I feel like I blinked and the book was over. Fun quick read….. or listen, as it was.

The narrators were both enjoyable and an addition to the story, rather than a distraction. This is a huge plus for me as I am quite picky when it comes to narration.

The story is fast paced and moves quickly. While, I like a story that flows well, this one almost felt rushed. But I loved the premise!

I would give the overall story 3.5 stars but with the narration, it deserves four.

Who doesn't want to read a romance about two authors and a book reviewer? Mia's bookish vibe is everything we needed. Mia is an aspiring author who currently writes book reviews for the new york time. Axel has gotten a DNF review from Mia and is ready to show her how it feels.

Mia and Axel came together with different ideas of what the week will bring. Axel looking to teach Mia a lesson and Mia looking for some real feedback on her manuscript

This was a cute story with so much bookish content that I was caught up in it all. The tropes we go through in this romance are amazingly good. The spicy scenes were spicy enough.

I had a great time with this one and it wasn't so long or drawn out. I devoured it in a day. The voices were good and different for each character - The audiobook brought life to the story

Did Not Finish is a trope filled romance between a recluse writer and a book reviewer. When Mia is chosen to be one of a few hopeful writers to be part of a retreat with one of her favorite authors she is ecstatic, but of course, things don’t go as planned. When a snow storm hits, trapping Axel and Mia together, let the cliche romance tropes begin.

I was very hopeful for this book once I read the description because it fit with all of my favorite tropes, it didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed the storyline and the fact that Mia was a reviewer, which made me think of the review I would eventually leave for this book. Axel and Mia were both fun characters in their own right, but I really enjoyed their interactions. This was a great quick romance read that got me out of my own head and reality and let me live through Mia and Axel for a little bit. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, quick romance read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC audiobook!

Stranded, I love this trope. A reclusive author and renowned book reviewer are stranded at his home during a snowstorm. I love that trapped feeling. Being stuck with a snowstorm raging, the two will have to get along and make it work.

This was a fabulous audiobook with fantastic narration. As I mentioned, I love the trapped feeling. When I began listening, I had no idea that I would listen to this book in one day. I didn't want to stop listening but had to take breaks as life called. But finish it, I did with a smile on my face and warm feelings in my heart.

Axel Lowe is a reclusive author who is hosting a weeklong writer's retreat at his secluded home. He has a book coming out and, *fingers crossed* hopes his book is well received.

Mia is known as a career-wrecker with her reviews. She writes for a well-known newspaper and her reviews are very influential. She is also writing a novel and she hopes the retreat will be beneficial to her and her career. She also happens to be the only one who makes it to the retreat before the snowstorm hits.

I found both characters to be extremely likeable and was easily enthralled in their plights. This book has me from the very beginning and I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the book. The characters, the setting and the subject matter were all well done. There is one difficult subject addressed and I appreciated how the author handled it. Very well done.

I can't wait to read what Nicola Marsh writes next!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media, Parlance Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

The title was a brave choice. I wanted to finish it, but it just wasn't for me. The story is about a reclusive writer getting snowed in with a reviewer. Axel (writer) has trust issues which he mentions about 3x in the first third of the book. This is due to a past thingy which lead to his sister being injured in a car accident. The sister accident is a huge motivation for the writer- Axel to write more to make more money to afford her long term care. Mia is a reviewer and aspiring writer who is a huge fan girl of his work.

The storyline is OK, but the things that didn't sit well with me are maybe minor, but there are so many. Axel, in one of many internal monologues, laments about his sister's inability to care for herself and have her prior abilities, but also envies his friend who got the closure of his sister dying. Yikes. The reviewer, Mia, has the meanest best friend ever, who goes out of her way to embarrass her in front of strangers. Their encounters are consenting but only because readers are privy to internal thoughts, otherwise kinda gross.

I hope these items resolve in the last two thirds, but I'm not in for it.

Closed door, all white. The audiobook was good with regard to voice, pace and consistency. My sincere that's to Dreamscape and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.



#NetGalley #DidNotFinish

I am not an avid reader of romance books but every once in awhile I find one that catches my interest. "Did Not Finish" by Nicola Marsh is such a fun idea. What would happen if an author and a reviewer met under slightly contentious circumstances only to find a mutual attraction? This book was pure fun with so many nods to the publishing world and "Gilmore Girls'. I appreciated the bit of depth she gave her characters, fleshing out their backstory and giving reasons for why they felt or did things, while not bogging down the story with unnecessary details. If you are looking for a sweet story with very likable characters give "Did Not Finish" a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read "Did Not Finish" in exchange for my review.

