Rating 4/5
Plot 4/5
Spice 1/5
Writing 3/5
Character Development 4/5

[I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book]

“Better Than Fiction” by Alexa Martin tells the story of Drew Young and Jasper Williams. Drew recently inherited her grandmother’s bookstore called “the Book Nook.” The Dirty Birds is a book club that Drew’s grandmother was a part of and when well-known author, Jasper Williams shows up to host a book club night at the bookshop, he also needs someone to help him around the area to find inspiration for his current book. As Drew and Jasper spend time together, Drew realizes that she may be able to find the love that she mostly reads about in books.

I love books about books! This was such a cute rom-com and I love the banter between the characters. This was a fun and heartwarming contemporary romance!

When I saw this was a book about books AND it was by an author I’ve read and loved before, I knew I had to get my hands on this. And man, it was not what I was expecting. The plot was amazing, but the characters left something to be desired. Funny that that’s my critique for a lot of real life novels lol

So, the fact that this was about someone falling in love with a romance author should have made this like hella romantic. And tho they had some moments, I don’t think it ever got there for me. It was But it wasn’t his fault…. It was mainly Drew. She was kind of annoying. Like I just didn’t understand her logic. But I did understand that people grieve in different ways, so I had to respect that. But still, I thought that was a little weird. I guess I was thinking along the lines of someone who actually likes to read and could do the job like marketing and learn the community and read their interests to order more for them, could be doing the job and she’s keeping that from them. (My librarian brain lol) But like why are you denying them that? As for Jasper, I LOVED him! By him being a romance author, I knew he wouldn’t disappoint! And sure enough, he didn’t. He was attentive, bright, and so sweet! I loved him. And the way he was so “for” Drew, it was the sweetest thing!

Now, this is pretty closed door. *And if not, it was to me. Nothing about them doing this stuck with me lol I’m just throwing it out there because Lordt knows how y’all hate fade to black lol But the overall romance was pretty cute. I spent a large amount of time wondering why no one ever made me a list of books to read….. How does it feel to be God’s Favorite?

The grief and sadness of this is pretty heavy, but there are some places that make it easily bearable. The grannies? Top tier entertainment lol I LOVED them! And I loved the hoops that they and her own grandma made her jump through. It cut through a lot of tension and helped me enjoy it a lot more.

This wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for, but it was ok. I did like the plot and pacing. As a character driven reader, I loved the MMC, but not the FMC. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was dual POV. But overall, this was cute, but I didn’t really feel any real type of way about it.

I was fully prepared to love this one,
I really enjoyed her last book.

I couldn’t stand the main character and the whole story was cringy. Being in her head for the POV was exhausting.

This was a sweet feel good romance, It was sort of middle of the road for me to be honest, I liked the characters and the setting but I was hoping for a bit more.

I got this one through the library after missing the archive date and really enjoyed the read! I've liked Alexa Martin in the past so this was not a surprise to me and I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

I've read from this author before but remain unsure if I'd like to continue. The premise of this novel led me to try her once again, yet, I was not compelled to continue reading this story past the initial 16%.

Drew Young never imagined she would own and run her grandmother’s popular bookshop called the Book Nook. Having grown up in Colorado, Drew’s dream was to travel through her state’s beautiful landscapes, creating adventures and photographing the magnificent sights. After her dear grandmother passes away, Drew is left with heartache and a huge responsibility to care for the bookshop. When Jasper Williams shows up at a book club event she is breathless. Drew never expected him to be so young and so handsome. This author of romance novels leaves her unexpectedly speechless. Charming though he may be, Jasper is shocked to learn that Drew is not an avid reader. They make a deal. Drew will provide Jasper with a Colorado bucket list to assist with the setting of his latest bestseller and he will carefully introduce Drew into the world of booklovers. Let the games begin. Filled with romcom mishaps and adorable characters, this quick easy book about books is too good to put down.

BETTER THAN FICTION - ALEXA MARTIN

3.75⭐

PLOT -
Drew inherits her grandma's bookshop Book Book but she has no interest as she hates reading.
Jasper is a bestselling romance author who visits the bookshop for book signing and instantly falls for her.
They decide to help each other he helps her to get her to love reading in return she shows the city of Denver. But when the future of Book Nook is in question will their relationship survive?

MY THOUGHTS -
I loved how they both set up dates for each other..well throughout and beautiful..each date was unique and different.
Drew's relationship with her grandma and her set of friends was good.
I didn't enjoy Jaspers character esp as nothing of his past or family background was described in detail..his character development was quite week. The chemistry also fell a bit flat.
But overall it was a nice read.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this review arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was so cute! I flew through it!

Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review

Alexa Martin remains a fun romance author for me. I was worried she was stuck in a niche with sports romance, but I am pleasantly pleased that I was wrong.

Alexa Martin just keeps getting better and better, plus, any author that could make me want to take a hike or go on a water rapid trip in Colorado is magic.

This book had Book Lovers vibes in the best way possible.

I loved this book! Better than Fiction is a romance with a Black Woman as the lead and has Little Shop Around the Corner Vibes. I am going to go look up all of Alexa Martin's work now! The characters feel real and even though I've never inherited a bookstore (although any of my family could look into leaving me one, just saying) and I'm not a black woman, I can relate to a lot of the issues that Drew goes through. The romance is sweet and fulfilling and everyone needs a friend like Elsie!

