FOUR STARS!!

“If you let me, I want every ounce of you to call to me like I’ve always called to you.”

SUMMARY: When Evie O’Shea married Liam Kelly at age five, she didn’t expect everything to go so wrong. Evie eventually grew up and could no longer stand Liam Kelly because of something that happened between them, but when Liam shows up in Paris Evie revisits all her memories of Liam. Meanwhile, Liam and Evie agree to fake date for Evie’s brother’s wedding so that Evie’s mother doesn’t make her feel any worse than she already does. While the two fake date, real feelings emerge and its up to Evie to finally come to the realization that Liam Kelly is her modern day, Gene Kelly.

CHARACTERS-

Evie O’Shea: Evie’s character has such a special place in my heart. She was so independent and strong but was still able to be vulnerable when she was struggling. I loved what Evie represented and how she represented it. The development her character went through was so touching since she had to not only help present self but finally heal her wounds from her past. While at some points I would get a little frustrated with Evie because of how stubborn she was about her grudges I was able to look past it considering she is like that for a reason.

Liam Kelly: Liam is my new favorite boy obsessed book boyfriend. From the literal start he was head over heels for Evie. At first, I didn’t like Liam because I was seeing him through Evie’s POV and she had believed he was basically evil incarnate but once I got to see more of him and truly see how in love with Evie he was I forgave him in a heartbeat. His character also went through hardships which were included and developed very well. It never felt like his subplots were just being looked over which I enjoyed seeing.

THOUGHTS: Torie Jean did an AMAZING job with this book. The way she wrote about Evie’s endo truly showed all the effort and thought put into this book. It was realistic but also very easy to read and understand. She did not make Evie seem to be some kind of weak person but instead a strong woman who is worth more than an illness, which I loved. Liam’s character was also executed so well I absolutely loved how obsessed with Evie he was from the START.

The plot of the book was also super well-developed and easy to read. The overall story flowed very well and the development between the characters relationship is something I loved reading. The slow burn of this book was well paced, and I never felt as if it was being dragged on too far. The world building of Paris was so pretty to read about, I genuinely pictured myself in the city of Paris. The Gene Kelly references were also special to me because I love Gene Kelly.

CONCLUSION: Overall, I really enjoyed Finding Gene Kelly and the whole concept of the book. It was an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.
A special thank you to NetGalley and Sunset and Camden Creative for an EArc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this book! I am a huge Gene Kelly fan, and I really appreciated all the references to him and his movies (especially the Lina Lamont ones haha). I thought Liam was the sweetest man ever, and I enjoyed Evie's character too. I loved that she was taking her life into her own hands and that she overcame the struggles she was facing. What I also like about this book was all of the side characters. They all felt very real and relatable, and I enjoyed when they appeared in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy for an honest review.

This book was very cute! I thought this was a solid debut, with great endometriosis representation. I am definitely keen to read more from this author!

Thank you NetGalley, Torie Jean and Xpresso Book Tours for this ARC!

I first requested to read this book because I’ve made it a goal to read more books surrounding a protagonist with an underlying issue/problem. I’ve never read a romance book before where the character had to deal with endometriosis so this book caught my attention right away!

I absolutely loved it! There were so many hilarious moments but the author weaved in the right amount of serious and heart panting moments as well. I appreciated the trigger warning written at the beginning of the book.

I have this book 4/5 because at times the book was slower paced.

This book was complicated for me. I enjoyed the cute romance parts of the story. I liked that there was plus-size representation. I liked the characters and some of their development. But there was just something about it that I couldn't put my finger on that had me feeling a little funky. Maybe it was the diet culture? Maybe it was some of Liam's reactions/responses? Maybe it was just hitting too close to home? I'm not sure, but this was a cute read that tackled some tough topics and I don't want to punish it for that. Check out other reviews and maybe some trigger warnings before hopping into this one.

HOWEVER: The cover is ADORABLE and I loved it a lot. You don't see too many pink covers out there!

Finding Gene Kelly was so adorable! I really enjoyed every second of it. Singin' in the Rain is and always will be one of my favorite movies/musicals of all time. I loved the allusions to it and I really enjoyed this authors writing.

While I did like the plus-size representation, I was still a little put off with the diet culture part. Especially Liam's actions.

Yes!!! I can conclude that the inside of this book is just as cute as the outside! What a lovely, warm story!! Let me start by saying the disability rep in this book is amazing and so important! As well as Evie and Liam’s love story! Liam was always so sweet to Evie when she was struggling with her own issues and I really believe they are perfect for each other! This book had me giddy and smiling throughout all the romantic parts, but it didn’t shy away from the more deeper and vulnerable parts either. It was overall really great and I will be checking out more from this author!!

🐚 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🐚

4.5 ⭐

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: fake dating, childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, he falls first, brother's best friend

𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀: chronic pain, endometriosis, toxic parental relationship, mentions of depression and anxiety, vomiting, mourning a loved one who passed many years ago, discussions of infertility

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!

Evie is brave, funny and struggling with her insecurities. I really enjoyed watching her grow and star to love herself.

Liam is very supportive, full of charm, tender and would do anything for Evie.

The book makes you feel many things. It makes you have butterflies in your stomach but at the same time you also feel Evie's pain. I really appreciate that the author didn't hide from all the aspects related to endometriosis and that she brought aspects to light that I didn't even know about.

I loved the author's writing style and I am really looking forward to the next books written by her.

Thank you NetGalley and Torie Jean for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 STARS

I love the Paris-theme! If you’re a fan of Ali Hazelwood or Kerry Winfrey, you”ll like this one! I do not have endometriosis, but this book opened my eyes to what some women experience with this disease.

