Thank you to Harperaudio Adult and Netgalley for this AudioARC.

This is a charming workplace romance set against the backdrop of a natural history museum. While I enjoyed the premise, I didn’t feel particularly connected to Millie as a character for a lot of the novel. Her backstory could have been fleshed out more to make her motivations and struggles felt. At times her ex felt a like a caricature of a villain. The way he acted at her work would be noticed by others and he'd probably be fired on the spot. But everyone just accepted his behaviour?
I connected more with Finn’s character, his family struggles and adorable relationship with his nieces made it emotional to read.

Overall, Give Me Butterflies was a pleasant read with a unique setting and some sweet moments, but it didn’t fully capture me on an emotional level. Fans of slow-burn workplace romances may enjoy it, especially those looking for a lighthearted read with a STEM-focused heroine.

Net Galley Audiobook Review:

3.5 ⭐️ | 3 🌶️ Dual POV

This was a cute, spicy, low-angst read that I really enjoyed! I absolutely love these narrators!

What I loved:

The main characters communicated their emotions and struggles in a really healthy way. Loves seeing Finn check in with his therapist when he was questioning whether he could maintain a relationship instead of just breaking things off.

Love a good grumpy MMC who turns out to really be a grieving man who lost his sister and now has to parent his 5-year old nieces.

Millie was kind and confident and thoughtful and her family group chat was so cute.

I liked the extended epilogue and that we got to see their relationship at a few different stages!

What I didn’t love:

I personally feel like I lot of romance authors pander to romance readers by making their FMCs obsessed with reading smut. In this one, she went so far as to reference ACOTAR and it just feels played out. Like I don’t mind if the FMC likes to read, but this was trying a little too hard to make her relatable.

Personal preference, but the spice got a little bit redundant towards the end. I don’t mind more spicy scenes, but I want them to give me new insight into the characters and their relationship.

I just love a book that feels like a hug and this one is it.

Millie is an entomologist at a local museum and up for a promotion. She keeps *literally* running into the grumpy astronomy director, Finn, who is also on the interview committee. Between spilled coffee, smashing his nose, and crashing into her car, the universe just can't help but push them together. Millie quickly realizes that there is more to his broody demeanor and keeping feelings out of their relationship proves to be quite difficult.

This book captures so many feelings - the swoon factor is big in this one. What it would be like to be in this friend group. I can't wait to see more of the Oaks Sisters!

Tropes/What to expect
Workplace
Grumpy x sunshine
Single guardian
He falls first, and hard
Found family
Mental health (anxiety) rep
Women in STEM
Nerdy, broody, muscular MMC
She cares for him
The surprise date (major swoon factor)
The best family dynamic (for the FMC, not so much the MMC)
No third act breakup

Give Me Butterflies - Jillian Meadows

This book has me fully in my nerdy love story era! Finn and Millie work at a museum. Finn is a space nerd in the astronomy department raising his deceased sister's kids and Millie is a bug nerd in the entomology department working hard to prove she's worthy of a promotion. This grumpy/sunshine novel was sweet and pulled me in right away. While it's a common romance novel trope, this story was lovely, unexpected and presented a unique story that I didn't know I needed.

The narrators on this audiobook were great and this was a very enjoyable listen!

🦋 Give Me Butterflies 🦋
⭐️ Five stars from me!

This was a STEM centered book but it didn’t feel over powering. I loved that it was incorporated but Finn and Millie were the main focus of the entire book.
Finn is grumpy and lonely, trying to navigate life as an uncle who took guardianship of his sister’s two girls.
While Millie is a bubbly entomologist working towards her promotion, trying to mentally get over a terrible ex boyfriend.

Mental health was huge in this too, and I loved that the author allowed both characters to be mature enough to deal with their issues rather than just ignoring them and creating issues.
Which made this book big on character growth 👌🏻

The wingspan explanation convo was so funny, it had me laughing out loud. *batboys, if you know, you know*

The snickerdoodle cookie recipe at the end of the second epilogue was a nice touch 👩🏼‍🍳

The only part of this entire book that I didn’t like was when Finn licked Millie’s tear. 😖

** Narration:
Finn narrated by Jason Clarke
Millie narrated by Victoria Connolly

- I thought that Finn’s voice didn’t really match his character. It took me a minute to get into it because of that. It honestly didn’t match for me the entire book, but the story captivated me enough that I just got use to it and it ended up not taking away from the story at all.
- The duel narration did go good together, both voice actors fit together.
- I ended up listening to this book sped up, because the narration was a little slow for me.
- The flow of chapters were narrated effectively, they paused between chapters so you could easily tell when one ended and one began.

** I really hope the second book is Fables. I’m curious about the relationship there 👀 I can’t wait to read that one.

Thank you to NetGalley/HarperAudio and Jillian Meadows for the audiobook

First off, thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the audiobook!

The duel style audiobook brought the emotions and tension to life. The narration and audio production was great. The voice actors seemed like a good fit for this story. Overall a fun relaxing listen.

The story focuses on Millie who is working to secure a promotion at the museum where she works. In the process she gets close with head of the astronomy department who also happens to be on the interview committee.

Grumpy Finn who has taken over guardianship of his two nieces is internally battling with his grief and the time spent between the people in his life.

Slower burn full of real life elements such as grief, strained family relationships, and work-life balance. This was a relatable and Comfy read with internal monologue from Finn that gave me butterflies! 3.5/5 stars

This was cute and fluffy with minimal/no tension. The audiobook narrators were great and I loved the dual narration. Millie and Finn both work at a museum. She is in the entomology department and he is in astronomy. Finn is introduced as this grumpy scowling guy but he was really only like that at the very beginning and even then barely. Their romance was cute but I wish it was a little less insta attraction. They didn’t get together right away so that was good but I prefer more of a buildup than was present here. The supporting characters were funny and rounded out the story well. Overall it was good book and I would probably read the next in the series.

These two were literally made for each other. His grumpy to her sunshine. He had so much love to give but didn’t see the light in his grief until she shone through. I just love the whole relationship between his twin nieces and Millie. And this was HOT. I mean it’s true what they say, it’s always the quiet ones.
Jason Clarke is my favourite male narrator, so I knew going in that this was going to be amazing. And he really brought out the grump in Finn. Victoria had the perfect way to bring the sunshine to Millie’s voice.

Adorable book! The found family was so sweet and it felt like being wrapped in a warm hug! Jason Clarke and Victoria Connolly are some of my favorite narrators and they did a GREAT JOB with this one! Both of these narrators bring a new layer of emotion to the story. Overall I would give it a 4-4.5 but the audiobook narration was 5 stars!!!

Millie and Finn embodied the grumpy x sunshine trope so well and they complimented eachother so well! In my head Finn is very much the nerdy Clark Kent type and IM HERE FOR IT 👏🏼 when he took of his glasses 😮‍💨 whooo call the fire department!

I went into this expecting a fun romcom and I very much did get those vibes but this one also had really important discussions about self growth and grief. Finn and young his nieces, Eloise and Avery, are mourning the lost of Clara, Finns sister and the girls mother. They had alot of important discussions about dealing with grief that were really beautiful.

I think Victoria and Jason were absolutely perfect for these characters and I hope to see more of them in the series!

4.25⭐️ This book has been on my TBR since the moment I saw it described as a “steamy STEM romance” perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood. SOLD! I am here for it! There were so many things to love about it that I hardly know where to begin. The characters were lovable, relatable, and had depth that drove their actions. Their behavior was mature and they managed misunderstandings and big feelings like adults. (How novel and refreshing!) I appreciated the roles their respective families played as secondary characters. It felt very genuine. The pacing was great and the dual POV was perfection! The audiobook narration was spectacular. Production quality was equally good, without any of those dreaded cut-ins with voice quality/volume fluctuations. Overall, this book felt *real* and honest, and is full of the banter you crave in a grumpy/sunshine pairing.

First, A big thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for access to the audio book “Give Me Butterflies” by Jillian Meadows. Second, God bless Jason Clarke. This man’s voice in one word… yummy. “Give Me Butterflies” is equal parts sentimental/sweet and steamy/spice with our leads in STEM workplace romance (hells yes). The Goodreads tagline perfectly describes the vibe “Equal parts nerdy banter and fiery tension, it’s perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Tessa Bailey.”
I have been pumped to read this book after reading “Wreck My Plans” before this past Christmas, and my goodness, Jillian Meadows did not disappoint. Finn (our reverse “Raising Helen” single father hero) shows such maturity and depth - with an ability to communicate that is a triumph for all males everywhere. And smart/sensitive Millie is as badass as she is nurturing and considerate. The chemistry sizzles from the first bump-in, making this such an engaging read! I can’t wait for more Jillian Meadows. She is one of my new instant adds!

