risseandshine's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
3.0
Was it cute? Yes.
But was it cute enough for me to rave about it and tell everyone to pick it up? Not really.
This story follows Maybell Parrish, a woman who has a penchant for daydreaming, unexpectedly inherits a big house from her great aunt. She gets another round of surprises when 1) she sees that the house worn down, and 2) she finds out that she's to share this house with the grumpy groundskeeper.
I have to admit, beneath all the cuteness, I was mostly going, "Oh god we're back in her fantasy dreamland <i>again</i>? I get that it's in Maybell's personality to constantly daydream, but I felt progressively annoyed by it as it went on.
Also, while I appreciate that this book touched on Wesley and his issues, I felt like it touched on it too late, so much so that I felt like the book was cut abruptly at the end. I think the story could have benefited more with having the issues dealt with earlier with Maybell and Wesley working on them as a couple.
Overall, this was an okay book for me. If you'd like to read an enemies-to-lovers romance between a hero with a grouchy exterior but soft personality and a heroine who finds her own voice despite being a people pleaser all her life, then I guess you could give this a fair shot. Although, I don't guarantee that you would scream about this to the high heavens right after.
Nonetheless, I still think that the author is a fantastic writer, so I'm still interested in reading more from her.
.
.
.
.
.
tw: social anxiety, panic attacks
But was it cute enough for me to rave about it and tell everyone to pick it up? Not really.
This story follows Maybell Parrish, a woman who has a penchant for daydreaming, unexpectedly inherits a big house from her great aunt. She gets another round of surprises when 1) she sees that the house worn down, and 2) she finds out that she's to share this house with the grumpy groundskeeper.
I have to admit, beneath all the cuteness, I was mostly going, "Oh god we're back in her fantasy dreamland <i>again</i>? I get that it's in Maybell's personality to constantly daydream, but I felt progressively annoyed by it as it went on.
Also, while I appreciate that this book touched on Wesley and his issues, I felt like it touched on it too late, so much so that I felt like the book was cut abruptly at the end. I think the story could have benefited more with having the issues dealt with earlier with Maybell and Wesley working on them as a couple.
Overall, this was an okay book for me. If you'd like to read an enemies-to-lovers romance between a hero with a grouchy exterior but soft personality and a heroine who finds her own voice despite being a people pleaser all her life, then I guess you could give this a fair shot. Although, I don't guarantee that you would scream about this to the high heavens right after.
Nonetheless, I still think that the author is a fantastic writer, so I'm still interested in reading more from her.
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tw: social anxiety, panic attacks
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
_ich__'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Death
katievallin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Racism, Sexism, and Animal death
anielabooks's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was entertaining, but I wasn’t hooked. The narrating that Maybel does can sound a bit cringy at times. However, I really like Wesley’s character and the mental illness representation. As someone that experiences panic attacks, I felt it was handled very respectfully. While I wasn’t in love with this book, Hogle’s other work, “You Deserve Each Other” is one of my all time favorite contemporary romances. If you were disappointed with this one, I recommend to still give the other a chance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Sexual content, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, and Racism
allonsyahhlee's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
thk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Abandonment
wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
Reading this felt like drinking a mug of hot chocolate; comforting and sweet in a simple yet charming way.
I found both main characters really relatable. As a daydreamer myself (albeit not to this extent), I enjoyed reading a main character who daydreams in such vivid detail and loses herself in an imaginary world. Contrary to some other readers, I didn’t find it difficult to tell when the daydreams began or that the daydreams took over the narrative compared to the plot. Also, like Maybell, I do appreciate a man in a nice cardigan.
Wesley was just the most adorable cinnamon roll ever despite his grouchy exterior, especially after the 40% mark when he starts to open up. I appreciated that the ~power of love~ didn’t miraculously cure him of his social anxiety like it does so often in romances. His dislike of socialising definitely spoke to me.
I did think the side characters were a bit too cruel to be real, although they didn’t take up much page time and the cruelty was tempered by the sweetness of the romance. The house renovations were also completed unrealistically quickly with remarkably few hiccups. That never happens.
Overall, this was a really cute, fluffy read that still had a lot of depth and heart to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Misogyny, Racism, and Bullying
rebelbooks101's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The first 40% of this book was a struggle. We follow this girl named Maybell who has found out that her Great Aunt has died and that she has inherited this house only when she gets to the house she finds out that someone else has also inherited the house.
Something I’m learning about myself is I don’t really care for storylines where they are fixing up an old house or something like that which I realize is the plot here but after hearing a lot of positive things I wanted to give it a chance because with plots. I don’t think I’ll enjoy, there are times I do end up still liking them. This wasn’t one of those times unfortunately and I did not care for that part of the story.
Along with that, the beginning 40% I did not care about at all. I couldn’t care less about the house and Wesley was just so grumpy. Every moment of page time these two had was just them arguing and given this is a forced proximity book where they were basically the only two characters it got annoying for me the reader very fast. Grumpy x Sunshine is one of those hit or miss tropes for me along with enemies to lovers. The beginning half I really thought I was going to give this book 2 stars and had also debated dnfing it.
