After catching her husband in a compromising position, Finley Granger finds herself in a new hell: reentering the dating world. When she moves in with her grandmother, her great-aunt, and their best friend, Finley finds herself surrounded by a trio of well-meaning yet bumbling matchmakers.
In spite of their efforts, Finley only has eyes for one person, and that’s Zeke Masters—the 6’4”, impossibly … impossibly built, and ridiculously good-looking new man in town. Along with her nether regions, Finley’s journalistic spidey-senses tingle as to why he’s on sabbatical from Seattle. Is he on the lam or escaping a bad breakup? What’s his story?!?!
As Finley finds herself reluctantly drawn to the gorgeous IT guy, she can’t help but wonder: should she indulge in a rebound tryst with the mysterious Zeke, or has she finally met her match?
‘Shelf Awareness’ is a full-length contemporary romantic comedy, can be read as a standalone, and is book #4 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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Overall Grade: 1/2
I’m shook. No…really. Shook. How has SmartyPants Romance challenged romancelandia? I’ve been blessed to read and review the ARCs associated with the various authors? And each book has truly been a treasure. Each one has connected us back to the folks of Penny Reid’s Green Valley, Tennessee or Chicago. Every time I read one of the books, I return to my favorite folks: the Winston Family and the Knitting Circle Ladies.
In the newest book, Shelf Awareness, Katie Ashley plops us once again in Green Valley. When I first began reading her story, I thought for sure it sounded similar to Tempest’s story in Stud Muffin. While the heroines share the common theme of infidelity, our heroine in Shelf Awareness, Finley’s infidelity comes in the form of a different package. It’s as devastating as Tempest’s; however, its ramifications don’t reach in the same way that they do in that story. Instead, what Shelf Awareness helps us understand is that we can miss the reality of our relationships when we are blinded by love or the want of love.
Finley, a newspaper editor and reporter, finds out her husband has been unfaithful to her, and there is no chance for reconciliation. She decides that she needs a change. She leaves Atlanta and plants herself in Green Valley, the town where her grandmother, GramBea, lives. With no job and a broken dream, her grandmother motivates her to remedy the job situation. With her help, Finley finds a job with the Green Valley Library in the newly-created local native American history room. Inspired by this change, Finley begins to realize a different career path for herself. In the midst of this change, she becomes attracted to an IT volunteer, Zeke, who is helping the library with its renovation and system changes. As she grows closer to Zeke, Finley realizes that her husband did not support her in the way she needed. In Zeke, she finds a friend and an eventual love interest. Unfortunately, Zeke is on sabbatical from his job in Seattle. When he returns home, will they find a future together, or is this a momentary connection?
What Shelf Awareness has in spades is humor. Laugh out loud, belly-laughing humor. This seems at odds with the content of the book. I mean, infidelity? How can that be made funny? Katie Ashley doesn’t make that funny. Instead, she creates humor in other areas to allay the sting of the story’s tension. She crafts a community of women in GramBea, Aunt Dot, and Estelle who act as sages for Finley. They also lighten the topic of the story with their antics. Ashley likens them to the Golden Girls, and these women don’t disappoint. Each moment they infiltrate the book, there is a guaranteed laugh and they steal every scene. Even more, as Finley’s journey of self-discovery and healing progresses, she challenges her grandmother to make changes in her life. This provides a lesson that wisdom can be found in the mouths of the young and old.
As hero and heroine, Zeke and Finley are well-developed. Honestly, since this book is written from Finley’s point of view, she feels more round as a character than Zeke. His own journey is interesting in this book, but we can only understand his experience from the point of view of Finley. However, he is everything you love about a hero: compassionate, thoughtful, articulate, empathic, and wise. His only alpha tendencies occur in the bedroom; instead, his nature leans toward kind and caring.
Like her Golden Girls, Finley’s character development places you on a slide rule of emotions. One minute, you will mourn for the end of her marriage and the way it transpires. The next minute, you will find yourself doubled-over laughing at her antics. There is a scene with a Ben Wa ball that made me laugh until I had tears in my eyes. Yet, most important about Finley is her growth. Zeke acts as the impetus for her change. He motivates her to try new experiences, and she embraces them, even with fear or trepidation. Her divorce allows her the opportunity to develop, to grow. And this is the essence of this book. The awareness in this book is found in the need for us to self-reflect on our lives to ensure we are still growing, not stagnating. As Finley’s journey unfolds, we are reminded that life is about the journey, not the destination.
