This lovely Rom-com Audio book is so well crafted that the mental movie it creates is a hit! The protagonist is a fun and strong female lead and the love interest is swoon-worthy! Even the canine sidekick gets a happy ending!

I was going to give this a solid three stars because although it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good either. Then the epilogue happened, and it lost a star.

Classic romcom: boy and girl meet, boy and girl lust after each other/fall in love at first sight, boy and girl have stupid misunderstanding that could be fixed with a conversation, but instead they blow it up up beyond necessity, boy/girl goes running after the opposite to get them back, and they live happily ever after. No thank you.

There were a lot of wonderful things about this book. The main character was well-rounded. She had firm goals that were outside but parallel to the love story. Her best friend/co-worker was a bit raunchy but not in a bad, overly done way. The banter was cute, clever, and often quite funny. I also thought the use of the historic Irish Love story as a common thread throughout the book was quite clever.

That said, I gave the book three stars for a reason. There were some issues that I had a hard time getting past. One of those issues was the characterization of Cara's love interest, Finn. He was just too perfect. A great guy through and through with no interesting back story or complicated emotions. Handsome, kind, talented, loving. I don't think he could get any more cliche if he was also the guitarist in a band. Oh, wait...he was that, too. He had no real challenges, which made it difficult for me to get close to him a as a character. Nobody is that good. All. The. Time. It doesn't exist, and even if it did, I wouldn't want to hear about it because it would be boring.

I also didn't like the whole "accidentally married" plot line. Part of it is probably the lawyer in me, but it isn't believable that in today's world anyone would truly think they could drunk marry another person. Besides, it's such an overdone concept. Been there, done that - see Friends season 5 finale "The one in Vegas" where Ross and Rachel get drunk and tie the knot; also see the 2008 movie "What Happens in Vegas."

Then there was the decision for Finn to accompany her to America so their divorce would be easier. Divorce does not require the divorcing couple to continue living together until the marriage is dissolved. Usually, it's the opposite. The author explains the decision in the end when it comes to Finn, but I don't know what motivated Cara to agree.

The "problems" in the story weren't very real problems - at least not to me. I never really worried that things wouldn't work out for Cara or Finn. I was invested in their relationship, and I did enjoy seeing how their affections evolved, but I didn't ultimately care whether it worked out or not. I think Finn's flatness as a character was the primary culprit for this reaction, but the lack of true tension was also a heavy contributor.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2.

This was a cute story but not great. The beginning was a little rushed and the middle dragged a little too long. The ending was good and I like the twist of having the epilogue from Oscar’s perspective.

The narrator was good and fit the female lead well, and the Irish accent wasn’t bad. ☘️

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Apparently there is this Irish tradition of getting engaged on Leap Day

Cara, a up and coming screenwriter, gets enthralled by that and when she wakes up engaged she thought she dreamt it all

Until Finn

Oh Finn

They're wearing tin foil rings when they wake up in bed together

She's got to get back home as she's got an important meeting coming up.

When she returns, she's toting a husband and a dog who has stars in his eyes for his new female companion.

Finn gets an audition

Laura finds out they really weren't married

Finn is leaving

Laura can't let Finn leave

They have a happy ever after Hollywood ending.

I loved that the epilogue was written by the dog

I haven't read anything by this author prior to this book but now I will check on her other works. I really enjoyed listening to this, the narrator was clear and made listening pleasurable.

I just reviewed Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker. #LuckyLeapDay #NetGalley

This was super cute and a fast read. The epilogue was a bit weird but I still enjoyed the book a lot.

Congratulations to Marie Ann Walker for a very smashing book I just loved this sweet romcom set in both Ireland and then Malibu.
A heartbroken young woman named Cara goes to Ireland and returns with a husband...and he's hot!
This is a very sweet clean romance that was so fun to listen to. The story was uplifting and an easy listen. The narrator did an amazing job as well.
My thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced audio in exchange for my honest review.
Have fun listening to this book everyone. !

