2.5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

The insta-love. The INSTA-LOVE.

I went into this book completely blind. I haven't been an active user of Wattpad for a while, but upon browsing Netgalley, seeing the premise, and the cute cover, I decided to give this book a fair shot and it was about as much as I could expect from a wattpad novel to be very frank.

My main problem? The complete lack of build-up to any sort of chemistry and the rush of it all. The dialouge between the characters were so majorly cringy, making me question who talks like that in real life. I know that our librarian MC is supposed to be a bit bubbly, but I genuinely felt like I was reading through the eyes of a juvenile. There was no deep connection to why the characters like each other, no understanding of why someone like Vincent would like someone like Kendall, just straight physical attraction, being horny, and so much miscommunication.

It tries and fails to be meta-humourous as well, having Kendall and her friends attempt to make fun of their "tropes" and breaking out of said tropes, but the jokes fall flat because they lean into those tropes anyways. The main character even says a line like "I am like other girls! I make a point to!"

Honey. You are most definitely "I am not like other girls!". This woman instigated so much unnecessary stupid things in this book that I didn't even find it enough in me to care when she owned up to things in the end because all the things she did could have been so majorly avoided.

Completely unecessary plot devices say what?

The whole "what do we hate most in books? Miscommunication" dialouge between our lead and her friends and then having the book do more miscommunication was just so distastefully done. It could have been done in a more ironic way, but it just- wasn't?

It's a great piece of advice not to let people define us and let us get caught in our stereotypes but it wasn't given the care or development it needed in this book. I don't know, the humour there just felt forced and more like the author giving us a wink saying "I know what I'm playing into!".

I almost DNF'd. Purely didn't do that because I needed to see how this book ended.

Listen, all the little pieces to make a cute little college story were there, I just felt none of them were executed well.

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Thank you again to Netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a romance novel about a romance reader, and it was about what you'd expect. Lots of self-acknowledged cliches, lots of open-door scenes, lots of internal and external drama. I've already forgotten the characters' names, but it was a quick, breezy read.

LOVED this from beginning to end. cannot wait for what annie crown does! this was like reading a REALLY good fic that i would desperately wait weeks and weeks on end for an update for. read it in one sitting. 10/10 had so much fun reading this

Ill be honest I did not like this. the female character got on my nerves. I found this cringe and this book was just not for me.

This one was so much fun to read. It was cute and spicy and all around feel good. I really enjoyed Kendall as the MC. She was very relatable and I loved how she put everything in her life into bookish tropes to understand it better. Vincent was just an absolute prince. I honestly would have loved some chapters from his POV, but I was definitely okay just reading from Kendall’s. This book was very heavy into the miscommunication trope, but I loved how it was resolved each time. I also really liked how vulnerable Kendall and Vincent got with each other, especially during the spicy scenes. I think a lot of readers are going to enjoy this one and I can’t wait to see more reviews of it.

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad Webtoon Group for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

A quick but fun one (that’s what she said) - but a cute and kick your feet up romcom if you’re looking for a flirty lil book!

Thank you to the NetGalley team for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

tropes:
🌷book lover x sports player
🌷opposites attract
🌷tutoring trope

It took me a little while to put this review together, solely because I was struggling to put into words how much I enjoyed this book. Night Shift was an enjoyable and fast paced romance (with very good spice👀) that I found really easy to follow.

Victor is the definition of a golden retriever boyfriend and Kendall is a romantic and head strong female main character that I easily related to from the start. And you know as a book lover, reading a sports romance that involves a fellow book lover is just 🤌🏻

The couples story is adorable without leaning too far into unbelievably sappy - and harbours actual realistic characters (a real winner for me). Honestly my only negative takeaway from this book was that I wanted MORE, which as far as book reviews go is actually very high praise. If you enjoy shorter and swoon worthy romance books then I highly recommend Night Shift ✨🫶🏻

Thank you to Annie Crown for sending me an advanced copy of this book before its paperback release next month, is it acceptable for me to request a sequel? 👀

Night Shift by Annie Crown checks all the boxes - sports romance, witty banter, excellent communication between characters, fantastic spice, and beautiful character growth. Following Kendall and Vincent put my emotions through the ringer in the best possible way. I laughed with them, cried with them, giggled over them, started sweating and made sure no one was reading over my shoulder....
This was such a feel good read. It had everything I was looking for and more, and there's no doubt it'll be a fan favourite.

3/5
The FMC was sooo reletable. I loved that she is a fellow romance reader. And the MMC is actually reading said books so that he can understand her better. He is GOALS.
However, I didn't like the fact that we have tropes like miscommunication and instant love. The story felt way to rushed for me.

Night Shift by Annie Crown

Rating: 3.9 stars

Synopsis: Kendall Holiday is our bookish FMC that likes to spend her Friday nights volunteering in the library. She spends this time reading her spicy romance novels and just enjoy the peace and quiet. Until one Friday night, she ends up living her romance novel, when the college basketball star, Vincent Knight, shows up in the library.

