Cute romance book with a lot of wittiness and likable characters. Quick read. Simple to understand and connect the main character. Nothing amazing within the story but cute and to the point.

This was pretty cute. I think the chemistry between the main characters was the best part of the whole story. The premise was kind of interesting, but I didn't love the prologue or the magic 8-ball thing. It seemed realistic for a spur of the moment career change to not be as prepared, and I liked that Simone eventually decided she was worth it and invested more time into herself and her studies. I don't think Keith was necessary for the story. I also wished there was more spice! I know this was a closed door romance, but the slow burn was so good and I just wanted to read about it when they finally got together! There were some instances the law school elements were a little too real lol but I understand why it was included so in-depth! I also loved the supporting characters, and thought they made the book so much better. I really wish we'd gotten Silas' POV. I felt like there were some things kept hidden on purpose and there was never a true reveal from him, but if we'd had his perspective it would've helped round him out even more. He was great though. Overall this was cute!

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the e-arc.

2.5 stars

the first word i would to describe this book is random. its random, quirky, and entertaining.

the whole plot was based on the mc using a magic 8 ball to pave and determine her future. if that isn’t unrealistic and random, i don’t know what it. i didn’t particularly connect with either of the main characters or the plot, and the most enjoyable thing about this book was just that it was so entertaining. even though i dont like the characters, i thought they were so hilarious and in the most unironic way.
so in all, the book was still a good break from reality and an enjoyable reading experience.

thank you netgallery & entangled publishing for this e-arc!!

If you are a huge fan of romcoms then this book is right up your alley!

When the book starts, we meet Simone, who works as a fed-up young chef who quits her job and ultimately uses a magic eight ball to make a big life-changing decision which turns out to be going to law school in Michigan from sunny California. As shes moving in with her fiery best friend River and her parents help, she meets Silas another first year law student and someone who you can tell from the VERY beginning has a LOT of chemistry with Simone, although there’s a lot of will they won’t be in the story mostly because Silas (the gentleman he is) wants to make sure Simone succeeds in her first year of law school while shes continuously doubts herself due to her own/other 1L students expectations of law school and the ultimate prospect of those coveted Summer Associate positions. While I would've loved a POV from Silas, the entire story is so well written, so witty and just an all around feel good, happily ever after romantic comedy!

I'm going to be honest, I didn't really like this book. I wasn't a fan of Simone I thought she was selfish and naïve especially when it came to going to law school. The story itself is pretty good but I found the law school portion boring. Which is on me, I've never really been a fan of law so that's 100% on me for wanting to read this book. It just took me a while to get through. If you're a fan of Legally Blonde or any Law/Legal movies and shows, this book will be better for you. There's a slow burn between the 2 leads but the pace that is set makes it very believable.

review will also be posted on Goodreads 4/25/23

Thank you so much for the eARC for my honest review.

"You're not like anyone I've ever met before. You're quirky, a little neurotic, funny, smart, and like that wasn't enough, you're gorgeous. Simone, I adore everything about you, and I've tried to respect your decision to be friends, but I'm over it. I don't want to just be your friend."

-law school in Michigan, first dates, friends to lovers 📚📑👩‍💻
-Simone quits her job as a chef and ends up in law school all thanks to the help of a magic 8 ball
-has a love hate relationship with her cute neighbour/classmate in law school
-Simone deciding to quit as a chef so she doesn’t have “to miss another big event with the people I love” but then going into law might not be the most logical idea. Maybe I am just nitpicking the details but law school wouldn’t be the solution
-props to Simone for doing what she thought was best for her though, takes a lot to quit your stable job and admit that you were unhappy 🩷
-the read was easy and quick without unnecessary drama but I didn’t find myself really rooting for the couple
-thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for this ARC ✨ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

We follow Simone, a former chef who, after consulting a magic 8 ball, left her profession to go to law school. There, she might Silas, and the two of them became aware of their shared internal conflict over whether enrolling in law school was the proper decision. This book briefly explores family dynamics, empowering black women and self discovery.

The writing is straightforward but engaging. I must admit that it took me a little longer to get into the book but once I was fully immersed I couldn’t put it down. Not every character was written or developed in a strong way.

Simone, the FMC, was insufferable and I found myself leaning more towards the secondary characters. Professor Patton is one of the characters that was beautifully written and had fantastic character development. Keith appeared to be an afterthought that was merely added to generate a little drama and who fell short in various circumstances.

Even though it is a romance novel, Simone proved throughout the eintire book that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to if you put in the effort. I really like how it implied that if one or both of your parents were not impressed with you growing up, you would likely turn out to be someone who seeks outside validation.

What Simone and Silas went through is relatable— not the law part, but feeling like you made the wrong choice and it will later come back to haunt you.

