Ari is full of sunshine, desperate to learn her mother's lesson about how negativity impacts those closest. Her engagement ends because she's not "real" and she's about had it with the stressful environment of working for exes. Sitting at a bar next to her coworker, Russ, inspires the two to "parent trap" their respective bosses with the goal of making work a happier space.
While I really enjoyed Ari's character arc and the fun twist with the battle of the exes, I really was hoping for more with Russ. It's a little too insta-love for my preferences. This doesn't take away from the beautiful way Rachel deals with and describes depression and the insecurities of being overweight and what both might mean in a relationship.
Immediately after finishing, I was a bit underwhelmed, frankly. Even though it hasn't published yet, it seems to be getting quite the hype and high expectations - for me - are a dangerous thing. However, I will say, the longer I reflect, the more I appreciate the subtle nuances of writing a character that is internally similar to the uncertainty of the weather.
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I was so excited for this book when I saw it on NetGalley and knew I immediately had to request it. The Ex Talk was and is one of my favorite romances of 2021, so I was really excited to read Rachel Lynn Solomon’s 2022 release. But unfortunately this one fell flat for me and missed the mark. And honestly I’m really bummed that it did. I’ve run into similar sophomore release struggles this year with The Maidens and One Last Stop not living up to the debut release.

Read if you like:
⚡️ Seattle
⚡️ Work place romance
⚡️ The Parent Trap or Set It Up movies
⚡️ The weather!! And talking about it!! I know this seems weird and maybe it’s an MN thing but I swear MN folks love talking about the weather 😂

What I liked:
⚡️ Jewish representation
⚡️ Depression representation - this felt so authentic and had the most important author note with it 🤍
⚡️ Weather tie ins sprinkled throughout
⚡️ Single dad
⚡️ Ari’s personal and professional growth

What didn’t work for me:
⚡️ Ari and Russell didn’t feel like a believable couple to me. Trying not to go into spoilers but some scenes made me more uncomfy instead of getting any romance vibes
⚡️ The big conflict felt a tad hypocritical so I had a hard time going along with that story line

The Ex Talk is still one of my favorite romance books of 2021 and I highly, highly recommend it.

I’m intentionally trying to keep this review spoiler free but if you want to hear my full thoughts, check out my goodreads review 😵‍💫😅

**SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION SO SKIP TO BELOW**

What I didn’t like:
⚡️ I was really uncomfy in the scene after Ari broke her arm and Russell was taking care of her. All this sexual tension appeared out of what felt like no where and it felt unbelievable. Like have you ever broken a bone??? It really really hurts and unless the pain meds were really that good, which also being under the influence leads a whole different conversation about informed consent, but like still!!! And it was just weird that Russell didn’t resist and there really wasn’t much sexual tension in other interactions to build up to this scene.
⚡️ the big conflict with Ari and Russell is that they find out they’re bosses are also meddling to get them together and Ari is upset by it. Which I would understand, but Ari and Russ were doing the exact same thing but even more escalated to their bosses. So I was really frustrated and just didn’t understand why she was so upset when she did the same action.
⚡️ also there was a proposal at someone else’s wedding WTF!!! This is one of my highest cringe hard passes. NO. JUST NO. Do not take the attention off the wedding couple’s special day!!

**END SPOILERS**

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adorable - this will be favorite of 2022. A very sweet, body-positive and mental-health focused story. I loved the steam & really thought this was a great romance with depth.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did The Ex-Talk. Ari was a bit one-dimensional. Weather-themed everything. I get she loves her job but the earrings, shirts, rain boots, etc. were a little much. It made her seem kind of cartoony. She was also a hypocrite about the whole set-up thing. I just didn't connect with her much as a character or like her very much. Also, I'm just not in the mood for heavy contemporary romances. This seems to be the current trend but I'm ready for something more lighthearted and less depressing. And something with a better romance. Ari and Russell did not have any chemistry and I just couldn't get into their scenes. It's not a good sign when your side characters have more chemistry and are more interesting than your main ones. And the single dad trope did not help. Overall, this was disappointing. 3 stars

