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A review by randikaye
More Than a Silly Crush: A Sweet Small-Town Romantic Comedy by Remi Carrington
5.0
More Than a Silly Crush is the fourth book in the Cowboys of Stargazer Springs Ranch Rom Com series. This can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone if you haven't read the previous books in the series.
More often than not, when I hear 'marriage of convenience' my mind automatically goes toward history. I think we see that trope used much more there, and frankly, it can be hard to make that work believably in a more contemporary setting. But in this story? It absolutely works, and I couldn't get enough. Part of that definitely has to do with Parker. I love how attentive and sweet he is towards Bluebonnet and I couldn't help but root for them to get their happily ever after. These two together were just perfection (even when I wanted to knock some sense into them to get them to communicate!)... and the side characters just helped to bring the story to the next level too.
Content warning (potential spoiler): Do you ever start to read a book blurb and find the beginning part so intriguing that you don't really read through the rest of it in its entirety? Yes, this was me with this book. From the very first sentence, I was in and couldn't wait to read it... and while that's not always a bad thing, had I read further I might have been a little more prepared for some things that happened throughout the story. Simply put, this story takes on the difficult topic of miscarriage. As someone who has dealt with recurrent miscarriages, this is a topic that I am all too familiar with and one that can be a little triggering for me if I'm not expecting it. Again, it's hinted at in the blurb, so that was all on me but definitely wanted to point that out for anyone else who also needs that heads-up. That said, I think this book handled the topic very well. It felt very genuine and thoughtful, and I very much appreciated that. I think this definitely could have been a make-it-or-break-it moment for me in this book, and it made it.
It's also quite clear from the description that the main character here is having a child outside of marriage (hence the marriage of convenience), and that definitely might not appeal to all readers. I will say that I didn't feel like that topic was glorified in any way at all. The romance in this story is clean/closed door with nothing beyond kisses happening on the pages.
Overall, I really loved this story. It was a quick and often time entertaining read, with the realities of life's hardships blended in and handled with grace. I can't wait to read more in the series!
**I received an ARC for consideration. All opinions are my own.
More often than not, when I hear 'marriage of convenience' my mind automatically goes toward history. I think we see that trope used much more there, and frankly, it can be hard to make that work believably in a more contemporary setting. But in this story? It absolutely works, and I couldn't get enough. Part of that definitely has to do with Parker. I love how attentive and sweet he is towards Bluebonnet and I couldn't help but root for them to get their happily ever after. These two together were just perfection (even when I wanted to knock some sense into them to get them to communicate!)... and the side characters just helped to bring the story to the next level too.
Content warning (potential spoiler): Do you ever start to read a book blurb and find the beginning part so intriguing that you don't really read through the rest of it in its entirety? Yes, this was me with this book. From the very first sentence, I was in and couldn't wait to read it... and while that's not always a bad thing, had I read further I might have been a little more prepared for some things that happened throughout the story. Simply put, this story takes on the difficult topic of miscarriage. As someone who has dealt with recurrent miscarriages, this is a topic that I am all too familiar with and one that can be a little triggering for me if I'm not expecting it. Again, it's hinted at in the blurb, so that was all on me but definitely wanted to point that out for anyone else who also needs that heads-up. That said, I think this book handled the topic very well. It felt very genuine and thoughtful, and I very much appreciated that. I think this definitely could have been a make-it-or-break-it moment for me in this book, and it made it.
It's also quite clear from the description that the main character here is having a child outside of marriage (hence the marriage of convenience), and that definitely might not appeal to all readers. I will say that I didn't feel like that topic was glorified in any way at all. The romance in this story is clean/closed door with nothing beyond kisses happening on the pages.
Overall, I really loved this story. It was a quick and often time entertaining read, with the realities of life's hardships blended in and handled with grace. I can't wait to read more in the series!
**I received an ARC for consideration. All opinions are my own.