Review: Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon

February 02, 2022

☔️☔️☔️☔️☔️

5 umbrellas out of 5

A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter scheme to reunite their divorced bosses with unforecasted results in this electrifying romance from the author of The Ex Talk.

Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.

In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?

☙ ☙ ☙

Well, I have finally gotten to read this amazing book and I loved it every bit as much as I’d hoped and expected to. This definitely lived up to the hype.

This is the first book of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s I’ve read and I am impressed with her writing. Right from the beginning I found Weather Girl to be thoroughly charming, witty, and readable in that way that keeps you invested and turning pages. It’s sweet but not cutesy, and the chapter titles (all of which are forecasts that “predict” what happens in that chapter) are absolutely adorable.

I thought the characters were vibrant and well-formed; Ari is immensely relatable and like-able, as is Russell. We discover early on that Ari lives with depression and manages it with medication and therapy. And Russ is a single dad and a thoroughly decent man. Neither of them are anywhere near perfect, but together they are the sweetest couple and you can’t help but root for them. The secondary characters filled out the canvas with just as much depth and color as Ari & Russell. I think Solomon’s writing really shines in her characterization. Whether it’s dialogue or Ari’s inner thoughts, the writing is so well done that it makes you feel like you’re talking and listening to a real life friend rather than reading words in a book. (Ari is really funny, btw.)

I enjoyed the setting so much; I’ve always wanted to live in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle in particular and, like Ari, have always loved rain so this immediately appealed to my sentimentality over those things. And having the MC work as a meteorologist is a career choice I’ve never seen portrayed in a romance before (I’m not counting Groundhog Day lol) so I really enjoyed getting to see her story unfold in that kind of workplace/environment.

I feel like the main trope in this book should be called Accidental Dating. Is that a thing? Ari & Russ spend so much time together while working on their mission to reunite their bosses, they essentially end up dating each other. They go to dinner together, go dancing, go on a road trip, on a spa retreat - all in the name of creating workplace peace. I love all the ways they get to know one another and subsequently develop an intimacy in such a pure way.

A few of the elements I appreciated for bringing realism and diversity: