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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gotta be honest, the whole "nice guys finish last" bit in the beginning of this book was actually very off-putting to me.
I <i>immediately</i> loved Shay and Gennie. I <i>wanted</i> to love Noah - and I even found the whole "she's my high school crush" thing cute. It was cute that he was immediately gone for her.
But the grumpy asshole he became for no reason really got on my nerves.
I never saw any reason for it. Apparently back in the day he was the pudgy, pimply uncool kid and never told Shay he had a thing for her. She was one of the pretty popular girls who hung out with him, in his mind, ONLY when the other cool kids weren't around to entertain her. He bigged up this whole relationship with her in his head and she didn't manage to learn telepathy so she never found out and for the first part of this book he holds that against her.
He spends all of his time early on in this book trying to pigeonhole Shay into this idea he had of her from when they were just teenagers. He can't imagine that she grew up, that her goals changed, that she's good with children. He can't imagine her being a good person...
Because she "left him" when they were kids. Even though we find out that HE left Friendship first, and she took her sweet time leaving after he did.
It's gross. It gives incel vibes.
It made me concerned about his criminal record. Did he post cryptic crap on social media about how women are sluts unless they're controlled by a man? Did he ever consider bringing a gun to school and fantasize about annihilating the popular clique of kids because they maybe bullied him or never gave him the time of day? Does he have some creepshow manifesto stowed away somewhere in his attic?
Because that's LITERALLY the vibe I got off him. All while Canterbary is trying to paint this dude in the present tense as the romantic MMC for a woman who's just gotten out of a really shitty romantic situation.
Shay attempts to befriend Noah again - calls him her old friend - wonders about his moodiness. And there's clearly an attraction for her there too...but his sour attitude toward her and some of the things he says made me wonder what on earth she could have possibly seen in him. And if she ever heard his thoughts about her? That were always sexual but also always tinged with bitter resentment that sometimes made me wonder if he had the capability of being violent with her? I couldn't have blamed her if she called the cops and ran for the hills.
It does eventually get better. He does eventually stop being a weirdo who's mean to a good woman for no damned reason at all.
But woof, that first 30%? I'll happily unhaul that bit from my memory.
When we graduate from the creeptastic, we dive headfirst into 400+ pages of two people who couldn't talk to each other if their lives depended on it.
The amount of times they could have solved EVERYBODY'S confusion, just by saying the things the thought in their heads... Noah is particularly terrible at this. The way he moons over and longs after Shay in his head, but never lets those words come out of his mouth leaving her to wonder if all they're doing is real... We could have cut this book directly in half and changed precisely NONE of the major parts of the story if these two people had just said what they were thinking the first time it rattled around in their heads.
And near the end. After Gennie has a melt down and runs away because she's afraid Noah is going to leave her, Shay reassures her that she'll always be there for her, even if something happens to Noah.
AND THE VERY SAME NIGHT she suggests moving out of their house and back into her own again. Because that sends the appropriate message to a 6 year old child with abandonment issues. 🙄😒
How can an elementary school teacher, who's been SO great in intuiting Gennie's specific needs this WHOLE book be so callous and blind after witnessing the little girl's admission that she's afraid EVERYBODY IS GOING TO LEAVE HER????
I hated Shay in that moment. I'm not even going to pretend I didn't. It was the absolute WORST idea she could have ever come up with, and the ONLY reason she did it is because she's a coward who can't admit OUT LOUD that she's actually in love with Noah and his niece. Oh. And because the Author needed DRAMA.
Noah even asks Shay what the fuck she's thinking: <b>"You told her you'd be there for her. You said you'd be there if anything happens to me. How do you reconcile saying that to her tonight and then moving out tomorrow?"</b>
Good fucking question, my dude.
Thankfully, Noah manages to convince Shay to stay for the time being, while he travels with Gennie to see his siter (Gennie's mom is incarcerated).
But just. Good God. The stupidity.
The ending was good. Sweet even. The notes were really cute! And there's a good bit of angst right until the end. There ARE some really, really great things going on in this book in between the stuff that icked me out and the stuff that pissed me off. All in all, the good and bad sort of evened each other out. So. I'd say this is a pretty solid 3 stars.
I <i>immediately</i> loved Shay and Gennie. I <i>wanted</i> to love Noah - and I even found the whole "she's my high school crush" thing cute. It was cute that he was immediately gone for her.
But the grumpy asshole he became for no reason really got on my nerves.
I never saw any reason for it. Apparently back in the day he was the pudgy, pimply uncool kid and never told Shay he had a thing for her. She was one of the pretty popular girls who hung out with him, in his mind, ONLY when the other cool kids weren't around to entertain her. He bigged up this whole relationship with her in his head and she didn't manage to learn telepathy so she never found out and for the first part of this book he holds that against her.
He spends all of his time early on in this book trying to pigeonhole Shay into this idea he had of her from when they were just teenagers. He can't imagine that she grew up, that her goals changed, that she's good with children. He can't imagine her being a good person...
Because she "left him" when they were kids. Even though we find out that HE left Friendship first, and she took her sweet time leaving after he did.
It's gross. It gives incel vibes.
It made me concerned about his criminal record. Did he post cryptic crap on social media about how women are sluts unless they're controlled by a man? Did he ever consider bringing a gun to school and fantasize about annihilating the popular clique of kids because they maybe bullied him or never gave him the time of day? Does he have some creepshow manifesto stowed away somewhere in his attic?
Because that's LITERALLY the vibe I got off him. All while Canterbary is trying to paint this dude in the present tense as the romantic MMC for a woman who's just gotten out of a really shitty romantic situation.
Shay attempts to befriend Noah again - calls him her old friend - wonders about his moodiness. And there's clearly an attraction for her there too...but his sour attitude toward her and some of the things he says made me wonder what on earth she could have possibly seen in him. And if she ever heard his thoughts about her? That were always sexual but also always tinged with bitter resentment that sometimes made me wonder if he had the capability of being violent with her? I couldn't have blamed her if she called the cops and ran for the hills.
It does eventually get better. He does eventually stop being a weirdo who's mean to a good woman for no damned reason at all.
But woof, that first 30%? I'll happily unhaul that bit from my memory.
When we graduate from the creeptastic, we dive headfirst into 400+ pages of two people who couldn't talk to each other if their lives depended on it.
The amount of times they could have solved EVERYBODY'S confusion, just by saying the things the thought in their heads... Noah is particularly terrible at this. The way he moons over and longs after Shay in his head, but never lets those words come out of his mouth leaving her to wonder if all they're doing is real... We could have cut this book directly in half and changed precisely NONE of the major parts of the story if these two people had just said what they were thinking the first time it rattled around in their heads.
And near the end. After Gennie has a melt down and runs away because she's afraid Noah is going to leave her, Shay reassures her that she'll always be there for her, even if something happens to Noah.
AND THE VERY SAME NIGHT she suggests moving out of their house and back into her own again. Because that sends the appropriate message to a 6 year old child with abandonment issues. 🙄😒
How can an elementary school teacher, who's been SO great in intuiting Gennie's specific needs this WHOLE book be so callous and blind after witnessing the little girl's admission that she's afraid EVERYBODY IS GOING TO LEAVE HER????
I hated Shay in that moment. I'm not even going to pretend I didn't. It was the absolute WORST idea she could have ever come up with, and the ONLY reason she did it is because she's a coward who can't admit OUT LOUD that she's actually in love with Noah and his niece. Oh. And because the Author needed DRAMA.
Noah even asks Shay what the fuck she's thinking: <b>"You told her you'd be there for her. You said you'd be there if anything happens to me. How do you reconcile saying that to her tonight and then moving out tomorrow?"</b>
Good fucking question, my dude.
Thankfully, Noah manages to convince Shay to stay for the time being, while he travels with Gennie to see his siter (Gennie's mom is incarcerated).
But just. Good God. The stupidity.
The ending was good. Sweet even. The notes were really cute! And there's a good bit of angst right until the end. There ARE some really, really great things going on in this book in between the stuff that icked me out and the stuff that pissed me off. All in all, the good and bad sort of evened each other out. So. I'd say this is a pretty solid 3 stars.
lighthearted
medium-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
He was so obsessed with her. It had me swooning, kicking my feet and smiling like a weirdo.
I had a good time with this one! The kid was really cute, the "farm" setting is always a good time, and it was a slower burn. She had a fun, outgoing personality but was also dealing with the fallout of her relationship and HE. This dude was so swoon-worthy; he was just the right amount possessive. He kept calling her his wife and couldn't stop touching her. He is a little bit shy and cute, plus he makes jam. He is just such a green flag, and I really liked him.
It's not 5 stars, mostly because I did get bored of her issues. Also feel like it would have been better if some of the smutty scenes were replaced with some actual relationship developments. Don't get me wrong; they were very well written, but it just took away from the story a bit.
Besides that, it was just a good time and a lot of fun.
I had a good time with this one! The kid was really cute, the "farm" setting is always a good time, and it was a slower burn. She had a fun, outgoing personality but was also dealing with the fallout of her relationship and HE. This dude was so swoon-worthy; he was just the right amount possessive. He kept calling her his wife and couldn't stop touching her. He is a little bit shy and cute, plus he makes jam. He is just such a green flag, and I really liked him.
It's not 5 stars, mostly because I did get bored of her issues. Also feel like it would have been better if some of the smutty scenes were replaced with some actual relationship developments. Don't get me wrong; they were very well written, but it just took away from the story a bit.
Besides that, it was just a good time and a lot of fun.
Cute small town book about two friends from high school meeting again when their older. It was a cute, fun read and Gennie was a hoot. Appreciated Noah very much and his words in the bedroom
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The story's ok. The kid is great. Book is too long for what it is. I found myself skipping the audio in parts. They talk too much about jam. Literally.
100-200 pages could have easily been cut out of this book and it would have been better.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
Complicated
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
This book was a breath of fresh air. While it features some familiar tropes—city girl moves to a small town, single dad/legal guardian, fake dating, marriage of convenience—they’re done in a way that feels fresh and unique. This book truly had it all.
The characters were chef’s kiss. We’ve got Gennie, a hilarious 6-year-old who swears like a pirate and believes she is a pirate 😉; Noah, a grumpy, jam-making, walking green flag of a man; and Shay, a kind, caring woman rebuilding her life after a horrible relationship. Shay also has an amazing group of girlfriends who bring so much love and support to her journey. And then there are all the quirky, lovable small-town characters that round out the story.
The chemistry and banter between Noah and Shay? Top tier.
The author also touches on important subjects like body positivity so naturally—it’s perfect.
In conclusion: this book is funny, cute, adorable, angsty, and—let’s not forget—steamy. I can’t recommend it enough to all my romcom-loving girlies.
