I wanted to like this book but to be honest, I found it rather boring and depressing. For long stretches, nothing much happened and the style of writing was continuous with no obvious stopping places. Casey wasn't particularly interesting or appealing and none of the other characters were very vivid.

I'm sure there are many people who will just love this book but unfortunately for me it's just ok.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for the electronic galley in exchange for my honest review.

I love books about books, writers, and the writing life. Lily King portrays the life of a writer not as a glamorous path to take, but as long and difficult. We follow the day-to-day life of Casey in her job as a waitress (which makes me never want to work in a restaurant!) as she writes "the great American novel." King drops a few book titles throughout the pages but the best part of this book is how we become so entwined in Casey's decisions - where to work, who to sell her novel to, where to live, who to live with, who to date, that we need closure. This book has a very satisfying ending and I want to sit with these characters for a little while longer in my imagination before beginning another read. Fantastic five-star read for me!

Writers & Lovers is my first book to read by Lily King. It took me several pages to get captured by the storyline. I found myself chuckling several times which is a fun addition to any book I read. I enjoyed the Boston setting.

I'm so, so torn. On the one hand I think it's a very accurate capture of various versions of what it looks like to make writing your life (not easy, not pretty), several depictions of grief, multiple characters struggling with relationships, but overall the reading experience is fairly mundane if I'm being honest. On the one hand, we want books that accurately capture life, don't we? Or maybe it needs to be more than that to lift me out of my own life? I am struggling. I so loved her last book.

I loved this much more than I was expecting to after the first 12%. I thought it started off in the same vein as Sweet Bitter (which I didn't love) but then it ended up making me think of a Hugh Grant film in which Hugh Grant is not the hero. I know that sounds weird - but really it reminded me of so many great late 90s movies that I loved and it also made me realllly want to be a writer. Loved everything about it.

Love love love this book. Best book I’ve read this year. This is the first book I’ve ready by Lily King, but now I’ll be diving happily into her others. Thanks, Netgalley, for the preview copy.

I enjoyed this romance with literary aspirations, especially for its specifics about Cambridge and the travails of being a waitress. Some very funny lines and eventually uplifting, despite the heart-wrenching portrayal of loss. The pokes at the hoity-toity scene of authors, literary parties, and books signings were also amusing.

I didn’t know what I was getting into with this. It feels like a writer’s book and a reader’s book, a little raw, a little 70s (though not set there), a little throwbackish, a little meandering, and I loved it. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman in her 30's goes through her day-t0-day life with all of it's ups and downs, pleasures and griefs as she tries to write her first novel. She doubts herself and considers dropping it, but though she's not making much progress, she finds she feels better when she is (or is thinking about) writing, than when she is not. Should she stay true to what she feels she is being called to do? should she get a real job? Who has not struggled with the meaning of their life and its' path?

The writing style, which consists of an endless stream with no chapters to hold or confine it etc. is not among my favorite styles, but it works well here to show that her life is flowing, as she is, and she doesn't yet know what to make of it, or where she'll end up.

Having read literally thousands of books in my life, I know this one is good. My heart right now is in a different place than this book is, but I don't want to dismiss this work just because it came to me at a time it doesn't resonate with me as much as it might had we crossed paths at a different time.

My thanks to NetGalley and to Grove Atlantic for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed here are my own.

This was not a book for me. It might be for other people who are fans of this type of novel, but I didn't finish it.

This gem is about a struggling writer waitressing, writing, and navigating life in Boston, Massachusetts near Harvard Square

Writers and lovers follows a woman mourning the sudden death of her mother, a struggling writer / waitress, juggling two men, drowning in debt and thoughts of cancer.

This book is beautifully written. Unfortunately I was very bored for large chunks of this book.
I could not form a connection with the protagonist, I found her distant and cold, and because of this I could not get into her story.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and Lily King for the opportunity to read this book - 4.5 stars for a wonderfully, messy glimpse into the world of Casey Kasem (real name Camila Peabody).

Casey is a struggling writer trying to keep her life afloat. She's living in a converted shed on the property of a friend of her brother's, walking his dog for a bit off her rent. She works as a waitress at Iris, a popular restaurant complete with lots of good/bad coworkers. She's massively in debt from her student loans and her mother just died. She has two guys of interest that cause her to feel very different things. Whew. It's a lot. And Lily King takes us on her wonderful journey.

I just loved Casey as well as so many characters in this book (Harry!). This should definitely be a must-read for anyone who wants to be a writer or is struggling just to get through grief or life in general.

“How does a man in Mississippi in the 1920s create a character who feels more alive to a waitress in 1997, remembered with more tenderness and love, than most of the boys she’s ever known?”

That, of course, is the mystery of fiction, and its delight! Lily King creates a character who will be remembered with tenderness and love. I wanted to mother her, to be at the other end of the phone when she has something to share, something to ask about. Her struggles to become a published writer and to get out from under her problems is utterly believable and relatable.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lily King is a master story teller as this book showcases her ability to write a book that engages all of our feels. I really empathized with Casey as she navigates the path of her life. Beautiful book. Happy reading!

