So Romantic
Carrie grew up very close to her grandmother. Now she is in a nursing home in a coma and not expected to get better. She goes to a grief support group hoping to find some peace. Hope too has suffered a loss and has been pressured by her sister to attend the same support group. When the two women meet, an instant friendship is formed. As the two get to know each other better, Carrie is more and more attracted to her friend but vows to keep it from her, not knowing Hope has secrets of her own….

I loved so much in this book! I adored the friendship these two wonderful women have, I loved watching their feelings grow, I loved watching them connect… Ms Argento wove a warm and tender story that wrapped itself around my heart and refused to let go. I fell a little in love with these women and couldn’t wait to see what was in store for them. I was not disappointed. I read this book quickly because I was so invested in the characters and I was sad to see it come to an end. Reading this book is a special way to spend a few hours when you want to lose yourself in a lovely romance!

This was my first read by Joy Argento. I was in the mood for a romance and had this one on my ARC list so I figured, jump in! I did see that it was a rerelease of a fairly old book but that didn't bother me since I'd not read it the first time around...

Honestly, I was mostly bored by the story and the characters. There wasn't anything that I thought was particularly engaging or unique or exciting about the book. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just wasn't a great read for me. I bounced back and forth between two and three stars but it was really just ok.

Thanks to BSB and NetGalley for the ebook.

This is a cute, low-stress romance between two middle-aged lesbians. Both women are grieving in different ways when they meet at a support group and immediately click. Carrie, who is coping with the tragedy of her grandmother being in a coma she most likely won't come back from, paints in her free time. Hope, who is a mother of a 19-year-old son who is grieving the death of his father and Hope's husband, modelled for art classes in college and enjoys writing. Carrie asks Hope to model for her paintings, and the two women find solace in their friendship: helping each other with their creative pursuits, through their feelings of guilt and loss, and falling in love along the way.

I absolutely loved the banter between the women, and the dialogue was so believable. I feel like it moved quite quickly between the two once they got together, but considering their ages, the chemistry they had, and how they were supposed to have been pining for months, it was not surprising. I would have liked to have seen more of the pining on the page, and because I liked this romance so much I wish it had been longer!

However overall this was a very real and enjoyable romance. It was not without its moments of sadness and angst, but there was never that cliched moment where the couple breaks up or "cannot" be together any longer because of some misunderstanding or conflict. It was not anxiety-inducing to read this book, and for that I loved it!

CW: on-page and off-page death, grief, colon cancer, comatose family member, pneumonia, sex scenes, moderate lesbophobia

The two main characters, Hope and Carrie meet in a grief support group. Their connection in instant and they begin meeting on a regular basis, away from the support group.
Carrie is an artist that is looking for a person to model for her paintings. She asks Hope is she would be interested and Hope immediately says yes. The women begin spending more time together and the attraction begins to grow. Even though Carrie is trying to remain professional.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC From NetGaley in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it. This is a slow burn romance with Carrie and Hope meeting at a grieving group.

I could feel what both characters were going through and I was hooked in their story fròm the beginning, it was a very emotional journey.

Three and a half stars. This was fine. The writing was fine. The characters were also fine, but I liked the plot more than them, and I'm usually character-driven. I quite liked Hope's backstory, although I didn't care much for her son. The grief plays less of a role in the relationship than one would think. The characters have struggles separate from that, which I liked. The final conflict was a little annoying, but not worth me building up a whole critique on. Hardly memorable one way or another. Overall, I don't have any strong opinions on the book, which I try to prevent from happening, but I couldn't bring myself to write a review expressing anything more than I felt.

Carrie and Hope ✨REVIEW✨
Such a feel good book!!!

Sometimes I like to take a break from my thrillers, and go back to my old stomping ground, lesbian romance! Thank you to BoldStrokesBooks and NetGalley for this copy to read and review. I am as always so grateful and appreciative for these opportunities. This book was such a feel good book I and was much needed in these crazy times we are living in!

This book follows Carrie, a lesbian, who is an artist, and has an amazing bond with her grandmother. Her grandmother is in a coma and doesn’t seem like she will be waking up again. Carrie spends all her free time at the nursing home visiting and talking to grandma. She decides to check out a grief support group. While there she meets the beautiful Hope.

After their first interaction, they become very fast friends. Hope, has just lost her husband due to cancer, and has a teenage son off at college. Hope never really loved her husband; but stayed with him to help care for him. Carrie starts to develop feelings for Hope and isn’t sure what to do with these feelings towards her seemingly straight new best friend.

This story follows the developing of a new friendship and navigating through real life issues such as death, heart ache, loss of love, and new beginnings. I highly recommend this book if you need a good smile :)

#justonemorechapter #carrieandhope #joyargento #lesbianromance #boldstrokesbooks #lesbianbooks #netgalley #saturdayreading #februarybooks #lovebooks #addictedtoreading #digitalbooks

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a nice slow burn romance. The MCs are Carrie, who is struggling with the imminent death of her grandmother and holds a managerial job, but is really an artist. She meets the other MC, Hope, at a grief counselling group that neither really wants to be at. Hope lost her husband a few months earlier, but had a straddling marriage and so is feeling more guilt than grief. She has a 19 year old son, Derrick.

