𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 is a fun friends-to-lovers romance ignited by the two protagonists creating a plan to rekindle their bosses’ romance to restore a healthy work environment. I always find that I enjoy romances more when they deal with real-life issues and have depth beyond the romance. 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 definitely checked these boxes while being adorable and humorous.

Rachel Lynn Solomon gets so much right in 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭. Ari, the female protagonist, suffers from depression. Solomon’s handling and descriptions of depression were so accurate. She also discusses the fears having a mental illness often instills as far as relationships go. While my depression has presented very differently than Ari’s, I deeply related to her feelings.

𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 is one of the few contemporary fiction books I have read that have Jewish characters. This was refreshing and done in a way that is representative of those who are mostly culturally Jewish, as so many people I know are. Solomon also wove in plot related to the fact that Christmas is the default American winter holiday and how often employers and others get “holiday parties” wrong.

I enjoyed Solomon’s writing and thought it made the book easy to breeze through. I loved that she crafted a romance where adults actually acted like adults. I am so often annoyed by adult characters, particularly in romances, that act immature and childish. My only critique is that there were a few events that I can not imagine happening in real life… or at least not at any place I have worked. Professional (nude) couples massage with your boss, anyone?

Overall, I loved 𝘞𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭 and can see it being one of the best romances that I read in 2022. I cried, I laughed, and fell in love with the genuine characters of this story. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in contemporary romance books!

Thank you @berkleypub & @berkleyromance for the egalley!

Weather Girl
by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Pub Date: January 11, 2022
Berkely
* Contemporary Romance
A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter scheme to reunite their divorced bosses with unforecasted results in this charming romantic comedy from the author of The Ex Talk.
a Jewish heroine and a Jewish hero
• a heroine with depression who is on medication and in therapy
• a fat hero
• open-door sex scenes slightly steamier than The Ex Talk (I measured this by copy-pasting those scenes into a new doc and comparing word count, as one does)
• so many weather puns
thanks to Berkely and NetGalley for the ARC. I fell in love with the characters.
4 stars

The first book I read in 2021 was a book by Rachel Lynn Solomon titled The Ex Talk. It was actually my very first review for Smexy and I loved it so much and was super excited to find a new to me author whose voice just worked for me. I’m excited to say that Weather Girl was maybe even better. There was so much to love about this book that it’s kind of hard to figure out exactly where to begin with this review.

Maybe the best place to begin is actually with the author’s note. One thing to know about my reading habits: I love a good author’s note and I’m a stickler for reading them. Sometimes, they don’t say more than a litany of thanks but often times, they’re a great source of finding out what motivated the author to write this particular story, their intentions, maybe even the research they undertook to write this book. Done well, they can provide an extra layer of depth and understanding to a novel that, at least for me, really enhances the reading experience. Most author’s notes come at the end of the book but for this book, Rachel Lynn Solomon has included a note to the readers right at the beginning, laying out possible triggers (depression) and also highlighting why it was so important to her to write this book. It’s a romcom with a depressed protagonist and while she admits that on paper, those two things shouldn’t mix, she wanted to write a rom com that also had a air of realism to it. And she wanted to focus on a heroine who is depressed and on meds for her depression, finding love even in the midst of the heaviness of her life, and a hero who would see her, all the bits of her, and love her not despite her mental health issues but through all of the light and dark periods. Because, as Rachel so astutely puts it, that’s the most romantic thing of all.

Here’s the second thing to know about me: I’m very, very particular about rom coms – they seem to have become a catch all descriptor lately and far too many of them don’t meet the criteria (in my opinion, YMMV). I can honestly say that despite the heavy themes in this book, this book actually made me laugh out loud in several places and I really can’t remember the last time a rom com has made me do that. Ari (short for Arielle) Abrams is a TV meteorologist, working at her dream job, directly with the woman who she’s professionally idolized since she was a young girl. Or, rather, it WOULD be a dream job were it not for the fact that Torrance Hale, the legendary Seattle weatherwoman who’s been a lifelong source of inspiration to Ari, is making their news station a toxic work environment, due to the fact that her ex husband is the station’s news director. Every day at work is tense and drama-filled, with Torrance and Seth, her ex, having public spats and unwittingly drawing the rest of the employees into their drama. When their constant bickering culminates in Torrance heaving Seth’s Emmy through a glass window at their work’s Christmas party, Ari decides she’s had enough.

