joinreallife's reviews
1379 reviews
Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match, by Sally Thorne
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Okay, listen. I haven't read any of Sally Thorne's other books and I think it was a mistake to do this one first. I acknowledge that.
That said, for me life is too short to spend more time on this book, and I am DNFing at 25%. (If I had finished I have no doubt it would be less than a star...) The tone of this is ALL over the place and completely incongruous. The dialogue is by turns stilted and stiff or too modern and casual. The first 10% felt like being at a sleepover as a tween girl and trying to impress other tween girls by talking about cock a lot: full of a bunch of hot air.
Angelika is COMPLETELY insufferable. She's angry that the man she brought back to life without his consent might want some time away to clear his head. She's petulant that the man can forgive her brother Victor for his role in his resurrection but not her. Beyond the story just not making sense - he has no memories but somehow has a "quick mind" to make up lies when they go back to the morgue to ask questions about his body's origin - he has no personality and yet Angelika falls in love with him immediately. I'm sure that has nothing to do with his large member and instant tumescence at seeing her when he awakens from death. Or the fact that she literally gave him life, but with no examination of the complexities or weirdness there.
The pitch really intrigued me and I think with a more thoughtful writer this could've been an interesting conversation about consent and forgiveness, but for me, Tborne was entirely too cavalier with the idea and not in a way that was fun for me. Trying to sidestep the consent issue by having Angelika insist, "I asked your dead corpse if you wanted to come back and I could SENSE that you said yes" and then having the man agree? Absolutely not.
I'm sure there is an audience for this, who have more ability to suspend disbelief in this instance than I, but it's not a good fit for my wee bookstore.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
That said, for me life is too short to spend more time on this book, and I am DNFing at 25%. (If I had finished I have no doubt it would be less than a star...) The tone of this is ALL over the place and completely incongruous. The dialogue is by turns stilted and stiff or too modern and casual. The first 10% felt like being at a sleepover as a tween girl and trying to impress other tween girls by talking about cock a lot: full of a bunch of hot air.
Angelika is COMPLETELY insufferable. She's angry that the man she brought back to life without his consent might want some time away to clear his head. She's petulant that the man can forgive her brother Victor for his role in his resurrection but not her. Beyond the story just not making sense - he has no memories but somehow has a "quick mind" to make up lies when they go back to the morgue to ask questions about his body's origin - he has no personality and yet Angelika falls in love with him immediately. I'm sure that has nothing to do with his large member and instant tumescence at seeing her when he awakens from death. Or the fact that she literally gave him life, but with no examination of the complexities or weirdness there.
The pitch really intrigued me and I think with a more thoughtful writer this could've been an interesting conversation about consent and forgiveness, but for me, Tborne was entirely too cavalier with the idea and not in a way that was fun for me. Trying to sidestep the consent issue by having Angelika insist, "I asked your dead corpse if you wanted to come back and I could SENSE that you said yes" and then having the man agree? Absolutely not.
I'm sure there is an audience for this, who have more ability to suspend disbelief in this instance than I, but it's not a good fit for my wee bookstore.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Switchboard Soldiers, by Jennifer Chiaverini
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
I wish I'd noticed this was fiction before requesting it. At 28%, I'm calling it. So SO bored, annoyed with the blind patriotism and admiration for the military industrial complex, and really done reading "Over There" and literally no other words for going overseas to the war. Just really not jibing with the writing, and I can't spend another six hours reading this without losing my mind so better to just let it go now.
The Heiress Hunt, by Joanna Shupe
2.5
Man, this started out so promising and then just completely tanked. I'm bummed about it, though I did like Joanna Shupe's writing and the setting so I'd like to read others from her in this series. But the character development and the conflicts were completely out of control, and I ultimately didn't believe that they would actually stay together, or if they did that it wouldn't be happily. So not super successful as a romance for me, unfortunately.
