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book review, book-reviews, Books, fantasy, fantasy heroine, Jill Bearup, Just Stab Me Now, reading, romantic fantasy
Millions of people have watched Jill Bearup’s Fantasy Heroine series of shorts since they came out in 2022, myself included. After much badgering by fans, Jill turned the videos into a novel titled Just Stab Me Now. I waffled about reading the novel. Being a romance, I did not know how spicy things would get on the page. I do not like reading explicit content. However, Jill promised in a Q & A video about the book that any spiciness takes place exclusively off page. Shortly afterwards, I happened to be on YouTube when the author posted a link to sign up for eARCs, and I snatched the opportunity to try out the book without a financial commitment. (FYI, Jill, if you happen to read this review, your email went to my spam folder. If you’re not getting very much feedback about the ARCs, you may want to put a reminder on your community page for people to check their spam folders.)
For those of my readers who do not know what I’m talking about, Jill wrote a superb synopsis about her book on Goodreads: “A desperate mother. A dubious escort. And a deranged author who won’t leave them alone.
“Caroline Lindley is determined that her new romance novel will be her best one yet. Fantasy! Formal gowns! Fencing! And, of course, a twentysomething heroine to star in an enemies-to-lovers plot with all of Caroline’s favourite tropes.
“But Lady Rosamund Hawkhurst is a thirty-six-year-old widow with two children, her sole focus is facilitating a peace treaty between her adopted nation and her homeland, and she flatly refuses to take the correct approach to there being Only One Bed.
“What’s an author to do?
“Based on her popular Fantasy Heroine YouTube Shorts series, Jill Bearup’s debut novel brings us the best of worlds both meta and medieval-inspired. Terry Pratchett aficionados will enjoy the political intrigue paired with convivial, tongue-in-cheek satire. And then there’s the slow-burn, fade-to-black romance too . . .
“If you loved Stranger Than Fiction and The Princess Bride, you will soon find yourself cheering on enemies-to-BFFs Rosamund and Caroline as together they learn what it means to be the hero of your own story.”
I kept my expectations for this book low. Jill mentioned her struggles with writing a novel from her YouTube series. She had no desire to become a writer. Therefore, I did not expect the same level of polish to her writing as professional novelists.
I think Jill and her editors did an excellent job on this book. I felt a little confused at the beginning as the opening scene differed from the YouTube version. It took me a few pages to realize Rosamund was packing to leave the Queen’s palace instead of her home. I don’t know if this confusion came from the story itself, or if my brain skipped over an important bit. I did figure it out quickly and did not have any further issues placing myself in the story.
I’m glad the book did not become a written version of the YouTube shorts with extra scenes thrown in. Jill took the time to adjust the story to fit the different medium. For example, the author in the book (Caroline) writes books in addition to a full-time job. Therefore, she does not have an administer to help her work out troubles with the story. Her editor (Henry) helped with that. I enjoyed the scenes, texts, and manuscript notes where Caroline and Henry interact.
The additional plot with Caroline’s job helped me care about her more. She became more than just an author trying to work in tropes. I also liked the extra scenes with the author and Leo. His perspective helped tell the story. Leo’s references to Rosamund’s knives she carried made me smile.
Overall, I would give this book 4.5/5 stars. This may get bumped up or down in the future. I base my ratings off of my enjoyment of the story rather than how well the author writes. I also factor in how I think the book will hold up to a re-read. I definitely plan on reading this book again. Since Jill did do the YouTube shorts and plans on doing the audiobook version of the book, I think this would be an excellent candidate for an audiobook. Just Stab Me Now officially releases on February 5th in print and ebook formats.