Tropes: Stem Romance, slow burn, found family, he falls first, no 3rd act breakup, MMC is a single guardian, grumpy MMC/sunshine FMC

I was very excited to get this book. I love both Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey and this book stated it was for fans of these two authors. The cover is also so beautiful I’d want to read it just for that. Give Me Butterflies did not disappoint. I got the best Ali hazelwood’s vibes with the stem aspects of this book. The banter was really good. The romance is sweet however this book had a deeper layer as Millie deals with life after her abusive ex. Finn deals with the death of his sister and taking care of her daughters by himself.

What I didn’t like:
I’m not a big fan of epilogues. I just finished this whole book I don’t want a large chapter that’s telling me ‘oh look how happy they are.’ If the book had a happy ending I know that. This book has two. TWO Epilogues. If it’s that important to the story it should be part of the actually story.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Avon books for giving me an ARC of this book for a honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for sending me this book before it re-enters the world!

I thought the idea behind this book was super cute and, when I requested it, I was super excited to read something a little bit romantic and sciency and maybe even a bit cheesy. It was all of these things, but I still don't think it worked all that much for me. I think the characteristics of this book were a little too in-your-face. By this, I mean that everything just felt over exaggerated. For example, Finn's "grumpy" personality to Millie's "sunshine" personality were a bit too on the nose and overly stated by the characters. I'm the kind of person who would rather decide who a character is based on action and not their own words or perceptions of themselves, so when describing the main characters I just felt like it wasn't as believable. And, in my opinion, the entire book (from plot, to characters, to everything else) was set up like this and it was super disappointing.

I think this book will be for some people, just not me.
Still thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for sending this advanced copy to me!

I adored this! Millie, the cheerful entomology curator, is determined to snag the department director job and nothing, not even her grumpy astronomy colleague Finn, will stand in her way. But as she digs into Finn’s grumpy shell, she finds a softie underneath, juggling grief, two nieces, and a demanding job. When Finn ends up on the committee deciding her fate, things get complicated in the best way. Millie’s optimism and confidence shine, and Finn’s gruff exterior hides a heart of gold. Their relationship unfolds naturally, with sweet moments that had me rooting for them the whole way. Bonus points for no third-act breakup!!!! Just solid communication and lots of warm fuzzies. THIS WAS GREAT!

I’m eagerly waiting for Jillian’s next book! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a charming and cozy read that blends grumpy/sunshine dynamics, workplace romance, and found family beautifully. The new cover and engaging blurb drew me in, and the book did not disappoint. The romance between Millie and Finn is heartwarming, and his adorable twin nieces add extra charm. The low-drama, supportive relationship between Millie and Finn, combined with a welcoming found family, makes this a perfect read.


Thank you, Jillian Meadows and NetGalley for the ARC

Jillian Meadows has written something special with "Give Me Butterflies". It had so many things that I love (all the tropes AND a strong heroine in STEM, supportive hero, banter for days, steam, and an elderly dog) and the writing was gorgeous.

Millie was a perfect heroine for me. She had some emotional baggage to work through from her ex, but didn’t shrink into herself or become a wallflower. She was strong, capable, and funny/sassy when she needed to be. I loved the friend group and absolutely adored her relationship with her parents and sisters. Their texts were hilarious but it was so great to read about a supportive, loving family.

And Finn - the work he is putting into getting over his grief and being a good guardian for his nieces made him absolutely delicious. I loved the open therapy talk and how mature their whole relationship was handled - the way he went about proving his love and committing Millie was so sweet. He was all in from day one, and communicated the crap out of that. The subtle way he propped Millie up without stepping in to save the day - I melted. And he made her soup! 🫠