The SmartyPants Romance books provide us with such a depth and breadth of experience. That’s been my favorite part of reading them. Shelf Awareness by Katie Ashley is no different. She designed Zeke and Finley to inspire us to remember what matters: to be loved and to have fun. This is what you’ll find a lot of in this book. From a comic-con to a Golden Girls allusion to an escaping Ben Wa ball to finding one’s birth parents and that aftermath, Shelf Awareness has everything you need to be entertained and challenged.
What started out as Finley wanting kids and the best way she was told to do that is to lose some weight. With the help of a trainer Finley does do that and is quiet proud and treats herself to a spa day, intended on surprising her husband with her new look she heads home only to be surprised herself. not wanting to stay in Atlanta and be reminded of what she lost she decides to move so she can move on and be with people who love and support her. Grambea has always been the one source Finley can rely on, with the help of Grambea and her friends they are trying to set Finley up and help her move on. but little did they know she already had her eye on the computer friendly guy Zeke, oh my the things she fumbles around with. could the two find what they both are looking for? could it be the HEA that everyone wants? for me i loved the book
I wish I worked in the Green Valley Public Library!
This lovely story of Finley and Zeke.
Finley has moved to Green Valley to nurse her bruised heart and finalize her divorce. This poor girl was put through the wringer and with the help of her GramBea and GramBea’s crew, she starts to feel better.
Zeke is a tech volunteer at the library. He is in Green Valley to find some answers about his life and his history.
I loved the Native American history and vibe to the story. I also like the “nerdiness” of Zeke and also his old school charm.
The chemistry between Finley and Zeke is phenomenal. I also love how Zeke was able to help push Finley to become more self-aware of her gifts and her value!
There is moments in this story where you are gonna laugh out loud at the embarrassing things that happen to poor Finley and it makes her even more loveable!
This is the first story I have read by Ms. Ashley and I can’t wait to read more! This story fits so well with the whole Green Valley world!
I enjoyed this addition to the series. Zeke and Finley storyline will make you laugh out loud and swoon.
A story with enormous heart and soul. I loved Finely finding her power and passion, and her bond with her grandmother. Katie put all the feels in this one! Not to mention, I want my own Zeke!
3 stars (rounded up from 2.5). Shelf Awareness is the fourth book in the Green Valley Library series, which is a spin off of the Winston Brothers series by Penny Reid and part of the Smartypants Romance world. This book was kind of a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed parts and did not enjoy others. This is Finley and Zeke’s story. Finley walks in on her husband in bed with her male personal trainer. Heartbroken over the loss of her marriage, she leaves her job as a newspaper editor in Atlanta and moves to her grandmother’s small town of Green Valley. There she lives with her grandmother, GramBea, her great aunt and their best friend, who are Tennessee’s version of Golden Girls. She begins working at the library in town in the history room. There she meets Zeke, a computer guy who is a volunteer there and who is searching for his birth father. Eventually, they begin a romance.
This story was okay. I didn’t feel like there was enough romance. It was more women’s fiction and just Finley’s story. There was no chemistry between the couple. Their romance was lukewarm and unromantic. They move from friends with benefits to dating at the end of the book. I just felt their relationship was rushed and underdeveloped. Much of the story’s focus is on GramBea and her friends. They were good comic relief and kind of sweet, but also a little over the top at times. I also felt like the writing seemed amateur.
Overall, this story was interesting and I was entertained in general, even if I didn’t totally love the book. I am still enjoying the Smartypants Romance books and look forward to reading more of them in the future.
Katie has taken us back to Green Valley for a fabulously southern romance ! Finley & Zeke are sweet, swooning and sexy.
