I Love You, Lola Bloom

by Rosy Dee

Some love stories write themselves.After a series of disastrous relationships, designer Maddison Appleby is fed up with everything love has had to offer, and can’t help but feel she’s destined to be alone forever. That is, until a chance encounter at a local book club sparks an unexpected connection with the beautiful Ruby Wilson - aka renowned lesfic author, Lola Bloom.Maddison can’t believe her luck when Ruby asks her to design her new book cover, and as they spend more time together, Maddison sees a glimmer of hope for her dispirited love life.However, her hopes are soon dashed, and to top it all off, her past makes an unwelcome reappearance which threatens to make her world come crashing down.Will Maddison get her long-awaited happily ever after? Or will she admit defeat and purchase her one-way ticket to Singledom?Debut author Rosy Dee brings you a slow-burn romantic comedy with all the feels and an extra sprinkling of hearts for good measure.

Genres: Lesbian, Queer, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 31, 2020

About the author

Rosy Dee is a graphic designer based in Surrey, UK. She has IBS, OCD, and a mind that just won’t switch off.

She has been an avid fan of romantic comedies and happily ever after’s ever since she can remember, and in 2016, she discovered a new passion for writing whilst on holiday in Spain – where all great ideas are made. (Holiday, that is. Not Spain specifically.) So, it was inevitable that writing her own romantic comedy would be on the cards one day.

In 2018, she designed the cover for Kiki Archer’s The Way You Smile, followed by the cover for Kiki’s final novel, Say You’ll Love Me Again in 2019. She also designed the cover for Crystal Chard’s Rough Around The Edges in 2020.

I Love You, Lola Bloom is her debut novel.

Reviews

[AnnMaree Of Oz]

So this tale mostly deals with a love triangle. Why the author doesn't state that in the blurb is kind of beyond me. Probably because if romance lovers like myself are anything alike, they tend to not like angsty triangles with the potential for heartbreak, and characters that end up looking bad for ditching a current spouse. But it felt like a bait and switch, which I did not appreciate. At all. So that left me in a pissy mood once that tidbit came out. So I feel like it's only right to warn others about that.

Ruby is Lola Bloom, an lesbian romance novelist, who is seemingly very famous, having people stop her in the streets for autographs and selfies, and even has big photoshoots in magazines. Yeah this made me cringe, it was pretty unbelievable.

Madison meets her at a lesbian bookclub, and realizes she is her favourite novelist of her favourite book that got her through some tough times and helped her find faith in love and put herself out there again. There's an instant connection between them. LOTS of outrageous flirtation between them, and a few more meetings where they flirt some more, but Ruby never reveals the fact she is engaged to be married to Jen. Of course this also means Madison despite Ruby being her fave author, and supposedly being SO famous also doesn't know this. How that works I dunno, but there it is. She finally finds out, but they insist on still being friends, and working together on her new book cover - despite both clearly having feelings.

Jen is portrayed as a workaholic, out to impress her female power boss (yep obvious plotline is obvious) - she also has egotistical high brow friends who she wants to impress, one who actively insults their lesbian relationship, while Ruby gets upset, Jen passes it off as a joke.

It's pretty clear they are going for the 'potential wife isn't all she is cracked up to be, and there's issues' trope - so that somehow makes it OK that Ruby has feelings for Madison and is hedging her bets on both sides. Because of this I stopped reading. I hate that kind of 'trying to redeem a character of their flaws, through making another character worse with even worse flaws' trope. It's lazy and tedious. I found myself sighing and even saying out loud to the room 'this is so boring!'.

So I gave up after an hour of torturing myself and 30% of the book getting on my tits. Not rating to be fair, but I'd give it pretty low marks if I did.

Can I also say, the dialogue was incredibly stilted and unnatural between characters. Some were wayyyy over the top, like trying too hard and acting really immature. Others were just full of details that read like speeches or blogposts, not natural discussion. Quite strange.

I'd certainly be interested in hearing others reviews and take on it. But this was not for me.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took a chance on this writer after coming across her on Instagram. The writing wasn't bad exactly, but I didn't like the story or the characters, and I stopped reading about a third of the way in. Too much sneaking and cheating for my tastes I guess.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rosy’s first novel is a romance that blossoms in a book club. How would you react if your favorite author happens to show up to your book club meeting? And then to feel a mutual attraction, how exciting would that be? Only to have your dreams of a future with Lola Bloom smashed. (Never fear our two lovebirds figure out a way in the end.)😉
I really enjoyed Rosy’s book. She has great character development and the story has a good flow, so you will want to keep reading until the end. Grab this one and if you’re like me, you won’t be able to wait to see what Rosy puts out next!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Immature and not very relatable characters. Skimmed through dialogs and descriptions a lot. Too much drama for a romance book with very little time of the MCs actually being together. Way too predictable scenario for a "you knew!" fight, that was totally unnecessary and avoidable. And if you can't listen to an explanation from a person you like long enough without third parties involved, you probably shouldn't be together in the first place. Couldn't even root for the MCs getting rid of the cheaters with how dragged on the whole story felt sometimes and too fast moving and rushing other times.