Their tension was incredible and there were so many scenes where it was so heart-wrenchingly palpable . I adored seeing them fall for each other, working through their attraction with healthy communication. And I absolutely LOVED Millie and her whole fantastic family also taking on Finn’s nieces as their own.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! This was such a cute and heartwarming workplace romance!! There is alway something so special about a single guardian book, Finn with the girls was precious and adorable. I also love a grumpy sunshine, and seeing Finn's grumpiness being no true match to the sunshine that was Millie... I was smiling and kicking my feet at their banter. Perhaps what I loved most about this book was how supportive Millie and Finn were of each other. I appreciated that this book was low drama, and that the drama that did exist had more to do with concerns of how it would look in the workplace rather than any issues amongst the two of them. This story also comes with a strong found family in the friends of Millie's who immediately welcome Finn and his nieces into their fold. I had the absolute pleasure of first reading this book when it was independently published by the author previously and was so honored to be able to read it again ahead of its rerelease. I can't wait for more people to read about Finn and Millie.

RUN- DON'T WALK.
This book is so damn good! It literally had me kicking my feet.
The characters are charming, hilarious, and easy to love.
In case you're wondering- it is very spicy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet romance. I was swooning while reading this book.

This book was a warm and cozy read with grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance, and found family. The new cover grabbed my attention and then the blurb had my whole attention and this book did not disappoint. Who doesn't want to work at a museum and fall for your grumpy colleague!! No THIRD ACT breakup should convince you enough to pick up this book and if not how about some adorable twin girls that just stole my heart. Pick up this book it is the perfect read for fall coming up!!

Thanks netgalley for the arc!

Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows is the first book in the Oaks Sisters duet. This is Millie and Finn‘s story.
 
These two both work in a museum together and I absolutely love the STEM aspect of the book. Millie is a curator for the Entomology Department and the butterfly and bugs girl. And Finn is the director of the Astronomy Department. They have a bit of a hate to love work rivalry going on and that was quite funny to follow along and their bickering is great. They slowly became friends and then so much more and I loved following along their story. It’s definitely slow burn but I loved all the little and tender moments.
 
Millie is working hard to get a new position of a director and I loved how passionate she is about her field of study. Her family is lovely as well and I loved the scenes at their farm. She is caring and loving and that was exactly what Finn needed.
 
Finn really likes his job and he has a stable life, but it  turns upside down when his sister dies, and he becomes the guardian of his twin nieces. I liked how this book portrayed grief in a raw and realistic way and how they work on it. I always love a found family story and this one was just so precious, and I melted away with all the scenes with the nieces.
 
Overall, Give Me Butterflies totally gave me butterflies and was such an amazing and heartfelt STEM friends-to-lovers romance. 5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
🌶🌶 / 5

✨ Grumpy / Sunshine
✨ Office romance
✨ Forbidden romance
✨ Single dad (/uncle)
✨ Found family

➕ Mental health rep
➕ LGBTQ+ rep in side characters
➕ Women in STEM

👏🏼 MMC with alllll the green flags!!

What I liked:
Finn is truly blessed with every green flag imaginable. He is already in therapy *swoon* working on his trauma from having a shit family, losing his sister to cancer, and overnight becoming the sole guardian of his twin nieces. There is NO miscommunication trope because this is an adult man who has gone to therapy and is working on himself. That's not to say the relationship isn't without hiccups, but it is NOT because of miscommunication. Over and over again Finn proves that he supports Millie and will continue to support her in the way she needs support. This is a man who will ask you if you want to vent to him or want advice because he knows sometimes you just wanna vent about your shitty day while eating a pint of ice cream and sometimes you want someone who will pull out the blue prints to a casino and help you plan a heist.

There's also great rep (women in STEM, LGBTQ+ side characters, FMC has anxiety and trauma from her emotionally abusive ex).

Forbidden romance! Finn is her coworker and on the hiring committee for the her (recently retired) boss's job. So she has some (understandable) concerns about the optics of being in a relationship with him.

What I didn't like:
🚫 OATMEAL RAISIN HATE 🚫
I am concerned with all of y'all on team chocolate chip because you are missing OUT.

Also, Star Trek > Star Wars and this is a hill I will die on. The author clearly has questionable taste and I almost DNF'd for the characters having such awful taste so early on in the book. I did not need to have Finn's ONE red flag come out at 3% into the book??

