Member Reviews
I found this story very cute and enjoyable. While Nina was a difficult MC for me to like in the beginning I definitely saw what her motivations were and how her fears manifested into all the things that made me not like her. Ari was such a fun and cool character, and Lorna literally stole the show! I loved how accepting Nina’s friends were for her to come back into the group after she had disappeared on them for so long. Overall really enjoyed this book.
Read this if you enjoy:
Celeb/normal pairings
Sapphic romances
Found family
Character growth
Lovable side characters
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
An irresistible listen. This f/f romance is one that you will not be able to put down. When the office worker behind celebrity emails at a talent office finds herself called into a meeting with one of the clients (and a cute queer one at that) she's worried. Has she messed up the voice for someone she looks up to? Yet as the meeting turns into an opportunity to get to know each other better, things shift. What starts as business might just turn into pleasure.
Told with wonderful narration, highly recommend this audiobook!
I was looking forward to this one - I always love a good Hollywood romance, and a good sapphic romance. The early reviews weren’t necessarily all the greatest but I still wanted to see for myself what this one was about. I did wait until the audio was up… and it’s good that I did, because even then, I had difficulties getting through, even with someone reading it to me and not having to keeping plodding through on my own. I had to take long (1-2 other book) breaks.
While the premise had potential, I found my mind wandering and it just didn’t keep my interest. It dragged for pretty much the whole story. The narrator (Sophie Amoss) was the reason I kept coming back. She did a great job!
I think the fact that this was all told from the one character’s point of view, Nina Rice, and not both (didn’t have any for love interest Ari Fox), was part of it…. Nina had low self-esteem, was a big girl, had removed herself from her friend group after a bad breakup three years before and a whole lot of weird things came out of that. It was just an odd storyline, odd character relationships throughout, different writing style, and it just didn’t connect for me. 3-stars for writing and 5 for the narrator!
I received an advance listen copy from NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books, and this is my honest feedback.
"Since a crushing breakup three years ago, Nina Rice has written romance, friends, her dreams of scriptwriting for TV, and even LA proper out of her life. Instead, she’s safely out in the suburbs in her aunt’s condo working her talent agency job from home, managing celebrity email accounts, and certain that’s plenty of writing—and plot—for her life. But a surprise meeting called by Ari Fox, a young actress on everyone’s radar, stirs up all kinds of feelings Nina thought she’d deleted for good . . .
Ari is sexy, out and proud, and a serious control freak, according to Nina’s boss. She has her own ideas about how Nina should handle her emails—and about getting to know her ghostwriter. When she tells Nina she should be writing again, Nina suddenly finds it less scary to revisit her abandoned life than seriously consider that Ari is flirting with her. Between reconnecting with her old crew and working on a new script, a relationship with a movie star seems like something she’ll definitely mess up—but what could be more worth the risk?"
Adorable romcom perfection. Ari and Nina are goals. The humor and sweetness of this novel is just what I needed.
3 stars
Ugh, I wanted to love this because it has every trope I love but... it didn't work for me mostly because I desperately needed Ari's pov to understand why she liked Nina. And yes Nina has an interesting story but... someone told her she was "toxic" and instead of being like "oh then let me work on that", she just... embrace that? And became even more toxic???? It was so confusing because Ari was like a ray of sunshine and she wooed Nina with gifts and treated her right and Nina just... was there. And I don't buy the "I don't believe/ know if she is attracted to me" stuff because *points at the obvious* Ari blatantly flirt with her!!! It was just super confusing and that's why I need the other's pov to understand it.
Also Nina's friends?!?!?!? What the heck was that friendship?!?!
If that was friendship then I don't want it. The way they don't care about Nina was appalling.
Still, I liked some of this book, especially the ending where not everything in Nina's life was "fix by the power of love and having a girlfriend" which made the story realistic.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review
DNF, could not get into the story enough to finish. Didn’t like the story and couldn’t stand the main character/narrator.
Featuring ~ single 1st person POV, LGBT ~ lesbian, celebrity, curvy girl, found family, friends to lovers, some steamage
Nina & Ari
Nina is helping Ari, as part of her job, when they start to develop feelings for each other.
What I liked:
~ how Nina was curvy and proud
~ how Ari was out and proud
~ Nina's fun job ~ writing emails for celebrities
~ Aunt Lorna ~ she was a great side character and her and Nina's relationship was lovely
What was meh:
~ I wish Nina would have gotten over her breakup a lot quicker than she did ~ 3 years is a bit of a long time IMO
~ 3rd act breakup was for the birds
~ I would have liked dual POV, or at least a couple of chapters from Ari
Overall, I liked this one. I'd give this author a whirl again for sure.
I was fortune enough to receive a kindle and an audio copy to review.
Narrated by Sophie Amoss for 10 hours and 45 minutes. I was happy with her performance.
The story opens with Nina being broken up with by a woman Nina thought she would marry. Flash forward three years, and it turns out that Nina was so devastated by the breakup that she refused to date, ghosted her friends, gave up her dreams of TV scriptwriting, and moved to her Aunt's condo in the suburbs of LA. Nina works remotely for a talent agency writing emails for celebrities, one of which is Ari Fox, a lesbian actress who's getting Oscar buzz. Ari is a self-proclaimed "difficult" client who meets with her agency to discuss an issue regarding her email. What starts out as work-related meetings turns into friends, which then catapults into a romantic entanglement.
I really wanted to love this book. I've enjoyed Amy Spalding's other works. Overall, it was a fun read and if you're looking for a sapphic romance, definitely pick it up. Some of my problems with this book are probably more of a "me" issue than a "book" issue.
I'll start with what I liked:
- Lorna & co. - my favorite scenes were the ones with Lorna and her friends at the retirement community. It gave a lot of Golden Girl-like vibes but with a more modern tone.
- Found family - I also liked seeing Nina reunite with the friends she abandoned. The scenes where they're all together are also some of the stronger scenes. I couldn't always tell the characters apart due to narration, but I liked the overall vibe.
- The rep
Unfortunately, it had a few tropes that I don't like:
- Insta-love - despite how aggressively Nina has closed herself off, she falls for Ari so fast. I know, I know--it's sapphic. It still felt like there was a disconnect between the way Nina was portrayed at the beginning/how devastated she was and how quickly she fell for Ari. One of my problems with this trope is that I, as a reader, often don't understand why the characters like each other in these situations, and that's something I really want to have. It felt like Nina liked Ari because she was ~*Ari Fox*~ the celebrity. Nina tries to say she likes Ari because of who Ari is as a person, but I never really felt like I understood that. I also didn't want Nina to be as star-struck as she was, especially given that her entire career is centered on working for celebrities. I think it would've been more interesting if she wasn't starstruck or fazed at all.
- Miscommunication - if the central conflict centers on a miscommunication, there needs to be a really good reason for it, and I didn't feel like there was here. Part of the problem is that you don't fully understand why Nina is acting the way she is for most of the book until you reach the end and Nina shows people the 12-point breakup letter from her ex. I think this book would've been stronger if that information was added to the beginning, and then we launched into Nina rushing to meet her then-girlfriend. Through this scene, Spalding could've shown the reader that not all of the points were grounded in reality, while showing why the breakup affected her so deeply and is causing her to be, frankly, toxic. It also would've helped build the reader's sympathy for Nina because the letter was so cruel. However, by the time I learned about this information, I was so frustrated with Nina because I couldn't understand why she was acting that way that I kind of didn't care anymore.
- Not taking no for an answer - I hate this in any and every situation. Although this isn't in the sexual context by any means, there is a scene in which Ari blatantly doesn't respect Nina's wishes, which I didn't like.
Lastly, I thought it was funny that Nina kept thinking about how special Ari's acting is and how no one who's lgbtq+ is doing what Ari's doing regarding the range of movies she acts in, and then proceeds to list a lot of Kristen Stewart-like movies. At first, I thought that maybe this was a world where Kristen Stewart didn't exist, but no, no she very much does.
I wasn’t sure about this one at first. Nina was a little bit whiny at first, but once Ari entered the story, I was sold. Their romance was so realistic and sweet, it really touched my heart. It was steamy and heartbreaking and healing all at once. Definitely would recommend.
Nina is queer woman working as a email writer in Hollywood, and living in the suburbs. After a bad break-up she has decided to avoid dating and her friends because her ex left her feeling like she's toxic. When Nina is told that Ari Fox, Nina's celebrity crush and fabulously out queer woman, is unhappy with her work. Nina and Ari find themselves instantly connected and despite Nina's doubts the two start dating.
I absolutely loved this book! Nina relearning how to love herself and move past her horrible self-perception in the wake of a terrible break up felt very real to me. Her self esteem took a huge hit and she was made to feel like this horrible burden but when she finally decides to truly work towards finding the things that make her happy I was honestly so happy for her. Ari is also great, the fact that she seems frustrated with her life a points and unable to delegate because she really wants to be her truest self and hates feeling fake was very relatable. Ari's friends and aunt are also delightful and felt fleshed out, her aunt pushing her to reenter the world and stop hiding and her friends pulling her back in after losing her for years was very sweet.
