One Day Guy: A Small Town Romantic Comedy (The Sublime Book 1)

I am a huge Julia Wolf fan. My favorites are her rockstar romance and that isnthe genre tend to lean to. I’m not sure what I was expecting with Joe and Rachel other than angst, but I was wonderfully surprised. Joe and Rachel meet young, drift apart and find each other again 10 year later. Understanding the past and where their future could lead is what truly makes this story. The angst is definitely apart of this journey, but not in the sense you brace yourself for. If you’re wanting a story that is full of sex and lacking in plot, walk away from this read. This isn’t a super slow burn, but it gives you the build to the climax you deserve and didn’t leave me wanting.

Rachel, our leading lady, Frannie and Eliza have formed a tight bond and friendship in their lives and business. These girls are the crazy kind of women you might like to have for your own gal pals!! They are all hairdressers at Salon 410 in the quaint and beautiful town of Tiber City, Maryland.

Rachel sees someone from long ago, here in her town, a boy she crushed on, now gorgeous man, the one that got away and broke her heart in the process. She is a nervous wreck…the doubt creeps in, as it often does for Rachel.

Joe Silver is that man, shocked to see the awkwardly lovely, funny and beautiful girl who capture his eye back in the day, then ghosted him and disappeared from his life. BUT, she’s right here in front of him, right now, all these years later and she looks sooo good. So what does she do..runs again, like she’s done before. Can he finally catch her? Well he’s gonna try.

Rachel has allowed doubt and that devil on her shoulder dictate so many things in her life and running is one of them. She has been beaten down in her world of bad choices, lost her zest for life by listening to that devil and letting her husband rule her life for almost 10 years..but not anymore! She is free now!!! Divorcing him was one the best ideas she had for her future happiness and doesn’t regret it at all. He was controlling, nasty, maybe didn’t even like her and never made her feel good about herself! She is part owner of that salon and has made something out of nothing. She is a free spirit with the most unique way about her, who wouldn’t love her. Rachel is her own personal sunshine and rainbow girl and besides that devil..she is feeling really good about her life right now.

Well, until she starts reliving the past and that summer when she was 17 and thought herself in love with a handsome, slightly older musician. They were new friends getting to know each other, until it all went wrong… and her life was never the same. Joe Silver stole her heart and stomped on it. Can she act like nothing happened?

This book was many things and more-small town charm, the best characters, friends that never became more, second chances even when the 1st chance never happened with a so, so sweet and slow burning, swoony and sexy feel that will leave you hoping and anticipating what should be. There is also hilarity, which…of course there was, because Julia Wolf wrote it and what else would you expect from this amazing author. I read it in one glorious sitting, lost sleep while doing so and can’t wait to partake of another from her ‘vault’!

I received and am reviewing a complimentary updated and revamped version of a previously published book. I hadn’t read the older version so I don’t know what has been added or taken away from the original. What I do know is that if Julia writes it, it has to be worth reading, in my opinion and this book surpassed my expectations. I’m going to keep the Sublime series revamp rolling with the next book to see where that one takes me. How could I resist this womans books…well that just it, I can’t!

*I was provided this early version by the author but the words in this review are my own thoughts and opinions after reading it.

If you’re looking for a book that is a-FREAKIN’-dorable while also being the perfect mix of hilarious and sexy, you have come to the right place! Julia Wolf’s ‘Cut Short’ is all those things and more. It’s a truly heartwarming story that hits all the right notes and will leave any fan of romantic comedy raving. I adored the voice in this story, and was also a fan of the small town vibe and all the bonding moments between not only the hero and heroine, but the other characters who were important in their lives as well. It was the definition of a fun read and I highly recommend it!

This is kind of a weird one, folks. There’s technically nothing wrong with it. The characters are interesting and likeable, Joel is a damn near perfect book boyfriend, there’s some good female friendships represented, and it’s low angst. It’s also a friends-to-lovers, slow-burn read with some great witty banter, and y’all know I love those.

So, why not a 5 star rating?

Well…it’s like this…

The pace:
This book is sloooooooooow moving. I’m talking glacially slow. Smells travel faster than the plot of this book. It was well written enough that I kept reading, but…jeez. I almost threw in the towel a couple of times because it seemed like nothing was happening.

The conflict:
Through about 85% of the story, there’s no conflict whatsoever, unless you count the heroine’s (Rachel’s) lingering self-doubts. (She had a bad past relationship, so she’s a little gun shy) Fair enough. But towards the end, Rachel gets mad at Joel, and I won’t give away any spoilers, but the reason is SO STUPID! I had to read it twice to make sure I was understanding it all correctly. She got mad at him for practically no reason at all—over shit that happened when they were dumb kids. It was almost as if the author had written a lovely little book about a happy, sweet couple and when she hit the 85% mark realized, “Oh, hell, I need a conflict,” and just threw something at the page. It was lame.

Who, Me? :
I get that Rachel has damaged self-esteem, but she was almost willfully ignorant about Joel’s obvious sexual/romantic interest in her for a big part of the story. That whole wide-eyed, “who, me?” thing got real old, real fast.

But, like I said, all-in-all, this wasn’t a terrible read. If you’re in the mood for a super low angst read about a couple of people who were made for each other, you could definitely do worse.

And feel free to check in with the Romance Rehab blog for more rants, raves, book lists, and other fun romance-y stuff: http://www.romancerehab.com/

Another good fun, flirty, long road to love story. I did not read this series in order, they each easily read as a standalone but definitely read better in order.

I think I related to this one too much. I love second chances and musicians. This one had both, along with friends to lovers. Rachel and Joe had a sweet, slow burning relationship, but that didn’t mean it didn’t come with heartbreak. This story had me from start to finish.

The Sublime….

This is the first story I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it!

That’s the theme of this story, the sublime. It’s the story of Joe and Rachel. They met when they were younger and a great friendship was born. But because of immaturity words were written that were hurtful and they drift apart.

Flash forward over a decade later and they run into each other again.

Rachel is coming into her own, life after Joe has been a debacle and she has persevered with grace and sassiness. Doing things she wants and thriving.

Joe is just wow, he is everything that Rachel doesn’t know she needs, or maybe she did?

Rachel’s friends are amazing and I wish I had girlfriends like that! In fact I hope the future brings more of Frannie and Eliza stories!

This is a easy to read, fun story with heart and humor! I am so glad to have had the opportunity to read it! Sometimes you need a story that is like a palate cleanser for the world around you and this story does that! It’s a breath of fresh air!

I’ll just end with my favorite line in the story “We’re the sunflowers….”

I really enjoyed this super sweet, smart, funny read! This is a wonderful second chance romance story from a new to me author. Its about Rachel and Joe who fell in love as teenagers but went their separate ways only to meet again later in life. Sometimes more than love, timing has to be right, with some self reflection and luck (or fate) thrown in for good measure. The author paints a full picture so well that I’m really excited to read Eliza and Frannie’s stories as well. This book was as sweet as it was funny and plenty of heat as well. Its from a fairly new author and I’m really excited to see her hone her craft.