[LM1984 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful story.

I really really enjoyed this book. From the first chapter onwards, I was rooting for one of the MC’s and when the other one was introduced, I was rooting for them both! This is a warm and beautifully written story with unexpected twists and turns and I thought the ending was brilliant. Even the side characters were great. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments and banter and as well as sad heart breaking moments. All in all it all tied together really well and the story was flowing. The book is easy to read and I couldn’t put it down and read it in 2 days.

And an interesting bonus – there is a soundtrack at the end of this book, such a great addition.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love at first sight and a lesfic writer so famous that she's stopped on the street for selfies and autographs. Even for 99cents this was way to cheesy for me and felt like an immature first attempt at a novel with a lot of cliches and annoying characters.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor to bad. Waste of money.

[Jennabeebs79 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really well written book. Ruby and Maddison met at a book club and Maddy was downright giddy when she found out that Ruby was actually her favorite author, Lola Bloom. The chemistry between the two was immediate never diminished. A quick and easy friendship bloomed between our main with the underlying chemistry under the surface. I was a bit surprised when Ruby, reluctantly told Maddy she was engaged. A large portion of the book involved this love triangle, which is normally not my thing, but the dialogue that flowed between all of the characters was entertaining and made up for the angsty triangle. I will definitely read another book by this author.

[Michael Wells · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddy thinks she is no good at reiuonlps.She meets Ruby ags afor uthor she her. Hikes and feels some feelings for her. However Ruby is engaged to be married to Jen. The story goes from. there and is a wonderful story of true love comes to all. This is a great love story and I recommend it. I received this book as an ARC but these are my true thoughts about it.

[Christine Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow beautifully out together I have laughed and cried with the main characters it held my attention for start to finish for a first time novel it was epic journey congratulations

[CassTrusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story

Overall the story was really cute and I loved both characters, so I’d recommend it anyone looking for somewhat comedic romantic drama.


***SPOILERS***










If I could make one change to this story, it would be how things play out with Jen and her character overall. It’s overly convenient in so many stories for the current lover to just turn out to be horrible people. I realize that it’s part of what brings Ruby and Maddy closer, but it just feels too easy and somewhat anticipated. I had a lot of hopes for Jen at the start, but the moment with her and Roberta just made me somewhat not want to continue the story at all. Really disappointed me, because I feel it would have been more real and deep if Jen had been an honest woman. Things like this happen, and it isn’t always in a situation where that person’s lover is a cheater, sometimes it’s not even with a mutual falling out of love. It can be heart breaking for the other person, and I didn’t want that to be the case, but she didn’t need to be made into a villain for the story to be as moving as it is.

[Meri · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Conny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this was Rosy Dee’s first book and I‘m so glad I got to read it. I fell in love with her writing style right away and the moment I’ve seen that there is a café called Fika I fell in love with the story even more. The chemistry between Ruby and Maddison was there right away and Rosy did a fantastic job building up the tension between them. And then there was a twist I honestly didn’t expect. Especially because it was quite early in the book. But seriously this was just a fantastic way to go. I couldn’t put the book down and had to smile over and over again. I even had the biggest smile on my face reading that one of the MC’s was a huge fan of The Corrs. I grew up with them too and loved everything about them. I’m still smiling when I’m hearing a song of them today. Last but not least all those little life advices were just wonderful. I definitely marked a lot for myself. I finished the book with a huge smile on my face and a full heart. Thank you Rosy for that.

I think I‘ve read somewhere that Rosy needed a long time to finish this book. But what I can say it was totally worth it. It’s a fantastic book I highly recommend.

I received an advanced reader copy from the author & am voluntarily leaving an honest and unbiased review.

[Carol Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Sweet!!!

Fed up with love and bad relationships, Maddison feels like she is going to be alone forever, until she meets Ruby. A chance meeting at a book club, and the realisation that Ruby is in fact Maddison’s favourite author, leaves her in a whirlwind of feelings and emotions. Maddison can’t help but feel a connection with Ruby, and although the feeling is somewhat mutual, it’s complicated for them both. With the potential to find the happiness and love Maddison has always dreamed of she has not only the past, but the present to contend with if it is ever going to be a possibility.

