Book review: Waking Daylight by Olivia Vaughn

I love Hallmark movies: the way they show off small-town life, the way the couples always have a happily ever after, and the fun punny names of their businesses. They are the perfect little fluffy romances that give an escape from everyday life. And Waking Daylight has everything I love about a Hallmark movie wrapped in a novella-sized package.

This story follows Harper and Sarah: two 30-somethings who are both at a relationship crossroads. Harper has been feeling her marriage to Hayden hasn't been working for a while, feeling more like roommates than spouses. Sarah, on the other hand, discovered her husband's infidelity in the most humiliating way possible. The two of them used to be best friends, however, had a very intense falling out a decade before. As Sarah comes home to the town she grew up in from the fallout of her impending divorce, she's determined to make up with Harper - and both are surprised when sparks start to fly. As the two of them learn how to repair what was fractured, they both realize happiness isn't something you chase, it's something you build. That theme is one I really needed a reminder of, and I am sure there are plenty of readers out there who agree.

I think the setting was one of my favorite parts of the book. Raven's Peak reminded me a bit of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. The coffee shops, the diner, the specialized businesses - each one has a very unique but specific aid to the setting. However my favorite location was a gym and coffee bar hybrid. I will fully admit if one of those existed near me, I would be much more interested in going to the gym because I could reward myself with a little treat afterward. I found myself wishing I could go to the different locations, and experience the same small-town joy that is so present within the novella.

Vaughn's writing steal is very dreamy. It allows for a significant amount of time to happen quickly, which is backed up by the dreaminess of the setting. And there were a lot of times when the way she described things reminded me a lot of Emily Henry - with a similar wit and willingness to cover tough topics while still keeping the book optimistic. The romance genre is lucky to have Vaughn's writing, and I hope others see the same start to a fantastic writing career I do.

This debut novel was fun and fluffy - and exactly the kind of book I needed. With a sapphic twist on the friends-to-lovers trope, a lot of fun, and a lot of heart, I recommend this book to anyone who needs a quick two-hour read. I truly cannot wait to see what Olivia Vaughn rights next. And I'm secretly hoping she'll continue writing in this world, and the sequel will follow Quinn the contractor who was introduced in this book. So my fingers are crossed that book is in the pipeline - though if it isn't, I'll still be glad to read anything she writes.

Waking Daylight is available through Amazon