Drew is a photographer who loves the outdoors and hates reading-and has inherited an adorable bookstore from her grandmother. Jasper writes romance books and can’t imagine someone not liking to read. Together they seem like a case of total opposites, but it works. Drew’s pain and grieving over losing her grandmother really tore at me, you could tell she hadn’t even begun to move on and was just going through the motions of living. I loved how a group of interfering book clubbers got involved to help her out-with some less than subtle match making, as well as more subtle pushes towards healing. As much as this was a romance it was also about rediscovering yourself, about reconnecting with what you love and your vision, and about the network of support and (sometimes unexpected) friendship that makes life better in all kinds of ways.

A fun, heartfelt romance that will have you smiling, laughing, and crying in all the right spots

The tone and pacing did not drive me forward from the get-go. I kept stalling and putting the book down. Maybe it’s just me but there was a tone to this story (I’ve enjoyed others from the author) that just wasn’t interesting me. Eventually I got more into the book, but I also wasn’t particularly invested. I was bored.

Here’s what pushed me past bored though into dislike:
- Jasper was so good looking and it was rammed down our throats every third page. Enough already.
- Drew describing their bargain as OTT crazy, when it’s the tamest romance set-up ever. There’s no real push or pull or stretching her boundaries despite what she claims.
- The blow-up between D & J just didn’t work me.
- Grandma did her dirty. When we get to that lawyerly part near the end, I was absolutely pissed. Are you kidding me? That’s where I dropped it to 2 Stars.

I was so close to the end I finished it. But overall, I’m mad I spent time on the story. Moving on.

I was excited for this book. At first I really enjoyed the girlfriend in my head writing style. However whenever I was excited for a date I found for some odd reason Martin chose to skip over the event, never showing the readers the couple's dates but telling the readers later on. This got annoying after the 50 percent mark. I had to DNF.

I loved this book!!! It was so cute and cozy. I love how Jasper got Drew into reading because it reminded me how I did the same thing with my partner. I feel like some people might not enjoy how quickly things hit the ceiling and got resolved but personally I like that a lot. I loved watching Drew find her passion and meaning in life again. Sometime you have to lose your way to get back on track. Also I definitely want to move to Colorado now.

As a book hater (self-proclaimed), Drew is surprised to discover that her grandmother left her bookstore to Drew. But when bestselling (and very attractive) author Jasper Williams comes to the store for a book signing, he may find a way to change Drew’s mind. What I liked most about this book was all of the side characters. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Drew and Jasper, but Martin does such a good job of create a full world filled with side characters that I want to meet in real life. However, I'm still frustrated about the fact that the Book Nook store doesn’t actually exist! Martin created such a fun, cozy bookstore in her novel that I just want to go visit. But sadly, it doesn’t exist.

Drew never had an interest in reading, but books become her life after she inherits her late grandmother’s small business, The Book Nook. The shop comes with an established book club made up of seven meddling grannies called the Dirty Birds, who are looking forward to a pre-planned signing with bestselling author Jasper. Sparks fly when the Dirty Birds set Drew and Jasper up on a date, but can a book-hater ever fall in love with a romance novelist? This was a satisfying romance perfect as a beach read or a cozy story for a cold winter's day. Perfect for romance lovers and I loved this dynamic, realistic couple with independent goals who support one another. I have recommended this on my Instagram.

A reluctant reader unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s bookstore and, through the interference of her grandmother’s friends, agrees to be a tour guide for a famous author. She rediscovers her passion for photography and reading while she falls in love. The enchanting romance is overall upbeat and moving while dealing with grief, family complications, and quirky supportive characters.

I absolutely loved this book! I'm a big fan of Alexa's books, and this one might be my favorite of hers so far! I loved watching Drew work through her grief and really figure out who she is and what she wants. And Jasper is basically the perfect book boyfriend! Who wouldn't want a romance author book boyfriend??? This book is the perfect mix of steamy and sweet, and as always with Alexa's books, has a killer friend group I totally fell in love with.

I enjoyed so many aspects of this book. First, the main character (Drew) owns a bookstore that she inherited from her beloved grandmother (grief is big theme). She doesn't necessarily want to own a bookstore, but she does want to carry out her grandmother's dream. And the love interest is an attractive romance author (Jasper). There's a spunky best friend, some estranged family members, and an hilarious group of older women. Finally, it takes place in Colorado and we get introduced to some gorgeous areas of the state.

All of these ingredients together made this a fun read for me. The focus is more on Drew's own journey than the romance, but her journey was definitely hard, moving, and heartfelt. The hard stuff was countered by fun and laughter with the positive friendships and budding romance.

Thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a loved one (past), grief, family tensions, parental abandonment

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-friends to lovers
-only one bed
-slooow burn
-found family


Alexa Martin just excels at writing such tender relationships, especially female relationships. The secondary characters truly stood out, Drew's best friend, her sister, the book club. The family she accidentally built around herself as she dealt with her grief.

I really enjoyed just the set up of this book. A book owner who doesn't enjoy books, and a romance author. How they shared their interests with each other, not forcing them, but investing the other because that was their interest. This was such a soft romance and I really enjoyed the slow burn as Drew and Jasper kept running into each other.

Steam: 3

i liked this author's voice and the banter and relationships between the protagonist and her friends, but a lot of this (especially the writing) felt a bit unfinished to me, or maybe like a debut. i wanted more from this! had this been a contemporary rather than a romance, i think i would have liked it more, but the romance was the centerpiece and i found it less interesting than a lot of other relationships and plot points.

this was funny and fun to read, though!

After the death of her grandmother, Drew Young is now the new somewhat proud owner of The Book Nook. While she’s a self-proclaimed ‘book hater’ and non-reader, she adores the shop and sees it as her duty to carry on her grandmother’s dream. The only caveat is that she’s struggling to not only keep the shop out of her father’s hands, but also with her own identity, as she’s had to reprioritize her life to take on the bookshop. Meanwhile, Jasper Williams, famed romance author comes to town. When he asks Drew to help familiarize himself around Denver to help him write his new book. In exchange, Jasper will give Drew a list of books to read, and then take her on an adventure that coordinates. As the two get to know each other more, Drew starts to find it harder and harder to stick to her belief that ‘Happy Endings’ are only in fiction.

I loved this book. It’s sweet, cute, and fast paced. I love books set in bookstore and library settings and having a book-harder turned bookstore owner as our main character, was so fun for me! I adored Jasper and found him to be charming without being cringy. I also adored Drew’s best friend, Elsie, who is a witty and fun mom of four. She complimented Drew’s character perfectly, and add a bit of positivity to Drew’s life. Drew on the other hand, was a little harder to like, as she is definitely a glass half empty kind of person. I found myself getting frustrated with her more than once, and the big ‘Conflict’ between our love interests is basically just her getting mad about something totally ridiculous in my opinion. While heartfelt, her character doesn’t handle conflict or anxiety very well at all. While we saw a bit of growth from her, I felt she created some of her own problems.

Ultimately, this was such a cute book. I didn’t realize till after I read it, that the author was Alexa Martin, who wrote Mom Jeans and Other Mistake, which I LOVED last year. If you’re looking for opposites attract or a sunshine/grump trope, then this book is perfect for you.


Better Than Fiction is out now! Huge thank you to Berkely Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

Better Than Fiction is a romcom about a bookshop owner who doesn’t read and a bestselling author. Drew and Jasper have very different personalities, yet they have a great connection. They get to know each other more as they explore Colorado and reading books. I really enjoyed the way Alexa wrote about Colorado. It’s obvious through her writing that she loves her state and this book made me want to travel and try some fun adventures in the beautiful state of Colorado. Drew had a close relationship with her grandmother and there’s a moment near the end that made my heart melt. The book club ladies, aka Dirty Birds, were a hoot! Drew’s bestie gave me Vonnie vibes, for those who have read her Playbook series. Not only are you guaranteed a HEA, but this book has cute flirting, a one-bed situation, and a grand gesture. All of that in a beautiful setting and lots of book talk, it’s a great romcom for Bookstagrammers and romance lovers. 💕

Thank you @Berkleyromance for a digital ARC & to @PRHAudio for a free audiobook.

Alexa Martin + a book featuring a bookstore and romance author hero? Count me in, sign me up, where do I sign?

I love the way Alexa writes relationship, and mix that with delightful descriptions of nature, hikes, friendships and swoony scenes and I'm there!

I did feel there were a few pieces of this novel that could have been wrapped up tighter, but overall would 100% recommend to readers of both romance and commercial/popular fiction.

Drew’s grandmother owned a bookstore. After she died, she left it to Drew in her will. The only problem is that Drew doesn’t love books. She loves her grandma though and decides to keep the store and run it in her honor. When her grandmother’s book club invites a super hot romance author to the store, she’s intrigued but know it will never work. Until he asks her to be his tour guide in Colorado and challenges her to read books of his choosing.

This book made me want to visit Colorado. It also makes me want to explore more small bookstores. Drew isn’t just dealing with grief and romance, but also a lot of family drama. Her dad, who left their family when she was young, is an absolute jerk.

