Publication Date: February 27th, 2019

Genre: Women’s Fiction/ Romantic Comedy

Length: 256 Pages

Blurb

How does a woman enjoy the company of a man without committing to a long-term relationship? Easy, love him for ninety days and leave him.

Willow gave up on love a long time ago, but she hasn’t given up on sex. So, to keep her chakras aligned and life force flowing, she abides by her tried-and-true rule: love him for ninety days and leave him. Consequently, she can feed her body while protecting her heart.

Willow’s practice of purposeful detachment serves her well until she sets her sights on Kendall’s friend Josh. Even though Josh expresses interest in Willow, he wants a more traditional relationship than she’s willing to give.

Despite their apparent differences, the universe seems to have other plans for the couple as their lives become increasingly intertwined. When Willow finally decides to follow the universe’s lead, she’s betrayed by her ninety-day rule and must rethink her life plan or face the future alone.

Book Review – 3 stars

Thank you to R&R Book tours for a free Author Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I recommend this book to those who genuinely like romantic comedies,  as I was reading through there were some moments that I found amusing, and at times did more than turn the corners of my lips into an amused smile. I don’t often read this genre,  but I do enjoy it. The last book I did read in this genre well over a year ago (written by a man too!) really made  me want to read more romantic comedies. I was drawn to the blurb of this book and genre as I thought, ‘this sounds funny’ and also it reminded me of the movie Act Like a Lady , Think Like a Man with the 90 day rules, in reverse!  Overall, it is well written, some areas are amusing, and the writing goes in many directions with the plot. That said it took me one month to read less than 250 pages, I struggled a tiny bit at times to connect…I closed the book, reflected for a few days and settled on 2.5 – 3 stars based on my reading experience, and the story itself. While it was an okay reading experience, some stories call you more than others, I kept reading as I did want to see how it ended up, by the end I had three main areas that I found a little difficult  1. the story line 2. reality 3. the main female character herself…. here goes! ( I do recommend this book to romantic comedy lovers to check out though).

Story line & Reality; Willow is thirty, and has sworn off love due to a bad experience maybe ten years ago with an ex, but is happy to have sex with guys for just 90 days. To cut a very long story short there is a family gathering coming  up a wedding.  This messes with her rules, her mother does not want her to attend alone, as her grandmother will nag her ( the mother) and Willow for being a ‘spinster’. To not rehash the story or give spoilers, basically Willow’s mother tells her grandmother she has a boyfriend, a man they both know to stop her nagging.  This puts Willow in a ‘situation’ as you can imagine. As she moves on from this guy, the mother tells the grandma she has a new man, which of course Willow does not. At the family gathering Willow is forced to ‘act’ with the guy for the sake of what her grandmother will think. The  guy has no idea about Willow’s rules either.

Hmmm I’m a mother and I tried to imagine telling my mum, (my son’s gran) that he has a girlfriend who she  knows, to shut her up and stop her nagging him and me about him being single. I also tried to imagine my mum telling my gran, that I have a boyfriend to shut her up too.  As I was reading I found it a little hard to imagine any mother including myself, putting their child in this situation for the sake of  trying to stop ‘nagging’ over their child being single. I had a few other areas of the story line that I found hard to connect with.

Reality:  The romance genre is battered for having stories that are unrealistic, or ‘ insta-love’ between characters.  I don’t mind a bit of insta-love as a reader or as a writer either, but the reality of  it is important. The guy Willow’s drama surrounds is a man she met a year ago, at another wedding, slept with and never saw  or heard from him for a year- he never called her. Then, one year later they meet, have sex a few times,  circumstances throw them in each other’s circle, then all of a sudden (a matter of weeks maybe) ‘he loves her’,  she does not love him, but is pushed to tell him she does in order for the drama to settle.  I found the element of reality around their relationship as f*ck buddies vs love, and Willow being pushed a little hard to connect with too. Based on reality of not seeing someone for one year, having sex a few times and all of a sudden, it’s love.

Main character: ahhhh Willow…. she came across as a free spirited girl from a wealthy background, who smokes a lot of weed which gets her into trouble, and blames her need for sex on her ‘chakras’, she meditates to detach herself from men. I just could not connect with this chick or her motives.

This is just my experience as a reader, but I do recommend you check out this book and series if you really dig romantic comedy, don’t mind insta love, and Willow sounds like someone you’d find amusing. Final thoughts 2.5 -3 stars, there are areas that made me laugh, a little, the story has many different dynamics to it to keep you reading.  However, reality, time frame, and character development are areas that could be developed a tiny bit for me to of had a 4- 5 star reading experience. 

I do wish this author a lot of success with her series and hope she finds the perfect readership for her work. Romantic comedy lovers check her out!

Meet the Author

Daphne Hargrow is a romance writer, avid reader, and novice yogi. She has also published a few young adult novels under a different name. When Daphne is not writing, thinking about writing, or reading about writing, she watches YouTube conspiracy videos and dreams of the day when she, too, can join the ranks of the Illuminati.

Author Website https://daphnehargrow.com/