Finely has returned to recharge following a cheating husband put an end to her marriage. She has taken up residence with her grandmother and has been keeping to herself to regroup and figure out what she wants. Zeke and Finely meet of course at the library and begin a friendship that neither one was expecting. Zeke is sweet and swoon worthy he soon realizes the reason that Finely has returned to her hometown and decides he may need to show her how a gentleman treats a woman. Finley’s grandmother and her cast of friends or shall we say characters add a refreshingly funny twist to this romance !!! Loved them and their entire supporting cast !
~~Michele McMullen ~~
Shelf Awareness is a hilarious, quirky, steamy romance, with lots of heart! Finley moves back home with her Grandmother and Aunts after the heartbreaking end to her marriage. But her family isn’t letting her stay down for long. Soon she has a new exciting job, new friends, and Zeke, a sexy coworker, who makes her want to live and love again, maybe for the first time. Finley is so much fun and I love her sweet and loving relationship with her Grandmother and Aunts. Zeke is a sexy nerd and very swoon worthy. I loved Finley and Zeke together as they have fun taking risks, and making each other stronger. I especially loved the ending and the epilogue! Ashley takes us on a roller coaster journey through awkward, and hilarious moments, exciting plot twists, delicious sexual tension, and lots of sweet southern charm!
I really enjoyed this book! Finley and Zeke were such a cute couple. Their chemistry was undeniable and smoking hot!
GramBea and the Granny gang are the best!! They had me laughing so hard. They are true ride or dies that I will not forget.
I love the ending. I was so happy to see Finley and Zeke get their happy ending because they both truly deserved it.
I would definitely recommend this book!
My first time indulging in the writings of Katie Ashley and her whimsy has captured me both heart and soul. In this story from Smarty Pants Romance we find poor Finley making the life altering decision to quit her job as a journalist in the big city and move to the small town of Green Valley to be a librarian. She has no choice but to live with her grandmother, aunt and godmother as she is nursing a broken heart. These three women are the sweetest most well meaning guardians of Finley but their quirky matchmaking ways provide you with so many giggles you will want to be “adopted” by them as well. It is in Green Valley that Finley’s path crosses with the mysterious and handsome volunteer IT guy Zeke. Finley’s need to solve the mystery of this man and also fulfill the needs of heart draw her closer to Zeke but this may cause disaster as Zeke is not a permanent resident of Green Valley. Follow this trail of humor, fantasy and romance with some self discovery along the way. Katie Ashley has earned another fan and I plan to read more from this insightful author.
My first time indulging in the writings of Katie Ashley and her whimsy has captured me both heart and soul. In this story from Smarty Pants Romance we find poor Finley making the life altering decision to quit her job as a journalist in the big city and move to the small town of Green Valley to be a librarian. She has no choice but to live with her grandmother, aunt and godmother as she is nursing a broken heart. These three women are the sweetest most well meaning guardians of Finley but their quirky matchmaking ways provide you with so many giggles you will want to be “adopted” by them as well. It is in Green Valley that Finley’s path crosses with the mysterious and handsome volunteer IT guy Zeke. Finley’s need to solve the mystery of this man and also fulfill the needs of heart draw her closer to Zeke but this may cause disaster as Zeke is not a permanent resident of Green Valley. Follow this trail of humor, fantasy and romance with some self discovery along the way. Katie Ashley has earned another fan and I plan to read more from this insightful author.
I received a review copy before release for an honest review.
This is book 4 in a new series about Green Valley by various authors. I love Katie Ashley and so I was really excited to check out her contribution to this new series. In this story we meet Dot, Estelle and Bea and they all find out that Bea’s granddaughter, Finley was cheated on by her longtime husband and so they invite her to move in and come visit them.
They also find her a job and that is how she meets Zeke. She is hired to work at the library in a history room about Native Americans and the history in Green Valley. Zeke is visiting town and is volunteering his time to help get everything set up IT wise.
The two form a friendship and being that Finley is middle of a divorce they get to know each other very slowly, At times this story felt more Chick Lit than romance as we see Finley really finding herself and spending a lot of time with her 3 roomies.
The last 25% of the story centers on Zeke and his quest in Green Valley and the romantic feelings between these two. I really enjoyed this story and Zeke was this really awesome guy.