In the acknowledgements, Martin mentions that she wrote this book after losing her mom. I think that the way Drew deals with grief in this book is relatable and realistic and I could tell that it was written by someone who had experienced it. This book was such a nice balance between all types of relationships. While the romantic relationship is still the biggest focus, I always love when romance novels also have solid friendships and family relationships. This book also added in a lot of grandmotherly relationships with Drew’s grandma’s friends.

In addition to being a sucker for books, I’m also a sucker for travel. This book balanced these two loves of mine perfectly. Also, Jasper is the perfect book boyfriend. He is everything that any woman would ask for and I immediately fell in love with him. I appreciated that Drew’s friend Elsie helped to combat some of the typical romance tropes too. It added some fun dimension to the story.

Even though this book wasn’t a mystery, I found I couldn’t put it down. I kept looking forward to the next time I got to pick it up and fall back into the world of Drew, Jasper, and The Book Nook. I wish I could travel there and fully immerse myself in this world. I enjoyed this book much more than Martin’s other book that I read and now I was to go back and read some more. This book is one I feel like I could’ve seen myself writing and I related to the voice and a lot of little quirks in the book, such as the pop culture mentions without being named. Highly recommend.

This book was a quick read. i loved the reluctant store owner falls in love with an author. it was a lot of fun to read! I think this will be a new favorite of many romance fans!

✦Review: BETTER THAN FICTION by Alexa Martin shorturl.at/eiKT9
Publication Date: November 8, 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 3.5 Stars

I enjoyed the premise of this book. A non-reader inherits a bookstore and falls for a romance author. Add in the lively banter of close friends, and it increases the fun. Jasper, the author, was almost too good to be true. He was handsome, kind, and oh so sexy. He was the opposite of Drew in many ways, yet they clicked. I sure wish I liked Drew. She seemed a bit self-centered and caustic at times. Her friends and Jasper liked her, so I just went with the belief that it was just me that couldn’t warm up to her. This was a fun book with nice camaraderie, well written excursions into the Denver area, and sexy romance.

*Review copy provided by Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

Kindle https://amzn.to/3NQ0rKT

I thought the premise of this book was cute but found when Drew got mad at the end of the book because he knew about her grandma to be a bit ridiculous. I felt like it was the miscommunication trope trying to be added to this novel but it didn't need to be. The story was good already! I think that end could have been better executed with them having a more reasonable conversation.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. Just ask Drew Young, a self proclaimed
non-reader, despite growing up around books her entire life. In fact, spending a lot of time hanging out in her grandmother’s bookstore, the Book Nook only served as a reminder that the happy endings which occur in works of fiction never actually occur in real life.

Then Drew’s grandmother passes away, leaving Drew not only feeling devastated, but reluctantly in charge of the beloved bookstore. For someone who doesn’t like books or being tied down, this inheritance feels overwhelming. But if there’s one thing Drew loves more than her freedom it was her grandmother. So she decides to stick around, begrudgingly dealing with difficult relatives and well intentioned friends, placing a bookmark in the life she intended to live.

The plot thickens one day when famous author, Jasper Williams leads a book signing at the store. Needless to say, the handsome writer leaves his romance readers swooning in more ways than one. With a strong desire to keep things professional, Drew tries to keep her distance. But when her grandmother’s meddlesome friends throw Drew and Jasper together in the name of “book research”, how can Drew say no?

The aptly titled, Better Than Fiction was an easy to read romance novel with a dash of tribute to the book lover’s heart. While I tend to prefer more banter and burn in my romances, there was still plenty to make your typical romance reader rejoice. It was hard getting past Drew being a heroine in a book about books who didn’t like to read. That being said, it made the story more unique (even though I did want the deets on the titles Jasper suggested!)!

One more thing that stood out to me was the frequent mention of eyebrows. Sometimes one was raised, other times furrowed, etc. Either way, the total eyebrow mention count landed at 16. This information is apropos of nothing, but I felt a burning desire to share it nonetheless. 😉

Thank you so much @berkley, @prhaudio, and @netgalley for the advance copy of this book. This one is out now!

Short Synopsis: Drew is a self proclaimed book hater, but when she inherits a book store from her grandma she meets swoony romance author Jasper Williams.

My thoughts: This story hit close to home to me because I recently lost my grandma too. Grandmas are special, and mine was no exception.

I loved the relationship Drew had with her grandma, and we could see that based on the way she talked about Alice but also how Alice wanted Drew to ultimately find happiness for herself.

It was so fun seeing the author side of a story, especially coming from a male romance author. I enjoyed watching Jasper explore and do research for his new book using Drew’s expertise in the subject.

Read if you love:
* Books about Books
* Photography
* Swoony romance authors
* Bookclub
* Grandmas meddling friends