ARC Review: April May Fall by Christina Hovland

About the Book:

Title: April May Fall

Author: Christina Hovland

Page Length: 368

Publication Date: Oct. 26, 2021

Publisher: Entangled: Amara

Synopsis: April Davis totally has her life in order. Ha! Not really. Yes, she’s the Calm Mom—a social influencer with a reputation for showing moms how to stay calm and collected through yoga—but behind the scenes, she’s barely holding it all together. Raising tiny humans alone is exhausting, but that’s just the chewed-up cherry on the melted sundae of her life. Her kids aren’t behaving, her husband left her for his skydiving instructor, and her top knot proves she hasn’t showered in days.

Then a live video of the “always calm” April goes viral…and she’s most definitely not. Enter Jack Gibson, April’s contact at the media conglomerate that has purchased April’s brand. The too-sexy-for-his-own good Jack will help clean up April’s viral mess, and even work with her to expand her influence, but toddler tea parties and a dog with a penchant for peeing on his shoes were definitely not part of the deal.

Now April’s calm has jumped ship quicker than her kids running from their vegetables. Not to mention, the sparks flying between her and Jack have her completely out of her depth. Forget finding her calm—April’s going to need a boatload of margaritas just to find her way back to herself again.

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

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My Review:

April’s trying to keep her head above water after her husband leaves her and their three children. As the Calm Mom, April has made a career out of teaching yoga and calming techniques to other moms online. However, when a video of her being less-than-calm while shopping with her kids goes viral, all of the work that she has done begins to unravel. Luckily, Jack comes to help. His job is to fix messes like this, and he is fantastic at it. Of course, when Jack has to move into April’s spare room, they grow closer, and the dynamics of their relationship begin to change.

April has a lot on her plate, and she struggles to juggle everything life throws at her. She is a well-developed protagonist who shows a lot of growth throughout the story. I think a lot of people will relate to the highs and lows and chaos of her everyday life. She is going through so many changes, but with the support of her friends, family, and Jack, April slowly comes to realize her strength and worth.

Jack is also well-developed and likable, and his relationship with April and her kids is fantastic. The dual perspective definitely gives you an in-depth view of each character’s thoughts, feelings, and backgrounds, which I liked. Neither April nor Jack are perfect characters, and they both make mistakes, but they also both face their flaws and errors, and they grow.

The secondary characters are also great, especially the kids and April’s best friend Kitty. They bring so much fun and humor to the story, as well as some really touching moments. I also like how Jack and Kitty help April gain confidence and realize her value. They make a great team and have such a good impact on each other. Their friends-to-lovers romance is gradual and slow-building,

April May Fall is a fun and sweet contemporary romance, and though it is part of a series, it can totally be read as a standalone. I think romance readers that are looking for a light and charming read with some great messages will enjoy this one! Thanks so much to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, and the author for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.