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allierose2's review against another edition
3.0
This was good at times but tbh I feel like it’s irresponsible not to list TW at the front of a book like this that contains some pretty triggering non-sexual content, like
Graphic: Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
downsophialane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was a little disappointed that apart from one fleeting mention that she still has a "connection" with God, there is no mention of Winnie's relationship to her faith (beyond the purity culture imposed upon her) but that's a me thing; this isn't another Priest so I won't review it like it was trying to be.
Can I say, these epilogues from Teddy's POV are a stroke of genius because all I want is more from him!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Blood and Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming and Miscarriage
dangcrystal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Miscarriage and Vomit
chanzlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Overall I LOVED the book, it hit the Hallmark Spice Movie levels for me and then some. Truly some of the best spice I think between the two series (Kallum had some nice dom vibes).
I don't love the accidental-pregnancy trope but it works for this world because it's a contemporary hallmark romance. Like I genuinely hate accidental-pregnancies but it felt alright for this tbh.
Also they brought up how Winnie has narcolepsy and mention it a lot in this book only to ultimately do nothing with it. It felt unnecessary and just like filler to make the book longer for some reason. I'm ALL for representation of people's disabilities and the like but I feel like if you're going to mention it as much as they did in this book and to not do anything with it just felt so weird.
But on the other hand, some of the writing was a bit odd.
Spoilers ahead, not detailed:
I thought it was odd that half way through the book the two were basically in love and happy and it was ONLY half way?? I'm not a slowburn kind of person so it's not that I wish that they had held out longer but it's more like the plot after they got together felt a bit jarring.
I hate third-act breakups but they don't just break up once, but TWICE! And it's because of a miscommunication/lack of communication!!! LIKE YALL ARE 30, TALK TO EACH OTHER. I get some of the traumas that Winnie has, absolutely, but her inability to talk to the one person she was trusting and was making unilateral decisions for both of them was so bizarre.
I honestly kind of wanted the first half and just the last third of the last half to be the story. Like after the first break up, just skip to Kallum giving her space and just doing his LA thing to setup for the baby.
But all-in-all, this was a cute silly hallmark spiced story.
Winnie was fun and brought up interesting discussions about the purity culture but I think it was too much. I understand she was recovering from it and trauma heals differently for everyone but it felt too much of a focus for this book. Kallum, what a dream guy - lumber jack, dad bod, kind of man that's a dom but also respectful?? Loooved him. He definitely had a bit of a childish personality but I feel like they showed how he was well rounded in that he can be serious when it was necessary.
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
maggiemccoy13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
onkenzisshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
- Winnie had narcolepsy, which is not a representation you often see, yet it was barely mentioned. She and Kallum never talked about it and it was instead just mentioned in passing throughout the book. It felt more like a gimmick than anything.
- The cheesiness was almost cringey. You always expect a holiday book to be cringey, but this was almost too much.
This is probably because I am currently pregnant and very in tune with this kind of thing, but the timeline was SO wonky with her pregnancy that I couldn't handle it.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Miscarriage
daffodill37's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
This book starts off fun and sweet and sexy but takes a surprisingly dark and (emotionally) scary turn a little over halfway through. I will say it does have a really lovely HEA but there really ought to be some warnings on this book. I'm going to include them below so, FYI, spoilers ahead.
I'd also like to note that the characters were lovable and fun and it's nice to see some familiar characters sort of in the background. I think the writing is fine and the setting/characters are all just fine but the storyline was far from fun and fancy free like previous installments.
Now, to the warnings/spoilers here.
There is an unexpected pregnancy with physical complications that is used as the main plot driver for the second half of the book. At one point we are set up to reasonably believe that the characters could potentially lose the (very much wanted) pregnancy.
While we're talking about warnings let's go ahead and mention that we have a very awful, overbearing and unsupportive set of parents. This story also revolves around the character's previous life of religion and purity culture (which is actively challenged by this character as well as many others).
This is honestly not the book I expected to read and wouldn't recommended it to anyone due to the themes it works with.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
rachminick's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility and Miscarriage
Minor: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
thepunkmystic's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
cover2covertx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
Religious trauma Purity culture