Erynn Mangum

This book is such a gem. Part of what made Maya so endearing was how free of drama she was. She didn't obsess over getting engaged/married, and this left so much room to focus on the important things in her life at that time.
Another thing that made her a relatable character was her sense of humor. Witty banter is a trademark of Erynn Mangum's books, and while Maya is adept in sarcasm, she didn't use it as a weapon, something I appreciated so much.
There was an instance when Maya, in show more response to a situation she found herself in, mentally responded with 'Not funny, God,' which is very disrespectful. It's something one would say to a peer, not a King.
The first person narrative allowed Maya to self-deprecatingly share about her life, work, and challenges, without info dumps breaking the flow of the narrative. Maya is such a sweet character, and while I'm not really a coffee-drinker, I love that we both have running in common. Maybe one day I'll be looking back and wondering how I ever got by without coffee, but until then Dr. Pepper and I will be very happy. show less

I've read many a book by Erynn Mangum, and most of them repeatedly (insert shout-out to the Lauren Holbrook and Maya Davis series here!). _Mind the Gap_ is hands-down my favorite book and, imho, Mangum's best yet. She absolutely outdid herself here.

It's not just the London setting, or the glorious day trips to surrounding areas (Bath!), or the Austen or Marvel or _North and South_ or Richard Armitage references. (Pardon me while I swoon. #justbeingreal) And we may have to disagree about show more which Knightley is more swoonworthy (it's obviously Mark Strong :D, and I might have watched that version of "Emma" last night just to reconvince myself; that's my story and I'm sticking to it). No, pair that with all the faith gems Mangum is known for and some downright conviction in my own life accordingly, and ... man. Kate and Gran might be able to take or leave Harry Potter, but I gotta say, all of the above truly combined to perfectly illustrate Golpalott's Third Law (where the sum of something is greater than its individual parts; see _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_ for more).

A couple phrases might have overused their welcome a tad bit (smiles not reaching their eyes, or fingers weaving together), but that's entirely small potatoes in this glorious read that brought everything I love about England back to the forefront. I've visited there multiple times (and Timehop has been reminding me my last visit was 4 years ago this week, in fact!), and _Mind the Gap_ was a blessed stand-in for travel during these wonky pandemic times.

A verse from Psalm 37 was a running theme throughout the read, and I loved how Mangum approached it from different angles and explored its applicability in life no matter one's circumstances. I particularly related to this line from Kate, about 70% of the way in: "I really hope I’m not the only person on the planet this happens to. Surely the Lord does this to more people than me, but I swear every time I’m faced with some big issue, it’s like I can’t get away from it. God uses sermons, people and the Bible to hammer it into my thick skull." I could go on, but Goodreads tells me I made 75 highlights in the book ... which makes me wonder what, exactly, I _didn't_ highlight. Ha!

I highly recommend the read (could you tell? :D) and can't wait to discuss it with fellow readers/fans.

I received a copy of the ebook from the author. All opinions are my own. show less

I've read Mangum's Lauren Holbrook and Maya Davis series more times than I should probably admit to, lol. :) And ... unfortunately, I didn't feel this one had the same magic.

Maybe Paige's "finding it impossible to say 'no'" hit too close to home, or maybe the introvert in me just flipped too much at the resulting lack of time for reflection or quiet. There was just so much noise in Paige's life that I felt seeped into my own and left me feeling ... tense. And her BFF Layla unfortunately show more wasn't my favorite either.

Tyler, on the other hand, was pretty fantastic. :) And I really liked him.

I'll likely pick up the other books in the series (and have, in fact, already started reading book 2)--but am not sure how far I'll continue. show less

Wow. Just ... wow.

I was initially disappointed when I discovered this was a “Maya Davis” series, but Presley was the main character.

Well.

Dang, what a story Presley has.

I nearly cried several times and...can’t believe I have to wait for another book! Ha!

A few grammatical and homonym issues throughout the book, but it didn’t distract too much, and I’ll certainly reread Presley’s story. Such an important message shared here!!