Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the early read in exchange for an honest review.

Yoga influencer Vanessa returns home after her fiancé's crypto fraud derails her life. Once back in Chicago, she runs into Sam, her ex-husband and their annulled past complicates any chance at a future together, especially when the scandal endangers Sam's career. Can they forgive their history and rebuild, or is some damage irreparable?

Despite the intriguing premise, I struggled to engage with the story, finding the characters and their toxic dynamic unappealing, and the absence of a strong antagonist and repetitive elements weakened the narrative. I think the book is a cute beach read, but I felt myself rolling my eyes and getting annoyed very easily.

Find your center—You will journey alongside Vanessa as she struggles with her present circumstances and reflects on the choices that led her there. Told from a first-person perspective, it offers an intimate look into Vanessa’s experiences as she navigates the complexities of love, personal growth, and self-discovery.

Vanessa's story involves cryptocurrency, solar energy, yoga, and even a brief but intriguing introduction to the significance of Dolly Parton. The back-and-forth timeline explores Vanessa's past and present relationships. As it unfolded, I found myself unsure of how the story would play out. That was refreshing when so many storylines feel predictable from chapter one.

The writing was beautifully done, drawing me into Vanessa’s world with emotional intensity and authenticity. It was a rollercoaster ride—filled with highs, lows, and moments of deep reflection. It was highly engaging, a true page-turner, and I would definitely recommend the book.

A heartfelt thank you to Lake Union Publishing for providing this book for my review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own

This definitely surprised me!
I'm not much of a contemporary romance enjoyer- but this was ridiculous and funny. I eye rolled a little but giggled and kicked my feet more. The humour isn't cringe, which I think is a difficult thing to achieve when you're writing a romcom. I do recommend it for anyone looking for a quick, light-hearted read.

This is the first of Kathleen Barber’s books I’ve read, and it unfortunately was a miss for me. I’ll concede that a big part of this is personal preference – the miscommunication trope is deeply frustrating to me and I almost always find myself yelling at the characters to just talk to each other!

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
-Miscommunication trope
-Second chance
-2/5 spice level

WHAT I LIKED:
-The plot was delightfully outlandish. A popular yoga instructor engaged to a wealthy crypto finance bro who disappears after defrauding his investors? Deal me in.
-Barber really captured that gut-punch feeling of being blocked or unfriended by an ex and being completely fixated on it. Who hasn’t had an all-consuming crush, especially when it’s the one that got away?
-The love for Dolly Parton that runs throughout this book.
-Fern! A maybe-nefarious journalist throwing wrenches into the plot. For having relatively little time on the page, she delivered a real heat check performance.
-Rehka was my favorite character and the only person who seemed to clock how deeply toxic Vanessa’s attachment to Sam was.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
[Light spoilers ahead]
-My overarching issue with this novel is that it recast what is a deeply toxic, codependent relationship as a romance. Vanessa’s happiness is entirely contingent on Sam, her college boyfriend she hasn’t seen in years. Any growth she has doesn’t come from within; she’s entirely reliant on external validation (particularly from Sam) and…that never changes! To that end, I don’t feel like I really know who Vanessa is aside from a yogi who loves Sam.
-I really struggled to understand why Sam was so great! Despite co-founding a revolutionary company he seems to be a total disaster who is exactly as mature as he was in college.
- Vanessa and Sam’s relationship seems to have picked up exactly where it left off – which is to say that neither of them seemed to have matured at all since they were 22.
-This book barely passed the Bechdel test. Almost every conversation Vanessa had centered around Jack or Sam.
-The side characters felt very flat. They seemed to pop into existence only when they were around Vanessa and didn’t feel like they had lives outside of talking to her about Sam.
-For a second chance romance to be successful I need to really understand what was so compelling about this couple the first time around and I was really missing that. In the highly detailed flashbacks woven into the narrative, it seems like Vanessa and Sam were deeply infatuated and then miserable. I didn’t feel excited to see what would happen next and found myself rolling my eyes and practically yelling JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER.