Romcom set in a blizzard. What immediately drew me to this book is that it is a book about book lovers. When author and critic are stranded together, sparks fly. I love that there is enough backstory to all of the characters to really give them some depth. (I would also like to see a follow up book with Cole ("Buzz") finding someone.) I actually listened to the audiobook for this one and really liked that there are actually a male and female voice for the characters rather than one narrator doing all the voices. The book features one chapter from one POV and then flips to the other's. Although I am a little skeptical of how fast the relationship moved (and I understand they were only stranded for a week so for plot's sake, it needed to move fast), I prefer a slow burn. I like romance and the dating portion of a relationship. They barely had a conversation before they were sleeping together already. I like the way the story ended and the challenges each character faced in their own personal development and trust issues.

Cute, short, and sweet. I thought this was a unique storyline and as a book fanatic/bookstagrammer, I felt appreciative of all of the bookish terms - DNF, ARC, etc. Fun for book lovers.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

🎧 Audiobook

Mia reviews books, but wants to be a writer- a thriller writer. But also regency romance on the side. Axel writes books (thrillers) and hates Mia Sampson. When a freak blizzard snows in a writing contest retreat at Axels house, suddenly it's just Axel and Mia.

Mia can't believe her luck at winning this contest and getting feedback from her favorite thriller author. She just can't figure out why he's so surly. And why despite that, she instantly wants to jump him.

Good but forgettable. I loved the tongue-in-cheek about them living tropes commonly found in romance books like grumpy-sunshine enemies to lovers etc. However, the story fell a little flat for me. Still an enjoyable read, and I would still recommend it to someone who wants a light fluffy closed door romance.

I wanted to like this book a lot. Reading about writers is pretty funny to me, especially when they start talking about tropes and prose. As you can imagine, I loved those parts. There was a sad backstory with a cute love story overlay here and a happy ending so I didn’t totally hate it.

I’m sure you can already sense my “but” coming here so let’s just get down to business. The way they started their romance felt really cheesy. It was wayyy too quick into the story. This is advertised as enemies to lovers but they certainly don’t stay enemies for long. If he truly cared about the position he was in and needing a favor from her, it seems like that sex would be the furthest thing from his mind yet he doesn’t seem to approach any of that until he knows the sex is almost over. That made me feel like he was using her in multiple ways and I didn’t love it.

🌀Synopsis
Mia is a book reviewer who is trying to become a writer. She’s thrilled that she was chosen to attend a writing workshop with one of her favorite authors, Axel Low. She heads to Sugar Bush hopeful she’ll be able to get a meeting with his book agent.

Axel has ulterior motives for choosing Mia. She DNF’ed one of his books in her reviews causing it to tank, only she doesn’t know that because he writes under a pseudonym. He invites her a day early to tell her and ask her for a favor. He’s willing to risk it because he needs to money to make sure his disabled sister is taken care of.

When Mia arrives she finds Axel extremely attractive but he’s grumpy and off-putting. When the two find out they are going to be snowed in for a week together Mia decides to make a move and Axel easily accepts, both of them falling into a nice companionship for the remainder of their time together.

Mia gets the courage to ask him to pass her along to his agent and Axel finally gets the courage to ask her about her next review. Except lying in a review could compromise Mia’s career on top of her morals and she’s offended by him asking this of her. She heads back to New York and Axel is left trying to figure out his next move.

Anything having to do with books and publishing instantly grabs me, and Did Not Finish did not disappoint. A prominent book reviewer and wannabe writer wins a workshop with a famous but stuck in a writing rut author... A book that can pull off that many tropes is astonishing. I enjoyed every second!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I was really excited about receiving this book. But it is not what I thought it would be. I think it is crude and the language is bad. I don't care for any of the characters. This book was not for me.

This was so much fun! I loved the dynamic between Mia and Axel. Mia is a reviewer and Axel is a writer. Mia is writing her first book and wins a place at a writing retreat with Axel, who is a seasoned suspense writer and one of her favorites. Little does she know, that he is also writing romance under a pen name, and Mia has DNF them and wrote scathing reviews.
Axel can't wait to meet the woman who has ripped apart his books, just so he can give her a taste of her own medicine. What he doesn't count on is that he will actually like her work, and he will like HER even more.
This is a closed door enemies to lovers, insta lust, forced proximity story and you can feel their connection right away. She doesn't want to cross lines, and he doesn't even want to like her, but when they are snowed in together they are forced to see one another for who they really were.
I do wish that Axel would have opened up a little earlier, especially when they started telling each other things and getting closer.
Thank you to Dreamscape, Netalley and Nicola Marsh for an early audio copy.

Overall, it was a cute story. I think that it was just weird that they both went with ulterior motives and deceived each other and then continued to sleep together with no issues. Fade to black trope with it just fizzling out..

Did Not Finish
Nicola Marsh
Mia Sampson is a book reviewer; her name is well known, and her reviews can make or break a book. She is very careful to be fair in her reviews and honest. If she marks a book DNF (Did Not Finish) the book tends not to sell well. She loves to read and enjoys her job. Mia loves to write and wants to be known as an author. Author Axel Lowe knows how important reviews are, especially Mia’s reviews. Axel is usually a recluse, but his agent has strongly suggested he hold a retreat at his home. Want to be authors submit their manuscripts and he picks the best for his one-week retreat to be held at his home. Mia submits her manuscript, and it is chosen. Mia arrives one day before the other finalist. She is so excited to meet Axel and to learn from him. When it starts to snow, she and Axel are stranded at his home alone except for Mister Darcy, the cat.
I really enjoyed this tale. Both Mia and Axel have more than their share of emotional baggage. Mia finds it difficult to trust any male and Axel carries a cart load of guilt. She overreacted numerous times and he became extremely grouchy more than once. As a reviewer I can certainly understand Mia’s reaction when Axel asked her to be kinder to the book by a certain author. My one criticism is the speed in which these two people fell into bed. They meet and have immediate love/hate/lust relationship. There were a few other things I thought could have been done better but they were minor compared to bed hop. I liked some of the secondary characters like Cole, but I was not fond of Mia’s best friend or her co-worker. This is a fun read; I found humor throughout the tale. Great reading for a cold winter day.

Given that a large focus of the book is about book reviews and their impact on authors, I sort of feel bad giving a less-than-stellar review, but sadly, this wasn't for me.

However, I can see others enjoying this. It's cute with a fun concept and lots of references to Gilmore Girls and to book tropes and reviews. Axel's relationship with his sister was also very touching.

For me, I didn't connect with either of the main characters. The romance was definitely of the instalove variety (and one of the characters even acknowledges this!), and the book was too short to really buy into their relationship developing beyond this phase.

I enjoyed the story of this audiobook but it took a bit to get into the plot and the narrators were not my favorite.

I was wrapped up in the characters by chapter 3, but the story line was lost a little bit longer. Mia and Axel are two well built characters that have a past together because she reviews books and he writes them. Halfway through the book, you can guess where the two will end up, but I still enjoyed learning how the author got them there.

I was not a fan of the narrators. Voice of Axel 3/5. Voice of Mia 2/5, the character was mid 20s but the voice was closer to 40s.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Nicola Marsh for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in advance.

#DidNotFinish #NetGalley #Review

Rather than give this book the scathing review at the end I know it will be, and wasting my time, I’m going to be ironic and say that I’m DNFing this book. The characters are immediately the opposite of likable from my own point of view, the author praising books I can’t stand, and likening the characters to descriptions of others I find unlikable. There are books in my fav genres that still aren’t just for me. This book is not it for me, and that’s okay. Just putting it out there.

Thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of the audiobook.

Axel is a secretive and successful author who has a flagging career. Mia is a book reviewer with a lethal pen and a secret writing project. Through a series or classic romance tropes, these authors and sometimes enemies start something neither of them expected.

This was an enjoyable book but the relationship felt very rushed. At only 250ish pages, it reads more like a novella than a full sized novel.

2.5 stars

Do yourself a huge favor if you want to enjoy this book and do NOT listen to the audiobook. You can't speed it up, or else the narrator ends up dropping words. It sounds like a computer the whole time. Also ARCS were pronounce A-R-C's which was beyond annoying. The other errors in the book like using the wrong words for US protagonists were more glaring with some of the audio faults already going on.

To like this book you should:

1. Like Gilmore Girls. A lot.

2. Like books deliberately using tropes in your face. Again and again.

3. Love the miscommunication trope, or the whole one sided enemies thing because she does not understand they are enemies at all.

4. Like fade to black, Hallmark movie like light romances.

5. Just be able to "go" with a lot of things that don't make sense.

So because I don't really jive with any of these especially put together, this book wasn't for me. I have no idea how her job functions, or in what universe it would exist, or how any one review could possibly impact sales. Even a bunch of negative reviews can end up causing more buzz about a book and then it ends up doing quite well. The whole talk about a DNF being the "worst" thing ever doesn't even ring true-most people don't rate and/or comment on books they don't finish. His character didn't make sense that he was writing the erotica books, because even he starts refering to the author as "she" and has a "signed" copy. I hated the low key trash talk about erotica books too, which made again no sense when one of your characters writes those books. The smut level didn't add up to what they were talking about either, it felt like another point of disconnect.

If you are the type of person looking for a good fast time with a cross between a Gilmore Girls episode and Hallmark movie, give this a try-the physical version at least.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.