thebookconfessions's review against another edition
4.0
This one was such a fun book!
I'm still smiling when thinking about this quirky and cute story. It was so addictive. I just sat and read it in one sitting and didn't even realize when I was done with it.
I loved the characters so much. Clementine was such a badass, she's been through some things but she's so tough and sarcastic. She made me cheer for her and laugh out loud. Jack was amazing too and I was so here for their chemistry.
The story was well developed and balanced so good. I enjoyed the humor and romance but I also appreciated the painful things the characters experienced.
I'm so glad I received this ARC because this book is a treasure. Am I going to read more of this author? Yes! I need more.
Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
I'm still smiling when thinking about this quirky and cute story. It was so addictive. I just sat and read it in one sitting and didn't even realize when I was done with it.
I loved the characters so much. Clementine was such a badass, she's been through some things but she's so tough and sarcastic. She made me cheer for her and laugh out loud. Jack was amazing too and I was so here for their chemistry.
The story was well developed and balanced so good. I enjoyed the humor and romance but I also appreciated the painful things the characters experienced.
I'm so glad I received this ARC because this book is a treasure. Am I going to read more of this author? Yes! I need more.
Thanks to publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.
theeditorreads's review
5.0
Synopsis:
Clementine Abernathy is a philanthropic woman who donates to various charities for the betterment of orphan children, even if the donations are not quite voluntary. Living with Lucy the bearded dragon (a Pogona), what really scares her is that she may well die alone one day. Her next job takes her to Whichway, a town who has among its residents a certain Maxwell David. Posing as Samantha Rowen, she's there in order to get her hands on his Van Gogh. She's there to con a rich man who didn't deserve his millions.
Maxwell participates as a tribute artist at the famous Elvis festival of Whichway like clockwork every year, and this year he had to win it. His position as CFO of David Industries doesn't mean he is cool with approaching women and neither is he social media-friendly. While his no online presence poses a problem for Clementine, his relationship with the townspeople has her confused as to his rich and rude attitude.
The interesting thing to see will be who cons whom at the end. Will Clementine get his Van Gogh or will Maxwell be successful in keeping her heart?
Review:
A solid opening line introduces us to this romcom heist where the heist mistress is about to steal an 8.47-carat diamond ring. This is my first read by Kelly Siskind as well as my first story where the heroine is a thief. An orphan, Clementine learnt to steal from the high society from Lucien.
That the world is not black and white and that there is a lot of grey in between is something that the author successfully pulls into this third-person narrative from the beginning itself. In spite of being a thief, Clementine's past and her life instantly melted my heart and made me empathise with her. Her life made me weep. This story is a classic example of how every coin has two sides.
The story keeps getting better and better. I never imagined I would read about a tycoon in a romance who's an Elvis impersonator as well. And even though I'm no car aficionado, I loved the car references made by Clementine. A heroine who helps the hero with car trouble is the best kind! From their first interaction to their subsequent heart-to-heart, it was all so wonderful!
It was so funny to see Maxwell David the Third as a fumbling flirt. But what was more wonderful was to read about the protagonists unknowingly sharing common interests. And this story had a really interesting interest of theirs, which also resulted in me learning about something new! Another thing was the way the author has written about loneliness, which is a constant worry in the deepest part of our hearts, which took my breath away.
Maxwell and Clementine get each other's weird, and that is one of the cutest things in the book. At the age of thirty-one, Maxwell had enough on his plate, what with taking care of his family, working extra hours for his business, and preparing for a winning performance. At the age of twenty-eight, Clementine was in a tough place. Her past is a dark, dark place; with violent rivals, an unsavoury childhood and more pain than anyone should suffer, ever. At times, the story confused me as to why it was labelled a romcom, because there was thrill/danger too, throughout and more so towards the end. But it was never without a dash of humour, often laugh out loud funny.
The author successfully tied up all the loose ends but I think I wanted to read about their trip to India as well. Maybe because I'm from Delhi in India. But the epilogue at the end gave a nice closure. And I loved how the fitting title came about.
