This book should be listed under General Fiction, Relationships, Women's Fiction (somewhere along those lines).

The book was not bad by all means and I enjoyed learning about all the cultural differences that the friends seemed to talk about quite a bit.

It’s about finding yourself and being able to love yourself despite your differences. A lot of social topics are involved as well: sexuality, eating disorders (check trigger warnings) and effects of dealing with past abuse of an ex. I really liked just how realistic the book felt. People are super judgmental in this world whether they voice their judgments or not and this shined a light on a lot of things many people believe but don’t say.

I don’t feel I can accurately review this book since I did not finish it, but the system required a star rating so I did an average rating. The disordered eating storyline was unexpected. Sorry if I missed TW on that topic, but I decided to not to finish reading as it was a bit triggering.

I liked how it was told from different point s of view, but found it hard to like Rob, and would have liked the book to be longer to see what happened next.

I received a copy of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Man, that was rough. The writing was fine, but the characters were not likable. And Aria's eating disorder was super triggering for me personally, which made it an even harder read. I think maybe I would have liked it if there was more to the story? It was short and just not enough for me.

Aria has been learning to have a healthy relationship with herself again. After breaking up with her toxic boyfriend she has been working at undoing all the negative programming she picked up in her relationship and from childhood. Rob is recently divorced and has been trying to get back into dating. The two live in the same building and have only seen each other at the elevators and have definitely noticed each other but no one has made a first move.
This book is billed as a romcom and I would definitely say that is inaccurate. It is more of a self discovery journey for two people if I had to put a label on it. There are some interesting themes but the book is a little too short to properly explore any of them. If this had just followed on character it might have been a bit better but the two crammed in it feels a bit incomplete. I wanted to enjoy this book but ultimately it felt more like a possible draft of a good idea for a book.
Thank you to @palimpsestpressbooks and @netgalley for letting me have a copy to review.
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Unfortunately, I'm going to have to vote this one star. I was into the premise but it just didn't go the way I thought it was going to. It was a very slow burn but not one of the ones that pay off in the end. I felt that none of the characters had any chemistry with one another, whether it be friendship or relationship. I also felt that a lot of time was spent building up the side characters when in the end, it didn't really matter. The story was supposed to be about two who were interested in each other after seeing each other on the elevator in their building and then seeing each other on a dating app but it felt like we were in everyone's lives but theirs. I felt that it really had loose ends like there was an intended sequel but at the same time, that was just how it was supposed to be ended. I wish it had more of a romance aspect to it and less about about random people's lives.

Many thanks to Priya Ramsingh, Literary Press Group of Canada, and NetGalley for my copy of this book. The following review is my personal opinion.

I had high hopes for this book, and sadly I was left extremely disappointed.

I was expecting a romance, per the book's description, and I found next to none in the book! Aria and Rob exchange less than 10 sentences in the whole story, and just exchanging glances does not make it a romance novel.

To highlight the good things in the book that probably should be used to market it differently: the book has a cast of very diverse characters, in terms of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. It discusses multiple hard topics from eating disorders, to gender dysphoria, self-acceptance, and building confidence.

But the story of Aria and Rob specifically was very bland. They have been sharing an elevator in their apartment building for two years and never spoke to each other.

When Aria sees him on the dating app she "smiles at him", and then becomes butthurt when he doesn't interact back with her. She goes out on a few failed dates, then settles for someone that she doesn't feel completely comfortable around, and who sometimes has similar vibes to her ex-boyfriend (who was mentally abusive of her making her relationship with food 100x times worse),. And she still struggles with her self-image and relationship with food.

On the other hand, Rob is still dealing with the aftereffects of his divorce. He doesn't seem to have a healthy relationship with his mom. He was easily and repeatedly manipulated by someone higher than him at work to go out for drinks and sleep with her. And when he saw that person in a situation where she might have been SAed, he left her there, and barely had the decency to text her and say "Are you okay?" (We still don't know if she was okay!)

This all shows that these two people are not meant to be in a serious relationship, and they need to work on themselves and their boundaries before they include someone else in their lives.

And for someone who claims to be taken by her, it's very bizarre that Rob has issues recognizing Aria's face on the app.

Since a book that tries to discuss body image, self-acceptance, and food disorders, it was jarring to see some side characters being mocked for their appearance! Judging a guy for having a McDonald's takeout bag, and saying how does he expect to lose weight, when the main character of the book was shamed for wanting to go to a burger joint?! And making fun of the ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend overbite? Nuh Uh! Not okay!

The writing style was a bit dizzying. There's a lot of going back and forth between events in the past and events that are currently happening, and there are a few scenes that are presented separately from the points of view of two different characters. The separations were not clear, and there was a lot of redundancy. We know that Rob didn't renew his app subscription, so he could only see the profiles, and couldn't read the messages or interact with the people on the app!

Lastly, and this is just a minor thing, the description mentions the main two characters' last names, and the name of the dating app they were using, however, none of that is mentioned in the book itself!

Aria is recovering from a food disorder, her ex-boyfriend controlled her food intake and was intensely critical of her weight to the point of emotional abuse. Rob is recovering from a divorce, and is a bit flighty when it comes to relationships. They live in the same building, and are attracted to one another but both shy for their own reasons. Both have lots of baggage and must work through it to find their personal HEAs. There is a lot of focus on body image, both positive and negative, as well as both implied and overt racism. It feels like the multiple critical references to weight and body image was meant to illustrate how widespread this fixation is in our society, as well as to demonstrate Aria's recovery with disordered eating, but at times it felt overdone and unnecessary. There are also healthy discussions about ethnic differences and sexual identity, which are always welcome. This was a quick read, it felt a little one-dimensional, and overall the characters seemed shallow and overly focused on appearance and dating. I had a hard time investing in any of them, including the two main characters. I struggled to finish the story, and I don't think I was the best audience for this book as ultimately it was not the book for me. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this story, these have been my honest and objective opinions.

Such a fun read! Highly recommend.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I do believe that this book would be best slotted in the Fiction category and definitely not romance. Romance readers dig through the romance section for light and fluffy type content in my opinion.

The book was not bad by all means and I enjoyed learning about all the cultural differences that the friends seemed to talk about quite a bit.

It’s about finding yourself and being able to love yourself despite your differences. A lot of social topics are involved as well: sexuality, eating disorders (check trigger warnings) and effects of dealing with past abuse of an ex. I really liked just how realistic the book felt. People are super judgmental in this world whether they voice their judgments or not and this shined a light on a lot of things many people believe but don’t say.

I did, however, expect a lot more since I was waiting for the romance. The app and a couple interactions in an elevator does not a romance novel make.

Thank you NetGalley and Literary Press Group of Canada for the opportunity to read this and give my honest review!

PS: I also really loved the cover!

Mein Leseerlebnis

Ich habe mir von dem Buch eine schöne, emotionale Liebesgeschichte erwartet, das die Beziehung zwischen den im Klappentext erwähnten Charakteren im Buch nicht realisiert wird, war mir vor dem Lesen nicht klar. Als klassische contemporary romance würde ich den Roman daher nicht bezeichnen.

Ich hatte mir von dem Buch definitiv einen stärkeren Fokus auf die Liebesgeschichte erhofft, auch war die Geschichte nicht so heiter wie erwartet. Gleich zu Beginn wird ein ernstes Thema angesprochen (siehe Triggerwarnung) darauf war ich in der Form nicht vorgearbeitet.

Leider war auch der Schreibstil nicht mein Fall. Er wirkte auf mich recht beschreibend und wenig einnehmend. Auch verschwammen die Nebencharaktere in meinem Kopf zu einer schwammigen Masse.

Ja, in dem Buch ist viel los und sein Inhalt ist frisch, aber gleichzeitig interessierten mich die Hauptcharaktere nicht so wirklich und auch die Dialoge wirkten auf mich nicht besonders lebendig oder authentisch.

Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass ich nicht mit den richtigen Erwartungen an das Buch herangegangen bin und der Schreibstil der Autorin nicht mein Fall war. Das Beenden des Romans machte für mich darauf aufbauend keinen Sinn.

Für mich ist es wichtig, dass die Liebesgeschichte in Liebesromanen einen großen Raum einnimmt, daher war ich definitiv nicht die richtige Leserin für das Buch.

Keine Bewertung, da abgebrochen.

