This book had a strong start that truly captured my attention. I found the premise intriguing— a "disgraced" lawyer reshaping her life with a new career, only to discover that the main male character also experienced a similar "fall from grace." Initially, I enjoyed the witty exchanges between Holly and Jonathan, and I found his character engaging. I also appreciated Holly's relationships with her family and Rachel. However, as the story progressed, it failed to maintain its momentum for me.

The plot began to falter with the introduction of the hot guy calendar; the focus on finding "hot guys" felt excessive. The idea of using a dating app to search for these individuals seemed odd and immature—why waste people's time? My primary concern was that the conflict in the third act felt childish and easily avoidable. There were overreactions, and some of the dialogue seemed out of character for both individuals, making it feel quite forced. Additionally, I was disappointed that Holly often implied she didn’t respect Jonathan unless he was in his role as a renowned photographer. Instead of coming across as supportive, it felt conditional. I just wish there had been a more profound exploration of their relationship. Cute premise, but the execution fell short for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!

This was a cute romance, and I know a lot of people will really enjoy it. I didn't find Holly particularly nice - in fact, she was quite mean in places. But I did really like Jonathan (and I did ultimately come to appreciate Holly, at least a little).

My favorite parts of the story involved the search for men with dogs and the actual photo shoots. I also really liked Holly's brother and Rachel.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Anna E Collins for the opportunity to read this ARC. I absolutely tore through this story. It made the endorphins pop with loads of angst, laughter, tension, fantastic supporting characters, and a plot that left me wanting a copy of the finished calendar. (But really, can I get one?!) I adored this book so much, as a dog lover, a marketer, a nature lover, and someone who thought they might make a good lawyer once upon a time. I really hope we’ll get a follow up book with best friend + brother romance! I can’t wait to see what Collins thinks up next.

This was a cute summer read, but left for wanting a little but more. The relationships were as developed as i would want them to be and the spive wasnt always splicing. The dog aspect was definitely an added touch to the book and will draw in animal lovers.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. It was funny, heartfelt, and gave me the best grumpy/sunshine trope! Literally, my fave trope.

I loved to see Holly’s growth and the self-confidence that she built for herself after having to start over. And Johnathan being the grumpy web designer that he is, was also starting over. His growth was amazing too. I felt that she was such a positive influence on him to become a better person.

Finding Mr. July by Anna E. Collins

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 2/5 🌶️🌶️

Thank you to Forever, Grand Central Publishing, Netgalley, and the author for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Holly is trying to establish herself in a new career path. She decided to do leave her legal career behind to pursue her dreams of working for an environmental nonprofit. Jonathan, on the other hand, is also reinventing himself, while trying to learn how to heal from his past.

Holly is competing in her nonprofit’s big fundraising competition. The pros include getting a full-time job at the new office in Scotland and her pitch for the competition includes puppies! The only con is having to work with Jonathan. But if Holly wants her calendar of outdoorsy guys and their dogs to win against everyone else’s fundraising ideas, she needs Jonathan’s talent as a photographer. When their collaboration accidentally gets off to a steamy start, Holly vows she won’t be distracted. But as they work to photograph a year’s worth of guys and dogs in just a couple of weeks, the spark between Holly and Jonathan becomes obvious.

Finding Mr. July is such a sweet and cozy romance! There is also some depth to the story as well. It was delightful to see the great character development and personal growth that happened throughout for both Holly and Jonathan, as well as some of the supporting characters. The competition works well to make the story even more entertaining and enjoyable. Overall, a super fun romance read!

This had everything you want in a romance novel. A great lead character that you root for, a love interest that has depth and is absolutely swoon-worthy, fiery chemistry, great side characters, a fun, well-written plot that hasn’t been done before, and DOGS! Lots and lots of dogs.

Workplace romances are one of my favorite tropes and this one was so so so well done. I’m a big Anna E Collins fan, ever since I happened upon Love at First Spite a few years ago, so I knew I’d love this one and man, did she not disappoint!

A lot of the time, romances tend to repeat plot lines but this is something totally unique to the genre, which I absolutely loved. Holly has changed careers later in life and restarted as an intern at a job that she’s really passionate about. The book revolves around a fundraising competition with her fellow interns for a permanent job, and her idea is a calendar featuring hot men and their dogs. She teams up with her coworker Jonathan, who agrees to take pictures for the calendar, and their chemistry right off the bat is steamy!

I wasn’t ready for this book to be over, as I’m not ready to say goodbye to these characters forever. I would LOVE a sequel with Jude and Rachel’s story!

Thank you to Netgalley & Forever for the ARC.

This started off promising. I love when the MCs are in their 30s and the added aspect of a career change was enticing. Holly was fine, but I guess inconsistent is the word. She was supposed to be this model employee, yet blew it on the project. She didn’t act like someone in their mid 30s, maybe early 20s. I felt zero connection to Jonathan. He sort of just existed. He had some growth. Maybe the issue is because we didn’t get his perspective but I needed more from him.

Huge thank you to Anna E Collins, her publishing team, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I initially had a slow start with this story but once it picked up I was hooked! Jonathan is such a sweet MMC with a troubled backstory but his comeback is awesome. I was surprised and pleased with the spice of this book - definitely open door but it felt like just the right amount - great balance of story and spice. This was my first book by this author but I’ll absolutely be checking out more!

Overall rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall spice 🌶️ 🌶️

I felt so lucky when I got the privilege of reading both the e-book and getting a copy of the audio book. I did a mixture of both reading and listening.
I really enjoyed this book and found myself devouring it.

