You know that feeling when you finish a book and you just can’t wait to tell someone about it? That’s how I felt when I finished Turtles in the Road by Rhonda Rhea and Kaley Rhea.
Typically, I wait several days to write my reviews so that I’ve had time to process and thoroughly consider my reading experience. I will make notes about the characters and all the various sections I usually include in my regular reviews. Then I schedule the review to come out whenever I can fit it into my blogging calendar.
I haven’t the patience for that today. I just want to be a fangirl for a moment and tell you about this hilarious book I just read! And I want to tell you now. Not in two months when I have an empty Monday.
Seriously. I cannot remember the last book that made me laugh this loud, this often.
I started off reading this book in my usual spot: in bed beside my sleeping husband. However, that didn’t last long. Within minutes I was shaking the entire bed with the full-body laughter I was desperately trying to contain. You guys, I was smashing a hand over my mouth and it was still escaping in very unflattering snorts. There were tears trickling down my cheeks.
I cannot tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!
This heroine is bizarre… and I LOVE IT! Without giving too much away, one of my favorite scenes involves sports equipment, a turtle, and revenge in the woods. That one had me bent in half, holding my stomach, and swiping the tears away so I could keep reading. And it was just the beginning. The entire book was like the best romantic comedy movie you have ever seen.
Oh how these two authors must have died laughing as they wrote this novel, because I about died reading it.
You might wonder if the comedy prevented the romance from developing in a believable way, but rest assured it did not. There are legit reasons for these two people to have fallen in love with each other (unlike another book I am currently suffering through and may not finish) and there is a reasonable amount of time allotted for their feelings to grow. This love story has true heart.
In addition to a legit love story, the characters have plausible relationships with God that don’t get in the way of the story, but enhance it. And you never feel preached to. Ever.
I will admit that I noticed the authors break a few writing “rules” and there’s probably even one or two typos I didn’t notice, but you know what? I only noticed them because I was in “edit mode” with my own manuscript at the time and thus extra sensitive to those things. Their rule breaking totally works for me. I could not care less that they do things differently. Because it works.
I will also admit that I almost passed on this book strictly because of the cover. It just isn’t my cup of tea and told me almost nothing about the book… or so I thought. In hindsight I can see how it sorta fits. That said, I am still not a big fan of the cover.
BUT.
The cover is not the story and the story is SO worth reading! Especially if you’ve been having a tough time lately and just need a good laugh. This is THE book for you! Trust me.
How much do I love this book? I sincerely cannot remember the last time I read any book more than once which was not assigned to me for a class. I am just not a re-reader. There are too many books out there – too many waiting in my TBR pile – to read something twice, regardless of how well written it is. Yet I am seriously contemplating reading this book a second time. Next week. Because it was that enjoyable. And I could do with some more laughs right now.
The link below is NOT an affiliate link. I do not know these authors. I did not even get a free copy for review. I bought it myself. I do not benefit from you buying or reading this book in any way. I only decided to give this book a try because a fellow blogger had raved about it. So trust me on this one. If you love contemporary, clean romantic comedy, you will love this book.
BUY IT! BORROW IT! READ IT! Today! You can thank me later. 🙂
Isn’t it just the best?! I was getting the giggles just reading your review and remembering! 😂 And that revenge in the woods scene? My husband actually called out from the front room to ask if I was okay I was laughing so hard!
Yes! As much as I wanted to read it in one sitting, I did need to sleep. So the second time I sat down to read it, I knew better than to do so at bed time. My family heard me laughing from the other end of the house that afternoon. 🙂 My kids came into my room wanting to know what was so funny. 🙂