PS: Ich liebe des Buchcover und finde es sehr schade, dass der Roman nicht mein Fall war.

Für wen?

Wer Bücher mag, in denen im Leben der Hauptcharaktere recht viel los ist, teils ernste Themen angesprochen werden und in denen die Liebesgeschichte nicht im Fokus der Ereignisse steht, für den könnte sich das Lesen von “The Elevator” lohnen.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. I loved the writing style. This book had me hooked from page one. This is a first for me by this author but will not be my last!!

Are you looking for a unique read? Try Tje Elevator by Priya Ramsingh. It was a solid read that I think someone will enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Literary Press Group of Canada for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Elevator by Priya Ramsingh attempts to deliver a modern romance but ultimately falls short. The story revolves around Aria Ramdeen and Rob Anderson, who grapple with personal issues like eating disorders and insecurities. However, the romance between them is slow and frustratingly underdeveloped.

While the book addresses important topics such as body image and personal recovery, it struggles to balance these heavy themes with an engaging romantic plot. Instead of a heartwarming love story, The Elevator feels more like a character study with unresolved issues. Readers looking for a light and optimistic romance may find this book disappointing.

Actual Rating: 1.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Priya Ramsingh, and Literary Press Group for the E-ARC!

I was in the mood for a palette cleanser, and figured a romance book would be perfect for that. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this story.

First I want to mention a positive though, and it's the diversity of subjects talked about in this book. There was mentions of race, gender, sexuality, eating disorders, and each character had such a different background. I think these aspects are really important in stories, so it was nice to see them.

Also, as a Canadian, and someone who grew up in Ontario most of her life, I really enjoyed reading a book that took place here. It was nice knowing the cities, the brands and stores, and how things worked (the Uber Eats delivery fees...).

Now for the things that brought down my ratings. First, I think the description of this book was a bit misleading, and that's the root of my issues. This book deals with a lot of heavy topics, and while I mentioned that as a positive, it needs to be advertised as such. I thought this would be a cutesy romance, and it was not. If I knew what the actual subject matters in this book were going to be, I definitely wouldn't have used it as a palette cleanser.

The expectations I had for this book were that Aria and Rob would meet in the elevator consistently, and thus grow to know each other, and later fall for the other. Unfortunately this wasn't the case, they didn't even talk until almost 100 pages in, and even that was such a short awkward conversation. After that, I think they maybe conversed one or two times, in the entire book. For a romance story, I expected something to develop between the two of them on page.

I also think this book really needed better separations for chapters. Throughout the story, you're constantly being pulled into memory after memory, in between random conversations and actions in present day. Even when you're in a memory, sometimes you'll fall directly into another, and then back into the one before it. It becomes quite confusing. I wish there was better structure for this, maybe separate chapters for present day and the past. It was hard to keep track of what was happening, what the timeline was, and when things happened in the character's lives.

My last thing, although this book talks about a lot of tough subjects, I didn't like how negatively people's appearances were discussed. At points in the book, Aria (and her friend Naomi at times), pointed out how a red haired woman at work wore too much makeup, how a man had fangs for teeth and she couldn't stop staring, how a woman had an overbite, and how a man who was working out had a fast food bag and would gain weight from it. I didn't enjoy these negative remarks, especially as someone who has a lot of insecurities around her teeth and mouth.

I think if this was advertised properly, this would find the right audience and many people would really enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Lietrary Press Group Of Canada for allowing me access to this ebook. This book is being released on Oct 15th and deals with heavy themes so please check TW before proceeding.
Unfortunately this one did not work with me. The eating disorder and the messy way of dealing with it made me DNF this book.

This book is misleadingly marketed as a romance, and I believe it is IMPERATIVE that the publisher fix that before this book is published. However, I am glad this book was short, so I wasn't forced to read 300+ pages of toxicity. There's nothing wrong with writing a short book, but if you try to cover every social issue under the sun, you end up leaving a superficial impact. While I actually liked some of the side characters more than the "leads" from the synopsis, delving into their backstories took away from the development of the main characters.

