Book Review - Catching Carly by Emma Hart • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Catching Carly (Barley Cross Book 2) by Emma Hart

Romantic Comedy. Can Easily Stand Alone.

Being Brooke was one of my favorite books of 2016, so I couldn’t wait for Catching Carly by Emma Hart. Brooke was so over the top, that Carly seemed like the sane one in the friendship, so I expected more of a serious book with Catching Carly. I was wrong. Carly is as snarky and quirky as her best friend.

Life Goal #1: Forget about my best friend’s brother. Because Zeke Elliott is a colossal cockwomble.

Zeke is Cain’s (from Being Brooke) brother. He and Carly have always had a volatile relationship. They love to hate each other. But Zeke is one sexy hunk of man.

“Trust me, Carly. You won’t be forgetting this when I’m through with you.”

There was a major pull between them, despite the hatred.

Now, are you going to shut the hell up?”
“No. As a rule, I don’t shut up. Ever.”
Zeke steps forward, shutting the distance between us in less than three seconds. He lifts his hand to my chin and cups it, dipping his handsome face down close to mine. “That’s fine. I think I’ll prefer it when you’re screaming for more and calling me God.”

It was a one time accident.

“I accidentally had sex with him.”
“Accidentally? What did you do, trip over a rug and just happen to sit your vagina on his cock?”

This all happens in the prologue, but Carly really holds on to the fight throughout a lot of the book, though Zeke is trying really hard.

“I do hate Zeke…Most of the time.” Like when he’s not kissing me.
“So, you like him when he kisses you? Obviously, you more than liked him at least once…”
“You’re being an asshole.”
She snorts. “I’m always an asshole. I’m just saying that maybe your non-date was a real date.”

I really wish there was a little more romance and togetherness in Catching Carly. While I loved the banter and resistance, I needed a little more romance on both parts.

This quote pretty much explains the book:

“And here I thought someone would make a movie out of our love story.”
“I’ll write it for you one day. It’ll be pretty much two hundred pages of ‘asshole’ until we reach the….”

Don’t get me wrong, I still loved the Catching Carly, but I almost felt like it tried to hard to keep up with Brooke. Still, the hysterical banter, her nickname, and the ridiculous amount of quotes I highlighted and the smile on my face while I read it made it worth the read.

Likes:

Grandma and the brownies.
Amazing amount of funny quotes.
I laughed out loud a number of times.
Awesome banter.
The nickname.
Visiting with Cain and Brooke.

Dislikes:

Too much fighting it—I wanted to see more love.
It felt like it tried a bit too hard to live up to Brooke, but maybe I just wanted it to too much.

The Down and Dirty:

Emma Hart has quite the knack for writing fun, quirky, crazy women that I totally relate to and want to hang out with. I want to be BFFs with Carly and Brooke. There were so many funny lines in Catching Carly, I probably highlighted half the book. I do, however, wish there was more of the couple together and in love, maybe a few sappy scenes. She just spent too much time pushing him away, and Zeke was a pretty decent guy. All in all though, I still loved the book, and I can’t wait for my next Emma Hart romcom.