Derp. This book really reminded me of Get a Life, Chloe Brown -- likeable characters that you don't get to know very well because they are too busy geDerp. This book really reminded me of Get a Life, Chloe Brown -- likeable characters that you don't get to know very well because they are too busy getting busy the whole time of the novel. Steamy stuff is great, but I was beginning to get bored with it all. I thought the context of the book was really fun, detailed, and interesting, but the conflicts on both sides didn't feel fleshed out, and like I mentioned, we barely get to know these characters.
Another thing that bothered me is that one thing a lot of rom-coms have to do well- but many people don't talk about- is convince the reader that the characters' copious amounts of free time make sense. And this book did not do that at all. How convenient that John just got laid off from work. Celeste's situation would make sense if it was during the summer, but it is set during the school year. I found this element distracting.
Normally I don't love romances that have kids/kid-centered plots in them, but this is the first one I have read that didn't completely bore me to death with Morgan. Overall, just disappointed by this one....more
I read these two out of order, but I still enjoyed them. I think I liked Practice Makes Perfect better though. Honestly there was something bugging meI read these two out of order, but I still enjoyed them. I think I liked Practice Makes Perfect better though. Honestly there was something bugging me around the 60% mark but now I dont remember what it was. It was probably the extent of the slow burn.
I'm not sure Amelia or Noah really had personalities besides being kind, mostly personable people. In hindsight, the forced proximity situation feels a little forced, no pun intended.
Not a glowing review, but I enjoyed this book while I read it. I thought the last minute conflict with Noah was executed perfectly with not being drawn out and alienating readers. I think if that part of the story would have been longer, it would have felt unrealistic and soured the ending.
Also, I think I'm becoming less jaded about small town settings because there is a worthy dream amongst these depictions of fictional small towns, even if they dont exist yet....more
Third times the charm in the opposite, I guess. I don't think I am going to read any more of Tessa Bailey's books. Something about the lack of real-woThird times the charm in the opposite, I guess. I don't think I am going to read any more of Tessa Bailey's books. Something about the lack of real-world context in her books bothers me as well as the way she writes sex scenes. They have felt consistently demeaning and gross to me compared to other authors and stories I have loved. Also, she doesn't understand the craft of a good love interest name which bugs me.
As for this story in particular, at first I was really into Fox and Hannah's friends to lovers plot, but over time I was just over Fox's whole beef with not being able to tell other people to step off. Self-sabotage is one of my least favorite tropes, and while it is normally the woman who indulges in this, it was just as annoying to watch Fox do it.
The one thing that I did like in this story is that Hannah was consistent about not taking the bait on Fox's crap about their relationship not working. I also liked Hannah as a character for the most part. An odd detail that I thought about going into this audiobook is that in the first book the narrator makes Hannah's voice very husky, and I thought to myself, it will be interesting if they actually have that be her voice in her own story because the female protagonist never sounds that way, and I was right-- they didn't have her sound that way at all. ...more
I probably would have stopped reading this book a couple of chapters in, but I was so excited for the sister's friends to lovers romance that I had toI probably would have stopped reading this book a couple of chapters in, but I was so excited for the sister's friends to lovers romance that I had to keep reading.
The only other Tessa Bailey book I have read is Secretly Yours, and I think this book had the same problem of the sex scenes being borderline demeaning and cringy. Maybe not every word of it, but enough that I was left feeling slimy and just wanted to skip forward.
One thing this book did that I actually loved was the STAKES. If anything I wish we would have had another near-death fisherman experience. A lot of romances don't have stakes like these unless it is more of a suspenseful romance situation (which I do not like), and we NEED more stakes. This is what makes rom-coms more meaningful!