Overall i love the story especially due to the elements of healing from a toxic relationship and self love.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
4 stars!
"For Her Consideration" by Amy Spalding is a slow-burn sapphic rom-com about finding yourself, knowing your worth, found-family, and enjoying life while you still can. I loved the main characters, Nina Rice and Ari Fox! I believe their dynamic and interactions will sustain me through many lesser books. They both experience such terrific character growth throughout the course of the story. I rooted for them the entire time! I looooved their flirting and all of their sexy scenes together. Some people will not like how long this story takes to unfold, but I didn't mind it. All of the secondary characters were wonderful! I loved Lorna, her retirement community buddies, and all of their shenanigans (think: ed1bles). I also thoroughly enjoyed Nina reconnecting with her old, long-time friend group, who she "ghosted" after a bad breakup with her ex-girlfriend. By far, my favorite part of this book is that it doesn't punish Nina or make it a flaw that she loves herself while being plus-size! Do you know how rare that is in fiction?! Most books give backhanded compliments about their plus-size main female characters, but Amy Spalding takes tender care of our beloved Nina, who embraces and loves her curvy figure. I also love how Ari is unabashedly herself. She is such a funny character, and even when she's being controlling about her career or honest about something, it's always straight to the point, with no fluff or filter, which leads to some laugh-out-loud moments. More of that, please!
The only part of this novel that bothered me was the third-act-conflict. Not only is it ridiculously predictable, but it's also unnecessary. It's infinitely frustrating when authors allow one character to break up with another without any communication about the breakup! What!? Not even a final conversation?! Someone just gets to have the final say and that's that?! I didn't love this! Regardless, I remained engaged and interested in this story, its characters, and the relationships from page one until the end of the book! Can't wait to read Amy Spalding's back catalog!
Finally, I thought Sophie Amoss did a fantastic job with the narration for "For Her Consideration." Her character work is fabulous and kept me engaged and interested in the story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Spalding, RB Media, and Recorded Books for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.
While I overall this Hollywood romance, it unfortunately fell flat for me in some areas.
I LOVED Ari ! She was confident, sassy and honestly HAWTTTTT 🔥 she was a fresh and unique character and carried this story on her back a lot of the time ☠️
I wanted to love Nina, because she had everything a relatable character needed at first - relationship trauma, self consciousness and fear of going for what she wants. However, somewhat early on, all of that started to annoy me to no end. She was just entirely oblivious to everything and everyone around her and how they felt about her, starting with Ari and ending with the people she had been friends with FOR YEARS and then ghosted because someone told her she wasn’t a nice or good person. I was baffled honestly. She was the epitome of self sabotage. I stopped saying “girl, same” and started rolling my eyes at her thoughts less than 20% into the book.
Also, the third act breakup was… just weird ? Nothing happened ? Honestly, they didn’t even have a proper argument but all of a sudden Nina was heartbroken and sulking about losing “the one” and I had to go back to figure out what actually went down? And that still didn’t explain anything 😩
This wasn’t a terrible read. I actually felt that the writing really flowed, but I just had major issues with one of the MCs
I love the concept of this sapphic Hollywood romance. Based on the description I was excited to reach this book.
I loved the job Nina had and the vibe that Ari gave off - I loved their dynamics together.
The whole beginning with Nina getting broken up with by her ex seems a bit much. I am not sure I needed a whole chapter on it seems like a lot. Also, I don't understand how Nina was able to become a hermit and completely separate from her friends to the point that she didn't even know that they weren't talking to her ex
Furthermore, she seemed to not care that much about her ex's opinions which turned her into a recluse
Once Ari and Nina were together I was a bit bored with the storyline - I don't think this story needed to be as long as it was.
I would have liked to hear some of the stories from Ari's POV
All in all the book started on a high, levelled out in the middle and ended with a bit of drama
Narrator Sophie Amoss brought these characters to life - she was able to make all the characters distinctive and personal
All in all the book started on a high, levelled out in the middle and ended with a bit of drama
YES YES YES a million times YES! Loved this book! It was sweet, romantic, and still did a great job of showing anxiety, nerves, and insecurities.
This is a beautiful queer romance between a PR/email writer woman Nina and her new cool client Ari. Nina has gone through a terrible break up which made her pull back from all her friends, her dreams and life in general. Before she knows it she is a shell of who she was working, visiting her aunt, and going to sleep. In enters her 'difficult' client Ari who is interested to ensuring her emails actually sound like her. They briefly get together to discuss work and before you know it they have a night that neither one really wants to end. This book has an amazing friend dynamic, touches on mental health, is inclusive and has some steam as well. So I would say it has it all.