Lucky Leap Day • Ann Marie Walker ⭐️ - 4
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This was another hidden gem I found on NetGalley! I was on a bit of a audiobook binge and came across Lucky Leap Day. I didn’t have to even read the description, seeing the title I knew I would like it, since I love the movie Leap Year!
This book has the same essence of the movie but still its own storyline!
It was such a fast paced, and quick listen and an overall feel good book. I was smiling and laughing throughout!
I have to say that the epilogue was AMAZING 😍
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The narrator was really good she had a decent Irish accent but it was still understandable
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Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Such a cute story and the narrator was perfect. The whole story made me want to go live in Ireland. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

Lucky Leap Day was such a fun romantic comedy! Cara and Finn were such a sweet couple, and Oscar was a doll as Finn’s loyal dog. This was a pretty quick listen - I got through it during my commute in several days. It made the drive go by so fast! The scenery of both locations in the book Ireland and Malibu - made me crave a vacation!
Narrator did a great job, too, and was easy to follow even with multiple characters. Romance is sweet and clean - everything happens off the page.

Thank you to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media, and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advanced copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was definitely a different type of read for me! I loved the idea of the heroine meeting someone on a traveling trip and ending up married.

Cara is taking a trip that she was supposed to take with her boyfriend, who dumped her shortly beforehand. Nonetheless, she wants to make it a great trip, even though it starts out pretty rocky. The one highlight is her driver, Finn, who she is immediately attracted to and has great conversation with. When she takes his suggestion to tour an attraction, she’s pleasantly surprised to learn he is a tour guide.

After a drunken night, she wakes up in a strange apartment and is even more shocked to learn she proposed the night before, resulting in a same day marriage. After deliberation, Finn ends up coming back to LA with her where they’ll work out their annulment. In LA, things start out awkward as expected, but Cara finds herself enjoying having Finn around. Her job is a big part of her life and she’s shocked to learn Finn gets a start in the same industry. They have a great connection and realize they have real feelings for each other. As feelings are progressing and things get revealed, Cara has to decide what she really wants with Finn.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration as well- just wished it was dual POV, especially if we got an Irish accent! The one thing I did not like was the epilogue being from a dog’s POV. I’m sure it was intended to just be a funny ending, but I find it odd and would have preferred a human haha. Overall, this was a cute and more unique rom-com that was fun to listen to!

Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker is getting published on January 18th, 2022. This was an advanced reader copy that was offered by NetGalley. I was very interested in the concept of a sudden marriage and then falling in love after the fact. The cover was cute, and I was hopeful that this would be my new favorite romance of 2022.
Alas, dear reader, I was fooled. This book opens with an almost eerie likeness to the beginning to The Hangover where Cara has no memory of the previous night and if she did or did not have blackout relations with the naked boy next to her. Y’all, I had to physically stop the audiobook to take a deep breath and accept that this is how we were starting a book that was published in the Lord’s year 2022. I wish I had more space to explain how socially and morally wrong this intro is.
Once we get to the big reveal that Cara is married to Finn and *shock* she has no memory of it, but we just must accept this is something that’s happening in this story. We suspend disbelief and then hear the inner monologue of Cara who says about every chapter “I can’t believe I got MARRIED in IRELAND”. It feels whiny, the conflict of the romance doesn’t really add up for me. The final, big action to pull them back together, is riddled with nuance of trying to make it all work in the post 9/11 era of airports and it’s just a bit clunky.
Overall, I was really excited for this book, but the characters and the conflict really didn’t do it for me.

*Book Review*
Lucky Leap Day (arc)
by Ann Marie Walker
Pub date: Jan 18!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5

When Cara’s boyfriend dumps her, she decides she’s not going to let their planned trip to Dublin go to waste and leaves Malibu for a solo vacation. She’s picked up at the airport by a dreamy Irish Uber driver named Finn, and they hit it off immediately. It doesn’t hurt that he’s oh so gorgeous.

When he goes to drop her off at her hotel, she discovers she can’t check in yet and Finn takes her on a drive around the city. When they finally part ways, Cara regrets his absence and not getting his number.

Fast forward to the last day of her trip and they bump into one another again. Combine that with some surprising news from her ex and Cara hits the pub where they drink far too much Irish whiskey and wake up married to each other!

