[Emily’s Review]: Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter scheme to reunite their divorced bosses with unforecasted results in this charming romantic comedy from the author of The Ex Talk.

Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.

In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book hit juuuuuuust a little too close to home for me.
Sometimes when you read, a character is struggling with some issues or situations that you yourself deal with regularly and it isn’t always easy to look those struggles in the eye.
At times, it felt like I was looking in a mirror while I was reading this book.
This book depicts mental illness, specifically depression very realistically, and in great detail.
I know that this novel is described as a rom-com but I daresay that it ventures far, far into the chick lit category… In fact, I think that the “rom-com” aspect of this novel was completely unnecessary. I would have almost preferred to have read about Ari’s struggles and successes in a much more organic setting than a silly parent trap-esque scheme that she came up with.

Some context? Sure, here you go:
Ari is the local meteorologist in Seattle. Her boss is a holy terror and she is miserable at her job. Ari and her co worker Russel come up with a match making plan to get their bosses to fall in love so that the work place is less toxic. Ari and Russel very predictably end up falling in love themselves. Ari deals with mental illness, as does her mother. It’s a very stilted relationship and it’s something that Ari never really made peace with. Ari is also very actively battling her depression. She sees a therapist and takes her medications, but anyone who suffers depression also knows that those dark days are always inevitable. Between her depression diagnosis and her fucked up relationship with her mom, Ari really struggles in her romantic relationships. So when she ends up falling for Russel, she freaks out.

This novel is a happily ever after, it is a “rom com” after all. But the journey to get there is a very genuine one and I enjoyed reading it as much as I was uncomfortable while reading it.

I think that Rachel Lynn Solomon did a great job giving Ari a partner who not only loved her at her worst as well as her best, but a partner who was just kind. Russel came with no pretenses, he was a good man, a kind man, a thoughtful man. He was the type of partner than we all strive to find. He was realistic and had his own fears and flaws that he had to overcome. For as much as we love a chiseled jaw line and a twelve pack on our story book heroes; a gentle soul with a dad bod has his place too. Russel was perfect.

The chemistry between Russ and Ari was also super steamy. It was a little surprise for me, because I wasn’t ready for that level of sexiness going into this book.

Overall it was a very introspective read for me. I really liked it, and it made me think. It stuck with me through out my day, I couldn’t wait for my kids to go to bed so that I could see what happened next with Ari and Russ, Torrance and Seth.

I gave this one three stars.
I marked off one star because I felt like the pacing could have been a bit better, some of the filler chapters definitely needed to be cut out. I marked off another star because I firmly believe that Weather Girl is being categorized in the wrong genre. I’ve never been a big chick lit fan myself, and honestly had I known then what I know now, i’m not sure I would have picked this novel out. *But that’s just personal preference at that point*

Emily

Emily is a coffee loving, cat snuggling, hairstylist and book-a-holic.
Having always been a voracious reader and devouring books at a breakneck speed, joining the bookish and blogging community seemed like a natural next step. She loves giving recommendations to friends and family and then very gently (and not forcefully at all) asking for their opinions after they complete each chapter.
Her reviews tend to be goofy, a little sweary, on the more impassioned side and maybe sometimes a little self deprecating.
Emily typically enjoys reading almost every genre, including (but not limited to) monster romance, literary fiction, rom-com, contemporary, LGBTQ+, low/urban fantasy, paranormal, dystopian, sci-fi, gothic romance or basically any book that will make her cry.