A review by spearly
Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle

emotional funny lighthearted
  • 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

And I am weak. My spine was manufactured by Charmin. I want to be commanding, stern, intimidating, but I am raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. My resolve is dandelion fluff. When he looks at me like that, my inner vocabulary bursts apart like a piñata of candy conversation hearts.
 
When Maybell’s great-aunt Violet passes, Maybell is shocked to find out that she’s inherited her estate. Only, when she shows up to the manor, it’s nothing at all like she remembers; walls need painting, appliances need replacing, and the place is FILLED with… stuff. Everything from old magazines, most-ridden clothes, to pretty much everything an old woman can buy from an infomercial. What’s worse: she runs into the grumpy groundkeeper, who, to her dismay, shares a face with the tinder profile that had been used to catfish her for months.  And worse still: according to Violet’s will, they are equal-inheritors of the estate. 
 
Holy. Flipping. Cow. 
 
This book is like a warm cup of hot chocolate on a rainy day. I want to wrap myself up in it like a cocoon and live in it forever. Maybe I can make my own Maybell’s Coffee Shop AU and just live in the universe of Twice Shy. 
 
I can’t get my thoughts together. I adored everything about this. 
 
The writing. The characters. The setting. The romance. The pining. The neuro-divergent representation. I could feel my heart inflating like a balloon with Maybell’s. There it goes. 
 
I’m convinced men written by women is the reason I find men in real life diappointing. Cause Wesley!? Holy Mackerel, did my heart flutter for him. I loved how Maybell made him feel safe, loved, understood, how he did the same for her. I loved how healthy the relationship was. I loved Hogle never relied on silly conflicts and childish misunderstandings for needless turmoil. 
 
Some people have written in their reviews that this book is slow. I’ve complained about that myself in a number of other reviews. But pacing wasn’t an issue for me here. Twice Shy didn’t need some large, overly-complicated melodrama, some big elephant-in-the-room climax for our characters to overcome.  This is a story of acceptance. Of understanding. Of unconditional love. Of feeling worthy. Everything else is just noise.
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