This was a unique read which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was just like Maxwell and Clementine said to each other, the story was beautiful. It drove home once again about how valuable our taken-for-granted life actually is. Kelly Siskind is a favourite now and I'd definitely recommend this one.
Thank you to InkSlinger PR for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
Clementine Abernathy is a philanthropic woman who donates to various charities for the betterment of orphan children, even if the donations are not quite voluntary. Living with Lucy the bearded dragon (a Pogona), what really scares her is that she may well die alone one day. Her next job takes her to Whichway, a town who has among its residents a certain Maxwell David. Posing as Samantha Rowen, she's there in order to get her hands on his Van Gogh. She's there to con a rich man who didn't deserve his millions.
Maxwell participates as a tribute artist at the famous Elvis festival of Whichway like clockwork every year, and this year he had to win it. His position as CFO of David Industries doesn't mean he is cool with approaching women and neither is he social media-friendly. While his no online presence poses a problem for Clementine, his relationship with the townspeople has her confused as to his rich and rude attitude.
The interesting thing to see will be who cons whom at the end. Will Clementine get his Van Gogh or will Maxwell be successful in keeping her heart?
Review:
The difference between getting caught and executing a perfect heist is planning.
A solid opening line introduces us to this romcom heist where the heist mistress is about to steal an 8.47-carat diamond ring. This is my first read by Kelly Siskind as well as my first story where the heroine is a thief. An orphan, Clementine learnt to steal from the high society from Lucien.
That the world is not black and white and that there is a lot of grey in between is something that the author successfully pulls into this third-person narrative from the beginning itself. In spite of being a thief, Clementine's past and her life instantly melted my heart and made me empathise with her. Her life made me weep. This story is a classic example of how every coin has two sides.
The end of her name smoothed into a song, and her pulse crooned in reply.
The story keeps getting better and better. I never imagined I would read about a tycoon in a romance who's an Elvis impersonator as well. And even though I'm no car aficionado, I loved the car references made by Clementine. A heroine who helps the hero with car trouble is the best kind! From their first interaction to their subsequent heart-to-heart, it was all so wonderful!
It was so funny to see Maxwell David the Third as a fumbling flirt. But what was more wonderful was to read about the protagonists unknowingly sharing common interests. And this story had a really interesting interest of theirs, which also resulted in me learning about something new! Another thing was the way the author has written about loneliness, which is a constant worry in the deepest part of our hearts, which took my breath away.
Tinder hookups had sufficed for a while, until the one-night stands exacerbated her loneliness, emphasizing what she didn’t have.
Maxwell and Clementine get each other's weird, and that is one of the cutest things in the book. At the age of thirty-one, Maxwell had enough on his plate, what with taking care of his family, working extra hours for his business, and preparing for a winning performance. At the age of twenty-eight, Clementine was in a tough place. Her past is a dark, dark place; with violent rivals, an unsavoury childhood and more pain than anyone should suffer, ever. At times, the story confused me as to why it was labelled a romcom, because there was thrill/danger too, throughout and more so towards the end. But it was never without a dash of humour, often laugh out loud funny.
The author successfully tied up all the loose ends but I think I wanted to read about their trip to India as well. Maybe because I'm from Delhi in India. But the epilogue at the end gave a nice closure. And I loved how the fitting title came about.
As though Clementine had a little sister and roots and soil and enough water to grow.
This was a unique read which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was just like Maxwell and Clementine said to each other, the story was beautiful. It drove home once again about how valuable our taken-for-granted life actually is. Kelly Siskind is a favourite now and I'd definitely recommend this one.
Thank you to InkSlinger PR for an e-ARC of the book.