Truth time…Weather Girl was never going to live up to my love of the last two Rachel Lynn Solomon books I read. I have so much love in my heart for The Ex Talk and We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This that Weather Girl had some stiff competition. But if I’m honest I think that helped to know going in because in the end I found the book to be completely delightful. Ari and Russell were the perfect pair that you really never saw coming. The were really sweet and charming together and I feel for them. But what I truly love about Rachel’s story telling is how she weaves in serious issues like mental health into her stories so smoothly and organically that you can connect with a character no matter what. That is the true joy of reading a Solomon book. Was this one The Ex Talk or We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This? No. But that is okay because this was it’s own story and was enjoyed in it’s own right. Add it to your TBR.

This book was so sweet and charming! I loved the couple, Ari and Russel, and their cute workplace romance! I loved all the weather talk but more than anything I really liked how the author presented the main character’s depression. I thought it felt respectful but I also found a lot of it to be true as someone who has depression. I have experienced many of Ari’s struggles and break throughs in my life that also influenced my relationships with others and left me feeling apprehensive about opening up. I saw a little of myself within her.

If you enjoy work place romances and weather puns, this is the book for you!

Yet another brilliant romance from Rachel Lynn Solomon! I've loved her books from the very first one, which I picked up thanks to a recommendation from a local bookstore (that plus the author's signature and a cute matching stamp sold me--yes I make good purchasing choices, shhh). This is her second adult romance, and it is wonderful.

While I appreciate why people love romcoms in general, they tend to be weighted too light for me. (No shade to anyone who loves light romcoms--it's completely a personal preference thing!) Rachel always strikes the PERFECT balance between fun/funny/lighthearted moments and characters dealing with more serious issues, which is what makes her books stand out IMO. Like all of her characters, Ari and Russell are written with depth, nuance, and gravitas that make them feel like people who could walk off the page.

As with every RLS book, I loved Weather Girl and highly recommend it. The book is out January 11, 2022! I have my copy preordered from Third Place Books. :) Rachel is running a pre-order campaign and has options available (shipping to various countries) for signed books, so be sure to check her IG (@rlynn_solomon) for more info!

Huge thanks to Berkley Romance for providing a free advanced e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so perfect! There was so much to love about it, especially the honest and raw look at mental health, but also the Jewish rep, the not-model-perfect leads, an adorable single dad, and a couple that was a perfect match.

Have you seen Set It Up on Netflix? If you liked that, you’ll love Weather Girl. Ari and Russ decide to trick their bosses into falling back in love, but end up falling for each other along the way.

Ari and Russ were just such a perfect match. She’s a weather nerd, he’s a sports guy. On the surface they don’t have a lot in common, but they connect on the more important levels. I loved watching them be vulnerable and open up to each other throughout the story.

RLS brings us a brutally honest look at Ari’s depression and how it has affected her self-worth. She has trouble believing that men will accept her because she doesn’t believe she’s worthy of love. Her parents’ relationship taught her that men can’t handle women with mental health issues, and it takes a lot for her to move beyond that. We really got to see inside Ari’s mind here, and it was both relatable and eye-opening. It was also really amazing to see (minor spoilers here, but no one will be shocked) how she overcame this self-doubt.

This widely beloved author has brought us another knockout novel. You are definitely going to want to bump this to the top of your 2022 TBR.

This book deals a LOT with depression, so it's not a particularly fun read and that's ok. Just be warned, it's a little on the heavy side.

I also have issues with some of the newsroom aspects, but I'll save that rant for my full review on my website. 😂

I appreciated that it's a unique set of main characters, one with depression and a plus sized man, which I don't think I've seen before.

If you go into this expecting it to be on par with the ex talk, you will be disappointed.

This review will go live on The Wellesley News on December 22.

I totally understand that my reading habits are very different from the vast majority of people reading this review, but is it just me who will pick up a heterosexual romance to, like, reset? Because Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books are great for that.

To be honest, Solomon’s chokehold on me is unbelievable. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be so excited to read about straight white coworkers falling in love, but that’s just the power that she has. 

Arielle Abrams is 27 years old and working as a meteorologist at her local TV news station. She’s recovering from being dumped by her ex-fiancé, hiding her depression from almost everybody in her life and just trying her best to enjoy her job. 

Which is hard to do when your bosses are also divorcés, constantly getting on each other’s nerves but definitely still in love with each other. So Ari does what any logical person would do: schemes to get them back together, with the help of sports reporter Russell Barringer. And as the two of them meddle in their bosses’ lives, they just might start falling for each other as well.

Why do I love this silly book so much? It’s just fun. I say this as someone who is entirely uninterested in, and not attracted to, men: Russell is the dream man. He’s a single dad (his daughter is 12 years old — the product of a teen pregnancy — and incredibly self-aware). He exhibits absolutely no toxic masculinity. He’s extremely kind and awkward. 

And Ari might be my favorite of Solomon’s romcom protagonists. Her depth of character is wonderful to experience; she’s such a nerd about weather, her mommy issues feel very real and her mental health is represented in a very vulnerable way. Her therapist is also a fantastic character.

I think it was good of Solomon to not write a POC main character or love interest this time around (which she has done in her previous romcoms, to varying levels of reception). Not only does it avoid any potential cultural sensitivity issues, it also allows for there to be more representation of identities she’s familiar with (namely, being Jewish and mentally ill). 

Finally, I couldn’t help but be invested in the KSEA higher-ups’ second chance romance. Torrance and Seth are ridiculous. This felt like “The Parent Trap.” I love it.

“Weather Girl” comes out on Jan. 11, 2022. I received an early copy from the publisher, Berkley, in exchange for a review.

‘Weather Girl’ is one of my favorite books EVER. If you want to start your year off right, you’ll start it by reading this gem.

Rachel Lynn Solomon has written her best book yet (in my opinion). Russel and Ari are sheer perfection, and I mean it. I don’t have one bad thing to say about them. Russel is the shining star of this book. He has quickly topped the list as one of my all-time book crushes, and let me tell you why. For the first time, we get A REAL MAN. He isn’t perfect. He doesn’t have a rock-hard six pack. He’s funny and corny and cute and tender and sweet and RESPECTFUL (but also damn can he get spicy). Russell is a dream-boat. And Ari! Ari! Rachel Lynn Solomon has made such a lovable leading lady. Ari, too, is so real. She hides her depression under a mask of sunshine and is afraid to let people see the real her; her emotions are raw and relatable. I loved how she related a lot of what she was feeling to the weather. This whole book was thematically on-point, and I love a good thematic moment, so I loved every single page. I couldn’t stop reading, I stayed up wayyy too late racing to the finish, and then the minute I finished reading I wanted to go back and read it again.

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. #WeatherGirl #NetGalley

There are so many great aspects to this book. It's set in the Pacific Northwest with a main character who loves weather, and it matter of factly talks about climate change as real and not a political opinion. And there's swing dancing and musical theater.

Ari and Russell scheme to play parent trap tricks on their bosses in hopes of creating a better workplace. And they commiserate about being some of the only Jewish people at their office and attending a holiday party that clearly just means Christmas. There's so much about this book I love.

But I also have to acknowledge this was a really tough read for me. Ari's mother has been depressed since her childhood. Ari herself developed depression in high school, eventually getting medication and therapy beginning in college. And beyond that, she puts on a happy sunshine act to cover over her depression when interacting with others. These aspects hit really close to home. They were wonderfully well described, and I am so happy to see such strong discussion of depression. But it was also so accurate that I had to put it down for a bit to get into the right place to be able to read the book. It's powerful and wonderful and important, but it's not easy. It felt so deeply personal to me.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

TW: depression, parental abandonment

First of all, Thank you to Berkley Romance for the #GiftedCopy in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing Date: January 11, 2022

I had super high hopes for Weather Girl because of the cult following for Rachel Lynn Solomon and after the Ex Talk fell short for me too. I did round up my rating because I know this story was super personal for the author and it seems like she truly put a lot of heart into it.

However, one part of the book rubbed me the wrong way which was how the main character made it seem like if you have mental health issues and you aren’t taking medication then you are unable to function - I know the author was trying to de-stigmatize medication, but it came off like it was the only solution for those who struggle with anxiety or depression.

The storyline besides the mental health issues was just okay, I felt like the two main characters didn’t really bring much chemistry to the table. I thought the blended family and Jewish culture definitely made the storyline great and kept me reading to find out how their relationship fell into place.

This is just my individual review and I know a lot of people rated it way higher - since its average on Goodreads is 4.25 - so I will definitely recommend reading more than just my review when you are deciding to pick up this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley, and Rachel Lynn Solomon for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review! I was impressed by the author’s note at the beginning and how the author stated that she wanted to write something dealing with mental health. I also liked the premise, but it’s hard for me to rate this because it personally wasn’t my favorite romance book.

This book focuses on Ari Abrams, a meteorologist, and Russell, a college sports reporter. It also talks about their bosses, Torrance and Seth Hale, who continue to work together despite being divorced. Ari and Russell decide to try and get them back together after an entertaining dinner party.

This was a cute novel and I loved the premise, but something about it never stuck with me. I think it may have been partially the writing style, as it was a little slow-paced, and the romance - which is definitely personal preference. However, I loved Ari as a main character and seeing mental health issues portrayed in an accurate way. There was also a lot of diversity included which was also a plus.

I think my problems with this book were all due to me and that this is a solid romance book. I plan the read The Ex-Talk soon and hopefully more from this author in the future.

3.5 stars rounded up. I had lukewarm feelings towards The Ex Talk, so I went into Weather Girl with some trepidation. Honestly, it exceeded expectations. Miscommunication as the big bad monster that ruins relationships is all well and good, but Weather Girl tackles what it's like when it's your own brain that's rooting against you. My girl Ari struggles with a lot of things that I relate to, and the fact that depression can feel like the third party in your relationship is real and valid.

I would also like to give a round of applause for our plus-size hero! I have been devouring only romances for the better part of two years straight, and I can say that after hundreds and hundreds of male leads, Russell is my first encounter of a lead with stretch marks. I love him. Do I think it was totally necessary to make the guy with the dad bod and actual dad? Not 100%. I also felt as uncomfortable as he did, probably, when Ari flashed a little fatphobia during their first intimate encounter. But I'm still here for it. For him.

There were moments of this book that definitely made me cringe, but I think that these characters have a lot of personality, and it's a testament to how real they are when you look at how uncomfortable they made me feel. I probably should've looked into the content warnings a little more as well, but that's on me. All in all, if workplace romances are your jam, with a side order of mental health and parent trap shenanigans, this is a good choice for you.

Thank you to Berkley (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

I loved this one SO MUCH! Possibly more than The Ex Talk, but I'm not quite sure yet. Rachel Lynn Solomon is definitely one of my favorite adult romance writers now! She's been great at YA, and The Ex Talk was fantastic, and this one just cements her as one of my favorite romance writers.

Things I loved about Weather Girl:
-Content warnings at the beginning of the story (about depression/mental health) and the lovely note to the reader
-The forecast chapter titles
-Russell, the sweetest, kindest LI, who also happens to be fat! I don't think I've ever read a romance novel with a fat hero
-Frank discussions of depression and therapy on the page while Ari is struggling to come to terms with her relationship with her mom and how their mental health has affected their relationship. And Ari isn't perfect. Her journey is bumpy and she slips up. Like a REAL person would
-Elodie!
-Ari's weather-related brooches
-How you can tell this book meant so much to the author <3

This was another wonderful read by Rachel Lynn Solomon—I was swept away by the character development, the slow-burn romance, the matchmaking chaos, and the compelling, playful world of weather forecasting. Another delightful romance!