Lastly, I don't like Brendan's personality or name, but I think I like the concept of hot fishermen....more
**spoiler alert** I am having a hard time nailing down what I think of this book. I like that the story had more depth than just a silly borderline fa**spoiler alert** I am having a hard time nailing down what I think of this book. I like that the story had more depth than just a silly borderline fake dating situation, but this book reminded me of ROMANTIC COMEDY -- how we signed up for one story and ended in a totally different place. (Of course, I knew what I thought of that book and it is that I hated it.)
One thing that bugged me is that I wish Justin would have actually talked to his mom about the whole embezzlement/that year following their dads death. It felt strange and unfinished to me that he didn't.
The main reason I am having such a hard time with this book is that I hate self-sabotage... I know she had a traumatic past but it was really hard for me to like Emma at times.
I did like the non-romantic gesture stuff at the end and the part where Emma picked up and talked to Sarah ...more
**spoiler alert** Fun friends to lovers romance. Not all friends to lovers books have to have the "he loved her the whole time" trope, but this one di**spoiler alert** Fun friends to lovers romance. Not all friends to lovers books have to have the "he loved her the whole time" trope, but this one did and I love it. I was thrown off by no second act conflict, but I liked how the cheat sheet was brought back in the last chapter. I thought it was weird that she never found out about it, but I also think it would be weird to build a whole conflict around it.
I loved the guys being dudes scenes. Those parts really reminded me of the Bromance Book Club series which I loved....more
Derp! I keep reading romance books out of order. I liked that Amelia and Noah had a pretty big role in this companion novel compared to some other romDerp! I keep reading romance books out of order. I liked that Amelia and Noah had a pretty big role in this companion novel compared to some other romance companion novels.
I thought this book was so funny (baseball scene), so swoony, and frustrating at times. I thought this novel just skirted around the "this conflict could be solved with a conversation" plot hole. Overall just so enjoyable. My main qualm was the reader for Annie on the audiobook, but I eventually got used to it.
This book was steamy, but besides people thinking about sex, this novel was pretty tame if someone is looking for a romance that isn't as graphic.
Second reading: I still love this book so much. The reader for this book didn't bother me as much the second time around. I liked this one better than the first book, and I am so excited for the third book BUT I wish we were getting Maddi and James' story first *crying emoji*...more
**spoiler alert** Against my will, basically. READ THIS ONE STRICTLY TO EAT BRUNCH AT THE LIBRARY'S BRUNCH BOOK CLUB. I would now like to iterate exac**spoiler alert** Against my will, basically. READ THIS ONE STRICTLY TO EAT BRUNCH AT THE LIBRARY'S BRUNCH BOOK CLUB. I would now like to iterate exactly why this book is bad, so that I'm not a basic hater who thinks people who read Colleen Hoover aren't "real readers."
- Premise: girl accidentally kills boyfriend. Goes to prison. Goes back to his hometown to meet her daughter. Falls into instalove with the boyfriends best friend. Panic and drama ensue. - Dramatic and HYPERemotional. I love crying too people! But there is a reason I read Colleen Hoover's books as a high schooler - Let me reiterate: instalove. Instalove to the max. Instalove plus ultra. It was just too much. Grace asks Ledger at the end why he loves her and he does a fake romcom answer because he doesnt actually know why. - The use of the word "stab" -- I'm not explaining this. If you remember, you remember. - The writing is bad. The dialogue is cliche. The letters as a plot device felt very forced to me. I kept waiting for something to be... original? Whether it is a metaphor or how something is explained or understood by the reader and that is not what I got. - I really really disliked the name Diem. Please dont take it personally if your child is also named Diem. - Not a single character in this book had a personality beyond being a "good person." I just find this to be boring. It felt like it didnt matter who these people were as long as we got to experience their ~dRaMa~
Please pray for me that I am not too abrasive in these opinions during our book club....more
**spoiler alert** I think this book might have been better if it was longer. I felt like it introduced a lot of things that would have been better if **spoiler alert** I think this book might have been better if it was longer. I felt like it introduced a lot of things that would have been better if they had more time to develop.
I kind of wanted an explanation for why this was the wrong number instead of a coincidence, I wanted more than a two-week-later epilogue (boring), I wanted a better reunion/resolution, I wanted them to date slightly longer than they did before it was all ruined. This was sort of typical, but can we not have 5 minutes of peace?
I know people are going to be annoyed by this girl's personality being that she is clumsy- I don't care either way, what is the guy's personality?- but I have a bigger annoyance with her being somewhat defined by being a writer.. Ugh, just disappointing....more
This book really seemed to be missing the stakes that I wanted it to have; it felt like both characters' reluctance was made-up and not convincing. ThThis book really seemed to be missing the stakes that I wanted it to have; it felt like both characters' reluctance was made-up and not convincing. Through the whole book I kept asking myself if I had missed something because it felt like they had no reason for acting or feeling the way they did. From the beginning I did not love Dean's character, and I thought the way he talked about how Solange was flaky and fluttering around from one thing to the next was gross.
This book was very steamy, and that's fine, but because I was so unconvinced of the characters' feelings for each other, I thought those scenes were a lot less enjoyable and really reminded me of the ick factor from the sex scene from Julia Whelan's Thank You for Listening.
Another book I was reminded of in a bad way was The Love Wager. Because apparently it is totally fine when friends have sex and they assume this won't change their friendship at all. Just dumb....more
I stuck with this one because I loved the two main characters so much, and I loved how they interacted with each other; I love romance novels from botI stuck with this one because I loved the two main characters so much, and I loved how they interacted with each other; I love romance novels from both perspectives. That said, I am still wrapping my brain around why they hated each other in the first place... I almost wonder if it would have been more satisfying to have the initial scene explore this more and then fast forward a couple of months. I understand you need the impetus for the "get a life" part, but I don't know; I just wasn't fully convinced how they hated each other and then I found myself confused as to how they transitioned to not hating each other.
Maybe too steamy? Gasp, but I really just wanted more plot with these two characters and the great side characters than we got. The audiobook reader was great for most of the characters, but Red's voice was sometimes good and sometimes creepy? I don't know if that's just me or what....more
This is the first Emily Henry book I have read the physical book rather than listened to the audiobook, and part of me thinks this had a real impact oThis is the first Emily Henry book I have read the physical book rather than listened to the audiobook, and part of me thinks this had a real impact on my reading. For one thing I kept getting too excited and reading ahead/too fast. Its hard to explain my reservations for this one. I think in general I rate her books more harshly because I have such high expectations of her work.
I liked how the main characters interacted and how clearly they enjoyed each others company and how much they laughed. I hated the cover art. I loved feeling like I was in Michigan. I hated the library stuff. Ugh. The library patron examples were funny, but you are telling me this children librarians entire focus was the Readathon and the summer reading program just doesnt exist in this universe? There were so many cultural references in this book compared to her other books. I'm neutral on this; I'm just going to attribute it to her being a librarian....more
I feel like I multitasked too much while reading this book because everyone was peeved at our protagonist, and I was like what did I miss? The friend I feel like I multitasked too much while reading this book because everyone was peeved at our protagonist, and I was like what did I miss? The friend angle of Cordon Bleu made sense as opposed to everyone else's reaction to that lie, but even that detail felt thrown in there.
When Kamilah said that she loved him and his response was "love isnt reliable and therefore I will never love anyone" or some bs, I just felt like, where did that come from? I was really jarred by that being his response to that situation.
And the scene where they yelled at each other about all of their flaws, I just felt like I was truly missing something.
I thought the audiobook reader did a really good job. The accents and Spanish language parts were really fun to listen to. I just feel disappointed by the whole endeavor of reading this book....more
**spoiler alert** I think the story overall really is 3 stars, but I'm giving an extra star for the way the main characters' friendship and chemistry **spoiler alert** I think the story overall really is 3 stars, but I'm giving an extra star for the way the main characters' friendship and chemistry was written because I thought that was really good.
