This book had a strange subject matter....a romance with the brother of a woman's deceased ex, but Tawna Fenske writes with a fun, easy-to-read style. Her main female characters are always relatable; someone I could see myself being friends with. Romance intermingled with grief and death was a bit odd, though, so if you want a super light-hearted romance, this wouldn't be it.

3.5 stars

A solid, quirky contemporary read. Sometimes a little off the wall but fun to listen to. Good narration.

*I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review*


This was a cute love story. It starts when Meg going to wish her ex-fiance well after he's had a surgery. Only to find out from his brother, Kyle, that Matt is now dead. Yikes! The rest of this book is the story about Meg and Kyle. Meg finding fame with her cookbook, and also discovering part of the reason why Matt cheated on her in the first place.

While I like romances, and this one seemed more realistic than most, it wasn't my favorite. I liked Meg's character, she was fun and sassy. And I also liked Kyle. He's always loved Meg, even when she was with his brother, which makes the story all the more interesting. But honestly I can't say why I didn't like it much. It was a fun, quick read, but as I said, not my favorite.

A more serious tone than her norm, I enjoyed this book as much as her more humorous ones. Fenske takes a tricky situation - one that includes grief for what is and once was - and inserts love, with all the complications of it. I really appreciated the conflict in this story, as it reflected an authenticity of character within the envelope of grief. Additionally, it touched upon a lesser addressed topic on what is fair surrounding artistic rights? Fenske addresses this as only another artist can while also balancing it with loyalty and love. One of my favorites of hers so far.

One of the things that attracted me to NOW THAT IT'S YOU was the storyline: a guy falling in love with his brother's ex-fiancée. I was in the mood for something fun, so I decided to give this a go. This book had a few fun moments, but I really didn't care for the story after the lawsuit plotline was introduced.

The writing was okay. There were a couple moments in the beginning that seemed a little too convenient (i.e.Kyle finding Meg's balloons, Kyle finding Meg near the lake). I appreciated the time the author took to build the romantic relationship. But the ending and resolution felt really rushed to me. This book is billed as a romantic comedy, but I didn't really find it that funny. Maybe a better description of it is a lighthearted romance that deals with family issues.

The parts that I did enjoy were the sweet romantic moments between Kyle and Meg. Kyle was endearing at times and maddening at times. He was so attentive and attuned to Meg, which made me really root for him. But my feelings for him diminished after what he did in the end. It was sort of a jerk move. I really liked Meg. She's had to work for everything she has, but I really wanted her to stick up for herself, especially to Sylvia (Kyle and Matt's mom).

With comedies, sometimes certain characters' character traits are exaggerated for comedic value. Normally, this doesn't bother me if it's done with a good amount of nuance and is necessary. Sylvia was the villain in this story and her actions were so overly cruel to the point that she didn't seem real. She had the absolute inability to see a situation from other sides. It didn't seem believable to me that she would channel her grief in the way that she did.

It was nearly impossible for me to completely empathize with Matt, and therefore, I couldn't excuse the actions his family took after his death. Had I been able to fully feel the sadness the author wanted to convey, I think I would have enjoyed the book a little bit more. My lack of empathy only heightened the need for Meg to stick up for herself, which didn't really happen. Meg is left with a moral quandary: fight for her own interests or do right by Matt and his family.

This book has its sweet and sexy moments, served up in a fun way with a LARPing scene and a super awkward wake. If it interests you, give it a go. You may enjoy it more than I did.

* I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.




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★★UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES★★
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**** I received an advanced copy of this book through Net-galley in exchange for an honest review. ****
After two years Meg Delany if finally ready to face her former fiancée and ask for his forgiveness. She left Matt standing at the alter. Arriving at the hospital where Matt is having a procedure where Meg runs into Matt’s brother Kyle. Meg quickly learns that her goal will never be met because Matt has suddenly passed.
Kyle and Meg move through the grieving process together. Both had unresolved issues with Matt. Kyle and Meg’s relationship grows and changes, but can they move forward.
I really enjoyed this book immensely. I loved the writing. The characters were wonderful I laughed and cried with them as they dealt with Matt’s death, the fall out of it and their developing relationship. I am so glad I read this book and look forward to reading more by Ms. Fenske.