Ari likes rain and dislikes sunshine; Russel likes and used to play hockey. Honestly just those two traits made me really happy.
As for the rest of the book, I didn't quite love the ending but honestly I had a great time with pretty much everything else.

Pub date: 1/11/22
Genre: romance
In one sentence: Meteorologist Ari and sports reporter Russell team up to reunite their divorced bosses - will this setup bring them closer together too?

I absolutely loved The Ex Talk, so I was so excited to get an ARC of Weather Girl. Ari is a special character - I loved her dedication to her job and drive to succeed. I've also fallen into the trap of being the "sunshine girl", and I was glad to see her dealing with her depression and learning her value as a whole person. Russell is such a wonderful character too - he's a great father to daughter Elodie and so caring with Ari. This is the first book I've read with a fat male protagonist, and I loved this representation.

I enjoyed the workplace setup plot - I loved watching station bosses Torrance and Seth spar as Ari and Russell schemed behind the scenes. And Ari and Russell had their own banter to help put the comedy in romantic comedy.

If you like romance stories with a side of personal development, I'd recommend this one! It's a good read for a rainy day inside - no umbrella needed.

Thank you to Berkley for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review posted to NetGalley and Goodreads on 12/10/21. To be posted to Instagram the week of pub date 1/11/22.

This book hit juuuuuuust a little too close to home for me.
Sometimes when you read, a character is struggling with some issues or situations that you yourself deal with regularly and it isn’t always easy to look those struggles in the eye.
At times, it felt like I was looking in a mirror while I was reading this book.
This book depicts mental illness, specifically depression very realistically, and in great detail.
I know that this novel is described as a rom-com but I daresay that it ventures far, far into the chick lit category… In fact, I think that the “rom-com” aspect of this novel was completely unnecessary. I would have almost preferred to have read about Ari’s struggles and successes in a much more organic setting than a silly parent trap-esque scheme that she came up with.

Some context? Sure, here you go:
Ari is the local meteorologist in Seattle. Her boss is a holy terror and she is miserable at her job. Ari and her co worker Russel come up with a match making plan to get their bosses to fall in love so that the work place is less toxic. Ari and Russel very predictably end up falling in love themselves. Ari deals with mental illness, as does her mother. It’s a very stilted relationship and it’s something that Ari never really made peace with. Ari is also very actively battling her depression. She sees a therapist and takes her medications, but anyone who suffers depression also knows that those dark days are always inevitable. Between her depression diagnosis and her fucked up relationship with her mom, Ari really struggles in her romantic relationships. So when she ends up falling for Russel, she freaks out.

This novel is a happily ever after, it is a “rom com” after all. But the journey to get there is a very genuine one and I enjoyed reading it as much as I was uncomfortable while reading it.

I think that Rachel Lynn Solomon did a great job giving Ari a partner who not only loved her at her worst as well as her best, but a partner who was just kind. Russel came with no pretenses, he was a good man, a kind man, a thoughtful man. He was the type of partner than we all strive to find. He was realistic and had his own fears and flaws that he had to overcome. For as much as we love a chiseled jaw line and a twelve pack on our story book heroes; a gentle soul with a dad bod has his place too. Russel was perfect.

The chemistry between Russ and Ari was also super steamy. It was a little surprise for me, because I wasn’t ready for that level of sexiness going into this book.

Overall it was a very introspective read for me. I really liked it, and it made me think. It stuck with me through out my day, I couldn’t wait for my kids to go to bed so that I could see what happened next with Ari and Russ, Torrance and Seth.

I gave this one three stars.
I marked off one star because I felt like the pacing could have been a bit better, some of the filler chapters definitely needed to be cut out. I marked off another star because I firmly believe that Weather Girl is being categorized in the wrong genre. I’ve never been a big chick lit fan myself, and honestly had I known then what I know now, i’m not sure I would have picked this novel out. *But that’s just personal preference at that point*