Member Reviews
If you are looking for the perfect Hallmark movie type of read, this is your book! Super cute friends to lovers trope, and still showed the ins and outs of relationships with each other and those around them.
SO SO SO GOOD
I have no regrets waiting to get the physical copy of this book before writing a review.
It's the grumpy-sunshine, opposite-attract, small town romance book that I didn't know I needed.
Adi and Finn are such poplar opposites that it is so darn ADORABLE. I LOVED IT.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy.
All is my honest opinion!
I love that this book can be considered anti-Hallmark. Hallmark movies are sweet, gushy, picturesque and make you think of a nice cup of hot chocolate in front of a fire. Well, don't expect this when Adina Gellar lands in Pleasant Hollow. Yes, it is a small town. Well, it stops there. No festivals, everyone doesn't know one another and each other's business...nothing you would expect if you are thinking you are walking onto a Hallmark movie set.
As a up-and-coming journalist Adi has been burned when it comes to the dating seen. Perhaps it is because being from New York the dating pool was just so large. Headed to Pleasant Hollow should change things for Adi. Meanwhile, that journalism career? Well, it certainly hasn't hit its stride as of yet. So, Adi has the brilliant idea to present Pleasant Hollow as idyllic as possible, even if she has to make a few things up.
Meeting Finn gives Adi pause. Has she found the perfect man already? Was simply moving to the outskirts of New York all she needed to do to reach out for her chance at love? With a story idea that will finally launch her journalism career, accompanied by the gorgeous Finn - well, Adi is on her way.
Having watched just about every Hallmark movie ever produced has Adi writing her own story. Can she get a homemade pie? Stop in an ice cream shop? Well, considering the fact that Finn is a developer and that he has huge plans for the very small town, well, that rather bursts Adi's bubble. Will the town's members side with Adi in her dreams of something quaint, or will they side with Finn and see nothing but dollar signs when considering the developments that are being planned?
Conflicts abound in this adorable story by Meredith Schorr. Proving that it is okay to dream, to plan, to change minds, all things the loveable Adi does. Not only does Adi work hard at creating her dream small town, she has the chance at love when it comes to Finn. I loved that the two were complete opposites, especially when it came to their ideals. With other supporting characters, including the Adi's lovely mother, this book was truly a delightful read. The blurb compares this book to the Gilmore Girls and that comparison could not be more appropriate when you see Adi's wonderful relationship with her mother.
The fact that I had this book as an audiobook ARC gave me the feels of watching a movie come to life, because that is exactly what this book did. Emily Lawrence, As Seen on TV's narrator, captured the characters perfectly and this made for a nice, pleasant afternoon of reading.
Here is the kicker when it comes to me - I don't watch Hallmark movies and I never saw even one episode of Gilmore Girls. However, with popular culture being what it is, I could quite easily connect this book to Hallmark movies and also to the television show. That alone is what made this book really work for me. For the author to give me strong vibes, strong connections to those iconic movies and that memorable TV show proves that she knows her readers well. Of course, I can see weeks and months of binge watching ahead, all thanks to this pleasant read - apropos as the town was Pleasant Hollow.
Many thanks to Forever and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please also enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/Lztg3n7RgI8
I very much enjoyed this book. Not only was it the perfect amount of steamy, but it was laugh-out-loud funny. A great read if you’re looking for a Gilmore Girls meets Sex and the City vibe.
Meredith Schorr’s As Seen on TV starts out with a great premise: a woman from NYC goes to a small town in search of a story and is really expecting to fall in love with both a man and the wonderful charm of small town living but in reality discovers that small towns can be just as unpleasant as big ones. Schorr also provides lots of nods to the Gilmore Girls and what seems like dozens of Hallmark movies with their various actors and plots, which would make this a wonderful book for all of those Hallmark movie-loving fans if only she’d taken into consideration the typical Hallmark use of language and sex. (Neither of these things bothered me but I am very aware of the expectations of Hallmark viewers and the readers of their novels.)
Those issues are, of course, surmountable. However, Adina Gellar may be one of those most fingernails on a chalkboard characters I’ve encountered in a long time. She’s immature and quickly proves herself to not be the sharpest tool in the shed and both of those character traits make for a frequently painful read for this reader. Combine that with pages and pages of dialogue that are neither witty nor move the novel along and these were just not surmountable–again, for this reader.
