2.5 ⭐️

Note: I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’m in a bit of a love/hate relationship with this book. I really liked the premise of the book. Simone, at 26 years old went from being a chef at a Michelin star restaurant in California to jumping into Law School in a small town in Michigan. The story follows Simone as she takes the leap into Law School and overcoming one of her biggest obstacles…self doubt. I enjoyed the overall message this book had. The ending was lovely. I really enjoyed how it wrapped up. A beautiful reminder that you can do anything you put your mind to. If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again.

I also really loved Silas. I thought he was such a sweetheart. I loved how much he cared for Simone. Silas was never afraid to go above and beyond. However, I found the miscommunication between Silas and Simone drove me nuts. One second they were a thing, the next they were friends, the next Simone was mad about something, then it’d get cleared up and Simone would want more but then not really. It felt like it was all over the place. They acted like a couple 99% of the time but Simone would state they were just friends. It felt like a never ending loop that I was stuck in and it drove me a bit crazy.

I did not think that Simone was a very strong character. I felt like I knew so much about Silas and barely anything about Simone. The character development was not there for me unfortunately. I found myself getting somewhat attached to Silas and then everyone else was just kinda there.

Last critique… I really felt that the book was a bit unrealistic. The Main character quits her job on the spot and then with little money or research somehow gets accepted to Law School within weeks. Doesn’t prepare and thinks that law school will be a walk in the park. It just didn’t make much sense to me.

Overall, I would like to state that I really enjoyed the sweet moments that filled this book between Simone and Silas. I loved the underlying message and I really, really adored the epilogue!

I’d recommend this book if you like:
-Small Town Mid West Romance
-Law School/ Legally Blonde vibes
-magic 8 ball decisions
-sudden change of careers
-overcoming self doubt

Thank you NetGalley, Kristen Alicia and Entangle Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cringe, cringe, cringe.

I had to push myself to get through this one, and I did not enjoy it.

Simone, a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant in Oakland, quits after one too many abuses from her boss. She turns to a magic 8 ball, and ends up in Michigan in law school.

I found both MCs were a jumble of traits that failed to add up to whole people I could root for. We’re supposed to believe Simone basically breezes through the LSAT and gets into school, makes the mistake of not preparing by reading the info she is sent in advance, then after being embarrassed for being unprepared, <i>still</i> doesn’t take care to get a handle on the basics? Silas, on the other hand, creeped me out. He’s written like we’re supposed to find his behavior sexy, but there is nothing I like less in a romance than an overbearing MMC with no respect for the FMC’s boundaries, physical or otherwise. Literally, it’s never ok for a guy to keep putting his hands on a woman who says she doesn’t want to date. Silas doesn’t take anything Simone says seriously, and it’s rude, bordering on cruel.

Both Simone and Silas are immature, with poor communication skills. They very rarely seem to be on the same page. The third act conflict — supposedly a miscommunication — had me rolling me eyes.

[book:You’ve Been Served] by [author:Kristen Alicia]
⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 but don’t call it sexy
👢🌨️ Girl do not wear Uggs in the snow
🐴 hey maybe don’t take someone on a horse ride if it’s obvious they’re allergic
☕️ Professors Patton and Mason were the only good characters

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled: Amara for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=2 | 😘=3 | 🤬=5 | 16+

summary: these people are at law school and fall in love. that’s it. that’s the plot.

thoughts: unfortunately this was, like, super boring. scene after scene (that could probably have been randomly rearranged) not working toward any specific goal or event and just super bland characters and no banter. like the only good thing I can say about this is that it was over quickly. screaming.

DNF @15%

Sadly couldn't get into this one. Something about the writing and the characterization just wasn't working for me.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, huge thanks to Netgalley for sending me an ARC of this amazing book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this book because it deals with someone who is lost and had a sudden thought of going to Law school. I had that thought before but decided against it. However, our MC decided to let a Magic 8 Ball decide for her and landed herself in a Law School miles away from her home.

full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtN_KuOLWGK/

After quitting her job as a chef Simone Alexander decides to ask her Magic 8 ball for a sign. Next thing you know she is starting as a first year law student in Michigan. This book starts off as Simone being a fish out of water. She didn’t read emails to get a head start on purchasing books or preparing for her first day of class. She also opts to not bring her car as she is use to public transportation to get her around in Oakland. (I’m sorry, I rolled my eye at this because Californians definitely know you need cars to get around.) Her neighbor is Silas Whitman who like her has worked a few years before returning to law school. But he is a gunner and very prepared for every class. I’m not sure how much time first year law students have time to date but the two manage a kiss or two before backing back to friendship. I honestly didn’t get why they were attracted to each other than they were both cute and nice. I liked that she buckles down and focuses on being prepared for class but the romance didn’t leave me breathless.

