Member Reviews

A cute and humorous romance that intrigued me. My first book by this author. I look forward to reading more.

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thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

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"Tik Tok Boom" offers a refreshing twist on the popular social media meets rom-com trend, this time centering on TikTok. Andie, a family photographer with ambitious dreams, crosses paths with a mysterious guy in the park, leading to a viral photo and a quest to locate him. This breezy and fast-paced read is perfect for fans of social media rom-coms—it's fun, light-hearted, and thoroughly enjoyable.

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This was my first experience reading something by this author and I found it to be quite a charming and unique story. Andie has yet to realize her dream of becoming a world famous travel photographer. For now, she is content with her part-time teaching job and her photography job. When she's in the park one day, she snaps a picture of an unsuspecting Milo. Milo is a single father of a teenager daughter and who battles with social anxiety. The photo Andie takes of him is one of her best yet, but she needs his consent in order to be able to use it anywhere. This sets her students off on a mission to find the mystery man and they use TikTok to do so. As a consequence, Andie and Milo are both thrust into fame as they grow closer and learn to navigate their newfound relationship. The chemistry between them was sweet and believable and with the representation of mental health challenges, made this a more deeper story. A very lovely story that had me engaged from start to finish. Glad to have had the opportunity to read this!
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

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Cute book that had several great moments in the pages. I loved the main characters and how well they played off each other.

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How refreshing to have a great love story for people who aren’t 18 or 25 or 40 even desperately looking for “true love.” You’ll enjoy this book for its depth of character, relatable relationships, and interesting plot line. Recommend.

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A great read, the story of Andi and Milo. They meet after she takes a photo of him and then Tik Tok is used to track him down. Will what bought them together eventually drive them apart? I loved both characters and look forward to reading more from this author.

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ARC REVIEW

My Star Rating: 4/5 ⭐
My Spice Rating: 3/5 🌶️

What you’ll find:
- Friends to Lovers
- Divorced Single Dad
- Older MCs
- Mental Health Rep.

Andie's dream of becoming a famous photographer has yet to come to fruition. She is a Gen-X'er who is content with her life, working in the photography section of her local Walmart and teaching college photography classes part-time. Milo is a voice actor and single father of a teenage daughter. He struggles with social anxiety. One day, while Andie is in a park, she takes a photo of an unknown man. Even though it is one of the best photos she's ever taken, she did not get consent from the unknown man, so the photo can't be shared or used in any way. Andie's students take it upon themselves to find the unknown man by making a viral TikTok video. The unknown man happens to be Milo, who was in the park completing an assignment given to him by his therapist. Andie and Milo are thrown into the internet influencer world, and their lives change. This is a story of them navigating their growing relationship and newfound fame.

Tik Tok Boom is an interesting and original story. I love the inclusion of older MCs being thrown into the world of being internet influencers. I enjoyed reading about Andie and Milo's relationship and the growth they experience both individually and as a couple. They are so sweet, and they deal with real-life issues that many people can relate to. A huge theme in the book is mental health (bullying, depression, anxiety), experienced as a parent and as an individual. I feel the author handled this well. Tik Tok Boom is about relationships, growth, change, healing, and overcoming fear. It's never too late to go after your dreams.

Thank you, Christine d'Abo, Author Collective 20, and NetGalley, for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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I enjoyed this book. It was refreshing having the main characters older, as in 40s and 50s. I liked the story and the characters.

Thanks NetGalley for the book.

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I did not finish this book. The main characters were late fourties, early fifties. They could be my parents and that made me feel super weird. The writing was so smooth and nice. And I loved the therapy rep. But their age compared to mine made me feel super awkward, so I could not finish it. I did not want to read about people who could be my parents having sex. But that is just me. I definetely recommend it if you are not in your twenties tho, haha.

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I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

Finally a realistic romance novel. I knew I would enjoy Christine d'Abo's writing style from the moment french fries vomit made the scene. Great rom-com and great writing.

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Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

I enjoyed this book! It was a cute quick and easy read! I loved the storyline and I enjoyed the characters. This is a good one!!

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I loved that the MC's were older, late 40's and 50! It was good to see people struggling in life at that age, but not only that, it was wonderful to see them taking the steps to improve themselves as well. Andie and Milo and even his daughter all have some metal health issues that the books speaks very kindly on. All in all this book is a great read, sometimes heavy on the issues, but also enough humor to lighten some of those moments without taking away from them. Great writing!

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This one took some time to get into but I did enjoy it, the older characters were nice and I enjoyed the story very much

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Firstly thankyou to the author and the NetGalley team for allowing me the chance to read an advanced copy of this book.

‘You know in the movies when you hear that silly record scratch noise when someone sees another person who’s just so fucking gorgeous that their brain breaks?’

Oh my goodness, what an absolutely sweet and fluffy modern take on romance.
Andie is a Middle Aged woman stuck in a rut, doomed into thinking she’ll never reach her dreams. Milo is a single dad, teetering on the threshold of severe anxiety and agoraphobia, but he battles through to bring up his teenage daughter and juggling a voice acting career.