Joining forces with sports reporter, Russell Barringer, they decide to parent trap their bosses, working under the theory that if Torrance and Seth rediscover their feelings for each other, maybe their workplace would be calmer and less toxic.. Unprofessional? Yes. Unethical? Probably. Entertaining? Oh, absolutely yes. And so, in the course of parents trapping their bosses through swing dance lessons and dinner cruises and a work getaway trip that includes an incredibly awkward couples massage for four, Ari and Russell find themselves falling for each other as well.

But Ari, recently dumped by her fiancé who accuses her of not being real enough, has secrets. Growing up with a clinically depressed mother who refused to ever seek help, she herself got diagnosed while in college and has been in therapy and on meds for years. The way that depression is discussed in this book is so well done, so accurate and compelling and heartbreakingly real, it just gutted me. But she’s reticent to share these parts of herself with other people, especially anyone she’s ever dated, for fear that no one would stick around for the dark parts. After all, as she justifies it to herself, her father left her mother (and the whole family, really) because, in her mother’s words, she was too much for him to handle. I know you might be reading all this and wondering, which part did I laugh at?!? Just trust me though, even though there is a lot of Ari grappling with her depression and her fear of being abandoned, the book does have light moments as well.

Then we come to Russell and let me just begin by saying that we rarely get romance novel heroes who are fat and are a little self-conscious about it, and how much do I love Rachel Lynn Solomon for giving us a hero who embodies all of that. Russ became a dad when he was a teenager and has a 12 year old daughter who loves musicals. He’s a devoted dad, on friendly terms with the mother of his child, loves sports, and hasn’t had a date in 5 years. Yes, that’s right, 5 years. So, when he finally ends his drought with Ari, it’s every bit as charming and delightful and sexy as you would expect.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the first time that Ari and Russ get intimate. Ari, because of her trust issues, has trouble orgasming when she has sex for the first time with a new partner. It takes her a while to loosen up and her antidepressant also plays havoc with her libido. I love that all of this is a part of the story, it just makes it so much richer and full of depth. Russ, being the absolute kind and decent hero that he is, tells Ari that the most important thing to him is that she has an orgasm, and it doesn’t matter whether it be by his doing or her own. He has zero pride and exhibits a complete lack of toxic masculinity because to him, it’s not important for their first time if he is the reason she achieves satisfaction so long as she has a good time. And then, in one of the steamiest sex scenes I’ve read in a long, long time, they both reach climax and the whole scene is so tender and sweet and intimate, because it’s made so abundantly clear just how much these two lovely humans care for one another.

There is so much respect between the two, so much care is taken, that it’s really easy to see how and when they fall for each other. Both of these characters are scared for very different reasons and watching them be brave enough to take that leap of faith into love is both beautiful and inspiring to witness. While this is a romance with the requisite HEA, it’s a book that makes it clear that depression doesn’t come with an easy fix, it’s a lifetime to having to manage something that doesn’t ever have a rhyme or reason in how it disrupts one’s life. And ultimately, that’s the real beauty of the book, that Ari, after a lifetime spent having to hide the real version of herself, finally feels free to be her most authentic self, and in the course of coming to terms with all that that means, finds love with someone who sees her and wants and loves every version of her there is. And like the author’s note states, that’s the most romantic thing of all.

Content Notes: on-page depression, on-page therapy, parental abandonment, toxic parental relationship, teenage pregnancy, marital strife, reference to societal fatphobia, ignoring of FMC’s Jewish faith by her former fiancé’s family, lack of attention paid to both MC’s Jewish faith by their workplace on numerous occasions;

One day maybe I’ll be less blown away by how much I identify with Rachel Lynn Solomon’s characters. I’ve been making a point to read more books with rep I can relate to but Rachel’s books feel intensely personal for me. I am grateful to read about Jewish families like mine and Jewish characters finding love, and also to read about characters who describe depression in a way that sounds so much like my own experience.

