Download Just Jorie Constructed By Robin Alexander Hardcover
shelved as one of my favorite Alexander books!
Sweet story, lots of great humor, great characters,
I loved the long drive, get to know you concept,
Totally loved the Andolini sisters,
Reminiscent of Evanovich books which always made me laugh, I almost rounded it up tobecause the I love the narrator of the audio version, Some intimate passage where quite embarrassing, She was really good at casting different voices for each secondary and main characters and I loved that part,
The story starts really well, I like the roadtrip part and the way the MC exchanges histories during that time, Getting to know each other in a very unusual, friendly and unintimate way,
What follows is a bit less enjoying, Because while the two MC are great alone and together, most of their family and friends were quite annoying,
I don't understand why so many Robin Alexanders minor characters feel entitled to mess with someone about a new relationship, I don't think I would be able to do that to a friend, Listen to them while they ponder a relationship to be or ongoing, yeah I do that,
But systematically trying to discourage someone journey toward possible happiness That so f up, I read the 'backcover'ortimes it put me off but the book was a delight, laugh out loud always embarrassing and romantic enough to bring tears! Loved it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, It made me laugh out loud several times, I really liked that it was set in my home state of Louisiana which made it easy to relate to, The characters were very thought out and the story was good, Definitely one of my favorites so far, The narrator did a great job with the voices, My only negative comment would be the aunt constantly referring to Jorie as "little sht", I also thought the last half of the book had too much of 'the sisters', Other than that it, it was a real joy to listen to/read, This was a fun read,
I like how Lena just accept that she has feelings for Jorie, she just goes with her heart,
It was a trip to read pun intended,
It's worth the reading,
Edit:
I just finished the audioBook and I felt even more in love with this book This is for the audio version of this book.
The narrator was great. It was I nice listen while plugging through my work day, I definitely couldnt listen to the sex scenes while someone was talking to me, What a fun read. I loved the humour and the witty dialogue between the MC's and a terrific supporting cast, I couldn't put this book down and read pretty much non stop over the past day, Great job. Now to find more from this author, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BOOK, It was fun, steamy, had a swoony, todie for leads and oh my god, the HUMOR! I had a grin on my face throughout the this gem of a story.
Robin Alexander's writing is crazy addicting, and she combines just the right amount of angst, humor, and romance to create this passionate, allconsuming story that hit the right spot.
This book features one of the BEST couple two characters who are so wellmatched, wellrounded, and couldnt be more perfect for each other, Its truly a beautiful, romantic friend to lovers tale that had my heart RACING and fully invested in this story,
This is one of THOSE books: the kind that will get you out of a book rut, continue your book roll, and is filled with the most meaningful quotes you wont be able to stop highlighting.
This is an unforgettable read from the catchy cover to the whipsmart writing to the endearing characterseverything about this story was absolute perfection! In friends to lovers romances, I ADORE that selfrealization where the characters come to an epiphany and see how much the other means to them.
. . that final fall. And I have to say, the author/narrator nailed it in this book,
One of the best things about this book is that theres nothing serious about it its a romantic comedy through and through, Even when things got rough and the big uhoh moments arrived, the author would give me a scare for, like, a second and then smooth the rest out.
And I especially love that there is no dramatizing anything here, Fans ofO compulsory unnecessary break up scene, be disappointed,
Highly recommended, thank you, Kara, I experienced something different/amazing in Lisa Cordileone's narration, so if you're subscribed to Escape download and listen, Robin Alexander did it again and wrote another beautiful, warm and funny story, Great humor, engaging characters, great dialogue, . . I very much recommend it, I read this last fall and rated it a/with no review, and wondered why after I read some other people's reviews, I just listened to the audio version to try and figure out what I may have missed, and yes, bumped it up to a, but realize where it lost me.
This audio version was really well done, with Lisa C at the helm, she can basically do no wrong, I laughed out loud so many times during the first half! I liked the concept of two strangers meeting in an airport where all flights were cancelled due to a storm, both identifying as gay and straight respectively, and decided to do a road trip back to New Orleans together.
It was not instalove, thank sweet baby jesus, and I liked the banter between the two, their antics on the road were quirky and unique, That part with Jorie on the treadmill in her jeans and the old lady discussing vaginas had me basically crying, . I'm chuckling just thinking about it, Also the "You're driving so slow a Prius just blew our doors off", made me laugh for too long, :p Ms. Alexander is definitely unique with her humour,
The trip only took up about half, and where it lost me were the secondary characters, aunt/grandmother/"best friends" I put those in quotes because if I had people in my life who pulled what they did, they wouldn't be sticking around long.