Originally posted on:
Shaina's Musings
marysaou's review
3.5
I liked the zany plot line that moved quick. Wasn’t a fan of the 3rd act breakup or keeping the truth away from the other. Small-town Nebraska setting and Elvis tribute artists ftw!
chelseaj91's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
So I'll admit that I was a little disappointed with this. After loving New Orleans Rush , I'd been hoping we'd get similar here. And yes, I know this series is all technically (mostly) unconnected standalones (I did like the nod to Max Marlow though), but still.
Don't get me wrong, as a whole, the plot and the characters were great. This isn't a bad book in any way, but I guess part of my issue was that it did almost feel like the author was going for the New Orleans Rush feel and it didn't fit here. Clementine and Jack are not Bea and Hux. The overall story is not the same either.
While I liked Clementine, with as much time as she spent justifying her reasons, I kind of wanted a little more on the thievery side of things. We had the job at the very beginning and she thought about the Van Gogh job a lot, and reminded herself that this wouldn't be a repeat of the Monet job, but she spent more time trying to convince herself she didn't want out. And honestly, I feel like she should have clued in earlier. Granted, at the end she did acknowledge that Lucien had been playing a long con and he'd done it well, but I feel like she should have questioned things earlier. Done something to keep in contact with Nisha and the orphanage. I could see her falling for the reasons why the money (supposedly) couldn't be used locally but the fact that she just had a picture and didn't try to contact the orphanage just seemed out of character. Especially after the description of her blowup at that first girls night before she left for Whichway, the fact that she didn't try to contact the orphanage felt weird. I did like that she actually thought about walking away. Even though it was hard, she still thought about it, tried to consider what the future would hold if she did.
Jack was decent although I wish we'd spent a little more time in his head. He was shouldering so much and even though the situation with his dad and David Industries was definitely difficult, I feel like the fact that he didn't at least clue in Marco was stupid. I could see holding it back from the town/plant as a whole and probably the board too but not telling anyone out of the family, especially for a fishbowl of a town like that, felt too...easy? The fact that literally no one found out until the end also felt very "I forgot about this but maybe no one will think about it". I did wish we'd seen a little more on the work he actually did at David Industries as well. I liked the fact that Jack was able to use being a tribute artist to help him with his stutter and his confidence.
Don't get me wrong, as a whole, the plot and the characters were great. This isn't a bad book in any way, but I guess part of my issue was that it did almost feel like the author was going for the New Orleans Rush feel and it didn't fit here. Clementine and Jack are not Bea and Hux. The overall story is not the same either.
While I liked Clementine, with as much time as she spent justifying her reasons, I kind of wanted a little more on the thievery side of things. We had the job at the very beginning and she thought about the Van Gogh job a lot, and reminded herself that this wouldn't be a repeat of the Monet job, but she spent more time trying to convince herself she didn't want out. And honestly, I feel like she should have clued in earlier. Granted, at the end she did acknowledge that Lucien had been playing a long con and he'd done it well, but I feel like she should have questioned things earlier. Done something to keep in contact with Nisha and the orphanage. I could see her falling for the reasons why the money (supposedly) couldn't be used locally but the fact that she just had a picture and didn't try to contact the orphanage just seemed out of character. Especially after the description of her blowup at that first girls night before she left for Whichway, the fact that she didn't try to contact the orphanage felt weird. I did like that she actually thought about walking away. Even though it was hard, she still thought about it, tried to consider what the future would hold if she did.
Jack was decent although I wish we'd spent a little more time in his head. He was shouldering so much and even though the situation with his dad and David Industries was definitely difficult, I feel like the fact that he didn't at least clue in Marco was stupid. I could see holding it back from the town/plant as a whole and probably the board too but not telling anyone out of the family, especially for a fishbowl of a town like that, felt too...easy? The fact that literally no one found out until the end also felt very "I forgot about this but maybe no one will think about it". I did wish we'd seen a little more on the work he actually did at David Industries as well. I liked the fact that Jack was able to use being a tribute artist to help him with his stutter and his confidence.
briannarengland's review
4.0
I received an e-arc of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This was absolutely ridiculous and very predictable but unbelievably fun and SO delightful.
I can't wait to read more quirky stories from this author.