Their paths meet, and the cutest story unfolds from the power of TikTok.

I enjoyed this read very much, it’s hilariously relatable and cringey enough to love.
I look forward to seeing more from this author in the future!

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This story was a peek into the lives of two people navigating lust, and romance, and adulting, and parenting and it was so understandable and engaging. The chemistry of the main characters was both delicious and sweet as they balanced their attraction with real-freaking-life crap. I loved it and couldn’t put it down (once my own real-freaking-life crap gave me the time to devour the pages).

WHAT I LOVED MOST:
The gem of a middle-aged romance! It’s rare that I read about characters in my age range and at first I was skeptical. But it was so relatable and enjoyable.

Mental health representation from a personal and parental perspective. Felt very spot on for me.

A peek into cross-generational relationships with social media. The main characters are very much Gen-X navigating Tik Tok alongside a Gen-Z sidekick. Very brave of them!

Delicious angst and slow burn *purrrs*

FAVORITE QUOTES:
“I hit send as I gulp down some more wine. I’m getting dangerously close to hot flash consumption levels, but I’m beyond caring tonight.” (CAN RELATE!)

“I cross my arms for good measure, hoping it will make me look strong. In truth, I’m hugging myself.”

“Instead of going any further with that, I close her door and retreat to my recording booth to catch my breath and mentally bask in the glow that is my daughter’s enthusiasm.”

“Okay, I saw this earlier and wasn’t going to tell you, but the picture and the TikTok videos are everywhere now. Like, I think even on Facebook where old people go.” (OUCH! I FELT THIS ONE!)

Thank you to Netgalley and Christine d’Abo for the e-ARC. I appreciated the opportunity to read this book and give an honest review.

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One thing that I LOVED about TikTok Boom is that the hero and heroine are older. They aren’t college age or late twenties, both are older and have lived a life! Both Milo and Andie are waiting for what’s next!

Andie has her job and some photog side projects. Milo had his work, therapy and teenage daughter. They aren’t sure if there’s more than what already is and yet one encounter changes everything for the both of them.

These characters are you and me. They are regular everyday people who are dealing with the pressures of life. Trying to navigate love, fear and finding their purpose. I related with both Andie and Milo for different reasons and it made this story feel so real.

The way they both heal each other and help the other find their way made this story mesmerizing and one that I won’t forget. I adored Milo’s daughter and how she didn’t let her dad just get by, she helped him to see that he’s more than just her dad and more than his job.

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This book really needed a trigger warning for some of the stuff that Mia goes through. However, I wasn’t completely sold on this book in the first few chapters. Andie came off as too quirky in the beginning and it started to ruin the character for me. I actually liked Milo’s chapters better. But… things shifted and I really loved Andie so much more than Milo. Milo almost got crappy at times. I loved the ending though and was happy with how it all wrapped up. I would have liked for the author to explore what happened to Mia’s mom after she left but it’s not really explained. Either way though, I still ended up enjoying the book. 3.5/5 on spice.

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Tik Tok Boom is a very current romance set amidst social media furor, with good mental health representation. I liked that the characters were older than most romance books. Their virality seemed a bit too easy but the consequences of it were nicely stated. I did root for the couple and enjoyed the writing style: an author I would read again.

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First thought: Well written story about finding your way later in life and learning it’s never too late to find what brings you joy. Heavy themes of mental health struggles and learning to conquer your fears.

Andie dreamed of moving to Toronto to become a world famous travel photographer but that dream didn’t happen. She’s in her 40s and has settled for doing photography at the local Walmart and teaching a class at the college at nights. She happy enough with the life she’s created.

Milo is a single dad who struggles with social anxiety and feelings of not being enough, he has extreme caretaker fatigue. He lives nothing in the world more than his daughter, but she daily struggles with depression and anxiety making navigating life more challenging. Since Covid he doesn’t really leave the house, but today that changes. His therapist challenges him to go to the park during their session and to talk to one person.

Andie finds herself in the park snapping a random pic of a guy on a bench having a deep phone conversation and it’s one of the best ones she’s ever taken. She can’t use the photo as she didn’t get consent he’s a stranger. But her students have other ideas and make a video and upload to Tik Tok asking for help finding the mystery man.. the video goes viral.

Everything for Andie and Milo is about to change, being thrown into the viral world of social media together brings them together for adventures throughout Toronto. Sometime a shakeup is what the doctor ordered as it can push you outside your comfort zone and towards healing and growth.

Potential Triggers: Divorce, Social Media Bullying, Mental Health: Anxiety, Depression, Panic Attacks, Social Phobias.

Tropes you’ll find:

* Friends to Lovers
* Mental Health
* Going Viral
* Divorced Single Dad
* Conquering Fears
* GenX Romance
* Adventures in Toronto
*Finding your Way
* Spicy 🔥

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