Reviews

They Ain't Proper by M.B. Guel

sydneyd05's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.0

Lou and Clementine are really cute but this book was so slow. The problem was that they just didn't talk. I would be fine with this if they eventually did but they really didn't. Juanita is the person who told Clem everything about Lou. I liked the end of the book when they were actually together, I just wish we had more of it.

kjanie's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

cleo_reads's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

B-/C+ Enjoyable queer Latinx nb/f historical romance set in the American west. A mail order bride is delivered to the wrong ranch and ends up staying. The writing is a little rough and the plot definitely overwhelmed the romance in the second half of the book.

extrafolklore's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted 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? No

5.0

sarahsbookstacks's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

blok_sera_szwajcarskiego's review against another edition

4.0

3,5⭐️

Received an arc from NetGalley, thanks!

A bit too much miscommunication for me, but goddamit if stealing ducks together absolutely bought me.

addiesbookshelf_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

abbrosy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

rlee5987's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

Ok, this book was.... not great.

I love the nb rep and the wild west vibes. 

The fact that Lou talked with that horrible accent the whole time.... bad. Plus their dialect was mixed in with so many modern quips and fuck yous and middle fingers and jokes.  The word "proper" was used over 50 times in the book.... which it's in the title but I didn't need to be bludgeoned to death with it. The plot was full of lots of minor somewhat (but not really) connected conflicts. Clementine was always jealous and it added so many unnecessary problems 😒 

We need more queer westerns but this was tough. I really wanted to love it.

breeisreading_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful tense medium-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? No

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.


This was a cute and easy read, and I loved having a non-binary protagonist, especially set in the Wild West. 
However, I wished I liked this more. It took me a long time to get through it; I wasn’t fully invested, and some of the writing came off a bit too simple. I did love the characters though, Lou absolutely has my heart.