ARC Review: Exactly as You Are by Liliana Woodland

Cover of Exactly As You Are by Liliana Woodland

Exactly As You Are by Liliana Woodland isn’t your regular best friends to lover it’s much more than that. If you’re in the mood for a slow burn but shouldn’t compromise on the spice level, this book is it for you! Joan Coleman and Lucas weren’t lucky enough to find love. Lucas, because he was fickle-minded and his previous girlfriends have been wary of his friendship with Joan. Joan, because she is diagnosed with vaginismus and also because her previous boyfriends have been wary about her friendship with Lucas. 

When Joan improves with her treatment using doctor-prescribed materials, she wants more. She wants to try intimacy with someone she trusts to be patient with her, so she can finally make sex enjoyable. When she finds the courage to propose this arrangement with her best friend, will it remain strictly clinical, or will sparks fly, revealing there’s more to their relationship than being “just friends”? 

Lucas and Joan grew up together in Louisville and have been friends for as long as they can remember. After Joan’s recent breakup with Chet, she is plagued by a prickling fear that no man will be patient enough to help her through her medical condition, or be okay if she can never fully recover, while also dealing with her hesitation to open up to Lucas about her vaginismus. Lucas, on the other hand, has decided to stay away from love and relationships after a series of failed relationships. Upon getting positive feedback from her doctor, Joan feels confident and hopeful about curing her condition or at least making it work for her. In a moment of confrontation, Joan finally opens up about her condition to Lucas. Soon after, she asks if he would help her work through her condition—strictly physical, with the promise that once it’s over, they’ll return to being friends. Lucas agrees, wanting to support his friend, little did they know that’s not how it’ll end.

Apart from their relationship slowly developing into something more, this book also talks about the difficulties of a people pleaser setting their boundaries, and also about someone whose parent isn’t the ideal role model he envisioned them to be. Joan, the people-pleaser among her friends and family, could never say no to anyone asking for help. However, over the course of the book, she finds the courage to set her boundaries, ensuring that while she’s happy to help the people in her life, she also deserves a little appreciation and respect for her personal space.

Lucas, who had always idolized his father as his role model, is devastated when he discovers his dad’s infidelity and gambling behavior. Where he once felt proud to hear his father say, “You’re just like me,” he now feels disgusted by the comparison. This moment becomes a turning point for Lucas, leading him to realize that he needs therapy to become better and, most importantly, nothing like his father. The author ensures that Lucas’s father isn’t merely dismissed after this revelation but is instead given a redemption arc.

I enjoyed the book; I loved how the author didn’t rush between the characters and made the tension understandable. I also loved how Joan stood up for her in front of her family and the grumpy nurse, Celeste, it feels like a validation to all the people pleasers out there that it’s okay to say no sometimes and that putting yourself first isn’t always selfish. Similarly, Lucas, who has always been fickle-minded and doubted that maybe he would end up like his dad, proved himself wrong by trying to be the better version of himself.

While I liked the book overall, it felt a little slow-paced at times, which made it hard to stay fully engaged. It lacked that attention-grabbing factor that makes you lose yourself in the story—I felt like I was just reading it rather than truly getting into it.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 (I’m keeping the one star with me because of the pacing and attention-grabbing factor.)

Overall, Exactly As You Are is a beautiful small-town, best-friends-to-lovers story that talks about meaningful themes like personal growth, setting boundaries, and overcoming inner fears. As the title suggests, loving someone exactly as they are is my biggest takeaway from the book, and the author beautifully delivers it through Joan and Lucas’s journey. With its slow-burn romance, layered characters, and a touch of spice, it’s a story that will stay with readers who appreciate emotional depth in their love stories. Despite its slower pacing at times, the journey of Joan and Lucas is beautiful! It’s the kind of story that reminds you of the beauty in both vulnerability and connection, leaving a lasting impression.

Thank You, Liliana Woodland and Luna Literary, for the opportunity!♥️