This story really felt more about girl power and finding who you truly are. The romance was nice but not super hot. But I loved how the story ends. If you like Chik Lit you will love this story, if you are looking for a hot and heavy story, you want to keep looking. But if you want a sweet romance then you will like this story a lot.
I loved this story! Finley found out the hard way that her husband was gay. When she surprised him, he really surprised her! She quit her job and moved in with her Gram Bea. Gram Bea and her friends are entertaining, to say the least! Finley got a job at the local library and met Zeke. Hot and sexy Zeke!
The story just keeps getting better! This story has love, hate, betrayal and humor. I give it 5 well deserved stars and a strong recommendation!
4.5 stars
Finley thought her life in Atlanta was going well with her Chief Editor job, husband, and plans to have kids…until it all imploded in an instant. Totally blindsided, she flees to her GramBea’s house in the small town, Green Valley, Tennessee. Now she is living with three senior ladies including her Great Aunt Dot and their friend, Estelle and working in the town library. A big life change, but also a wake-up call to who she had let herself become.
She never expected to meet a tall, dark, and handsome man in the library of all places. Zeke is intelligent, considerate, and a bit mysterious. He is not local and is only supposed to be in town for a short time.
She’s trying to heal, get her life together, and move on. She is a hot mess and embarrassing encounters seem to be her norm. But for some reason, he sees Finley for who she is and appreciates it.
Zeke has his own inner nerd, personal agenda, and life in Seattle and is not planning on staying long term. The more time she spends with Zeke, the more she likes his quirkiness and personality…not to mention his other assets. He is kind, honorable, caring, and hot…everything she could want in a man. Except for the pesky little detail that he lives across the country.
Will she open her guarded heart only to be hurt again? Or could small-town romance be her happily ever after?
This novella is funny, sweet, sexy, and just plain adorkable. I loved that they were both geeky in their own ways, but still fun and attractive. They have great rapport and chemistry together. I loved the set up of a big city main couple now trying to adjust to a small-town setting. Her crazy, nosy, opinionated senior roomies are hilarious. The shenanigans and sarcastic banter had me smiling and laughing out loud. It’s like watching a family-centric comedy tv show with a new romance in the middle of it. And Zeke is a sweet and swoony hero searching for something he needs, while Finley is a girl working on finding herself and her backbone again. Things don’t always go how they planned, but sometimes the best things are unexpected.
Finley was betrayed and embarrassed in the worse way and she up and left her life behind and moved back home. It was so funny!!!! Her grandmother, her aunt and their best friend tried to set her up and give her advice. It was a fun read with lots of quirks and ridiculously funny moments. Meeting Zeke was the best thing that happened to Finley. They were good for each other. The epilogue is laughter out loud hilarious!!!
Going through the steps of a life makeover can leave you feeling excited, nervous and unsure of yourself. The focal portion of your transformation can be as delicate as a flower. For Finley Granger – a full body transformation was the focus of her lifestyle change. It was the beginning of what would prove to be an epic event that would lead to an unraveling of sorts.
Nothing could have prepared Finley for the betrayal she felt at her husband’s hand. Determined to overcome her circumstances and wallow in her grief for a bit, Finley found the desire to quit her job and head to the one place that felt like home. Green Valley, Tennessee is the place that Finley sought refuge from the chaos swirling in her life. With GramBea, Estelle, and Dot providing comfort to Finley’s wounded soul, life could only get more interesting from here.
Settling into life in Green Valley comes with an interesting twist. As her new duties in the library keep Finley floating on a cloud, so does the IT Specialist – Zeke Masters. With reluctance for entering into any type of romance, Finley can’t help the rush that engulfs her every time Zeke is near. As the two cross paths more often, so does the nagging feeling that Finley should take a walk on the wild side. The only question that remains is if Zeke is open for the possibilities that Finley would bring to his life.
Shelf Awareness is the latest installment in the Green Valley Library series. Katie Ashley is tackling her idea of what she envisions in the Pennyverse. While I looked forward to reading Ashley’s spin on life in Green Valley, it left me with a mix of emotion. First let’s look at Finley…… this character is portrayed at a journalist in the very beginning. As I read, I found myself asking if a journalist would handle some of the situations the way the Finley did. In my head, I imagine a journalist always questioning life and the situations that are thrown out there. Finley lacked that quality and was more of a hot mess that lacked the backbone I would expect from such a character.
