Better than Fiction - A Review

Miriam Lein

03 Feb 2026 — 1 min read

Better than Fiction by Alexa Martin

I wanted to like this book much more than I did, partly because I think the cover is extremely cute. :) It’s a romance between a young woman who inherited a bookstore, but doesn’t read and a romance author. The story is basically what you’d expect it to be, fulfilling the exact same type of storyline that the romance author character tends to write. There were a couple twists and turns along the way, but nothing to derail the expected outcome. Perhaps I’m being too picky. I appreciate uncomplicated happy endings in lots of other books after all. It just felt like this story had the potential to be more and so I was disappointed when it wasn’t. But there are themes of grief, healing, and forgiveness that are quite wonderful.

Author: Alexa Martin

Published: 2022

Other books by author:

Genre: Romance

Setting: The Playbook Series (2018 - 2020); Mom Jeans & Other Mistakes (2021); Next-Door Nemesis (2023); How to Sell a Romance (releasing soon)

Themes: Relationship, Grief, Family Trauma

How I found this book: NPR recommendation by Kamron Nesa

My recommendation: Low - OK, but not a favorite

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