Such an amazing romance story.
The emphasis Weather Girl has on mental health came at such a key time for me as a reader. After the holidays and more pandemic things happening, the long ignored emotions rise up.
As I read Ari's POV of her inner thoughts that she battles with, it just felt so validating. I say this with complete admiration to the author, both the romance and the talks on depression battle for first in this novel.
Which only made this even more of a fully immersive reading experience for me.
Ari's personality is adorable and upbeat, reminding me a lot of me, to say I saw so much of my personality in her is an understatement. Even the inclinations as she reaches her peak points with fatigue of masking the positive personality, that was so real, yet so beautifully written.
I think with this review it is obvious what my take on mental health in this book is. (Spoiler alert I LOVED it)
But in between all that we get the adorable glimpses, the swoony moments that we love to experience in romance. This book is a must for all to read!

Rachel Lynn Solomon does it again. Not only is there a fun storyline, sweet romance, and heartfelt characters, but there's also so much depth to this book. Getting to know Ari and Russ was such a joy and delving into Ari's mental illness and Russ's complicated past was a huge part of that. They both felt like such wonderfully complex characters and all I wanted was for them to be happy. I'll be recommending this to everyone I know.

I really enjoyed this book – it is so much more than a light rom com.

The characters in this book felt very real. They are dealing with depression, failed past relationships, and workplace stress. While these are very deep topics, the author did an excellent job keeping it light, funny, and oh so steamy!

This is secondary, but I really liked the behind the scenes look at being a meteorologist. I learned so much! Plus, it helped that the book was set in the Pacific Northwest; plenty of weather in Seattle!

I don’t usually gravitate toward romantic stories because I find that most of them don’t have a ton of depth to them. They usually follow a similar formula that leads to true love, which is great, but I prefer my stories to have a little more meat on them.

However! Ari Abrams, a TV meteorologist was not one note. Her character was complex, flawed, relatable. She hatches up a plan to get her two bosses romantically back together, since their split, they’ve made the workplace uncomfortable and Ari’s job difficult and dramatic. Joining her on this quest is Russell, sports reporter! Between the two of them, they go on a journey that is filled with romance, yes, but also complexities about their own struggles to address their past and move forward within their present.

I liked this story because, while there was an underlying story of romance, I preferred diving into the characters of Ari and Russell, separately, and together. I appreciated that the author chose to create a main character within this genre, who wasn’t squeaky clean, but someone who struggles with her mental health and putting herself first. I respected that her “happily ever after” may not be with another, but within herself.

Weather Girl, I can’t wait to see you – Russell to Ari

Weather Girl is an incredibly charming romance.  Warm and sweet, it’s also honest about what depression can do to a person and the rigors and difficulties of single parenthood, mean bosses and difficult parents.

Ari Abrams is a cheery weather girl stuck with a rotten boss.  Working at a Seattle news station, she works under her childhood idol, grumpy senior meteorologist Torrance Hale - who makes the adult Ari’s life utterly miserable, being impossible to please and often abusive.  It doesn’t help that Ari’s engagement has just fallen through (her fiancé didn’t like that she was taking pills to control her depression).

Russell Barringer works as a sportscaster at Ari’s new station, and his boss, senior anchor Seth Hale, keeps making his life miserable as well.  Yet the Seth and Torrance will not give an inch and continue to work together at KSEA.

One night, Russell and Ari get to commiserating.  Knowing that Torrance and Seth were once married, they decide to match-make their bosses back together, which will hopefully put an end to their grumpiness.  But Russell and Ari can’t predict that they’re going to find true love together – and that a number of obstacles will lie in their way.

Weather Girl is lovely, honest and kind about what it’s like to have depression but live through it without fear.  I liked Ari and Russell, two normal folks grappling with their scars as they try to find true love.

As always, Solomon brings a wonderfully diverse cast to the page.  Both Ari and Russell are Jewish; Russell is plus-sized; Ari’s brother is gay.  I loved spending time with all of them; I loved Ari’s obsession with the weather and Russell’s cinnamon roll behavior.  I loved how they come around to helping each other out, and recognize that the way the world has treated them is wrong.  I loved that Ari felt able to open up to Russell, and eventually show him her depressed side, without shame or guilt.  It was impossible not to love them.