Together they jet back to California to plan for their divorce while they inadvertently grow closer together.

Lucky Leap Day includes some of my favorite tropes:
🛌 only one bed
🐶 a dog brings them together
💒 marriage of convenience.

It definitely has hilarious moments and a breakout side character in 80-year-old Hollywood darling, Pippa.

This was a super fun read. My one hang up is that Finn gets dragged along throughout most of the book and just takes whatever falls in his lap. Although most of this is explained later in the book, I wanted him to have a stronger voice. I was also aching for a bit more chemistry between the two love interests.

That epilogue though is *chef’s kiss* and quite possibly my favorite part of the whole book.

p.s. The audio narration by Cady Zuckerman is 👌🏼

Thank you to @dreamscape_media and @netgalley for the review copy!

The CUTEST romance read I’ve had in a long time!!
The love that Cara and Finn have simply jumps off the page. I seriously cannot with how cute they are together. The high stakes job, heartbreak, and dreams that Cara have lead her on an incredible adventure of finding who she really is and realizing the only person who didn’t always believe in her was herself. The side characters are incredible as well. From Oscar the dog, Julia the bff, and Pippa the lovingly supportive great aunt type, you know you’re in for a treat.
I honestly had no idea that Leap Day proposals in Ireland was a real thing but sure enough it is, so there’s a little history lesson in there too! 😉

Review will be posted on instagram @literarylu_ on 1/14

This was amazing and I loved the audio version so much. I was hooked from the beginning. Finn and Cara have stuck with me and I’ve long since finished the book. Definitely recommend!

LOVED this book! I absolutely devoured it. So cute and the pop-culture references were amazing. If you love Ireland, meet-cutes, and slowburn romcoms, you HAVE to check this out. Main character Cara is on a quick trip to Ireland to see the sites, drink some whiskey and get over her cheating jerk of an ex. Except on her last morning, she wakes up MARRIED to Finn, the hot Uber driver/tour guide/musician from the pub the night before. Now with a career-altering meeting ahead of her, Cara and her new husband return to LA to…figure it out.

This was so freaking cute - I devoured it. I’ve been to Ireland a few times and absolutely loved all the references to pubs and attractions. Also, the amount of pop culture references - Friends, SATC, Taylor Swift - it was all 👩‍🍳😘 for the basic betches out there like me 💁🏼‍♀️

Read if you like:
✅vacation romances
✅slow burn
✅friends to lovers
✅when everything goes wrong, but it’s actually oh so right

What to do when you go on vacation and bring back a husband as a souvenir! This book is the delightful rom com that you are looking for! Be prepared for fits of giggles and swoons of desire as this one will provide you with both! The characters are outstanding from the 80-year-old former "it" girl that is now the most amazing landlord ever to the friends that support you and the bosses that try to demolish you. The author does an outstanding job of creating real characters that are brought to life while you immerse yourself in the story. The narrator did an outstanding job of bringing the story to life and even giving the pups in the story personality! If you are looking for a delightfully entertaining rom com to listen to, then this is the one for you!

This book was the Hollywood romcom you need on a lazy Sunday. The characters were fun and had great chemistry, I learned tons about Ireland that I didn’t know and the growth arc of the main character was also great, in a steady pace to make it believable. Besides there’s a dog!

If you like light romcoms with fade to black this one is for you.

Thank-you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to review this ALC.

I had an ARC for this last year and I enjoyed it but I feel as though the audiobook performance really helped it.
Although I still had the same issues with the story the narration helped it a lot.
Cady Zuckerman is very good here. I’m new to her work. I look forward to listening to more of her work.

This was a fun read that took the reader on a trip between California and Dublin. I've always wanted to travel to Ireland and while the portion of the book that took place there was a bit fleeting, it was exciting enough to make up for it.

I love the main characters here and their moments together, both funny and tender. Cara has some great one-liners and pop culture references that made me giggle. Finn's overly-emphasized Irish slang was so funny at times, too!

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who loves a good rom-com! <3 I used both the e-book version and audiobook of this book and enjoyed both equally!