REVIEW: Weekends with You by Alexandra Paige

In Weekends with You by Alexandra Paige, Originally from New York, florist Lucy Bernstein has grown to think of London as her home after spending several years in the busy city. But when her rent doubles, she’s not sure if she can stay on. Then her best friend, Raja Ali, offers the newly vacated room in her funky warehouse flat. Lucy isn’t too keen at first. She’d be going from living on her own to sharing the space with seven other people–six of whom are strangers. But needs must. It will be a chance to save money and come up with a plan to find a place of her own. Then Lucy moves in. And not only does she immediately take a liking to her roommates, but she begins to fall for one of them in particular: Henry Baker, a traveling music photographer.

“It’s just that you leave tomorrow, and then–”
“I keep leaving,” he finished for me.
“Yeah.”
“But,” he said, touching his fingertips to my jaw, “I also keep coming back.”

The big conundrum Lucy faces in her relationship with Henry is that he’s only in town for one weekend a month. And while that allows her to spend time focusing on building up business at The Lotus, the flower shop she works for, she doesn’t feel like she and Henry are ever truly connecting. Or on the same page. Because for all the chemistry they share, it seems like Lucy is never sure where Henry’s heart truly is. Getting a straight answer out of him is next to impossible about their future, or if he’ll even keep London as his homebase. All Lucy *is* sure of is that she adores her flatmates, their weekend adventures, and her job. It’s whether she’s willing to put her heart on the line where Henry is concerned that she’s still deciding.

“I just think that the passion between you two, which you might think is anger, is a spark. And life is simply too short to ignore the sparks.”

A debut novel that was just as much about found family and friendship as it was romance, WEEKENDS WITH YOU was a well-rounded first offering by Alexandra Paige.

“London feels like home now, does it?” I said eventually.
He laughed softly at my question. “No, Luce. *You* feel like home.”

CW: View Spoiler »Love triangle (no cheating) « Hide Spoiler

It’s always fun to pick up a book by a debut author. And WEEKENDS WITH YOU had a lot going for it, starting with it being set in London. I was also intrigued by the format–author Alexandra Paige wrote this in monthly installments with each chapter progressing from month to month while the main hero, Henry, was back in London for the weekend after traveling abroad. This format had its advantages and disadvantages. I liked it overall as it kept the story moving along at a good pace, not getting lost in the minutiae. And it made it easier to feel what the main heroine, Lucy, felt while her life was basically on hold each month waiting for Henry’s return.

As for the disadvantages, Lucy’s personal life was on hold. Every month. And all of the angst and fears were on full display. Plus, she had a very on-again-off-again relationship with Henry, whose lack of communication was fairly astounding. When the couple was actually together and talking things out, I thought they made a wonderful pair. But when Henry stopped keeping Lucy in the loop about his life and future plans, it all fell apart. Quickly.

What kept this from getting tedious or frustrating was two things, to me. Lucy’s career as a florist, with the ups and downs the lovely, tiny shop faced, and most importantly, her flatmates and the friendships she was building with them. It almost had a Friends-like vibe, the way each of the eight of them interacted and had their place in the group. There was a ton of laughter, some tears, a lot of drunken nights spent in a local pub. But it was how Lucy’s flatmates all rallied around each other (and egged each other on) that warmed my heart.

QOTD: Are you a fan of angsty will-they-won’t-they romances?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: April 9th, 2024 | Avon |

A heartwarming and romantic debut told over the course of one year in monthly weekend installments, about found family, new love, and the magic of London.

Flowers have always been the best communicators. They’ve mastered falling over one another in the perfect way to announce exactly what they sunlight, water, space. They do not rush. They do not bloom before their time. They do not take without giving in return…

They are nothing like the rest of London.

Between trying to keep her north London flower shop, The Lotus, afloat and falling for a flatmate, Lucy Bernstein is going to have to rethink everything she knows about “creative arrangements.”

Unwillingly becoming one of eight flatmates in a quirky warehouse conversion would have been difficult enough without any romantic entanglements, but when Lucy lays eyes on Henry Baker, the traveling photographer who only comes home twelve weekends a year, she knows her hands will be full with more than just posies. As each weekend progresses, Lucy also finds herself unexpectedly falling for all her new flatmates, along with this bustling but ultimately sweeter home.

Can Lucy learn from the flowers she tends to and bravely reach for all that she needs to bloom?