I absolutely loved the light-bearded cuteness of this rom-com. It was a beautiful story.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Because a lot of the time we measure success in forever, but with my disease, I’ve had to learn to have success in fleeting moments.”

‘I’ve tried to keep my heart safe from you, but you had it in a death grip before I’d given it to you, and I don’t know that I want it back anymore - because I think for the first time in maybe ever, I like that I’m in love with you.”

“Because a lot of the time we measure success in forever, but with my disease, I’ve had to learn to have success in fleeting moments.”

Thank you to Torie Jean, NetGalley, and Sunset and Camden Creative for my copy in exchange for an honest review. This book releases September 20, 2022.

I knew I would love this book when it started with food-related titles and I was not disappointed. This book had all the things I enjoy: a beautiful setting, baking, and puns, definitely plenty to love. Adding in the ownvoices representation of endo a beautiful story was created. I loved watching Evie grow in and the relationship between her and Liam develop. I will definitely being telling people about this book!

4.5

it took me a little bit to get into this one but after I did I thought it was so adorable

the random 1 chapter where they book up then the next chapter they were back together seemed really out of place and like the author just threw it in there because every romance book has some conflict and break up time before the hea, I thought it was really pointless and they could have just talked it out if the fmc expressed her feelings about everything like liam did, this is the reason for the 0.5 star knock off plus taking a little to get into the book.

Oh my words. I'm not sure if I have a vocabulary big enough to express how wonderful this book is.

This is a love story, yes. It's a rom-com, it's funny and heartwarming, yes. It has semi-enemies-to-lovers, it has... kind of friends to lovers and kind of second chance romance? It does have ahuuuuuuuge amount of pining (it's a whole forrest of pine trees and I am living!) and the guy sort of "falls first".

Lots and lots of gorgeous and fun tropes I love. But what is so special about this book is how real it feels. Evie suffers from endometriosis and it is not romanticized. It's not a gimmick for an MC to have something and be ill, it's real. It makes her life so much harder than she deserves and she is navigating not only living but also falling in love and functioning as an active part of society with her condition.

The writing is utterly wonderful. Heartwrenching and heartwarming at the same time. Also, did I mention funny?

I cannot recommend this book enough and it has already successfully shoved its way onto my best of 2022 list and onto my favourite books ever shelf :)

J'adore this adorable book from Torie Jean! The plot, the locations, the romance...it has it all! This book certainly has a way of making you root for Liam and Evie as soon as the first page. The will they won't they energy is fierce here, just like the love. If you're looking for an adorable rom com with equal parts reality, look no further. I'm counting down the days until I can see Paris again thanks to this book. Well done!

4⭐️

Evie lives in Paris and has dreams of opening a bakery, but her endometriosis has prevented her from living up to her dreams, bur Evie loves Paris and the life she has there. Her brother, Caleb, is getting married back in the States and Evie is pressured by their mother to find a date. Evie’s childhood friend and boh-next-door, Liam, suddenly shows up in Paris, and fake dating ensues! A cute, fun read!

I love the endometriosis representation in this book and that it makes Evie feel very relatable and real. I think this is the first time I’ve seen this kind of representation of chronic illness in a romance book and it was so nice to see that part of her. I also just like Evie’s personality, but in comparison to Liam I don’t feel like they’re much of a match. Evie is bubbly and sarcastic and funny and Liam just feels like kind of a wet noodle that has almost no personality. He also calls Evie “Peaches” almost every time he speaks to the point where it’s too much and seems unnatural. I wish that this had both Evie and Liam’s points of view because I think we would have gotten to learn a lot more about Liam, because I often found myself forgetting what it is he even does for work or who he is outside of being her fake boyfriend because it’s barely discussed until towards the end of the book.

The pacing of this book was a little weird for me, and I feel like I have whiplash from how quickly Evie goes from hating to liking to hating to liking Liam. Their communication also sucks. If Liam really wanted to sort things out with Evie, why not be honest about what happened that caused him to stand her up when they were teenagers? I will say though, Liam is a really great partner for someone with endo. He doesn’t pity Evie and tries to help alleviate her symptoms and just be present when she has a particularly bad flare up.

My favorite part about this book is the setting. I love that it takes place in Paris and talks about all the amazing places and foods in Paris.

DNF at 60%. I had really high expectations for this book given the description but everything fell flat for me. I did not like any of the characters and was just dragging out actually reading it. I thought that I would get around and actually finish it but I'm just not.

Actual Rating 2.5 stars

Finding Gene Kelly was a really difficult read to get through as I related to some of the things the main character went through. This story is a really important story to read because of the message; however, I did not know going into it how heavy this was going to be. I honestly thought this was going to be cutesy plus size romance, but it wasn't. I also thought I could emotionally handle many of the parts of the book, but I couldn't. I did eventually have to put it down. I still think it was extremelly well done and loved the parts I read. It hit too close to home at times. I do recommend checking out Finding Gene Kelly.

This book is a cute little rom com with a friends to enemies to lovers trope. It features amazing representation for both plus size women and those that deal with endometriosis in their lives. I think the author did a great job writing about what someone with endometriosis and chronic pain has to deal with on a day to day basis and wove it into the story beautifully. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

This is a cute brother’s best friend, enemies to lover romance. I really enjoyed that it involved a lot of France and old Hollywood mentions as well as yummy treat descriptions. The Endo representation was very respectful and realistic and the pun postcards was just adorable.

This was a sweet romance with endo rep. I appreciated the realistic portrayal of a main lead suffering from the condition, it was eye-opening and informative. The romance itself was just okay, at times the MMC felt a little too good to be true. Will recommend to people wanting sweet romances where the boy falls first.