All that aside, this is about two people who SHOULD NOT be looking for a relationship, since they both have things to work on. Perhaps that was the author's point. However, if that is the case, the synopsis should be changed to not seem so light and fluffy. From the information presented in the story, it seemed like Aria had not come to terms with her eating disorder or healed from the mental abuse from her ex. I cannot imagine how difficult it must since a part of dating does revolve around food. This could have been a place for the author to do research on people who have gone through these challenging circumstances. Rob was also an unlikeable character because it seemed like he divorced his ex because she was a self-assured, successful woman. His behavior during the story was a complete turn-off, especially as a 40+ year old man! This would have worked so much better as contemporary fiction about people who are not ready for relationships realizing that with the help of their support groups.

Thank you NetGalley, Literary Press Group of Canada, and Priya Ramsingh for the ARC copy of this book.

Short book (less than 200 pages), but so many heavy hitting topics. Felt like this was all over the place, like trying to touch on all the topics or something?

Not the cute rom com I thought this would be.

Thank you NetGalley and Palimpsest Press for my ARC.

La sinopsis dice que esto es un romance, pues no lo hay, es más no tengo la menor idea de cual fue el objetivo de la historia. Fue una perdida de mi tiempo.


Tw: Trastornos alimenticios, racismo y xenofobia.


Sinopsis:
Aria Ramdeen is learning to love herself—and her favourite foods—again. No guilt, no toxic boyfriend. Full of newfound confidence, she subscribes to LoveInTO, a Toronto-based dating website, where she’s matched with a crush she’s had for years: the attractive light-haired man who lives in her building. Aria messages him on the app, but there’s no response, leaving her crushed and embarrassed.

Rob Anderson, who's recently divorced, secretly admires Aria. He just lacks the confidence to approach her. And since he’s let his LoveInTO subscription lapse, he doesn’t see Aria’s message. Suddenly, Aria seems guarded when they run into one another, and the pair endure months of long, awkward silence together in the elevator. Until one day, Rob decides to give the dating app another chance and subscribes again.

A fresh and entertaining modern romance seen through the eyes of two people who still believe in happily ever after, despite the pitfalls of modern dating technology, well-meaning advice from friends and family, and eating disorders. The Elevator will leave readers feeling hopeful and wanting to fall in love again.




Es desde el punto de vista de Aria, Rob y Mila, se supone que los dos primeros son los protagonistas y no tiene sentido que Mila tenga povs que no tienen que ver con lo que pasa entre Aria y Rob




Aria tiene trastornos alimenticios desde joven, pero se agravaron por culpa de su ex que se la pasaba contándole las calorías, la obligaba a realizar ejercicios y le pellizcaba el estómago para ver que tan gorda estaba.
Pasa un año soltera y decide que es tiempo para regresar a las citas, se inscribe a una aplicación, ve que el vecino que le gusta esta en ella y decide mandarle mensaje, pero él no le contesta. Días despues se lo encuentra en el elevador y se está besando y manoseado a una mujer por lo que se da cuenta que no está disponible, entonces decide salir con otros. Tiene 3 citas con diferentes tipos que resultan ser unos idiotas y que son iguales a su ex ya que hacen comentarios sobre la cantidad de comida, calorías, el peso, etc.
Eso es todo lo que pasa en sus povs.


Rob trabaja en un banco en la parte digital, está divorciado y al principio parece que es timido porque le gusta Aria, pero le da pena hablarle y al final resulta que es más fácil que la tabla del 1. Todo el libro está en diferentes relaciones, bueno 2 y no al mismo tiempo y al final no se sabe si terminó con Miranda o sigue con ella mientras invita a comer a Aria.
Se la pasa quejándose de sus novias porque son de cierta manera, pero él es quien busca mujeres con carácter fuerte y con trabajos importantes y al final resulta que son demasiado para él.
Él y Aria tienen como 4 interacciones, en la primera únicamente se saludan, en la segunda se presentan, en la siguiente se saludan y en la última él la invita a comer. Esa es toda su historia, el final es abierto.


Mila es una mujer trans, tiene pocos povs y narran como fue su infancia, en que momento se dio cuenta que le gustaban los hombres y como fue su proceso de volverse mujer.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a short book which dealt with a lot of aspects therefore making it too heavy for a book which is well-within only 200 pages. I liked how various topics were shown but I just felt it overpowering at certain points.