Reviews

Rough Around the Hedges by Lish McBride

idkalexig's review against another edition

2.0

Two stars, okay story but I can’t rate this book any higher because of the line “her areoles were a brownish pink that against her pale skin reminded me of Neapolitan ice cream”

meganonpaper's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

erb325's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful slow-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

3.5

kwest823's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

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

3.5

silentrequiem's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted 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

4.5

julieshuff's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

3.5…I loved the first one, mostly because I loved Declan. Will was cute, but oh.my.god Van was so avoidant. I understand it’s a trauma response but for the love of god you have someone like Will and you’re treating him like that??? 

They get together early on, so there’s also very limited plot other than conflict.

miss_interociter's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

jlbailey831's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

blonde_bean's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

teamoxfordcomma's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

After loving the first book and the found family dynamic, I was super eager to dive into this. Its title keeps with the cute pun theme, and we have plenty of appearances from the rest of the "pack" as it were, which I loved. The pacing was on point, Will was the darling cinnamon roll we knew he would be, and we got to understand more about the magic system in this installment. Honestly, it was a fabulous next installment, and I would still recommend it, except for... well... Van.

Van has, to put it lightly, issues. Issues with commitment, issues, with vulnerability, daddy issues, you name it. She and Will have been friends for years (10+), and I was hoping we'd see a more healed version of Vanessa in this novel, one where she's at least a little ready to be a partner to Will. Instead, she treats this truly incredible guy TERRIBLY throughout (by her own admission!), and makes no real effort to change or grow despite having ample opportunity and support to do so throughout. She'll openly admit her flaws, but repeatedly do nothing to address them.

Vanessa in a nutshell:

Had I even said thank you for all he’d done the past few weeks, getting me through my father’s ridiculous testing? I couldn’t remember. Probably not.

or:

Now that the stress, the pressure, the ridiculousness of the last few days was over, I just wanted to curl up on the couch with him and watch a movie. I knew I’d been awful to him. Will had been there for me, consistently, patiently, sweetly, through this whole thing…and I’d essentially ghosted him. Right after he’d admitted to being in love with me forever.

or:

"He messaged me that he needed to talk to me, but I was so busy…” The last part rang false, and we both heard it. I mean, I’d been busy, but seriously, I couldn’t manage a five-minute phone call? What an asshole.

Will deserves so much better than Van, and you'll never convince me otherwise.

TL;DR: I really liked everything about this other than the female main character – read it if you love this adorably charming found family/"pack" & you're prepared for Van's BS.

🌶🌶.5