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jayraams's review
4.0
This is quite a sweet Romance story. As an Australian it's nice to read a lesbian novel set in one of our great cities.
aliu6's review
4.0
4ish stars
Samantha Markson is just an ordinary woman, teaching kids at one of the best schools in Melbourne. Her life suddenly becomes a lot less ordinary when she's given the special assignment of teaching Grace, daughter of famous actress Abigail Taylor. As things heat up between Sam and Abby, Sam struggles to fight her growing attraction, because a relationship with Abigail Taylor is too good to be true... isn't it?
I'm going to admit, I started this book months ago, and I don't remember much from the beginning, hence the approximated rating. I'm going to be briefer with this review because of that.
Pros:
- Well-developed (and likable) characters, including the side characters
- Solid, realistic dialogue with some funny quips thrown in there
- Cute romance between the leads
- I love how well Sam gets along with Grace, Abby's daughter
Cons:
- The path to getting together was a bit too smooth IMO (they very quickly discovered their mutual interest)
- Which meant that the plot slows down halfway through the book (leading me to stop reading for a few months before picking it back up)
This was a well-written and thoughtful story, although I wish it had a little more excitement to keep me fully engaged.
Samantha Markson is just an ordinary woman, teaching kids at one of the best schools in Melbourne. Her life suddenly becomes a lot less ordinary when she's given the special assignment of teaching Grace, daughter of famous actress Abigail Taylor. As things heat up between Sam and Abby, Sam struggles to fight her growing attraction, because a relationship with Abigail Taylor is too good to be true... isn't it?
I'm going to admit, I started this book months ago, and I don't remember much from the beginning, hence the approximated rating. I'm going to be briefer with this review because of that.
Pros:
- Well-developed (and likable) characters, including the side characters
- Solid, realistic dialogue with some funny quips thrown in there
- Cute romance between the leads
- I love how well Sam gets along with Grace, Abby's daughter
Cons:
- The path to getting together was a bit too smooth IMO (they very quickly discovered their mutual interest)
- Which meant that the plot slows down halfway through the book (leading me to stop reading for a few months before picking it back up)
This was a well-written and thoughtful story, although I wish it had a little more excitement to keep me fully engaged.
lezreadalot's review
3.0
It occurred to Sam just how easy it would be to walk through life with Abby Taylor.
This was sweet, and I had a nice time with it, but sadly I'm coming away from the book feeling mostly... meh. There was truly nothing wrong with it, I just didn't fall in love. It's about a school teacher falling in love with a famous actress, after having been hired to give her daughter private tutoring. I don't gravitate towards books about famous people, though there've been some notable exceptions that I've really loved. This, alas, wasn't one of those exceptions. It was cute and quirky, but the writing just felt stilted and kinda forced to me. I liked the romance, and the adorable part of single parent romances is always seeing the love interest getting along well with the kid, but I just... never felt like I understood why Sam and Abby were into each other. I didn't really feel the chemistry. We got both Sam and Abby's POV (and also the POV of some other third parties, which I never enjoy) but I never feel like we really got to know Abby. Sam has such a fun, distinct voice, and by the end of the book, Abby still felt like half a mystery.
One thing I did really like and appreciate was Sam talking about stereotypes, the things women expect of her just because she seems butch, and just having the freedom to be herself and be vulnerable, and not conform to whatever other people want/expect of her. It's an important conversation and I felt for her so much.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Ruth Guice, which was good. A lot of the books set in Australia that I've listened to have had American or British narrators, and they weren't bad, but this was nice, not having to always be aware that the narrator is putting on an accent. I really don't have anything major to critique about this book; it just didn't wow me. Would still recommend for a sweet single parent romance with semi-forced proximity vibes.
Content warning:
Spoiler
shootingaliu6's review against another edition
4.0
4ish stars
Samantha Markson is just an ordinary woman, teaching kids at one of the best schools in Melbourne. Her life suddenly becomes a lot less ordinary when she's given the special assignment of teaching Grace, daughter of famous actress Abigail Taylor. As things heat up between Sam and Abby, Sam struggles to fight her growing attraction, because a relationship with Abigail Taylor is too good to be true... isn't it?
