He Will Be Mine by Kirsty Greenwood (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Title: He Will Be Mine

Author: Kirsty Greenwood

Publication: 10 November 2020

Format: Kindle ebook ARC provided by author (which in no way swayed my feelings, by the way)

Amazon Description: 

Nora Tucker is an admin assistant from a tiny English village.

Gary Montgomery is Hollywood’s hottest new star.

After seeing him on the silver screen, Nora believes that Gary is her soulmate, her one true love, the man she's supposed to grow old and wrinkly with. She knows it sounds nuts, she knows it’s completely crazy. But sometimes love is crazy, right?

Only... how on earth is this Plain Jane introvert supposed to get to Los Angeles, infiltrate Gary’s inner circle AND convince him that they’re meant to be? Throwing herself into this mission might be a tall order but it means Nora can stop thinking about that one awful day, two years ago, when everything in her life fell apart...

With the help of a sunny Californian weather girl, a super hot but super grumpy script writer, and a very passionate Adam Levine tribute act, Nora is about to try the impossible and let fate decide her future…

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Okay, so it's been a while since I've rambled or reviewed or teased. 

Quite a while. 

Like, since June. 

I've read .... occasionally. I've even done the star thing on Goodreads a few times .... I think. 

And then I got an invitation to read Kirsty Greenwood's latest well before it's release and I jumped at it. It was perfect timing, too. I was about to go on a mini vacation to see my one-and-only for the first time since February and it was going to be the perfect read while I waited for him to arrive or be done with work stuff or on the bus back home or whatever.

I made it to Chapter Eighteen and was so wrapped up in the amazingness of it when it had barely even started. Then some amazing quality time with my 💖 put the reading on hold and then .... 

well .... 

life.

I was not in the mood to deal with fictional happily ever afters. 

I was not in the mood to deal with much of anything.

I probably should have continued reading anyway because, as it turns out, it's pretty much the perfect roller-coaster of a book and likely would have helped with the dealing. 

I laughed. I cried. I cried some more. I laughed even more. It was definitely a roller-coaster worth riding, though. Once again, Kirsty Greenwood has given the rom-com world a book worthy of far more than 5 stars.

Go figure.

I should have known, really, based on previous experience with Greenwood -- particularly Big Sexy Love, which I read at one of the most "not in the mood" times of my life.

Note to Self: If I ever find myself in one again, I'll just grab a Greenwood.

Note to You: Even if you're not in a "not in the mood" mood, grab a Greenwood. As amazing as He Will Be Mine is, I would grab Big Sexy Love first, and those who know why will understand -- quite possibly with a smirk and a nod.

As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Big Sexy Love by Kirsty Greenwood (Tuesday Intro & Teaser Tuesday)

Oh, Kirsty Greenwood. Last year she nailed me with an obsession with Grease 2 that lasted for months, and now I'll have no choice but to watch Atonement over and over and over again. And, once again, she's also given me a main character who simultaneously breaks my heart and makes it swell with hope and joy and ... just all the feels. Big Sexy Love's Olive is so me in so many ways that it's almost terrifying. Actually, I wish Olive was so me in so many ways because the way things turn out for her? I could definitely deal with that. Our "so me"-ness seems to veer in different directions right around the 50% mark, but I've got time yet for my own other 50.

Out of five stars I would have to give this a solid 11 and even that isn't enough.

From Amazon:

Olive Brewster is a scaredy cat. She doesn't do new or risky. She’s happy enough with her job at the local market, it’s cool that she has no boyfriend to fret over, she even likes that she still lives in her childhood home. No drama, no fuss, no problems. Everything is fine. Super duper fine.

Except … Olive's best friend in the world​, Birdie, is dying.

Birdie has one final wish. She wants to track down her first love, Chuck, and because she's stuck in the hospital she needs Olive's help to do it. But there’s a teeny problem: Chuck is somewhere in New York and Olive has never even left her home town, let alone roamed the crazy streets of Manhattan.

As if the big city isn't scary enough, Olive has to contend with Seth, a cocky comedy TV writer who thinks she’s a joke; Anders, a bored socialite who’s taken a shine to her; and the fact that no matter how hard she tries to track down Chuck, he doesn't seem to want to be found.

Can Olive learn to overcome her fears, abandon her old safe routine and fulfil her best friend’s last wish?  It's going to take extra bravery, one badass attitude and a whole lot of Big Sexy Love to make this happen …

I know ... "First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" from Bibliophile by the Sea is on vacation ... but I'm used to doing these two together so I'm just going to stick with it. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Rambling About... Kirsty Greenwood's The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance

Title: The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance Author: Kirsty Greenwood Publication: 9 April 2015 - Pan Books Format: epub - Book Bazaar Reader - 228 pages Goodreads Description:  Jessica Beam is a girl who knows how to party. Only lately she's been forgetting to turn up for work on time. Or in clean clothes. Down on her luck, out of a job and homeless, Jess seeks the help of her long-lost grandmother. Things aren't going well for Matilda Beam, either. Her 1950s Good Woman guide books are out of print, her mortgage repayments are staggering and her granddaughter wears neon Wonderbras! When a lifeline from a London publisher arrives, the pair have an opportunity to secure the roof over their heads – by invigorating the Good Woman guides and transforming modern, rebellious Jess into a demure vintage lady.The true test of their make-over will be to capture the heart of notorious London playboy Leo Frost and prove that Matilda’s guides still work. It's going to take commitment, nerves of steel and one seriously pointy bra to pull this off...

First Lines: I have done many unwise things in my life. And while sex with the new neighbor less than two hours after meeting him is definitely not the most ridiculous of those things, it's quite high up on the list.

Favorites on 4s: 
34 - Did I just shout ‘knob-prince’ at a Booker-prizewinner’s book launch? ‘Knob-prince’ isn’t even a real swear. I just made it up right this minute!
74 - I glare at them both as if they’re mental. The very idea of hanging about here for longer than the two days I had intended, learning this strange new grandma’s version of manners and style, trying to chase after some bloke and get him to – puke – fall in love with me? It’s literally abhorrent, the complete opposite of anything I would ever want to do with my time.

94 - What I see before me is not a freak of nature, but sort of a more elegant version of Jessica Rabbit.
134 - There are few things that a good night of sleep cannot remedy. Life always looks better in the morning!
174 - Feelings. Urgh. I can feel them, these feelings. Whizzing around my insides and making me feel excited and scared and worried and super horny and like there might be something to look forward to, maybe.

Ramble:

I could easily have done more "Favorites on 4s" but didn't want to get spoilery. What a gloriously hilarious read this was! There have already been a ton of reviews and the description from Goodreads above that give the basics for plot and such. I'm not going to bother rehashing all of it. I did adore the book, though, and even stayed up late last night so I could finish it. "Cockwaffle" and "knob-prince" are already on my "must say" list ... I have a huge craving for pear cider (which is something in and of itself since I haven't had any alcohol in a decade) ... and the soundtrack for Grease 2 is pretty much stuck on repeat in my head (and I still mad crush on Adrian Zmed). I will warn you that Jessica's favorite word does appear to be "fuck" and I know that the super-uppity out there probably won't like the amount of swearing that takes place, but they can stuff it.

Book Beginnings & Friday56 -- Kirsty Greenwood's The Vintage Guide to Love & Romance

Finally! Another Friday so time for Friday 56, Book Beginnings, and in just a handful of hours I get to go home and throw on my rattiest t-shirt and sweatpants and stay in them until Sunday! I know, not necessarily ladylike. Matilda Beam would probably scoff. Maybe I'll learn something by the time I finish The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance (besides some new awesome swear phrases that will surely slip into my lexicon)...
As always, Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.