This was absolutely ridiculous and very predictable but unbelievably fun and SO delightful.
I can't wait to read more quirky stories from this author.
amollenkopf's review
4.0
I love Elvis! The book was a fun read and the characters had so much depth. I had a hard time at first as the narration perspective was different than my normal, however I really learned to love it. So much love, so much detail, so much learning and forgiveness. A reformed criminal by the end and a whole family to love!
aybi's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
slovenianbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Can I just say I love the whole female Robin Hood part? Like totally badass.
She’s a thief, a lizard (okay, bearded dragons) and car lover. She knows what she wants and how to get it. But one thing she didn’t expect? Him.
Jack is this totally sweet, kind of awkward hero who loves his family, has no clue about cars, is very smart and caring and is also an Elvis fan.
At first, the blurb reminded me of one of Christina Dodd’s book. But only the female stealing from a rich guy part, everything else is completely different of course.
She’s helping the children by stealing priceless art but staying in this small town playing a role will present a whole new set of problems for her. And every day staying in Jack’s orbit will mean a new way to fall in love with him.
Did I forget to mention they may have more in common than we think?
Because they do. But you can’t play the role forever. And what will happen once Jack found out? Or when past collides with present?
Find out in this charming, entertaining new novel by Kelly Siskind. My first read by this author, I liked it very much even though I don’t know a lot of Elvis songs. I recommend it to all of you who need something warm and easy to read and especially to Elvis’s fans.
4 stars.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
She’s a thief, a lizard (okay, bearded dragons) and car lover. She knows what she wants and how to get it. But one thing she didn’t expect? Him.
Jack is this totally sweet, kind of awkward hero who loves his family, has no clue about cars, is very smart and caring and is also an Elvis fan.
At first, the blurb reminded me of one of Christina Dodd’s book. But only the female stealing from a rich guy part, everything else is completely different of course.
She’s helping the children by stealing priceless art but staying in this small town playing a role will present a whole new set of problems for her. And every day staying in Jack’s orbit will mean a new way to fall in love with him.
Did I forget to mention they may have more in common than we think?
Because they do. But you can’t play the role forever. And what will happen once Jack found out? Or when past collides with present?
Find out in this charming, entertaining new novel by Kelly Siskind. My first read by this author, I liked it very much even though I don’t know a lot of Elvis songs. I recommend it to all of you who need something warm and easy to read and especially to Elvis’s fans.
4 stars.
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
maythavee's review against another edition
4.0
okay, so this book is pretty quirky but in the best way possible. her writing is just so good! sometimes with quirky characters i find them to be cringey or cheesy?? but this one, no. our main characters both love reptiles and they own bearded dragons named lucy and ricky. the hero is an elvis tribute artist which i thought was kinda random but it was executed so well! both clementine and jack are such good people with the purest intentions and they have one of the healthiest relationships in romance books ever, despite the fact of how it started lol
i also love that this one doesn’t have some stupid miscommunication problems at the last one third of the book like typical romance books (i mean yes, i love romance, i do read a lot of them but sometimes it can be so redundant with the miscommunication being the conflict) the conflict is this one was kinda because of someone else, not the main characters themselves (well, kinda) and the whole book was building up to it. but i have to say, i can guess the twist since the beginning of the book so it wasn’t really a surprise for me.
wow, this is probably the longest review i’ve written so far.. that only means GO PICK THIS BOOK UP RIGHT NOW!
i also love that this one doesn’t have some stupid miscommunication problems at the last one third of the book like typical romance books (i mean yes, i love romance, i do read a lot of them but sometimes it can be so redundant with the miscommunication being the conflict) the conflict is this one was kinda because of someone else, not the main characters themselves (well, kinda) and the whole book was building up to it. but i have to say, i can guess the twist since the beginning of the book so it wasn’t really a surprise for me.
wow, this is probably the longest review i’ve written so far.. that only means GO PICK THIS BOOK UP RIGHT NOW!