Weather Girl is a vivid and fun romance between Ari and Russell, who work at the same news station in Seattle. Ari is a meteorologist and Russell is a sports journalist, and they team up in an attempt to improve their work environment by encouraging their bosses (who used to be married) to get back together, “Parent Trap” style.

Like The Ex Talk, the core plot of this story did give me some ethical discomfort, but the way this one plays out is definitely fun and won me over. Similarly, both stories felt realistic and larger-than-life at the same time.

Russell has a 12 year old daughter who is in preparation for her bat mitzvah. He also has some insecurity around being fat. Arielle (Ari) has a fraught history with her mother’s depression and her father’s abandonment of their family, so even though Ari takes antidepressants and goes to therapy, she doesn’t open up about it with anyone, even her former fiance. I can’t speak to being a parent, but I am familiar with a lot of impacts of depression and seeing Russell and Ari develop trust and chemistry was a delight that felt very true to life. They stumbled along the way but they found their way back to each other. Their intimate scenes together reflected their vulnerabilities and their honest appreciation of each other.

This was a strong winner for me, I was really invested in these characters. I tend to really enjoy when a character’s career is discussed, and in this book we get insights into both MCs careers, and then some! It was a perfect balance of detail that doesn't alienate the reader. There is a bit of a secondary romance as well, which was a cute bonus. This is my third book by this author and it solidifies that I will gladly read anything she writes, and I am excited for her future adult romances.

CWs for prior parental abandonment of a MC, toxic workplace environment, on page fall that injures a MC (arm fracture), broken engagement, MC thoughts around the desire to be a parent,

Rep: white Jewish woman MC with depression, fat white Jewish man MC who is a father

What happens when a meteorologist and a sports reporter join forces to pull a Parent Trap on their unbearably toxic divorced bosses? Find out in the delightful new romcom Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Ari Abrams has her dream job working for her idol, legendary Seattle meteorologist Torrance Hale, but her boss is too busy picking petty fights with her ex, the station’s news director, to spend anytime mentoring Ari. On top of that, Ari’s fiancé just called off the engagement on account of Ari not being real enough and she’s having more and more trouble staving off the bad days that come with her clinical depression diagnosis. After a particularly terrible incident at the office holiday party, she and co-worker, Russell, hatch a scheme to reunite their bosses with hopes of a more tolerable workplace. One guess what other romance starts to bloom.

This is a lovely book that covers a lot of territory. There’s the depression (very responsibly depicted with medication and therapy), the romance, and complex parental relationships. There’s the great Jewish representation I’ve come to expect from Solomon’s books, as well as a chubby love interest—something I’m honestly not sure I’ve seen in an adult romance. We’ve made some progress with plus-sized heroines, but they always have chiseled leading men (something I have a bit of a bone to pick with, but that’s a rant for another day). It was nice to see a—what’s the equivalent of a size 2 for men?—a man without a six-pack portrayed as attractive.

Personally, I could have used a few more scenes with the two main characters. I really liked Russell and wanted a bit more of him. I also sometimes have trouble relating to mental illness depicted in romcoms because there’s a requirement of a happy ending. Not that I’m saying there can’t or shouldn’t be, but I’m not sure every loose end should get tied into such a perfect rainbow. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one and loved seeing all the representation.

Thank you so much to @berkleyromance @berkleypub @netgalley @lovearctually for my copy, and to @rlynn_solomon for her amazing books! They’re always a joy to read. This one is out today. It should warm you up no matter what the weather!

I really enjoyed Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon! I'm pretty sure this is my first book from her, so I'll definitely be checking out more of her work soon.

This was a really sweet romance between a meteorologist named Ari and a sports reporter named Russell. In order to create a more pleasant working environment for themselves, they decided to scheme together to reunite their bosses, who used to be married. But their well meaning meddling seemed to backfire when sparks between the two of them began to fly instead! This was a cute romcom story that gave me everything I wanted in the genre. But it also had more to the story and dove a little bit deeper, which I really appreciated. While it had romance, a little bit of comedy and charming characters this book also tackled the topic of depression and mental health in a very gentle way.