This was a fantastic debut novel that really ticked all the boxes for a drama filled, angsty romance. I loved the story, the characters and their dynamic as it leant well to plot twists and unexpected events. For a romance it also held a hint of fantasy with the ‘celebrity’ in the form of Lola Bloom! I adored Ruby’s double persona as normal girl and famous author, it added another element to the story that made it exciting.

Maddison and Ruby had an amazing connection, both as friends and when that romantic spark appeared. The dilemmas they both faced were complex and reflected not only moral decision, but decision of the heart and highlighted the importance of considering others and the consequences of their actions. They were so sweet together though, and I was rooting for them from the moment they met but it was never going to be an easy ride. The slow burn romance that developed between them was worth the wait, and I actually enjoyed them building a connection as friends first.

I literally couldn’t put this book down. It was so exciting and filled with anticipation. There was so much uncertainty as to whether happiness would be possible, but when it all started coming together I felt emotionally connected to Maddison and Ruby. That emotional connection really helped me to feel a part of the story and so invested in praying for the happy ending Maddison and Ruby deserved. I hope we will see more from them in future.

For a debut novel, Rosy Dee has provided and exciting, fun and fabulous romance that leaves me excited for what she’ll write next. I highly recommend this story for any lover of an angst filled dramatic romance.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This for sure was a well written debut by Rosy Dee. I liked the twist and turns and for sure felt the connection/chemistry by the mains. I have read so many books this year that what stands out for me is that when I read this one it felt seamless. Sometimes when I read a book the way the books is written doesn't feel like a smooth or even like how we talk to people or think in our heads. It can feel forced. I Love you, Lola Bloom was not like this. I felt comfortable reading it and didn't have to strain to follow along.

4.25 stars

[Fran Sappharc · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the dedication onwards I enjoyed this book. The dedication hinted at a sense of humour I would enjoy and the first chapter onwards gave me no reason to doubt my gut feeling. Just I was beginning to think it was moving along but maybe starting to lose pace as both main characters were getting along swimmingly with no issues, suddenly there was a big issue. Worry not,this is not an angst filled novel. The big issue, became less of a character flaw (in my mind) just before half way through and I could go back to enjoying some great lines without any feeling of discomfort. (I know that all seems vague but avoiding spoilers). One M.C. has perfect parents. The other a fearsome Nan who goes to battle. The sibling relationship felt a wee bit stilted, especially the brothers relationship with his parents. Not a big issue but missed the lightness of touch of the rest of the book. Having said that, the interactions with the brother around the other secondary character made me smile. This authors pacing is just right around the plot devices. However the stiltedness reappeared at points which for me made this drop from a wavering four stars to three and a half, the reconciliation also seemed a bit off pace. However, I enjoyed many of the lines, and the story worked out well enough in the end so that pushed it back to a good mood 4!
This was an ARC.

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I implore les-fic enthusiasts to give this book a try. And please don’t be dissuaded by the initial “thoughts” that the book might provoke or what other reviews might suggest.
Yes, it begins quite obviously, and there’s a couple of twists that happen which are unavoidable... however there’s much more to this as you get into the story.

The relationship between the characters (Ruby and Maddison) is sweet without being saccharine, and it’s both believable in terms as friends-with-added-attraction and what the future could hold for them “if only...”. I love how Rosy doesn’t concentrate on describing the appearance of the characters, but delves more into their feelings, their emotions, and the states in which they find themselves drawn to the actions they take. The side characters of Beth and Eddie are both funny and loveable, with a hint of cheekiness, and a whole lot of love and support. Anyone who is friends like this can count themselves very lucky!

And finally... While it might not mean as much to everyone as it did me, the fact that the author has provided a playlist for the story is OUTSTANDING, in my opinion.
There’s something about written words and music coming together and expressing more than they do alone. I think it’s a great way to combine the two. Thank you for that added bonus, Rosy Dee! I applaud you (and hope that more authors can have this approach!) :)

[Gina L · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Is A Great Live Story!

I definitely loved the vibe on this book. I am an avid reader of lesbian fiction and I could only imagine meeting a writer of a book I loved. Maddie having to deal with hurt in her past, who has sort of turned into a hermit reluctantly goes to a lesbian book club meeting. While there she meets Ruby and there seems to be an instant connection and definite chemistry. As the rest of the book club arrives, the organizer instantly recognizes Rita as Lily Bloom a famous writer. Maddie not recognizing Rita right away is embarrassed because she is sitting next to her idol. The author of her favorite book (read many many times)that helped her get through her defenses and ultimately to overcome her fear and come to this book club. Here in America we call this a GodWink. As the two become flirty and closer, Ruby asks Maddie to design her next novels cover, and then finds out that Ruby is engaged after letting Ruby know she liked her. As this story starts to unravel, we are taken through some emotional baggage, serious cheating, obvious longing and definitely a need that is not being fulfilled. I loved this book and really, really would have loved to have this story continue. There is a lot more to learn about these two. This is an excellent debut novel and I can see good things for Rosy Dee.

