You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
I was excited to see she had a new series since I liked her other ones quite a bit, but this was disappointing. Just so predictable and formulaic.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death of parent
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Meg Cabot is my guilty pleasure. Her romances are such a delight to read during troubling times.
"No Judgments" by Meg Cabot was just as cute, sweet, and funny as all of the author's previous books. I very much enjoyed the setting in the Florida Keys, which Cabot does a wonderful job of bringing to life in this novel. One of my favorite vacations ever was in the Keys, and I loved feeling like I was back there once again thanks to this story.
That said, I didn't feel like I got to know Drew, the story's male lead character, very well at all. What I did learn about him didn't always come across as likeable to me. Drew seemed like a very stubborn man who insisted on always having things his own way. He didn't leave a lot of room for compromise or seem to take his loved ones' feelings into account very often. A good example is the fact that he refused to stay with his aunt and uncle during the hurricane, even though it would have been a simple thing to do to allay his aunt's concerns. Further, Drew didn't seem like the type who would ever want to leave the island, so it didn't make sense to me why he would ever have chosen to live in New York City. Finally, Drew seemed to drink a lot. Maybe I was reading too much into the fact that he so often seemed to have a beer in his hand, and it was just part of the "island lifestyle," but it seems like it could become a problem for him at some point.
As for Bree, the female main character, she seemed like a likeable if somewhat lost soul who kind of fell into living on Little Bridge Island. However, I'm not really sure what attracted her to Drew other than that he was handsome and kind to animals. I was happy that Bree seemed to find herself by the end of the book, but her journey didn't seem to have much to do with Drew despite the focus on their relationship.
Overall, I would have rated this book 3.5 stars if half stars were possible, but in the end I decided to round down because I was not a big fan of Drew as a love interest for Bree. I would still read the next book in the series, however.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
That said, I didn't feel like I got to know Drew, the story's male lead character, very well at all. What I did learn about him didn't always come across as likeable to me. Drew seemed like a very stubborn man who insisted on always having things his own way. He didn't leave a lot of room for compromise or seem to take his loved ones' feelings into account very often. A good example is the fact that he refused to stay with his aunt and uncle during the hurricane, even though it would have been a simple thing to do to allay his aunt's concerns. Further, Drew didn't seem like the type who would ever want to leave the island, so it didn't make sense to me why he would ever have chosen to live in New York City. Finally, Drew seemed to drink a lot. Maybe I was reading too much into the fact that he so often seemed to have a beer in his hand, and it was just part of the "island lifestyle," but it seems like it could become a problem for him at some point.
As for Bree, the female main character, she seemed like a likeable if somewhat lost soul who kind of fell into living on Little Bridge Island. However, I'm not really sure what attracted her to Drew other than that he was handsome and kind to animals. I was happy that Bree seemed to find herself by the end of the book, but her journey didn't seem to have much to do with Drew despite the focus on their relationship.
Overall, I would have rated this book 3.5 stars if half stars were possible, but in the end I decided to round down because I was not a big fan of Drew as a love interest for Bree. I would still read the next book in the series, however.
*ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are my own.
Not my fav Meg Cabot, which stinks because I love her. The main female protagonist was rather interesting. The male protagonist was okay. I did like the setting and the town characters tho. I felt like the hurricane storyline got a little too ridiculous and the romance a little too cliche.
I was able to read this book early thanks to #NetGalley
This was a really fun book! I was immediately drawn in, and stayed that way. This was my first Meg Cabot book, but it won't be my last!
This was a really fun book! I was immediately drawn in, and stayed that way. This was my first Meg Cabot book, but it won't be my last!
This was an... interesting journey. I'm not going to say it was entirely this book's fault but I am SICK of the straights rn, I think it's time to read some LGBT+ love stories and break from the predictability of the rom-coms I've been reading thus far.
My grievances *Spoilers Ahead*:
- I didn't feel a connection with/between the main couple. There was denial and then immediate bliss without buildup. Why does he even like her? Why does she fall in love with him?