This book is set in 1895 in New York and Newport, which is very du jour right now with The Gilded Age recently having premiered from Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame). Like many others, I've fallen in love with it, and this also felt at the beginning to me like a cross between that and Anne of Green Gables, the play between Anne and Gilbert once they got over their extreme enemies phase. So I was eating it up. We meet Harrison, the second son of a wealthy family who was disowned by his father when Harrison caught his dad sexually assaulting one of the maids and he dared to speak up about it. He's been in Paris for the past three years making his own fortune, all with the goal of returning and ruining his cold, calculating, unfeeling family. He's also coming back to claim the heart of his childhood best friend, Maddie. His plans are a bit dashed when he returns to find her hurt by his leaving without even saying goodbye and not a letter in the meantime—oh, and she's basically engaged to a Duke. In order to get his plans back on track, Harrison convinces Maddie to host a weekend with all of her most eligible friends, pretending that he's looking for a bride, but with the secret scheme of stealing her away from the Duke. So I was thinking, a good mix of two of my favourite stories, plus a bit of friends to lovers with a period of estrangement in between? Catnip.
Everything was going well until about 200 pages. Did I love the deceit of having Maddie put together a weekend, and bringing girls who think they're going to be genuinely having an opportunity to make a match with a handsome, eligible bachelor? No. Did I like how much Maddie and Harrison seemed to know each other? Yes, that was fun. But at that 200 mark, Harrison and Maddie are spotted by one of the mothers of the other girls, coming in from the rain and kissing—already shouldn't have happened because Maddie had just accepted the Duke's betrothal offer—and the next morning, her father calls her into his office, the Duke begs off, and Harrison refuses to say that he didn't "compromise her" (aka they didn't do the deed) so her father forces them to get married. It was frustrating because Harrison had made her say that she wanted something between them before he would kiss her, but then is totally fine with a compulsory marriage? He's completely unapologetic about it, because he knows that she'll come to see that it's what's right. There is virtually no grovel at all and they just fall into bed together, never actually addressing this HUGE conflict.
And that sets the tone for the entire rest of the book. He constantly makes choices without her or is keeping secrets about his plans, then she finds out not by him telling her but through other means. And she tells him they can't build a relationship if he can't trust her and consult her and doesn't care about what she wants and he doesn't listen to her. And, like a child, he basically responds, "I guess I'll just die then," rather than actually listening to her concerns about a marriage she is making a go of BUT DIDN'T ACTUALLY WANT AND WAS FORCED INTO. He's super dismissive of her, and assumes that he knows best. In many romances, I think a dual POV does wonders, but in this case, I hated being in Harrison's head because he's completely clueless and selfish, borderline delusional, and there's very little redeemable about him. In fact, there was little character development of either of them beyond the little snippets of their past friendship that we get and Harrison's vendetta against his family and Maddie's love of tennis.
There's even a final moment where he agrees to separate, and his last act before fleeing the country is to go to the Duke that Maddie was supposed to marry and be like, "she's all yours, bro." And Maddie again is like, "Why would he do that? Without talking to me. That's not what I want. He thinks he knows what's best" etc. etc. And then there's GASLIGHTING from her friends, being like, "pobody's nerfect" and it's not just a matter of someone not being perfect, this is a person who has literally, not once, shown her enough respect as a person—and a person who is allegedly his best friend, at that—of having an honest discussion with her and including her in a decision or his life at all. And then SHE apologizes, when she chases after him. I truly cannot. Inexcusable. So again, didn't believe this couple would stay together, and if they did, they shouldn't have. Girl, RUN.
This book is set in 1895 in New York and Newport, which is very du jour right now with The Gilded Age recently having premiered from Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame). Like many others, I've fallen in love with it, and this also felt at the beginning to me like a cross between that and Anne of Green Gables, the play between Anne and Gilbert once they got over their extreme enemies phase. So I was eating it up. We meet Harrison, the second son of a wealthy family who was disowned by his father when Harrison caught his dad sexually assaulting one of the maids and he dared to speak up about it. He's been in Paris for the past three years making his own fortune, all with the goal of returning and ruining his cold, calculating, unfeeling family. He's also coming back to claim the heart of his childhood best friend, Maddie. His plans are a bit dashed when he returns to find her hurt by his leaving without even saying goodbye and not a letter in the meantime—oh, and she's basically engaged to a Duke. In order to get his plans back on track, Harrison convinces Maddie to host a weekend with all of her most eligible friends, pretending that he's looking for a bride, but with the secret scheme of stealing her away from the Duke. So I was thinking, a good mix of two of my favourite stories, plus a bit of friends to lovers with a period of estrangement in between? Catnip.