However, I cannot even begin to understand why the fake dating with so much pda was deemed even somewhat rational. What did they think was going to happen when they went home???
And I felt like some of the lack of sharing feelings was so so dumb. Overall, funny and enjoyable and frustrating. Plus I read these books out of order because I didnt know they were companion novels. Boo....more
**spoiler alert** Very fun and enjoyable. I love sort of meta-romances that have protagonists that read a lot of romance. It just seems odd, especiall**spoiler alert** Very fun and enjoyable. I love sort of meta-romances that have protagonists that read a lot of romance. It just seems odd, especially with contemporary romance, to not acknowledge this context. And I don't usually like books that have social media plots, but I didn't think this one was overbearing.
The main thing I am unsure of with this book was the entire plot with him not texting her while he was gone... It seemed a little made up considering he was only going to be gone for a couple of days to fight literal wildfires. If he would have just said goodbye before he left like he said he would we could have avoided this whole thing.
Plus I LOVE it when the guy loves her the whole time. Fantastic. Love it. We all knew he was going to show up at the restaurant, and I don't care, it was fantastic. ...more
**spoiler alert** DNF at 70% -- what started off as a fun bookish read quickly turned into Maggie being so annoying because she has no brain. I think **spoiler alert** DNF at 70% -- what started off as a fun bookish read quickly turned into Maggie being so annoying because she has no brain. I think the final straw for me was that she had sex with Malcolm (who I also find annoying and stiff as a character) while she was still lying to him about everything. And she basically had no qualms or thoughts about it at all. That just seems so unbelievable and deceptive to me. We all know that she is going to get caught by Ralph. We all know she is going to find her way out of it. I don't even care enough to find out how. ...more
**spoiler alert** I really liked the dynamic with Andy, but then I felt let down by their reconciliation. I think I just wanted more explanation from **spoiler alert** I really liked the dynamic with Andy, but then I felt let down by their reconciliation. I think I just wanted more explanation from the both of them. That said, I thought the explanation of "I thought if you could pitch it would mean ~I~ was enough" rather than some rom com magic where he can pitch.
Perfect "by the water" sort of read, even if only parts of it took place in the summer.
Evvies new house at the end felt exactly the way it should....more
Blech. I did not like the Carmen chapters. I would never read a romance about a PR consultant, and that's basically what those parts were about. I alsBlech. I did not like the Carmen chapters. I would never read a romance about a PR consultant, and that's basically what those parts were about. I also felt pretty jaded about the conflict the whole time. It just felt like no one was communicating for the sake of continuing the plot. Not my favorite, but I might be interesting in the cousins' plotlines....more
Cant decide between 3 and 4 stars. Enjoyable but also sort of triggering for depression stuff. I was ready for the end at about 80%, but it was fine. Cant decide between 3 and 4 stars. Enjoyable but also sort of triggering for depression stuff. I was ready for the end at about 80%, but it was fine. I thought the fat love interest was done pretty well, but I'm interested in what others thought....more
MAIN QUALMS: - Julian's character is the absolute worst. I'm pretty sure we are supposed to feel bad for him, but by the end of the book I was just siMAIN QUALMS: - Julian's character is the absolute worst. I'm pretty sure we are supposed to feel bad for him, but by the end of the book I was just sick of this guy. He has no personality except time-keeping, his name stinks, and the novel subplot seemed very tacked on. *insert Spongebob meme of "this guy stinks"* - Without going into detail, the sex scenes in this book were gross, obnoxious, and borderline demeaning. I like Hallie's character for the most part, but the fact that she found Julian's behavior... acceptable, I guess, just bothered me. - Absolutely no real resolution with the main conflict with the letters. I stuck it out until the end because I was curious, but I don't think it was worth it. - The setting/plot being so wine-centric felt very basic to me, but I'm sure other readers liked that.
This book was 2 stars basically from the beginning, but I relish in giving it one star....more
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