- The lingering references to the main character's assault made it seem like something that she would process or otherwise resolve throughout the book but in reality she seems mostly well-adjusted by the time of the book's events. Everything could have been exactly the same without it; make her ex as toxic as you want for drama but it didn't have to go there if you weren't going to explore it. For example: their sex life is immediately perfect and she has no problem sleeping in the same bed as a man after years of sleeping alone?? Again it's only brought up for drama and feels empty.
- Brie's mom is genuinely horrible and Brie just tolerates that behavior and writes it off with a "but I love her anyway" like??? You can say she's messed up your life and it doesn't mean she hasn't done anything for you as a provider, no caveat needed. This woman literally sided with Brie's boyfriend in gaslighting her into thinking she wasn't assaulted. She has not once seemed to accept anything about the person Brie has become. I'd rather see growth in that relationship than ride the toxic ex-boyfriend train for the whole book. And why did she bring her biological mom into a disaster zone?? That was a ridiculous attempt at tying up all the loose ends without Brie having to leave the island and a dick move on her mother's part (then again she also flew in Brie's ex and the man who assaulted her, so...). She's just such a jerk and needed some kind of character development to be even remotely palatable, so that was the real loose end for me (not a complete HEA).
My grievances *Spoilers Ahead*:
- I didn't feel a connection with/between the main couple. There was denial and then immediate bliss without buildup. Why does he even like her? Why does she fall in love with him?
- The lingering references to the main character's assault made it seem like something that she would process or otherwise resolve throughout the book but in reality she seems mostly well-adjusted by the time of the book's events. Everything could have been exactly the same without it; make her ex as toxic as you want for drama but it didn't have to go there if you weren't going to explore it. For example: their sex life is immediately perfect and she has no problem sleeping in the same bed as a man after years of sleeping alone?? Again it's only brought up for drama and feels empty.
- Brie's mom is genuinely horrible and Brie just tolerates that behavior and writes it off with a "but I love her anyway" like??? You can say she's messed up your life and it doesn't mean she hasn't done anything for you as a provider, no caveat needed. This woman literally sided with Brie's boyfriend in gaslighting her into thinking she wasn't assaulted. She has not once seemed to accept anything about the person Brie has become. I'd rather see growth in that relationship than ride the toxic ex-boyfriend train for the whole book. And why did she bring her biological mom into a disaster zone?? That was a ridiculous attempt at tying up all the loose ends without Brie having to leave the island and a dick move on her mother's part (then again she also flew in Brie's ex and the man who assaulted her, so...). She's just such a jerk and needed some kind of character development to be even remotely palatable, so that was the real loose end for me (not a complete HEA).
3.75/5, a little too basic for me. Overall, very cute. Not Meg at her best.
This one was so disappointing for me mainly because it was just overall pretty meh, and I was hoping for so much more seeing as I LIVED for Meg Cabot in middle and high school. I will admit that I don’t think I’ve read one of her books since my early college years, so maybe I’ve just outgrown her writing and this is completely a me problem rather than a book problem.
The book as a whole isn’t bad, and is actually quite fast paced with a few scenes I did enjoy. I finished it mostly in one sitting. I think the characters just weren’t overly special to me and the plot was fine, but what was advertised in the summary really didn’t take place until the last third of the book.
I read the novella introducing this new series back in March and didn’t’ find anything overly excitable about it either, so maybe this series just isn’t for me. It was cute and fluffy and fast paced, but overall nothing stood out, so it felt pretty mediocre.
Not my favorite, but I am 100 percent sure someone will love it.
*Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*
The book as a whole isn’t bad, and is actually quite fast paced with a few scenes I did enjoy. I finished it mostly in one sitting. I think the characters just weren’t overly special to me and the plot was fine, but what was advertised in the summary really didn’t take place until the last third of the book.
I read the novella introducing this new series back in March and didn’t’ find anything overly excitable about it either, so maybe this series just isn’t for me. It was cute and fluffy and fast paced, but overall nothing stood out, so it felt pretty mediocre.
Not my favorite, but I am 100 percent sure someone will love it.
*Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.*