Main character Ari dealt with her clinical depression for most of her life. I thought the way the author portrayed Ari was quite well done. The topic of mental illness is often lightly grazed over in books, but here it was discussed openly and genuinely. Watching Ari grow as a person and learn how to be comfortable with what she needs was really great. And finding support in Russell was great as well. He had his own unique story and past and I enjoyed the way the two characters came together and supported one another. I feel like the mental health awareness in this book is pretty spot on.

The story also touched on elements of family. Ari's relationship with her mother was a bit strained but her relationship with her brother was just amazing! One of the best sibling relationships I think I've read in a long time! And let me tell you, if you enjoy some steam in your romcoms, this one has got it! I also loved the playful chapter titles that had fun weather elements.

All in all, I have nothing negative to say about this book! It was a fantastic read and I highly recommend adding it your reading selections this year!

Rachel Lynn Solomon has written one of the sweetest, most heartfelt contemporary romances with Weather Girl.

As someone with depression who also wants my own life, friends, and romance outside of that, Ari has my whole heart. And Russell is absolute love interest perfection. The Set It Up–like premise takes a backseat to these two emotionally complex characters. An absolute gem.

I received a digital advanced copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Weather Girl in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own! And I'm hiding this review because of thoughts I wrote while reading that I would like to share so be-warned!

Five Stars !

CW: Depression, body image, parental trauma

First of all - the plot. The concept is a play on classic tropes popular in movies like Set it Up and The Parent Trap - which is really fun to see play out. Working at a Seattle Tv Station, meteorologist Ari Abrams and and sports reporter Russell Barringer work to help their divorced bosses (Torrance Hale and Seth Hale, whose drama is SERIOUSLY affecting the office) back together. We follow Ari and Russell as they recreate their old dates, send their bosses gifts from one another, and drop nuggets of wisdom in conversation to bring Torrance and Seth closer once again. Along the way, Ari and Russell get to know one another and sparks FLY - will they succeed in bringing more than one couple together through their antics?

This book made me smile, laugh, and cry. Rachel Lynn Solomon was excellent at balancing lighthearted and joyful romance while also discussing serious topics of depression and body image in an informed manner. I really appreciated her exploration of Ari's depression and how someone who is *seemingly* sunshine and rainbows can still be struggling. There is more that could be said here but I think I will cut myself off because I will write too much - my point is that I liked how her mental health was handled in the story! I also liked how Rachel Lynn Solomon addressed body image through Russell in the story and I personally felt like it was done in a non-triggering way.

One thought I had is that I REALLY appreciated that Russell being a single dad was NOT cause for a breakup in the story. I really don't like the trope of parenthood breaking up couples so I was so happy to see that his daughter was not drudged into any relationship issues between Ari and Russell, and in fact brought them... together...

All in all - this book was so cute and heartfelt and one that I will be trying to make everyone read and I will reread it myself. I really liked the dynamics between all of the characters and side-characters, the jewish representation, and the tropes were done in a refreshing and fun way!

Thank you to Netgalley for the free eARC copy of this book! It was amazing to read a romance with a character who is navigating depression. This type of representation is so important for the romance genre and I'm thrilled it exists. It was sweet, lovely, and so real!

I LOVED Rachel Lynn Solomon's The Ex-Talk. The banter there was FIRE. I liked Weather Girl, too, and as a ex-journalist, in both of her books, I have found so much to relate to. She's very good at writing about workplaces, especially journalistic workplaces. That said, to me, Weather Girl wasn't as vibrant and high stakes as The Ex-Talk. That said, I almost cried during a beautifully-written bat mitzvah scene so that was just heartwarming!

I've read many romances with plus-sized heroines, but this the first romance I've ever read that featured a plus-sized hero! He was such a dynamic character whose personality and development wasn't completely based off of his weight or others' perceptions of it.

All of the characters in this story, in fact, were dynamic and well-written! Every aspect of their lives were explored, from religion to mental health issues to work dynamics, without it being overwhelming. The slow-burn romance between Ari and Russell was paced perfectly!

Sensitive topics like depression and fatphobia and blended families were introduced and discussed so respectfully and sincerely, which is something that I find a lot of books are lacking. This is my first book by this author, and I'm so excited to see what else she has written.

