I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Published by Harlequin Enterprises, Australia Pty Limited on December 3,2024
Pages: 368
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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A heartwarming and humorous romance in which an unlikely couple fall in love over Wordle. Twenty-seven-year-old Emily doesn’t have a lot going well in her life right now. She dreams of a creative career but works as a receptionist in an auto shop. She longs for big city life but lives in a small town on Prince Edward Island. She craves a close group of friends but is stuck with irritating, car-obsessed coworkers. What Emily does have is a 300+ day streak on the New York Times Wordle. But one day, with only one guess left and no clue what the answer is, she’s forced to turn to one of her irritating, car-obsessed coworkers, John, for help—and in doing so, realizes that he might not be so irritating after all. As they make their way, word by word, toward a 365-day streak, Emily is drawn into a surprising romance that will take her outside of her comfort zone—and challenge everything she thought she knew about happiness, success, and love.
Who knew wordle could start a romance? For Emily life isn’t exactly going to plan. She’s 27 and working the reception desk at a garage on Canada’s Prince Edward Island. She did the college thing but a life in science was not something she could thrive doing. Her friends have moved on without her – onto fulfilling careers or growing their families. But Emily feels stuck. After yet another failed tinder date, Emily finds new common ground with the surly yet handsome mechanic John – they both enjoy finding a few minutes each and every day to play wordle. Could a love of words form the basis to more?
There’s a lot I liked about this book. Like so many others in the world I too played wordle during the pandemic (and got more upset than I should have when my streak broke). I liked how the game threaded around Emily’s life and how she would use words for her current mood or situation to start her guesses for the day. I love any book set on PEI – Anne of Green Gables, the new Carley Fortune, honestly, I would read anything with that setting – and the small-town vibes were felt throughout this book.
But I found myself thinking that if the author had changed one thing I would have enjoyed this book so much more. Emily is 27. She’s been to college and tried to make a go of adulting in the past decade or so. But the character feels so much younger than her years. If she had been just finished high school or even completed her first year or two of college I would have understood her better. Rather she felt like she was naïve and on a gap year from reality. Her dream job lists felt juvenile. Her impulsiveness felt more suited to a younger character than someone who is almost thirty. I feel I could have forgiven her for a lot more and identified with her most strongly had she been younger and newer to the world of adult responsibilities and ramifications of her actions.
It is a cute book. I liked the characters we met along the way as Emily found her place in the world. The romance was a little undercooked for my liking. It felt more superficial than some of the other relationships Emily forged in the book. This is more of a coming of age and into her own power kinds of books than a romance in my eyes. Overall it was a pleasant read but more of a new adult story than someone in their late twenties.