She Gets The Girl (Review)

Information:

• Authors: Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick
• Genre: Romance
• Page count: 371
• Year published: 2022

Read This If You Like:

• Queer representation
• Teen movie vibes
• Books written by more than one author
• Dual POV
• Reluctant partners to lovers (they aren’t exactly enemies)
• Opposites attract romance
• “Relationship coaches” (I think that’s the name of the trope?)
• College settings (especially University of Pittsburgh)

Spoiler-free summary:

Alex Blackwood is the confident one- she knows exactly how to get a girl to date her. But Alex isn’t so good at keeping them- and she just had a bad breakup the night before she was off to Pittsburgh for college. Molly Parker is the awkward one- she has trouble speaking to anyone except her mom, and even that is starting to get hard. Molly hopes that her university experience will finally give her the confidence to talk to her crush, fellow student Cora Myers, who she’s known since high school. Alex and Molly are total opposites, and their initial interaction proves that they just won’t work together. But that same interaction reveals Molly’s hidden crush on Cora- and Alex has a plan- she’ll teach Molly, in 5 steps, how to get Cora to fall for her. And Alex hopes that by getting Molly the girl she wants, Alex can prove to her ex that she is ready for a true relationship and that she isn’t just selfish and an over-the-top romantic. But as Alex and Molly reluctantly work together, they discover that they connect in more ways than one… and that they might be made for each other more than their dream girls.

Review/Opinions:

I was so excited to read this book, and I’m so happy that it lived up to my expectations. I previously read one of Rachael Lippincott’s other books, Pride and Prejudice and Pittsburgh (my review is here), and loved it, and it was great to see one of her collabs with other authors. Honestly, my favorite part of this is that the story is inspired by the author’s own love story- and it was written by a married couple. It really helped add some more depth to the book’s fictional story.

The romantic plot was so fun and amazingly developed. This book definitely had teen movie vibes, especially with the whole storyline of Alex teaching Molly how to get the girl. There were so many funny scenes and romantic shenanigans. I also loved the opposites-attract dynamic that ended up appearing between Alex and Molly, they ended up making a really sweet couple. The book also deals with fantasy vs. reality dynamics when it comes to romance. Alex and Molly both have ideas in their heads about what their love interests should look like, but they discover how different these ideas are like in real life, both with Alex and Molly’s initial girls they are trying to attract and with themselves.

Despite the cuteness and fluffiness in this book, there are some tougher themes when it comes to the character development- especially with the character’s families. Alex’s mother is constantly asking for cash from Alex just to spend it on liquor, and Alex is angry that she won’t get any help. Meanwhile, Molly’s mother, who is half-Korean, wants to erase her culture due to the racism she has received, and it impacts Molly’s life too. While really heavy topics to read about, Alex and Molly beautifully open up about them, and the characters end up working to fix them in the end.

(Minor spoilers ahead in the following paragraph)

I did have issues with the last 20% of the book. The “third act breakup” will forever be one of my least favorite romantic tropes, and it felt like this one dragged on a bit longer than it should have. However, it also nicely added in more character development, especially with the tougher themes, and also ended happily for the characters. I would’ve also liked a chapter or two at the end showing Alex and Molly as a couple, as the book ends as soon as they get back together, and more closure would’ve been nice.

Overall, anyone looking for a fun and cute queer romance will enjoy this book. It beautifully combines heartwarming romance and fun with some tougher scenes and masterful character development.