My Rating: 4.25
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Format: eARC*
Publication Date: September 30, 2022
Author: Grayson Avery
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Love & Agita Blurb
“The Hating Game meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding!”
You think you have a crazy family? Meet Leo Donati, a great guy from a wacky New York Italian family, who is expected to live his life a certain way. There are a few family rules etched in stone that he has done his best to follow:
1. Attend Sunday family dinner. It’s at 2:00. Nobody knows why.
2. Love your mother.
3. Never tell Nonna you’re full. Unless you have a death wish.
4. Marry Italian.
5. Family comes first. Always. Friends come and go, but family is forever.
The only problem? He’s not living his best life. Not even close. Single, lonely, and spending way too much time at the gym burning sexual energy and ungodly amounts of pasta, Leo hopes his life will change when his father hands over the family business. If only things were that simple. A takeover offer on the business puts Leo on the war path against a strikingly sexy, but overly competitive Jewish woman who is seemingly intent on ruining his life. At least that’s how Leo sees it.
As tension rises and Italian tempers flare, Leo wonders if perhaps hate isn’t the most accurate word for how he feels about his new nemesis. But it could never work. Yeah, the pizza bagel exists, but real-life cultural divides are more complicated than that, aren’t they?
Humor abounds as corporations and cultures collide. Leo tries to thwart the takeover, find love and happiness, while also trying to avoid being bludgeoned to death by his Nonna’s wooden spoon.
Love & Agita is a laugh-out loud, romantic comedy that has it all: twists, turns, emotional depth, sparkling chemistry and hilarious banter that flies off the page.
Love & Agita Review
As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:
- 1 star: Did not finish
- 2 Stars: Finished but I do not recommend
- 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
- 4 Stars: Loved this book!
- 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.
My star ratings are also based also genre based. I compare all books with books of the same genre. While I would love to believe that my love of books in general transcends all bias, there are genres I prefer over others.
I’m human.
Example: If I read a mystery novel and think it deserves a 5-star rating, then I have compared it to other mystery books, and determined it to be one of my absolute favorites. The unputdownable mystery.
This will hopefully keep me from comparing Outlander, a personal obsession of mine, with the experience of reading The Hate You Give. Both 5 star books for me, but completely and totally different. I couldn’t even try to rate them against each other, so I don’t. Makes my life easier. 🙂
My Thoughts
About a previous Grayson Avery book, I said, “Romance, especially romcom, readers should flock to this series,” and apparently I need to amend my statement to include all Grayson Avery books. Just go get them. You will thank me later.
The family vibes and the secondary characters are worth reading alone, but the description of “The Hating Games meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is spot on, only with Italian and Jewish family squabbles. And if you remember MBFGW at all, the family shenanigans are the best parts.
The sexual tension is off the charts, but I am a bit biased as enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. The cultural divide really seemed to work for this book though the corporate take over angle reminded me a little of a Hallmark Christmas movie. That’s not a bad thing necessarily, as I watch Hallmark Christmas movies incessantly from November to January. In fact, I think Love & Agita would make an adorable movie. The Nonna character alone would jump off of the screen.
Conclusion
If you like romantic comedies that make you laugh out loud, Love & Agita is the perfect choice.
*Special thanks to Grayson Avery, Netgalley, and Farcical Press for providing a copy of Love & Agita in exchange for an honest review.
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