OTHER THOUGHTS:
[Light spoilers]
-I’m not usually a huge fan of non-linear timelines, but I think this novel could have benefitted from flashbacks that were fully broken out from the present-day timeline. They were described in detail but I think would have been more effective as actual scenes with action and dialogue.
-Based on how frequently Vanessa talks about her knee I expected it to play a bigger role in the plot. GO TO THE DOCTOR!
-If Vanessa knows marketing so well, shouldn’t she know that ignoring a journalist’s calls is a really bad idea?
-If I dated a man who disrespected Dolly Parton like that I’d dump him immediately.
-I want to go to one of Ellie’s parties.

Overall, this was a light and relatively quick read. It was light on character development and heavy on exposition, and I wish I’d learned more about Vanessa and Sam’s relationship prior to the events of the book to really understand what made them so drawn to each other, and more about Vanessa as a character and not just a woman with a love interest!

I was entertained by Both Things Are True. It was quick, entertaining and enjoyable. I did not like the characters,. I found them unlikable. I struggled a lot with Vanessa's bad communication or maybe the lack of communication. This was the first book I have read by Kathleen Barber and I can't wait to check out the rest of her work!

3.5⭐️
“You’re the standard against which I measured all other people” (LOVED this)

First and foremost- I loved the millennial centered humor, it captured the thoughts of Vanessa perfectly, specifically in her sense of humor. I also LOVED the pacing of the ending. I feel like a lot of other romance books tend to speed through the “happily ever after” but this novel gave everything (ending wise) at the perfect pace in my opinion.

Plot 4⭐️
This book knew it was dramatic and silly and the author portrayed that perfectly. It’s truly a ridiculous laughable plot but it’s so self aware that it works. Like a cryptocurrency owner has to flee the country and it’s not a big deal because yoga sensation Vanessa is obsessed with her ex anyways. That’s hilarious and very self aware and I love it.
Like I mentioned before, I appreciated the pacing of the ending.
The reason why the plot was only 4 stars for me is the general pacing of the book as a whole and the predictability.
As far as pacing goes, I felt like sometimes scenes were just dialogue and I didn’t see the point of them (until later which is great!) but they bored me just a little. And then at other times a lot was happening but those small climaxes felt short.
This book was incredibly predictable. I was only shocked at one minor part of the story but other than that I saw most of it coming. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but as a reader who likes suspenseful twists and turns it wasn’t my personal taste.

Characters 3(maybe even 2.5)⭐️
This is where the book fell flat to me.
Vanessa was very well thought out, I wholeheartedly believed every part of her character. While I was incredibly annoyed with this melodramatic yoga superstar in the beginning of the book, I ended up caring for her deeply in the end. I ultimately wanted her to succeed. I also love me an unlikable main character so this worked out well.

However, the side characters fell a bit flat for me. While I grew to dislike ex fiance and founder of jazz coin Jackson whatever his last name is, I never hated him deeply enough to be attached to that plot line. He needed to be just a little bit more toxic in my opinion. Some of the things he did were minor annoyances but they weren’t big enough (or frequent enough) for me to HATE him and see him as the true villain of the story.

Faith is the lovable sister. Shes supportive, queer, funny, and generally relateable as a character. BUT the big reason why I didn’t feel attached to her was because I just didn’t believe that she had her own life when she wasn’t around Vanessa. Small things showed me that she did (the lawyer event, faiths love life, and the ending) but they felt *too* perfect. I wish faith was a bit more dynamic.

(Baby spoiler)
Sam. Oh how perfect Sam is besides the fact that he, like Vanessa, follows the miscommunication stereotype. My gripe with Sam’s character (and Vanessa’s relationship with him as a whole) was that he didn’t seem to care about her, at least not enough for me to really root for them. He never took action after Vanessa left or didn’t communicate correctly (except for once or twice). It seems that he is just kinda…lazy? When I read romance I want the main character (on either side) to be PINING for the love interest. I needed Sam to never give up on Vanessa but he gave up too quickly and that made me feel meh about him as a whole.

