Oof. This book. I realized in a very comical manner when I started the book that it was the same author as Real Men Knit. The only reason I finished Real Men Knit is because it was a book club pick. I did not like that book. I still gave this one a chance, and I was not impressed.
Bethany Lu Carlisle and Truman Erickson go on a quest to find Keanu Reeves, Lu’s celebrity crush, to stop him from getting married. Fortunately for Lu, True has a guy (“Gary”) who leads them to Coney Island, New Mexico, and California all in search of Keanu Reeves. Will they ever find him? Will they find other stars like Jason Monoao and Lisa Bonet? Will Lu find the love she is searching for? These are all the questions that made me want to read the book.
The premise of this book is fun. I was lucky enough to read the first few chapters on NetGalley and it got me really excited for the book. Honestly, I went into this with good expectations because of that little preview. Unfortunately, what I found was a disjointed novel that just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t all bad, and I do think the book can serve some readers.
What I liked:
- The book was written similarly to a slow burn romance. The ending really picked up and it was a little more fun. The only thing I’ll say about this is that there was a realllllllly long scene followed by the wham bam thank you ma’am moment and I was like “woahhhhh”.
- The events in the book spanned, well, 90 days. It was fast but not fast all at the same time.
- Dawn. Dawn is a supporting character, friends with both Lu and True, and a powerful, hilarious (see quote below) woman!
“Oh, you were jumping all right. I bet you were, ma’am. All over that bungee. Boing. Boing. Boing. Probably all night long too. Weren’t you? Weren’t you? Jumping those bonzzz.”
Dawn to Lu
What I didn’t like:
- Their careers. Lu is an artist and True is a professor at NYU. Lu’s art is nothing more than a distracting side plot. Lu calls True “Mr. Erickson”. PROFESSORS HAVE PHDs KWANA. Not always, granted, but I did check NYU’s website and every single one does. As a Black, female, Assistant Professor myself, I felt like this just did a huge disservice to the representation the author strives for.
- The backstories/side stories. Every character in the book had a connection to one another. However, threading these connections was honestly just annoying. It felt forced and underdeveloped and I was not here for it.
- For two grown ass adults, it sure took True and Lu a long time to address the elephant in the room. And honestly, this wouldn’t have been a problem, if I felt like it had been written well.
My formal recommendation is to pass on this if you’re looking for a good romance novel.
She’s Got a Whole PhD 