This is a nice contemporary closed door romance. The cover is cute but the male on the front does not match the description of Silas. Thank you to Entangled Publishing for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving a voluntary review.

This was a sweet romcom based in Lansing, Michigan (but starts in Oakland/Bay Area, California) that gave a bit of Legally Blonde mixed with a friends-to-lovers, academic-cohort storyline. I love seeing more books with Black love highlighted and uplifted; I did enjoy the tension between the two leads, Simone and Silas (I just now realized both their names start with S haha!)

I found the premise to be a bit wild (I'm a Virgo, forgive me if I could never, ever make a huge life decision off of a Magic 8 ball) but I mean, so was Legally Blonde haha. I appreciated the small little nods towards that movie, such as the hardass law school teacher of the Contracts class, and Simone totally fumbling her first impression on the first day of class.

There was a joke about micropenises that sort of took me out for a bit because it just feels a bit transphobic and misses the mark a bit. I just don't find humor in those jokes and wish all authors would stop putting these in.

Other than that, it was an enjoyable closed-door romcom with an FMC that you want to succeed, because it's clear she really wants to find a true purpose in life!

A book set in my hometown at my alma mater! I liked the banter and the fact that this was mildly spicy with a minor and not-all-that-devastating miscommunication trope. I'll admit, I'm trying not to be too harsh about the fake place names since I know East Lansing and the surrounding area so well - why couldn't you have just used all real places instead of just some!? I would read from Kristen Alicia again.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Simone suddenly decides to quit her job as a chef and enroll in law school, completely unprepared for the amount of studying and hard work that awaits her.

Reading the synopsis, I expected a fun academic rivals story. This book wasn't that. Simone and Silas become friends immediately but Silas turns out to be academically competitive and they end up fighting about a certain situation that happens. The fight lasts maybe three chapters before they're back to being friends. That's the only 'academic rivals' part, a tiny speck that left me feeling confused.

The whole law school experience was portrayed nicely, but Simone acted a lot younger than she is. Some of her actions and thoughts felt like she didn't have any experience with the real world. The same applies to Silas -- from being juvenile to being weirdly jealous, I sadly didn't like him. The jealousy trope would have been good if Silas wasn't doing too much while they were only friends, and if he wasn't so aggressive with it. Also, only a few chapters in, there was a weird comment when Simone met his friend, Keith, about her feeling a spark between her and Keith which kept me guessing if there's supposed to be a love triangle (there isn't).

Overall, it left me feeling pretty meh about everything -- the story, the writing, the characters and the romance. However, I can still see other readers enjoying this story as it was easy to read and kind of cute. My expectations were probably too high and focused on the wrong aspects.

I had a hard time getting through this, it didn't keep my attention like I needed it to for me to truly enjoy the book

If you’re looking for a cozy book to read, this is it. I really enjoyed the book. I was smiling throughout it and fell in love with each character. Kristen did a great job developing each character, giving up the background of them easy as well, and made me fall in love with each one! The plot was easy to follow and cute. I definitely recommend reading this book! Crossing my fingers for a follow up book! Simone is my fave!

Here's the thing - I like to go in blind, be it a book or a movie. I rarely read the blurb/synopsis and I mostly just go with the feeling, even when requesting ARCs. In this case, the cover promised so much fun and I always have an eye out for debuts! So, I read the prologue and the whole Magic 8 ball thing gave me huge rom-com vibes. And imagine my surprise when I dropped it after five chapters. HOWEVER.

I guess it was one of those books where I couldn't rest without finding how things turned out. So I picked right where I left off (glad I did) and it took me five more chapters to completely get into the story, and then! I found myself thoroughly enjoying the second half of the book! Little did I know; it was worth a read, after all 😌

Silas and Simone were really cute and had enough chemistry to get the feels. AIthough I did wish for more of the law school dynamics, this book sure brings back some college/career-switching memories! Also, the writing is really good and Alicia is definitely on my radar 🤩

Also, "California" (for a gal) and "Cookie" (for a guy) are among the cutest nicknames I've come across 🫠

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁: If my life choices were in the hands of a Magic 8 ball, I'd be like "Should I swim with 'The Meg'?" and it'd be like "All signs point to yes." 🪄

A sweet and fun closed door romance with a very entertaining premise. I would definitely read more from this author!

this book has:
- friends/neighbours to lovers
- slow(ish) burn

after quitting her culinary job, simone decides to make a big change & go to law school at the behest of a magic 8-ball answer. she discovers how challenging & competitive law school is, especially due to one particular teacher who seems to single her out. simone becomes fast friends with silas, her neighbour & fellow law student.

actual rating: 3.5 ☆

i love reading books where the fmc makes a big life/career change but this one fell really flat for me. i found most, if not all of the characters to be unlikable, especially simone as she was a bit judgemental & saying things then immediately doing/wanting the opposite. silas was kinda boring & i didn't feel any chemistry between the leads & wasn't really rooting for them to be together because i couldn't tell why they even liked each other.

tw: strained parent/child relationship, child neglect, death of a grandparent

thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was so very fortunate to get this ARC of the amazing book! As a lawyer and romance lover I was thrilled. This book was set during the first year of law school - the premise being two students falling in love - and everything was spot on and reminded me of my experience. I can’t wait for this to release so law school and non-law school friends can fall in love with the plot like an did.

Thank you NetGalley and Enchanted Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book. Girl quitting her job and starting over, but I was not a fan of the main character whatsoever. She somehow didn’t realise how hard law school was going to be because she only studied for 3 weeks before taking the LSATs? It just felt unrealistic to me that she would be so clueless all of the time which was super frustrating!

I didn’t end up finishing book, and got to 50% before I had to put it down after the FMC got upset at the MMC for something that happened in class when it wasn’t his fault.

There was no chemistry between them and I struggled to get through it.

DNF at 25%

For someone who got into law school, Simone seemed really clueless. I felt like the author was trying too hard to mimic Legally Blonde and Elle’s character. Simone even mentions this: “Tiffany has taken to calling me Elle, after Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. She wasn’t wrong exactly, but to my credit, at least I hadn’t chased a man to school.” The last part is true, but other situations and personalities were like reading Legally Blonde fan fiction.

3.5 Stars
Simone changes the whole trajectory of her life with the shake of a Magic 8 ball.
She's unprepared for the new challenges in her life.
Simone was not my favorite character. She had such a woe is me attitude and gave minimum effort.
I enjoyed the secondary characters. They didn't let her get away with giving the bare minimum.
Silas was a very good book boyfriend.
This book was very slow paced.

2.5 ⭐ I'm finally done with this book!

It's taken me so long to finish this. I'm usually done with my books within 1 to 2 days, but this one... This one was taking my will to live with it.

It's a closed door romance who focuses on Simone, a 26 year-old Cali girl that moves to the middle on nowhere US to go to Law School, and the friends she makes along the way. One of her besties/ wannabe-more-but-we-refuse-to-talk-about-it is Silas, this guy that under every definition (including the mc's), is cute and tall, but mid. So why are they together, you ask? Great question!

I don't know. I don't get why these two get together. They like each other fine, I guess, but why? They behave as friends for over half of the book, with no romantic entanglement. They single POV made this odd too, because she's always going back and forth on her thoughts and feelings about literally everything: law school, her friends, moving away and leaving her job, Silas... Also, I don't know who the dude on the cover is, but it's definitely not Silas. He's described as light-skinned to the point of almost white-passing, and he's always in funky T-shirts. His way of 'dressing up' were jeans lol. So yeah, the guy in the cover is someone else. Maybe Keith (?)

I'm giving this 2.5 stars: one for the all-black characters, and one for promoting POC women in stressful, successful, difficult career paths. And that half one because I thought Silas family drama was entertaining and interesting. But that's it. Half of the things that happen in this book are very Legally Blonde-but-not-really, and most of the tension between the mc and the romantic interest hinges on miscommunication and bad timing.

⭐⭐.5 / 5
0.5 / 5 🌶️

Thank you so much Net Galley for providing me with an eARC to review!

This review has already been uploaded to Goodreads! :)

I wondered if I would stop right at the beginning, during the very first class. The summary does say "For Legally Blonde fans", not "Warning, you will literally find the encounter with Nemesis Professor in a near-similar scene". This really turned me off. However, I figured the point of Legally Blonde is that Elle Woods goes to law school to get her boyfriend back, but ends up with a new boyfriend, makes a friend of an enemy and solves a criminal case. So I still had high expectations for this story.

What a disappointment! Other than following Simone as she procrastinates on her feelings for Silas and improves her relationship with the Contracts professor... nothing happens. It's cute, not unpleasant to read (although it took me a week... which is still a sign that I wasn't hooked), but nothing happens. The only reason Simone and Silas aren't together is because Simone wants to focus on her studies (but preferably Silas doesn't chase after other girls, and waits patiently for Simone to be ready and available for her whenever she has a dip or needs something).

There is no conflict (despite a nice attempt with Silas's mother that is very unpleasant but doesn't prevent their relationship, so it doesn't help in truth).

Thanks to Netgalley and Entangled Amara for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.