Member Reviews
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.
If this book isn't the definition of Murphy's Law, I don't know what is. Literally everything that could go wrong DID go wrong in this book and yet the characters still made the best out of it. My goodness, this was freaking hilarious and I loved it. I devoured this book in 3 days because I had a hard time putting it down. Are you going on a plane, train, or in a car and need a book to read? Maybe don't read this one if you are superstitious because I could see this being extremely triggering as EVERY possible mode of transportation Cassidy & Luke try fails in some capacity, but if you aren't, this is a pretty great travel book. We have Cassidy, a free spirit dancer who gets forced to be with Luke, type-A/my-desire-for-control-isn't-a-desire-it-is-a-need, as they have to trek across the country because of plane malfunctioning. Then car malfunctioning. Then train malfunctioning. You get the drift. It is a cute rom-com, with sass and some spice, and I would gladly read this book again. Livy is a great writer and I definitely recommend this book.
Planes, Trains, and All the Feels was a quick read. It's basically a riff on Planes, Traines, and Automobiles but make it horny. Cassidy and Luke's meet cute is at the parking lot at the airport where Luke steals Cassidy's spot. He also doesn't hold the shuttle to the airport for her. To his credit, he did have noise cancelling ear buds in. They wind up on the same flight which has to make an emergency stop. Luke scores the last rental car and feels bad so he asks Cassidy to join him.
The road trip is a disaster, but the two start to let the other one in and share their family troubles and insecurities. They both are hot for each other but don't share THOSE feelings.
The book was fun, though Cassidy was verging a little too close to manic-pixie dream girl for my taste. Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.
Exquisitely fantastic! Cassidy and Luke: the prime example of opposites attract. Have you ever seen a movie where the girl is trying to go home to an overbearing family and the trip there is obnoxious, but hilarious this is the equivalent of Cassidy's whole trip. Luke has his own drama, can these two realize they need to live for themselves or will this trip be one for the books and stay there. Cassidy and Luke's adventure home add in some tension and comical banter and we got this gem. I do hate when books add the whole redheads are always wild and have cluttered lives so I was worried this would be that, but Cassidy knows what she wants in life and she's not going to be bullied into thinking her life is "wild' because it doesn't work for others. 3 stars because it had me in tears and made me swoon and the ending had me fist bumping air.
Planes, Trains and All the Feels had me hooked from the first page, and did not let up even once! The writing was top-notch, and the wordplay had me saying "oooh nice one!" in my head over and over.
Luke was swoonworthy, and Cassidy was a sweetheart. Somewhat reserved, Luke could not help being swept into Cassidy's magnetic personality: she made it seem so easy to engage people into conversations. Two seemingly opposite personalities but made for each other.
Although their trip together was not without mishaps, they always rallied and slowly opened up to each other. More often than not, I'm skeptical when main characters fall in love within a short time, but this time it worked for me. This story had it all: banter, attraction, angst, relatable characters, awesome secondary cast, fun times, and more emotional ones.
The last part of the story HURT SO DAMN GOOD. Might be the time of the month talking, but seriously, so so good. I was sniffling through tears and getting punched in my feels. And that last scene? Oh my goodness, Cassidy is a better (fictional) character than (real) me because in her place I would be ugly crying and an absolute bawling mess and I have tears in my eyes right now just thinking about it, while she was an absolutely kick-ass stunner who went for the one thing she wanted. I relished the whole thing, thank you Livy Hart.
One of my most anticipated reads this year, and I absolutely loved it!
And can someone please tell me that we're getting Will and Berkeley's story next?
Forever grateful to Riki at Entangled Publishing for granting my ARC request. All opinions are my own.
3 Stars - This was my first book by Livy Hart and I was really looking forward to reading it. The cover image, title, and synopsis sounded like a romcom book I would enjoy. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with this book. While I know that romcoms are necessarily “believable”, this story just had way too many unfortunate accidents for me. Who has that much bad luck in 24 hours? I enjoyed the banter between the main characters Cassidy and Luke and thought how they met was a good start, but then the story seemed to drag on for me. Several chapters for something that happens in a few hours was too much.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for sending this ARC for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was a super cute read! Totally a beach read or a lazy afternoon at home type of book! Being a traveler, I really enjoyed all this mishaps! I enjoyed the banter between Cassidy and Luke, and while it was never a question of "will they?" it was fun to keep reading to find out "WHEN will they?"!!!
I did find the ending a little confusing with the dad suddenly showing up at the end, I do wish Cassidy had had more involvement in that so we could at least know exactly how that moment came to be, but it's okay because the ending of the story made up for everything!
Super cute read!
This was a cute romance book. I enjoyed it. Thank you Entangled Publishing for the ARC of this book.
“Do you always turn misunderstandings into character assassinations, or is this a special occasion?"
This book was so good. There is not one part of it that I did not love. The journey, the characters, the relationships and the romance. I loved all of it.
Cassidy and Luke’s story was absolutely brilliant. In a forced proximity trio to get to LA, through misadventures, sharing a plane then a car then a train and then another car, only to find themself in each other … right where they weren’t expecting it !!!!
Add to that a constant funny, entertaining and witty banter between the two and some tropes that are the best ever !!!! We have one bed, we have of course forced proximity but we also have such an undeniable tension (especially for a certain massage scene you won’t want to miss) and some spicy times where both of them knew how to talk !!!!!
I loved this book so so much it is still impossible for me to put it into words !!!!
But more than anything I loved the two main characters’ journey through pain and responsibilities and family relationship. They both went through some hardship in life, each for different reasons. But at the end they will find in one another what they never knew was missing.
And Luke … that man has my whole heart wrapped around his finger. The way he can sweet talk you and be so dirty at the same time it is INSANE !!!!!
And the ending !!!!! Ohhhhh so so good !!!!
"It felt like torture, touching you without really touching you. Worse when I had to stop."
I had so much fun reading this book! Cass (sunshine) and Luke (grumpy) start on the wrong foot when they meet, while trying to travel home. But everything that could go wrong with transportation happen and their need to get to their families gets them together to find a plan to solve the problem. As they start to open to each other, feelings start to arise, and they find out that maybe they made a bad assessment of each other. Soon they discover that a relationship between the two could be impossible, but they're willing to fight for the right to be happy together aside of all adversity.
All I have to say is that Livy Hart made me laugh out loud so many times with this book, but the end was so sweet, that I just loved it! All the feels is so on point for this book title. Just go, get a copy, read it and have a blast!
Thank you so much to NetGalley for this ARC, especially Entangled Publishing for granting me my wish and making available a copy for me. The opinions above are my own and given freely.
I absolutely adored it! This had me SMILING from start to finish, with a premise that felt like it was tailor-made for me, and a relationship so compelling that I was hooked from the first interaction. I loved the meet cute, and I loved every chaotic minute that followed - every moment that drew these opposites together. Hart does SUCH a great job of building up the chemistry, delivering the forced proximity, and slowly shifting the relationship from strangers to travel companions to love. It's tough to make a relationship with such a short timeline work, and this did not have any problems in that area. I fell in love with Luke and Cassidy as they were falling into each other, and I was completely immersed in the story. It had me laughing, grinning, and swooning in equal measure, with a storyline so unpredictable that it kept me on my toes. And the slow burn pays off in a big way, with some VERY spicy moments by the end. I devoured the whole thing in one sitting, and my only regret is that it was over so quickly.
The story follows Cassidy, a woman who needs to get home for her sister's wedding. So when a handsome stranger steals her parking spot, makes her miss her shuttle, and then shows up on the same airplane... well, Cassidy isn't amused. And things just go downhill from there. Somehow, Cassidy finds herself agreeing to drive across the country with the infuriating stranger, even though they can't be in the same room without arguing. But as the road trip from you-know-where gets worse and worse, Cassidy and Luke lean on each other in a way neither could've anticipated. Suddenly, being stuck with Luke doesn't feel so terrible, and Cassidy isn't sure what to do with that information.
After loving Talk Flirty to Me, I was eagerly anticipating whatever Hart wrote next. And when I discovered that it was a strangers to lovers road trip romance with enemies(ish) to lovers vibes, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I LOVE it when couples have unique meet cutes and start the story as total strangers, which is exactly how this plays out. I also loved the opposites attract vibes, pairing the sunshiney, talkative Cassidy with the reserved and semi-grump that is Luke. They were fantastic together, and I loved the slow unraveling of their personalities. When you spend every single minute with another person for a length of time, you learn about them very quickly. The forced proximity and constant presence was my favorite part; these two spend almost the entire book together, and every interaction brings them a little closer. There were some seriously unexpected moments that had me laughing, as well as plenty of banter and sexual tension. These two complemented each other SO well, and I loved the person Luke revealed himself to be. Once he let down his guard and finally gave in, not only was the book HOT, but it was also super swoony. So this was just an exceptionally fun ride from start to finish, and it was all too easy to binge. I loved it! I was lucky enough to receive an early copy, and am voluntarily leaving a review of this road trip romance.