At first the aggressive, nosy, overly inclusive aunt and grandma were funny, but it got to be too much and never, ever stopped, They work together and practically live together, they eat meals together, they pay attention to comings and goings, not giving readers any relief from the constant bantering.
What Aunt C told told Tina to do at the bar, was reprehensible and never fully disclosed to Jorie, showing zero trust in her niece to make her own, adult decisions.
Aunt C needed the smack upside the head and was the "little shit," not Jorie, I was so frustrated that Jorie just went along, forgiving easily, not making them be accountable for their actions, Tina was also an asshole and Jorie is the one who apologized over and over, Huh
I liked that Lena came into her sexuality fairly fluidly, and accepted it, Yes Jorie is her first girlfriend at, but it was believable, I liked these two together, but also would have liked more adult conversations between them, figuring out important details rather that just the constant oneliners then boom, moving in together.
At least Jorie moves a bit further away, that got points,
Overall a fun read for the most part, and I give astar for the first half, It wasn't Ms. Alexander's strongest work IMO. Its:AM and I have the hugest smile on my face! My cheeks hurt lol im not kidding, This book
was so precious, The perfect amount of buildup and comedy and romance, I LOVED IT SO MUCH! Jorie and Lena were just adorable, The whole thing was perfect, From the way they met to the way they spent the next few days aka the cool road trip and to the development of their relationship, As Jorie would say “perfect not flawless, ” But I gotta say that, in a way, it was flawless, They were meant for each other,
The side characters were also hilarious, especially Grams and Aunt C, Those two had me cackling
Anyways, Irecommend this brilliant story, I'm in the minority on my feelings for this one, My conclusion is that this is an okay read, I didn't love it and, in fact, I didn't even like it all that much at times but found there to be some good aspects,
I'll get out of the way what I didn't like, the dialogue, I know, it's the same exact dialogue that everyone raves about but, seriously, it grates on me to no end, It bugged me so much I actually stopped reading the book awhile back and only picked it up again after a long break,
What do I hate about it My problem is that it doesn't feel like real conversation and, if it is, I wouldn't want to spend time with that person so it irks me.
I think this author focuses on her dialogue and uses it as one of her hallmarks so the fact that it doesn't feel natural makes me feel more dissatisfied.
We get fairly long monologues of dialogue that are supposed to serve the purpose of the characters getting to know each other, . . but, what's super strange to me is that a character will talk to reveal all of this information about themselves and the other one doesn't even respond or have a reaction to what was said! They just launch into their own long monologue that may or may not be related.
. . and my brain screams, "This is exposition!" or "What does this have to do with anything!" or "How could she not react to that!" and that completely pulls me out of the story.
It makes the dialogue feel forced to me,
The characters also do these weird name drops in the middle of their talking which is something I never encounter in real life, Example, a style I tend to hear in real conversations:
"When I was in kindergarten, this girl I hated cut her tongue on the cafeteria counter and I felt bad because part of me was actually happy about it.
And, my teacher freaked out because how do you fix a big gash in someone's tongue" might come out in this book as, . .
"When I was in kindergarten at St, Anne's, there was this girl, Brandy, that I really hated, One day, she cut her tongue on the cafeteria counter, I felt bad because part of me was actually happy about it, Ms. Colleen, my teacher, was freaked out because she was wasn't sure how to fix the big gash in Brandy's tongue, "
Unless the listener already knows that person or place OR it's super relevant and important to have that specific information, there's no reason to mention names.
People don't care. It just makes things sound more stilted,
In general, the book throughout seems to be missing some reactions, descriptions, or showing that I think would make it a better read,
So, that rant over, what did I like Aboutinto the book, since the characters did know each other and that was out of the way, their interactions became more natural so the feel of the book improved.
I started enjoying the actual story at that point,
I also liked the premise, The fact that it's about a forty year old going into a same sex relationship for the first time WITHOUT defining herself as lesbian yet accepting her attraction and not feeling shame about it was refreshing.
And having Jorie going into it with an open heart was nice, too, The story was more about a fluid sexuality or a pansexual kind of thing,
Jorie and Lena were also adults who talked about their feelings quickly and any insecurities were resolved right away, This book was not an angsty, handwringing type of story so I liked that, too,
I didn't find it laugh out loud funny but there were some amusing quips that got a smile out of me,
Combining what I did and didn't like I rate this story asstars, .