If you liked legally blonde you’ll absolutely love this one.

Oh this is a closed door romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for giving me a copy in exchange of an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️
thanks NetGalley for the arc ! It was a really cute romance, I felt the pace sometimes to fast but it was okay, some unnecessary miscommunication but hey I didn’t die.

I really enjoyed reading this, it was a really quick and light read. It was super relateable and is just a really enjoyable read. It’s one of those more adult books with adult characters, but has the tone of YA books. It’s not spicy and reminds me of rom-coms and chickflicks.

Simone is so lost, she doesn’t know what she’s doing and is just trying to navigate her life one day at a time. I loved that we saw her struggles in university, it made her more relatable. But she’s an absolute mess for someone in law school. I love her growth by the end, I just wish we got to see the progression a little more and the steps she took to get there with more detail.

Silas is a really interesting guy. He knows what he wants and he gets it. He works hard and is patient, I’m not surprised to see a guy like him in this situation. I really loved his character, I thought he was super well done and a perfect balance for Simone. He’s the type of guy I would totally fall for in real life.

It was a super fun and relatable read. I’d recommend it to people who enjoy Christina Lauren, Emily Henry and Sally Thorne books.

Rating: 3.5ish/ 5 stars
Thanks you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Simone quits or loses her job as a chef and decides, on the whim of a magic 8 ball, to go to law school and is as the blurb states woefully underprepared. Silas her neighbor and fellow law student is interested in her from the start and they spend quite a bit of time together studying and hanging out.

This book was alright. The story felt random and disjointed at some points. I didn't really fell a lot of chemistry between the two main characters which was disappointing. Thinking back, it might have been a lack of communication between them and a few misunderstandings that the heroine didn't try to work through. She just made assumptions and ran with them instead of talking to Silas.

I also didn't really like how her best friend in law school was just dropped from her life and the story for the entire last half of the book. Either they are important to the story or they just shouldn't be in the story at all. There was also some language in the story I didn't care for and it had quite a slow start.

i was excited to read this book because the premise of a woman in her late 20s reevaluating her career and changing career path on a whim appealed to me, but unfortunately the book fell flat.

i liked simone, but i would’ve liked her more if she wasn’t embarrassing herself every single chapter and if she was a little less judgmental. to me, it felt like her personality and her circumstances didn’t mesh well together. this made it difficult for me to connect with her and root for her. but her struggles with academia and feeling miles behind her peers was really relatable and i admired her perseverance!

in terms of the romance… there was a complete lack of chemistry between simone and silas. they were never empathetic towards each other, didn’t communicate well and didn’t understand each other at all, so to me they did not make sense as a couple.

i really loved tiffany!! she was probably the most interesting character. i would love to read more about her.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of You've Been Served by Kristen Alicia!

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book because certain wording choices ("exotic" and "WASPy" were used to describe characters) made me uncomfortable and turned me off from the book. That aside I believe the story is intriguing but in need of an editor to cut some of the unnecessary details.

It's a cute book and I'm sure a lot of people into romcoms will really enjoy it. It's well written and cozily soft but I jumped into it seeing law school mentioned in a book and realized I'm still not a fan of romcoms, so will not finish. But again, cute all around for someone.

This was fun but not my favorite romance. I love an academia setting and the MMC was definitely swoon worthy. I was expecting more banter and romance but this felt more like a "finding yourself" storyline. I wanted more spice and connection between the characters.

Wow! I loved everything about this book! Thank you Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for sending me this awesome read by Kristen Alicia! This book took me back to my college days but it gave me a college romance with adults in their twenties so that made it a more mature read. The love story of Simone and Silas AKA California and Cookie. A slow burn passionate read. This book was so much more than a love story. The elements of Women Empowerment was also heavy in this book. Definitley a must read! Can't wait to read more from this author.

I was in a reading slump when I started reading this book so I unfortunately did not finish it. The beginning that I did read was good, but I didn't have the drive to finish it.

I didn’t care about the restaurant or what was happening in it or why the patron didn’t like the sauce. Very slow start and I couldn’t get into it. The entire scene could have been summed up with one line of exposition later in the book. I stopped at 3%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC.

I think the main characters needed to be a little flushed out more. Overall, this was a cute story and I enjoyed it when I was reading it. I just felt that the characters work very deep and kind of superficial.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

ARC review — 3.5 stars! This was a cute story but I feel like the main character needed more character development. You find yourself loving the secondary characters more and wanting to know more about them like Rivy and Tiffany! I also would have loved to hear Silas POV. I love dual POVs but this was just the FMC POV. A slow burn for sure, they don’t officially get together until almost the end of the book. The ending was sweet but I would’ve wanted to know a little more, more resolution since it ended up quite abruptly.