Okay, this was super cute! ‘Give Me Butterflies’ was originally self-published and is now rereleased by a publisher. I’m so glad they did because this was too great to be kept under the radar!

Perfect if you love:
*** Enemies to lovers
***Workplace romance
*** Single Dad
*** Dual POV
*** Great side characters

I really enjoyed this one. The writing was great, the MMC was swoonworthy, and the longing buildup was real in this one. The premise of the novel was original, and kept my attention the entire time. The whole backstory of Finn losing his sister and raising her daughters was beautiful.
And the steam was steamyyyy, and I loved every second of it.

Will definitely be looking to purchase this one for my collection!

Thank you to Netgalley, and Avon & Harper Voyager for the ARC of this novel; all opinions are my own.

Damn the soft centered cinnamon roll MC Finn and the big hearted FMC Millie in this STEMy romance by Jillian Meadows. They were just so delicious together. Even the kids were more than tolerable. Haha. Well done!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Cover: 100% love the cover! The cover it was previously released with was cute but the colors were more subdued and not nearly as eye catching. The bright teal background with the pink and teal accents is very eye catching and makes you want to pick the book up off the shelf and read the back.

The book was fantastic, I couldn't put it down! Stayed up way too late, who needs sleep when you can devour a good book!? Jillian Meadows creates a compelling story with dynamic characters. This book was everything that I love about the science stem-inist background of Ali Hazelwood's books mixed perfectly with the masterful banter and character depth of Abby Jimenez!

A sunshine entomologist and her grumpy on the outside, cinnamon roll on the inside astronomer coworker (AKA my new favorite book boyfriend) are brought together when his 5 year old nieces, of whom he has fully custody, come to the museum for a science day camp. That right there would be enough to make a cute book but all the characters, including the children, are very 3-demensional which unique personalities and past traumas and heartbreaks to work through. Jillian Meadows has a great way of phrasing things, leaving lots of moments in the book when I had to stop and highlight a passage because it really resonated with me or was worded so well I wanted to save it.

I could go on about this book forever and already can't wait to read it again, only hours after having read it. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was fun and enjoyable. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

No conecté con los personajes principales como me hubiera gustado, me quedó a deber. Es un libro lindo pero no pasa mucho.
Me faltó un poco más de drama.
La portada es hermosa!!! ❤️

Expected some good Ali Hazelwood type STEM romance and this sadly disappointed. It was honestly pretty cringe so I DNFed very early on. The main character felt very immature and the immediate description his the MMC checking her out was very off putting. Sadly do not recommend when I was beyond excited for an entomology romance

The special edition adds a nice touch. Just adore this cover and the message within the book. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Give Me Butterflies is a touching and heart-warming STEM romance that pulled at my heartstrings way more than I expected. I’ll admit, I was totally drawn in by that gorgeous cover, and when I read the premise I assumed this would be a light and sweet rom-com. But it was so much more than that.

The story includes sexism, grief, toxic relationships, workplace pressures and problems, and other serious subjects, but it never has a heavy or ominous tone. Instead, it’s balanced nicely with strong friendships, fun and interesting banter, and a fabulous romance.

Ah, Finn, you gorgeous, nerdy, frowny, dream-boat girl-dad to two adorable nieces. He is the perfect complement to Millie. I liked him from the beginning, but I adored him when he helped Millie during an anxiety attack. (Love the anxiety rep, btw. Really well done!) Finn knows what to say and how to be when Millie struggles with her anxiety. He never judges or treats her as less than, and it is just so heartwarming to see that kind of support and understanding.

I adored Millie and Finn’s enemies-to-lovers romance! I think because I liked them both so much individually, I rooted for them from the start. Workplace rivals, Millie and Finn initially have an antagonistic attitude, and some unfortunate incidents seem to solidify their dislike of each other, but the more Millie learns about the grumpy Finn, the more her opinion of him changes. The chemistry between them is fantastic, and they have so much chemistry!

I also loved the relationships both Millie and Finn have with Finn’s nieces. They’re so sweet and going through so much, and Finn and Millie show so much support and kindness. Finn is protective of his girls, and even though he’s grieving too, they are his top priority. Millie is wonderful with the girls and fits into their new normal so perfectly.

The story does touch on some difficult topics like grief, death, anxiety, and abuse, but the more positive and light-hearted moments balance the story well. Some of the scenes are so endearing and sweet, and others bordered on cheesy. Luckily, I like a little cheese with my romance. lol

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

I cannot believe this is a debut novel! It was SO GOOD. I am obssessed with this book and everything about it. It was so well written, which is why I have such high praise for something that is a debut romance. It was cute, angsty, swoonworthy, steamy and had me kicking my feet and smiling like crazy! I love that Finn and Millie really didn't like each other at first, even though they are colleagues at the museum. But really, they're both just misunderstanding each other while also actually having a huge crush on one another. It's so cute how they write notes to each other. This melted me. Finn was amazing - he steps up for his nieces, protects and loves Millie and is SUPER HOT with GLASSES. I just loved him. He's the ideal book boyfriend. He was so kind and patient with Millie and the struggles she had, and the way he is with his girls just warmed my heart. I loved Millie's family too! It makes me excited about what's to come in Tess and Fable's books. Like, what is UP with Fable and Theo? What happened with the video?! I MUST KNOW!

Thank you to NetGalley, Jillian Meadows, and Avon for the eARC of this book!

This stunning, complex romance novel is @jillianmeadowswrites debut novel. It’s truly a work of art, tackling real life hardships while finding the sunshine in everyday moments.

“I brought you here to show you the stars and kiss you until you forget them.”

Millie, an upbeat entomologist, meets Finn, a grumpy astronomer. Opposites surely do attract, but as they become friends, they are more similar than they thought. Workplace romance boundaries are toyed with, chicken noodle soup is made twice, and the perfect dates (with and without kids!) occur.

I loved how Millie entered into the “mom” role seamlessly and with her whole heart.

The “Oaks Folks” (family) text threads were hilarious!

Finn’s internal battle between taking time for himself and parenting is 100% real.

Bottom line: life is better when you have people who love and support you by your side. ❤️❤️❤️

I will be reading more books by this author!

#givemebutterflies #jillianmeadows #singledadromance #stemromance

Wow! I knew that based off of the synopsis I would enjoy this book, but turns out-- I LOVED it. I read this book in ONE sitting. It has all of my favorite things: Friends-to-Lovers, workplace romance, single parent, golden retriever MMC, and the Sick x Caretaker micro trope. SWOON! This book is about Millie, who is applying for a promotion and Finn, who is trying to take care of his nieces as a single parent. They start off as...not-friends (not really enemies) and slowly develop a beautiful and tender friendship. If you are a fan of Ali Hazelwood you will eat this book up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Reading this felt like a cozy, warm hug with characters to love, romance to root for, and humor to soften the edges. I really enjoyed the writing and dual POV - Millie and Finn's alternating chapters were equally devoured. Not only was their chemistry great, but it was also believable and not rushed. The real-life struggles and situations had me fully invested. I appreciated the 'Dear Reader' page as it laid out all of the possible triggers, and it prepared me for the relatable story ahead. These pages were full of beautiful, emotional moments, great mental health representation, and some of my favorite romance tropes.

I will definitely be purchasing this novel when it's published, and I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Give Me Butterflies
•
I have some mixed feelings! Overall, I did enjoy this book, I liked Meadows writing and the story itself. I fell in love with all the characters and loved that it was dual POV, but there are some pros and cons with this one.
🦋
This is a book for fans of AliH and I love her so I was excited! We have another amazing stem girlie and I enjoyed the butterfly and space aspect, but I do wish we would have dug deeper into the science. Along with dual POV we also get great chapter length, always a plus for me! There is some spice and I absolutely loved Millie’s family and all that they gave Finn, Ave, and El ♥️ I love the vulnerability that comes with raising kids, the questions, the fears, figuring out that it’s okay to put yourself first. I enjoyed how open Finn was and come on, a man in therapy *chefs kiss*. Finn also handled Millie’s anxiety so tenderly and he was always there to support her, but also knew that the support he needed to give may look different everyday and I really appreciated that. “Millie, don’t feel like you should have to go through life apologizing for things you didn’t do. Sometimes you don’t even need to apologize for things you did do.” Also, the mixer 🥹 you’ll see lol
•
“Strength isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s a quiet power that isn’t so obvious to the world.”
🔭
Here’s where it fell a little flat…I kinda felt like we jumped right in and I could have used a little more backstory or a little more build up, maybe a little insta love, but not enough to make me gag? Conversations would just stop abruptly and we would move on which took a minute to get used to. Like I said, overall I did enjoy it, but I think with a little more communication things could have gone more smoothly and moments felt a bit rushed. It kinda of reminded me of Just For The Summer where the romance came second. We worked through anxiety, past relationships, family issues, and grief with some romance and lovin mixed in lol I would recommend, but I don’t think it’ll stick with me forever, but I’ll definitely be reading the second! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Workplace, enemies-to-friend-zone-to-lovers, STEM MCs who are also quirky and nerdy in their own way, and – the clincher for me – a guardianship romance. Millie is up for a huge promotion at work, and the grumpy astronomer Finn is part of the hiring committee. After a meet-disaster, they slowly start spending more time together, building a friendship and realizing their first impressions of each other were both way off. Finn is struggling to parent his twin nieces following the loss of his sister, and Millie is recovering from a horrible toxic relationship, but even though they’re not looking for a relationship, they can’t deny the feelings they have for each other for long.

This book has all of the heart, humor, and steam I look for in a romance. I love watching MMCs be vulnerable and open about mental health, grief, and unexpected parenting/guardianship, so it’s no surprise I devoured this book in one day. Thank you to the author for initially sharing the review copy with me when self-publishing, and to Avon & Netgalley for the review copy for her traditional release.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Give me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows.

I appreciate that the author has a "Dear Reader" page in the beginning of the book. This page tells the reader that this book is intended for adult readers (18 years or older) as it contains explicit language and explicit, on page sexual content. This book also deals with grief of losing a sibling to cancer, emotional and verbal abuse, distant and verbally abusive parents, anxiety and brief moments of alcohol and drugs.