But, many other readers are actively adoring As Seen on TV so I do believe this one falls into YMMV (your mileage may vary) category. My mileage didn’t go very far at all but there’s a good chance yours will.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This novel follows a city-slicker, hopeless romantic to a small town in hopes of kickstarting her journalism career. Obsessed with Hallmark movies, Adi sets off to a small town hoping she'll find a close-knit community with fall festivals and town events but turns out it is nothing like she imagined. In her search to find a Hallmark-like love story within the town, she creates her own love story. It was a cute but extremely predictable story.
I get excited when books take place near where I grew up and there are references to real towns that I know and have visited. It has been a while since I have been there though, so I can't comment on if the scenery is depicted correctly.
From the big city of Manhattan to the small town of Pleasant Hollow ~ Adina is a freelance journalist trying to prove herself to get a full time job at a magazine. Her story is about a developer that is trying to bring chaos to this small town and create a high rise with all the bells and whistles. She really needs her story to make a splash in order to help her mother out financially, and herself since she works 3 jobs. She wasn't expecting to meet a hottie, Finn.
Finn works for the developer, so Adina has an interest in speaking with him. Soon enough they have a more romantic interest in each other until she finds out something that could chance their dynamic.
I am not a Hallmark movie watcher, so I can't attest to what others say about similarities, but I found this to be well written and I was really rooting for these two for the long haul at the beginning. I did prefer Finn pre~breakup, if you even want to call it that since they really weren't together together. He started to bug me a bit, but then he was okay again. The ending was cute.
This is my first time with this author and I'd be happy to read more from her.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a really fun book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I really liked the plot.
I was super excited for this book to be released, but unfortunately it fell flat for me! I love the concept - a journalist seeks out a small-town story, straight out of a Hallmark movie - and honestly the plot was very cute. I kept reading to find out what happened.
What didn’t work for me was the main character, Adina. Unfortunately I found her to be really annoying and I felt like she kept trying to manipulate the outcome of everything instead of just accepting people (and places) as they are. She came across as very immature, and I actually think this book could have worked as some sort of YA novel, if it weren’t for the cringe-worthy sex scenes.
While this book wasn’t for me, you should still give it a read if you love Hallmark movies or the Gilmore Girls - I’ve never watched the show so I’m sure I missed out on a lot of the references! Thank you to Forever Publishing for the Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest review.
Adi is a young journalist looking to establish her career and, being a fan of Hallmark movies, pitches a story about a small town being taken over by a big bad developer. But when she shows up in the quintessential small town, it is not like the Hallmark movies at all...... no one in the small own cares about the development and no one is friendly except the man in charge of the construction, Finn.
This could have been a quick, fun read but I slogged through it and almost DNF at 65%. The writing was choppy and the first 60% was Adi trying to figure out a way to fit this small town and the people in it into her Hallmark influenced ideas of what small towns should be like. There were some great opportunities to build some strong characters of the people in the town, but character development fell short. And the ending was such a jump from the rest of the book, it really felt like it didn't fit.
While reading other reviews, some people really liked this book. I think I was probably not the correct audience for it as it had a very young/Millennial/quarter-life-crisis tone to it. 2.75 stars for me.
This book was cute. No cringy characters here, which in romance novels, happens all too often (in my opinion). The end was absolutely a redeemer for me as the middle progressed slowly, with not a lot of character development or move in plot. But I would read it again for that ending!
While I am grateful for the opportunity to read this free digital copy, I could not finish it and so I will not be formally reviewing it on other social media sites.
Although I do think this story has a fun premise, I really struggled to connect with the main character, which is the primary reason I could not finish the book. She had so much promise, but felt overly naive (and this is harsh, but delusional) considering the fact that she has grew up and lived in a major city for years and is a journalist. A lot of the plot felt forced.
I wish the author all the best, but this one wasn’t for me. Rating 3 stars since I did not finish and the half I did read could have been much worse.
Adorable premise and technical competence, but amateur writing and annoying characters. I'm genuinely sorry to say it but the bad outweighs the good for me.
As intended, I'm sure, this book reminded me a lot of a Hallmark movie - both in its pace and its characters and conflict and meet cute etc. It was a lot of fun! I really enjoyed the characters and the challenges they faced and OF COURSE, the ending. A small town setting is always fun - especially a small town that is a bit unexpected in its "charms". ;) Finn and Adina and Kate & Adina's mom - really just loved them all and the dialogue and banter and steam in this book worked really well.