The two strike up a friendship through which Hope agrees to model for Carrie. By virtue of their friendship and the modelling arrangement, the two MCs develop a strong friendship that gradually grows into more. This all felt organic, as they were both really nice characters, and you could see why they would appeal to each other.

There aren’t too many side characters, and few with substance, only Derrick has a somewhat large role, but even he isn’t terribly well fleshed out, and I saw his ‘drama’ portion coming a mile away. I did like that this book doesn’t feature any major angst between the two MCs. There are a few rough spots, but they talk them through and are resolved fairly easily. Most of the drama comes from Derrick, but it was also fairly realistic, and even when I feared he’d be a bit of a git, he wasn’t. I did wish a bit more time had been spent fleshing out the other family relationships, Hope’s sister Marcy and Carrie’s mother have few scenes, and Hope’s mother barely registers at all.

Having lost both my parents to diseases that caused them to linger long after they were ‘gone’ I found the scenes with Carrie and her grandmother a bit difficult, especially towards the end of the book, but it was all sensitively written

The romance itself is very sweet and filled with lovely conversations and banter. This was a nice way to spend a few hours. 3.75 stars.

This story has been an uncomplicated romance, with some things that a priori could have led to great drama but have ultimately served to enlarge the story. Because the essence is that two women meet in a sad situation, sadder for one than for the other, and from there they develop a friendship that grows and becomes love.

Carrie is about to lose her grandmother, who is in the hospital in an irreversible coma, and she is already suffering the loss even though it has not happened yet. Hope recently lost her husband after a long and painful illness, but she is more relieved than suffering. The two wanted to go, for different reasons, to a grief support group but once there, they see that it is not what they need and instead they connect and are the piece that makes them overcome the situation in which they find themselves.

There are hints and situations that, as I said, could have led to major drama or not so major, but drama nonetheless. Fortunately for me, as I hate pointless dramas, they were things that only lengthened the story, which otherwise would have ended much earlier.

4 Stars

TW for grief/death of a loved one.

“Carrie and Hope” is a very sweet romance. Carrie and Hope meet at a grief counseling session. Carrie is preparing for her grandmother’s death and Hope’s husband has recently passed away. The two decide the group isn’t for them but they feel an instant connection and comfort in one another and form a close friendship.

I really enjoyed the slower pace of this story. For ones wanting a lot of plot and action, this isn’t for you. This is really the story of two women meeting and becoming friends and that friendship turning into romantic love. Carrie isn’t shocked about her feelings turning romantic but she is trying to keep them hidden. Hope has spent all of her adult life with a man so Carrie assumes she’s straight. Carrie doesn’t want to scare Hope away because she’s happy being just friends so she keeps her feelings to herself.

Carrie and Hope are both in their 30’s and they are both settled into their lives. Both characters are very likable and their banter is cute and very natural sounding. This is a mature kind of relationship where they’re dealing with life and just day to day living and how those things allow them to grow together. Hope has a 19-year-old that isn’t crazy about his mom suddenly becoming a lesbian after his father’s death and Carrie is dealing with her grandmother being in coma from a fall.

I recommend this for readers wanting a more realistic romance.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading Carrie and Hope. Carrie and Hope meet at a grief support group. Carrie is dealing with her grandmother being in a coma and Hope is pressured to attend because of the death of her husband. The slow burn romance really does take it's time to get there. Hope confides in Carrie almost all of her secrets and they become fast friends.

Sometimes I really don't like reading slow burns, but I never felt that way while I was reading Carrie and Hope. Argento gives just enough to keep the story interesting as the mains get to know each other. There is chemistry between them even if Hope tries to suppress hers. Carrie struggles with keeping her emotions in check because Hope is straight. It just all flows well and makes this a really sweet romance.

4 stars.

This arc was provided by netgalley and the publisher for an honest review

Love it! Love it! What a great romance. I couldn't put this book down, this was my first from author Joy Argento and it was a good one. Sometimes things happens to make us realize just what we want is to be happy.

Carrie Martin and Hope Garret meet in a grief support group. Carrie is trying to deal with inevitably losing her Gram who is in a coma and not expected to recover. Hope is dealing with the loss of her husband who died over a year ago, whom she provided care for two years during his decline, but who she never loved.

This was a very quick read for me. Both Carrie and Hope were interesting women who brought out the best in each other and well as each other's sense of humor, especially during the tough times. Throw in a secondary plot line with Hope's son Derrick and this was a well rounded story. 4 stars with witty banter to stoke the fires.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A book about love and loss and how grief can unite strangers.

