I have a crush on my very unattainable friend.

If it makes you happy by julie oliva

The PERFECT way to start of my Fall reads for 2025. If you’re looking for 90’s nostalgia, Gilmore Girl vibes, and a grumpy but sweet dog you are in the right place with this book! Read more below to find out my review of this romance book.

The Characters

I was immediately obsessed with Rocket off the bat, I love how Julie brought him into the story often with Michelle narrating his thoughts. Cliff and Michelle had me rooting for them from the beginning, because they both deserved happiness. Cliff was such a funny guy and helped to loosen Michelle up but loved her for who she was, and vice versa with Michelle loving Cliff for exactly who he was. I LOVED Cliff’s girls in this book. Emily tugged at my heart strings quite a few times, and I felt so bad for her that her and her mom had an estranged relationship to no fault of her own. The way that Cliff described Emily’s boyfriend, Josh, had me laughing (dry fig bar). I loved all of the side characters and the personality they brought to the book as well. Cliff’s ex-wife honestly pissed me off, I still wasn’t sure how to feel about her by the end of the book.

The Vibes

10/10 I want go to visit Copper Run now and stay at the bed and breakfast. Everything about the place sounded so cozy and I can see why Michelle fell in love with it while she was there. The community aspect of everyone having everyone’s back was so cute and definitely fit into that small town feel.

The Tropes

• Small Town
• Friends to Lovers
• Single Dad
• Forced Proximity

My Rating

I ended up rating this book a 4/5 stars. I loved it, the vibes, the characters, and the epilogue really caught me in the feels. I definitely recommend this book for a fun Fall Romcom to add to your list this year! If you’ve read it let me know what you thought of the epilogue in the comments.