However, once we saw these characters start having peaceful conversations this book improved a ton! I really like the upward trajectory the second half of this book took. Wesley is all of the sudden a completely different person (in a good way) and you start to understand a bit more why he is the way he is. On a personal preference level, I definitely think I would’ve enjoyed this book more had he become a lot more likeable sooner because he wasn’t grumpy at all for the rest of the book which makes me hesitant to recommend it as grumpy x sunshine and more as “looks like he could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll” kind of trope meme thing. Either that or I think adding his perspective could’ve helped as well because it really was a drag to get through the unlikeable Wesley at the beginning.
I really liked the social anxiety rep. There were parts I definitely could relate to and felt for Wesley in. He definitely had some similar experiences to my own.
I also appreciated the lack of the forced third act conflict at the end. Like yes there was a conflict to some extent I suppose, but it wasn’t one of those forced ones where all of the sudden the characters can’t be together that I’m tired of seeing.
Overall I did like this book but given how unenjoyable the beginning was, I can’t really justify giving it a higher rating than a 3.5.
Something I’m learning about myself is I don’t really care for storylines where they are fixing up an old house or something like that which I realize is the plot here but after hearing a lot of positive things I wanted to give it a chance because with plots. I don’t think I’ll enjoy, there are times I do end up still liking them. This wasn’t one of those times unfortunately and I did not care for that part of the story.
Along with that, the beginning 40% I did not care about at all. I couldn’t care less about the house and Wesley was just so grumpy. Every moment of page time these two had was just them arguing and given this is a forced proximity book where they were basically the only two characters it got annoying for me the reader very fast. Grumpy x Sunshine is one of those hit or miss tropes for me along with enemies to lovers. The beginning half I really thought I was going to give this book 2 stars and had also debated dnfing it.
However, once we saw these characters start having peaceful conversations this book improved a ton! I really like the upward trajectory the second half of this book took. Wesley is all of the sudden a completely different person (in a good way) and you start to understand a bit more why he is the way he is. On a personal preference level, I definitely think I would’ve enjoyed this book more had he become a lot more likeable sooner because he wasn’t grumpy at all for the rest of the book which makes me hesitant to recommend it as grumpy x sunshine and more as “looks like he could kill you, is actually a cinnamon roll” kind of trope meme thing. Either that or I think adding his perspective could’ve helped as well because it really was a drag to get through the unlikeable Wesley at the beginning.
I really liked the social anxiety rep. There were parts I definitely could relate to and felt for Wesley in. He definitely had some similar experiences to my own.
I also appreciated the lack of the forced third act conflict at the end. Like yes there was a conflict to some extent I suppose, but it wasn’t one of those forced ones where all of the sudden the characters can’t be together that I’m tired of seeing.
Overall I did like this book but given how unenjoyable the beginning was, I can’t really justify giving it a higher rating than a 3.5.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
debussy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved Sarah Hogle's debut, as well as her more recent Just Like Magic. Twice Shy is far more quiet compared to the others, and while there is still the same kind of quirk it's much more muted by the characters' emotional conflicts and the book's emphasis on mental illness. While I really enjoyed the bulk of the book, I did feel like the theme of love "fixing" a person's mental illness didn't really hit. As a person with anxiety no where near the level portrayed in the book, who is on medication and in therapy, the resolution was nice for the plot's sake, but I did not love it and found myself mostly frustrated that no one even mentioned more realistic ways to treat such illness that is not suffering until you find someone who loves you enough to be an emotional support system willing to forgive anything because that's their personality flaw.
I also didn't really understand some of the external plot--where was their money coming from to fix up this house? It's described as a money pit--a hoarding situation in 11,000 square feet, and it's fixed with a couple of dumpsters and some Magic Erasers? What happened with the funding? It's all glossed over, and I wish there'd been more meat on the bones there.
Soooo...by far my least favorite Sarah Hogle book, but the writing is still A+.
I also didn't really understand some of the external plot--where was their money coming from to fix up this house? It's described as a money pit--a hoarding situation in 11,000 square feet, and it's fixed with a couple of dumpsters and some Magic Erasers? What happened with the funding? It's all glossed over, and I wish there'd been more meat on the bones there.
Soooo...by far my least favorite Sarah Hogle book, but the writing is still A+.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse
the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I really liked Wesley, but I could not stand Maybell.
For example, her tendency to slip into daydreams bordered on delusional hallucinations. At a minimum, it was concerning and sometimes bordered on cringey. Maybell was also really self-involved and was repeatedly inconsiderate of Wesley despite him being so attentive and caring for her.
For example, her tendency to slip into daydreams bordered on delusional hallucinations. At a minimum, it was concerning and sometimes bordered on cringey. Maybell was also really self-involved and was repeatedly inconsiderate of Wesley despite him being so attentive and caring for her.
Spoiler
Like why would she fly all the way to Scotland before trying to figure out what happened?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content
Catfishing is a major plot component