Everything was going well until about 200 pages. Did I love the deceit of having Maddie put together a weekend, and bringing girls who think they're going to be genuinely having an opportunity to make a match with a handsome, eligible bachelor? No. Did I like how much Maddie and Harrison seemed to know each other? Yes, that was fun. But at that 200 mark, Harrison and Maddie are spotted by one of the mothers of the other girls, coming in from the rain and kissing—already shouldn't have happened because Maddie had just accepted the Duke's betrothal offer—and the next morning, her father calls her into his office, the Duke begs off, and Harrison refuses to say that he didn't "compromise her" (aka they didn't do the deed) so her father forces them to get married. It was frustrating because Harrison had made her say that she wanted something between them before he would kiss her, but then is totally fine with a compulsory marriage? He's completely unapologetic about it, because he knows that she'll come to see that it's what's right. There is virtually no grovel at all and they just fall into bed together, never actually addressing this HUGE conflict.
And that sets the tone for the entire rest of the book. He constantly makes choices without her or is keeping secrets about his plans, then she finds out not by him telling her but through other means. And she tells him they can't build a relationship if he can't trust her and consult her and doesn't care about what she wants and he doesn't listen to her. And, like a child, he basically responds, "I guess I'll just die then," rather than actually listening to her concerns about a marriage she is making a go of BUT DIDN'T ACTUALLY WANT AND WAS FORCED INTO. He's super dismissive of her, and assumes that he knows best. In many romances, I think a dual POV does wonders, but in this case, I hated being in Harrison's head because he's completely clueless and selfish, borderline delusional, and there's very little redeemable about him. In fact, there was little character development of either of them beyond the little snippets of their past friendship that we get and Harrison's vendetta against his family and Maddie's love of tennis.
There's even a final moment where he agrees to separate, and his last act before fleeing the country is to go to the Duke that Maddie was supposed to marry and be like, "she's all yours, bro." And Maddie again is like, "Why would he do that? Without talking to me. That's not what I want. He thinks he knows what's best" etc. etc. And then there's GASLIGHTING from her friends, being like, "pobody's nerfect" and it's not just a matter of someone not being perfect, this is a person who has literally, not once, shown her enough respect as a person—and a person who is allegedly his best friend, at that—of having an honest discussion with her and including her in a decision or his life at all. And then SHE apologizes, when she chases after him. I truly cannot. Inexcusable. So again, didn't believe this couple would stay together, and if they did, they shouldn't have. Girl, RUN.
Manhunt, by Gretchen Felker-Martin
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
This is a DNF for me. I really was interested and excited for this book after seeing the cover and hearing the synopsis. However, this book is really not for me, not least because after getting 20% into it and trying to push through it, I finally put two and two together about my vehement disagreement and disgust with the author's violent beliefs expressed on Twitter. I did fully go into this book with an open mind, and I'm glad that publishing has taken a chance on something different in the content and also expanding what it is supporting trans authors to write. But the world is burning and I do not think this is the kind of writing I personally want to get behind.
CW (for 20% I read): rape, violence, gore, transphobia
Thanks to Nightfire and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
CW (for 20% I read): rape, violence, gore, transphobia
Thanks to Nightfire and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Lease on Love, by Falon Ballard
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.
This is a DNF for me at 34%.
I seem to be the only one, but this one just is really not working for me. I'm sure that some of my readers will enjoy it, but it is making me actively angry and I'd rather not put more time into it and end up rating it low when that's where it's already going.
Comping it to Beach Read and The Flatshare is like god-tier for me, so I probably should've tried to temper my expectations a little bit more. There is little to no character development here, I understand it's a romance (believe me, I read a lot of them) but everything works out extremely perfectly, wish fulfillmenty for our heroine. I am not a person who needs to find main characters likable, but Sadie was absolutely insufferable to me. Completely inconsiderate - how are you going to start a business out of the building where you are renting a (very below market) room? Without even talking to the other person about it? Jack seems to be immediately supportive and corrective of her self-deprecation when he literally just met her. When she takes over the main floor bathroom - again without talking to him first, they banter a bit and when he (fairly reasonably) jokes about getting a free beer the next time he comes to the bar where she works, she responds "Fuck off." Like...I would maybe talk to my brothers who I have known my whole lives like that? I would not "joke" that way to someone I met two weeks ago who is letting me take over their entire brownstone with my new business. I think my threshold for people who don't seem to realize there are other humans in the world and their actions can have an impact is at an all-time low after the pandemic, so I fully own that a big part of my reaction to this may be the head space I am in. (Is that not true of all reading experiences, though?)