Now I want to go back and read Meredith Schorr's self-published works because they seem delightful too!!
Thank you so much to Forever and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As a fan of Hallmark movies and Gilmore Girls, this one gave me the perfect combination of both! Adina Gellar is over the dating scene in New York so as a journalist she decides to take on the story of the big, bad corporation building in a small town. She finds that this small town might not be what Hallmark movies are made of and the big, bad city guy might be just the man she could fall in love with. This is such a fun, heartfelt read! Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the egalley in exchange for my honest review.
I’m torn with this one. I love a good Hallmark movie, and even though this felt like that, I just couldn’t get into it entirely.
The main character, Adina, drove me nuts. She felt immature and judgmental towards those around her just because they didn’t live up to her small town Hallmark storyline.
She did have growth throughout the book so I will give her that! It was just difficult because by that point I wasn’t invested in her story until the VERY end.
I did love the grand gestures that happened in the final chapters…they were cute.
Thank you to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the arc in exchange for my honest review 💜
It took me a little while to get into As Seen on TV, but once I did I really enjoyed it! Adina is struggling to make it as a journalist and with her love life in NYC when she pitches a story about a small town to a magazine and it’s approved. She goes to the town and finds out it’s nothing like what you see on tv. She’s struggling to find a story. She doesn’t find any small town heroes to fall in love with, but she does meet Finn, who works for the developer and there are instant sparks. I really loved the banter and chemistry between Adina and Finn. There were a lot of sweet moments between them. It seemed like Adina did a decent amount of personal growth during the book from thinking all small towns are what you see on Hallmark to figuring out how to support Finn in tonight moments. I wish Adina would’ve been a little more mature to start, but overall I enjoyed the book.
Journalist Adina Gellar is sick of dating in NYC. She’s convinced she’ll have better luck in the nearby “Hallmark town” of Pleasant Hollow. She’s hoping to kill two birds with one stone: find love and also sell a story about the town. Unfortunately, Pleasant Hollow isn’t at all what she expected.
If you’re a Hallmark fan, you will appreciate so much of this book. There’s a lot of Hallmark movie and actor name dropping. You’ll also laugh about just how un-Hallmark the town turns out to be. No friendly townspeople, no cute restaurants and bookstores, no fun town events.
I sometimes found Adi’s insistence to get her happily ever after a little repetitive and naive but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this sweet story.
Read if you like:
-small towns
-a touch of Judaism
-mother/daughter relationships
-nods to Hallmark
-funny moments and mishaps
Ok this was SUCH a cute rom com. Hallmark meets Gilmore girls is RIGHT! Only, minus the unbelievable qualities in Hallmark movies. I loved every minute of this book, and it was exactly the refreshing read I needed. It was realistic in ways I wish all contemporary romance books would be. It wasn’t cheesy, it wasn’t full of the predicable clichés, and best of all, I loved Adi and Finns connection! This was the perfect feel good book I was hoping it would be.
I am having a hard time reviewing this book, because there was about 20% of it that I really loved and I felt was very well done. The other 80% was just...OK? I guess? As Seen on TV is a story about love as seen in Hallmark movies. Adina is an NYC girl through and through, and aspires to be a lifestyle journalist. She makes a pitch to an editor in hopes of landing a full-time position with the publication. Her idea? Go to a small town where a big developer is swooping in to develop some local real estate. Once there, she will interview all of the quirky and loveable residents, who will of course be battling the big bad meanie developer to save their quirky and loveable town. What she really finds is that the developer is doing great things for the town and the residents are supportive of the new construction (because life is not a Hallmark movie).
And Adi herself is...annoying? Immature? Apt to lean a bit too heavily into Gilmore Girls references? Yes to all of the above. Her character comes off as shallow and a bit ditzy. Hot guy Finn was a much better character; I felt he had more depth and was a lot more likeable than Adi. I kind of wish this had been a dual POV so that we could have gotten more of the difficult relationship between Finn and his father, because I found that storyline much more interesting that the one we got.
I've seen a lot of good reviews for this book, and I'm sure it will appeal to a lot of people, but unfortunately I am not among their number.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.