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon, book one in her Fortunes of Lost Lake series. Ari and Russell are the most lovable characters; separately and together they are true magic. They were friendly coworkers until they decided to scheme to make their work environment more bearable by nudging their divorced, argumentative bosses together; setting up Ari and Russell to notice each other as more than coworkers and friends. Ari, a weather reporter, struggles with depression and feelings of inadequacy stemming from her childhood and her mother’s refusal to deal with her own depression. Russell, a large, overweight sports reporter, who became a dad as a teen, hasn’t dated since separating from his daughter’s mother; which has been years. While they each had baggage and issues to deal with before they could successfully work as a couple, they were quite clever about bringing their bosses together; trying to rekindle their love and marriage. Their main objective was to improve the work environment, but so much more was accomplished. Ari and Russell shared a strong attraction and off-the-charts chemistry that you couldn’t help but cheer for them to be together. I thoroughly enjoyed reading my first, but not last, book by Ms. Solomon and highly recommend Weather Girl to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

This one was just okay for me. I really appreciated the representation in the story, and think that was a highlight! I really want to read more romance with diverse characters like this. I also thought that the heroine's backstory and profession were really unique and added a fun element to the story. Unfortunately, I had a hard time buying the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. I also found the "set up" narrative to be too copy and paste from the movie Set It Up on Netflix. It didn't feel original enough for me to be invested in these character's stories. This was one okay, just didn't have that spark for me!

As a fan of The Parent Trap (the Haley Mills version, not the Lindsay Lohan remake – and yes, this ages me but I’m okay with that), this book sounded right up my alley. Two coworkers team up to reunite their divorced bosses and surprise surprise, end up falling in love themselves. I loved the representation in this book (Jewish main characters, a neurodiverse heroine, and great mental health discussion) and the location (rainy Seattle) but it fell a little flat for me. I just didn't feel the chemistry between Ari and Russell. However, still an enjoyable read and worth picking up if this sounds like something you're interested in. And if you enjoyed Set It Up on Netflix, this is basically the book version.

𝘋𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨!

When you end up staying up late to finish a book, that you started that same day, you know you have a winner. I loved Ari and Russell characters, loved that they were flawed, loved their chemistry, loved their stories, they weren’t perfect but this story was. Thank you for bringing awareness for depression. Long story short, read this book.

Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦: 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘵, 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

You know those authors who write an amazing book and you think "There's no way they can top this."? That's Rachel Lynn Solomon for me - her book The Ex Talk stands as one of my favorite romance novels. Well - RLS managed to raise the bar: Weather Girl is not only my new favorite RLS book, it's now one of my favorite romance books.  
  
This book just ticks so many boxes for me: an office romance, a leading lady who is passionate about her career, precocious kid characters, the same vibes as the movie Set It Up, and a cinnamon roll hero (seriously, he is so incredibly sweet and sincere). Add in the atmospheric setting of Seattle (in all of its rainy glory) and Weather Girl had so much going for it.  
  
One of the most poignant themes of this book was mental health - Ari was diagnosed with clinical depression and regularly attended therapy. I really appreciated the presence of therapy in this story - the appointments not only helped to inform who Ari was as a character, but also helped to shine a light on the value of therapy as a whole. Her therapy didn't magically fix her problems - but it was clear how much it benefited her and how she handled issues in her life.  
  
I love, love, loved Ari and Russell's dynamic. They had chemistry early, but I really enjoyed that they were a little on the slow burn side. They were brought together by their resolve to hook their bosses up, and during that process they slowly got closer and closer. I also really enjoyed the consideration Russell's situation was given - he was a single father and wasn't eager to just jump into a new relationship without thorough consideration. Overall, their romance felt realistic. They were two complicated people who fell in love - and they were impossible not to root for.  
  
Between its fantastic mental health representation, soft and sweet romance, and explorations of the effect of mental health on relationships - Weather Girl struck my expectations out of the park. This is definitely one of those books that I'll be picking up for a reread very soon.

They say don’t meet your heroes. Don’t work for them either.”
Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon is forecasted to bring a smile to your face and warm fuzzies to your heart! Featuring a neurodivergent leading lady and a dad-bod rocking, cinnamon roll hero who scheme to get their bosses back together in order to ease the tense atmosphere at their local news station.

