3.5 ⭐️

Thank you so much, @netgalley for my ARC from an author I really enjoy!

I’m a big fan of Sophie Sullivan. She writes kind, well developed characters, interesting side characters, and HEAs that are exactly what you needed but not quite what you expected.

Love, Naturally had all of those things. The chapters were quick, the romance was sweet, and the small town was everything I could ask for.

The biggest kickers for me in this, though, were the insta-love and the closed door romance. I’m not knocking those! If that’s your jam, then this will be a five star read for you. I, however, could have used a longer timeline and a little more 🔥 to make the romance come alive.

This is a great book to pick up if you like short, sweet romances, found family, opposites attract and insta love.

This is my first book of Sophie Sullivan’s, and it certainly won’t be my last! First read of the year coming in at 4.5 ⭐️

I connected with the FMC, Presley, much more than I expected. Not usually a huge fan of the insta-love trope but the pacing, setting, and overall writing style was right up my alley.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I receive a copy of this for my honest review.

This is a sweet book where our city girl FMC ends up going on a dream outdoorsy vacation for 2 by herself, when she breaks up with her boyfriend an hour before having to be at the airport. Instead of wallowing, she decides she is going to step out of her comfort zone and try new things. She meets our MMC on the ferry to the island, and it turns out he and his family owns the resort. The two have an instant connection, and he even offers her his cabin when her rooms AC doesn't work. As she tries new activities, with him leading the way, she is also helping out his family with ways to help the resort. They fall hard for each other - but know that there is an end date.

Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan is my first book of 2024. I love how Sophie writes a heartfelt story with characters who feel genuine. Presley ends up breaking up with her ex and then goes on the surprise birthday trip she planned for him. Besides suddenly being alone, the bad part is that she has to be outdoors doing activities she's not fond of. She meets Beckett, whose family runs the Get Lost lodge on an island in Lake Michigan. This was an insta-love, small-town, forced proximity; opposites attract romance story. This is also a closed-door romance for those wondering. Overall, I enjoyed this story. I'm just not a huge insta-love fan.

This was such a fun read! MC Presley was on a solo-trip to Get Lost Lodge after her (ex) boyfriend told her he would rather vacation with anyone other than her. YIKES.

What she thought would be a disaster turned out to be the trip of a lifetime. She tried all kinds of new outdoor activities…and enjoyed them! She also got holed up with Hot Mountain Man, Beckett after the heat in her room wasn’t working which we couldn’t complain about! Presley and Beckett were couple goals and everyone could see it — so much so, Beckett’s sister Jill started telling people they were dating. They did the whole 10 day fling and developed feelings real fast. Feelings for each other and for the family that Presley had found and quickly became part of. She was happier than ever with these people and acclimating to life at home without them after the trip was going to suck.

As usual, Sophie Sullivan created a world that the reader couldn’t help but fall in love with! I loved the small town of Smile and the people in it were equally as delightful! I really hope to see more from this town.

Did Not Finish at 60% (page 218)

I was actually really excited to see our main character, Presley, get her life changed by this book at the beginning.

Love, Naturally opens with Presley surprising her boyfriend with a ten day trip to a fishing lodge for his birthday. She doesn’t like fishing (or nature), but she knows he really does, and she thinks he’ll really love it.

But then he says their relationship isn’t as serious as she thinks it is and asks to bring a friend instead of her, so she walks out and takes the trip for herself.

Unfortunately, after this first scene, the rest of this book took a nosedive for me.

Presley meets a guy, Beckett, and the two instantly fall in love with each other. I don’t mind a bit of instant attraction (sometimes people are hot, and I respect that), but this was seriously insta-love. When you’re bending over backwards to accommodate someone you’ve barely met? When you’ve only known each other for a couple days, but you’re already wondering how you’ll be able to live without them when this trip is over?

Yikes.

I actually ended up having a few days where I was too busy to read, and when I came back to this book, I read about 5-10 more pages before deciding I couldn’t possibly read a single word more. The thought of finishing this book had me stressed, so I decided to DNF it instead.

Small town romance, city girl/fish out of water, insta love. Cute and sweet. But closed door. I enjoyed the dual POV, quick and easy reading.

