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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
lighthearted
fast-paced
Thank you MacMillan for the digital ARC!
I'm a very simple girl. If Katherine Center writes a romance, I will read it. My first book of Centers was The Bodyguard, and I loved it, so clever and fun. But then I read The Rom-Commers and I was depressed during this time and it wasn't a vibe.
Now this book is unique, now I'm not sure if trigger warnings will be included in the final edition. But the mentions of eating disorders should 100% have a trigger warning. Especially the mention of lack of food and weight/scales.
Hutch was the ideal book boyfriend, and he's hot af!
Now the ending was funny (I'm aware, it's not supposed to be funny) but I can't imagine riding out a Cat. 4 hurricane (idk if it was actually a Cat. 4) in. houseboat.
Overall, I think Katherine Center writes great romance books, and they always make you feel light and happy at the end.
I'm a very simple girl. If Katherine Center writes a romance, I will read it. My first book of Centers was The Bodyguard, and I loved it, so clever and fun. But then I read The Rom-Commers and I was depressed during this time and it wasn't a vibe.
Now this book is unique, now I'm not sure if trigger warnings will be included in the final edition. But the mentions of eating disorders should 100% have a trigger warning. Especially the mention of lack of food and weight/scales.
Hutch was the ideal book boyfriend, and he's hot af!
Now the ending was funny (I'm aware, it's not supposed to be funny) but I can't imagine riding out a Cat. 4 hurricane (idk if it was actually a Cat. 4) in. houseboat.
Overall, I think Katherine Center writes great romance books, and they always make you feel light and happy at the end.
funny
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Libby/audio
Well, i fully expected to hate this. I was braced to DNF right away, because i am out of patience for books that aren't for me.
However, this turned out to be a new favorite. This is my kind of self-help book. I am so similar in my bones to Katie, wow, did KC punch me in the guts with some real hard truths. Things i really need to let sink into my soul.
This whole community of characters were great. I admit, the whole set-up of Jen Anistons dog rescue was a bit outrageous. Add onto that, we have Hutch's giant great dane, who is constantly assaulting Katie(yes, assaulting her, and never once in the FOUR times that it happens does Hutch try to grab his dog, which for me loses him some hero points. Once or twice gives you an excuse, but continuing on from there, no bud. That is just absolute gross negligence.) bugged me a bit. Reeks of emotional manipulation(author to reader) and Im not a fan of dogs anyway, so yeah, I'm not really a big fan. But regardless, most of the key moments of this story couldn't happen without the dog, and in some ways it grew on me, so Im letting it go. Just know, i know what you did, i see it. Im unhappy about it. It's a cheap trick.
There is also this completely weird moment(well two) at the end that also rub me the wrong way. I will come back to those, because spoilers, so i will add them to the end, for those who have read the book already, and care to read my thoughts about it.
Hutch was interesting. He is very different. He is great, but also flawed in some ways. I do enjoy him. Of course.
He seems to be a pretty great person.
I enjoy the love story, and the ways he really helps Katie. Also this is spice free, for those bothered by that.
In general, i really liked this. I smiled, i laughed. I teared up. I wanted to strangle that stupid dog. The end had me pretty worried.
Okay, so my spoiler complaints are below.
#1:
A hurricane rolls in. Katie is visiting the Keys for this job, and she gets left alone after a big fight with Hutch. She had previously deleted her social media, so somehow that transferred into her not hearing the news(?). Anyway, she somehow finds out about it( i think her flight is canceled?) and she starts calling her host. Turns out she (the host and all her friends) took off a while ago, driving to Arizona. And Hutch is ignoring her calls.
During all this, she ends up at the base where Hutch is working, and they quickly chat, wherein he tells her she shouldn't still be in town, and needs to drive out. And then he just leaves her. The Keys have these really long bridges, so between that and the evac traffic, it's gonna be dicey. Anyway, it irks me, that this tourist, with zero experience evac-ing in an emergency hurricane situation is pretty much left to fend for herself, and it really bugs me that no one bothered to tell her anything before just taking off, without a thought for her.
#2:
While evac-ing, her host calls her to let her know the dog is left behind. So of course Katie goes back for the stupid dog, gets stuck in the houseboat, winds up drifting out to sea, and finally the boat is sinking. Its pretty intense. They get found, but they rescue the dog first, and plan to leave her in the ocean. She can barely swim. The dog was bleeding, so chumming the water. The heli is low on fuel, but still.
