this made me so excited for the whole book! i love books with sapphic rep so i knew this would be brilliant for me

A little sneak peak into a book that I ended up purchasing the entire thing. A very well written book and love story between two women.

This was a fun first few chapters and I can't wait to see what is coming next for these characters. This preview gave the perfect amount of story to get me hooked and now I can't wait to see what is in store for the rest of the novel.

Thank you so much for this preview Netgalley! As a huge fan of sapphic romance, I really enjoyed the first four chapters! can't wait to read the rest - thankfully I'm reading this once it's already out, so I'm off to buy the book and finish!

Verity Lowelle's, "Meet Me In Madrid", is a promising sapphic novel with a lot of potential and great representation of both sexuality, religion, and race. Even though I only ready a short preview (4 chapters) it definitely looks like it will be a very sweet and interesting adult contemporary romance.

The writing style is relatively interesting to follow but it is on the plain side. That doesn't make it bad, it's easy to read and allows for the plot to shine through. The characters are strong career orientated women who support each other's careers and choices.

Overall, it was a good preview of what seems to be a book with potential promise. I hope I get my hands on it one day for a full review and hoping that it will be exactly what I was expecting it to be.

In the first four chapters, I had a hard time connecting to the story. I think their backgrounds in Academia were glossed over and I would have appreciated some more context to their first meeting. Overall, I love the concept and the writing is solid but I wasn't drawn in. Maybe if I read a few more chapters but I felt myself skimming to the end.

I wasn't sure if I'd be into this book but the teaser got me hooked and I definitely like Verity's writing style once I got the hang of it and want to finish the entire book now.

I dislike giving up on a book and I keep telling myself to go back and finish it. Perhaps it just wasn't the right time for me. I'm keeping it in my kindle and as I go through looking for books that I need to finish, perhaps later it will be the right time and place for me and I'll edit this review. Til then, I hope you enjoy the promise of fulfillment. The writing is excellent, the setting interest and the story line sounds interesting. Perhaps its just not the right time for me to read on my current eating plan.

Oh yeah, I am very, very intrigued with this. Off to a really great start! I like the writing and I can't wait to finish it.

I usually prefer a romance where the characters are meeting for the first time. Since this book is about two women reconnecting, it felt like playing catchup. It seemed a lot of time was spent explaining what happened in the past to bring the reader up to speed with what's happening in the present. It wasn't as interesting as watching it actually happen when you're just told what happened before. Everything felt a bit wordy and explanatory, like reading a book report about a book, instead of reading the actual book. The dialogue didn't feel like it flowed smoothly. I don't think this one is for me.

Looking at the cover, I thought I was in for a light contemporary romance with a good amount of emotion because of the struggles that come with a long-distance relationship. I was not expecting the amount of steam I would encounter, and I am not mad about it. It starts with a one-night stand that's so much more than a one-night stand as soon as it starts. Then every time our leading ladies are together, they definitely make the most of it, and in between those meet-ups, they aren't shy and enjoy phone sex. Their distance does not put out the intimate fire between them.

Beside the physical intimacy, one thing I love about long-distance romances is the emotional connection that is formed between the women. While both are strong characters on their own, neither of them outshone the other. They were supportive of each other's goals and careers. I also really appreciated that the age gap between them wasn't some big deal, and neither of them obsessed over it. The reason this isn't getting a higher rating for me is that, outside of the romance, I found all the historical jargon rather dull and found myself skimming whenever job situations were happening. Overall, this was a passionate romance between two strong BIPOCs who have to learn to make room in their independent lives for love.

I loved this preview and I am really curious to read the full book!

I am really liking the characters and the story!

Can't wait to read it!

I really promising preview, it left me wanting more (as it should)! I am always looking forward to more sapphic books and I look forward to reading the full novel. I love the writing style, which is detailed but not too wordy and is good at keeping a fast exciting pace to read at.

What is one to do when stuck in a foreign country? Call the one that got away or the one you never dared to approach. Charlotte is stranded in Madrid for three days, so she does the only thing you can do in that situation; call the woman she always liked.