Things I loved:
The MFC starting her life over and going after what she wanted.
Witty banter
The relationships between all the characters were well thought out. I especially loved Jonathan's relationship with his dad, Wayne. It was so sweet!
I really liked how the reader got to go through the whole process of the calendar process, which sounds kind of nerdy, but it was a well thought out experience that didn't just happen. You felt the stress and tension with Holly when time was running out and all the issues.
Jonathan's grand gesture was beyond sweet. Swoon worthy, really.

Things that I thought could have been different:

I didn't like how Holly went about getting her dates, it was weird. I'm not sure why she couldn't have put up a casting call or something for men with dogs. I don't know if I missed something but that part didn't make sense. I don't think the dates that she did go on really added to the story.

liked this romance and finding love and finding your passion at your job. loved that her friend found love and that she was able to be happy . loved the idea of a dog calendar.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and my biggest gripe with it would be the title. It just gives away more of the ending and makes the “oh no” plot twist at the end so freaking predictable. However, I love both Holly and Jonathan. This is very much a grumpy/sunshine romance and it so sweet to see Jonathan open up as the plot unfolds. Holly stays relatively consistent but it is really nice to see a 30ish year old have a career change and embrace the concept that it’s never too late to change what you want. I didn’t see Jonathan’s backstory coming at all, but it added a really nice depth to his character. There was also a lot of build up to why Holly left her previous job but then it felt very anticlimactic. There was also a touch of miscommunication trope at the end (bleh), but it was rectified. It took a little bit to get into this read, but I really enjoyed it, especially Holly’s relationship with her brother and niece. The hot guy and dog calendar was really just a bonus to all of it! 4.5⭐️, 2🌶

This book started off so good and I had such high hopes. About midbook, it turned erotica and dragged for chapters. It went much too far with the sexual content and language, and it lost me in the middle. I was disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

This was a fun ride. It’s been a minute since I read a “photographer and subject” romance and this was an interesting take on the trope. I enjoyed the grumpy sunshine dynamic, although I don’t think either protagonist fully embodied either side. The dogs were adorable!

Rating: 3.5 rounded up

I really wanted to love Finding Mr July. Based on the description and the authors who were listed as being similar i thought it would be an instant favorite but unfortunately it fell flat. My biggest issue with the book was that I found both the main characters unlikeable. I found Josh to be so back and forth in the start of the book that I just couldn't bring myself to like him later on. While I liked the idea of the fundraiser at the center again the main characters really made the book less enjoyable.

After a workplace meltdown, Holly found herself starting over. The transition from lawyer to environmental non-profit intern was not easy, but Holly was a frontrunner for the full-time position. She just had to win the fundraising challenge which would require the help of grumpy web designer Jonathan. What started as a business relationship turned into more as Holly and Jonathan raced against the clock to complete this challenge.

I am a big fan of comeback stories, and here, I got two. Both Holly and Jonathan had experienced career setbacks and had to pivot. Holly's end game was winning the full-time position with the firm which would take her to Scotland ensuring a fresh start. I could understand wanting to get some space from the people and places of her past, but it was easy to see her ambivalence grow with each photo shoot.

Holly had a total rom-com meet cute with Jonathan, but he was determined to keep her at arm's length. Though he was not interested in shooting a "hot guy" calendar, Jonathan agreed to assist after some "encouragement" from his boss. It was the shoots and planning sessions that were very revealing. Holly and Jonathan shared intimate details about themselves and bonded while working towards a common goal. Their interactions were fun and meaningful , and I loved watching their relationship take shape and grow.

Holly's situation with her ex was pretty bad, but my heart ached for all that Jonathan lost. I was sort of glad he was forced to help Holly with this project because it was the push he needed to pick up a camera again. Though these were not his typical subjects, he embraced the task and the sound of that shutter fed his creative need and his soul. Holly and this calendar were the shakeup he needed to reconnect with the things he loved and himself.

I also really enjoyed the photoshoots. Holly struggled to find many of her participants, but once she did, their sessions took me to some beautiful Pacific Northwest sites where dog and man froliced among nature. It was great getting out and about, and I truly adored each and every pup I met.

Overall, I had a fantastic time getting to know Jonathan and Holly, and it was a pleasure to see them both pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and start anew with lots of humor, pluck, and pups.

First and foremost, thank you to the publisher and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved this story and it was definitely worth the read! I absolutely loved this book!!!

My second book by Anna E. Collins and it did not disappoint. An enermies-to-friends-to-lovers trope I can get behind every day. Well written and an easy-to-follow story between two characters that didn't start off on the right foot. The supporting characters were just as important and played a roll in moving the story along. Of course, the HEA I was hoping for, but not before a little turmoil to work through.

(I received a complimentary ecopy of this book in exchangeforanhonestreview. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you Netgalley, Grand Central Publishing and Anna E. Collins)

I loved Finding Mr. July! The chemistry between Holly and Jonathan was great, and I loved both of their characters development. They felt like real people with real problems.
I also enjoyed the different scenery for each photo shoot. I could totally see these pictures in my mind and I think the author did a fabulous job describing everything.
This was an adorable story & quick read!

Finding Mr. July is a cute opposites-attract rom-com. I thought that the fireman calendar-inspired fundraiser was a unique idea and I loved all the puppies in it. I didn’t find the story particularly deep, but overall it was a fun, light-hearted read!