[Bente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book from my girlfriend some weeks ago, but haven’t had a chance to read it until now.

Loved it from the get-go, in all its cheesy, slightly awkward and sickly sweet glory.
I found the characters very relatable and human. Where often one (or even both) part in a story like this will be all over and relentless, never backing down and always pushing forward in a way that just seems fictional and leaves you thinking “nobody ever does this”, I found both main characters acting so human and real, and I found myself frequently thinking “yep, I would 100% do this”, or “is this written about me?”.
I have not read many books with characters more human than Ruby and Maddy (and usually that would be biographical books, then).

Such an easy read as well, and the only reason I didn’t finish it in one go, was because I started it at 10pm the day before New Year’s Eve.

Absolutely brilliant debut and hoping I get to read more from this author in the future!

[Kahra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding chemistry!

I was fairly surprised to know it was Rosy Dee's debut novel, because that was so well written and easy to read.
Every ingredients of a great romance was present, and more importantly: the main characters were perfect... With their imperfections. They are so very human, and I couldn't help but feel a bit in love with them. And what an amazing chemistry between these two, phew!
It's really hard to review this book without spoiling anything, so I'll just say that I, for one, was positively surprised by the turn of events, that makes them only more humans. And I must say it was kind of refreshing to read a book that takes you to different territories, that are almost taboo when they shouldn't.
At the end, I love You, Lola Bloom was a huge emotional roller-coaster, and that what makes it such an amazing novel: it made me feel, really FEEL, and that's pretty rare for me as a reader...
I'll definitely look at Rosy's next novel!!

[JWG1973UK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Loved this book. I haven't enjoyed reading for months now but this book I loved from the first page to the last page. Maddy and Ruby (aka Lola) were loveable characters. Good secondary characters (my favourite has to be Eddie - I absolutely loved him).

I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

[Jude]

Color me impressed!

I have to say, I am very impressed by this debut novel. The characters are funny and loving, the dialogue flows exceptionally well and it's just an overall good story. I'll be impatiently looking for more work by this author. Great job!!

[charles clayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this women was inspirational in writing this story it covered it all. It had jealousy it had Can security it had Desire and want It was wonderful. I really really enjoyed reading this story I encourage everyone to read this 1 it's a really good story.

[raminta moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story was a great take on the Romance Novelist lesfic trope. Bonus: the author provided a bomb soundtrack at the end of the digital edition! Fun read for sure.

[Chelsea Hand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow debut

This was a great first book by Rosy Dee. Ruby and Maddy have such great chemistry. I definitely recommend reading.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly engaging debut novel!

Maddie had been dealing with a lot of hurt in her past relationships, especially a big betrayal, but continued to hope for the kind of love she read about in her favorite romance books. When she meets that author Lola Bloom at a book club, she is over the moon and feels an instant spark. But Ruby, the author's real name, has never really felt the kind of love she writes. Her brother Eddie and Maddie's friend Beth are instrumental in encouraging them to open up their hearts again, but there are some major roadblocks. Thankfully, they added much levity as well. This story was developed naturally and slowly while these women really got to know each other professionally and personally. It was so heartfelt. Nothing was rushed. The characters were so lovable and relatable. There were many twists and turns in this well crafted book and the ending was fabulous. It's an overall very engaging debut novel that I highly recommend!

[Dorthe Sofie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars ✨ the romance was enough to keep me reading but i wasn’t a fan of the writing style

[KateJoanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* rounded up, not bad for a debut, the writing is mostly decent and flows well.

I wasn’t expecting the infidelity, lusting after others when in a relationship and cheating, it’s really not my thing to read and definitely wants mentioning in the summary since it can be a big trigger to a lot of people.
Thankfully yes both love interests and the other main characters were loyal and didn’t support cheating, none of them got together while unavailable or even kissed. But not knowing that at the beginning made me uncomfortable.

Pretty cringey but mostly in a good way, I liked the story and the characters. Plus, it’s sapphic!
Very slow burn and cute, loved her brother Eddie and best friend.
The characters and their clothing are always well described and easy to imagine, the author is good at painting the scene.
It was cute and an nice light read

[Mary Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful new book from first time author Rose Dee. I loved it. It was entertaining enough that I had a difficult time putting it down. The characters were believable and I loved them both. It was funny and made the characters even more endearing. This a definitely a recommended read and can’t wait to see what Rose Dee comes up with next.

[Kady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally don't go for British stories, but I read this one for a reading challenge. Very cute but also frustrating. It reads very quickly and has a few well-developed side characters, but I feel like parts were rushed while other parts were drawn out.