Entertaining listen.

3.5*
I Love You, Luke Piewalker was an entertaining listen. It was fun, while also being slightly frustrating. I liked Jayne and all her awkwardness, I thought she was an endearing, quirky, character, although she did have her faults. Actually, most of the characters in this book had faults of their own- but don't we all!
Although Jayne is a write of erotica, don't expect any of that to show up on the pages of I Love You, Luke Piewalker. This is a slow burn romance, more along the lines of womens fiction/chick-lit, as there is no on page sex.
The bulk of the story focuses on Jayne and her writing and dealing with her fear of intimacy, the romance really does take a back seat. Which I didn't really have a problem with, I just would have liked to have seen more of Jayne and Luke on page. There was a lot of pining on her side, and not having Luke's pov made it hard to really feel the connection between them. And with him acting the way he did at one point made it even harder.
I did like seeing Jayne's growth over the course of the book- she really started to finally take control and stand up for herself.

There were just a few things that I wish had played out a little different, to make this a strong 4* read. But overall it was engaging and entertaining listen.

Carly Robins is a terrific narrator, I enjoy listening to her. She was a good choice to bring Jayne to life- she made Jayne feel like a real person, not just a character on the page. She also does a nice job with the secondary characters as well. I'm glad I decided to listen to I Love You, Luke Piewalker instead of just reading it, as I thought the narration added a lot to the story.


***Audible Plus

7 people found this helpful

Almost cute, but not quite

I tried to love this book. The author had some many fabulous and fun elements. I loved the Star Wars references, the neurotic pet cat, the commitment to ducks, the hero with a dessert food truck, and even the heroine writing erotica while struggling with intimacy in her personal life. But the characters I liked in the beginning became frustrating and annoying by the end. I just didn't understand them. How could she be this sensitive and undone by the merest hint of any reference to intimacy, and then happily fall into the arms of her crush? And while I appreciate the therapeutic purpose in writing erotica, how the hell did someone who has nearly zero personal experience write such compelling erotica that its an instant hit? How can she have the courage to stand up for a friend in a public confrontation, but not be able to tell a guy she doesn't want to date no thanks? Her best friend since childhood has moments of being really mean, demanding and entitled, but she just gives and cowers and I don't get it. The chapters of this book are interspersed with a novel she is writing which was particularly confusing as its a erotica-free story while the main story is all about her erotica. It doesn't make sense until the last hour of the story. Also did we really need 2 hospital visits? Seemed like unnecessary drama. In the end I thought she was wimpy and whiny, and he moved between patient perfection and not that into her. Lousy characters kill the romance.

6 people found this helpful

People tell you who they are...

...and you have to believe them. This is a fair story. Not exciting and fantastic, but easy. I enjoy the geek references, but they were definitely light on the fandom research. Example: saying “I sat across from Doctor Who” is similar to saying “I sat across from Jedi.”

The narrator carries a snarky tone that can be off-putting. But here’s the thing that gets me the most. It’s the idea that a woman overlooks some really alarming character traits for the sake of an attractive guy. Men do this too, but I want to say this clearly: a person who claims to care about you well-being does not use your struggles as a reason to judge and insult you. You deserve care and compassion. Don’t settle for less, or you will always live secondary to that person’s opinions.

3 people found this helpful

Sweet Story

Overall, I did like the story. The conflict was a bit blown out of proportion - I know that it usually is, but this really went beyond what I thought was believable. Also, the Gretchen/Jane conflict felt really manipulative. If I knew Jane and Gretchen, I’d tell Jane that Gretchen was way out of line.

For performance, I think there was an issue with the sound mix or something. That coupled with the narrator’s tendency to whisper certain lines as part of the performance, made some sections impossible to hear unless I was wearing headphones.

2 people found this helpful

…what?!

I’ve never disliked a free Audible book enough to write a review, but WOW. You would think, as a writer herself, the author would know more about how the actual writing process works, how excruciatingly long it takes, the multitude of drafts you have to go through, the time consuming process of editing, etc. You would think she would understand that a book doesn’t magically become successful, and especially not when there is absolutely no sort of marketing or promotion behind it.

Also, both of the men in this incredibly weak love triangle are TERRIBLE! One is way, way too pushy and decides he’s in love with her when they literally just met and have never had a full conversation. The other is a complete tool. Imagine being so mad about something that is personal to someone else and has absolutely nothing to do with you???

I genuinely cannot say enough bad things about this book. Even with it being free the price was way too high.

The only good thing was the narration. It is not the narrator’s fault she was handed such a steaming pile of garbage to read.

1 person found this helpful

Jayne and Luke are geeky flirty fun.

Great story for Star Wars fans. As one who collects rubber ducky’s, that was a cute bonus.
Jayne writes, Luke seems to be her muse, running his food truck called Luke Piewalkers. They’re good together but haven’t figured it out together, while Jayne has an issue with intimacy, she can’t talk about it, but she can definitely write about it. Maybe she can write herself a good story.

1 person found this helpful

Adorable Allusions!

As the sister of a mega-Star Wars fan (who just informed me that Yoda is not, in fact, "The Child" in The Mandalorian), I found all the geeky references very endearing. The sexphobia is a bit heavy-handed and the dialogue is stiff sometimes, but Jane is a lovable, cringy character all the same. Definitely a fun read with a satisfying ending!

More friendship than a romantic comedy

More friendship and finding yourself than a romantic comedy. Very long introduction before the story really starts, and we hear more about Jaynes other friends than time with Luke. It is difficult to really get to know Lukes character. Sweet story, but could be more focused on the two main characters and their interactions.

Legit Comedy with some romance

This book made me smile from start to end. Laugh, sigh and gush with the Portland references.

stop it

politics ruin everything, there is nothing else to say but I cannot submit a review without at least 15 words