[Review] Out of the Blue - Alison Bliss

Summary: Preslee Owens has never worked out in a gym before. Like truly never. Until today. As she struggles to stay upright on the stair climber, she accidentally broadcasts a vlog that lets complete strangers—and even worse, people in her own small town--witness the hilarious start to her fitness journey. To her surprise and mortification, viewers love it.

The positive reaction leaves Preslee with no choice but to return—and the discovery that her unrequited crush, Josh, works out in the same gym is a big bonus. It also helps that her new personal trainer is making sure she doesn’t kill herself in the process. In fact, Adam has even offered to pretend to be her boyfriend to help make Josh a little jealous.

Having Adam cheering her on brings out a strength and confidence Preslee barely recognizes in herself. And soon she’s enjoying being his fake girlfriend waaay too much. But will her newfound courage allow her to face her biggest fear yet and seize the life she truly wants? (Pub Date: Feb 01 2022)

 

I feel this is like a 3+ book. It's a nice, feel-good romantic comedy that offers a plus as a social critic against prejudice as well as a good story about finding the balance between being active in losing weight and doing it healthily—with a great incentive of a hottie for a personal trainer.

The story is told in third person from two alternating points of view, Preslee and Adam. Preslee needs to lose weight for her health, and Adam needs to save his gym. When Preslee's video in his gym goes viral, Adam's friend convinces him that making her do more videos while showing her progress in weight loss could be the solution to his problems, and they bet on whether Preslee will achieve her goal. However, Preslee doesn't know that when she agrees to having Adam as her trainer and vlogging her progress. 

There is a lot of information and the way it's written even made me considering going into a gym, even if the possibility of catching an Adam is very slim. That much is fun. The two are also a good match and Adam's flaws aren't unforgivable (I mean, him making the bet) as it's very clear that's the last thing he's thinking about and the bet sounds more like an excuse for him to get closer to Preslee, which I found a clever way to use the bet trope without making your better into a jerk. 

My problem with the book was that it dragged. We knew where it was going and it was easy to see all the stops along the way. Maybe it needed more excitement? More challenges to their romance? I can't point out, but while I approve of the couple, I didn't feel invested. They liked each other from day one, and that was it, no thrill. 

I recommend this to anyone who likes romance. It does have a lot to offer that goes beyond what you'd expect from a romance, even if it could have been more exciting.

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Rating: 3 out of 5.