Finding Gene Kelly

 Tell me a story... about finding love and balance

Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean

Publication date: September 20, 2022

Date read: April 3, 2023

When five-year-old Evie O'Shea married her next-door neighbor, Liam, in the wedding of the century, she had no idea she was swearing an oath to love the man who would grow into the bane of her existence until the end of time. Or that in ten years time, she'd start a long and winding journey to an eventual endometriosis diagnosis. Now, aged twenty-six, Evie O'Shea lives in Paris, balancing precariously close to her Charlotte Lucas birthday. A burden to her parents, with no prospects and no money, Evie's humdrum life needs a shake-up. But when a family announcement shakes up Evie's world weeks before her brother's wedding, Evie seeks Liam's help to get through the wedding with some semblance of sanity intact. 

This was a fairly cute Hallmark-romance-style story. Kind of cheesy, a little steamy, miscommunication, fake dating with a twist. I didn't love it, but I did like it. 

Positive thoughts: I thought the characters were well-written and really sweet. I liked their relationship and thought they paired really well together. I also loved the disability rep with having the character suffer from endometriosis. The author made it feel natural to the story (didn't try to shoehorn it in in an awkward way), but also made it integral to the story, rather than just a to say there was disability rep. The endometriosis affected the main character's life and it added an interesting aspect to the relationship. I've never read a character with endometriosis before and I thought that the author did a great job with it. 

Negative thoughts: At times the romance was a little too cheesy for my tastes (lots of swooning and Evie being obsessed with Liam's physical characteristics). Also, the 5 year old characters spoke in a way that didn't really seem like they were actually the age they were supposed to be, which took me out of that part of the story a bit. 

Overall, I thought that this was a decently good romance - liked it but didn't love it. I wouldn't suggest that people not read it, but it wouldn't be one of the books that I would recommend highly. Caveat to that, is that if someone has endometriosis or is curious about how this illness affects those who have it, it's a very good option. That was actually one of the best aspects of the book. 

Rating: 3/5 stars

Content warning: chronic illness

Note: language

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.