The first word that comes to mind for this book is cozy. It’s a sweet romance that follows Ziya who has decided to give up writing for good, but her muse Aashiq comes to life and has plans to inspire her to pick it back up. As the story unfolds, you get to experience New York City (and honestly life in general) through a refreshing point of view and watch Ziya slowly grow outside her bubble. There’s no external issues that are looming or intense plot twists. This is a low stakes romance that feels like what you want to read when you are looking for a breather between really intense books.  

I will say what really held me back on this book was how meta it was. I had that thought pretty early on in the book, but as the book progressed, that thought just grew more and more. It got to the point that I couldn’t even be present with the main storyline because I was feeling too much of the two overlapping. My focus went from just enjoying the story unfolding to feeling like I was almost being told more from what she was writing than what she was experiencing. And it also just made some of the resolution at the end feel a little rushed.  

But I don’t think that everyone will feel this way! If you’re looking for a cozy sweet romance, you might really enjoy this one. 

Also, one of the reasons I requested this book was because it reminded me of Ashley Poston’s magical spin on romance novels, and I feel like this definitely fit that thought! So if you are wanting a low stakes romance novel that feels like a love letter to romance writers, then this might be just the read for you :)

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for this early copy! All opinions are my own :)