I received this as an arc from NetGalley. I was hooked at the very beginning. Presley plans a surprise getaway for her boyfriend. He ends up being a jerk about the gift and wants to take someone else on the trip. This trip was meant for her to learn to love the things that he loved to do. She ends up going on her own and is completely out of her element.
Beckett's family owns Get Lost Lodge and he is on the boat that takes them to the island. He immediately can tell that she is out of her element. He gives up his cottage for her at the beginning of her trip when her room is not guest ready. He teaches her how to fish, leads hikes and soon begins to really care about her. The other guests and her begin to form friendships and they all become so close. Presley begins to help his family with updating their lodge.
Presley is just out of a relationship and throughout the book, she begins to realize that she deserves more. She builds a relationship with his family and the other guests.
I don't normally discuss books with my boyfriend, but this book got me. My boyfriend and I were actually on vacation, while I read this book. I was telling him about the boyfriend's reaction, and he got mad with me. As I continued the book, he kept asking me how the book was. I loved telling him about the characters and how this was one of the best books I have read in a while.
I am definitely going to recommend this for our library purchase order. I will be buying my own copy for my personal library, as well.

I can't wait to read more by Sophie Sullivan!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it just wasn’t for me. It’s in third person, which isn’t my favorite and I did find many of the parts quick cringeworthy, but that’s just me. I did however like the side characters and I definitely like the small town/ island setting. Overall, this book was iffy but I recommend if you like third person or haven’t read much romance.

Unfortunately too many things bothered me to make this a successful romantic escapism book. I know they first chapter is supposed to paint Presley’s boyfriend (now ex) in bad light, but honestly, it seemed like she had known where he was in the relationship and trying to force him to move forward and then being mad when he didn’t want to is on Presley. She should have had honest conversations with him instead of planning a ten-day trip 8 months into their relationship.

And then, Beckett gives his cabin to Presley when her AC is broken in her lodge room but there also three other open lodge rooms (according to Beckett’s own breakdown of what’s available)? This makes no sense and honestly, as a single woman, I would be very concerned if the owner of a lodge I was staying at did this.

After these two things, it was hard to root for either of these protagonists.

I received an advanced copy from netgalley in return for an honest review.

I devoured this opposites attract romance in one evening - it was that enjoyable! When influencer and hotel concierge Presley is dumped moments after surprising her boyfriend with a trip to a fishing lodge, she decides to step out of her comfort zone and make the trip herself. Handsome mountain man, Beckett, and his family are the perfect antidote.

I LOVED this book - especially sweet Ollie's comic relief. "Thirst trap" had me in stitches.

I hope (and suspect) Sophie will continue the story and provide happily ever afters to Gray and Jilly as well. I will definitely look forward to returning to Smile and getting lost.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first 50% of this book. The main characters are interesting and likeable. Presley is a type A , super organized person. She is trying to get promoted to a management position at a chic boutique hotel. She is into fine dining, shopping, and the fine things in life but is also very romantic. Beckett is a ruggedly handsome guy, who loves outdoor activities and the tranquility of nature.

They get thrown together when she gets dumped and goes solo to the rustic fishing lodge that Beckett family owns and runs.

I loved Beckett family and the other guests. The setting was great, and I loved how Presley threw herself into all the outdoor activities that were new to her. I loved the fun social media component, and the charming/quirky village of Smile that reminds me of Grand Marais, Minnesota. I think the author is great at writing sweet, funny rom-coms.

What I didn’t like though, was the insta-love between the two main characters. Although I love rom-coms, insta-love is my least favourite troupe. I just can’t buy it.

If you enjoy insta-love, rom-coms and fish out of water situations than this one’s for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

- Opposites attract
- Small town romance
- Insta love
- Closed door relationship

When Presley Ayers decides to surprise her boyfriend with a trip to a fishing lodge, she is met with her boyfriend not wanting to be “stuck” with her! After dumping her (ex)boyfriend, Presley makes the best of a bad situation and decides to go to the lodge on her own. Except…Presley hates the outdoors. Once at the Get Lost Fishing Lodge, she meets Beckett Keller and the two quickly form a connection. With Beckett’s family being the owners of the lodge, he is quick to help Presley to her cabin. Quickly, these two become inseparable… but they only have 10 days together.
Presley and Beckett try to make the most out of their short time together while they each face hardships of their own.

