One of the most beautiful covers ever! Loved the endo rep as well. Unfortunately the main character Evie was not very likable, she was surrounded by people constantly loving her and praising her but always assumed the worst. I really wanted to adore this book but the constant “I’m so sad” got annoying quickly.

5 ⭐️
Lotsss of TW, be sure to check them out. The author had a lovely TW page at the beginning too!
Also, I feel like it’s hard to judge the spice level on this given the Endo rep, but Torie Jean is giving Mariana Zapata a run at her title of Slow Burn Queen

I LOVED this book; I’m not going to lie and say it was the easiest to get into from a personal level since so many things hit wayyyyy too close to home, but once I did I couldn’t put this book down. I devouredddd it, in basically one sitting. Such a well-written, well thought out debut from Torie.

Evie and Liam were childhood best friends. Then hormones (aka Evie’s big ass crush on Liam), and external circumstances lead them to be enemies. Years later, somewhat living out her life in Paris, Evie runs into her teenage crush and bane of her existence, Liam, who has moved to Paris for a month for work. Chaos and antics ensue, personal growth is had, and a fake relationship turned real relationship is born.

Evie’s personality and quick wit was HILARIOUS to read; her and Liam’s banter was *chef’s kiss*. I loved it all so much. Evie’s personal growth throughout the book was so great to see, along with her improving relationships with others such as her mom. Her supportive friend group was envious, and I really hope we can see more of these characters in some capacity!

The romance + spicy side of the book, along with the Endo representation, was so great. While I don’t have endometriosis, I had a better understand of what Evie was going through and how exactly that could effect a romantic relationship. Seeing Liam’s love and understanding of Evie was so great to see. ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE SLOW BURNNNN. I get why it was there, I love me some slow burn, but DAMN. This was gooooood.

You’ll definitely enjoy this book if you like:
Friends to Lovers
Enemies to Lovers
Second Chance
Fake Dating
Found Family
And big ol’ Cinnamon Roll, ooey gooey insides, boys

Thank you Netgalley, and the publisher, for giving me an ARC of this book and allowing me to experience it in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author for being so incredibly vulnerable and sharing this piece of you with us.

This book has me speechless. I normally don’t rate books that have no magic/fantasy elements with five stars but this… THIS. Is beyond five stars. The humor had me genuinely laughing out loud. Multiple times. Genuinely the funniest book I’ve read in a long time if ever. There was so much personality and soul this book felt like a hug. The own voice chronic illness representation was incredibly honest, vulnerable, and raw. I want to put myself in financial distress to buy a copy for every single person I love so they can experience this magic for themselves. Beautiful. Brava!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "Finding Gene Kelley" by Torie Jean. It is scheduled to release on September 20th, 2022.

Overall, I rated this novel a 4/5 stars!

We love the endometreosis and plus-sized representation! We love the fact that Evie married her neighbor at the ripe age of 5 years old, only to reconnect with him years later, only to fake-date! Also, the setting of the book is in Paris. Who wouldn't want to read a story like this? There puns and banter everywhere throughout this novel.

Childhood friends to enemies to lovers.

This book is a cute romance that focuses a lot on the main characters Evie and Liam. Evie struggles with endometriosis, so it was good to see that represented because I know a lot of people struggle with that. I fortunately do not so it was hard for me to really connect but still an enjoyable read.

I definitely enjoyed this book But be warned, it deals with what it’s like to live with endometriosis. And as a result it’s not your average romantic comedy. The author’s forward went above and beyond by explaining the trigger warnings the book presents.

The story itself was great, set in Paris and full of wonderful treats. And a healthy dose of Audrey Hepburn was featured as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to Torie Jean, NetGalley, and Sunset and Camden Creative for allowing me to receive an ARC for Finding Gene Kelly. I had a roundabout experience with this book. It had been on my TBR list every since I had heard there was a book coming out with a FMC with endometriosis. It just so happened that I was selected to receive an ARC about a week after my official endometriosis diagnosis. I really enjoyed feeling like I could see myself as the main character. I definitely related with her struggles with endo as well as her constant companion the heating pad! I also think it's important to note that her issues with her mom and Harmony are an experience many chronically ill people have. There are always people that think that you're just dealing with your health wrong. Many people don't accept that chronic illness are chronic and it's not something that a special diet or positive thinking will fix. This is definitely one of my favorite reads of this year. I loved seeing the relationship between Liam and Evie. I will say I felt like at one point that we had more information on a previous relationship than we ever did with a certain aspect of Liam and Evie's relationship. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction for more stories about endo, and other chronic illnesses. I look forward to reading other books by Torie Jean and hope that she writes more romantic comedies!!