I'm going to admit, I started this book months ago, and I don't remember much from the beginning, hence the approximated rating. I'm going to be briefer with this review because of that.
Pros:
- Well-developed (and likable) characters, including the side characters
- Solid, realistic dialogue with some funny quips thrown in there
- Cute romance between the leads
- I love how well Sam gets along with Grace, Abby's daughter
Cons:
- The path to getting together was a bit too smooth IMO (they very quickly discovered their mutual interest)
- Which meant that the plot slows down halfway through the book (leading me to stop reading for a few months before picking it back up)
This was a well-written and thoughtful story, although I wish it had a little more excitement to keep me fully engaged.
Samantha Markson is just an ordinary woman, teaching kids at one of the best schools in Melbourne. Her life suddenly becomes a lot less ordinary when she's given the special assignment of teaching Grace, daughter of famous actress Abigail Taylor. As things heat up between Sam and Abby, Sam struggles to fight her growing attraction, because a relationship with Abigail Taylor is too good to be true... isn't it?
I'm going to admit, I started this book months ago, and I don't remember much from the beginning, hence the approximated rating. I'm going to be briefer with this review because of that.
Pros:
- Well-developed (and likable) characters, including the side characters
- Solid, realistic dialogue with some funny quips thrown in there
- Cute romance between the leads
- I love how well Sam gets along with Grace, Abby's daughter
Cons:
- The path to getting together was a bit too smooth IMO (they very quickly discovered their mutual interest)
- Which meant that the plot slows down halfway through the book (leading me to stop reading for a few months before picking it back up)
This was a well-written and thoughtful story, although I wish it had a little more excitement to keep me fully engaged.
banrions's review against another edition
4.0
it took me a little while to get into this, and i sort of thought the romance started at a point where we hadn't really seen the two characters interact very much yet, but this had a lot of tropes and beats that really hit my buttons, so overall i had a good time! i listened to an audiobook version, and it took me a little bit to get into the narrator's voice and acting. they weren't bad by any means, but sometimes the narration (not the character's voices, i really enjoyed those, especially her "abby" voice) felt... not wooden but like it was slowed down a bit? i dont know how to explain it, but it wasn't my fav and it took me a little longer to really get into it, once i did though, i really did and i had a great time!
queerwword's review against another edition
5.0
Sweet story naratted by unfamiliar narrator for me it seams her first audiobook I definally keep ann eye of her story it just sweet and heartbreaking at times but worth a read and listen
momma2thegs's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. I actually liked the gradual build-up of the relationship and the quips from Sam and her interactions with Grace.
jennabeebs79's review
5.0
Wow! I am so thrilled that I stumbled upon this book. This is my first K J read and it definitely won't be my last. Sam and Abby are literally from two different worlds but fate had a way of putting them in one another's orbit. Sam, a self-proclaimed ordinary person was given the opportunity to be the teacher and nanny for Abigail's daughter Grace. Abigail was far from ordinary in that she was an A-list actress from America. As soon as the two met, the reader could feel their chemistry but seeing how they lived on two different continents and were only there for 3 months while Abby was filming, they decided to fight the pull....but could they?
I found Sam to be an utterly charming main character and Grace was super adorable. What I also enjoyed was the fact that Abby being an out celebrity was not an issue. Usually, when authors write this plot, there is always a ton of angst between the two mains because the celebrity isn't out. This was like a breath of fresh air where the reader could enjoy the relationship development for what it was. An out actress fighting her attraction to an "ordinary" person. I loved this book and am now getting ready to read Cath's story!
I found Sam to be an utterly charming main character and Grace was super adorable. What I also enjoyed was the fact that Abby being an out celebrity was not an issue. Usually, when authors write this plot, there is always a ton of angst between the two mains because the celebrity isn't out. This was like a breath of fresh air where the reader could enjoy the relationship development for what it was. An out actress fighting her attraction to an "ordinary" person. I loved this book and am now getting ready to read Cath's story!