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sage_alexandra's review against another edition
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.ceruleanshelves's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
“I’m not that strong at all but for you, I can be strong enough.”
this actually ended up being a super cute romance read for me. i felt like it all came together very well at the end with some very sweet, touching moments.
maybell is a slightly neurotic daydreamer who can't help but be overly optimistic, and grumpy, stubborn wesley ended up winning me over with his hidden sensitivity and thoughtfulness.
i also thought this did a good job portraying how anxiety can present differently in people. i felt pretty satisfied w how maybell ended up handling the situation with her colleague gemma; it felt realistic and right.
i liked the audiobook narrator as well!
this actually ended up being a super cute romance read for me. i felt like it all came together very well at the end with some very sweet, touching moments.
maybell is a slightly neurotic daydreamer who can't help but be overly optimistic, and grumpy, stubborn wesley ended up winning me over with his hidden sensitivity and thoughtfulness.
i also thought this did a good job portraying how anxiety can present differently in people. i felt pretty satisfied w how maybell ended up handling the situation with her colleague gemma; it felt realistic and right.
i liked the audiobook narrator as well!
Content Warnings
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
kim03's review against another edition
4.5
I liked this very much. Sarah hogle might be the only author I really trust to not make a single POV book terrible (I'm not a fan, clearly, but she makes it bearable).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Mental illness
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
nrogers_1030's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
So cute 🥰
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content
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
livruther's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
truly the only word that can describe this book is sweet. it is achingly sweet. it is sugar and spice and everything nice. it is a warm hug and a hot tea at the end of a long day. huge props to sarah hogle for being able to create this atmosphere.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content
beckybeth's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Such a sweet story!!! My first StoryGraph rec knocked it put of the park!! Does a beautiful job of portraying a lovely, realistic story with a MC with social anxiety. And a parallel backstory of the previous owners made it even more heartwarming.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death and Terminal illness
tetrootz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual content
attolis's review against another edition
3.75
it's heartwarming brent.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
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.
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.
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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: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders