While You Were Reading

This book was WOW. Set in Melbourne, it follows Bea Babbage who recently moved to the city from Perth, trying to find herself whilst tracking down a mystery writer.

I loved every page of this book and I felt a connection to Bea and the other characters. The plot itself also got me hook, line, and sinker and I loved EVERY page of this book.

The book references and relatableness of the coffee addiction Bea made this book very well rounded!

Rating: 5/5

(This review will be published on my blog on the 24th June)

Are you looking for a fun, light weekend read? A book that loves books as much as you do? 'While you were reading' might be just the book you’re looking for. Thanks to Simon and Schuster (Australia) publishing for giving me an advanced copy of this one to read!

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
'While you were reading' is a contemporary romance novel by Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus. The book follows Beatrix Babbage (‘Bea’) as she seeks to start over in a new city after accidentally ruining her friends wedding. Bea dreams of living life to the fullest, meeting new people and landing the dream job. But it doesn’t take too long for her to realise, not all things in life go to plan.

With only her books, barista and cleaning lady to keep her company it’s not long before Bea finds herself feeling very lonely in the city. Her job makes her miserable and she hasn’t had the romantic adventure she was hoping for.

When Bea stumbles across an annotated novel in a second-hand bookstore, the scribbles seem to be there just for her. Bea becomes determined to find the author of these notes, and in her quest to find out who wrote them discovers more than she could have imagined.

Ginger cat cuddles up next to 'While you were reading' book and cup of tea
Ca†s, tea and a good book. Sounds like the perfect weekend to me.
WHAT I LIKED THE MOST?
As a Melbournian myself I really enjoyed reading a book that is set in my city! The places Bea visits, the cafés and bookstores she talks about are described perfectly and Berg and Klaus have done such a great job distilling the feeling of Melbourne into this book.

As a book lover myself I really enjoyed all the literary references in this book! As one who has recently started a book blog I related to Bea’s feeling of joy when you discover someone who loves books as much as you do. If you’re reading this blog I’m pretty sure you know what I’m talking about! This book read like chatting to a friend you’ve known for ages, it was comfortable and fun.

The characters were unique and quirky, and just really enjoyable. At different stages in the book you see some characters motivations be more revealed and that’s always fun to watch.

WHAT I LIKED LEAST?
As a romance novels go this one was at times a little predictable, but I felt like the story managed to go a bit deeper than just being about girl-meets-guy-they-fall-madly-in-love so I think some of the predictability in plot was made up for by that.

There was a lot of name-dropping in the book which I’ve already mentioned (of places and books). I suppose this might annoy some readers, but I found it showed how much the authors love the city of Melbourne and this story.

Bea as a character is flawed, but wonderfully so. No one is perfect so I think the best characters aren’t either. I found her antics entertaining.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?
If you love all things bookish this book is going to be a lot of fun for you! For young adult fiction lovers I think this book has a lot to offer. The popular culture references and tone of writing reminded me a little bit of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

The romance storyline in this book is sweet, and had some really unique elements to it. I really enjoyed this book as a light fun read. I actually laughed out loud in some parts of this book, which I rarely do!

Going away on holiday? This book would make a great vacation read!

While you were reading by Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus is available to the purchase from next week 1st July 2019! Add it to your TBR (To be read) list!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR?
I don’t always do this segment on my reviews, but I thought I would today because I was super excited! Have you heard of ‘Books on the Rail’? No? Well! let me tell you about it.

As well as being superstars for writing this awesome book, Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus are also the founders of ‘Books on the Rail’. A Melbourne based organisation that formed to help commuters rediscover the humble novel and peel their eyes away from their iPhones. The initiative gets ‘book ninjas’ to leave books on trams, buses and trams which are then available for people to read! How cool is that?!

Have you ever spotted on of these books on your commute? I have! I read a few on my commute to and from uni. Whenever I spy one of these well-loved paperbacks on a bus, train or tram it brings a smile to my face! To find out more about this awesome movement, check out their website here.

While You Were Reading is a quirky, lighthearted novel just perfect for a weekend read. A delightful contemporary romance about finding your true self, and real friends that warmed my heart, and had me staying up late till the last page.

