Thank you @berkleyromance for a copy of If You Ask Me. I am not so sure how I feel about this book.

Here’s what I liked about it:
- Violet’s advice column was a hoot. I enjoyed having each chapter start with her advice
- Dez was a total cinnamon roll and was what Violet needed


Here’s what I didn’t like:
- How quickly Violet got over Sam. Her growth seemed a bit to quick for me
- Violet’s “friends” were not that nice to hear and she forgave them so quickly
- I felt that Ashleigh had zero consequence with what she did to Violet

Overall, it was a fun read and it dealt with a lot of heavy topics like infertility and cheating.

This was a deep book. Heartache was very prominent. I honestly wish she had more alone time. Or moved on with Dez even slower. I never really got why Dez wanted to move so quickly with her knowing what she was going through. I loved his found family vibe with the firehouse that eventually gave her this found family vibe which I do think she needed to move on. The infertility issues were well handled in my opinion and I loved the dear sweetie letters. I just didn’t get following in love with Dez so quickly, though I didn’t appreciate the lessons he gave her in being her authentic self and not apologizing because she was so loves me just the way she was.

Violet Covington finds out that the advice column she writes if up for syndication the same day she finds out her husband is cheating on her. She goes from suburban wife to what have I been doing with my life in a split second. I did like the growth of the main character as she went through the journey to find herself, however, sometimes it did feel a bit, overly dramatic and self-destructive.

With that said this was a well-written book that touch on some tough issues; infidelity, infertility, miscarriage, and alcohol abuse. This was my first book by this author and I did enjoy it & I would definitely read more books by her.

I received this advance review copy from from NetGalley for my honest review.

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher is a standalone emotional romance novel. We meet our heroine, Violet Covington, who under the name, Dear Sweetie, is a very popular advice columnist; she gets an offer to write for a syndicate magazine, and rushes home early to tell her husband, Sam the good news. Unfortunately, as she is early, Violet comes across her husband in bed with another woman, who happens to be a neighbor. Sam explains that he is happy with the girl next door, as he thinks he is in love with her. An angry heartbroken Violet, throws him out, and gathers all his expensive clothes and prized Michael Jordan shirt and sets up her own bon fire in the backyard.

The firemen show up when someone complains about a fire, and Violet meets Dez, one of the firemen, who helps put out the fire; he is sweet guy, who listens as she explains her husband cheated on her. A friendship begins, with Dez always being there for Violet if she needed help. Violet, being angry and despondent, begins to write her column in a more severe way, not like Dear Sweetie; with her expressing her honest opinions on those written to her.

Accidentally, someone reveals that Violet is Dear Sweetie, but though her harder responses to those in bad situations draws more fans, who are supportive of her change of heart. She writes an article for a magazine which describes her finding her husband cheating on her, and how she has reacted, being angry and bitter. The magazine is thrilled with Violet, and her popularity grows; but she is in a rough emotional period of her life. It will be Dez, who begins to spend more time with Violet, being very caring, calm & dependable, always there for her, telling her to be herself, as she slowly begins to move on. Dez was a gem, being such a wonderful and perfect person for Violet; but can Violet recognize that Dez is the one for her, or will she be afraid of trusting her feelings, and eventually walk away.

We watch Violet during this heart wrenching journey, as she tries to get past her anger and move on with her life; there were a number trigger warnings throughout; infidelity, anxiety, anger, grief, alcohol, just to name a few. I also really liked Violet friends, especially Kyra, Ashleigh, and others. I did enjoy getting to see many of Dear Sweetie or Violet’s responses to those writing to her for help, and her responses. Very Well done.
If You Ask Me is an emotional storyline, with some funny and heartbreaking moments. Though it is considered somewhat of a romance, there is so many emotions going on. This was very well written by Libby Hubscher.

Amazing!!! I thought I was gonna get a woman who was wronged and took the high road. Nope Violet is not about that. She is women scored and she is taking her anger out in the best ways. I enjoyed the firefighter Dez.. He was hot and so genuine. I loved the energy of this book. I was entertained and I loved all of it

A lovely story of discovery in the mist of Challenge. Reconnecting with people we've misunderstood and misjudged.

Beautiful!

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher is an emotional read. At the beginning of the story, the author lists trigger warnings: infertility, miscarriage, anxiety, infidelity, and alcohol abuse. While the story is full of raw emotions that are sure to make you stop and think. The story also has friends, family, and a closed-door romance along with funny parts, too, even when dealing with heartache and trauma.

Violet’s story begins with a true nightmare: walking in on her husband cheating with their neighbor just as she is about to surprise him with some big news. After asking her husband to leave she decides to bring his clothes and other items into the cul-de-sac and light fire to them. The fire department is called and in comes Dez.