This was such a cute and easy read! I’m usually not a big fan of insta love but the connection between these two was too good! I loved seeing Beckett pull Presley out of her comfort zone. Not only were the two main characters so easy to love, but so were the side characters! Between other lodge guests, Beckett’s family, and the locals in town, there were so many enjoyable characters that added so much to this story!! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cozy, quick read.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this e-ARC! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was the perfect feel good read!
Presley had a plan. She’s going to show her boyfriend what a good girlfriend she is and she just knows it will move their relationship forward. All is going well until he acts like himself and she ends up going on a trip by herself.
That act of defiance sets in motion a series of events that will change several lives for the better - including Presley herself.
Presley and leading man Beckett are almost too sweet to be real, but I loved them together and the way these two strangers seemed to mesh and provide each other with the support to find out who they both really were.
Add in a fantastic secondary cast of siblings, friends, and a completely awesome town and this was a book world I wanted to stay in. I only hope there is more to come from Smile, the Keller siblings, and Get Lost Lodge!

I'm sad to say that I had to DNF this book around 50%. The writing style was so repetitive that I honestly couldn't take it anymore. I know this is a romance, but the amount of times this author used a cheesy cliché to describe what was happening in a character. Heart became a bit nauseating to me.

These are all just in the first HALF of this book;

-her heart felt full
-Beckett’s heart melted
-Her heart lurched in sync
-Those words slipped over her heart and squeezed
-made his heart shift in his chest.
-could a woman’s laugh curl inside a heart
-heart to beat so hard
-heart was already beating like a hopped-up humming bird
-her heart flip-flopped
-untied the knots around her heart
-made another notch in her heart
-her heart gave a painful hiccup
-Beckett’s heart muscles tightened
-his heart fishtailed
-She’d taken high school science, so she knew that her heart couldn’t actually grow in her chest
-Presley’s heart bounced around in her chest
-Presley’s heart warmed
-Her heart filled and soared like a balloon with no limits
-she made his heart feel like it was full of sunshine
-Beckett’s heart feel like it had claws jammed in it
-her heart full-on lurched in her chest when she faced him
-Her heart muscles tweaked
-her heart jumping like a jackrabbit on speed.
-heart nearly melted into a puddle
-Beckett’s heart pinched
-Beckett’s heart gave a happy wobble
-curled like vines around her heart
-Presley felt a sharp pinch in her heart
-her heart nearly catapulted out of her chest
-her heart was waging a war, trying to bust out of her chest
-her heart skipped again
-her heart danced
-Presley’s heart sighed inside of her chest
-Emotions pulled tight strings around her heart
-his heart felt like it was being squeezed in the fist of a giant

The story itself wasn't engaging to me at all and when you added this kind of repetitive cliché writing, I just couldn't continue reading.

Thanks to St. Martin'g Griffin for an advanced copy of Love, Naturally by Sophie Sullivan.

This is a fun romance about Presley who books a surprise vacation for her and her boyfriend, only for her boyfriend to break up with her when she tells him about the surprise to go to the Get Lost lodge on an island in Lake Michigan. So she decides to go on the trip herself. She is stepping waaaaay outside her comfort zone when she starts to fall for Beckett who is helping his brother run the lodge...

This was cute, but very insta-love. I did like the siblings and of course Ollie! This book has a great cast of characters and a great small town/found family vibe.

I enjoyed it but it was a quick and happy read after I laughed at the super insta-love.

This was such a wonderful quick read! Presley and Beckett have been through more than their fair share, and seeing them find each other and themselves was just perfect! I hope Sophie gives us more from this world, the side characters need to find their happy, too! I will definitely be recommending this to everyone! Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sweet book that I enjoyed reading while on vacation as it didn’t require a lot of thinking but did bring enjoyment!

The instant love was a bit over the top at times and it was hard to believe this entire book took place over 2 weeks. However, I think the idea was cute and I did enjoy the people and community that was in Smile!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a fan of Hallmark movies, I believe this will be a great read for you. This book is very much a *fling*. The romance is surface-level and takes place over a very brief vacation. Although I did not find myself getting caught up in the love story due to it's lack of depth and character development, I can definitely say that there were several times where I caught myself smiling while reading. The writing reminded me a lot of a YA coming of age fiction in which the main character "discovers herself" and ends up exploring a new version of herself while falling in love along the way, yet nothing that life-changing really happened (although the main character referred to everything as life-changing). Without including any spoilers, I would just say there are a lot of repeated conversations that make me question the intimacy between the main characters that we are constantly told is there (rather that something you can just feel from reading). I would have loved to see real growth in the characters because there was a lot of potential for it. 3.5 stars 🤍

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book!

I had a difficult time relating to the characters in Love, Naturally, and found it hard to connect to the story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this novel.