The premise caught my attention, so I wanted to read it. The books starts out really good. Two years after leaving her fiance at the alter by saying “I can’t”, Meg feels she can put everything aside and forgive Matt. She decides to visit him at the hospital after a minor surgery to have some closure. Then the bad news: Matt died in surgery. Here comes his brother Kyle into the picture. Kyle has been in love with Meg during her entire relationship with his brother. Then Meg’s self published cookbook all of a sudden becomes “the next 50 Shades” and a legal battle with Matt’s family begins.

Typical with “chick lit” Meg and Kyle start a relationship. Well, more like have really great sex. They are both conflicted the whole book with Matt being brought up CONSTANTLY. You have to almost think, “Would they even be together if Matt had not been around in the past”. For me, Matt was brought up way too much. He was a constant in their conversations. And their conflict on if they should be together or not because of Matt- For me it was “hurry up and make up your minds and stop talking about Matt so much!”

Another thing that was an annoyance was the constant referral to Matt’s mom as Meg’s “former-future-mother-in-law”. She was referred as this the whole novel. Did the author have a word quota she needed to reach? Why not just call Matt’s mom by his name or Mrs. Midland?

For me the best part of the novel was the cookbook and the legal battle that Meg faced. I enjoyed how all of a sudden the book became wildly popular and Meg trying to deal with the after effects of everything that entailed. That part seemed real to me.

Of course towards the end of the novel there is a surprising reveal on a secret Kyle kept. The way that Meg reacted about it and her ultimate decision at the end was not satisfying for me. She forgave him way to easily in my opinion. Books, even “chick-lit” books don’t always have to have a “Happily Ever After” ending.

The issue of grief is in the novel as well. Tawna Fenske did a good job portraying that. You could feel Matt’s family dealing with their grief in various ways.

Overall, I give this novel three stars. I don’t really recommend it. There are some humorous parts to the book. I enjoyed parts of it, but the issues I had keep me from recommending it.

**I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't normally go for romances where 1 person has relationships with multiple family members (I'm looking at you "Dan in Real Life") but this one was REALLY good. The relationship between Meg and Kyle felt organic, especially since there was 10 years of backstory between them.

I could have done without some of obstacles that Meg and Kyle are supposed to overcome

(the whole Kyle set up Matt to cheat was really aggravating)

, but on the whole I was really rooting for them the entire time. Plus Meg was just plain likable and I wanted her to have a happy ending.

10/4/2017

I didn't like this. At all. The main characters are horrible and their situation is ridiculous.

So basically Meg ran away at the altar and she, filled with guilt, offered to pay off the wedding (even though her fiancé cheated on her) and then she had to pay 10.000 dollars for photos her ex offered to take? AND THEN she has to give all her royalties to his money-sucking family? WHY THE FORK WON'T SHE STAND UP FOR HERSELF?

And Kyle is such an endearing and good man (sarcasm) that he never supports her and even sides with his family but, he LOVES her so much. Note: he doesn't. He's psychotic and obsessed with her.

The only thing this book does is aggravate me. Urgh, never going to pick it up again or any of this author's books. If this is what she's capable of, then no thank you.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I struggled to assign a star rating for this book. I adored the characters and the premise--I think Meg is probably one of the most realistic female protagonists I've seen in quite a while. Kyle was a good character too, at first. However, the things that are revealed about him and what he did while his brother was still alive made me think he was petty, immature, manipulative, and spiteful. I could not trust him, and I didn't think Meg should have either. I understand what the author was trying to do but in my opinion she went too far.

I received a complimentary copy from Montlake Romance via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.