TLDR - cute, no miscommunication trope, a man with so many green flags he'll never get pinched on St. Patty's day, and women in STEM!! If you enjoyed The Love Hypothesis, I think you'll enjoy this one too.


For the publisher/author - the book had several continuity errors (e.g., Finn mentions that he got rid of the twins' smaller beds and got them one big bed, yet later on Millie mentions their beds) and could benefit from an additional round of editing to identify and correct those continuity errors.

This book was amazing. I loved the start of their office romance. Him coming off as super grumpy and the friendship that started between them and how it transformed into more. It was perfect for this set of characters.

OH MY GOD, oh my god. This book was SO so so so good. I devoured this book in one sitting and was shocked at how much I loved it. I pre-ordered the book immediately after finishing it! This book was witty, emotional, adorable, and HAWT HAWT HAWT my god. I was blushing and giggling and kicking my feet like a fool the entire time. It also shows such a healthy relationship between the main characters and the MMC nieces it made me cry so much. I LOVE this book. I'm going to go reread it lol. I cant wait for pub day!

This is an absolute gem of a feel-good novel. I thoroughly enjoyed delving into the lives of Millie and Finn, both as individuals and as they come together. Millie's journey of rediscovering herself after an abusive relationship and Finn's process of navigating grief were handled with such care and depth. The book beautifully balances scenes from work, home, and family life, making the characters and their experiences feel real and relatable. The found family theme was particularly heartwarming, especially knowing that Finn and the girls finally got the love and support they deserved. Finn's unwavering support for Millie was a highlight—it's a testament to the strength of their connection. Overall, this is a wonderfully written story with compelling characters. I’m already looking forward to reading more about Fable and Tess!

this book was like one big warm hug on the coldest of winter nights oh my god, so much ooey gooey mushy goodness 😭🥰🩷

this book first captivated me with the cover, then the synopsis and lastly by the end of the chapter when millie called our hot, grumpy, glasses wearing head director of the astronomy department “Dr. Black Hole”. i knew after all of these things that i was about to discover a new favorite book of mine and i was right!!!

there were so many aspects of this book that i just wasnt expecting and the biggest being that Finn is the sole guardian to his sisters twin daughters, how i missed this? i have no idea BUT OH MY GOD, avery and eloise were the stars of the show for me 🥹 everything about these two little girls and the way both finn and millie loved them was so heartmelting.

i absolutely LOVED the way there was no unnecessary drama in this book and only what was necessary for plot development. its been awhile since ive read something that was able to captivate and keep intrigue in their story with minimal drama and it was done to perfection honestly.

AND NO THIRD ACT BREAK UP *chefs kiss*!!!!

all of the side characters in this book were so damn lovable, i truly couldve read hundreds of more pages with every single one of them ESPECIALLY her family 🥹

there are so many things i wanna gush about but dont want to give too much more away but trust me if you love fluff, spice, minimal drama, found family and the best of friend groups, you will love 🤭

I loved this story about finding yourself and everything else along the way. Well written and a great read!

~Workplace-Romance, He Falls First, STEM, Single Guardian, GrumpyxSunshine, and more!~

Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows follows Millie, a brilliant and determined entomologist who works as a natural science curator. When her dream job as department director opens up, Millie is committed to doing her best to land the role. So after a couple of run-ins with a handsome astronomer with stunning blue eyes and a permanent scowl, Finn, who just so happened to be on the board deciding her promotion, Mille is determined not to cross the lines from friends to more. Not to mention, she is still healing from her horrendous ex-boyfriend. So what will happen when Millie gets to know him more and realizes she wants to be more than friends? Will she be able to keep things professional? Will she land the promotion? And will she resist falling not just for Finn, but his nieces?