Sadie is ostensibly starting a "sustainable" flower business, but rather than grappling with the very nature of a flower business as killing things over and over and over again, she focuses on using recycled glass bottles as vases. Like, okay, but I don't think that makes you sustainable. In fact, I think that might be a marketing word that means a specific thing that you can get sued for not adhering to.
It seemed like they had just moved in together, and then the next page, it's been two months that they've been living together? But with no actual development! The "She's All That"/"Princess Diaries" moment where Sadie realizes that behind his glasses and hair, Jack is hot, actually...simply cannot relate, because I find people with shaggy hair and glasses exceedingly attractive already. I think this book would've really benefitted from being a dual POV. Granted, it seems like there's going to be some big reveal a bit later in the book about Jack, and you probably wouldn't have been able to hide that if we'd been able to be in Jack's head too. But as a result, EVERYTHING we learn about him, we learn because we've been told it. I'm not as adamantly on the "show, don't tell" bus but this is definitely a situation where he felt completely one dimensional in the 34% that I read.
Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this book to consider for addition in my bookstore. I am sincerely bummed I did not enjoy it more.
I seem to be the only one, but this one just is really not working for me. I'm sure that some of my readers will enjoy it, but it is making me actively angry and I'd rather not put more time into it and end up rating it low when that's where it's already going.
Comping it to Beach Read and The Flatshare is like god-tier for me, so I probably should've tried to temper my expectations a little bit more. There is little to no character development here, I understand it's a romance (believe me, I read a lot of them) but everything works out extremely perfectly, wish fulfillmenty for our heroine. I am not a person who needs to find main characters likable, but Sadie was absolutely insufferable to me. Completely inconsiderate - how are you going to start a business out of the building where you are renting a (very below market) room? Without even talking to the other person about it? Jack seems to be immediately supportive and corrective of her self-deprecation when he literally just met her. When she takes over the main floor bathroom - again without talking to him first, they banter a bit and when he (fairly reasonably) jokes about getting a free beer the next time he comes to the bar where she works, she responds "Fuck off." Like...I would maybe talk to my brothers who I have known my whole lives like that? I would not "joke" that way to someone I met two weeks ago who is letting me take over their entire brownstone with my new business. I think my threshold for people who don't seem to realize there are other humans in the world and their actions can have an impact is at an all-time low after the pandemic, so I fully own that a big part of my reaction to this may be the head space I am in. (Is that not true of all reading experiences, though?)
Sadie is ostensibly starting a "sustainable" flower business, but rather than grappling with the very nature of a flower business as killing things over and over and over again, she focuses on using recycled glass bottles as vases. Like, okay, but I don't think that makes you sustainable. In fact, I think that might be a marketing word that means a specific thing that you can get sued for not adhering to.
It seemed like they had just moved in together, and then the next page, it's been two months that they've been living together? But with no actual development! The "She's All That"/"Princess Diaries" moment where Sadie realizes that behind his glasses and hair, Jack is hot, actually...simply cannot relate, because I find people with shaggy hair and glasses exceedingly attractive already. I think this book would've really benefitted from being a dual POV. Granted, it seems like there's going to be some big reveal a bit later in the book about Jack, and you probably wouldn't have been able to hide that if we'd been able to be in Jack's head too. But as a result, EVERYTHING we learn about him, we learn because we've been told it. I'm not as adamantly on the "show, don't tell" bus but this is definitely a situation where he felt completely one dimensional in the 34% that I read.
Thank you to the publisher for an arc of this book to consider for addition in my bookstore. I am sincerely bummed I did not enjoy it more.
The Midnight Girls, by Alicia Jasinska
3.25
What a lovely wintery read. Oppressed, morally grey, monstrous (literally), magical young women fighting back against their jagas. Starting out as rivals but developing some feelings along the way. Set in a historic, snow-covered, Poland-inspired landscape. It's slow paced with some interludes of action, and is more character-focused than anything. What's not to love?
