This book was an interesting combination of feeling realistic but also providing the escapism I require when I read.

I was pissed off, I swooned, I was sad for Violet but I was also in awe of her growth and extremely happy that she found Dez but mostly that she found herself. I would read this book over and over!

*I received an early copy from NetGalley for voluntary/honest review

If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher is a romance novel about a southern girl who writes a column, Dear Sweetie. Violet Covington dishes out advice, but can she take it?

Violet's column is up for syndication. She is so excited to share the news with her husband, Sam, that she rushes home to find him in bed with their fit neighbor, Shelby.

Violet's life begins to spiral. She must face the fact that her husband doesn't want her anymore. Violet releases her rage in unhealthy ways that lead her to flourish.

Great things happen when you least expect them.

I love this book. Violet is from North Carolina. I'm from Atlanta, so I get the character's southern charms.

The pace is petty quick: I did not get bored. The romance isn't tacky. There is a lot of variation concerning the characters.

Everything fell into the perfect place.

A quick rom-com that did end up touching on some more serious notes. I wasn't sure at first if this was going to be a got-back-with-the-cheating-ex book and that prevented me from getting super attached. Otherwise it was still a really great read once I got past that.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This was my first book by Libby Hubscher. Thank you to @berkleyromance for the free #gifted book and digital ARC. All thoughts expressed are my own. I’m usually not a fan of reading about cheating, but this book was more about the events that take place after Violet catches her husband in their bed with another woman. I was seriously gasping and yelling at Sam when this happened. Then the book takes the reader on a ride as Violet deals with her emotional pain and anxiety and her new attitude about life that she expresses through her Dear Sweetie column. As someone who deals with anxiety and has had panic attacks in the past, I found the way they were written about to be authentic and understanding. When the love interest is there for Violet to support her, oh my goodness, he’s just a sweetheart. And he’s a hot firefighter, hello! There were times that I questioned the decisions Violet made but that’s what makes this fictional story one that makes you think about life and how we choose to react to situations. If You Ask Me is full of humor and, along with the romance, created a balance to the heavy topics of the book. I will definitely read another book by Libby.

CW: infidelity, infertility, pregnancy loss, anxiety, alcohol abuse (please read the note from the author in the book)

I honestly loved this book. It was a bit over-the-top in places, but for some people, that’s incredibly realistic too.

Violet has been going through the motions. She’s been married for 12 years and currently works as an anonymous advice columnist. But everything begins to implode when she gets home early one day to find her husband in bed with another woman – a woman she knows, in fact.

From setting fire to half of his stuff to airing her dirty laundry in the newspaper through her column, and to even risking her anonymity, Violet watches parts of her life go up in flames. Lucky for her, a nearby neighbor by the name of Dez just so happens to be a firefighter. More than that, he sees her. He listens to her. And above all else, he doesn’t seem to judge her, either.

But Violet is battling far more insecurities than she’s willing to share, and she’s too afraid to have them placed on whatever new relationship could potentially be sprouting with the firefighter. Plus, isn’t it too soon???

This book was incredibly real. I found myself laughing at times, and cringing at others. Violet was filled with faults and it was refreshing to see a character who didn’t find herself to be perfect. It was an easy read, but it’s important to recognize and read the trigger warnings before diving in.

TW: infertility, miscarriage, cheating, drinking.

This book was a little mediocre for me. The book didn't bring anything new to the genre, and everything was quite predictable. However, I did expect that. What bothered me most was that I greatly disliked the main character. In the beginning I thought she was okay, but after that I just thought she was whiny, and I couldn't be bothered anymore. All in all it wasn't a great read for me, but I do think it makes for a perfect breezy read.

This started like a fun read. I was hooked at the fast-pace of the first chapter but then it all went down hill from there. The bonfire and the firefighter was a nice twist, and the scene after she gets stitches, I just loved. But then Violet just goes on this self-destructive mission that slowed down the story and made me lose interest. By that time I just didn’t care what would happen with any of the characters.

I loved "If You Ask Me" by Libby Hubscher!

The main character, Violet, is having a 'terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day'/week/month.! Violet's husband of 12 years leaves her and Violet "goes rogue"! She's always been the "good girl" believing she had to be perfect in every way. When things fall apart in her life, she makes mistakes but eventually builds back an even better future. If you enjoy books where the character gets a second chance and starts over, you will love this story.

I found this book to be full of humor, romance, and profound messages. For example, the book deals with some tough topics (infertility, anxiety, infidelity). The author deftly handles the challenging topics and gives the characters and the story a great deal of depth. But don't worry there's plenty of romance, laughter, and hope to round things out.

After Violet realizes she doesn't have to perfect and can embrace the messiness of life instead, she says "The ugly parts don't make you less beautiful. ... You are flawed but you are still worthy of love." Well said!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this book!

Meet Violet she writes the advice column Dear Sweetie no one knows it’s really Violet behind Dear Sweetie , after receiving so amazing news about her career she heads home early to make sushi for husband Sam. What she didn’t expect was to walk in on him cheating in they share! To make matters worse he says he wants to give it a shot with the new girlfriend. So after a few to many she takes some of Sams personal things and starts a fire. What she doesn’t expect was to have the handsome firefighter Dez arrive. Violet and Dez soon becomes close and they can’t deny their chemistry and he really seems to care about her. Well Violet let’s loose and begins to write her actual thoughts and her drinking gets a bit out of control, she soon writes a harsher and a realistic answer to one of the woman who wants advise on her marriage. What she didn’t expect was people actually loving the new harsher Dear Sweetie. The betrayal of her husband puts Violet on a revenge path and soon everyone knows her identity and what Sam did and her column goes viral. But when she goes to far she may lose her job, relationships friendship and alone. As we dig deeper we see Violet and who she really is, insecure and afraid and I loved seeing the change and how Violet realizes she’s stronger than what she thought was and she deserves happiness. This book does cover miscarriages and infidelity. Five stars

I am SUCH a fan of Libby Hubscher. She does romance so well. If You Ask Me isn’t just a fluffy romance book, it contains hard topics with complex characters.