This is The Parent Trap meets Set It Up with the added flair of The Ugly Truth style setting. A work place romance, with schemes and shenanigans that will tickle everyone’s fancy! I adored every single page, and every chapter heading too! Weather Girl isn’t just lighthearted fun. Ari is a woman who is so wrapped up in her head and making sure people won’t judge her for her mental illness that she misses the fact that Russell is actually her perfect match until the signs flash brighter than neon on a dark highway. Newishly single, Ari spends a lot of time trying to heal herself from her previous relationship and come to terms with her quickly budding feelings that she has for Russell. I’ll be honest, her thought process isn’t straightforward, but I think that’s what I liked about this romance. It’s not your typical romance with roses and sunshine. There are rainy days, and that’s why Weather Girl shines so bright.

“The way alcohol has unstitched him, turned my ever-pleasant coworker into someone honest and fun—I don’t hate it.”
The match-making hijinks add an element of fun, the family dynamics are equally as wonderful. There’s still a stigma associated with mental illness in books. Ari’s battle with depression is described with honesty and openness as she tries to navigate her feelings on her mother’s own diagnosis. This aspect of Weather Girl felt as personal as it did transformational, and at times it felt like Rachel Lynn Solomon was speaking directly into my own heart. If your life has been touched at all by mental illness then Weather Girl will be a special read for you too.

Russell is the single dad, sportscaster who really is like the golden retriever of men in romance books. Honest, yet shy and unsure, and altogether just really earnest, Russell won me over. He’s the steady to Ari’s unsure, the calm to her tumult, and ultimately becomes the solace to her pain. I loved getting to know him and his daughter better, and seeing their dynamic play out is something really special as it highlights the difference between his parental relationship with his daughter to Ari’s with her mother.

“If Russell and I are friends, it’s perfectly fine that he happens to be cute. A harmless newsroom crush.”
Rachel Lynn Solomon perfectly balanced heartfelt and often heart-wrenching emotions with lighthearted and vibrant scenes and characters. Weather Girl is both thoughtful, evocative, and playful in a way that rivals falling in love in real life when you feel like you’re not quite perfect for your perfect match.

I loved every aspect of this amazing book, and I cannot even begin to gush enough about it. Weather Girl will be one those books that you devour the first time, and then go back and savor each exquisitely emotional detail the next time you read it—which will be immediately after you finish it.

Things at the KSEA 6 news station have been stormy. And it's mostly because Ari's boss, the legendary Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tumultuous relationship with her ex-husband, who happens to be the news director. After a disastrous Christmas party, Ari teams up with Russell, a sweet but reserved sports reporter, to try and solve their bosses' relationship issues. But meddling leads to proximity, which leads to quality time, which leads to... you get where I'm going.

This book was so adorable! Solomon always does a great job imbuing her characters with such complexity. I love that these characters have hobbies, passions, quirks, and therapists, and I loved getting to know all of them. Especially Orion and Cassie, who I can only hope continued to refer to people as gentleman callers. While the love story between Ari and Russell was super cute and packed full of positivity and assurance, it was a little bland for me. That being said, there were definitely some great moments of tension and some <i> delightful </i> banter (read: weather puns galore), and I adored Elodie's character. She truly was the star of the show for me.

Beyond the romance, this book also dealt a lot with depression and how Ari views both her own mental health as well as her mothers. When it was initially introduced, I wasn't exactly sold on it's authenticity. Throughout the book Ari mentions that the reason most her past relationships ended was because she never told anyone about her depression, and as a result, her partners never felt like they were getting all of her. A while I completely understand and fully believe that one should never need to tell anyone anything about their mental health if they don't wish to, I found it somewhat hard to believe that she would keep it from a man she planned to marry. That for me, wasn't realistic.

But beyond that, I felt that Solomon wrote about depression in a very caring, yet matter of fact way, and she nailed it when she described it as feeling like your brain is conspiring against you. I also liked that there were so many therapy visits in this book. Love therapy. We all need it.

*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

I couldn't love Weather Girl more.

At KSEA’s “holiday” party, meteorologist Ari Abrams and sports reporter Russell Barringer begin talking about the toxic work environment that their (divorced) bosses have created. The two hatch a plan to get their bosses back together, parent trap style, in order to improve workplace morale. And, this is a romance, so they obviously fall in love in the process.

I’ve read some other reviews that aren’t sold on the chemistry between Ari and Russell, but I was HERE FOR IT. This is by far the most authentic and realistic build of a relationship I’ve read. This was a slow burn, and I think one of the biggest differences here was that it wasn’t outside forces conspiring against Ari and Russell, but internal ones.

Ari’s struggle with depression takes a front seat here, and we learn that the ways she’s learned to manage her struggles, by pushing them deep deep down and only showing herself as carefree and positive, might not be as effective as she had thought. The deeply internalized fears of being too much, not enough, or unloveable show up in ways that hit so deep, and Ari’s relationship with her mother (and herself) shows the impact of being raised by a parent with their own untreated mental illness. Russell’s past, too, though perhaps more integrated than Ari’s, plays a role, and the conflicts that come up are also just so true to the internal struggles the characters are managing.

Therapists everywhere should be paying Solomon for marketing, because the sessions between Ari and her therapist, Joanna, reshape the image of therapy we’ve historically been shown in media, normalizes therapy, and paints a picture of a healthy therapeutic relationship with a relationally-focused therapist. I can only hope I’m anything like Joanna in my sessions.

I’m certain that Weather Girl will resonate with readers who have struggled with their own mental health, but I hope that even those who haven’t will fall in love with Ari and Russell too.

And… ELODIE 💕

WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon is a contemporary, adult, romance story line focusing on twenty-nine year old single father/ sports reporter Russell Barringer, and twenty-seven year old TV meteorologist Ari Abrams’.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from first person perspective (Ari) WEATHER GIRL follows the building romance and relationship between co-workers at KSEA Seattle news station twenty-nine year old single father/ sports reporter Russell Barringer, and twenty-seven year old TV meteorologist Ari Abrams. Life at KSEA Seattle is no longer what Ari Abrams once thought it would be since the break up of her boss, Seattle’s weatherwoman Torrance Hale, and her ex-husband and KSEA’s news director Seth Hale. The tempestuous fall-out of a twenty year marriage is affecting everyone at the station, and in this, life has been difficult for everyone involved. At the KSEA Christmas party everything goes from bad to worse, and after a drunken sit down with her co-worker, sports journalist Russell Barringer, our couple devise a plan to push the former couple, back together. As Russell and Ari begin their journey of reconciliation, they find themselves growing closer together, looking forward to a possible future but all is not well in Ari’s life, and demons from the past are about to take hold, when our couple’s plans are discovered, and Ari takes a long hard look at what happened and why. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Ari and Russell, and the fall-out as Ari is unable to let go of the past, believing she is not worthy of her own happily ever after.


Like her mother, Ari Abrams struggles with depression but a good therapist and the right medication have helped our heroine get on with her life but secrets revealed find Ari second guessing her relationship with Russell, and in this, words and actions are misunderstood, and Ari finds herself walking away from the man that she loves. Russell Barringer is a single father, whose first priority is his twelve year old daughter Elodie. Falling for Ari was never in the plans for a man who never expected to fall for anyone else but work place romances make for awkward relationships especially when secrets reveal something or someone else has been working behind the scenes.

The relationship between Ari and Russell is a co-workers to friends to lovers relationship that is pulled together by our couple’s need to reunite their embattled bosses. With each endeavor to reconcile the people in charge, our couple find themselves pushed towards their own inevitable and unavoidable paths. Ari struggles with trying to keep her depression at bay, and Russell’s home life was never meant to be workplace gossip. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters are energetic and fun. We are introduced to Seattle’s weather woman Torrance Hale, and her ex-husband and KSEA’s news director Seth Hale; Russell’s daughter Elodie, and his ex Liv; as well as Ari’s twin brother Alex, his husband Javier, and Ari’s mother Amelia Abrams.

WEATHER GIRL is a story of family and relationships, friendships and love. An emotional story of struggle and commitment, acceptance and understanding. The premise is playful and impassioned, and a little slow going in the beginning; the characters are flirty, fun, animated and real; the romance is spirited and captivating.



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