I read Writers and Lovers as part of the Popsugar Reading Challenge 2020, it fit the prompt of an author with flora or fauna in their name.

I haven’t read Lily King’s first book, Euphoria, but I definitely will after reading Writers and Lovers.

I really enjoyed this book, though I’m not completely sure why. It was slow paced and I have absolutely nothing in common with the main character, Casey Peabody.

Casey is a 31 year old wanna-be writer. She is struggling in almost all of the areas of her life. She is crazy in debt from school loans, lives in a basically the potting room of a garage, is waitressing to barely make ends meet, while she tries to make it as a writer. She is still recovering from the recent death of her mom and finds herself interested in two very different men.

There is a lot of character development in the story and I found myself really rooting for Casey to make it. I kept wanting to pick up the book and read more to find out what is happening to her next.

The way the author writes about writing and writers was fascinating. I am not a writer, so getting a peek into the minds of writers added another dimension to the book.

As I said before, I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed getting to know Casey Peabody and rooting for her.

I received an ARC of this book.

It's a common refrain for authors to write novels with a protagonist who loves books and/or is an aspiring writer (just because that's a familiar trope, this observation is not meant to be disparaging -- I adore such books). In Writers and Lovers, Casey has experienced loss and heartache and is navigating her new normal. She is grieving her mother's death, living in a barely habitable space, and waitressing in a high-end restaurant. She finds pockets to write, but too many other demands on her time and finances make a change in her circumstances feel impossible.

Writers and Lovers pulled me in. I grew anxious as Casey juggled two different relationships, became stressed when I feared she was on the brink of ruin, and sighed with relief as the novel ended. King's descriptions of loss and grief are relatable for those who have gone through similar experiences, and her accounts of writing being an anchor resonated: "I don't write because I think I have something to say. I write because if I don't, everything feels even worse." 

Writers and Lovers is Lily King's fifth novel, but my first introduction to the author. King's writing style feels natural and engaging, reminiscent of my experiences reading Ann Patchett. I have already acquired her book Euphoria, and it's just waiting to be moved to the top of my reading list.

(I received a digital ARC from Grove Atlantic via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Writers & Lovers follows Casey Peabody as she struggles with the unexpected death of her mother, trying to become a writer while working as a waitress to support herself, and dealing with relationships that never seem to be quite right. Casey has held onto her dream of becoming a writer even though most of her friends who had the same dream have given up on theirs. Casey has been working on her novel for six years, but can't seem to finish it. Meanwhile she has started seeing two men she truly likes.

I enjoyed following Casey's struggles in life and sympathized with the character. Life decisions are hard and getting the courage to do so is elusive. I enjoyed the writing style and was easily immersed into Casey's world.

Thanks to Lily King and Grove Atlantic through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s just get right to it. I loved Writers & Lovers! It’s my favorite book so far this year and I can say with confidence that Lily King’s novel will be making an appearance on my Best Books of 2020 list. Rather than sum up what this book is about, I’m going to share the many reasons why I liked it so very much.

King’s Storytelling – I’ve seen some call it uneven, but I didn’t see that. From start to finish I was captivated by Casey’s story and fully immersed in Lily King’s gorgeous writing.
Grief – In the story, Casey (already estranged from her father) has recently lost her mother and King’s exploration of her grief resonated throughout the story. She made me ache for Casey’s loss.
“I might still be capable of feeling happy. She will want to know that. But I can’t tell her. That’s the wall I always slam into on a good morning like this. My mother will be worrying about me, and I can’t tell her I’m okay.”

“During the day I miss the novel. I’ve lost access to a world where my mother is a little girl reading in a window or twirling in fast circles on the street, her braids raised high off her back. Outside of that novel she is dead. There seems no end to the procession of things that make my mother feel more dead.”

“I’m in the mood to call my mother, that happy shift in the wind mood. I calculate the time in Phoenix. Nearly noon. Perfect. The bolt retracts, and I remember she died.“

The Writing Process – I enjoyed getting to know a character that had been completely consumed by the creative process for years. To her own financial and personal detriment, Casey could not let go. I also appreciated how self-aware Casey was, constantly questioning herself and where her life was going, yet through it all, she kept at it.
Relationships – In the past, Casey has been involved with men who were never quite right for her. As Writer’s & Lovers unfolds she meets two very different men, both writers like herself, each adding a layer of confusion to her life.
“It’s a particular kind of pleasure, of intimacy, loving a book with someone.”

Cast of Characters – I thoroughly enjoyed the entire group of characters that moved in and out of Casey’s life and I especially enjoyed those at the restaurant where she worked.
The Ending – Casey’s crisis point and its resolution worked for me. I even got a little teary at the end.
From start to finish, I delighted living in Casey’s world, watching the evolution of a young writer on the brink of change. Obviously, I highly recommend Writers & Lovers.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Grove Press (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

This is a beautiful story about a woman who is dealing with love and grief and the writing life. It is well-written and captivating. Definitely going to be a big book this year because it has broad appeal to anyone who loves a story told with care, but also dealing with important and tough topics. It will be an emotional rollercoaster, but will be worthwhile to ride.