Loved this book!! Perfect story and the characters were amazing to read. The story was full and real. You could almost see this being real life.

Funny book. I give it 4 stars. First time reading this author can't wait to read more from here. The author sucked me into the plot on the first chapter i just couldn't put it down. I laughed at so many parts

This was such a fun read! I love reading romcoms. This is such a relatable book. Women are choosing to travel and get married and have kids later in life and sometimes feel like their behind. This was a super cute and heartwarming take into that!

Omg, I really loved this book. Emma was so delightfully awkward, making her so relatable. I loved the references to The Proposal and Bridget Jones’ Baby, two of my most favorite rom-coms. I also really liked Nick. The characters were well developed and some of the miscommunications were hilarious. I loved how Emma bluffed her way into getting a job that she was absolutely not qualified for. I lovd the ending. Easily one of the best rom-coms that I have ever read. I am looking forward to reading more by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fun rom-com, easy to read and makes a great getaway from real life. It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. The main character goes through a lot of soul-searching and personal development, but it’s still a light and easy romance.
I recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun, light-hearted beach read. I enjoyed the various locales that the main character (Emma) went to throughout the book. That's part of what made it so enjoyable for me. The romance was fun and there was plenty of humor and fluff to keep me entertained. If you are looking for some escapist chick lit with heart, you can't go wrong with Just As You Are.

A sweet, easy-to-read story about leading a life true to you. It's about being unapologetic about who you are. Emma has been traveling for seven years but is ready to settle down in one spot and build a life. After she talks her way into a job she is completely unqualified for she bumps into a hot fling from her past who stood her up. She is mortified, and yet can't help but feel an enduring connection between them. As work begins to consume her, and she becomes more and more unhappy. With nothing going right in her life including her relationship with Nick she jumps at a new opportunity in Alaska with a job she might actually be able to do. Not to worry all ends well for the heroine and the reader is left smiling as they finish this fast-paced read!

This book was advertised as a funny rom-com and it was just that! It was quirky, witty, and a great read! I sometimes had a hard time relating to the main character, as I felt like she definitely worked against herself a lot of the time! But by the end, it all came full circle.

A cute rom-com about faking it until you make it and finding the right adventure at the right time (and hopefully, with the right partner!).

Sometimes you pick up a book because they say things along the lines of "if you liked Bridget Jones (enter book title)"... "for fans of Sophie Kinsella (enter author name)"... and you think "yes, those were kind of fun and I guess I'll read this during shelter-in-place." Then, you don't even get through the 1st chapter and begin doubting your taste in books with "boy is this book terrible, I've been suckered!"

This certainly was tough to get through at the beginning. I had a difficult time getting to know and liking heroine. She was all implied cliche and no character building. I also had a difficult time getting on board with her and hero chemistry. Author took broad strokes at typical Bridget Jones structure but it was v. not good. Ironic that she played up how large heroine was but the overall ebook was so light on story depth that I had a hard time fully connecting with the goal of the book -- to get the guy. There were plenty times I was exasperated with the on-page shenanigans. To a certain extent, that includes the stereotypical gay office mate flapping his arms to express his stress.

I did stick it through, though, and felt the end was a ridiculous attempt at a bad movie HEA. It was rushed and inelegant. Tough to believe a sensible hero would drop everything for this. 1.5 stars

I definitely understand the comparisons to a Sophie Kinsella novel with this one, because I had the exact same thoughts while reading it! This book is definitely for those who appreciate longer character development and a slower start. I don't always mind that, and I enjoyed the slower start to this one. This book tells a warm story of a young woman just trying to find her way in life. I enjoyed her journey, I found this fun and cute, and I enjoyed the characters as well. Great summer read.

A little predictable, but a great summer beach read! I enjoyed the story line though and it kept me engaged throughout :)

Unfortunately I DNF'd this book 45% of the way in. I didn't really care about the main character, Emma, and the story just fell a bit flat for me. Such a shame as I was really looking forward to this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC of this book.