I wasn’t sure at first if I was going to like this book. However, as the story went on I grew to love the characters! There was much more than “just another love story.” We were able to see into the pasts of both main characters, Finn and Millie, and enjoy growing with them in their relationship with each other. I would definitely recommend this book!

Please note that I was given a copy of this audiobook through NetGalley for my fair and honest review.

4.5 ⭐️
This book was absolutely adorable. There’s something about two nerds in love that just does it for me.
I truly love how the MC’s handled the personal issues involved in their forming relationship, not becoming inappropriate in work progression, and the therapy representation??? Absolutely yes.
I hiiiiighly recommend the audio version! Absolutely fantastic narrators.

I’ve been waiting for this book to come and was super pumped to finally get the chance to listen to it! I really enjoy this authors writing style and I enjoyed the narrators. This was a super cute read that had me laughing the whole way through. Very easy and some added fluff but also a little emotional too. Would definitely recommend. 4.5/5⭐️

Book/Audiobook review!
There’s so much praise I have for this book but I don’t want to spoil it for you because you need to listen and read it for your self to truly understand the beauty in this book.. I loved this book so much I read and listened to it twice. This book was so real and raw. I couldn’t help but swoon and cry. This book had my emotions all over the place. I love a book that can get you in the feels because of how utterly real it is! Now let me get down to the audiobook to say that Jason and Victoria were these would be an understatement because they truly embodied them. As your listening you can feel the tension, the chemistry and the emotion they bring to these characters! Them along with the Jillian’s writing makes this audiobook a masterpiece. Everything from the spicy to the romance was pulled it off beautifully!

I have discovered a new trope... hot, single uncle with custody of his nieces!! Sign me up!

I really enjoyed this book and the academic setting - it gives The Love Hypothesis but at a museum and not Kylo-Ray fanfic - buttt there are Star Wars references so be warned. I loved how much Finn and Millie cared for these little girls (his nieces). The activities they did (Friday night dinners etc.) and the relationship they form with Millie will have you smiling. While the romance did come on strong at first, it settled nicely. The dates Finn took Millie on had me dreaming...buying her books??? the DREAM.

It was such a lovely story and there was no third act break-up!

I wanted him to be grumpier, but otherwise I liked this story of a man dealing with his grief and a woman who really didn't have any issues falling in love. While she had backstory, she wasn't a flawed messy character. It was a nice change.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for access to the ALC. First I will address the audiobook and narration, the production quality was top notch, and Victoria Connolly felt just right to voice Millie. Sadly, Jason Clarke was a miss for me in voicing Finn, not that I didn't enjoy his performance as a voice actor, but that his voice just didn't seem right for Finn. He would be perfect for a suspense or thriller (or the sports or rock star romances he has done), but he just didn't fit what I expected for the voice of this Astronomer and Museum Department Director.

Now for the story. I loved all that the girls and Millie's family added to the story. I can't wait to keep hearing more about them all in the rest of the books in this series. The process of Millie and Finn both overcoming toxic relationships and finding support and love together was great. But, it wasn't my favorite overall. Good and I will catch up with the other members of the Oaks family in the next books, but this was a middle of the road experience for me.

It is a slight disservice to Jillian Meadows and this sweet novel that it is being compared to Ali Hazelwood left and right. There are certainly reasons for that which are valid, but I hate that it has to fight that comparison throughout. Similarities: 1. small woman, big tall man. 2. Both protagonists are scientists at a museum. 3. The MMC is broody (not for very long though).
Other than that, this book stands on its own. The romance is sweet and deep, but I especially loved that Millie, the FMC, understood that she was taking on two little girls in seeking a relationship with Finn. The Friday night cooking dates with Millie, Finn, and the girls were so cute. I also liked seeing Millie come into her own at work while dealing with a truly toxic ex and Finn letting her handle things in her own way. The juxtaposition of Finn's family of origin versus Millie's was also well done. If I have a complaint, its that Meadows might have tried to squeeze in one to many subplots and tropes. It still worked well, but could've been tighter. That being said, I loved the Oaks family and look forward to future books about Millie's sisters.
This is an open door romance, but I would describe it as the door being open just a crack :) You know what's going on, but it's mostly off page.
Dual narration by Jason Clarke and Victoria Connolly was pitch perfect!

I loved this book so much. The relationship between the two characters was so well molded and the mention of grief throughout really felt like it was handled with care. The two MC’s really made sure they communicated with each other and worked through their doubts.