After Violet finds her husband cheating on her with their neighbor, it sends Violet into a whirlwind. She takes her frustrations out on the advice column she writes for and continually creates chaos in her life, which brings in a sexy firefighter. Dez not only literally puts out Violet’s fires but helps her heal in ways she didn’t think possible.

This book was so lovely to read and I felt so empowered during Violet’s journey. I couldn’t get enough of her and Dez. However I think it’s important to point out that Dez didn’t “fix” Violet, but walked alongside her on her journey to healing.

This book contains several trigger warnings such as infidelity, miscarriage, and mental health issues.

IF YOU ASK ME took me on a rollercoaster of emotions, and it was hard to put down once I started.

Throughout the struggles, the growth, and the emotional moments, this book had me attached to the characters and the meaningful messages.

Also just Dez <3

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-book in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Requested this after a friend raved about it! I really liked it (definitely reminds me of Emily Henry). I do wish some of the themes were explored a bit more. The character arc seemed a smidge rushed in the last third of the book. Her realizations could have been explored more, I think. I did really enjoy the book and will definitely be recommending it to customers. A solid 4 stars!

I read this in one sitting! It starts with a punch where after Violet gets huge news about her column, she comes home to find her husband in bed with someone else. For a while she loses it, especially in her column. Then hits it off with firefighter Dez, as her ex husband comes back begging for another chance. Violet deals with some pretty tough things through the book (TW infertility, miscarriage, alcohol abuse). I especially love the column! I was expecting a cute, light romance and this wasn’t that but it exceeded expectations!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in an exchange for an honest review!

I ate this one up with a spoon - Give me more of Libby's writing ASAP, please. So cute, so fun, so heartwarming and I highly recommend this book to brighten your day!

I really enjoyed "If You Ask Me" by Libby Hubscher. After catching her husband cheating in their home, an advice columnist writes a response that goes viral. She also vents her anger by burning her husbands prized possessions in their front yard, which leads her to meeting Dez. The plot and pacing were great and believable, and I really liked the characters of Violet and Dez.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
I wasn't very impressed with this one. I think I'm reading too many similar romances and this one just lost my attention.

This book was… fine. While the depiction of infidelity and infertility is an important and interesting layer to a romance novel, the narrator of this novel was not my favorite. I found Violet to be irritating in her interaction with the world (and the firefighter - while hot - who was always there without fail to save her came off as a little creepy to me with the insta love, rather than sweet).
I’m sure this will be a winner for some, but it unfortunately wasn’t for me.

If You Ask Me by @libbyhubscher

Ok, so Meet Me in Paradise was one of my favorite books last year (out of 200), so I was extremely excited to read Libby’s second novel! I geeked out a bit when I was approved on NetGalley 😆

While MMiP is still my favorite of hers, I also really enjoyed this one! She is a for sure buy for me from here on out.

I loved how authentic Violet was. She was going through a heartache no married person wants to experience, and she handled it how any sane individual would! She burned his shit in the street in a blaze of glory! 🤣

I laughed out loud quite a few times throughout this novel, and I cried as well. Granted I cry at commercials, so take that as you will. Regardless, there were aspects of this one that really tugged at my heart.

The advice columns Violet wrote were amazing as well. I loved the topics that were tackled and the responses that were given. I especially loved the ones written in anger 😆 We can all use some Dear Sweetie advice at times.

Warning for infidelity and infertility struggles ❤️

Thank you so much to @berkleypub and @netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

Divorce, loss, and grief are things I can definitely relate to, and this books has some great sections that are so relatable and emotional. Lots of self-discovery and growth through vulnerability.

However, the amount of hot-mess drama and Southern-charm back stabbing was a bit much for me. (If you enjoy those things, then it shouldn’t detract from your reading.) I just felt the timeline of events was so confusing by being overly inundated with poor choices, ER visits, and DRAMA.

Read this if…you like to read the advice columns in newspapers or magazines.

Violet is the writer behind the popular “Dear Sweetie” advice column in her local paper. Her life implodes when she catches her husband of twelve years in bed with one of the neighbors. In a fit of rage, she piles up his clothes and prized possessions in the middle of the street and sets them on fire. Literal sparks fly when sweet and sexy firefighter Dez shows up. A tentative romance blossoms between the two as Violet tries to put her life back together.

This was a really sweet romance. I haven’t read the author’s first book, Meet Me in Paradise, but based on her writing alone, I can see why it was so popular. I felt for Violet as she dealt with her broken heart and I laughed at her “Tawanda!” moments. Dez was perfect (maybe a little too perfect?) and I love how supportive and patient he was while Violet tried to figure things out. There were Dear Sweetie letters and answers in between the chapters and I thought that was a nice touch. If you like romances where the woman learning to love herself is the main focus, then I’m confident you’d enjoy this one as well!

A big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Berkeley Publishing for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.