Day 14 — This Is Me Trying by Ashley Vargas

Daily Recommendation · No. 014

★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars

Closed door / No spice

small townhe falls firstgrumpy sunshineslow burn

Sometimes you just need a book that asks nothing of you except to settle in and breathe for a little while, and this one delivers exactly that.

Riley lives a quiet, contained life in a small town near Seattle, working at a hardware store and leaning hard into her true crime obsession as a way of keeping the world at a comfortable distance. Then Finn walks in, and he is the kind of patient, steady man who doesn't push, just shows up, and keeps showing up until Riley is ready to let him closer.

The anxiety representation here feels genuinely thoughtful, never like a checklist item or a dramatic plot device. It's woven into who Riley is in a way that rang true, and I appreciated that the author trusted readers to sit with it rather than rushing toward a fix. Finn is a standout as far as MMCs go. He falls first and he falls quietly, which honestly might be my favorite way for it to happen.

This is a three-star read in the best possible sense. It's not trying to be a sweeping, unforgettable love story, and because it isn't reaching for something it can't hold, it succeeds at what it actually is: a warm, undemanding afternoon of a book. If you're in a reading slump or just need something gentle between heavier reads, Riley and Finn are good company to keep.

Not a 5-star read for me, but a rating is just one reader's experience. If the tropes above are your thing, this could be exactly what you're looking for. I'd rather share it than gatekeep it.

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