This is the second time where these people are less heroic than they should be IMO. It may well be the standard protocol in the situation.
Both of these situations, had they happened to me would have been deal breakers. These were not okay, lines in the sand were crossed. Im not sure i could forgive either of these, much less both.
To be barely an afterthought to these people who claim to care about you, well, i guess it is eye opening, when push comes to shove, what people tell you. Or show you.
Maybe you think I'm over reacting? I guess i am. But it matters to me if i matter to people. In this way, she didn't seem too. And that is a red flag to me.
Anyway, that's it really. Everything works out. Katie and everyone else are all happy in the end. Im the only one bothered here, and i guess I'm probably overreacting. This book, as stated in the authors note, really made me feel things. (That is the point, so mission accomplished) All of my favorite stories do. This is one of them.
Well, i fully expected to hate this. I was braced to DNF right away, because i am out of patience for books that aren't for me.
However, this turned out to be a new favorite. This is my kind of self-help book. I am so similar in my bones to Katie, wow, did KC punch me in the guts with some real hard truths. Things i really need to let sink into my soul.
This whole community of characters were great. I admit, the whole set-up of Jen Anistons dog rescue was a bit outrageous. Add onto that, we have Hutch's giant great dane, who is constantly assaulting Katie(yes, assaulting her, and never once in the FOUR times that it happens does Hutch try to grab his dog, which for me loses him some hero points. Once or twice gives you an excuse, but continuing on from there, no bud. That is just absolute gross negligence.) bugged me a bit. Reeks of emotional manipulation(author to reader) and Im not a fan of dogs anyway, so yeah, I'm not really a big fan. But regardless, most of the key moments of this story couldn't happen without the dog, and in some ways it grew on me, so Im letting it go. Just know, i know what you did, i see it. Im unhappy about it. It's a cheap trick.
There is also this completely weird moment(well two) at the end that also rub me the wrong way. I will come back to those, because spoilers, so i will add them to the end, for those who have read the book already, and care to read my thoughts about it.
Hutch was interesting. He is very different. He is great, but also flawed in some ways. I do enjoy him. Of course.
He seems to be a pretty great person.
I enjoy the love story, and the ways he really helps Katie. Also this is spice free, for those bothered by that.
In general, i really liked this. I smiled, i laughed. I teared up. I wanted to strangle that stupid dog. The end had me pretty worried.
Okay, so my spoiler complaints are below.
#1:
A hurricane rolls in. Katie is visiting the Keys for this job, and she gets left alone after a big fight with Hutch. She had previously deleted her social media, so somehow that transferred into her not hearing the news(?). Anyway, she somehow finds out about it( i think her flight is canceled?) and she starts calling her host. Turns out she (the host and all her friends) took off a while ago, driving to Arizona. And Hutch is ignoring her calls.
During all this, she ends up at the base where Hutch is working, and they quickly chat, wherein he tells her she shouldn't still be in town, and needs to drive out. And then he just leaves her. The Keys have these really long bridges, so between that and the evac traffic, it's gonna be dicey. Anyway, it irks me, that this tourist, with zero experience evac-ing in an emergency hurricane situation is pretty much left to fend for herself, and it really bugs me that no one bothered to tell her anything before just taking off, without a thought for her.
#2:
While evac-ing, her host calls her to let her know the dog is left behind. So of course Katie goes back for the stupid dog, gets stuck in the houseboat, winds up drifting out to sea, and finally the boat is sinking. Its pretty intense. They get found, but they rescue the dog first, and plan to leave her in the ocean. She can barely swim. The dog was bleeding, so chumming the water. The heli is low on fuel, but still.
This is the second time where these people are less heroic than they should be IMO. It may well be the standard protocol in the situation.
Both of these situations, had they happened to me would have been deal breakers. These were not okay, lines in the sand were crossed. Im not sure i could forgive either of these, much less both.
To be barely an afterthought to these people who claim to care about you, well, i guess it is eye opening, when push comes to shove, what people tell you. Or show you.
Maybe you think I'm over reacting? I guess i am. But it matters to me if i matter to people. In this way, she didn't seem too. And that is a red flag to me.
Anyway, that's it really. Everything works out. Katie and everyone else are all happy in the end. Im the only one bothered here, and i guess I'm probably overreacting. This book, as stated in the authors note, really made me feel things. (That is the point, so mission accomplished) All of my favorite stories do. This is one of them.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Car accident
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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:
Yes
Poor handling of disordered eating behaviors
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No