Books, Blogs, & Reality
by Ryan
Ringbloom
Publication Date: October 24, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Humor, New Adult, Romance
Synopsis:
Life can suck…
When reality becomes overwhelming, seeking comfort in fictional fantasies keeps hope alive. And while
this escape may be a little delusional, it’s also therapeutic.
Sharing secrets is daunting, but virtual friends don’t often judge and they are always ready to share a
glass of wine…or three…while typing out life’s latest endeavors.
Brooke believes obstacles only add to romance, not detract. Rachael longs for a more intense
relationship, or so she thinks. Lizzie misses the excitement in her life, but sometimes new situations find
you when you’re not even looking. And Jess believes a tiger can change his stripes. It can’t.
Bound by a shared passion for blogging about happily ever afters, these four young women use
keyboard therapy to work through their expectations, anxieties, and inadequacies, all with the hopes of
achieving the perfection found in romance novels.
Completely blinded by what they think life should be, they navigate their unique paths in search of what
they envision is right. But when reality taunts them with persistent curve balls, will they be strong
enough to choose wisely? Or will their happy endings escape them?
About the Author
Ryan Ringbloom is a YA/NA author who lives for anything Romance. The
passion, love, angst, awkwardness… she loves all of it. When Ryan needs a break from reality she sneaks
off to read a romantic story or write one of her own. Drinking coffee, reading Tweets and hugs from her
five year old are the best part of her day.
Feel free to contact her, she would love it!
REVIEW
This story is everything I love in a good romance/chick-lit read. When I sit down to read this type of genre I need to not want to put it down, and this book absolutely had me enthralled from the start. In fact, I started and finished it in just one sitting!
In this story we follow 4 women, all book junkies & bloggers and all part of a tight online friendship foursome. I love how the author captured the intricacies of online relationships. How we can spill some of our most intimate and mundane thoughts and life events to these people we have never met, yet still feel a connection with.
The book was very cleverly broken down so we get a good sense of each woman’s character. They all are clearly very different… different lives & different personalities. The back and forth between the four of them in cyberspace was SO entertaining. It had me giggling a lot of the time! I really enjoyed how their online catch-up were interspaced between what was really going on in each of their lives, things aren’t always so rosy in the real world that’s for sure!
There was a lesson to be learnt for each of the ladies in this book. While sometimes I found myself (good-naturedly) eye-rolling them, I quickly realized I had a soft spot for each one of them as I watched them navigate their romantic issues and dish out advice to each other. I could never pick a favourite, and that for me really proves the amazing job that this author has done in MAKING me love all of her characters. Not an easy feat at all!
This book has everything you need for an entertaining read. I love that I read a book that has variety, that had me laughing pretty much the whole way and that managed to wrap up the storylines so I felt content, something that is definitely not always a sure thing. It was a nice quick read and definitely one of the better books of this genre that I’ve read this year. Definitely a highly recommend for a weekend where you want to sip a hot chocolate and play voyeur…
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