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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You had me a the hand-clenching...š
Not only is this one of my favorite executions of the grumpy-sunshine dynamic, Melanie Sweeney has done right by the Houston community in the way she captured living through Hurricane Harvey & recovery. Please, PLEASE do yourself a favor & pick up this sweet romance between a sunshiney, independent children's librarian and the grumpy botanical garden director next door.
(Melanie, if you see this, can we get a Kai/Ian spin off pretty please?)
Not only is this one of my favorite executions of the grumpy-sunshine dynamic, Melanie Sweeney has done right by the Houston community in the way she captured living through Hurricane Harvey & recovery. Please, PLEASE do yourself a favor & pick up this sweet romance between a sunshiney, independent children's librarian and the grumpy botanical garden director next door.
(Melanie, if you see this, can we get a Kai/Ian spin off pretty please?)
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What to expect from this book
ā¢ Dislike to Friends to Lovers
ā¢ He falls first
ā¢ Forced Proximity
ā¢ Single Mom
ā¢ Fun Side Characters
I seen the cover of this book and was really drawn in. It was a really cute and fun read, I love a good single parent book and this one definitely delivered. I loved the bickering between main characters and the whole dynamic they had. Loved Tansy being the stubborn one and wanting to do right by her daughter and do it herself even though I was begging her to accept jacks help by the end. The way that Jack cared for Briar was really cute and I love theyāre both plant and outdoorsy nerds
Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for letting me read a free copy of this book in exchange for a review
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Although this is a work of fiction, it was rooted in reality. I felt the pain, trauma and panic in the wake of a devastating natural disaster that the author captured through her characters. Weāve seen so many more of these events within the last decade even.
I appreciated reading a romance between two 30-somethingās that have lived a bit. A young single mother who was still figuring it out years down the line and a divorced man still grappling with the life he wanted by then but didnāt/couldnāt have.
Because the book is mainly set in the botanic gardens, there is a small town feel even though they are technically set in a major metropolitan city.
Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Since the very first glimpses and glimmers I saw of this, I have known I would love it. And oh did I love every moment.
Melanie absolutely blew this out of the water. I couldnāt put it down. I was tabbing as I read, and at one point I just wrote āHELPā on one of them.
Within the first few chapters, I already felt like Iād known Tansy and Jack for ages. Theyāre both so real and raw and complex, with messy histories that have caused them each to carve safe little lives out for themselves. Both of them have created their own little found families, who are just as tight-knit, important, and real as any family by blood.
Tansyās relationship with her daughter, Briar - as well as Jackās relationship with her - is just as important as the romance. In fact their entire lives are just as important as the romance, and itās all the more beautiful for it. How can you not root for people that feel already like old friends? How can you not wish for them to find themselves in each other?
Their hesitancy is relatable and believable. Their rivalry made me laugh out loud and made the falling so much sweeter. They both have reasons to proceed with caution - some realer than others - and they approach each other with such tenderness and vulnerability even when there are bits of them theyāre afraid to reveal. Both of them are caretakers who donāt know how to let themselves be taken care of - a combination that could lead to hostility (and sometimes does) but that ultimately results in a sort of competitive softness that made me both laugh and cry.
I could write more but there is actually a character limit so Iāll leave you with this: you better put this on your TBR right now Iām being so serious