Book Review: Day One by Lauren Runow

Day One by Lauren Runow

Standalone Contemporary Quarantine Romance Novella

I was struggling to read. Nothing was distracting me from the news all day. I was actually wishing there was a quarantine romance out there, and asked on my Facebook Page if other people were interested as well. I was so surprised to see that so many said “no way”. But when I saw Day One by Lauren Runow, I grabbed it in the hopes that it will bring me out of the reading slump I’ve been in.

I’m very pleased to tell you that IT WORKED! I loved every second of this socially distant romance that takes place right NOW. It’s so current and they both shared the same fears and situations that we are all facing.

“You can’t spell virus without U and I.”

Sharee is a 6th grade teacher in a small town near San Francisco. School is out because of the pandemic, and Sharee lives alone and is bored, so she reactivates her Tinder account.

She meets Drew Miller, a swoony baseball player who just moved back to the area and is temporarily bunking with his parents. His mom is very high risk, so Andrew is taking no chances.

I love books where the couple connects via texts and emails, where they really get to know each other before sex. (Though phone sex wasn’t off the table for them ?) Andrew was so creative for their dates, I loved how he found a way to spend time together while still remaining socially distant.

“The worst time of my life is turning into the best.”

Likes:

It was so current! (Even Tiger King was in it!)
I read the whole thing with a smile on my face.
We are all in such a strange new world, it was cool to read about the same thing.
It was creative and cute.
It was hot without being over-the-top.
As much as I wanted more, it told a very full story in a novella length, something that’s very rare to find.

Dislikes:

The cover and title don’t match the book at all.
A few too many exclamation points made the writing seem a bit immature (but only at those times, and I’m one to talk).

The Down & Dirty:

What I LOVED about Day One is that it is taking place RIGHT NOW. It was the first book I read that held my interest because it was so easy to relate to all they are going through trying to maintain social distancing. I read the entire story grinning ear to ear and even finished it with happy tears. In fact, I started trying to slow down at the end because I didn’t want it to be over. Day One by Lauren Runow totally broke my reading slump and I look forward to reading more of her books.