Better Than Fiction has an adorable premise--Drew, a self-professed book-hater inherits her grandmother's bookstore. After some meddling from the elderly women in the local book club, she finds herself on a date with romance author, Jasper Williams. I loved the small-town setting and thought the women in the book club were a hoot. However, Drew and Jasper's relationship fell a bit flat for me. Their attraction to each other was almost instant, but it felt superficial. They barely knew each other, and even worse, I, as a reader, felt like I barely knew them as characters. I DNF'd the book at 40%. I may pick it back up one day, but for now, this one wasn't doing it for me. That being said, I've loved Alexa Martin's previous work and will continue to read her other books in the future.

This was a great back-to-back read with Summer Reading: both feature a book-loathing protagonist who fall for their complete opposite: a reader. In this case, nature photographer Drew Young is managing the book store she inherited from her Gran instead of pursuing her dreams of art and travel when bestselling romance author Jasper Williams crosses her path and decides she should be the one to show him around Denver, the setting for his work in progress. She agrees, and in return, he will trade sightseeing dates for book-related ones for each novel that he recommends and she completes. To add to the tension, Drew is struggling to keep her grandmother’s business alive–and her toxic father, who wants her to sell the business, keeps interceding to contest the will and access what he perceives as his rightful cut.

The Colorado setting is incredibly vivid, brought to life through Drew and Jasper’s eyes. Drew is lucky to have not one but two ride or dies, her half-sister Daisy who she is just getting know, and her tough, tell it like it is bestie Elsie, with more kids than I could track and another on the way. A set of elderly book club ladies are deftly drawn and leap off the page. Drew is multi-faceted and delightfully awkward and equally delightfully, Jasper not only eats it up but has a charming, not entirely serious manner of being suave in that way of cute and successful (maybe formerly nerdy) men who don’t know how hot they are: a little goofy, a little geeky, a little artless, and very endearing. Drew believes that Jasper will move on and skip town when he turns in the draft of his latest novel, but their chemistry and support of one another indicates otherwise.

The writing is clever; because Jasper writes romances and everyone except Drew reads them, there is a sort of running commentary on how the story is following romance tropes (or not). Stylistically, though, the telling instead of showing kept this from being a five-star book for me. Multiple chapters start out after some action has taken place, and describe the action in past tense, instead of putting the characters (and reader) in the moment. On the surface it looks like a rookie mistake, but given the accolades this great story has received, it somehow works. I found it frustrating because I wanted all the nitty gritty details.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #BetterThanFiction from #NetGalley.

Better than Fiction was my first Alexa Martin book, and I am happy to say that I really enjoyed reading it! Many thanks to the publisher for giving me the chance to review it!

Books about books are my kryptonite. If a book with a bookish theme pops up on my feed, you best believe I'll read it. (See what I did there?) I added a Bejeweled by T.S inspired line, "SO SMART!" I was so happy when I was approved to review Better Than Fiction! The premise drew me in immediately. One of my favorite things about Better Than Fiction was how the female lead, Drew, wasn't a booklover herself. So she embarks on a tumultuous adventure after inheriting her grandmother's bookshop and, of course, falls in love with a romance author along the way. It was so swoon-worthy and exciting!

Another thing that I love is going on fictional tours through books. Drew helps Jasper explore Colorado by essentially being his guide, and I loved seeing the place through their eyes. Their moments together were so adorable. :')

We also get to see Drew process her grief after losing her grandma. That aspect of the book was really well-written. l. The female friendships were one of the highlights about reading the book too!

The ending threw me off, and that's why I had to lower my rating to a or 3.75. I might change my mind though, hehe. Let's see.

An enjoyable romance novel, set in a bookshop in Colorado, will make you smile, cry, and laugh. Drew inherits her grandmothers bookstore; Drew is heartbroken to lose her grandmother. An aspiring photographer, Drew doesn’t read books but is determined to continue her grandmother’s legacy. The Dirty Birds, a book club of her grandmother’s friends, provide humor, while an author of romances, Jasper Williams provides the romantic interest. At times steamy, the book will definitely hold your interest. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Recommended.

A book themed setting will always captivate this librarian's heart! I could really picture the quaint bookstore and the steadfast main character. The pacing was good, the romance was cute and I liked the writing style. I recommend to any book and romance lover. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Classic Alexa Martin: wonderful chemistry, strong voice, perfect humor, it's a wonderful bookish read for bookish people. Looking forward to her next book!

Honestly one of my favorite things in a story is when there's a character that can't help but blurt out the honest truth at every turn and that's exactly what we got with Drew. I also love a bookish book and the fact that this had a bookstore in it sold me right away. Drew inherits her bookstore from her late grandma and of course we get a sexy romance author as the love interest. I literally couldn't ask for more. This story felt real in a way that most Berkley publications do and I will be going back and reading everything else Alexa Martin has written.

This cover immediately drew me in and, for some reason, I was under the impression that I had read Alexa Martin before so I requested this book so quickly! I was surprised to find out that this is my FIRST read from her.

Overall this was a charming, light-hearted story with a swoonworthy hero and a heroine that grows on you throughout the book, despite her disinterest in reading at the beginning and overreacting towards the end.

*I received an early copy for voluntary review