My name is Mabel, the girl who “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Of course I wouldn’t.
I’m an entomologist for goodness’ sake.
I work in a nature center.
Bugs are my jam.
It’s the humans in my life who are starting to get me down. I’m used to them calling me sweet and innocent. I can even handle them calling me naive. But when they lie and keep secrets from me? That's when my proverbial pincers want to come out.
Trouble is, I'm not a girl who fights back.
Not until a handsome groundskeeper with a dirty mouth and secrets of his own shows up and lights all sorts of fires in me.
In the bug world, the female is always the fiercest. The praying mantis doesn’t worry about being a “good girl.” Nope, she follows her instincts no matter how crass or crude they may seem to others.
Turns out I could learn a thing or two from her.
I’m not looking to tear anyone’s head off necessarily, but after decades of being “nice”? It's high time for me to return to nature and unleash my wild side.
Releasing on February 24th 2020
I was a little sneaky with this one. I saw Erin post a picture on Instagram and noticed that a copy of Lovebug was in a pile of books to be sent out, so alarm bells dinged in my mind, telling me that the book must be live on Amazon. So I ran on over to Amazon and grabbed my copy super early. And I did something that I don’t do nearly enough, I read a paperback, and it was such a joy—the book and reading the paperback. After I finished, I listened to the audiobook. I needed to hear Erin perform some of these scenes.
You know how sometimes you read a book, and it is exactly what you need? This is that book for me. I eagerly turned every page and read late into the night. Mabel is the sweetest person ever, and it was so brilliant to see her grow. Wally, man, I thought I was in for a grumpy, sexy guy that was going to push my buttons and annoy me—in a, I need more of this way, lol. Instead, I got the swooniest guy ever, and I was here for it! He’s going on my top book boyfriends list for sure.
Erin’s writing is captivating and funny—I’m talking laugh out loud hilarious—but it is also heartfelt. There were some underlying things happening or discussed that really had me high-fiving, nodding, and shedding a tear or two. As is often the case with Erin’s writing, it is multi-layered, and at times, you can find yourself thinking, did she go there? And then, with a big smile on your face, say, yep, she did, and I love it! She’s not afraid to have a throwaway line that carries so much weight. It just leaves the reader or listener with a sense of amazement.
As a non-bug lover, I wasn’t sure how I was going to do with this book, but I was surprised that not only was I not creeped out (mostly—there were a couple of moments there), but the info on bugs was really interesting in the way it was presented and part of the story. It blended really well with the character and her quirks.
This book hits quite a few tropes. But not in the sense that it’s a huge part of the story but in that something happens, and you sit there and think, oooh, that could fall into this trope or that.
So, I thought I loved Wally as much as I possibly could, but then I heard Wally with Erin's male voice, and I'll tell you, that love grew. All the swoons. Erin as always delivered a cracking performance. It made the funny moments funnier and the heartfelt emotional moment more. It was a joy to listen to.
This is a must read/ listen. If you haven’t preordered or added it to your TBR/L, make sure you do.
Side note: Dearest Mabel, I am with you on the C word. I got you, girlfriend!
Lovebug is book two (interconnected standalone) in the Natural History Series, you can start the series today with Flirtasarus.
For more about Erin Mallon
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