If You Ask Me is my first Libby Hubscher book and I'll be checking out more of this author's work - because I enjoyed her storytelling. This book was great in many ways. It had an exceptional hero, who dealt with a lot of difficult topics and did so in a sensitive way, and I liked the heroine most of the time. I felt for her, but could of been over the top. By the end of I was a fan of both characters.

A moving contemporary romance novel about finding yourself when you feel like you’re at a crossroads and healing from the past

This was a fun if slightly forgettable romcom. I don't love the infertility trope but very much enjoyed the ending of this one.

A lot of contemporary romance delivers on the light notes, sometimes on the steam, and can verge on the unserious end of the spectrum, which is why they are so fun. If You Ask Me delivers more than that and I’d actually consider it contemporary fiction with a romance storyline, rather than contemporary romance outright. I found it to be one of those rare books that is well-rounded and could hit in two or three genre.

The story itself markets as a romantic comedy, but it’s also one of those books where the romance plotline could be removed, and it would be just as good. At its core, this is actually a story about a woman who is pulled to her lowest point, and how she pulls herself back up and finds a way to be happy with the life she has, even if it isn’t the life she expected.

If You Ask Me follows Violet Covington, a writer who pens a popular advice column in North Carolina called Dear Sweetie. Violet has advice for everything, from relationship issues to interpersonal conflict. Violet has built a great life, with a dream husband, dream house, and dream job. When she learns her column is up for syndication, she’s excited to go home and share the news with her husband Sam.

Violet arrives home early and finds Sam in bed with Shelby, a woman from up the street. Violet does the only thing she can think of in the moment—she pushes her feelings down, refusing to let Sam and Shelby see her cry. So she goes to the shower, steps under the hot spray in her blouse and spanx, and lets her tears flow. Afterwards, she calmly blow dries her hair and reapplies her make up before returning to her bedroom.

Sam is waiting to talk to her, but Violet isn’t interested. She sends him on his way and pushes aside what just happened. But eventually, Violet can’t ignore what happened. Sam begs her to meet to talk, and tells her it’s been going on for months and he is in love with Shelby. This sets off the spiral that Violet had been trying to avoid. She begins to drink more than she should. She burns Sam’s favorite things in a bonfire in the middle of the street in front of their house, drawing her neighbor to call the fire department.

And that’s when she meets Dez, a firefighter who happens to live nearby. Dez is attractive and kind, and he might be just what Violet needs to distract herself and cleanse her mind of Sam. But at work things begin to get more intense. A column she writes expressing what happened to her marriage goes viral. Eventually, her identity is exposed and her life is pushed forward for public consumption.

As Violet continues to spiral, things reach their tipping point at work and with Dez, and Violet sees her whole life finally collapse the way it has been threatening to ever since she discovered Sam’s infidelity. But perhaps in her lowest moment, Violet may finally confront the scariest thing of all—herself. Can Violet face the things that have brought her to this point and find a way to heal and find happiness?

The story touches on infidelity, infertility, alcoholism, and mental health. It handles these issues with authenticity while keeping the story on the lighter side where possible. For those who find these issues triggering due to personal pain, this may not be the book for you. But for many, I think this book will feel cathartic, even if these aren’t your challenges. I found Violet’s story to be a journey of vulnerability. From the beginning she avoids showing (or even experiencing) her heartbreak. But eventually it manifests in other ways. She’s angry, frustrated, injured, and engaging in unhealthy coping through alcohol and other mechanisms.

Peppered throughout are her columns she writes, offering advice that seems to reflect where she is at. The silver lining to this in terms of her career is that she has realized that blunt vulnerability may be more valuable for her readers than her refined but overly polished advice. Despite her improved approach to advice that resonates with viewers, Violet is becoming reckless and once her identity is exposed, shes no longer able to separate Violet the person from her advice column.

Her dark night of the soul comes, and the question is how she will rebuild from it? As all of this is happening, she is also progressing with firefighter Dez, but this plot feels secondary to the story of Violet. Will she be able to heal herself and find love again? And when she does, will it be with Dez, Sam, or someone else?

A great story full of funny moments and emotional ones that all culminate in a journey of reflection and healing. I loved this book!

If You Ask Me was a true delight from start to finish! I loved Libby Hubscher's writing and the overall plot was great. The romance was swoon-worthy and definitely left me smiling. The chemistry is definitely present between Violet and Dez and really made for an enjoyable romance. I'm excited to read more from Libby Hubscher in the future!

I think that Libby Hubscher is an incredible author and storyteller. This books was incredibly funny and who doesn’t love a man in uniform??

