Book Review: The Seat Filler by Sariah Wilson

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 316 pages
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: April 27th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The movie star and the dog groomer are one kiss away from the perfect love story. That’s the hiccup in a warm and witty romance by the bestselling author of Roommaid.

The meet-cute award goes to dog groomer Juliet Nolan. It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest nights when she volunteers as a seat filler and winds up next to movie heartthrob Noah freaking Douglas. Tongue tied and toes curling in her pink Converse, she pretends that she doesn’t have a clue who he is. It’s the only way to keep from swooning.

She’s pretty and unpretentious, loves his dog, and is not a worshipping fan. No way Noah’s giving up on her, even if his affectionate pursuit comes with a bump: Juliet has a pathological fear of kissing and the disappointments that follow. What odds does romance have without that momentous, stupendous, once-in-a-lifetime first smooch? Patient, empathetic, and carrying personal burdens of his own, Noah suggests a remedy: they rehearse.

The lessons begin. The guards come down. But there’s another hitch they weren’t betting on. As for that cue-the-orchestra-and-roll-credits happy ending? It might take more than practice to make it perfect.

THE DOGS WERE CUTE.

This was a quick and sweet read! Lots of swoony moments and I was really feeling this trope! It was fun to get a movie star + normal girl read. I haven’t read many that I loved and this would definitely rank up there. It was well-paced and I wanted to keep reading it so that’s a positive.

I liked the initial premise of beaing a seat filler, because honestly, where can I sign up? A nice meet-cute and lots of good banter between the two main characters. I enjoyed all of the dogs that were in it and liked most of the plot. Sometimes very dramatic and over the top, yet I guess when a movie star is involved it can be expected?

Juilet’s character wasn’t always my favorite. She started off strong. Then I would feel like she came off childish and I would want to roll my eyes at her inner monologue. With the big conflict towards the end, I didn’t love how either party handled the situation. And that’s always something I look for in romances. How all of that is handled at the end.

I don’t have a lot to say because it was a simple read, but not necessarily memorable.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Langauge: very little
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs;
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: a friend who had cancer (in remission), loss of a sibling, estranged parents, philemaphobia (fear of kissing)

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Book Review: Roommaid by Sariah Wilson

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary romance
Length: 301 pages
Author: Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: October 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From bestselling author Sariah Wilson comes a charming romance about living your life one dream at a time.

Madison Huntington is determined to live her dreams. That means getting out from under her family’s wealth and influence by saying no to the family business, her allowance, and her home. But on a teacher’s salary, the real world comes as a rude awakening—especially when she wakes up every morning on a colleague’s couch. To get a place of her own (without cockroaches, mold, or crime scene tape), Madison accepts a position as a roommaid. In exchange for free room and board, all she needs to do is keep her busy roommate’s penthouse clean and his dog company. So what if she’s never washed a dish in her life. She can figure this out, right?

Madison is pretty confident she can fake it well enough that Tyler Roth will never know the difference. The finance whiz is rich and privileged and navigates the same social circles as her parents—but to him she’s just a teacher in need of an apartment. He’s everything Madison has run from, but his kindhearted nature, stomach-fluttering smile, and unexpected insecurities only make her want to get closer. And Tyler is warming to the move.

Rewarding job. Perfect guy. Great future. With everything so right, what could go wrong? Madison is about to find out.

INCREASINGLY BETTER.

I admit, I struggled through the first quarter or so of this one.

Too much detail focused on Madison’s family and her previous lifestyle, etc. I will say, it did come back into play, but I don’t think that much time needed to be spent on it. They were a nuisance from start to finish. I’m reading a romance, I want the two love interests front and center!!

After that initial issue, I got really on board with this one. Tyler is absolutely someone to be smitten with. Precious and easy to love. He and Madison truly did hit it off and I thought their chemistry was fantastic. Those WHY DIDN’T YOU KISS HER scenes are some of the best in this book. I loved their progression and development of feelings. When we got to the main conflict (which we all know happens in a romance formula), I liked the way it was handled. It wasn’t overly blown out of proportion and things got back on track quickly enough that I didn’t feel like anything missed a beat.

I thought the side plots and characters were funny. Watching Madison try to figure out how to use a dishwasher and take care of a dog had me snickering. I think it made her character really lovable and I wanted to cheer her on for choosing her own path, out of the grasp of her Mother.

By the end, I was loving this and even went and picked out another Wilson book to read for my TBR. This low-steam contemporary romance was playful and sincere, and I always love a read that goes by so quickly!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs
  • Trigger warnings: emotionally and verbally abusive parents; a cheating significant other

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