Review: By Mist@ke by Sigal Ehrlich

“doing the right thing isn’t always the right thing to do.”

sigal ehrlich

---

Goodreads Summary: There’s so much going on in Anna’s life. Teaching countless hours at the studio and nurturing the three major relationships of her life – her group of tight-knit friends, all while attempting to not screw up this whole adulthood thing leaves very little time to waste on yet another dating app. At this point, a relationship is off the menu. Being “self-partnered” is more than enough.

A serious relationship has been crossed off Liam Brody’s list of goals, at least for the foreseeable future. Completing his residency and becoming a trauma surgeon is his only priority. Casual relationships, his friends, and books are the only things he’s willing to lose his precious free time to.

When an accidental email starts a deep online connection, both Liam and Anna dive in with zero concern . . . because there’s really no harm in getting close to someone who you’ll never meet in real life, right? Wrong. When a turn of events brings their “safe” virtual connection to an unexpected face-to-face, Anna and Liam learn their online chemistry pales in comparison to the real deal. A realization that brings along the bazillion-dollar question – what do you do when you meet The One at the most impossibly wrong time?

by Mist@ke is book 1 in a standalone series with connected characters, but independent storylines.

Rating:

Thoughts:

I loved loved loved this! This is exactly the type of story I’m looking for when reading New Adult romance. It was fluffy and cozy and sweet with realistic, relatable characters and I immensely enjoyed reading it.

The premise is so adorable and was executed so well. I love that the romance started off through a mistaken e-mail, allowing the pair to get to know each other simply for who they are rather than physical attraction, and how their relationship translated almost effortlessly to off screen. The chemistry between Anna and Liam was crazy and I definitely found myself smiling at my e-reader screen while reading more than once. I loved both of their senses of humor!

Anna is such a great character, especially for the New Adult world. She has the perfect balance between pursuing her goals while not quite having everything figured out yet as well as being confident while also still being hesitant at times. Her easygoing nature was a favorite part of the book for me as well as the fact that she wasn’t too overly emotional but wasn’t afraid to put her heart out there. Liam was an amazing love interest! I love that him being a doctor felt more like his job instead of his Only Defining Quality like it so often comes across in books. His openness and honesty made him so endearing and it’s easy to see why Anna fell for him when he had such a good heart. The romance was so sweet and had a great maturity to it with the characters able to communicate like actual adults rather than dragging out misunderstandings. It was so refreshing to read!

Anna’s friends were a great addition to the book. I loved reading their group chats and their interactions with each other. They truly each had their own personality and voice and you could even feel the differences in how the 3 interacted who knew each other longer and better compared to how they were still bringing their 4th friend in. I also adored the Panda and “Jonathan” romance subplot. It was so funny to see how it developed and I have to admit I was more invested in it than I thought I’d be.

Overall, this is a great New Adult romance read. It fits the niche perfectly while having a great premise with interesting, relatable characters who actually read as their age. I can’t wait to see where the series goes with the two spin-offs featuring other characters in this installment. I’ll definitely be picking them up as they become available!

Goodreads | Twitter | Storygraph | Bookstagram