[ARC Review] Romance by the Book by Sarah Ready

Release date: 9/14/21
Format: eARC
eARC provided by: Sarah Ready via Social Butterfly PR

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In Romance by the Book, Sarah Ready takes us back to Romeo, NY - the quaint little town where love is everywhere, even where you least expect it. In the third book in the Soul Mates in Romeo series, it’s Jessie’s turn to find her soulmate and she couldn’t be more excited when Miss Erma tells her she’s seen for forever love in a vision. Jessie has had a crush on Gavin Williams since she was a kid, so when Miss Erma tells Jessie her soulmate is the Williams boy, Jessie knows it just has to be Gavin and not his twin brother, Will. Will is everything Jessie doesn’t want: boring, humorless, droll. But as Jessie pursues Gavin, in an attempt to set up their perfect romantic meet-cute, it’s Will who keeps catching her eye, Will who interferes, Will who starts making her heart race. As Jessie unearths her true feelings and comes to terms with Miss Erma’s vision, past revelations come to light and both Jessie and Will might just personally discover that love rules in Romeo.

I absolutely love every Soul Mates in Romeo book that Sarah Ready releases. Full of small town charm, where everybody knows everybody, I love how unique Ready makes each plot. Jessie and Will’s story might just be my favorite yet. This romance features many tropes to satisfy a wide range of readers: small town love, enemies to lovers, fated mates, grumpy/sunshine. . .  and there’s a set of hot twins? There is definitely a lot to love in Romance by the Book. Ready’s love for books shines through via her heroine, Jessie, who works at the Romeo library; it’s always a cute call-out from writers when they feature a book lover as their main character, and I’m glad Ready included that book love in this third installment of the series. As always, readers don’t necessarily have to read the first two books in the Soul Mates in Romeo series in order to fall in love with Jessie and Will’s story, but Romance by the Book definitely acknowledges couples and events from previous books. In fact, I’d say this book, out of all four so far in the series, relies the most upon prior plot knowledge regarding some of the couples we’ve previously seen matched by Miss Erma. I enjoyed Jessie’s journey, especially as she came to terms with the idea of fate versus true love. Will’s journey was like peeling back layers, with each new truth and discovery that much more meaningful and sweet. Will’s stoicism was the perfect foil to Jessie’s hope. Between Jessie and Will, combined with a funny cast of secondary characters, Romance by the Book is witty, romantic, a little spicy, and will make you believe in the power of Miss Erma. This third trip to Romeo, NY will definitely be a fan favorite.