This is a fantastic love story and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking to add a diverse love story into their library. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story!
I'm still kind of processing this book. Like I liked the story, as in I liked both FMC, their romance and the friend groups... I just hated everything.
This book has found family and possibly toxic ex (idk).
I'll start with things I love. I liked Nina, I did. I was just very annoyed that she spend more than 80% of the book. believing all the things her ex-girlfriend said about her. She needed a lot of HELP to be honest, A LOT. Ya know, cause Ari was fucking adorable and cared about here so fucking much.
I guess I have more things I hated about this book. than liked, it was slow in a lot of parts and I felt like this book was longer than it actually was. I thought it was a 400 page book but its not. The fact that Nina kept repeating the things Taylor wrote about her and actually believed they were true made me so angry. Like girl, WHY DID IT TAKE YOU SO LONG TO TELL. YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THAT STUPID EMAIL!!!!
That's it. 3.5 starts only cause its sapphic.
Celebrity rom-com with characters that feel well written and thoughout. Nina feels like a real person, someone I felt was real, if that makes any sense. The writing is just incredible. I love how supportive Nina’s friends are when she practically ghosted them because of her breakup. They welcomed her back like a big warm heart. Lorna was a breathe of fresh air, I loved her and her relationship with Nina. Ari helps Nina overcome her past relationship traumas and open up to people.
i’m disappointed 🥲. i always have some expectations for sapphic books but this one let me down. i liked nina but ari was a big no for me. i didn’t like how quickly they got together since i live for my slow burn. nina was so insecure about being in a relationship it felt weird for her to actually date someone. it was fine, just not something i enjoyed that much. 3⭐️
For Her Consideration by Am Spalding
Nina Rice is writing off everyone after a harsh breakup including her friends, love, her script writing and even Las Angeles itself. Nina is in her early thirties dealing with the break-up that she thought was the one. She is now living in her aunt's condo and working for a talent agency managing email accounts for clients.
In comes client movie star Ari Fox who is out and proud LGBTQ actress. Ari doesn't know how to take no for an answer and gets Nina to go out with her. Nina is breaking all the rules for client work relationships behind her boss's back.
I just absolutely loved this one a whole lot it plays to my romantic heart believing in love. Ari being as famous as she is coming across as down to earth a little pushy though but someone who likes the normal things as everyone else. I like how the author did not put Ari on a pedestal as rich, connected, and entitled which Ari did not act on in this story. Ari came across as a caring person going to places with Nina and her aunt as well as friends.
This is not a romance that has hot sex scenes between two women this is a straight up love story between two people from different worlds. Ari a celebrity actress and Nina a suburban talent agency worker who writes on the side. Nina at first was not a likable character but through the story you begin to really like her as she grows and learns life lessons about herself that she needs to work on by herself.
Narrated by Sophie Amoss did a fantastic job bringing voice to the characters and gave each character their own voice. This was a five-star read for me. I recommend this to romance lovers that like love and the chemistry between two characters from different worlds. I found I related to Nina on so many levels and seeing her grow was what made the story really good.
Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for a free audio copy of For Her Consideration for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts in this review are my own.
I thought this was a very cute sapphic romance. I really enjoyed Nina's character. I felt terrible for her right at the beginning and was of course very anti-taylor. She was totally being treated terribly and I was glad she got out of that relationship. It always helps when listening to an audiobook, when the narrator is totally matches what you think the character would sound like too. I found Nina to be fun, and also she has an awesome friend group. I was constantly rooting for her. I thought Ari was alright. I didn't LOVE her character but i didnt dislike her. I did love how she built up Nina and what their relationship was. It really felt natural and real, and i appreciate that in romance books.
For Her Consideration is a queer romance set in Hollywood about, Nina, a lm aspiring scriptwriter jaded by her past breakup, and Ari, an actress making a name for herself in the industry. This book is full of found family, good food, Hollywood drama and relationships.
Overall I enjoyed this romance and loved getting to see all of the different characters and how they all meshed together. My biggest problem with this book was the main character, Nina, and her trauma from her past breakup. In my opinion, she self sabotaged herself in any relationship after her breakup, afraid that she was going to ruin everyone else’s lives because everything her ex said was dated to be true. For someone who was so secure in her body and who she was, she sure isn’t secure in her relationships and that didn’t interest me. When you look at all that she has around her, the love and support of her friends, I just don’t understand how she couldn’t see what was right in front of her and let one persons opinion rule her life. Anyway, I digress, overall this was a great romance and I loved the characters! It was just the self sabotage that got to be a bit much for me.
If this book sounds interesting to you, I’d definitely say give it a try!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook!