such a beautiful story about grief, and love, and found family. millie was literally the missing puzzle piece in finn’s life, she swooped in and gave him and the girls oxygen and it was so heartbreakingly beautiful to watch those little girls come to life after losing their mother.

“I don’t need the sun when you are here, stella mia. You’re the brightest star in the universe, and I’ve been orbiting around you since you poured coffee all over me. I could spend the rest of my life watching you shine.”

Thank you to Avon Books for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review! Between the STEM FMC and themes of grief, I knew this book would be a relatable read.

𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘔𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 follows Millie, a bubbly entomologist working hard to obtain a promotion as museum director, and her rather grumpy (but very handsome) coworker, Finn. As Millie learns of Finn's loss and connects with his adorable nieces, she struggles to not cross the line from friendship to a more intimate connection, which could have devastating consequences for her dream job.

This comforting, wholesome read was a fun, quick read with depth and emotion. It features lovable found family, he falls first, and grumpy x sunshine tropes. I enjoyed the portrayal of such a mature, healthy relationship that progressed naturally and included clear communication. Grief and anxiety are well explored and conquered by the characters.

I loved the family group chat texts and nerdy references. If you're looking for a STEM romance, I couldn't recommend this enough!

this was exactly what I needed after reading mysteries for a month. I didn’t want the book to end. Finn and Millie’s relationship is so cute and I want more!
also, love that Millie is an entomologist. it’s so nice to see women who work in STEM and love it, especially when the career is perhaps not the most ”normal” of careers.

⭐⭐⭐.75

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

"Give Me Butterflies" by Jillian Meadows is a STEM romance between a slightly grumpy astronomer, Finn, and an anxious but cheerful entomologist, Millie, as they realize, despite some roadblocks, they might just be the perfect match for each other.

"Give Me Butterflies" was a wonderful romance between Millie and Finn! Although their relationship got off to a rocky start, the banter was wonderful to read. My favorite part had to be when Millie was interacting with Finn’s nieces. And then in return watching Finn see Millie bond with his girls.

The best part of this book had to be the relationships each character had with each other, not just Millie and Finn. Finn with his nieces, Millie with the girls, Millie and her parents, her parents with the girls, etc! It honestly made me cry. The characters were very well developed. I also appreciated how there was no third act break up but rather small miscommunications throughout the novel that were resolved with a good conversation.

There are only two tiffs I have with the novel: 1) the main characters had the same names as two of my friends…just a personal problem. (lol). 2) The plot happening around the romance didn’t feel as developed. Whenever it would be the focus of the story I just got a little bit bored.

But, overall Meadows did a wonderful job of writing Millie and Finn’s romance. I would recommend this to anyone who is slightly nerdy but also is looking for love and a cry.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A witty, sexy nerd romance that checked all my favorite boxes.

⭐️5
🌶4

Tropes:
🦋STEM Romance
🦋Grumpy/Sunshine
🦋Cinnamon roll MMC
🦋Single dad
🦋Slow Burn
🦋He falls first

An amazing novel by Jillian Meadows for lovers of Ali Hazelwood and Penny Reid.

"Finn is nothing but green flags." AND MAN DO I AGREE. This book had me biting my lip in anticipation and also swooning at the same time. A perfect balance of heat and lip-twitching comedy (or laugh out loud if you like looking a little deranged in public). It still made me chuckle even while being unbearably sexy.

I am in love with Finn. He is the ideal book boyfriend. Attentive, secure in his emotions, and would do anything for his woman. But you have to peel back those icy layers to get to the gooey man beneath. Finn is wounded by the loss of his sister to cancer and having to raise her twin girls on his own.

Millie is your shiny, bubbly personality, but with real issues like anxiety and self-consciousness. She's been degraded and controlled by her ex, and it took a while for her to find herself, but she still is stumbling, even in her newfound confidence.

These two butt heads from the get-go, but Millie doesn't let Finn's scowls and grumbly demeanor deter her. Soon, she is spending time with him and his girls, teaching Finn to cook and be a better parent. They begin slowly healing each other after the emotional trauma they both have faced.

Millie's family group chat was hilarious. They are such a lively and interesting group, with love to spare.

The emotional aspect of the story is potent, but the spice is also off the charts. If you love a broody man with a hot professor vibe and a seriously dirty mouth, boy, is this the book for you.

Sometimes you really can judge a book by its cover, I picked this one up just bc of the cover and randomly found my new favorite romance 😭 I feel like nothing I say will be enough for how much I loved it so I'm gonna say my favorite parts of the book instead:

1. There’s no unnecessary drama. They communicate so well, sometimes it took them a minute to talk but eventually they understood each other.
2. He hired the chef who makes her favorite croissant to teach them the recipe bc she could never get it right on her own.
3. Super cute kids. I always love kids in books but these two were out of this world.
4. She got a tattoo in honor of his sister who passed away bc she knew it had an extremely special meaning for all of them.
5. He cooks very badly but didn't think twice before calling her dad to ask for her favorite soup recipe when she got sick.
6. No 3rd act breakup (honestly that alone should be enough to convince you to read).
7. All the characters are extremely lovable (except for her ex and his parents, obviously). I finished the book with the feeling that if there’s a book for each character I’ll one hundred percent be reading them all.

