honestly i did not feel like i could relate to the main characters in this book, and that is important to me when reading. this definitely brought the rating down and i didn’t enjoy it as much as i would’ve if i could relate. i don’t think there is anything wrong with the book or the writing itself, and i think this will be enjoyed by lots of readers! 3/5

thanks netgalley for letting me read this book

i just couldnt get into the book as much as i wanted i thouhgt it would be more entertaining but it just wasnt and very slow without much chemistry i hoped that i would eventually like it but i just didnt thanks again

Louise Lane is a banker, who is in a bad place due to her failure to conceive and a recent breakup. Blake Goldfield, has a chance meeting with Louise at his struggling family restaurant when Louise mistakes him for a bartender. They meet again at the bank when Blake is attempting to get a loan to renovate/revitalize the restaurant. Oh,and Blake doesn’t live in Australia anymore…he lives in Peru where he is trying to get clean water with the villiage,

I really wanted to like this book however:
1) Both main characters aren’t that likeable, especially crabby, self destructive Louise
2) They have zero chemistry. In the best enemies to lovers to books, even at the start when they hate each other there is an underlying chemistry and witty banter. We don’t get any of that in this book, so the romance isn’t that believable
3) too many branches of the story made this book drag, and didn’t keep me interested and reading

So, although I feel that this book had some good ideas, it didn’t really gel for me.

Thank You to Netgalley and Escape publishIng for providing me with an eARCof this book to read and review !

This is certainly a book. First off it was really slow which would be fine if we saw actual development in that time but we didn't, it felt like we were being told things instead of shown them. Secondly, the book is mainly about their individual journeys as people, not the romance. The blurb makes it seem as though the book is about a trip to Peru but they are there for maybe 10% of the book.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I really struggled with this book. Normally all of the tropes would be right up my alley, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me. I wish the author had done more to explore some of the serious topics but it was kind of glossed over.

DNF

Really struggled to get into this book. By 35% through the main characters had met twice and spent a lot of time complaining about their lives. Loved that it was set in Australia, but besides that I couldn't like it.

I really wanted to love this book, but it didn’t mesh well for me. The pacing was all over the place, and I truthfully didn’t care about the love story. I was more interested in Fernando and his family.

The main characters weren’t particularly likable, and the baby storyline didn’t pay off at all. There was so much potential in this book that was wasted.

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t know that I’ve ever not finished a book, but this is going to my first DNF
I usually finish books in a day or two and this one has taken a whole week to get through 20%. It has yet to get to the point. The main characters haven’t even met yet. I just, I cannot, and I tried.

A cute rom-com. Enjoyable, easy to read. I flew through the pages and enjoyed the character delvopment by May. She did a great job creating well-liked, cute characters!

I found this disappointing. I usually enjoy an enemies to lovers plot, but this one just couldn’t hold me. The characters were rather dull and I had a hard time staying interested.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

This book was fantastic. Such a great enemies to lovers read. I was rooting for Blake and Louise the entire time and it made me happy seeing how things turned out. Gave me all the feels. The issues that both Blake and Louise had to deal with were all very realistic which also made me enjoy reading this book even more.

Under the influence by Karina May

The synopsis of this book sounds like it could be a really good read but alas that fell Short ! The story had such promise but was all over the place it took quite a time to find out what was the point of the story. However It did come together but was a very laborious read and frankly I feel most would lose interest about half way through if you were lucky. Disappointing

This was just bad. I only managed to get through 50% before deciding it was no longer worth my time, Ignoring the terrible formatting, the writing was bad. I was rereading parts to understand sentences, the time jumps were confusing, and it didn't really seem to meet what I expected from the description. Louise is rude and self-absorbed and her complaining while being stupid in decision making was annoying. Blake just seems like a jerk who acts like everything is okay because he helps people in Peru. Really not worth the time to even read 50%.

Thank you Karina May, Escape Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with and eARC for an honest review. Under the Influence comes out September 1st!!