I loved the relationships in this book the most, both Adrianna and Charollets and their friends and colleagues. Even the relationships that weren't particularly great from the start but the part that really made me love this book was the self-discovery for each character. They all started to learn more about themselves, what they wanted and what they had to do to get it.

I really enjoyed this preview of Meet Me in Madrid, by Verity Lowell. This story would be perfect for readers who enjoy snowed-in, sapphic romance. I appreciated the complex and thoughtful conversations about challenges BIPOC women unfairly face in academia. I thought Charlotte’s job was so interesting! Lowell’s writing is crisp and decisive. This preview of Meet Me in Madrid was fast-paced and steamy; I’m excited to continue the story! Meet Me in Madrid is available now. Thank you to Verity Lowell, Harlequin Carina Press, and Netgalley for a free preview in exchange for honest feedback.

This was a preview: I enjoyed what I read so far. I thought it was so fun and a cute read. I definitely would read more.

This story had me hooked from the beginning. It was well-written, and steamier than expected, but with strong writing and a great character development overall, I really enjoyed this book.

Disclaimer: This review and rating is based on a four-chapter preview provided by NetGalley

This preview was really good, both characters are well written as it is the setting, I really liked that this is a diverse book especially with the two main POC characters (Charlotte Hilaire and Adrianna Coates). As for the rest, the premise sounds really good and got me intrigued but I thought that they got together really fast and I can't help but wonder what will happen next for their relationship? I mean will they break-up or there will be some sort of drama with their relationship being tested?

I mean this is supposed to be a contemporary rom-com but when the characters get together at the beginning of any book, it can't be a good thing.... but alas, I'm still looking forward to reading the rest and seeing where it's gonna happen next for them (both at the romantically and professional aspects of their lives.)

2 stars, 2.5 spice

This is a shame- I received the first 4 chapters as a preview on Netgalley and rated those 4 stars. I was intrigued in the beginning and I thought this had such potential. Compared to other Contemporary romances its quite diverse, with ethnicity, having adult main characters (30s & 40s vs most being like 18-25 in everything else I read), focusing around women who are career focused, and having almost every character being part of the LGBTQ+ Community.
I decided the first 4 chapters hooked me enough to continue with the story and was able to get it digitally on Libby.

It is clear the author has a strong knowledge of both the arts and academia (at least it seems that way, because frankly some of it was a lot to follow, and I ended up skimming).

Simply put I was bored, but if you want a detailed list of why I am giving a rare 2 stars;

CONFLICTS THAT SIMPLY WERENT CONFLICTS -
The secondary conflicts seem to resolve themselves quickly without much issue (most times within a page or two). And then the main conflict shouldn't have even been a conflict if they had just openly communicated.

LACK OF CHARACTER AND RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT -
There wasn't much tension, and I lacked connection to the characters because the few times we saw them together they were 'doing it'. Which is great and all, but the moments when they were supposedly getting to know each other and falling in love were via text/call/facetime in the months they were separated and as the reader we saw none of that. I honesty can't remember anything specific about either of their personalities apart from them working a lot and being queer POC.

POV -
3rd person omniscient has to be my least favorite POV, especially for Romance. There were many instances when I got confused and had to reread sections because I wasn't sure which woman we were referring to. And even though we got to see their feelings at all times it was never as thoughts and it was never deep so I lacked that connection.
I would have like 3rd person limited better and maybe switched back and forth . Or better yet doing first person and switching depending on the chapter would have been best. It would have helped build tension and would have allowed us to see more in depth to the character's thoughts and behaviors.
Because it was 3rd person omniscient I never felt like I was missing a character. which in a book that is covering a long distance relationship we needed to feel that distance in order to feel for the characters

I have to be really honest with this one. Sorry to say, I didn't find any reason to find a copy of this book and read the entire book. There is nothing in the chapters I have read that really made me want to continue on. Maybe it would get better, but I don't want to waste so much time with a book that doesn't capture me in the first few pages.