What a great book! I wanted a new romance book that would hook me into a fall and have some vintage feels and this one hit the nail on the head. Really enjoyed the elements of Paris (especially after coming from Emily in Paris lately) and enemies to lovers kind of relationship. Would recommend as it was a quick read.

This book not only was a heartwarming, fluffy romance read that was well written, but I think that it is one of the first books I’ve read in general where the female main character has endometriosis and doesn’t tip toe around it but fully embraces that truth and gives the reader an insight on what it is like to live with this illness and how it has shaped how she handles her romantic relationships.

Another little bonus is that it is a childhood friends to lovers to enemies to lovers, and the boy falls first! AND THERE IS FAKE DATING! The man travels all the way to Paris to ask Evie to be his date even! Liam even goes on to recreate Evie’s favorite movie scene for her, what can’t this man do?

It took me a while to get into this book, more so because of outside factors and less so the actual writing or pacing, but I ended up really enjoying Evie and Liam’s story. Plus who doesn’t love a pretty pink cover for a romance book?

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Finding Gene Kelly by @authortoriejean
4/5 ⭐️
2.5/5 🌶

Setting: Paris, France and East Coast USA
POV: single, 1st person, present tense
Tropes: childhood neighbors to enemies to lovers, fake dating, injured/comfort

What I Liked: This was the first book I can remember reading that featured a MC with a chronic illness. Endometriosis is a main character in its own right in this story. The author is very up front about this with a list of trigger warnings before the story begins. This book had lots of great tension between the MCs and I loved the exploration of a toxic mother/daughter relationship.

What I Disliked: The writing in this book sometimes crossed the line from sickly sweet to cringey. Some people absolutely love that style, but it’s just not for me!

Overall Thoughts: If you’re looking for a lighthearted rom-com, this isn’t it. If you want a sweet romance with some very real-world problems woven throughout, you will enjoy this!

Memorable Quote: “I have no doubt you could win whatever you want with me, Peaches.”

Finding Gene Kelly was absolutely brilliant - but definitely take note of the authors warning at the start of the book. It’s very heavy and focused on the main character’s condition, which happens to be one the author struggles with (endometriosis). While a beautiful story of love and friendship, it’s also very much about the daily hardships of living with the debilitating illness.

I completely loved everything about this book, and definitely would recommend it to everyone to read - sadness and struggles included. It’s very real, and maybe some out there need a book like this to understand not just this condition, but others, too. I found myself seeing so many symptoms of my own in Evie’s (I suffer from some pretty debilitating migraine, and so very many of the descriptions were really similar and the same scenarios, and I had a friend who had endo, but less than a year after a hysterectomy, leaving 1 ovary behind, passed from ovarian cancer).

So - definitely something great for everyone to pick up, it with it being a heavy read, perhaps save it for a day that you’re not feeling low and can handle it! It’s a beautiful childhood second chance romance, friends to enemies to lovers story for the ages!

I received an advance copy from NetGalley & Sunset and Camden Creative, and this is my honest feedback.

This was such a cute read. Exactly what I needed in the changing seasons.

I loved the characters. I really enjoyed reading Evie fall in love with not just Liam but also with herself.
Liam is the supportive, adoring hero we dream of. He is full of charm and tenderness and willing to do anything for Evie making his even more swoon worthy.

Tropes: childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and boy falls first.