Starring Louise a women who has the perfect job, a great home and a dedicated fiancé, well that what she allows everyone to see. Instead she is a women who struggles with work life balance, infertility and unfortunately does not have a fiancé anymore. Our co-star is Blake who runs a water purification charity in Peru, he is back in Sydney after the death of his father and to help run the family bar. Unfortunately the bar isn't doing well at all and he is forced to sell the bar and head back to Peru. At the same time Louise is feeling unsettled in her life and due to the kindness of a friend she wins a spot in a trip to Peru. While Louise and Blake met previously in Sydney they rekindle their budding romance when they see each other in Peru. But are the two able to work through their own lives to eventually have a life together.

This was such a cute read while at the same time having areas of seriousness that give the characters room to develop. I was rooting for the characters to settle into them selves and to work through the emotions that were holding them back. The only thing that held me back from a higher rating was that while I was rooting for the characters individually, I necessarily wasn't that focused on rooting for the characters being together. I wish there would have been more time allotted for the characters to develop more romantically. But otherwise is was a sweet read that I would suggest.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4893506816?book_show_action=false
Amazon Review to be posted when book is published

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eArc of Under the Influence in exchange for an honest review!

The first thing that sold me was the adorable cover on this book!! The cartoon characters, the cartoon text conversation, and the question on the cover : “Will dislike at first site turn into the trip of a lifetime?”

A blurb in the description: “As Blake and Louise watch their lives unravel, their paths seem to be inextricably tangled. Torn between the weight of expectation and her heart’s desire, Louise searches for a fresh perspective in Peru. First stop: Machu Picchu. Final destination: Love?”

This had me excited. From what I had seen on the cover and read from the synopsis, I expected this to involve more of the Peru trip with a whirlwind romance and cute/angst text or email exchanges. Unfortunately that isn’t what happened. Although I enjoyed the plot and the characters — there wasn’t as much chemistry between Louise and Blake as I hoped. Or as much romance :(

I did like that we got to see a more serious side to Louise and her internal concern and struggle with everything she was going through personally. The opening chapter featuring her and Jude was enjoyable to read and gave us a quick idea of their relationship.

The storyline was cute and I liked the resolve between Feather and Blake once he learned the true story behind their relationship. I also enjoyed the friendship between Clary and Louise :)

If you’re going into this expecting to read a whirlwind vacation romance — this isn’t the book for you. However, if you want a cute and easy read with a brush of seriousness the main characters have to deal with in their own lives : this is the book for you!

2.5 stars⭐️

This book was very tough for me. I really didn't like it very much. The entire time I was reading, I felt like I was missing something. It's possible that I felt lost because of the use of some Australian slang, but I could usually decipher fairly well using context clues. The pacing of the story was off, the characters were a bit shallow, and I wasn't a crazy big fan of using the "oh-hes-gay-now-that's-why" trope. Some of the language around that revelation didn't sit well with me.

Thanks a lot for an arc of this book!

This was, nice! I loved how the MCs name was Louise Lane. Overall, this book wasn't for me, I found both of the MCs kinda annoying and the pacing felt weak to me, I liked the enemies to lovers dynamic, but even if I could debate they were not really enemies. More like uh antagonistic against each other. I also liked how the character had developed on their own, even if it weakened the dynamics between the main couple. Honestly, i would have preferred if the book ended up focusing more on Louise, there was something there that was not fully explored

I loved this novel so much. It wasn't what I was expecting and I was happily surprised. Following Blake and Louise was fun and heartwarming. A slow burner romance was just what I needed and this was exactly it. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

Thank you Netgalley and Escape publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars
I really wanted to enjoy this book as the plot summary seemed really up my alley. But it was a very slow start and the plot seemed to jump around a lot leaving me very confused.

The slow burn romance kept me going but I was left with too many questions to fully enjoy this book. It was a quick read which gives bonus points and a HEA. But it just didn’t hit the spot.

"Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. "

Unfortunately, this didn't work for me from the start. I did want to try and finish but after reading 30% I just couldn't keep going and skim read through the end.

I don't like not finishing books, but nothing really kept me interested enough on this one. The writing wasn't working for me, wasn't a fan of Blake and Louise or their banter. The story did have a lot of potential, but I just think the execution failed.

I honestly don't really know what to rate it as I didn't finish it, but will leave it at 1.5 stars.