All of Us Villains, by C.L. Herman, Amanda Foody
Wow, this was deliciously dark and propulsive and I'm annoyed it just came out and that means I have to wait so much longer for the next book. In Ilvernath, seven families select a teenage champion to compete in a battle to the death to decide who controls the high magick for the next two decades. It's the result of a curse that was enacted upon them centuries ago, and nobody really seems to think too deeply about it. But since the last competition, their secret competition has been revealed to the normies, so now the world is watching with bloodlust in their eyes. This story is told from four alternating points of view, from four of the potential victors: Alistair, Briony, Gavin, and Isobel. Throughout the book, and as the battle nears, we see these teenagers interrogating more and more the stories they've been told about the necessity of the fighting, and explore whether there's a way to end the curse once and for all...
This book is about our unwanted inheritances, the trauma and anger that can be passed down through generations, about coming of age and coming into your own. It complicates the idea of villainy, and reveals these teenagers as nuanced, complicated, annoying, annoyed, full humans, which I always appreciate.
My one overarching quibble is the use of the word "monster" was heavy-handed and redundant, to the point where I noticed it so much that I did a search of how often it appears in the book. (Sixty six times.) But obviously that didn't have an overall impact on my enjoyment of the story.
If you liked The Hunger Games or your favourite book in the HP series was Goblet of Fire, I think this one is going to be for you.
This book is about our unwanted inheritances, the trauma and anger that can be passed down through generations, about coming of age and coming into your own. It complicates the idea of villainy, and reveals these teenagers as nuanced, complicated, annoying, annoyed, full humans, which I always appreciate.
My one overarching quibble is the use of the word "monster" was heavy-handed and redundant, to the point where I noticed it so much that I did a search of how often it appears in the book. (Sixty six times.) But obviously that didn't have an overall impact on my enjoyment of the story.
If you liked The Hunger Games or your favourite book in the HP series was Goblet of Fire, I think this one is going to be for you.
The Donut Trap, by Julie Tieu
This is at least 75% me and the mood I was in when I was reading this, but this one didn't do it for me. I think the other 25% of it not hitting the way I hoped it would is because I think it's a bit mischaracterized as a romance/romcom, and I think many readers are likely to feel the same disappointment.
Jas is a recent college grad, trying to navigate post-school life when her pre-med plans went out the window a few years into college. While she's working to figure it out, she is working in her parents' donut shop. By a remarkable coincidence, her best friend's boyfriend has a new roommate, who just happens to be the guy she sold tickets to once to a college game and has had in the back of her mind ever since. Around the same time, her high school ex (who was a secret from her parents because she was sure they wouldn't approve) also stumbles back into her life. And she is also thinking about stepping away from the donut shop, but doesn't feel like she can leave her parents hanging, even though they've encouraged her to pursue a career.
There were things I thought were really well done here. I think the representation of the tension and unintended conflict between immigrant parents and their first generation American-born kids feels spot on. Having friends who have experiences similar tension, the expectations and language barriers and even culture shock were portrayed pretty accurately. It's awesome to see a book written by an east Asian author writing about east Asian characters. The directionlessness and feeling of being unskilled was spot-on for my experience post-college.
That said, I personally would label this more literary fiction. (To be fair, the first category listed on Netgalley is general fiction, with romance listed third, so that's probably my bad for not paying more attention to that.) The focus is really not on the romance; it is on Jas and her family and her growth as a new adult. I wouldn't consider the endpoint an HEA, which is like the one hallmark of romances. Even if it could be considered a romance, I did not feel any sort of chemistry of relationship development between Jasmine and Alex. Additionally, I don't think this book passed the Bechdel test. Jas's best friend is one-dimensional and serves as a plot device to connect Jas to Alex and to encourage Jas to pursue him. Even though I didn't feel the chemistry between Jasmine and Alex, I did feel the jealousy, in a way that made me feel uncomfortable considering they weren't even calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend yet. Especially given Jasmine's reveal that the one time that Alex bought tickets from her in college, she was so smitten by that one interaction, that she looked up his phone number in the system so she could call him. The fact that she never did doesn't negate that's a total invasion of privacy, and while I think it's realistic that a college-age person would have a lack of critical reasoning to realize that, I wish it had been less glossed over and seen as a cute anecdote.