“And, look, I know that we were raised to be quiet and nonconfrontational—we had to be careful not to say the wrong thing. But maybe saying something, even the wrong thing, is more important and better than being quiet or right or whatever”

Dez is the perfect bookish boyfriend. No but seriously I loved seeing him really care for Violet who was on this downward spiral, and show her that love exists beyond what she was accepting from Sam. This was messy, it was emotional, but boy was it entertaining. I thought that it was overall a fun read.

Super cute rom-com about Violet and her life. I love anything where one of the characters is a firefighter. Loved the chemistry between Violet and Dez. Great read.

Sending my apologies for not being able to provide a review. I am unable to offer a review for this book - I had sent it to my kindle to read and the file did not download properly. Unfortunately the book has been archived and I'm unable to re-send it.

Violet Covington writes for DEAR SWEETIE, the biggest advice column in North Carolina. When she finds out that her husband, Sam, has been cheating on her, she loses it! She brings out her bad feelings and vicious honesty in her column. Then she meets Dez, a firefighter who shows up to put out the fire that Violet starts in the front yard (of Sam's things). Dez and Violet hit it off and have a little fling, but Sam is begging Violet for a second chance.

This was a heartwarming read, with a MC who deals with some pretty tough issues. So as I was expecting this to be a nice, light romance, it ended up being heavier than expected! But the author does give you the trigger warnings at the beginning, which are infidelity, infertility, miscarriage, anxiety, and alcohol abuse. This was my first by this author and overall, I enjoyed it and thought it was well written. I would definitely check out her future books!

This was such a fun little southern read! I am obsessed with any advice column element of a romcom! Such a fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley and PRHAudio for the audio and ebooks!

If you’re looking for a romcom with a little depth, this one is great! The MC has recently found her husband cheating on her. She also writes for a well-known advice column and is accidentally outed.

This book is sweet and funny and it’s got a very small-town southern feel to it. I really enjoyed it!

While seemingly appearing as a light read, this has some heavy, triggerable topics. I am also just honestly tired of so many conflict storylines following the "so and so cheated" like a jilted lover. These female characters deserve better and more creative conflicts.

The writing itself is beautifully done! I will definitely read more by this author, especially in hopes of a different type of storyline.

I was unable to review until now, but this story was so cute. I loved both characters and their story together. I loved the tension between all the characters

4 out of 5 stars - If you ask me, I'll tell you to read it.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this free copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Before even starting the book, there was a section detailing the topics within the book that could be triggers for people. I found that interesting, as I had never seen that before.

This is the story of Violet, an advice columnist who doesn't have it all together. When she comes home early from work and finds her husband in bed with another woman, she starts looking at herself and evaluating her life but not without several bumps in the road, derailments, and unfiltered responses to advice letters.

This book had a lot of good moments of a woman feeling less than and then being built back up by another character. While there is a new romance that buds in this book, I don't think I would categorize this as a romance novel. This is more of a book about women taking control of their lives and not being the "good, quiet, subservient housewife whose only job is to make life easier for others".

I selected this one for the great cover and firefighter! It leads more towards women's fiction, but highly enjoyed this one. It won't be the last by Libby Hubscher.

IF YOU ASK ME was a cute romance that has a slightly feminist twist. It is the type of book you curl up when you want a feel-good book to read.

This was a heartwarming story! I would put this more solidly in the "women's fiction" category rather than romance, but the romance was sweet and believable. I enjoyed it!

I really enjoyed Holton’s The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, so I was pretty confident going into The League of Gentlewomen Witches that I was going to have a good time. I’m happy to report I believe this novel is even better than the last. It was easy to slip back into the world Hilton has created and jump back into the fray – that now includes (alleged) witches – with our beloved pirates who are now on the hunt for Black Beryl’s amulet. The book focuses primarily on Charlotte, who is next in line to lead the (alleged) witches league, and Alex, a pirate we met briefly in TWSLS. I love Charlotte and Alex’s romance. It was both swoony and hilarious, and you never quite knew what to expect from them next. This book is not short on pirates, (alleged) witches, or adventure either, so do not despair. It is full of all the hijinks and hysterics of the first book and oh so fun!

I enjoyed this story. I would consider it more of women's fiction than romance, which was great but I was expecting a bit more romance. It is closed door..

Violet walks in on her husband and a woman from their neighborhood and her life is turned upside quickly. She's feeling out of control and starts acting a bit erratic, rightfully so. And through her heartbroken antics she meets Dez, a local firefighter. He seems to love all of the parts of her that her husband apparently couldn't stand. And he helps her move through her separation from her husband while showing her kindness at every turn.

I really connected with Violet in some unexpected ways and reading her story was cathartic for me. I liked that we got to see all of the messy parts of this story. I feel like a lot of authors would start the story somewhere down the line from a separation like that, but the fact that we got the up-close and personal process of going through something like this, and the realizations Violet has about who she was in her relationship and how she allowed her husband to treat her was really beautiful.

Also, Dez is perfect and charming and everything that Violet needed.