Dez is a DELIGHT! This man cares for people so well. He is respectful, kind, and also very smitten with Violet. He comes in at her lowest moments and listens, checks on her, and is just there. Dez is wise and is self aware 👏🏻 we are here for it and his recommendations for healthy ways to cope.

I loved the inclusion of the Dear Sweetie… columns. It allowed a view into how Violet was feeling and processing her situation. She really goes through it but with the help of some friends and doctors she is encouraged and starts going to therapy. Violet starts to get a voice that she felt like she had to keep inside for most of her life.

Some quotes that made me think:
"Shattered worlds were not something you could just smile at and wrap somegauze around, even if it was a very nice smile."
“I was the queen of being a good sport”
"Sometimes there wasn't anything you can say to make it better and you can only sit with someone in their experience so they didn't have to be alone. "

Vivian is extremely relatable on many fronts and watching her process everything was a treat. Something I appreciated in this book and do think is very important was that the author included a content warning letter at the beginning. There are many topics addressed in this book that could be triggering to some. Please look up content warnings before you read.

Libby has knocked it out of the park with this meaty romance packed with heart.

Violet is by far, one of my favourite MC’s of 2022 so far. Sure, she finds out her life isn’t as great as she thought. Sure, she lacks some self esteem. But she is just so darn relatable, I found myself cheering for her right from page one. I loved seeing Violet unravel a bit and through that, let go of some of her expectations of herself. Libby has constructed a complicated and finely tuned character in Violet and I was all in.

Dez is a pretty dreamy book boyfriend in his own right. I loved his laid-back attitude and how he really did like Violet, just the way she was. He is so kind and supportive. Although he comes to her rescue several times in the book, I loved that Libby purposefully didn’t paint him as the typical white knight. He’s just a genuinely nice guy. The relationship between him and Violet felt realistic and right. I loved watching them together and how their relationship builds over time.

I used the phrase “meaty” in my intro sentence and I meant it. Through her own experiences, those of her friends, and as an advice columnist, Violet is navigating a wide variety of issues from cheating spouses, infertility, abandonment, self esteem, mental health and racism to name just a few. Through it all, Libby presents different viewpoints in a respectful way that honours those lived experiences. There is a lot going on in this book and it hit me with all the feels (in the very best way).

Readers who enjoy their romance with more substance will enjoy this one.

Thank you, Berkley Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Violet has the best and worst day of her life at the onset of this new novel from Libby Hubscher. Her column, Dear Sweetie, is up for syndication. That's the good news. She heads home early to prepare a celebratory sushi dinner for her husband and discovers he is already home and he is in bed with someone else. Talk about a one-two punch. Understandably, the column goes a bit off the rails while Violet comes to terms with the ending of her marriage. I really enjoyed the epistolary parts of the book as they gave us additional context, helped elaborate on a difficult topic, and gave us insights into Violet's current frame of mind. The letters, for the most part, are compassionate and empathetic. As someone who grew up reading the Ann Landers column, I also appreciated the quote from Ann at the beginning of the book: The naked truth is always better than the best-dressed lie. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as much as I did Meet Me in Paradise. In fact, I thought about DNFing this one a few times. There is a preachy tone to the book outside of the columns that was not winsome or inviting. So, no more Libby Hubscher for me. Good thing there are so many more books to enjoy out there.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Violet has this wonderful life… until she doesn’t. She is an advice columnist whose identity is totally secret. And she believes she has it all together until she comes home to find her husband in bed with another woman.

So, she does what any logical woman would do… gets sloshed and burns his clothes on the front lawn. Enter sexy firefighter to put out the flames… Dez is so sweet and kind and Violet is mortified at her drunken actions. But she keeps running into Dez and he is a balm to her agony.

But, when her ex’s mistress rudely confronts her, her secret identity is revealed and all hell breaks loose. Violet has to learn how to pick up the pieces of her heap of a life and decide what is best for HER!

I loved that this was less about the romance and more about the woman, herself. Yes, there was romance in this book. I loved Dez… but there was so much more to it. There was pain, heartbreak, growth and acceptance. And all in all, this was such a great read. I was pleasantly surprised.

I received a gifted galley of IF YOU ASK ME by Libby Hubscher for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the opportunity!

IF YOU ASK ME follows Violet, the woman behind the popular Dear Sweetie column. Just when the advice column is being approached for possible syndication, Violet’s personal life implodes. Violet finds her husband in bed with the neighbor and apparently it’s love. How does one write an advice column when they don’t know how to straighten out their own life? The bonfire of his belongings in front of the house might have been a mistake, but it does bring a very handsome firefighter and neighbor Dex into her life so maybe there’s a chance to turn things around.

Trigger warnings for miscarriage and infertility.

