And now he’s asked out her cousin, Elda. Elda is a mess at flirting, so when she begs Holly to intervene, she does. Holly helps her flirt with him over text. And then again. And again. Now she’s stuck texting him as her cousin, and Elda is the one going on the date. Holly thought she could settle for just conversation with Danny, but talking with him is some kind of magic. He’s got the perfect comebacks, she makes him laugh, they text until everyone is asleep.
She just can’t ever tell him it’s her he’s really texting. (Pub Date: Oct 2, 2017)
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
And this lovely series is back with another couple getting together the unique town of North Pole, Minnesota. Of course, you can also read it as a standalone. I'd say this is a 3+ stars, just not enough to be rounded up to four.
After her grandmother's death, Holly goes back to the small town where her family needs to put the house in order and sell it. Not only the bittersweet memories of her grandma come back, but also of the boy who had won the gingerbread contests and her heart. However, as they hadn't seen each other for so many years, Danny doesn't even remember her and is unable to take his eyes off her attracting cousin Elda. Thus, Holly decides to give up on her childhood crush and help Elda texting Danny on her behalf.
This was cute, I loved both characters. I did think Danny was a bit stupid for choosing Elda over and again when he knew he wasn't into her. But we knew why he wouldn't go for Holly (we or rather, I just never got why the heck wouldn't he want to just be alone after a six-year-long relationship!).
Hammerle's writing is very easy to read and the way she brings North Pole to life always makes me think of shows like Gilmore Girls. On top of that, it's like she knows all my favorite tropes!
The way she handled the whole love triangle was also smooth. Of course, a lot could have gone wrong. As I mentioned, I did find Danny's insistence on Elda a little forced but not enough to annoy me.
Perhaps, this was the only book in which the family wasn't a problem—unless you consider the cousins in a triangle—, and I even wish we had had more scenes featuring the crazy scheme of so many people living under the same ceiling. This time, it deals with grief and appreciating people while they are around. Holly's grandma seems to have been a great woman and even I wish I had known her. She made for a heartwarming part of the book.
Also, you can rest assured the conclusion is good.
I was a little disappointed with the second book of the series Artificial Sweethearts, since not only the plot but everything was too more of the same. While Approximately Yours still doesn't hold a candle to the first book, it's much better. I'd say the magic is finally back.
One thing I noticed was that the second book barely had any reference to the first. Had it not been in the same town, people would hardly connect one to the other—although Sam was a character in both and all. Approximately Yours has a more take one the idea of a series and we get to see a lot of Sam and Tinka mentioned here and there—they're not important enough, don't worry if you haven't read their story. Elena and Oliver are very present though, their story is just mentioned as a curiosity among many in the town.
I can see Hammerle's progress now we've got to the third and want to keep following her.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
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