A light-hearted easy read romance. Set in Sydney the main character is relatable and easily likable. The book is engaging you want things to go well for Emma as she navigates her life back on track

This was such a cute book! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

What a time this read was! If you're a fan of Sophie Kinsella and Lindsey Kelk and would like a chick lit with an Australian twist, then pick this up! ⠀
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Pros:⠀
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☑️ I enjoyed that Emma is a character in her mid-thirties ⠀
☑️Phil, her colleague, is a hoot⠀
☑️The chemistry between Nick and Emma is off silly-grin proportions⠀
☑️ It's set in Sydney, and anything that is not set in my backyard right now is right up my alley⠀
☑️I had a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments⠀
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Cons:⠀
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😭 I understand that this story is about Emma coming into her own and not conforming to society's guidelines of a stable and comfortable lifestyle, but I would have enjoyed reading a couple of chapters from Nick's perspective as very little was given to the reader regarding his reactions to Emma's actions, words and body language.⠀
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As a sufferer of wanderlust myself, I love reading books about fellow travellers. Emma was a great character, well-rounded and easy to read and empathise with. There was a bit of a 'Devil Wears Prada' feel to the story, which I enjoyed, and the addition of heartthrob Nick was a welcome one. A good bit of escapism in these challenging times.

This novel's main character reminded me of a combination between Sophie Kinsella's Becky Bloomwood and Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones. If you liked either of those series, maybe give this book a try.

Although this novel is romance, the story felt more than just that. It was more of a story about the character discovering herself and I think the romance took a backseat to that. The romance aspect was 'okay' but I wouldn't say that I fully loved the couple. I actually didn't know who the main character was going to end up with because I didn't feel any obvious chemistry between any of the males in the story. In fact, I actually predicted a different love interest that was a character only featured in one scene.

It was an okay, mediocre read but there was nothing spectacular about it.

***Thank you to the publisher for supplying me with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Oh, dear, Emma really does get herself into some scrapes, which leads to all sorts of funny situations. Talk about a square peg in a round hole, she certainly doesn't suit what she thinks she should do/want/have. 

It took me a while to get into Emma's character,  and I did find her rather immature in the beginning. But that's perfectly OK, because it gives her the opportunity to grow and develop throughout the story, which is exactly what I like characters to be able to do. 

The sex scenes are quite explicit and go on for a good few pages, but they are easy enough to skip over if that's what you prefer, without affecting the story at all.

This is a story about self-discovery and following your heart, and how you shouldn't compromise when it comes to your happiness.  Funny, ludicrous in places, this is most definitely a laugh out loud romance.

This is one of those books I’ve had waiting for me on Netgalley for a while now. And if you’ve been seeing my Twitter recently, I’ve definitely got more in the mood for romance books. I’m finding them a great escape from dissertation work because they’re fun, quick, light reads.

And this was another book that I read in one sitting. Thanks so much to One More Chapter for allowing me access to a digital copy of Just As You Are!

Emma returns from travelling the world and working odd jobs to Australia, where all her friends are married and starting families. Both her mother and herself put this expectation on her now. It’s the new plan.

1. Get a job.
2. Get a house.
3. Get a husband.
And that leads her to lying on her CV to get a badly paid stressful job at a PR company: her year making coffees and printing turned into a year of PR assistant work and her year being a waitress became events co-ordinator (with experience in catering and children’s parties).

It is at this job that Emma meets her new boss, Nick, aka the same guy she flirted and slept with while holidaying in Fiji but who gave her a fake number afterwards.

What I liked about this book was that the romance was only one part of the storyline; discovering herself and allowing herself to admit she doesn’t want the expected, ‘conventional’ life. I think the romance is a larger part of the plot than the blurb originally makes out but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The one thing that always used to make me hesitate with the romance genre was the inclusion of so many cliches. I hate to cringe at something. With Just As You Are, I feel like they saved all the cheese to the very end. If you dislike the cliche of missed communication, where every problem is based around not communicating, don’t read this. If you don’t mind that cliche, like me, it’s a great read. The ending just needed to calm down on the cheese, or at least even it out across the novel.

What’s the last romance book you enjoyed?

Happy Reading 🙂