This had a lot more depth than your average rom-com, with its heavy themes of medical issues. TW: endometriosis. I really appreciated the author's lengthy note at the beginning of the book explaining all the trigger warnings and themes that would be prevalent in the story. As upsetting as the detailed descriptions of what it is like to live with endometriosis on a daily basis, my medical anxiety was more ratcheted by the concussion scene, as I just bumped my head days before starting the book and had been feeling a little funny since. So, yes, trigger warnings are definitely needed and appreciated for this book. It also features a very toxic mother/daughter relationship. As for the actual story, it was really cute, and I liked Evie's sarcastic stream of consciousness inner monologue and the beautiful Paris setting. Evie is living in Paris with the dreams of opening a pastry shop, when she is called back home to attend her brother's wedding. Hoping to keep her mother at bay, she asks Liam Kelly, her childhood "husband" turned arch nemesis, who conveniently turns up in Paris on a business trip with their mutual friend Eli, to be her date and pretend to be her boyfriend, since he will already be attending the wedding as her brother's best friend and best man. Some of the side characters were hard to keep their connections to each other straight, like sisters and best friends marrying brothers, but that didn't detract from the main story. Liam is a total cinnamon roll, and Evie even tongue in cheek refers to him as such in one of her rambling thoughts, which made me giggle. I loved how it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine and showed the realities of navigating a relationship while having a debilitating chronic illness. It featured many rom-com tropes like enemies to lovers, fake dating, second chance love, and reverse grumpy sunshine. I didn't get a lot of the classic movie references besides the obvious ones, having never seen a Gene Kelly film or Roman Holiday, and there were a lot of times a woman's name would be invoked that I just had to assume was a character from one of these movies, and I just figured out the context and moved on, but it didn't really detract from the plot. I would love for this to become a series featuring some of the other side characters but since everyone else was pretty much neatly coupled up I don't know if that's in the cards.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sunset and Camden Creative, and author Torie Jean for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ overall: FIVE STARS!

Wow!!! First and foremost, thank you Torie Jean and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this amazing novel prior to publication. I am absolutely blown away by this book. So let’s get into the juicy part!

First thing that drew my attention to this book was of course the cover. I am a sucker for all things pink & cute and that is exactly as I’d describe this cover. Love love love.

I really appreciated the detailed and thoughtful trigger warning at the beginning of the book. Jean was very thorough and exact with this introduction. She was genuine in her concern for her readers’ well-being and interests, which I appreciate greatly.

The main reason I elected to read this book was the chronic illness representation. I do not see that often in literature and I absolutely loved how she approached the topic of endometriosis. As a nurse, I try to empathize with my patients and their conditions, which sometimes can be difficult, especially with invisible illnesses such as endo. Jean was very direct and brutally honest with how she depicted Evie’s struggles with her disease. Not only in the aspect of her symptoms but also with the mental/emotional toll her disease causes in her life. Chronic illnesses affect every aspect of a person’s life, in more ways than a healthy individual could even comprehend. Jean was bold and honest with her depiction of Evie’s struggles with endo, in every sense of the matter. The way Evie has to adjust her lifestyle according to her disease or how others’ perspective/ignorance of her condition affects her. Every aspect regarding Evie’s struggle with endo was perfectly written and described. Couldn’t have asked for a better representation.

“Most of the time, people are too comfortable with negativity and pin for honest answers. Wanting to fix it, fix me, they offer positivity and solutions, which become toxic in their frequency. I’m an optimistic person in my own way, but there’s a danger in forceful optimism and not recognizing reality”.

I also loved the setting and the description of Paris throughout this novel. Of course, I’m not familiar w Paris & there are a lot of references to various locations and attractions within the city. I’m one who wants to imagine myself in that setting as I’m reading so I kept googling all these places Evie mentioned & I could perfectly picture myself walking through the streets of Paris. Now I wanna go to Paris, dammit.

Evie’s character had so much depth and was expertly written. I really felt like I knew her and was experiencing the events as they happened. She was hilarious and so fucking relatable it was unreal! There’s probably 30-40 highlights or notes on my kindle of me just cackling at Evie. She is genuinely hilarious. I also really loved how she described her relationship with her mother. (There’s one specific part I highlighted in the book with a note attached stating “Wow Fuck Caroline. I wanna fist fight her”.) Having a toxic mom is a struggle, even when you’re an ocean away from her!

Now on to Liam Kelly. This man is what all women want. What a gem! He is a genuine simp & i fucking love it. Their love story is one of my favorites I have ever read. You kinda knew from the get go that Liam was absolutely head over heels smitten with Evie (I mean can you blame him? I fucking love Evie). But Evie, who has always struggled with her insecurities and confidence whether that be due to her disease or her mothers toxicity whos to say, was always quick to dismiss his affections and attempts at romance and jump to conclusions regarding his intentions. But Liam Kelly who I would argue is more stubborn than Evie (who is very very very stubborn) doesn’t take no for answer.

“The backstory was real, Evie. I’m in love with you. I always have been. You know, you were right. I thought I could handle this…But this broke me. Your fucking lips broke me…Because I’ve wanted you since before I knew what wanting someone felt like, and finally having you and knowing it wasn’t real? That’s worse than not having you at all”.