This one might be utter perfection honestly. 100% relatable characters, hilarious situations and perfect humor, while also bringing with it a downright smoldering romance. Grumpy vs Sunshine opposites attract, with depth to the characters and interesting backstory/family complications.
My thanks to NetGalley & Entangled Amara for a digital copy of this one. My opinion is solely my own.
Have to run off to grab a physical copy for my shelves now!
This book was a bit of a mix for me. I was pretty excited for it, as I read the another by the author last year and it was kind of a surprise hit for me. In this case, I loved the cover art and concept and the story reeled me in pretty quickly. It started strong, but around the 70% mark (last bit of the book), lost me a little bit.
The first part of the book had a bit more of the will they won’t they / slow burn vibes, as well as the series of unfortunate events. I appreciated the banter in the beginning, and was definitely intrigued to see how things would play out for the two mains and what would happen next on their journey.
I think for me where it lost me a bit was the kind of rapid feeling transition from enemies to more and the timeline (I will emphasize this is definitely a preference thing for me – I prefer my romances slow burn vs more insta-love, so it will probably be perfect pacing for others). That paired with some of the heavier topics that had been sprinkled in, but suddenly kind of came to a rapid head made the pacing / flow feel a bit off for me.
Overall, I think it was a fun, cute road trip romcom that will appeal to many. Some fun tropes mixed in to be sure: sunshine grump; forced proximity; one bed, etc. Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and freely offered.
After reading this I promise I'll never complain again about my travels!
Anyway, I loved it, this book was the perfect amount of cute and funny, I smiled the whole time.
I don't have much to say, just go and read it; get lost with the characters in this crazy adventure in the middle of the US, I dare you not to fall in love with them.
I received an ARC through NetGalley.
This book was cute. Nothing life changing, but a fun enough read. My suspension of disbelief did snap shortly before the 30% mark, not to say that the things in this book wouldn’t happen but all of them happening to one couple within a 24-hour window is frankly ridiculous (and the travel issue that lost me wasn’t even their last one). That, in combination with both MCs having a martyr complex the constant back slide from “this is the most obnoxious person ever” to “I like this person” over and over (I guess so you can call it “enemies” to lovers?) just… lessened my enjoyment of the book.
The pacing was good. I liked the MCs but in the end, I wasn’t totally sold I wanted them to be each other’s HEA? They’re two hot people who trauma bonded but I just wasn’t convinced they were right for each other. The story was fun though not believable. If you want an over-the-top rom-com, here it is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled for the ARC in exchange for an honest review
CW: parent with alcohol dependency and diabetes, car accident, parental abandonment (past), family tensions, emergency landing of a plane
I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)
-m/f contemporary romance
-roadtrip romance
-insta attraction
-getting frisky in public
-opposites attract
-the hard one and the soft one
I'm a huge fan of road trip romances and this was a fun and sexual tension filled read. Cas and Luke do not hit things off right away, but not so secret nice guy Luke decides to help Cass out and they share a car when their flight is canceled, Stuck together on a cross country trip to make it to their families, they both get more than they bargain for.
Cas wears her heart on her sleeve, including saying every pun that comes to her mind, and just effortlessly makes friends. I loved her contrast to Luke strait laced actuary who has no idea what to do with Cas at first but they figure it out with all the sexual tension brewing. They're both struggling with different things with their families, and it was really nice to see that contrasted with their journey as a couple and just their own acceptance that it's okay to be selfish and also take care of yourself and your dreams.
And once these two stopped fighting the sexual tension, I loved the steam in this one. Consent, great steamy talk, and a complete inability to keep their hands off of each other. Just ask the door, the window, and the car. A great read, with some heavy topics and a great happily ever after.