This was a fun read! Violet’s life is pretty much going out of control. I really enjoyed her rant writing advice as she bares her soul with a lot of humor and anger. Sure, it gets her in more trouble, but it’s worth it! Besides, with all the trouble she gets into Dex is there to help her out.

This one took me a bit to settle into. I was ready to dismiss Violet’s husband Sam from the first moment we meet him on the page, so probably could have done without the flashbacks to their history. Still, I enjoyed Violet and Dex as characters! This

This is one I’d recommend to the romcom fans! IF YOU ASK ME is out today!

Rating 5
Author: @libbyhubscher
Publication Date: 3/8/22

“He swept me up into his arms. Just like that. Like I was nothing. Like I was everything. Like he was rescuing me from my inferno of heartache.”

OMG, OMG, OMG. Everyone this is not a drill, go read this book right now! I absolutely loved every single page. From start to finish this book had me consumed. I literally read it in a day and that still wasn’t fast enough. This was more than a romcom; it was an emotional story about dealing with heartache and what it means to be okay again. Not just say you're okay with a fake smile but instead truly mean it. It’s about learning to accept yourself no matter what flaws you might have. To be honest, I actually wouldn’t categorize this book as a romcom but instead an emotionalLy heavy women’s fiction romance story. I absolutely loved Violet’s character. She was far from perfect and she kept making everything in her life so much harder due to her self destructing behavior. I understood why she was acting the way she did and why it took her so long to understand her actions. Her character didn’t bother me at all except for a few pages towards the end. However, I can see how she might get on some readers' nerves. Ahhh Dez was a fantastic love interest! It was extremely sweet, kind, and compassionate towards Violet. Not to mention, wherever she needed something he was always there. I’m serious every single time something happens to Violet, Dez was always there. Now for me it didn’t bother me because I love a damsel in distress but I could see it bothering some readers. I thought the side characters were well written and like Violet they had their own flaws.

Overall, I really connected with this story and like I said I love when a romance story has more than just love building between two characters. I love reading about flawed characters dealing with real life issues and finding their way to happiness. While I did have some minor issues with the story it didn’t take away how much I enjoyed it. I will definitely be reading anything else this author writes!

If you struggle with reading about certain topics I definitely recommend reading the author note at the beginning of the story. I found it to be extremely helpful and I thought the author handled these topics very well in her story.

Thank you so much @berkleyromance & @netgalley for a #gifted copy on #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Violet and Dez meet on her very bad day- he's the firefighter sent to put the conflagration she created of her husband Sam's stuff. Turns out Violet, an advice columnist, had a snake in her house and now she's starting over. Not just without Sam but also in her approach to life. She changes to giving advice to blunt honesty and the column goes viral. Here's the thing though- she's also drinking way too much. There's more darkness in her background (there's a heads up up front about some of the issues) but she's got to hit bottom before she can come back up. Dez is a good guy and this is a romance but the more important part of the story has to do with self awareness. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I loved Libby Hubscher's last book, but this one fell short for me. This could totally be a problem of it not meeting my expectations, which is entirely my fault, but this is where we are.

Emotionally, I just wasn't there with Violet. I had so many questions, like how she went from being distraught over her cheating husband ruining their supposedly perfect life straight into the arms of another man. And her behavior was just generally self-destructive. I am sure women whose lives fall apart are pushed to horrible decisions, but I just didn't have the emotional connection with Violet to sympathize with her through this.

There are copious trigger warnings, which the author does provide at the beginning of the book, so be sure you read them.

'Thank you Berkley, Netgalley and the author for the eARC in exchange for my review.

I'm really glad this had some content warnings because wow, it was a lot more intense than I was expecting based on the bright and happy cover. Violet Covington writes a popular anonymous advice column for the newspaper in Raleigh, NC. She finds out that she's up for possible syndication and when she goes home to get ready to celebrate with her husband Sam, she finds him, in their bed, with another woman. Their separation follows quickly, as does Violet's complete spiral. I assume I too would lose it a little bit if this happened to me, but it was hard to read things fall apart so quickly for her. She sets fire to some of her husband's stuff while drunk, which brings the fire department out, and she meets a hot firefighter named Dex and they strike up a friendship with some romantic vibes. This is a romance so there was a HEA, but it was really, really sad. There's infidelity, separation/divorce, all of which was preceded by a pretty damaging marriage, infertility, and a lifetime of the main character hiding her true emotions under a "perfect" façade. Well written for sure, but much heavier than I was expecting.

Before I even get into the review, it must be said that if you are picking up this book based on the cover you will be either be sorely disappointed or super surprised (possibly both) by the content. This is absolutely not a romantic comedy in any, way, shape, or form. I would even go so far to say that this isn’t even really a contemporary romance, although there is a romantic element within the story. I feel like If You Ask Me would definitely fall more in line with the Women’s Fiction genre.