Rekhas side plot was great, and she made me hate her even with the small amount of dialogue she had through the book. I felt sooo frustrated when she was just getting in the way of things. This is a good thing!

General writing 3.75⭐️
I am no author (clearly) so I feel that “judging” writing as a whole isn’t my place but I can give a well-seasoned readers perspective. I liked that there was a lot of dialogue, and not a tonnn of description! This helped me create the story in my own mind the way I want to.
My gripe with the writing was that the world building fell flat for me. Vanessa’s outfits would be explained in detail, but anywhere she was at wasn’t. Time, place, and general setting felt almost forgotten about.
Like I said earlier, I enjoyed the lack of descriptions, however when there was descriptions I wished it was on something more relevant to the story (specifically the setting).

Little things- (slight spoilers ahead to point out continuity errors)
-There’s a continuity error at the end of chapter 8. Maybe this is my mistake but it says something about 7 years not talking to Sam rather than 5.
-sometimes the sudden vivid flashbacks confused me and I’d wished they were a separate chapter or a page break. An example of this is the karaoke bar scene.
-Vanessa briefly discusses money struggles which feels unrealistic to me if she’s a YouTube star with over 15million subscribers. I’m pretty sure YouTube pays their creators fairly well, so this felt like a null challenge for me.

This review may contain spoilers

Both Things Are True was an enjoyable and entertaining read, as long as you are okay reading about extremely bad communicators. I did enjoy the chemistry between Vanessa and Sam but the first few chapters were hard for me because I found Vanessa to be extremely unlikable. She does grow on you, though, despite the aforementioned lack of communication between her and...well…everyone. Also, what does she have against doctors? I kept waiting for her knee problem to be a plot point but it was just glossed over and I don’t really understand the point of her having the knee issue, I guess? I know it sounds like I didn’t like this book, but I actually did. I just had a few complaints that I felt needed to be addressed. This was my first book I’ve read by Kathleen Barber and would gladly reach for more (and perhaps will do so soon!) the story was interesting and it kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next.

Romcoms are a genre I truly enjoy. I just finished Both Things are True by Kathleen Barber. It was a good read.

Fun read - definitely was cheering on the main character Vanessa! The characters were likeable, some fun details included. Timing of the plot and the plot line are a little hard to believe and the big plot twist feels a little rushed.

Overall I really enjoyed this book but feel like it needed to be 10-20% longer. I felt like the relationships or characters weren’t totally developed enough for me to absolutely love anyone and I needed more background of them. The storyline was great and I liked all the side characters enough to want more for them so I would’ve really been cheering for their successes. Definitely would recommended has a fun, easy read though!

There were parts of this book I loved and other parts I did not. If you’re looking for a cutesy romance book that is easy to read, this is absolutely perfect for you. At different parts, I was thinking to myself that “wow this would be such a great movie or TV episode”. It has that cliche element and the natural part in books where you’re screaming at the main character and rolling your eyes because you hate the decisions being made. I am not mad at this book.

The female main character, Vanessa, is a girl boss, but lacks the confidence to fully believe in her goals. As mentioned above there were times where she was absolutely annoying and I disliked her at times. Additionally, I was not a fan of her disregarding her physical health, aka her bum knee, and sometimes the plot didn’t make sense given her inability to walk.

Moving onto the main male character, he was a golden boy until the end for me. I pictured him to be so handsome and a golden retriever and so loving, until he made some awful comments to Vanessa. In my opinion she took him back a little too quickly, even though their entire relationship was convoluted.

“Over the last few years-and the last few months, in particular-I've spent so much time thinking about all the ways my life would be different if I'd made other decisions”

This book is the perfect description of what a toxic relationship is like, mostly because of how much they depend on each other’s presence to feel happy but also because of the miscommunication trope, but if that’s your thing, then this book is definitely worth checking out!