This book felt disjointed and like it couldn't figure out exactly what it wanted to be. Which, to be fair, is also how recent college grads feel so maybe that was the intention. But it's not one that I'll be thinking about after finishing, and it's not one that I would really feel confident handselling to readers.
Jas is a recent college grad, trying to navigate post-school life when her pre-med plans went out the window a few years into college. While she's working to figure it out, she is working in her parents' donut shop. By a remarkable coincidence, her best friend's boyfriend has a new roommate, who just happens to be the guy she sold tickets to once to a college game and has had in the back of her mind ever since. Around the same time, her high school ex (who was a secret from her parents because she was sure they wouldn't approve) also stumbles back into her life. And she is also thinking about stepping away from the donut shop, but doesn't feel like she can leave her parents hanging, even though they've encouraged her to pursue a career.
There were things I thought were really well done here. I think the representation of the tension and unintended conflict between immigrant parents and their first generation American-born kids feels spot on. Having friends who have experiences similar tension, the expectations and language barriers and even culture shock were portrayed pretty accurately. It's awesome to see a book written by an east Asian author writing about east Asian characters. The directionlessness and feeling of being unskilled was spot-on for my experience post-college.
That said, I personally would label this more literary fiction. (To be fair, the first category listed on Netgalley is general fiction, with romance listed third, so that's probably my bad for not paying more attention to that.) The focus is really not on the romance; it is on Jas and her family and her growth as a new adult. I wouldn't consider the endpoint an HEA, which is like the one hallmark of romances. Even if it could be considered a romance, I did not feel any sort of chemistry of relationship development between Jasmine and Alex. Additionally, I don't think this book passed the Bechdel test. Jas's best friend is one-dimensional and serves as a plot device to connect Jas to Alex and to encourage Jas to pursue him. Even though I didn't feel the chemistry between Jasmine and Alex, I did feel the jealousy, in a way that made me feel uncomfortable considering they weren't even calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend yet. Especially given Jasmine's reveal that the one time that Alex bought tickets from her in college, she was so smitten by that one interaction, that she looked up his phone number in the system so she could call him. The fact that she never did doesn't negate that's a total invasion of privacy, and while I think it's realistic that a college-age person would have a lack of critical reasoning to realize that, I wish it had been less glossed over and seen as a cute anecdote.
This book felt disjointed and like it couldn't figure out exactly what it wanted to be. Which, to be fair, is also how recent college grads feel so maybe that was the intention. But it's not one that I'll be thinking about after finishing, and it's not one that I would really feel confident handselling to readers.
I Hate You More, by Lucy Gilmore
3.0
This was a fun, entertaining read. I was really excited by the premise and the cover, but unfortunately, the result didn't really deliver on the promise of the premise for me. Ruby Taylor is a former pageant queen turned nursing home assistant who decides to fulfill the dying wish (she's not really dying) of one of the seniors in the nursing home where she works: get her scruffy, stubborn, disobedient mutt-but-mostly-golden-retriever Wheezy to win the local dog show. On embarking upon this new mission, Ruby meets twins Spencer and Caleb, and while Caleb is the popular twin, Spencer ends up being the antagonist/lover for Ruby. Spencer is the one who started the dog show and is one of the judges, and Caleb is a dog trainer. Feeling desperate when Wheezy refuses to make any headway on training, Ruby hires Caleb to help her, and since Caleb currently lives with his twin brother, she ends up getting closer to Spencer as well, who may be getting more than he bargained for from this past pageant queen: an actual human person!
I really liked the antagonists to lovers set up, I appreciated that it was relatively low angst, and I LOVE the grump/sunshine dynamic. The true highlight for me was the side characters. I loved Wheezy first and foremost. As a person who has had multiple golden retrievers since they're our traditional family dog, I fell for him. Hard. Spencer's business party turned Ruby's new friend Eva was also really great, and her whole little family was super cute. (Though I felt like describing her as "topaz-skinned" was lowkey racist...?) I also really loved Mrs. Orson, Wheezy's owner and peak "feisty older broad" energy. She has an erotic book club (books vetoed if no pegging involved, alright grandmas!) and consumes edibles with her friends. Which, goals. Spencer's brother Caleb has a storyline I don't think I've seen in a romance before. It was really interesting, and I always appreciate a romance that addresses serious topics because relationships have to address serious topics. While Caleb's not the focus (and shouldn't be, it's not his story), it didn't really feel like there was enough time to properly address that serious of a topic along with all of the other things that were included in the book. I did enjoy that it was relatively low angst, which is a plus for me.
