Hi, hello friends! It’s Cait and Coco here, and today we’re here with an incredibly special guest — Helena. We’re so excited to have her joining us on the blog today, and we’re going to let her introduce herself!
Hi! I’m Helena! I blog at https://bubblingupwithhelena.com/, and you can find me on Instagram at @bubblingupwithhelena. I decided I was going to reread all of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books in 2022 because she had quickly become my favorite author. Caitlyn and Cossette suggested that we spend some time talking about her books and why we love them.
How did you start reading RLS books?
Caitlyn: I had heard about The Ex Talk from some friends on social media and it sounded like something that I would enjoy, so I added it to my TBR right away. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down! I stayed up until like 3 in the morning reading it, and I truly regret nothing. Fake exes enemies to lovers is actually something that can be so personal.
Cossette: Two of my good friends, Devya and Quinn, were talking in our group chat about how great Today Tonight Tomorrow is. I’m a sucker for academic rivals to lovers, and I immediately picked up the audiobook via Scribd. Once I finished T3, I immediately dove into The Ex-Talk, and then fell down the rabbit hole.
Helena: I got approved for We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This on Netgalley, and I quickly fell in love with the Jewish rep and the mental health discussion. The characters are funny and flawed, and I immediately knew I had to read all of Rachel’s other books. People had been telling me to read The Ex-Talk, and I absolutely loved it as well. I love Rachel’s use of tropes like fake dating and academic rivals to lovers.
What are your rankings of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Young Adult books?
Caitlyn: I think it’s a tie between Today Tonight Tomorrow and We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This! We know I love complex and complicated female protagonists and Rowan definitely has that vibe — I love the game of Howl, I 100% would love to play a game of Howl with my friends! I also really appreciated how T3 deals with the complicated emotions that come with graduating high school and “growing up”.
Cossette: Without a doubt, We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is my favorite of her young adult books. Between the mental health representation (OCD, anxiety, depression), Quinn and Tarek’s sweet dynamic, exploration of family dynamics, I just absolutely adored it. And then closely followed by Today Tonight Tomorrow. Like Caitlyn said, I also loved the game of Howl — it made me nostalgic for high school, which isn’t something that I say often. Reading T3 (which is set where I live) during the height of the pandemic, was just so lovely as well.
Caitlyn: Cossette mentioned all of the things that I love so much about We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This. I love the backdrop of wedding planning — it’s something that really fascinates me — and all the shenanigans that come with that, but more importantly, mental health representation is something that I really care about and I appreciate how mental health representation is not something that RLS shies away from. Additionally, with We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This, I love reading about Quinn coming into her own and discovering who she is outside of her family wedding business.
Helena: We know I love them all, but my favorite is probably See You Yesterday. I love the complexity that the time loop adds to Barrett and Miles’ relationship. I also absolutely love We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This. I love the family wedding business backdrop. I love the beautiful mental health representation (as Cait and Cossette both mentioned). I struggle the most with You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone because it is hard to watch Adina’s life spiral out of control in the way she does. It’s a beautiful and well-written story, but it’s not one I can return to over and over.
Caitlyn: I definitely enjoyed See You Yesterday, the time loop was not as repetitive as I expected it to be, which I was very happy about, and I thought that Miles and Barrett were very cute together, but I think that this one sits solidly in the middle for me. I tried to read You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, but truthfully, I could not get through it as, like Helena said, watching Adina’s life spin out of control was just too much for me, so I did not finish that one.
What are your rankings of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s Adult books?
Helena: I love The Ex-Talk and Weather Girl both so much. I appreciate that both Ari and Shay are passionate about their jobs and how that plays an important part in both stories. If I had to choose, I think I’d have to choose The Ex-Talk. I love the “fake ex-es” premise, and I love Shay’s relationship with her mom. The second chance at love storyline for Shay’s mom is so sweet. Of course, I also love Shay’s sweet little anxious dog, Steve, and how Dominic takes care of him. (I also cannot wait for Business or Pleasure).
Cossette: I’m also stoked for Business or Pleasure, but I’d have to agree with Helena: The Ex-Talk is definitely my favorite of the two. I just loved the premise of the fake ex-es dating show. You can also really tell how much Rachel Lynn Solomon loves podcasts and radio shows. And Steve Rogers Goldstein? I love emotionally needy dogs.
Caitlyn: Hands down The Ex Talk is my favorite of her adult novels. Since The Ex Talk is the book that got me into Rachel’s works, it holds a very special place in my heart. And, as I mentioned in my answer regarding how I started reading RLS’s books, there’s something about fake exes enemies to lovers that just hits! Weather Girl is very enjoyable, but since the synopsis really reminded me of Set It Up — one of my favorite movies — I had certain expectations that weren’t met. That being said, I really liked Ari and Russell, and thought that they had a really lovely dynamic. I also cannot wait for Business or Pleasure!
Who is your favorite main character?
Helena: Oof this one is hard. I have always felt that I can relate to all of Rachel’s main characters, but I think I have to choose Ari from Weather Girl as my favorite. I love that she is driven and passionate. I certainly relate to her struggles with anxiety and the way that permeates all different facets of her life. I love how she connects with Russell’s daughter.
Cossette: I think my favorite main character is Quinn; I love how we get to learn why she’s cynical and bitter, and how she learns to break away from her family’s path to do something that’s right for her.
Caitlyn: There are a lot of main characters that I adore, including Quinn and Shay, but there’s something at Rowan that connects with me. She’s not always easy to like, she can be controlling and a bit too much at times, but I feel like I understand her and felt very connected to her the first time I read T3.
Who is your favorite love interest?
Helena: Russell wins HANDS DOWN. I love him so much. I love his relationship with his daughter. It’s just so clear what a loving and caring human he is, and he just makes me smile.
Cossette: I think Neil is my favorite — while I do really love the way RLS writes her love interests, there’s just something about Neil. And the Neil short story is just the sweetest thing!
Caitlyn: Neil! I just love Neil so much. I truly have nothing else to back this up, I just really adore Neil.
If there were to be musical adaptations of any of Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books, who would you want to see involved?
Helena: I think Rachel herself would appreciate this question honestly. I would want someone Jewish to bring the Jewish characters in the stories to life. I would love to see Julie Benko (currently in Funny Girl) as Ari. And while we’re on the topic of Fiddler on the Roof alums, I could totally see Samantha Massell as Shay with Jinwoo Jung (KPop) as Dominic. Honestly, I would love to see Sara Bareilles write the score to a RLS book because her lyrics around mental health would be FIERCE.
Caitlyn: I totally agree with Julie Benko as Ari! In fact, as we were talking about this and mentioned Julie, the first role I thought of was Ari! I could also see Samantha Massell as Shay — basically Helena is on point with the casting!
Cossette: I’m notoriously bad at casting, but I agree with what’s already been said! I think it’d be fun to have Kerrigan-Lowdermilk do the score, and I’d also love to see Sara Bareilles’ take on the music — especially since I love the score for Waitress.
Caitlyn: Kerrigan-Lowdermilk my beloveds! I’m obsessed with them, and have been since I was in high school and just love everything that they do, so I would love for them to write the score to any of these hypothetical shows that we are discussing. I also agree about Sara Bareilles writing a score, I think she would slay one for The Ex Talk — we would absolutely get a snarky fake exes number and I can kind of see it in the same vein as Bad Idea from Waitress.
Are you a Rachel Lynn Solomon fan? We’d love to hear your thoughts on her books and feel free to let us know your opinions on what we discussed today! A huge thank you to Helena for joining us for today’s Cozy Convos! Until next time!
Love you both and am grateful for this conversation! <3
love you! this was so much fun!