There isn’t much to dislike here; the book itself is terribly cute, the romance wonderful and spicy, the grumps become friends and then realize the error of their ways.  The book is pretty and tender and honest and true.  I loved reading it, and I spent hours soaking in it.  Weather Girl showers its readers with warmth and sweetness, ultimately providing them with many a sunny day.

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Oh my, I absolutely adored this book!

After a disastrous work holiday party, Seattle meteorologist, Ari Abrams, and her co-worker and sports reporter, Russel Barringer, team up to manipulate their bosses into getting together (for the good of the office work environment!) The catch? Their bosses are actually exes and have been messily divorced for 5 years. But they know there is still chemistry there - they just need to give them a push. And along the way..... if Ari starts to notice how cute Russel is, and how much she loves spending time with him... All the better!

There is so much I loved about this book:
- Jewish main characters
- Plus sized Male love interest
- Clinical Depression representation
- Positive depictions of therapy
- So many Parent Trap references
- DILFs
-The list is endless

Ari and Russel are so sweet and their individual stories really touched my heart. Watching them scheme to get their bosses together while also realizing that they have feelings for one another was so funny and so sweet to watch.

There may have been moments where Ari's thought process or decisions made me frustrated but I think her the way she handles those situations really highlight her struggle with Depression and how she is managing it in her everyday life.

Bravo! All the stars!

Thank you Berkley Romance for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I had seen so many raving reviews for Weather Girl and I'm happy to say it lived up to the hype!

What I liked:
- Inside look at being a meteorologist. We are always watching the news and weather so it's fun to get a behind the scenes look at being a newscaster/meteorologist
- Jewish representation
- Male lead with a dad bod. It's about time we feature characters that are not size 0 or models
- Focus on mental illness (specifically, depression) - I don't suffer from depression but I have friends who do and they also describe the need to appear happy go lucky so others don't know they are having a dark day. I thought the author did a great job handling this sensitive topic while brining awareness.

I have been DYING for another adult romance by Rachel Lynn Solomon. I absolutely loved The Ex-Talk so I jumped at the chance to read this one early.

Weather Girl follows Ari Abrams, a junior Seattle TV meteorologist who works under the legendary Torrance Hall. Even though Ari has looked up to Torrance since she was young, working with her is a nightmare as she is constantly fighting with her ex-husband who also works for the station. Ari teams up with sports reporter Russell to make their bosses fall in love with each other again.

As excited as I was for this book, I was kind of let down. It was good but that was it. Just good.

The good:
- Set it Up is one of my favorite romcoms of all time so the fact that they have similar premises was a plus for me.
- This book has great depression representation. Ari talks honestly about her depression and it plays a part in all of the decisions she makes.
- The mentorship relationship between Torrance and Ari was my favorite part of this entire book.
- I loved seeing Torrance and Seth falling back in love.

The not so goods:
- Honestly, I thought the romance was the weakest part of this book. I rooted for them and wanted them to find love obviously, but they didn't have much chemistry. I wish I loved them more.
- Ari makes some frustrating decisions. I understand that a lot of them were made because of her self-doubt, but still frustrating none the less.

Thank you to Berkeley Romance and NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Seattle meteorologist Ari Abrams has hit the end of her rope with her divorced boss Torrance Hale, who ruins the station's all-too-Christmasy holiday party when she gets into a major fight with the station's news director (and her ex-husband) Seth. While drinking her sorrows at the hotel bar, Ari connects with coworker Russell, a sports reporter who works with Seth, and the two hatch a scheme to get their bosses back together, Set It Up style. And in typical rom-com style, the pair gets into some romantic hijinks of their own.

Rachel Lynn Solomon has done it again, folks. She's kicking off 2022 with a heroine who has depression and a hero who is fat and it WORKS. I fell head over heels for both of these characters as they work to love each other and themselves and wish I could read this book for the first time again. I would probably read a grocery list if this woman wrote it.

The dialogue is fantastic and as someone who has worked in a local newsroom before, the dynamics of the reporters felt like conversations I have had. The discussions around depression and the outright horrific online harassment female local journalists deal with were real and issues that deserved a spotlight so thank you thank you thank you for that. Russell as a single dad was a great layer to the character I wasn't prepared for but made me fall in love with him even more.

All the love and heart-eyed emojis for this book. There is so much humor and heart. It's a comfortable contemporary romance that subverts a lot of things too.

I love that the hero is fat. We're starting to see more body-diversity for female characters and I love that this book is paving the way for male characters as well. I also love that he was a teen dad!

I thought that Ari's depression was handled with such care; which I appreciated. I loved these characters together and how they had to learn to be vulnerable together.

The weather puns and the life at the TV station were a few other aspects that made this an absolute joy to read. I read it in one day.

This book was an absolute delight! I loved Ari and Russell’s story. The Jewish representation in both main characters, the mental health and fat representation, everything was so charming and I loved this story.

This was a very sweet office romance which reminded me of a mix of The Parent Trap and Set it Up (Netflix rom-com). Also I think this is the first romance novel I've read with a plus sized hero (hurray!). Weather Girl was funny, heartfelt, and did a very good job of describing depression in a gentle and accessible way. This is the second book I've read by Rachel Lynn Solomon and it won't be the last!

This was a cute one-- a rom com with some realistic characters dealing with real things.

Ari is a weather girl at a Seattle news station, and her dream job, under her dream mentor, is anything but a nightmare. Ari's boss, a legendary Seattle meteorologist, cannot stop fighting with her ex husband, who also works for the news station, and it makes the lives of Ari and her co-workers miserable. After a particularly embarrassing episode at the station's holiday party, Ari and Russell, one of the sports dudes at the station, team up to try to get Torrance and Seth back together for the sake of a harmonious work environment.

I liked the premise of this book, and even though the getting the bosses together thing has been done before, there were enough twists to keep it interesting. Ari fights a battle with chronic depression, and her need to keep things cheery while battling her inner demons struck pretty close to home. Russell is a plus-sized dude, which was covered lightly but sensitively. I loved seeing these two come together amongst their machinations, hot scenes and all!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my thoughts.

Rachel Lynn Solomon hit it out of the park again with this book! She always does such a great job of combing silly, light hearted moments with more serious or emotional ones in a way that just makes the story and characters feel so much more real and believable!

Specifically in this novel, I loved both Ari and Russell! The friends to lovers workplace romance, with all the build up that goes into making that transition, felt believable and I found myself really rooting for their relationship. Though trying to get their bosses back together seemed silly at first, I loved that they were truly friends first, before venturing into a relationship. There were so many moments that had me laughing, and then would turn around into emotional punches. Especially the hesitation they both felt in being vulnerable (both for different reasons from their past) was so relatable and made me like them even more.

Beyond that, I was happy to see some representation of Jewish characters, non-traditional families, mental health and the importance of therapy. Oh, and who could forget all the dad jokes curtesy of Russell!

Would definitely recommend this read for your 2022 tbr!

This reminded me of the Netflix movie Set It Up. Two employees unite to help their miserable bosses fall in love (and fall in love too). Rachel developed great characters with lots of interesting tidbits about them. It added so much to the book! I really liked how in this book, weather is more than small talk! Ari was a fantastic character and I really appreciated the discussion of positivity and depression. The relationship development felt very real as a workplace/friends to lovers type romance. The chemistry was definitely there. This book is one to put on your 2022 tbr!