That said, most of this really didn't end up working for me. Most importantly, I never felt the chemistry between Ruby and Spencer, which is pretty dang important for a romance. There's a steamy scene where they first act upon their feelings for each other (and honestly, it's pretty hot mutual-but-across-the-room self-satisfaction scene) but it seemed to come completely out of nowhere. I just didn't really buy the relationship or development between their two characters. And while that first scene was pretty hot, everything after that was pretty low-steam, including a near fade-to-black when we got to the big one...For me, the book didn't do a great job of unpacking Ruby's past with pageants, and the expectations of what pageant girls are. Spencer has a lightbulb moment that's like, "huh, I guess she's not just a beautiful dummy," but doesn't really seem to interrogate or apply that to his understanding of pageants and those who participate in them writ large. It was more of a sense of "she's not like other hot girls" tone. That felt like a missed opportunity. Along with that, I think there could definitely be some triggering body talk when it comes to Ruby's past with pageants, and especially her mother's continued commitment to punishing diet culture. Overall, I don't think this one will stick with me much, but I'm sure there will be readers who love it!
I really liked the antagonists to lovers set up, I appreciated that it was relatively low angst, and I LOVE the grump/sunshine dynamic. The true highlight for me was the side characters. I loved Wheezy first and foremost. As a person who has had multiple golden retrievers since they're our traditional family dog, I fell for him. Hard. Spencer's business party turned Ruby's new friend Eva was also really great, and her whole little family was super cute. (Though I felt like describing her as "topaz-skinned" was lowkey racist...?) I also really loved Mrs. Orson, Wheezy's owner and peak "feisty older broad" energy. She has an erotic book club (books vetoed if no pegging involved, alright grandmas!) and consumes edibles with her friends. Which, goals. Spencer's brother Caleb has a storyline I don't think I've seen in a romance before. It was really interesting, and I always appreciate a romance that addresses serious topics because relationships have to address serious topics. While Caleb's not the focus (and shouldn't be, it's not his story), it didn't really feel like there was enough time to properly address that serious of a topic along with all of the other things that were included in the book. I did enjoy that it was relatively low angst, which is a plus for me.
That said, most of this really didn't end up working for me. Most importantly, I never felt the chemistry between Ruby and Spencer, which is pretty dang important for a romance. There's a steamy scene where they first act upon their feelings for each other (and honestly, it's pretty hot mutual-but-across-the-room self-satisfaction scene) but it seemed to come completely out of nowhere. I just didn't really buy the relationship or development between their two characters. And while that first scene was pretty hot, everything after that was pretty low-steam, including a near fade-to-black when we got to the big one...For me, the book didn't do a great job of unpacking Ruby's past with pageants, and the expectations of what pageant girls are. Spencer has a lightbulb moment that's like, "huh, I guess she's not just a beautiful dummy," but doesn't really seem to interrogate or apply that to his understanding of pageants and those who participate in them writ large. It was more of a sense of "she's not like other hot girls" tone. That felt like a missed opportunity. Along with that, I think there could definitely be some triggering body talk when it comes to Ruby's past with pageants, and especially her mother's continued commitment to punishing diet culture. Overall, I don't think this one will stick with me much, but I'm sure there will be readers who love it!
Under the Mistletoe, by Sue Moorcroft
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me at 25%. I was really hoping I would love this, because holidays! I didn't realize it was part of a larger series, and while I'm sure that there would be greater context if I'd read the entire series, I think if the subject matter is doable, readers don't necessarily need to read all the others. At least it didn't feel necessary for me, coming in with no previous experience of Moorcroft's writing. I am always an advocate for romances tackling serious topics, as real-life relationships have to tackle serious topics. However, for me, the sexual assault storyline was a bit triggering. The dialogue felt clunky and unnatural to me, which didn't help the content being discussed, and overall there was a lot of info dumping. I understand why, since it is part of a series, but it felt less artful than I've experienced in other "previously on" recaps from other series. Content warnings for sexual assault, infertility/miscarriage, bullying, agoraphobia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Sexual assault, and Bullying
Moderate: Miscarriage