Things I loved:
1. Vincent Knight is just sooo extremely likeable. He is funny, thoughtful, and extremely caring.
2. I love how relatable the Kendall is. I see myself in her as a romance lover!
3. Love LOVE Love the groveling!!! I really enjoyed the creativity and just how fresh it was!

Things that I didn't like:
1. I know I said I love how relatable Kendall is, but maybe a little too relatable? hahaha. She ends up in her head a lot which is sooo relatable and realistic. Sometimes, her insecurities really took me out of the story. It was like reading about myself.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange of an honest review!

This was a really cute and quick read. I adored the chemistry between them and seeing a sports romance with a basketball player lead. Him teasing her about her trashy romances was so on point, this book is definitely for romance fans.

I think there was some great room for character growth in this book. Kendall is a lot like most bookworms where people call us out for having unreal expectations of men, and thinking everything is the potential for a trope. And while sometimes these things can be true, the level Kendall took it to left her friends with room to call her out and show her where she was going wrong. I think this will be a great book for anyone that loves books and wants a cute, fluffy romance with a bit of diversity and discussions around tropes.

What a cute and fun read! I can definitely see why this book is a TikTok sensation. My patrons will eat this one up!

This was my first Wattpad book and it did not disappoint. This was a fast paced and witty novel that did not hold back on the spice. The downfall for me was how the relationship seemed to go from 0-100 too fast which made it seem like insta-love. I would have appreciated some more development in their actual connection since it seemed to come out of nowhere. This really made me nostalgic for my college years and the banter had me actually laughing out loud. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley & Kindle Edition for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Omg, did I love this sweet college romance! I don’t think I’ve ever read a book before with a FMC who was an avid reader. I saw so much of myself in Kendall, which made me love this story even more.

Kendall is happy to spend her Friday nights taking the over night shift at her college library, rather than getting dressed up and heading out to party like everyone else at school. In the library she feels safe surrounded by books, where she can spend the late evenings cozied up in her latest romance novel.

But her life turns into a real life romance novel when Vincent the star of the college basketball team strolls in during her shift one Friday evening. After she walks him upstairs to the corner with British poetry, things begin to heat up and they hook up. But after a few miscommunications, a birthday party gone wrong, and Kendall doubting that Vincent could ever desire her, things are a mess.

Before we’re delivered their happily ever after, we see two individuals change and grow into the people they both need most. Watching their relationship come to fruition felt very real, and let’s be honest the spice was just too good.

If your someone who loves to get lost in the pages of a good romance book, you have to pick this one up. It’ll have you finally feeling seen!!! Also, would love to mention I totally could see this book becoming a series where we get to see the rest of their friend group find love. Hint hint: first up can we have Jabari and Harper’s story please?!

I freaking loved this book! I am so sad it was so short. But it's okay. It was worth it!
I love the growth of both characters and holy moly... the spice. Was freaking fantastic! Such a great book. I already want to read it again.

I liked the idea of the couple but for someone who hates miscommunication so much this didn’t mesh. I had issues with some of the timing.

I absolutely devoured this book. I loved it! It was a sweet coming of age/new adult book with the most relatable main characters. Overall, 3.5 ⭐️ and then I rounded up!

Kendall, our FMC, is a book work and introvert who feels most comfortable with her closest friends and in her books. I feel seen with this character…I loved everything about her. There was awkward moments that were so true to real life.

Vincent, the MMC, is just as lovable as Kendall. He’s the introverted extrovert. And the perfect person for Kendall.

There were for sure a few spicy moments in this one. And there were some moments of extreme miscommunication…..but such a fun read!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Wattpad Webtoon Book Group, and Annie Crown for allowing me to read this ARC!

Absolutely so cute! The cover is the first thing that grabbed my attention but once I started reading I couldn’t put it down! So relatable and honestly had me in stitches at some points! 100% recommend!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

So, congrats to the author for being able to get this published.
I hate the miscommunication trope, it felt overdone. There was also so much smut towards the end that it was hard to finish it.

But the author had a great pace through the whole book and it was a fast and easy read.

This was SO CUTE. I honestly am not usually the biggest fan of college romance. For me, it’s too close to YA, and it just doesn’t do it for me.
This though, I loved the pacing, and the way the main character was self aware about the tropes she was falling in to. That will probably annoy some readers, but I loved it. I wish we’d had even more interactions with the roommates and the other side characters, but it seems like they’re getting their own books, so we’ll probably see more of them there. The spice was super spicy, and actually took up a good percentage of the book. I enjoyed that it was so consent based, and that there was so much focus on mutual enjoyment.
Overall, very much a win, and I’m thankful to NetGalley and the author for the chance to read this before it comes out!