5| First, I appreciated the content warning before the book began. While nothing was too extreme, being informed and prepared about the topics discussed throughout the book was nice. With that being said, I do wish we got to hear some of Millie's internal monologue with her anxiety. However, I do acknowledge anxiety is different for everyone, and it can be difficult to write how anxiety feels. This book was adorable, and one of my favorite 2024 reads so far. I loved Millie's character, her passion for her job, her care for the people around her, and her understanding and patience. I love Millie's character growth throughout the story and how it's not instant. I also loved how she never backed down from her values about her job. She always stayed very true to herself and worked for what she wanted. Her relationship with Finn is adorable. I love the duel POV and seeing how both characters feel. Finn always put the girls first, even before his relationship, which was great to see and shows what type of person he is. I appreciated getting to see his conversation with his therapist and seeing him work through his issues and insecurities. Finn and Millie had so much chemistry, and I loved seeing their back-and-forth banter. Millie always thinking of the girls is heartfelt and probably one of my favorite parts of her character.

The side characters are so charismatic. Not only are they always there when Millie needs them, but they are also open-minded and often the voice of reason. Millie's family is so caring and balances Finn's cold family. The text messages were a fun touch they helped me grasp the family dynamic at play. I wish we had learned more about Millie's sisters, but I assume that will come in future books. The bonus epilogue is beautiful and a great addition to the book. It was the perfect way to end their story and pay tribute to Clara. The descriptions in this book were absolutely beautiful. Everything was so well written it's admirable. You can tell how much thought went into each sentence. I thought Finns and the girl's grief was written well, and I enjoyed Clara not being pushed aside but remembered for who she was and what she wanted. My only thought is I was some sort of legal action was taken against Kyle. It seemed like all the harassment ended very abruptly, which is out of character from the previous behavior we had seen from Kyle. Something like a restraining order would have made more sense as to why he stayed away. Other than that, I enjoyed everything about this book.

Overall, I loved this book, and it's definitely one of my new favorites. The special edition cover is stunning, and I love the addition of the bonus epilogue. It really helps finish Finn and Millie's story. I can not wait to see what's next for the Oak sisters!

Finn and Millie are literally everything to me. I got to ARC read this when it was first indie published and I honestly haven’t stopped thinking about it since. So I am SO thankful to be able to read this new version a little early.

This book is PERFECT. I was once again smiling the entire time I read it, it made me so incredibly happy! It has a little bit of everything. The workplace romance, the grumpy/sunshine, lots of GOOD communication, the goofy museum things, the kitchen aid??!! The croissant making??! Two people who just went thought it and are now finding themselves again with the help of the other person, two ADORABLE twin girls who bring so much joy to everyone around them, finding a family that they desperately needed and deserved, and lots of healing and so much happiness. I loved this book so much.

Thank you so much to Avon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I was so excited to get this ARC - I had read the description and was excited to get another book about a female scientist and her grumpy co-worker. This book definitely gave Ali Hazelwood / Reylo fandom vibes in the best of ways - and was also much more focused on the romance than the workplace environment (which was totally fine with me, though I would love to see in the future.) It did suffer from a few weaknesses though - for one, the male POV didn't feel much different in voice, and didn't feel like a different person overall. The third act second-guessing over parenthood and getting too lost in a romantic relationship also felt like it came straight out of nowhere - even if it made logical sense, Finn hadn't been having that in his internal monologue this whole time, and so it felt like it was mostly there all of a sudden just to introduce some distance in the third act. But, I'm really excited to see this author continue to write (would love to see a sequel with Fable!) and will certainly read her future works as she continues to improve!

Thank you to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the digital ARC!

I truly adored this booked. I loved how it was a little enemies to lover, semi single dad(single uncle who took his sister's kids after she passes) it was a bit of a grumpy x sunshine moment. She fell for him but he truly fell harder.
I loved how it shows the aftermath of leaving an abusive relationship and how it takes a toll mentally when you feel unlovable.

The chemistry between the two is undenible and tense. He shared part of his world with her and she did the same for him. They became this makeshift family unit that worked and was beautiful.

I will definitly be reding more from this author. I cant wait to see what she writes next!