If You Ask Me follows Violet Covington, the writer behind the advice column Dear Sweetie, as she navigates her newfound singlehood after catching her husband and his mistress together in their bed. Violet and Sam have been married for 12 years and she thought they were happy, but she starts to question everything about their life together when she finds out he’s been seeing their shapely, younger neighbor for months.

Violet’s life turns inside out and she begins to do things she would never have done before. Her world begins spiraling out of control and she really doesn’t know what to do about it. When she drags Sam’s prized possessions out into the street and sets fire to them, she meets Dez, who is the firefighter who arrives to put out the blaze. She and Dez begin a sort of friendship that turns into more when his steady presence begins to help her see her way to the other side of her grief and anger.

This book has such heavy subject matter. Infidelity, identity crisis, panic attacks… I could go on and on. I totally understood Violet’s heartbreak and depression over the loss of a part of her life she felt secure in. I didn’t get her need to hide the issue from her mother and close friends, but then everyone handles things differently. There were a few flashback scenes of Violet’s parents having their own issues with cheating with an emphasis on how her mother dealt with it, and it did shed some light on at least some of the ways she behaved.

The outtakes of her column, with letters asking for advice and Violet’s answers, fit in nicely with the narrative. It was easy to see her before, during, and after responses and how she healed throughout the course of the book. The romance takes a backseat to Violet’s journey, but Dez plays a big part in that. Theirs is a closed-door romance, so there isn’t much heat, but the scenes with them together are sweet and Dez is a wonderful partner.

One thing I did appreciate was the frank talk of infertility and that the author chose not to include a miracle pregnancy in the epilogue. Thank you.

This is the second book I’ve read by Libby Hubscher, and both of them had the cutesy cover with deep subject matter. I do enjoy this author’s voice quite a bit and will be picking up her next book, which has a baseball theme (my favorite), but I’ll go in expecting lots of soul searching and the heroine having a journey of self-discovery.

Content warnings- Infidelity, infertility, mentions of a family member’s suicide, intoxication, panic attacks, anxiety.

I absolutely loved her first book but this one did not work for me. Too much infidelity, lying, and petty revenge. I struggled to finish.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the free copy of If You Ask Me! This book found me at the right time! I have been at home for the past 8 days in quarantine with Covid. I've been down and out, feeling crappy-licious, but reading has brought me joy. So selfishly, I was excited to read about someone else down on their luck and crawling their way out of it.

Advice columnist, Violet Covington is the anonymous author of Dear Sweetie, a column that gives advice for an array of readers. Violet's column is potentially about to become BIG, but when Violet gets her heart crushed by her husband and she releases her anger on her column, things start to shift. Violet truly spirals and through luck she meets Dez, who loves her unpredictability. Dez helps Violet see herself differently than she's seen herself ever before.

Libby Hübscher created a protagonist that's neither lovable nor loath-able. Violet's a mess. Often in the midst of deep heartache and despair, the rest of the world melts away. This book doesn't shield Violet from the consequences that come from being so self-focused. At times, Violet's spiraling felt hard to read, because it felt forced and over complicated. Her indecisiveness felt frustrating for me too. All in all, it was a quick read and I really liked the inclusion of her reader's inquiries and her responses.

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy of If You Ask Me in exchange for my review.

Star Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pub Date: March 8, 2022

This book was so good! I was a little hesitant to read it, not going to lie, because I knew Libby's previous book was a real tear jerker. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, though!

I just loved Violet's story...and come on, advice columnist? Talk about dream job! Getting to meddle in other people's business AND get paid for it??? I thought Violet was a character I could not only root for but also someone I'd want to grab a glass of wine with and be besties. I loved her story arc, and I just think this book is really well done. And Dez? Hello, smoking hot fireman, don't mind if I do! I loved him. He was the perfect balance to Violet.

I highly recommend this book. There are some triggering topics, like infidelity, infertility, etc, so read with care. I do think these topics are handled very sensitively, though.

*huge thanks to berkley romance for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!*
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things started of when violet, a very sweet and polite columnist, walked in on her husband who is, let's say, having fun with another woman in their own bedroom. I MEAN, THE AUDACITY? it's really disgusting. she then released all her rage by setting her husband's things on fire. like literally on fire (to be honest, i would have done the same LOL). that's how she met dez, the firefighter. dez is literally one of the sweetest book boyfriends that you'll ever encounter. he didn't force violet into rushing anything that he's feeling, but instead tried to be always there for her when things go downhill.
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although this book didn't really focus on the romance part, i'm glad that it gave more emphasis on healing and having a support system. the "dear sweetie" column was my most favorite part of this book because it's like reading real life experiences and trying to support those who are in need. overall, it's such an enjoyable read and i'd definitely recommend this to everyone!