Carrie and Hope meet through a grief support group and quickly become each other's support system. Right off the bat, this becomes a very sweet friendship which then develops into a romance.

The word that comes up most for me with this book is "sweet" - the characters were sweet, the story was sweet - not in an overkill way, but in a way that makes you smile and get the warm fuzzies.

I really liked the dialogue and the cute, funny banter between the characters.

Very sweet book of letting go of the past and moving on with life. I like that the changes both characters had were accepted pretty quickly. The nice flow of their relationship shows that they knew what they wanted.
In general, it is nice mellow read.

This book was firsts published in 2011, now 10 years later, I enjoyed this updated version.
A word of warning before we begin, the story all starts with the impending loss of a loved one.

Carrie struggles with losing her grandmother, even though she is technically still alive, but she isn’t “there”. After an unfortunate slip Gram has been in a coma for months. Carrie decides to go to a grief group to find out if they can help her deal with her loss. While she is debating going into the room she meets Hope in the hallway. Both reluctant to go in they go together. After they are both hit on by some creep they up and leave. They hang out at a bar, tell each other things they’ve never shared with anyone else, they click. Both women are happy to make a new friend and Carrie is happy to have found a model for her new paintings. Both dealing with a different type of loss they find comfort and understanding with each other.

This is a sweet and cute romance. The circumstances in which Carrie and Hope find each other are sad, and some continue throughout the book, which helps to deepen their connection. Even though the undertone of this book is sad it made me smile because Carrie and Hope are cute together. I felt this book was really short, but I didn’t feel like the story was rushed or anything. I would recommend this if you are looking for feel good read with likeable characters, some real world issues, and low on angst and drama (aside from the Gram story of course).
Good 3.75 star read.

If you’re looking for a hot passionate adventure then this book isn’t for you.

If however you’re looking for a casual adorable romance, this book is for you. I’ve always been one for dramatic fiery romance books and though this book is definitely a step down in terms of that it definitely still managed to make me fall in love with it. The characters are lovable and the conversations were written so smoothly and naturally, major props to the author. It’s refreshing to see such normal conversations between two love interest that isn’t about sex, past relationships, sexuality, or anything dramatic or past flirting.

But the chemistry between Carrie and Hope didn’t need sexual or flirtatious comments to signify that they were attracted to each other which I found commendable. Though I wished to see more about Carries emotions about her grandma and a confrontation between Hope and her sister in this book it’s still a good read. I would recommend that the author spend a little more writing on developing the characters emotions and sticking to it.

Some might deem this book boring but it’s all about in my opinion what type of books you’re into and if you’re into books with that hot flair then this book is definitely not for you.

Overall I recommend this book especially if you’re coming down from a high of over the top dramatic romances.

This was my first Joy Argento book and it definitely won't be my last. This is an updated edition of a book she published in 2011.

Carrie and Hope met when they went to a grief group. Carrie went to help her cope with her grandmother's imminent death and Hope went to get her sister off her back. After being hit on by a member of the grief group, Carrie and Hope quickly vacated the premises and got to know one another over a cocktail and a mocktail at a bar around the corner.

This was a really easy book about two nice women who happened upon each other at the perfect point in their lives. I enjoyed the dialogue and relationship development. There was not a lot of drama or angst which I found quite refreshing since the last few books I've read had over the top lesfic drama.

I'd recommend this book if you're in the mood to sit back and relax.

“I guess I’m feeling a little lonely. I’ve felt lonely plenty of times before, but I could always call you, and just hearing your voice would always make me feel better. I miss that.”

This is a book where the main characters meet and begin a friendship through mutual loss and end with learning acceptance of oneself and loss through friendship and love.

In preparation for the loss of a dearly loved one, Carrie attended a grief support group and met Hope who was there for the same purpose but under a different circumstance. The pair found a connection and went on to become fast friends and Hope accepted Carrie’s job as her figure model.

With Hope trying to find her feet again after her loss, Carrie’s friendship opens doors for her to rediscover herself but when a buried truth threatened to resurface, their friendship is cast into doubts.

4 stars. The attraction between the main characters is set at a lower pace where they started off with mutual liking as friends and we see a developing relationship where attraction is not fuelled by lust. There is a maturity to their relationship that some readers might be looking for and enjoy. Some parts of the book could also be highly relatable to people who are caregivers and/or for those who are undergoing painful concoctions of emotions with a loved one facing an impending death. The wait and agony of losing the person who once was.

I just reviewed Carrie and Hope by Joy Argento. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC. #CarrieandHope #Netgalley

A couple of months ago I reviewed another book by this author, "No Regrets", and I said I would keep an eye on her next writings, so here I am. I'm giving both 4 stars and I did like "Carrie and Hope", but if I had to choose, I would stay with the first one, as it was a very intense reading.

"Carrie and Hope" is worth the reading though!
They are both mature women and well-built characters and I really appreciate when a lesbian romance brings to its pages couples like that.