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allison_jo's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
biggest takeaway: disappointment.
the blurb promised a cute little bookshop romance, but the middle of this book dragged for me. cutting 100 pages of stilted dialogue and ellipses wouldn’t have changed the plot at all. the story was set up to be a bit of a grumpy/sunshine who both had problems to work through but became more of an asshole/inferiority complex than anything. i found it difficult to connect with either character.
and the last fifty pages included an incredibly distasteful (to put it lightly) situation intended to set up a Big Talk that felt forced and rushed. i don’t know how it could feel rushed when it was in the last fifty pages of an already over-long, four-hundred-plus page book, but it did.
the blurb promised a cute little bookshop romance, but the middle of this book dragged for me. cutting 100 pages of stilted dialogue and ellipses wouldn’t have changed the plot at all. the story was set up to be a bit of a grumpy/sunshine who both had problems to work through but became more of an asshole/inferiority complex than anything. i found it difficult to connect with either character.
and the last fifty pages included an incredibly distasteful (to put it lightly) situation intended to set up a Big Talk that felt forced and rushed. i don’t know how it could feel rushed when it was in the last fifty pages of an already over-long, four-hundred-plus page book, but it did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Misogyny
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Sexual assault
beepbeep101's review
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Misogyny
Moderate: Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abandonment
themoonshinegirl's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Misogyny and Violence
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
rynicolereads's review
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.5
This was a great booster weekend read. I wasn't super invested throughout the story, but I love that it was set in Scotland (one of my favorite places), and mainly took place at a cozy book shop!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Miscarriage
rrubin97's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
I almost DNF the book. Thea was supposed to be “plucky” but mostly she was just annoying and not sure why everyone was falling all over her. I’m with her ex who left her at the beginning - get away (although even he tried to come crawling back). And the cad who was reformed by the right woman trope was just obnoxious
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Misogyny
theespressoedition's review
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
My number one content warning for this book pretty much sums up the plot: infidelity. Yikes.
I understood the beginning: our protagonist finds out her husband has been cheating on her for quite some time with her best friend, so she packs up her things and escapes to another city where her dead uncle left her a house. Understandable.
I understood some of the middle: she meets a grumpy bookshop owner and convinces him to let her work at the store, despite his "no women" policy (which... ew??). They become the best of friends and everyone else can see they're into each other, even if neither of them realizes it.
This is where things get weird: we find out that the grump has had a vendetta against his brother and has slept with every woman his brother has ever been with. I repeat... EW. At that point, I'd have some serious red flags and wouldn't want to even be friends with the person, let alone begin to develop feelings.
From there, the whole book went downhill and I couldn't wait for it to come to an end. There was so much cheating and scandal and drama that felt unnecessary in what could have been a sweet story about a quaint bookshop in a nice little country town in Scotland.
I understood the beginning: our protagonist finds out her husband has been cheating on her for quite some time with her best friend, so she packs up her things and escapes to another city where her dead uncle left her a house. Understandable.
I understood some of the middle: she meets a grumpy bookshop owner and convinces him to let her work at the store, despite his "no women" policy (which... ew??). They become the best of friends and everyone else can see they're into each other, even if neither of them realizes it.
This is where things get weird: we find out that the grump has had a vendetta against his brother and has slept with every woman his brother has ever been with. I repeat... EW. At that point, I'd have some serious red flags and wouldn't want to even be friends with the person, let alone begin to develop feelings.
From there, the whole book went downhill and I couldn't wait for it to come to an end. There was so much cheating and scandal and drama that felt unnecessary in what could have been a sweet story about a quaint bookshop in a nice little country town in Scotland.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infertility
jenkneebee's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Violence