MollyI’d always assumed I’d end up marrying and having a family. But it’s not until my best friends announce their engagement that I realize I’m stuck in a rut. A really deep dating rut. If I want that family? It’s not gonna fall into my lap. So, what’s a girl to do? Shake off her blues, dust off her heels, and try and win herself a man. My only issue? Joshua Greenfeld. My best friends’ older … best friends’ older brother.
Josh seems determined to derail my plans. And to be honest, I don’t hate his efforts…
Josh
Molly has always been my one. The girl who got away. The beauty that I never took a chance on.
Mostly because she was in love with my brother.
Or so I thought.
When I find out she’s dating, I decide to seize my chance. And this time? I’m not kidding around.
Warning: This fluffy slow-burn romance is filled with dating disasters, a Bridezilla best friend, and a man with a library to rival any fairy tale. So, get thee a man and settle in – this love story is no joking matter.
Trigger warning: The heroine was once in a verbally abusive relationship. There is a reference to this relationship and the effect it had on her. There is no violence or flashbacks to this relationship, only a discussion about how she recovered. Please avoid if this is a trigger for you.
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*4 Stars*
I enjoyed this quick friends to lovers read from Evie Mitchell. I liked our hero Josh and heroine Molly, and enjoyed going on their journey. I really disliked Bess though she was an integral part to this story. I found this story to be a lot of fun, mixed in with some drama, but just the right amount.
I would like to read more from this world, maybe about the brothers – or about Candy, one of the other bridesmaids.
Would recommend.
I have to admit being so conflicted with this book. I loved Josh and I liked Molly but I spent so much of the book frustrated at her for allowing Bess and Pete and her parents to treat her like crap. And I absolutely hated Bess (even though she some what redeemed herself in the end). It just took a so much away from enjoying their story. Overall it was a good read.
A Simply Beautiful Story of Love & Longing…
Every so often a book or short story will come along that gives me pause. A story that is so heartwarming, so achingly angst filled, or psychologically altering, it stops me in my tracks and has me thinking deeply about life and the lessons we learn within it. “Just Joshing” by Evie Mitchell (or Kim Congram as it would appear) is one such book, and my first for 2020.
In this first story away from Capricorn Cove, Congram/Mitchell writes a far more poignant tale; the story of Molly, Josh, Peter, and Bess, a group of twenty-something’s who grew up together under the umbrella of their individual family’s wealth and privilege. And although split evenly between towing the family line and branching out independently to carve individual paths, all are intertwined in deep friendship, unspoken love and longing, secrets, and misguided best intentions.
It is a story about what happens when childhood crushes alters adulthood dynamics. How feelings born in youth grow, morph, cool, and rekindle in differing ways. A story about what happens when the same people aren’t truly honest about how they feel, and the miscommunication, misinterpretation, hurt, and resentment that can grow from it all. More importantly, it is a story about how people can be made to feel small, insignificant even, when they feel they must hide who they really are and how they really feel and the strength it takes to overcome and persevere. And it is stunningly beautiful.
So beautiful in fact, that it is the first time I can honestly say I categorically disagree with an author’s description of their own work! Here she describes it as being a romantic comedy, one that is a, “fluffy piece filled with dating disasters, a bridezilla best friend, and a man with a library to rival any fairytale…” And while this tale is indeed a rom-com, filled with said bridezilla, and said library, it is far from fluffy. In fact, I dare say, that this story is the most poignant one penned yet under the Evie Mitchell umbrella. It is simply exquisite, and my heart hurt when it ended.
This story is achingly sweet, and simmering with need, want, and unrequited desire. A literary world created to leave you contemplative, silently staring out at the horizon pondering life, and the amount of time wasted by fear. A literary landscape that leaves you wondering aloud about happiness lost from fear of losing friendship, fear of rejection, fear of causing irreparable change, even fear of being alone. It is a gorgeously layered story that pushes and pulls you through a whirlwind of emotions. Full of the strong, intelligent, independent characters I’ve come to love and expect from a Mitchell story.
Here, she once again ups her fictional bar by creating a story so steeped in longing it makes your soul ache. If ever a Mitchell story deserved to be a full-length novel this one does! As I leave this book yearning for more about Molly’s struggles, Josh’s connection with Molly throughout childhood, and their future beyond where this book ends. I want, no NEED, to know where they go, how her friendship with Peter changes and evolves after their confrontation in the beach house. How Sam, the other brothers, parents, etc. fit into it all. So many things yet to explore, it left me overstimulated and wet with literary need
It is a need I am unfortunately learning to live with, with all of Mitchell’s books; this unrequited desire for more! However, one unexpected new thing, something that honestly surprised me as I have not encountered it in any of her previous books, was sloppiness in the writing. This one is full of typos and draft errors. In some places it appears rushed, and unedited. In others, there appear to be simple draft melding mistakes, ones where tenses are mismatched, and/or transitions are missing connectors. And while such things exist in almost every book, there are enough within this one to prevent me from giving it what should be an easy five stars. In fact this story should get more than five, it should get all the stars, but it needs some editing love and attention first.