4.25⭐

This book was incredibly sweet. I think it could have been more plot-forward, but I was never not enjoying myself.

The Story: Give Me Butterflies is a workplace romance following Millie, an entomologist interviewing for a promotion at the museum, and Finn, the astronomy director on the interview panel. Millie and Finn run into each other constantly, starting out with a few not-so-positive interactions that quickly evolve into a fast friendship. When his nieces come to camp at the museum, Millie learns that Finn is struggling to parent them after the death of his sister. As they get closer, she struggles to stay 'just friends', not wanting to look like she was handed the promotion.

My Thoughts: The relationship between these two was so cute, and their banter had me giggling the whole way through.
They had a lot of common (in-laws, intimacy while having children, her ex-boyfriend, etc.) and a couple not-so-common (him being on her interview panel, etc.) relationship issues, and all were handled with maturity (if not immediately, rather quickly), making this a very relaxing read. It was very clear that this was a relationship between two adults, which honestly doesn't feel that common in the genre as a whole.
I think my only real complaint is that it felt like the timeline of the relationship was way too fast if you really think about it, especially with kids involved.

The Narration: I really enjoyed the narration and thought both narrators were well-suited. The dual narration really added to the experience.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book.
I loved Millie as the FMC, and the setting in the museum with the combination of astronomy and bugs!
I love a dual POV and enjoyed the Grumpy x Sunshine, STEM, nerdy banter, found family and spice.

I had the ebook from Libby and the Audiobook via ARC from NetGalley and went back and forth between the two.
The audiobook is great and I enjoyed the epilogue and bonus content at the end.
Thank You NetGalley, Harper Audio and Jillian Meadows for the audiobook ARC!

I got the chance to check this out, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved it! 🤩 Never heard of the author before, but I’m a sucker for a beautiful book cover, and this one totally caught my eye. As soon as I finished the first few chapters, I knew I was in for a great, heartfelt story. The writing was beautiful, and the chemistry between Millie and Finn was practically jumping off the page. 🔥 Nerdy banter, slow burn, and found family? It’s the perfect recipe for a perfect story. Highly recommend! 💕📚

This story beautifully explores grief, self-worth, and healing through love. Finn is drowning in loss, unsure if he’s enough for his nieces, while Millie struggles with anxiety and self-doubt. Through each other, they find strength—Finn learning to open his heart again and Millie realizing she’s more than enough. It’s a journey of love, loss, and the quiet moments that make life worth living.

Victoria Connolly's performance was absolutely wonderful. She perfectly captured Millie's warmth, humor, and inner turmoil, making her both relatable and lovable. Her emotional delivery made every vulnerable moment hit even harder.

Jason Clarke was perfectly cast as Finn. His deep, rumbly voice embodied Finn’s broody, grieving nature, while his softer moments—especially with the twins—were pure magic. His kid voices were fantastic, making the twins feel truly alive.

Together, Connolly and Clarke brought these multifaceted characters to life, using every tool in their vocal arsenal. There are moments in this audio when you can hear the joy in their voices and feel the smiles on their faces during their delivery. Their raw, honest performances made this audiobook unforgettable. With an addictive mix of witty banter, heartfelt emotion, and unforgettable characters, Give Me Butterflies is a must-listen for romance lovers. It’s the kind of story that lingers—leaving you smiling, swooning, and kicking your feet.

LOVE this book! It's so well written, and just a great story. Found family, loss of sibling, women in STEM, plus, smut! I love a good grumpy/sunshine trope. I'm excited to read more from this author.

Both readers were excellent. (Audiobook).

An automatic 5 ⭐️ read for me!

I absolutely adored everything about this book. The plot, the main characters, the banter, the side characters and the spice was wonderfully superb!

If you are a fan of authors like Abby Jimenez, Lynn Painter, Katherine Center or Mariana Zapata you will adore this book!

Millie and Finn were perfect Main Characters. Finn with his grumpy exterior and soft gooey center and Millie, the outgoing fun-loving girl with her own insecurities. Their chemistry was immediate and impeccable. The fact that this book pulls off a frenemies to lovers romance with no unnecessary drama, realistic problems, no miscommunication and no third act breakup really speaks to how well the story was plotted out.

I absolutely adored all of the side characters from the twins to Millie’s friends to her family.

I cannot wait for the second book in the series and to see Theo and Fable’s love story unfold!


Tropes- Grumpy/Sunshine, Forced Proximity, Single Dad (uncle), Office Romance, Frenemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract

The Narrators were superb! I could listen to Jason Clarke read the phone book! Swoonworthy!

Thank You to HarperAudio and NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this novel!!! The plot was a perfect mix of fun and serious topics with just enough spice that it didn’t take away from the story line!

"Strenght isn't always loud. Sometimes it's a quiet power that isn't so obvious to the world."

This was such a great, fast-paced, swoony, and thoughtful read! I love reading about women in STEM - especially since it's totally not my field, but I find it so fascinating and important. Seeing Millie and her expertise in entomology was fantastic to see. Her narrative really shined, with her enthusiasm, love of life (and baked goods), and natural humour. I thought her personal struggles to be so real and important to address, and she felt all the more fleshed out, vulnerable, and strong.

Finn's perspective was great too, with his grief and pressure making me sympathize with him so much. Also, the way he yearns for Millie?? Damn.

I followed along this book with the audiobook and it was fantastic - especially the narrator for Millie. So lively! I flew through this book and highly recommend it! Thank you endlessly to NetGalley and Avon for the audio copy!

Thank you to HarperAudio/NetGalley for the audio copy of Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows! 🦋

"F*ck the stars baby, all I see is you"

This books checks all the boxes for a sweet nerdy romance. I love a single parent trope and didn’t realize I need to add single uncle/aunt to the list. There was so much heart in this book and watching the main characters navigate their trauma and heal together was beautiful.

Victoria Connolly nailed Millie and did a phenomenal job bringing her character to life. I can relate to Millie’s constant apologies that stemmed from the mental abuse from her ex. It was fun to cheer Millie on and see her overcome the hardships leading up to the promotion she was working towards. We love a strong FMC who knows she can reach her goals on her own merit.

Jason Clarke made for a real sexy Finn. I loved how dedicated he was to his sisters girls and fought so hard to be the parent she would have wanted for them, it was swoon worthy when he set hard boundaries in their best interest against his shitty parents. And that surprise evening he planned, taking Millie to learn how to make her favorite baked treat 🥹

The spice was pretty vanilla IMO. BUT it worked for these characters! It didn’t stand out to me, but honestly this book could have been closed door and I still would have loved it. The writing of the main characters and the side characters is strong enough on its own and I will eagerly jump into the next books in this series focusing on Millie’s sisters! Can’t wait for Fabes & Theo’s story! (One can assume we’ll get theirs 😉)

I have always been a huge fan of intelligent characters in the STEM world. In addition, Grumpy/Sunshine and Single dad (uncle) tropes are two of my favorites. Finn and Millie were spectacular together. I loved his deep level of care for her. Her desire to teach him how to cook and the connection she makes with his nieces is just so special.

The audio of this book was so spectacular. Jason Clarke was an absolute perfect Finn and Victoria Connelly knocked it out of the park in portraying Millie's quirkiness. I will absolutely listen to this again.

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.