Weather Girl
Ratings47
Average rating3.7
4.25/5
I enjoyed this book very much. Scheming brought them together and I loved it.
Ari and Russel were adorable together and I loved them working together to bring their bosses back together. And I loved Torrence and Seth together too, they were amazing together! I loved the scheming and partnering.
And I loved at the end where Torrence and Seth tried to get them together although I was convinced that they knew what was going on lmao.
I loved this book very much!
4,75 ⭑
Ich habe es so sehr geliebt, nur die letzten 10% waren schwacher daher keine vollen 5 Sterne. Jedochh habe ich die beiden Protagonisten geliebt und die gemeinsame Entwicklung
Ein Buch welches mir noch lange in Erinnerung bleiben wird.
This is my first book by this author and after reading this one I definitely want to read more books by this author. I thought this was a cute romance and I loved how the weather was incorporated. There is a lot of representation which I loved. Ari's brother is Jewish and gay, Ari is Jewish and has depression which her mom also has and Russell is Jewish and fat (is this the right term to use?) The author is also Jewish so this is an own voices book. I feel like the representation was handled really well and I loved how Russell also had some insecurities about his size. We don't really get male plus size representation much less males with their own insecurities.
This book had light moments that had me laughing at times and it also had some darker moments when it comes to depression. I'm not the biggest fan of miscommunication or lack of communication in books so that is my biggest complaint about this book but I can see why it makes sense that the author did that. As I said I really enjoyed this one and will for sure be reading more by this author in the future.
Fun romance and work story. Didn't love the conflict arc but thought the characters were very well written
A short and sweet rom-com read.
Interesting concept, navigating new romance while dealing with mental illness in yourself and with family. It's nice she has support systems in place she can turn to on the dark days.
Ari and Russell we're workplace friends, who turned to each other to Parent Trap their bosses into getting back together.
Surprisingly emotional !! But in a nice heartwarming way.
This was an easy and enjoyable read. The book follows the evolution of Ari and Russel friendship while they plot to help their bosses get together again.
What to love:
- Heroine with depression (she's medicated and goes to therapy). I really like to read about characters that feel real, with whom I can connect and who contribute to the normalization of mental health care.
- Fat hero. (It was a first to me)
- Lindy hop! While it is not the same as going to an actual Jam, it was good enough to remember the feeling of it. Do yourself a favour and go to one experimental class wherever you live. The lindy hop community is just the best and you'll have a blast! It just not possible to not smile while dancing lindy hop.
The negative point for me is that I didn't feel much chemistry between the main characters, discrediting their romance.
However, I want to emphasize that Rachel Lynn Solomon wanted to create a story that showed a heroine that thrived despite her condition, and a hero who loved her through her dark days, not despite of them.
I think she succeeded.
Ari works as a meteorologist for a TV station in Seattle. She's admired her boss since childhood, but actually working for her has turned into a nightmare as said boss and another high-ranking employee loudly navigate a combative divorce.Ari's coworker Russell commiserates as both long for more support—or at least peace—in the workplace. Together they hatch a plan to reunite their bosses, and can you believe it, in so doing another spark ignites.This was...cute, I guess? I wanted to like it a lot more. In the beginning and middle I liked it fine, but my patience wore thin as it went on. I think it just wasn't for me, which makes me feel bad in rating it so low, especially because Jewish representation of this sort is so hard to come by.It just felt trite and surface-level. And I know, romance is fluffy and light. But in the Dear Reader intro, Solomon makes it clear this rom-com has substance and darkness to it. Topics like mental health and parenthood and body positivity are important to address! I was just underwhelmed by how they were addressed. The surface-level spoonfeeding of how we're supposed to feel about Serious Real Things was jarring alongside play-by-play sex scenes. Like [b:Chloe Brown 43884209 Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1) Talia Hibbert https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1614273529l/43884209.SY75.jpg 66903616], there is also one line I will never get over, and that line is (click to reveal at your own risk, I was and am outraged by this): “What do you want me to do to your pussy, Weather Girl?” I wanted to omit this from the review, but this sentence will haunt me for the rest of my days, and I cannot bear this burden in silence.As workplace dynamics “improved,” really they just got codependent and weird. In a sense they had to, because Ari didn't have any friends. Why didn't Ari have any friends? The pacing was all over the place. The epilogue also contains two of my pet peeves in one: 1) proposals during someone else's wedding, and 2) public proposals in front of large groups of strangers. I get that just because I don't want something for myself, doesn't mean it's inherently bad. But also, I do be me. I do be myself. And I do dislike both of those things.I think for others, Weather Girl is probably equally good to curl up with on a rainy day with some tea, or to lay out reading with a tropical cocktail on the beach. It's easily digestible and allows Ari room to grow without the stakes getting too high. If you like [a:Beth O'Leary 13038484 Beth O'Leary https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1546818419p2/13038484.jpg], [a:Christina Lauren 6556689 Christina Lauren https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1554664497p2/6556689.jpg], [a:Sarah Hogle 18914276 Sarah Hogle https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], or weirdly, I'm gonna say, the show New Girl, you could give it a shot. I am just unimpressed. Sorry to be a romance genre Grinch, but Ari taught me it's better to be negative and authentic than fake and cheery. Time for a nonfiction book about cults.
