Book Review: Leave It to the March Sisters by Annie Sereno

About the Book:

Title: Leave it to the March Sisters

Author: Annie Sereno

Page Length: 400

Publication Date: May 30, 2023

Publisher: Forever

Synopsis: When it comes to disastrous relationships, English professor Amy Marsden has pretty much seen everything . From Banana Brad (who had a thing for fruit costumes) to her latest disappointment, Derek (undiscovered artist with a penchant for tighty-whities and their perky pizza delivery driver), it’s been an endless adventure of oddballs, jerks, and some terrible lapses in judgment. Which is exactly how Amy has ended up living in a house with the guy she’s been half in love with since she was a kid….

Theo Sinclair has been her sister Jo’s best friend—and a commitment phobe—for as long as Amy can remember. And aside from one hot and heavy make-out session, she’s managed to ignore her feelings for Theo and successfully avoid adding another entry in her What-was-I-thinking list. Yet now that they’re living under the same roof, Amy and Theo are sharing everything from Cheetos and smoothies to their family drama, past trauma, and an attraction that Amy begins to think might not be one-sided. Could Theo really have feelings for her—or is Amy just setting herself up for another disaster?

LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon

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My Review:

This is a fun contemporary romance, especially for Little Women lovers. Amy is a college professor whose true passion is to be an artist. When she and her boyfriend break up, she has to quickly find somewhere to live, and she ends up renting the second floor of a house. Little does she know, her sister’s ex-best friend, who is also Amy’s childhood crush, owns the place and lives on the first floor.

Amy hasn’t spoken to or seen Theo in years, not since her sister and Theo had a huge fight. Needless to say, this makes living in the same house pretty awkward at first. But the more time they spend together, the more they must face their unspoken feelings for each other and what happened years ago that changed the trajectory of all of their lives.

I enjoyed the growing romance between Amy and Theo. They have so much history, and they have a lot to work through. Miscommunication, secrets, lack of trust, and so much more stand in their way, and I just wanted them to be honest with each other because it was obvious they belonged together.

I also really liked the similarities and references to Little Women. It’s clear the author has a love of the story, and I liked the contemporary spin on the novel. The story also includes quotes and references to the literary classic and the movie remakes, which was great. It will definitely appeal to Little Women fans, but I don’t think you need to have read the book or seen the movies to pick up the references in this book.

I have to say, I didn’t love Jo at all. I couldn’t understand some of the things she did, how she encouraged some secret-keeping, and how secretive she was about her own life. Also, the pacing was a bit choppy at times and pulled me out of the story, especially toward the end of the book. I thought the first half was stronger and pretty evenly paced, but the second half lulled in some parts and was abrupt in others.

A story of forgiveness, family, and falling in love, Leave it to the March Sisters has a slow-burn romance, great nods to Little Women, and a lot of small-town charm. Thanks to Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.