Book Review: Finding It by Leah Marie Brown

Book received from NetGalley

When I first got Finding It , I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. The cover and description said Chicklit in the traditional form, and I thought it would be a fun, light romance.

From the back of the book:

Anything can happen in a year! Unemployed, homeless, and left at the altar, Vivia Perpetua Grant could see her future as a flannel pajama wearing spinster—or worse, a bag lady shuffling around Golden Gate Park. But for a girl obsessed with rock music, Chinese take-out, and the color pink, misfortune is another word for opportunity. Vivia has found her niche as an international travel writer and the long-distance lover of Jean-Luc de Caumont, an über-hot French literature professor and competitive cyclist.

Still, even with so much going right, Vivia can’t help but wonder if something isn’t missing. The long distance thing is taking its toll on a girl who didn’t have that many tokens to begin with. And fate seems to be tempting her at every turn, first with a hunky Scottish helicopter pilot, and then with a British celebrity bad boy…Will Vivia continue to keep it real or will she discover some old habits die hard?

At first, I found the book to be glib and really silly. It was a little too over the top for my taste. As in Sex in the City meets Friends meets Bridesmaids. It seemed to lack any real character depth. I kept reading and what was lovely was that the characters developed far more deeply. There was romance in the story, and silliness and glitz, but it’s really about a woman deciding who she wants to be, and what is important to her, and how to have relationships with other people. Specifically, how to have friendships.

Though there’s a lot of silly moments, and a lot of funny scenes, at the same time, Brown turns those scenes into deeper explorations of the characters and their choices. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s well worth my time.

I recommend this book. I give it 4/5 stars.

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