Serious Moonlight, by Jenn Bennett
Goodreads ¦ Amazon
Series?: No
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: April 16, 2019
Length: 432 pages
Source: ARC
Format: Paperback
Times Read: Once
Rating: 40,000/5
After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.
Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.
In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.
To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.
OMIGOD, OMIGOD YOU GUYS! THIS ONE’S PERFECT, AND IT’S JUST MY SIZE!
Forever waiting for the day that one of you gets this reference
♥ I love Jenn Bennett. Her contemporaries are one of the highlights of my reading year, and I was so excited for this one. Jenn is also super friendly in person, and she’s always up for a chat on Twitter. We both have pugs, so we often lolz about them. She also loves pie and Game of Thrones. She is a queen. The second this book arrived, I dropped everything else I was doing and read it immediately and all at once.
She even helped me get a copy of this ARC after her publicist unexpectedly left and I lost my place in line.
♥ This info comes in close to the top so it’s not a spoiler, but Birdie’s mom died when she was ten, and she’s been raised by her grandparents and “Aunt Mona” ever since. Aunt Mona was her mom’s best friend, and the two of them had been raising Birdie together. When Birdie’s mother passed away, Mona fought with her grandparents tooth and nail to stay in her life. I believe so much that family is just as much who you choose as who you’re born into, and it was really nice to see that here.
“Family isn’t always blood, and it isn’t contained in a single tree. It’s a forest.”
♥ Daniel, though, is the real meat of the story, and where things really shine. He’s adorable the whole way though, and his excitement at seeing Birdie again after their first meeting at the diner is TOO CUTE. Even when Birdie is unsure of herself, even when she doesn’t know if she wants to get into this with him, Daniel knows he wants her. He’s so clearly into her and giving things another shot, but he was totally respectful of her while she works through it. He’s not pushy, he’s not douchy, he’s not creepy. He’s a total gentleman, but before you think he’s one-dimensional, he’s not that, either. I won’t say why, because spoilers, but he definitely has things going on under the surface.
♥ This is probably also a spoiler so I won’t say much, but the Private Event Daniel planned for Birdie?? You guys. OMG. This is my literal dream date. That is my favorite movie and yes I know the date was based on the game, whatever.
I asked Jenn about it and she confirmed this is a real thing. Someone tell the husband that if he ever wants to plan the best date ever for me, this is it.
Final Thoughts: I don’t even read the synopsis on Jenn’s books anymore because she’s such an auto-buy for me, but guys–the night shift at a hotel? Solving a mystery with a cute guy who’s into you? A diner with delicious-sounding pie? Don’t skip this one!!
Favorite Quotes:
“Responsible adults are supposed to behave, and I’m a terrible behaver.”
Pages and Pugs 
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