Love ad Lib

This was an adorable romcom full of eccentric characters, wit and improv. I loved not just the main characters, but all of the side characters are well. As this is the first in the series, I can’t wait for the rest of the characters to get there HEA. Plus, there a meddling grandma, and you know how much I love those. This is a fake dating trope, with the plot edging towards miscommunication, but I still liked it a lot. I kind of want an illustrated version of some of these scenes, where a Henry was acting out Libby’s fantasies because *swoon*. I can’t wait for the next one!

Henry is straight laced and does everything by the book. His family is eccentric and he leaves them to do their own thing back at the manor while he is in London. He promises to bring his girlfriend that he told his family that he has to the next family function, forgetting that it is in days. He asks Libby, the woman who helped run an improv workshop at his work, to take it on as an acting job. But the contract they drew up didn’t account for the sparks that start flying between them.

I was rather pleasantly surprised with how much I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’ve been getting a bit jaded with romance novels lately and was worried that that might carry over to this book, but I couldn’t have been more mistaken. I was immediately drawn in by the story and by the characters. Henry is such a loveable cinnamon roll of a character, with his honorable and caring nature that you can’t help but like. Libby is sweet and fun and caring as well, and they make a great pair as they both figure out how to fit into each other’s lives.

I loved the romance tropes in this book, even though I’ve gotten a bit over-saturated with them of late. Evie Alexander does a great job with the fake dating and one bed tropes so that they didn’t feel forced or unnatural. I also appreciated how we didn’t have to deal with a long and drawn out miscommunication trope, because when Henry started acting like Mr Darcy, Libby immediately called him out on it and he explained himself and x cleared everything up. It was such a breath of fresh air to not have a simple misunderstanding be the entire focus of the plot.

Speaking of Mr Darcy, Evie Alexander is speaking my language with her nerdy references in these Foxbrooke stories. In One Night in Foxbrooke, it was Star Wars, and here it was Jane Austen. Swoon. I loved how so much of Libby’s Mr Darcy fantasy was incorporated and how Henry’s sister Estelle enabled it all by purposefully trying to put Henry and Libby in situations to make them play out.

Let’s talk about Estelle and the other side characters a bit. I gotta say, Evie Alexander knows how to write a side character and make you love them. Estelle was by far my favorite and I can’t wait to read the book centered around her. But honestly, Henry’s whole family was a hoot and adorably kooky in their antics.

Overall, this book was a win. I can’t give a book much higher praise than that I couldn’t wait to get back to reading it when I was forced to put it down, and that was the case for this one.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoyed the Highland Games series, but Evie Alexander amped up the fun and spice for her first book in a new series. Love ad Lib had the best of the grumpy sunshine trope, and Libby managed to be bubbly and joyful without being too much (a common problem for me in this trope). Henry’s desperation to avoid being embarrassed by his eccentric family means he struggles to connect with others, but Libby immediately sees his sweet side and his ability to care.

Henry’s family was a joy; I’m looking forward to their stories later in the series. My only dislike was Henry’s meddling in Libby’s financial affairs, as it complicated the story and didn’t give her a chance to stand on her own feet and solve her problems. This was a joyful, steamy romp and I’m looking forward to the next one!