WHAT TO EXPECT:
⭐️ miscommunication trope
⭐️ second chance
⭐️ she’s extroverted
⭐️ he’s shy
⭐️ 2/5 spice
⭐️ HEA

Our female MC, Vanessa, was a bit of a letdown. She spent most of the book dwelling on the past and dwelling on what she should’ve done differently. The worst part was that she kept repeating the same mistakes, even though she had plenty of time to think about how she could’ve done them better this time. She also seemed to be stuck in a victim mentality, feeling sorry for herself even though she was the one who made the choices and didn’t want to try to be better. It was a bit disheartening to witness her self-pity, especially since she had raved about the benefits of yoga and how it could help her navigate life’s challenges.

Our male MC, Sam, lacked a personality. He was a mess in the past and still is. He didn’t try to understand her or make things work, he just followed orders and didn’t think for himself. He made excuses for his mistakes and didn’t even convince me that he cared enough about her to make things better.

The side characters felt like they were just there for the sake of it. I didn’t really care about them, and I felt like they were trying too hard to make the main characters seem more relatable.

Overall, the book was a quick read, but it felt a bit rushed. The story didn’t feel long, but it also felt shallow because the main characters were so obsessed with each other that their personalities were completely defined by their relationship.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me an advance copy of Kathleen Barber's latest novel, Both Things Are True, in exchange for an honest review.

#BothThingsAreTrue is a #beachread, which is the shortest and least offensive critique I can offer. This review pains me because I absolutely adored the author's prior sophomore release, #FollowMe. I recommend reading that novel over this one, unless again, you are looking for a repetitive, mindless, beach read—and I use that label generously.

So, why the two stars for such a scathing introduction? First, many passages contain humorous banter. This is particularly true with conversations between the protagonist, Vanessa, and her sister, Faith. Second, there is a tidy, happy ending, which is not necessarily a given in contemporary #romcoms. Had #Goodreads not removed the function, I would also award half a star for the creative business solution.

Now, for the hard part. While I do not mind unlikeable characters normally, the protagonist and the main love interest, Sam, are insufferable. I would have preferred learning more about some of the underdeveloped characters, such as Kathryn and Sienna, or even Jack, rather than spend another minute enduring the hemming and hawing between Vanessa and Sam. I understand this choice was intentional to create tension, but it was more frustrating and juvenile than anything. Oftentimes, this novel felt as if it wanted to be #YA despite the characters' ages and career levels.

The plot was also lacking an antagonist. There easily could have been three or four characters who turned out to be the "villain." Fern is one dimensional, and Benny was a red herring. The story could have benefitted from a further developed subplot regarding the cryptocurrency fraud scheme.

My other major gripe was repetition. By midway through the novel, Vanessa has either arrived late, sprinted from a situation, and/or cried nearly every other passage. Additionally, the number of times the reader has to read about a twenty-seven year old's knee injury, who also happens to be a yoga instructor, is somewhat incredible. Finally, too much of the setting occurs in Faith's apartment. This is Chicago. Have the characters go out and live a little! Sure, she was laying low thanks to the cryptocurrency crisis and possibly law enforcement, plus the lack of income, but fiction is fiction for a reason.

This book was difficult for me because I did not find the main character, Vanessa, likable at all. Being late is not, and should never be, a personality trait. How she got to be 27 with a career and loyal friends must be a testament to her other qualities - loyal, positive, and enthusiastic.

And while she might be a great yogi, she certainly drove me crazy in every other way. She's too naive yet overbearing (really, lecturing her sister on not taking lucrative job because of money when Vanessa had her own degree paid for by their father is ridiculous). She manages to spout some holier-than-thou nonsense yet screws her friends over (not showing up to work) and herself over (running with a bum knee, repeatedly).

Overall, I liked the cover....I liked how loyal the friends were to Vanessa...and the happy ending was nice.

I skimmed this from about 50% on. I found it super predictable and boring. Also soooooooo much miscommunication. These two loved each other but they never had an actual conversation.

This was a cute read. I really liked the writing style but for some reason I wasn’t fully invested in the characters. I did enjoy the plot and there were some really funny moments, it gave me classic rom-com vibes. A very easy read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.