3.5 - it was cute but didn't really connect well with the characters.
- Workplace Romance
- Parent Trapping Bosses
- Plus Size Male MC
- Single Parent
- Mental Health
Steam Lvl: R
I'm leaving this book unrated because I don't think I really gave it a fair chance. After a brutal 2021, I am finally in a semi-good place mentally so the discussion of depression and anxiety in this book was too much for me. It understandably coloured my enjoyment of this book and it was a bit too heavy for me.
I might reread this when I am more solidly in a better place. It might be everything I want in a romance, but at this moment, I can't tell.
Cute read that did a good job staying light and refreshing despite the main character's struggle. Loved the nice little twist towards the end! Also good to see a different kind of representation for the leading man.
3.5 stars. I might be a little too close to this plot (Jewish woman with depression and a mother whose own untreated depression caused a traumatic childhood) so I'm not sure if I can objectively rate this book. I admire what Solomon is trying to do - combine a typical rom-com trope of “coworkers scheme to get their bosses back together, end up falling in love “ with a more serious story about a young woman realizing she doesn't have to hide her condition and making peace with her mother. So some of the scenes where Ari is acutely depressed pushed my buttons a bit too much and left me uncomfortable with their juxtaposition of wacky humor. But I suspect it won't bother other readers at all. Russell is an adorable cinnamon roll of a hero, a single father from the age of 17 who is self-conscious about his weight and determined to do anything to keep his daughter happy. He and Ari have a nice chemistry as they gradually come clean about their respective baggage and Ari makes it explicitly clear how much she loves Russell's body. The Third Act Breakup is predictable but doesn't last too long. And Ari's relationship with her boss Torrance is a welcome example of two women supporting each other in the workplace instead of competing. I do have one quibble. There are plenty of great plots out there that don't involve characters who are lying to other people in the service of making their lives easier (Solomon also went there in her breakout [b:The Ex Talk 53415121 The Ex Talk Rachel Lynn Solomon https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589505942l/53415121.SY75.jpg 74638665]). Maybe she should drop the scheming and replace it with something else in her next book.
Weather Girl is my favorite of Solomon's books that I've read so far, and that's definitely because I related to Ari so much and saw so much of my struggles with depression reflected on the page. One of my notes from reading is “Reflections on therapy – ACCURATE.” It's been a few months since I read the book, so I don't remember precisely what said reflections were, but I felt very seen by them!
It's a romance novel, so of course, we have a Third Act Breakup. What I loved about their breakup (as much as I can “love” it) was that Ari's motives made sense for her character. It didn't rely on massive miscommunication. Her actions were a bit self-destructive, but it was an essential step for Ari to reflect and accept her depression.
If you've read and enjoyed any of Rachel Lynn Solomon's other work, you're sure to love Weather Girl!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Going into this book, I was expecting a rom-com but I would consider this more of a contemporary romance as there was not a whole lot of comedy. Unfortunately it didn't grip me as much as The Ex-Talk did. I never felt fully connected to the characters and it felt like a chore at times to get through. I understand the importance of authors writing stories that focus on mental health, however I wish this book would have been marketed that way rather than as a romantic comedy as I had certain expectations going into it and instead it ended up being a book dealing with some pretty heavy topics that I typically need to be in the right headspace to enjoy.
ARC provided by Edelweiss in exchange for honest review.
Never thought I'd love a book about a weather anchor and a sports anchor but here I am! Weather Girl was so cute and it kept giving me warm gooey feelings in my chest while I read.
Weather Girl follows Ari Abrams who is all sunshine until she isn't. The work force has become a hostile environment with her two bosses. They are a divorced couple and is making the workplace hard to be at with their constant jabs and bickering. This is when Ari and Russell decide to get them back together.
During the time they get them back together, they start to form feelings for each other and it is the most pure thing probably when it comes to adults falling for each other. AND THEY ARE SO CUTE. The way Ari described Russell was just adorable how she kept constantly wanting to touch him and how he would blush. How she even found his round belly attractive. It was all mushy to me and I ate it right up!
Russell seemed like the perfect gentleman for Ari and the person to help her through her issues. The person to love her regardless of them and it made me feel seen.
I recommend this book to anyone looking for a cute work romance. Where they slowly fall for each other and are the perfect fit. I want to thank NetGalley for giving me this ARC for an honest review.