With that being said, I enjoyed seeing the main character blossom in the book. Millie is an entomology curator at a museum. Finn is a very grumpy single parent of his two nieces. This is a story about figuring out what is worth standing up for, moving forward from abusive relationships, and finding your core group of friends who will be there for you. Yes, there are a lot of heavy subjects, and it has quite a few steamy moments. But I did think it was worth reading even with all of those trigger warnings.

dnfed @ 8% which i really didn’t want to do because both characters had already seemed interesting and i was excited to see how their love would bloom but i noticed a part that felt pretty offensive.

here’s the part:
“Okay, sweetie. Don’t worry about anything and remember how special you are,” Mom reminds me.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to tell them you said I am special”.

with the word “special” being in intalics. as an autistic person, i find it quite offensive so i won’t be reading this any further. thank you for the arc read.

ARC Review

Give Me Butterflies is a cozy workplace romance. Finn is the Astronomy Director at the museum where he works and has recently become the guardian of two twin girls after his sister passes away. Millie is currently up for a promotion as the Entomology Director and is learning to love and find herself after a bad breakup.

There were so many things about this book I really enjoyed. I loved how initially Millie thought Finn was a big grump - but it just turned out he had a huge crush on her. It was giving very Ali Hazelwood Lite vibes. Finn ended up being a huge cinnamon roll and just the sweetest caregiver to his two nieces, Avery and Eloise.

I loved the passion Millie had for her work and her wonderful relationship with her family. The text messages were a fun detail and the scenes at her parents' house were some of my favorites. It made the story so warm and made me want to be an honorary Oaks family member.

This book did touch on some tough subjects, like grieving the death of a family member and overcoming a toxic past relationship. I thought the subjects were handled really well and helped the reader relate to Millie and Finn.

Finn's nieces were also so sweet. Writing children is TOUGH and I am always slightly hesitant when they're in romance books. But I think Avery and Eloise felt very age appropriate with their actions and dialogue. They were written very well and I loved them as characters.

While I enjoyed this book, it wasn't a huge wow for me. It felt like very standard without anything to hold it apart from other contemporary romances. Finn and Eloise had great tension but the spicy scenes felt a bit redundant at times.

If you like workplace romance with cinnamon roll heroes with glasses and endearing heroines, I think you'll enjoy this one!

This might have been the sweetest book I’ve read in 2024. It made me want to give the characters a great big hug.

📕 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows

📙 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: The Oaks Sisters character series. Book 1.

📗 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀: E-book on Kindle. 🆓 on KU.

📘 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Contemporary romance

📔 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀: Women in STEM, office romance, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, single dad.

📖 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀: Millie thought Finn hated her - mostly because he was broody and rude every time they interacted. But after getting to know him, his moody exterior proves to be just a facade to hide a man struggling with parenting his nieces and letting people close.

🌟 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: This year is definitely the year of the nerdy, quiet MMC who steals my heart.

I have to say, I was pushed toward this book by its beautiful cover, and it didn’t disappoint. I loved every page - from the embarrassing meet cutes and continual run-ins to the way Finn fell so hard. I especially loved Finn’s nieces and their personalities.

The way this book was written felt real. Like two normal people falling in love. It was real and a little messy and overall felt like a great big hug.

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

𝗦𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹: 3/5 🌶🌶🌶

4.5!
What an absolute fun giggly time ohmy aaah!! It also had me emotional!! I love when a romance book just takes you out from real life and gives you the best time ever!

I loved the sequencing of events and just everything made sense! I read this at the perfect time because who isn't a sucker for two nerds falling love <33

As a stem girly this just made me so happy and empowered!! I love how they communicated and worked things out!! Something so swoon worthy about them falling for each other and being honest about their feelings!!

Millie and Finn were just everything to me! Finn was the best and most wholesome uncle ever :( Millie fitting right in was just so heartwarming! It made my heart crack and feel so whole at the same time!! My first read from Jillian, and I can't wait to read Wreck My Plans!! :)) I highly recommend this book! A wholesome giggly romance, but it felt real at the same time! I can't wait to pick this up on release day and have it in my collection!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

The way I adore this book.

Every girl should be loved by a Finn(the main male character)

This tells the story of Millie and Finn. They work together at a museum. Millie is a ray of sunshine with a passion for insects and looking to advance to the Director of Entomology.

Then there is Finn, who is the handsome grump and nerdy astronomer. But behind that scowl, he is the single guardian of his sister's two little girls.

Millie and Finn crash into each other, literally a few times, and slowly get to really know one another. These two opposites end up putting each other together again.

I had happy tears through this whole book. It was so cute while touching on subjects such as anxiety, emotional abuse, and grief. But learning how to grow for yourself.

Like I said before, everyone deserves a Finn in their life 🖤

(Honestly, authors, please stop writing all these AMAZING book boyfriends. My standards are too high now!

Thank you Netgalley, publishers and Jillian Meadows for an ARC.