liked Russell as our love interest because of the fact he was not your typical love interest. He wasn’t your stereotypical good looking, guy. But, he was so sweet and had the biggest heart and I adored him (plus his love for hockey of course!). The way he and Ari’s relationship blossomed was fun to watch and you couldn’t help but root for them in every way.

The other thing I appreciated about this book was the way the author incorporated discussions of depression within the pages. It never felt forced, but touched on it in such a careful yet very real way that normalized mental health.

One of the only things though that I didn’t love about this book was the ending. Sure, it was a happy ending, but something about the epilogue didn’t quite work for me. I could see why it was written for the characters, but I just wasn’t my cup of tea

A look at mental health with a side dish of romance

Although I’m a librarian and far from new to RomComs, Solomon’s books are a complete surprise for me. I was first drawn to “Weather Girl” because of the awesome cover! I loved the weather-themed chapter titles and the fact that the characters were Jewish.

While a part of me wished for a bit more romance, I enjoyed the main characters and the look inside their backstories. Ari and Russell have their own lives and backstories and these backstories play an important role in what they do in the novel. The challenges that they’ve faced previously in life result in them being often guarded and hesitant to commit in their relationships. This is true with both Ari and Russell and also with Seth and Torrance.

This book is a good romcom, and it has great humorous moments, but its real strength is in its ability to tackle tough topics like depression and mental health, teenage parenthood and single parenthood, counseling and medication as self-care. I loved that the characters weren’t what we have traditionally come to view as “perfect”. These “flaws” give Ari and Russell depth and warmth and the author’s development of a character who is struggling with mental health issues is powerful. I look forward to reading more by this author.

TW: depression, mental health

"The Ex-Talk" was one of my favorite and most-recommended reads of 2021 so as soon as I heard Rachel Lynn Solomon had a new romance being published AND that it featured Jewish characters I was sold. Weather Girl featured all of the swoon worthy moments I want from a romance while also thoughtfully and smoothly tackling themes and issues that are missing from a lot of cute romances. I loved how she really engaged with the characters' experiences with mental illness rather that just reducing it to some passing mention and I really appreciate a plus sized hero. I've read endless books with a plus sized heroine and a hero with a 6 pack but this is the first time I've encountered a plus sized hero! The characters bonding over being the only jewish ones in the office was very accurately depicted as well. I loved getting to know Ari and Russell and will be recommending this one a lot this year!

A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter join forces to reunite their divorced bosses, finding their own connection along the way. But really, this novel is so much more!

I don’t base my ratings and reviews on how much I can connect with the characters because I read to learn from perspectives other than my own. But, in this case, I could relate to the main character so much that it definitely made me love this one even more. I could directly connect with two of the most significant themes of the novel- mental health and meteorology.

As someone on their own mental journey, it was refreshing and empowering to hear from a character managing their depression and going to therapy. As for the meteorology, I grew up loving to watch the Weather Channel and even considered being a meteorologist at one point. What better demonstration of the power of nature than our weather?? So, of course, I loved every single weather pun in this novel.

I also enjoyed how this novel explores love, not only the romantic love between the main characters, but that within families, especially the complexities and messy dynamics within a typical unperfect family.

Overall, I highly recommend this heartwarming contemporary romance- good pacing, lovable characters, excellent mental health representation, body positivity, the fun aspects of meteorology- I could go on and on. Just go on and check it out for yourself!

A huge thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review. I went out and bought a physical copy because I enjoyed it so much!

I love everything Rachel Lynn Solomon writers and this is no exception, fantastic romance AND description of mental health. 90/10 would recommend.

I absolutely loved this book! It was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and it did not disappoint!

This is a cute romance story with a lot of depth. The story felt so wholesome with the workplace setting and the drama going on in the office, a single dad with a teenage daughter, the MCs becoming friends first and not falling head over heels right away, and the family dynamics. They all felt genuine and authentic and the story progressed so fluently. The author did an amazing job discussing mental health and depression. I loved the Jewish representation. I loved the chemistry between Ari and Russel. I loved Ari’s relationship with her brother. And I loved how Russel called Ari “weather girl”. It was such a sweet and deep read at the same time.

There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy. If you’re looking for a heartfelt, sweet, and relatable love story with several layers to it, do yourself a favor and read this book!

The sex positivity. I don’t know if rolling out of the Pussypedia into Weather Girl made me more aware, but the sex positivity is HUGE in this one. First, there’s female masturbation, and it’s not some slapstick vibrator fiasco, like many rom coms. Then, there is the definition of sex, in which Rachel bucks the hetronormative and ableist belief, that sex requires penetration to “count.”

While I’m not sure it was her intention, there is also an almost demisexual element in Ari’s relationship to sex, which for many dealing with depression, it could feel similar to them. Ari struggled in the physical element with past partners because she got too in her head, too afraid to let her mask slip, and other issues, which prevented her from fully enjoying sex. However, with Russell, they really built friendship and bond, where she was her authentic self, so when intimacy was layered on top, she had that emotional connection to create a safe, and satisfying sexual experience.

The mental health rep. It’s beautiful. This clearly came from a very authentic, personal place, because the description of masking is too spot on. Masking is a very common coping skill people with depression practice, and toxic positivity strongly reinforces.

A cozy romance, the perfect companion for curling up by a fire or reading in a park. Set in Seattle and all its atmospheric weather glory, the author deftly ties themes of matchmaking, mental health, family and romantic relationships and a work romance together with the weather. I loved the peek into the life of a meteorologist and could relate to a lot of the mental health challenges. I also loved the second chance love story plotline.