I really hope this book gets the recognition it deserves ♡

Really cute and fun! I loved the characters and thought the story was very sweet and lovely. A very enjoyable read. My only qualm is the Kyle stuff felt a bit contrived and didn’t add much to the story having him going for the same job as Millie.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝑶𝒉, 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒅𝒐. 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”

I adore this book. It doesn't even have to become my personality, because it's already my personality. Gilmore Girls, board games, a semi-subtle SJM joke.... I identify with this book 😆. And I absolutely love the characters.

Finn! The hand flex! The cookie dough 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 I have read that cookie dough scene and embarrassing number of times. Finn is top tier. I was already on board from the beginning with his grumpiness. But then you add in his nieces and he got 1000x better. His devotion to those girls is amazing. I LOVE a grumpy softy. Especially a grumpy softy who goes to therapy! 🙌🙌🙌

I love Millie. She is so cute and fun and nerdy. I loved how much thought she put into how a relationship with a coworker would affect her work. Her past relationship history is absolutely devastating and infuriating, and it's amazing to see her overcome it. Her relationship with the girls is perfect and beautiful and honestly I was almost more invested in them than Millie and Finn. Almost.

The spice in this book is excellent. The build up in the first half had me screaming. I was obsessed with Millie and Finn. Their chemistry is 🔥

I love Millie's family. Her parents are adorable and perfect and they made me cry during the second epilogue. I also love her sisters. The fact that this is book 1 of the "Oak Sisters" series makes me absolutely ecstatic. I cannot waith for Fable and Theo's book!

The bonus epilogue in this edition is absolutely adorable. It gives all the sweet found family vibes with Millie, Lena, and Micah. The adorable moments with Millie, Finn, Avery, and Eloise. And of course the delicious spice with Millie and Finn. It's basically all the feels of the book, in travel size. Loved it!!!

“𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒂. 𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆. 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆.”

This was a short, sweet palate of a romance. I did enjoy the single guardian trope and found Millie’s relationship with the girls to be very cute. However, I don’t think this book is going to stay with me for very long. Nothing about it lodged it into my brain.

This is such a cute book! I loved the themes, tropes, and characters; they were so easy to love! I have never read any book where the main characters work in a museum and now I need more! Would definitely recommend this book to someone wanting a STEM based book with found family, super cute nicknames, workplace romance and banter, AND HE’S A SINGLE GUARDIAN!!

Millie is an entomologist working towards a promotion at the museum she works at while trying to avoid Finn, the grumpy head of the astronomy department.

I am a sucker for a grumpy/ sunshine romance, and this opposites paring worked so well. I loved how they built a friendship and that there was no miscommunication or distrust in their relationship. Millie’s connection with Finn’s two nieces brightened the story while Finn’s undeniable support for Millie as she worked to earn her promotion was exactly what she needed after horrible ex. I adored the family group chats (laugh out loud funny) and all the nerdy banter and science references. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

Read if you like:
-Workplace (museum setting)
-Grumpy hero x Sunshine heroine
-Single guardian MMC
-No 3rd act breakup
-Family text chats
-Butterflies and stars
-Found family

Thank you Avon for the ARC!

This was a great debut book from Jillian Meadows. Both sweet and funny, it had a lot of heart and dealt with some serious issues of grief, anxiety, domestic abuse, and fighting for what you're worth. While I enjoyed the main characters, I took one star away because I felt like the story never ended. There were two Epilogues. The second was so long that it should have been somewhere else in the book. At that point I just wanted a conclusion and not a long drawn out love scene. Overall, however, I enjoyed this book and will definitely read more from Jillian Meadows.

I knew that this one was going to steal my heart. I KNEW IT. It's so sweet and wholesome. I truly don't understand how this is a debut novel and it's immediately turned into an auto buy author for me.

I don’t even know how to express how much I loved this book! It’s sweet and tender and funny and sexy and emotional and I loved every minute of it! The characters, the setting, the TENSION! I truly can't wait to see what Meadows does next!

And the new cover! I love that her daughter designed teh original cover and it's super cute but I'm in love with the new cover and the way they are clinging to each other!

The chemistry between Millie and Finn is electric, combining swoony romance with a hefty dose of nerdy banter. The contrast between Millie’s sunny optimism and Finn’s grumpy demeanor creates a perfect storm of tension and charm. Their journey from professional rivalry to heartfelt connection is both touching and fun, filled with steamy moments and emotional depth. Overall, a very heartwarming and entertaining must-read.