The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
katiebottomley's review against another edition
2.0
A good cheesy romance book, a few hot sex scenes but nothing too racy. Uptight woman falls in love with a tough ex-cop and they start up a hot romance.
viscountess_black's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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Maggie rocks.
Liz and Daisy were exasperating, honestly.
Topics: Miscommunication trope; pregnancy (not the mc); a cool granny that will give you many laughs.
Liz and Daisy were exasperating, honestly.
Topics: Miscommunication trope; pregnancy (not the mc); a cool granny that will give you many laughs.
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elenajohansen's review against another edition
2.0
This only gets a second star because of Maggie. I know the "grab life by the balls" old lady character is a stereotype, but she is by far the best thing about this book.
Our heroine here I couldn't stand pretty much from page one. She's obsessed by her own childhood mistakes (The Humiliation was embarrassing, sure, but does it still deserve capitalization more than ten years later? Grow up, maybe?) The second anything goes wrong in anyone's life around her, she tries to steamroll over them with solutions, especially her pregnant older sister. I mean, help your sis and the baby, sure, but planning the rest of your life in five minutes around being the kid's second (and implied, better) mom? This woman is not at all reasonable. Especially later in the book when she acts like her life is ruined because her sister decided not to go along with that plan. Co-parenting in a non-standard family situation is a difficult and thorny topic, and it's not handled with any realism or delicacy here.
Then there's our hero. He's actually not that bad, compared to her. I didn't like that he uses the recently divorced women of his acquaintance through his job as a source of easy sex, because I think that's sleazy, but it does fall under consenting adults, and all that. And I don't think his "falling in love" arc with the heroine is convincing at all--they're basically falling in lust. And she treats him badly, and he puts up with it for a long time before he does anything about it.
So he's an idiot and kind of spineless, but he's still far more mature than she is. Also, his B-plot about reconciling with his alcoholic dad felt completely pointless and tacked on.
I also don't like the tone of fat-phobia in this. Half of The Humiliation centers on how heavy the heroine was as a teen. Her internal monologues as an adult mostly show that she's convinced she needs to be thin to be happy, and the hero's observations of her as an adult the first time they reconnect directly correlate her hotness to her weight, or lack thereof. It's minor, and there are far worse problems with the plot than this, but it's worth noting that in Clover Park you apparently can't be overweight and happy at the same time.
Our heroine here I couldn't stand pretty much from page one. She's obsessed by her own childhood mistakes (The Humiliation was embarrassing, sure, but does it still deserve capitalization more than ten years later? Grow up, maybe?) The second anything goes wrong in anyone's life around her, she tries to steamroll over them with solutions, especially her pregnant older sister. I mean, help your sis and the baby, sure, but planning the rest of your life in five minutes around being the kid's second (and implied, better) mom? This woman is not at all reasonable. Especially later in the book when she acts like her life is ruined because her sister decided not to go along with that plan. Co-parenting in a non-standard family situation is a difficult and thorny topic, and it's not handled with any realism or delicacy here.
Then there's our hero. He's actually not that bad, compared to her. I didn't like that he uses the recently divorced women of his acquaintance through his job as a source of easy sex, because I think that's sleazy, but it does fall under consenting adults, and all that. And I don't think his "falling in love" arc with the heroine is convincing at all--they're basically falling in lust. And she treats him badly, and he puts up with it for a long time before he does anything about it.
So he's an idiot and kind of spineless, but he's still far more mature than she is. Also, his B-plot about reconciling with his alcoholic dad felt completely pointless and tacked on.
I also don't like the tone of fat-phobia in this. Half of The Humiliation centers on how heavy the heroine was as a teen. Her internal monologues as an adult mostly show that she's convinced she needs to be thin to be happy, and the hero's observations of her as an adult the first time they reconnect directly correlate her hotness to her weight, or lack thereof. It's minor, and there are far worse problems with the plot than this, but it's worth noting that in Clover Park you apparently can't be overweight and happy at the same time.
mrssoule's review against another edition
2.0
I have major issues with this heroine's attitude toward adoption on top of her general obnoxiousness. Blech.
lisaluvsliterature's review
3.0
This was a quick easy read. Nothing too remarkable about it. I might try more in the series. We'll see.
reading_in_brussels's review
3.0
Light and good read. Loved the story and the characters. Maggie is a hoot!
gettinglostinagoodbook's review
3.0
A sweet romance. Nothing surprising. Nothing extraordinary. Simply enjoyable.
taisie22's review against another edition
4.0
Great debut novel. Ryan is a P.I. good guy who raised his younger brothers with the help of his Gran, Maggie. Now Maggie has decided she wants to get a bit wild and Ryan is worried about her so he hires Liz to watch his gran.
Liz is uptight, to say the least, which is strangely attractive to Ryan. Between he and his gran, they set out to loosen Liz up.
While the behavior of the main characters was occasionally annoying, I still enjoyed this book a lot. I didn't always understand the reasons for their behavior, but it was a sweet romance.
Liz is uptight, to say the least, which is strangely attractive to Ryan. Between he and his gran, they set out to loosen Liz up.
While the behavior of the main characters was occasionally annoying, I still enjoyed this book a lot. I didn't always understand the reasons for their behavior, but it was a sweet romance.
bananatricky's review against another edition
3.0
Liz is a control freak. Having been overweight as a child she found that rigid control over what she ate and how she exercised produced the desired result and so she has applied it to all aspects of her life. Indeed, she is the big sister to her older sister!
Ryan is Liz's nemesis. Confident and sexy where she is buttoned-up and nervous, he is also the witness to the most humiliating moment of Liz's teenage life. The Humiliation (as it is called) still haunts Liz years later. And of course she was madly in love with him when he was a hunky lifeguard and she was an overweight child four years younger.
Now, in order to help her pregnant older sister clear her mountain of debt, Liz is prepared to look after Ryan's grandmother who is kicking over the traces. His grandmother, Maggie, is similar to the grandmother in the Janet Evanovich books - fond of trying outrageous things (TBH it's a bit wearying) and Liz runs around after her trying to stop her from (for example) buying a Harley Davison motorbike.
Ryan becomes increasingly obsessed with seeing what lies under Liz's buttoned up exterior, egged on by his grandmother and younger brothers.
I found Ryan a bit irritating. But then I found Liz and Maggie irritating at times too (don't get me started on Rachel and her Jewish man obsession or Daisy and her general pathetic-ness).
Anyway, it was ok. Not as mad-cap funny as it wanted to be.
Ryan is Liz's nemesis. Confident and sexy where she is buttoned-up and nervous, he is also the witness to the most humiliating moment of Liz's teenage life. The Humiliation (as it is called) still haunts Liz years later. And of course she was madly in love with him when he was a hunky lifeguard and she was an overweight child four years younger.
Now, in order to help her pregnant older sister clear her mountain of debt, Liz is prepared to look after Ryan's grandmother who is kicking over the traces. His grandmother, Maggie, is similar to the grandmother in the Janet Evanovich books - fond of trying outrageous things (TBH it's a bit wearying) and Liz runs around after her trying to stop her from (for example) buying a Harley Davison motorbike.
Ryan becomes increasingly obsessed with seeing what lies under Liz's buttoned up exterior, egged on by his grandmother and younger brothers.
I found Ryan a bit irritating. But then I found Liz and Maggie irritating at times too (don't get me started on Rachel and her Jewish man obsession or Daisy and her general pathetic-ness).
Anyway, it was ok. Not as mad-cap funny as it wanted to be.