By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.
Henriette – :
Aussie academic meets Hollywood
This book was an absolute charmer which had me at first thoroughly entertained and chuckling along and then got me thinking about what‘s important in life.
There is Jane, Australian, an academic focused on her career, oblivious to anything else, esp. to American pop-culture, neurodivergent. She visits her sister‘s family in L.A. and invites her niece to a concert where she meets free-wheeling artist Amber. Talk about opposites attract! There are quite a few outright hilarious as well as tongue-in-cheek moments.
When both decide to try long-distance Jane‘s job and her career bring dark academia vibes along which enriches the story.
The story was very well written. The author had obviously fun writing the first part which reads much like a rom-com and was equally invested in adding the more serious parts. Well done! A lovely read.
I received an ARC from via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily
Becca Wright – :
Read this super fast! Loved it. I liked the representation in it of the main characters and the original story. The book was vivid and fun to read. Love Liz Rain’s books and this one had the same level of spiciness, LOLs and fun. I always laugh at the comedy in her books and love the sweet pairings. I would recommend this read! I love a romance containing a famous person.
Nadine – :
This was a really sweet opposites-attract romance. Amber, a lively singer, and Jane, an Australian academic who is much more reserved and careful in how she expresses herself, are such different characters that at first I honestly wondered how they would ever work together. Jane is neurodivergent, and I thought her autism was portrayed in a very realistic and thoughtful way.
Their first meeting at a concert in L.A. was fun and you could definitely feel the chemistry right away. The early part of the book had a lot of rom-com vibes and some genuinely funny moments that made me chuckle. Watching their first dates and the slow connection forming between them was really sweet.
I also liked the contrast between Amber’s free-spirited artistic world and Jane’s more serious academic life, which added a bit of a darker academia vibe once the story moved more into Jane’s career. The writing itself was really solid and the story flowed well.
That said, it did take me a while to finish this book. Some parts felt a bit slower for me and my attention wandered to other things at times. Because of that I lost a little of the momentum that usually pulls me completely into a love story. The third-act breakup also felt quite sudden to me and a little out of character for Jane.
Overall though, this was a charming romance with lovable characters and some really fun moments. This was my first book by this author, but I’m definitely curious to check out more of her work in the future.
listener15 (verified owner) – :
Stars: 4 Stars
Format: Digital
Series: Stand Alone
Steam Level: Steamy
I read this for the I Heart Sapphic 2026 Reading Challenge for the location Australia.
I absolutely adored “Perks of Office” by Liz Rain and preordered this as soon as I could. She is quickly becoming a favorite author.
Quick Thoughts:
– Just reading the synopsis of this set up had me grinning and it lived up to my hopes
– Watching these two fall in love was a blast to watch. They were both soooooo incredibly awkward
– There were a few times I wanted to smack Jane upside the head. Okay, more than a few times
– More Sara please! She was fun every time she showed up
– It’s funny that I actually met a singer like Amber. Super duper popular in Australia (like huge sold out venues) but was barely known in the States outside a certain set of people. So reading this situation was very believable for me
– Jane was a fun and relatable character right until the end
– I took a star off because I didn’t totally buy the reconciliation between the two. I thought Jane went way too far with what she said and didn’t do enough groveling for forgiveness
Overall I did enjoy this a bunch despite not loving the ending. Liz Rain is still an auto-buy for me and I look forward to reading more from her.