Synopsis
Will These Book Lovers Fall in Love or Will Their Story End in Tragedy?
Gemini Collins enjoys her Friday bar-reading sessions after working as a Human Resources Supervisor at Helping Human Helpers inc. Every Friday she gets her favorite drink, a strawberry daiquiri, and indulges in her favorite smutty romance novel. After being single for three years, she has sworn off men and enjoys her book boyfriends and predictable lifestyle with her cat, Constance. She accepted her role as a wall flower.
Calvin Grant is a bookworm that works his dream job, owning his neighborhood library. He prefers to read dialogue, than engage in real life conversations. But, after being persuaded to a solo night out, he sees someone that knocks him off his axis. A beautiful black woman with a book under her nose. Will he have the nerve to approach her and start his happily ever after? Will they step out of their bubbles?
The synopsis is from The StoryGraph.
Likes
- The Meet Cute
- Meeting at a bar and connecting over books is exciting and sweet. My nerdy heart fluttered and Gemini and Calvin’s romantic encounter made me bite my lip and blush. These legs are swinging with giddiness.
- The Family Business
- Calvin‘s family business is original and something I’d like to know more specifics about.
- The Spiciest Scenes (in my opinion)
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 15
- The Acts of Concern, Consideration, and Love
- I love how their relationship was more than just sex.
- Focusing on the well-being of each other and asking questions like “Have you eaten yet”
- Make note of black hair care and the tools and time it takes to maintain it
- Communicating and knowing how to be vulnerable and take accountability for anything that posed as harmful to the relationship
- Emotional maturity and understanding exhibited in response to exploring sexuality is always refreshing, especially when one of the characters is bisexual, in a relationship, and has voiced that they have a crush on someone else.
- I love how their relationship was more than just sex.
Dislikes
- Take this dislike or observation with the smallest grain of salt. I read an advanced reader copy and marked it up for typos and other items that needed editing. It’s possible that what I read was unedited, but the final is. I hope this is the case and the final copy has been proofed and edited before release.
- The third-act breakup had me looking around the room like…why didn’t you all talk about this before? It’s funny that I mention this because my reaction isn’t a “dislike” per se, but the third-act breakup surprised me. My immediate response was “Oh, girl!” because these characters speak to each other often and for whatever reason, this one thing threatened their budding relationship. I’ll give them grace without spoiling anything, as they fell in love so fast. Nobody thought to ask the trivial, yet nontrivial questions with answers that ultimately have the power to knock everything down. Eh, live and learn. It’s all good.
What I Wanted More Of
- Backstory – I wanted more backstory for Calvin and Gemini as individuals in romantic relationships outside of their current one.
- I wanted to know why Gemini hesitated to be in a relationship or to connect and create a bond between herself and someone. I would have liked to dig a little bit deeper and beyond the cheating ex-boyfriend.
- The same goes for Calvin. I wanted to know more than that small part he shared with Gemini.
Questions That Need Answers
- What became of Greg and Calvin’s friendship after sharing more than library ownership?
Who I Would Recommend This To
- This book is perfect for readers searching for a fun, fast-paced, and spicy read.
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read The Book at the Bar. I received an advance review copy for free, and my review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving an ARC does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.
I hope this review of Kirahvi Bello’s The Book at the Bar finds you all well.