While I found myself giggling at the antics of GramBea and her friends, I did feel like this was a Golden Girls reproduction. It is even mentioned in the story the reflection to the iconic series. The different fandoms left me feeling like the story was more of a cliché and less about the Green Valley world. What do I mean? Imagine every single fandom that the author or Penny Reid has ever mentioned and its thrown in the story. Star Wars, Friends, Seinfeld, Golden Girls, The Mummy, comic strips, superheroes….. Every single fandom under the sun is thrown into the mix of this story. While I enjoy a few references, this was overload with a capital ‘O’.
Then there was a lack of connection in Shelf Awareness to the Pennyverse. When an author decides to create new characters in another author’s world of characters, the tie in should be concise and distinct. This story takes place in the town of Green Valley, but lacks any true tie-in with Penny’s famous Winston series. Don’t get me wrong – there are a couple of mentions of Penny’s characters. Other than that, there is no cohesive plot connection with the Pennyverse. Change the location of the story, and this could be a tale of woe from any storyline. It was definitely not an angle that I expected from such a creative author as Ashley.
In a nut shell – Shelf Awareness is a cheesy romance that just happens to take place in the town of Green Valley, Tennessee. Will it make you laugh? At times…..yes! Will GramBea and her friends give you a laugh? The trio will definitely make you giggle given the direct parallel to a Golden Girls episode. Will Finley frustrate you? I think so…..but hopefully she can find redemption in the reader’s eyes by the end of the story. Shelf Awareness provided a ton of clichés, but fell short of the writing that I would expect from the Pennyverse.
Finley and Zeke
I really enjoyed this book! Finley has put some time and effort into improving herself, in part to help her marriage. Then she catches her husband cheating on her and her life is turned upside down. She leaves the big city and moves to the small town of Green Valley to stay with her grandmother. At her new job at the library she meets Zeke. Zeke is spending sometime away from his home and meets Finley while volunteering at the library.
Zeke is not who Finley expects him to be. He does not fit into any of the labels that Finley assigns to him. Their relationship grows with each new experience they share. As Finley opens her mind, she begins to realize that she does not have to be who people expect either.
The romance part of the story was really good. I also really enjoyed Finley’s grandmother and her friends as well as the other characters in Green Valley. Highly recommend!!
I won this Advanced Reading Copy and I am freely posting my honest review.
Can’t wait!
Lawd have mercy!!
Love Finley and all her southern, modern age spunk!
What a read, I was shocked at the beginning, and just plain laughed out loud. I was asked what was so funny? I said you need to read it.
When Finley described her GramBea and the girls, totally pictured it all in my head. She referenced a t.v. show and omg yes!!
Little did she know her GramBea and the girls are more than meets the eye.
I was wondering when something dramatic was going to play out. It all seemed to easy! Don’t get me wrong I wouldn’t mind watching Zeke all day.
The girls are a hoot and GarmBea bless her heart!!
There is a little bit of nerd in all of us, Zeke just happened to be the special someone to bring Finley’s out.
I recieved a copy of Shelf Awareness for an early review, and I am so thrilled to have been able to read this. While Finley’s marriage has fallen apart (absolutely worst way possible too!) instead of staying around to mope or torture herself, she’s quits her job in Atlanta and moves to a small (key word: SMALL) town in East Tennessee. While there, she is able to reinvent herself – new career and new love interest!
I thought the story with Zeke was great. It’s not often that the hero is American Indian, and I loved that being Cherokee myself. He is in town from Seattle to find more about his birth family and donating his IT skills to the library where Finley works. Their relationship starts as a slow burn until…BAM! It went full speed ahead. I loved how geeky Zeke was and that they went to a cosplay party for their “first” date.
Of course, no good novel ends without some type of conflict, and this one doesn’t disappoint! I would have to say that Finley’s grandma, great-aunt and godmother totally stole the spotlight! They were great!!!
This book is definitely a great choice to read!!