Steam: 3.75
This was a fun, romantic and witty take on the 80s classic, “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.” It was such a great rom-com that I didn’t want to put it down. Can’t wait for everybody else to read it! 💕
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Synopsis:
As the black sheep of the family, choreographer Cassidy Bliss vowed she’d do anything to get home in time to help with her sister’s wedding and avoid family disappointment…again. She just never expected “anything” would involve sharing the last rental car with the jerk who cut her off in line at the airport this morning. But horrible times apparently call for here-goes-nothing measures.
Driving across the country with Luke “life can be solved with a spreadsheet” Carlisle must be a penance for some crime she committed. Because the second he opens his mouth, it’s all she can do to not maim him with her carry-on. But somewhere between his surprisingly thoughtful snack sharing and his uncanny ability to see straight to the core of her, her feelings go unchecked.
Suddenly, their crackling chemistry is just one more thing they have to navigate―and it couldn’t come at a worse time. But after a lifetime of letting the expectations and needs of others drive her life, Cassidy must decide if she’s ready to take the wheel once and for all.
Our two main characters are trying to get to L.A. with disaster after disaster. Both characters were a delight to learn more about and fall in love on this epic, unplanned and unpredictable plan/road trip adventure. It’s a tad on the insta-love side, but the amount of forced proximity and pushing aside feelings gives the reader a reason to keep turning the pages. I can see this being a Bookstagram rom com favorite!
Very cute and fun read! The comparison to a Christina Lauren/Tessa Bailey book, very accurate. Both characters likeable, their baggage was relatable, not annoying. It took a while to get spicy, but I enjoyed what was there. Overall a solid read!
The title of this book does not lie. There are planes. There are trains. There are ALL THE FEELS.
@livyhartromance delivers another amazing book (don't believe me? Read Talk Flirty to Me for proof) that is full of humour, heartfelt moments, multiple "I can't believe that just happened" scenes, sexy times, sea shanties, and so much more.
Cassidy and Luke, both native Californians now living in North Carolina, are trying to make it back to the West Coast to visit their respective families. They start butting heads early on over a parking spot (Cassidy was in the right!), but after a series of events, they are forced to work together in order to make it across the country, in a journey that takes multiple days, rather than the few hours on the plane.
The physical journey the MCs make across the country is a perfect metaphor for the growth they experience in terms of their attraction to each other (and acting upon it!) as well as individuals. Both Cassidy and Luke left California due to family challenges, wanting space to thrive on their own and maintain boundaries with some individuals/situations. But as they get closer and closer to those individuals and situations that drove them to North Carolina, they are forced to start to address the emotions they have tried to bottle-up over the years, as well as make some hard choices about how to move forward, both individually and together.
I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book, and sent many "WTF" texts to Livy, who kindly humoured my sliding into her DMs. The book is a perfect balance between silly and serious, highlighting the ups and downs of life, the insecurities many of us face, the responsibilities many of us are forced to take on, and also the strength that we can find within ourselves.
This book is definitely one of my faves so far this year and I will purchase a physical copy. Livy definitely goes onto my 'auto-buy' author list and I can't wait to see what she shares with us next!
Thanks to Livy, @netgalley, @entangled_publishing and the #JoyfulChaosBookClub for the eARC. All opinions are my own.
Bubbly and outgoing Cassidy Bliss moved all the way across the country to avoid having to deal with her family. She's the black sheep who can't seem to live up to her mother's standards or her sister's excellence. The only thing bringing her back home is the fact her sister is getting married to her dream guy and Cass is responsible for ensuring her sister gets the wedding of her dreams. She never imagined her journey would include being cut off in the airport parking lot by a jerk and then eventually sharing every mode of transportation with him as they drive cross country together.
Luke Carlisle hates flying, as an actuary, he knows all about the risks someone takes when getting on a plane. As he starts to have a panic attack, the woman with the flaming red hair who claims he cut her off in the parking lot offers her hand in comfort. They have an instant connection which makes him more unsettled. His sole focus in his life is to provide for his sister and nieces and ensuring his alcoholic mother doesn't go on any more benders. What he doesn't need are the feelings Cass sparks within him as she slowly chips away at his introverted shell.
Through plane fiascos, wrecked rental cars, miss timed trains and more hijinks, Cass and Luke find their true selves and what their hearts true desire happens to be. This is a laugh out loud, fully relatable, fun read. You'll be cheering on Luke and Cass!