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sage_alexandra's review
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was really cute.
Maybell has a very vivid and whimsical imagination that she uses to escape her subpar, mundane, and sometimes sad life. When her great aunt Vivian dies and leaves Maybell her entire property, Maybell finally gets the fresh start she deserves. Pair that with a broody, grumpy dude (Wesley) who might have a hard exterior, but is actually squishy soft, and you get an adorable enemies to lovers romance.
I loved learning bits and pieces of Vivian and Victor's (her husband who passed about 2 decades prior) love story and experiencing Maybell's memories through rose-colored glasses (literally).
Maybell has a very vivid and whimsical imagination that she uses to escape her subpar, mundane, and sometimes sad life. When her great aunt Vivian dies and leaves Maybell her entire property, Maybell finally gets the fresh start she deserves. Pair that with a broody, grumpy dude (Wesley) who might have a hard exterior, but is actually squishy soft, and you get an adorable enemies to lovers romance.
I loved learning bits and pieces of Vivian and Victor's (her husband who passed about 2 decades prior) love story and experiencing Maybell's memories through rose-colored glasses (literally).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Racism, Vomit, Car accident, and Abandonment
The only racism mentioned in the book is in regards to Vivian and Victor's romance. Victor was black, I'm not positive on the timeline, but they were together years before they were allowed to legally marry. The two faced a lot of discrimination, leading them to purchase their remote property to escape.aurora4847'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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Misogyny, Racism, Terminal illness, and Vomit
emily_mh'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? Yes
4.5
This was the sweetest romance I've read in a while - it was so comforting and I finished it off in one sitting. I really liked how there was no conflict and just a lot of fluff as it was exactly what I needed. I wish the setting existed for real!
Maybell was a funny narrator, but it was Wesley who really shone for me. I literally fell in love with him and now no man will compare. Also, I loved Victor and Violet's love story and definitely shed a tear for them. This book just did love so well.
Maybell was a funny narrator, but it was Wesley who really shone for me. I literally fell in love with him and now no man will compare. Also, I loved Victor and Violet's love story and definitely shed a tear for them. This book just did love so well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
spearly's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
- 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
And I am weak. My spine was manufactured by Charmin. I want to be commanding, stern, intimidating, but I am raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. My resolve is dandelion fluff. When he looks at me like that, my inner vocabulary bursts apart like a piñata of candy conversation hearts.
When Maybell’s great-aunt Violet passes, Maybell is shocked to find out that she’s inherited her estate. Only, when she shows up to the manor, it’s nothing at all like she remembers; walls need painting, appliances need replacing, and the place is FILLED with… stuff. Everything from old magazines, most-ridden clothes, to pretty much everything an old woman can buy from an infomercial. What’s worse: she runs into the grumpy groundkeeper, who, to her dismay, shares a face with the tinder profile that had been used to catfish her for months. And worse still: according to Violet’s will, they are equal-inheritors of the estate.
Holy. Flipping. Cow.
This book is like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. I want to wrap myself up in it like a cocoon and live in it forever. Maybe I can make my own Maybell’s Coffee Shop AU and just live in the universe of Twice Shy.
I can’t get my thoughts together. I adored everything about this.
The writing. The characters. The setting. The romance. The pining. The neuro-divergent representation. I could feel my heart inflating like a balloon with Maybell’s. There it goes.
I’m convinced men written by women is the reason I find men in real life diappointing. Cause Wesley!? Holy Mackerel, did my heart flutter for him. I loved how Maybell made him feel safe, loved, understood, how he did the same for her. I loved how healthy the relationship was. I loved Hogle never relied on silly conflicts and childish misunderstandings for needless turmoil.
Some people have written in their reviews that this book is slow. I’ve complained about that myself in a number of other reviews. But pacing wasn’t an issue for me here. Twice Shy didn’t need some large, overly-complicated melodrama, some big elephant-in-the-room climax for our characters to overcome. This is a story of acceptance. Of understanding. Of unconditional love. Of feeling worthy. Everything else is just noise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and Grief
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