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annahamburger's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
There are a lot of things I really enjoyed about this book! Overall a
Good entertaining read. Some elements missing to take it from good to great.
The good
Good entertaining read. Some elements missing to take it from good to great.
The good
- Dawson won me over as a character!
- The dialogue and banter was fun and helped grow the relationship
- The grouchy old man/father figure
- The goat that hates everyone but Dawson.
The meh
- The instalove/hate felt too much for the setting/situation.
- I felt like Tully served as a device to showcase Dawson. He could have been more fleshed out for me.
- This book had most of the elements that make a 4-5 star read for me, but suffered from "telling" me about them vs showing me.
- I wished I'd been shown more about the found family, instead Of Dawsons internal monologue telling me this conclusion after a time jump.
- Speaking of the timeline and jumps in time needed some finessing.
- Dawsons character and POV was about her and her growth. Tullys POV was about how he wanted and loved Dawson. He needed more character development.
The ???
- The pet name "legs" just didn't do it for me. Idk how he laid eyes on her and in like 1 Second decided that's what he was gonna call her...
- the possessiveness felt very "fated mates" during Tullys POV and out of place for this particular story.
- Especially bc there was no reciprocity of this possessiveness during Dawsons POV.
The bad
- The non communication of it all was okay but annoying to me as a plot device until the climax
- Idk how Dawson would believe what the creepy guy would tell her about Tully without asking or clarifying with him. And then not allowing him to clarify when he tried?
- In the epilogue the Link and Michaels significant others were referred to as their "women". But it felt so clunky. I recognize it was bc they are likely the characters of their own interconnected books, but it rubbed me wrong.
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
peachani's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, and Sexual content
nikkisbooknook's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
My first read from this author but won't be my last. I'm a sucker for grumpy-sunshine, enemies to lovers and a small-town setting.
Was Tully over the top in his insta-love/lust for Dawson? Yep. Did it put me off? Nope. 'Cos Dawson made that man work for every crumb of affection. She had chips on both shoulders and attitude enough to sink a battleship. I LOVED her! She is no pushover. She has worked for everything she has and her last relationship rightly left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Her other is also a piece-of-work!
There are lots of great tropes at work and some worthy topics meshed into the story. Tully may have been oblivious to the job -taking but he did his best to resolve it once he knew. Was the bet with his friends juvenile? Also yes but it made with no malice and wasn't about him "getting anything" from Dawson - just getting her to admit she liked him. But it was easy for that to be blown out of context by that odious little backstabbing toad!
Mama Tully has a fair portion of blame to wear over the job debacle but otherwise was a lovely character. Each of our MC's have a great set of friends - Tully's lifelong and Dawson's new but no less vocal in their support of her.
Dawson is amazingly well thought out and endearing (even with all the chips on her shoulders). Those are genuine problems and she faced them with dignity. I loved learning about her love of bikes and crotchety older men with Nordic names.
Was Tully over the top in his insta-love/lust for Dawson? Yep. Did it put me off? Nope. 'Cos Dawson made that man work for every crumb of affection. She had chips on both shoulders and attitude enough to sink a battleship. I LOVED her! She is no pushover. She has worked for everything she has and her last relationship rightly left her with a bad taste in her mouth. Her other is also a piece-of-work!
There are lots of great tropes at work and some worthy topics meshed into the story. Tully may have been oblivious to the job -taking but he did his best to resolve it once he knew. Was the bet with his friends juvenile? Also yes but it made with no malice and wasn't about him "getting anything" from Dawson - just getting her to admit she liked him. But it was easy for that to be blown out of context by that odious little backstabbing toad!
Mama Tully has a fair portion of blame to wear over the job debacle but otherwise was a lovely character. Each of our MC's have a great set of friends - Tully's lifelong and Dawson's new but no less vocal in their support of her.
Dawson is amazingly well thought out and endearing (even with all the chips on her shoulders). Those are genuine problems and she faced them with dignity. I loved learning about her love of bikes and crotchety older men with Nordic names.
Minor: Body shaming
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