I absolutely loved this book so much!!
Ari Abrams works as a meteorologist for Seattle News, she also gets to work with her idol Meteorologist Torrance Hale, she use to watch Torrence every day talk about the weather as a little girl. Torrence is grumpy and extremely hard to work with and to make matters worse her ex husband is Seth also works for the same news station. Seth and Torrence make everyone’s life around them miserable they fight and cause drama.
Russell Barringer a sports reporter for Seattle News and Seth is his boss. One night at the Seattle News Christmas party, over way to many drinks, Russell and Aria come up with a plan to try to get their bosses Torrence and Seth back together. Maybe this will make everyone’s life easier at the news station.
Underneath Aris sunshine persona she hides the fact she suffers from depression, she goes to therapy and takes medication, but after seeing how depression affected her mother during Ari’s childhood, she hides her depression from everyone. After her fiancée calls off the wedding Ari is just trying to put one foot in front of the other.
Coming up with schemes to get their bosses back together Ari and Russell so realize they have more in common like being Jewish, they can’t deny their feelings for each other. Ari fears that Russell will leave her when he sees her dark moods like all her previous boyfriends. Can they both survive a storm?
This book had some steamy parts but it’s so much more it covers mental health and therapy and I loved that they were both Jewish and that Russell was a normal guy with stretch marks and a father! Five stars!!

I had such high expectations for this book--I mean, Rachel Lynn Solomon, The Ex Talk--and this book smashed them! I absolutely loved reading about weather girl Ari and sports reporter Russel scheming to get their bosses back together and falling in love themselves. While extremely similar to Set It Up, with in-document references to The Parent Trap, this one has its own unique spin on the tale and a twist I didn't see coming. It's also one of only a few romance novels I've read with a male lead who is... less than chiseled. It's refreshing a real, and not just with regards to Russel's #dadbod. Ari talks openly about her depression, which she has under control at time of the book, but can still interfere with her romantic relationships. The integration of the characters' Judaism is also well-done, particularly at the office Christmas party. But these inclusionary efforts are just icing on a wonderfully baked cake of a love story. I can see myself rereading this book again and again, and it makes me wish a little bit that I was, too, a weather girl.

Thanks to Berkley for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon is sweet, pure, and unafraid to tackle tough subjects.

She's a meteorologist with (managed) clinical depression and unresolved family issues. He's a chubby sportswriter with secrets of his own. Together, they conspire to parent trap their horrible bosses to bring some much-needed peace and quiet to a workplace that is quickly becoming unbearable. While arranging romantic moments for their bosses, they discover feelings for each other that neither was expecting.

(And on a personal note, THE WEATHER GIRL gets mega bonus points for all the hockey nods.)

This is such a charming romance, with a few scenes that will leave you in a fit of giggles, and a few scenes that will have you fanning yourself. It's about family, mental health & healthy, swoony relationships.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! Ari is a meteorologist whose divorced bosses are making her station work environment stressful. She teams up with her sports anchor colleague Russell to get their bosses back together, and in the process, falls in love. The author strikes a great balance between warm, gooey, and funny romance, while also having serious mental health and family issues. This book has great mental health and inclusive family representation, with Ari having depression and Russell being a single dad. The story was sweet, had great pacing, and Russell was a great male lead as a single, plus-sized dad (I think this is the first book I read with a plus-sized dad hero). Lynn Solomon struck a great balance of handling Ari’s depression and the anxiety it causes her in relationships with grace and empathy, while also writing a story that felt like being embraced in a hug in how it all came together. This book also has great Jewish rep, with both main characters practicing. I recommend this book for anyone who likes workplace friends-to-lovers romance, open door, mental health rep, main characters practicing Judaisim, and romantic comedies.

I thought this was a great story about dealing with mental illness - the ups and downs, the "dark days". It was original and fun. And I really liked that there was this outside influence (their bosses' relationship issues) that played a roll in them getting together.

I really enjoyed that Russ was not some ripped, model-like, news anchor and he was just this quiet, steady character that had his own insecurities. He saw what Ari thought of as flaws and just considered them a part of her, accepting everything she was and wasn't. At the end, there was the promise of a happy life - with ups and downs instead of the usual "life-is-now-perfect" endings we usually get in romance.

Unfortunately, there were more than a few editorial/copyediting issues though (ie. incorrect order of words, duplicate words/phrases, etc.).