Better Than Fiction – Alexa Martin

I want to start by thanking the lovely Farah from Diverse Chic Literary Book Club! I never would’ve picked up this book if it weren’t for you and it was lovely to meet you for book club! 

Better Than Fiction is one of those romances that I’d have sitting on my shelf despite the fact that I’d never have an inclination to read it. The cover is adorable, don’t get me wrong, but it just isn’t anything… wow. That’s exactly how I felt while I was reading the book. Nothing was actually blowing my mind. 

As you probably know from my other reviews, I reach for the romances that I know I’m going to love. The love stories that are going to change my views on how love should be and how it should feel. Better Than Fiction didn’t give me this. 

The story 

Drew has inherited a small bookstore named The Book Nook after her grandmother who she was very close to has passed away. While she’s working hard to continue her grandmother’s legacy, Drew is losing bits of herself in the bookstore that she owns despite her lack of enjoyment when it actually comes to reading. That is until she receives a very interesting (although predictable) offer to be a tour guide for an author who’s writing his next romance in Drew’s city in exchange for a bookish bucket list worth of dates. Suddenly her life has changed from the grim fantasies of working behind the counter of the bookstore to exploring the wilderness with Jasper Williams, Author. 

As the two embark on adventures, Drew continues to find bits and pieces of herself within her passion for photography and the secrets that her grandmother kept from her, all while working on the relationship that she has with her sister and her hatred for her father. 

Thoughts

I want to say that I liked this book, I really really do and if the book had found me at the right time, maybe I would have. Despite that, Drew kind of bugged me for the first half of the book. She was repetitive and grim. She was grieving, sure, but her attitude was becoming annoying and tough to read. It took me a good while to get into the book just because she continued to bug me.

Lets not even mention the repetitive nature of how Jasper Williams, Author, is so freaking hot that every single woman fawned over him. I mean, seriously? For a book that’s meant to be realistic, this is not realistic!! And to add to that, he never noticed the supposed effect that he had on these women? Nope, I don’t believe it for a second. Also, once it’s mentioned that he’s hot once, it doesn’t need to be mentioned every time he’s in a chapter! We get it, he’s hot and you’re attracted to him. Good for you! 

I also want to mention that despite the fact that Drew continuously narrated her bad relationship with her father, it was barely ever explored. Why mention it over and over again for him to be in one scene and barely do anything? There should be some sort of reconcile or a conclusion to it. For a standalone story, this book didn’t give the closure that we needed to get from that relationship. 

The best part of this book was Drew’s relationship with her best friend. Elsie had me actually enjoying the few scenes she was in. She was nice to read about and made the book worth reading despite the other horrible aspects that made me want to throw the book at the wall. 

Listen, maybe for a debut I’m being a bit harsh, but it feels like this book could’ve used a lot more subplot despite the 300 pages it already has. I’m curious to see if Martin’s other books have received similar criticism or if they’ve improved as I’m sure she’s managed to grow in her writing style. 

I did enjoy the relationship between Jasper and Drew, it just wasn’t mind-blowing or life changing. 

Rating: 3/5⭐️