This love story was genuinely one of my favorites I’ve ever experienced. One of those books where I wound give my left tit to experience for the first time again. Jean created this beautiful (and painful in some parts) story about two friends who lose each other but in end find each other again in the most perfect way. Because without their story playing out exactly as it did, neither of them would be the person they are now or have the friends/people in the lives they do. Sometimes life doesn’t happen how you imagine it will but it always ends up exact as it should be. Even though Evie and Liam lost their way, they found each other again and they discovered themselves along the way. Couldn’t ask for a better romance, honestly!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4997881961

Finding Gene Kelly is a fluffy, sweet romance novel focusing on Evie, a baker, and her relationship with Liam. Evie has battled endometriosis for years while trying to make her way as a baker and resigning herself to living without love. Her experiences in this book highlight a friends-enemies-lovers relationship, and author Torie Jean portrays Evie's life with endo realistically and respectfully.

Initially, the title drew me to this book as I am a HUGE Gene Kelly fan and was intrigued with a contemporary romance mentioning Kelly & his work. While I do recommend this book, my rating is primarily due to my dislike for the writing style used.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

If Gene Kelly is in the title, there's a 110% chance I'm going to read it! Add in the Parisian flair, and it's a shoo-in! Loved the endo rep too - 4 stars!

Evie is living abroad in Paris and keeping a significant distance between her family/friends while dealing with the challenges of her endometriosis diagnosis. Her childhood friend/rival Liam comes to visit her in Paris and seems to be the answer to Evie’s hesitation about travelling back for her brother’s impending wedding- what could go wrong with a fake wedding date?

Things I loved:
- Descriptions of Paris (especially the food!)
- The author included a content warning at the beginning of the book
- Chronic disease representation
- Strained family relationship representation
- Cute childhood friends to enemies to lovers story

My qualms:
- Slow pacing and could have been condensed in my opinion to be more engaging
- Mention of restrictive eating on behalf of the male main character to alter his appearance that isn’t renounced on page/seems to be treated differently than the female main character’s eating

Thank you to NetGalley and Sunset and Camden Creative for the advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review!

THIS BOOK!!!
I would recommend this book to any romance reader. Usually, I prefer steamy romances. And as the author specifies before chapter one, this is not a steamy book. It handles pretty serious topics/themes: endometriosis, chronic illness/pain, but also themes that I think many others could also relate to, such as having barriers to the sex life they desire, and the sex life they think their partner desires that they worry about being able to fulfill.

I know those topics are heavy, but don’t mistake that for the vibe of this book. The author is extremely skillful at handling those topics while keeping this a fun romance. And I mean, SO FUN!!! I spent the majority of this read laughing out loud. It was a delight to be in Evie’s head - her sarcasm, snark, and wit were so enjoyable.

This book is perfect for someone who loves enemies to lovers or second chance romance tropes. Also, anyone who wants a romance that is heavily influenced by the setting. Whether Evie was in Paris or New England, the author makes you feel right there with her. A truly wonderful book!! Well written and entertaining throughout.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and Torie Jean for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just so so lovely and amazing. The endometriosis rep (own voices) was so amazing and enlightening ! This book had everything - humor, heartache, happiness, depth… never been happier about having read an arc than this !!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
- Paris!
- fake dating
- rom-com
- childhood sweethearts
- enemies-to-lovers
- incredibly well-detailed descriptions

The author did really, really well with the descriptions of scenery and even the sights and SMELLS of baked goods in the bakery; I could actually picture myself in Paris while reading, and I really LOVE an escapist novel ❤️ I also liked the format of part storytelling and part text message conversations… It makes the pages I’m reading more pleasing to my eyes.
I don’t personally struggle the endometriosis but I am always down for a book that has bigger message/lesson than just some fun light-hearted reading. Endometriosis is a disease that affects many women who usually suffer in silence; it’s very important that books like this exist to inform those of us who may not know the struggles others are facing.
I absolutely loved the Eiffel Towel illustrations at the top of every chapter! It made it more fun and enjoyable to read I think 😍
I did not like Liam at all, yet I found myself not able to stop reading until I found out if him and Evie could end up happy together 🤪
This book was so SWEET I honestly found myself constantly looking for a sugary snack while I was reading 🧁 It was a fun romantic comedy, with a little humour and a lot of sizzle 🔥
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Sunset and Hamden Creative for my ARC in exchange for an honest review 💕