Full of bookish references, and plenty of Melbourne haunts, there's lots to love including very relatable bookworm Bea, who is trying to rebuild her life after moving to Melbourne for a fresh start. Picking up a second hand book at a local bookstore, she falls in love with the handwritten annotations in the margins, and begins a quest to hunt down the author. Finding herself in a job she hates, lacking in friends, she turns to the local Barista Dino for motivation and moral support, who supplies her apt handwritten bookish quotes on her daily coffee cups.

I absolutely enjoyed The Book Ninja, and I wasn't sure that While You Were Reading would be able to live up to the first book by Ali Berg and Michelle Baus, but I'm very pleased to be wrong. I've added them both to my must-read author list, and will be keeping a keen eye out for their next novel.

* This eBook ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster (Australia) through NetGalley for an honest review.

While You Were Reading is a book for book lovers - a book about books and those that love books - what is not to love? Set in Melbourne this is a light hearted book that you can get lost in for a few hours. The characters are fun and realistic, while the story will make you laugh and cry at the same time. As a book lover I found this book very relatable in that when you find somebody that gets it, really understands what it is like to love reading you don't let that go.

Bea has just moved to Melbourne from Perth after accidently ruining her best friends marriage - oops! She wants a fresh start but has no friends, no contacts and is not all that outgoing. In fact her awkwardness is something that I loved about her - as I kept thinking "that would be me" all the time. Anyhow, she finds solace in a coffee shop called The Nook - where the barista Dino writes book quotes on her coffee cups - cute!! While exploring the city she finds a book shop and inside she picks up a second hand book. While the blurb sounds good, it is the hand written notes all throughout the book that has her intrigued. She needs to find this Mystery Writer at all costs. Joining Instagram and stalking out the places the writer mentions in the book it is a hilarious journey, in which she learns a lot about herself and what she wants in life.

There is so much more to the story than just this but to find that out you will just have to read the book. You really do need to read this book - I just loved it and was very sad when it was all over. I am now going to go back and read The Book Ninja by the same writers. Do yourself a favour as a famous Melbournian would say - read this book!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Australia for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.

Synopsis: After ruining her best friend's nuptials, Bea relocates to the other side of the country in search of a fresh start, including meeting new people, living life to the fullest and finally pulling off balayage. Then Bea stumbles across a second-hand novel, inscribed with notes. Besotted with the poetic inscriptions, Bea is determined to find the author ... and along the way, she finds herself entangled in one hell of a love quadrangle.

Most contemporary rom coms are set in either New York or London or some other international city. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book based in Melbourne which is why I LOVED While You Were Reading. The book was basically an amalgamation of all my favourite things: coffee, reading and brunch 🥑. There were references to Osher from the Bachelor, Sir John Monash and Messina. I felt like for once I had the advantage as a Melbs reader since I understood most references that an interstate/international reader would have to google hehehe.

The book did start off a bit slowly and some of the quirky characters threw me at first. But the ending was super cute and all the threads came together in my head about half a page before Bea figured it out and I internally squealed 🥰. It was a quality rom-com ending which I say as a rom-com connoisseur (yes I had to Google how to spell that). Also it left me craving coffee and where can I buy Dino’s coffee in real life?!

4/5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
- K 📖

I think I was given this book through Netgalley over 6 months ago, something I feel incredibly guilty about because my busy-ass never got around to reading this book until now.
But REJOICE ALL. I have officially become slightly less despicable!

First of all y'all. Australian lit. It's lit. I know, I know. That's the lamest and most overused phrase of ever, but I always feel really happy being able to support my fellow Aussies, and particularly my Melbournians.
And I was able to understand so much about this book! I was like I've been here and here, etc. etc. I felt oh-so-powerful. It was truly a great position and feeling to be in.

Also, y'all know I'm a big fan of my cutesy stories, and the relatableness and feeling of comradery in reading about another fellow bookworm. It was so damn cute.
I mean, I'm a little sad that there was more than Dino, but it was a cute story nonetheless.
PLUS, I'm the biggest fan of bookish annotations and passing them along. No one ever wants to do that with me. What's with that anyway??? It looks like such a fun time.

Definitely thinking about picking up The Book Ninja sometime soon!