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beffynicole's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this book (in audiobook format) in exchange for an honest review.
Starting this book, I thought I was going to LOVE it, but in the end, I feel like it fell flat for me. Still, if you're looking for an easy, lighthearted read, this might be the book for you!
PROS:
Easy read. There wasn't too much ups and downs that made this complicated or hard to read. It was to the point and I enjoyed that.
Communication! If you've read my other reviews you know the miscommunication trope really frustrates me. This book did a great job of having conflict that didn't rely on miscommunication. The main character was honest about her feelings with the love interest and what she needed to focus on.
I thought the ex was written well. It was great to have him so detestable! It also showed how the kids really were struggling in some aspects but why they could get over their "dad" not being there.
Some cute funny moments! I appreciated the main character's friends and the interactions with the love interest.
CONS:
I don't think I've ever read a book where a mom is truly such a good mom. And with this sitting in the cons, you know I don't mean that in a good way. She is perfect, but way too perfect to be realistic. Honestly the only issue she truly seems to have is that she puts herself down and that she has to tell the kids that no, they can't have the gnome out even though that's what she was fighting for the whole time. But other than that? She's literally perfect and I don't think it's realistic by any sense.
I ended up bored. Thought I was going to love this and the book definitely had a strong start, but unfortunately, something fell flat for me. I feel like at some point we stopped focusing on the HOA fight and more so on the home issues and romance, which I do think needed to have some focus, but the HOA issue ended up basically forgotten for a large chunk of the book.
Not an enemy to lovers romance. Again, this was marketed as an enemy to lovers romance but they weren't enemies. Yes, there was some initial tension because the love interest is the president of the HOA, but he's not the one being a jerk and the main character realizes that. They aren't butting heads at all.
Now if this was a queer romance where the main character got together with another form of Carla? Maybe.
I don't think the kids were that realistic. Getting into fights? Yes. But writing kids is hard and I'm not sure if this hit the right note. You can definitely tell these are kids from an adult POV and completely fake.
This book wasn't very memorable. You know how I know that? I genuinely can't remember their names. I think the love interest was Kyle. I also couldn't tell you if they officially got together at the end but I'm assuming they did.
Starting this book, I thought I was going to LOVE it, but in the end, I feel like it fell flat for me. Still, if you're looking for an easy, lighthearted read, this might be the book for you!
PROS:
Easy read. There wasn't too much ups and downs that made this complicated or hard to read. It was to the point and I enjoyed that.
Communication! If you've read my other reviews you know the miscommunication trope really frustrates me. This book did a great job of having conflict that didn't rely on miscommunication. The main character was honest about her feelings with the love interest and what she needed to focus on.
I thought the ex was written well. It was great to have him so detestable! It also showed how the kids really were struggling in some aspects but why they could get over their "dad" not being there.
Some cute funny moments! I appreciated the main character's friends and the interactions with the love interest.
CONS:
I don't think I've ever read a book where a mom is truly such a good mom. And with this sitting in the cons, you know I don't mean that in a good way. She is perfect, but way too perfect to be realistic. Honestly the only issue she truly seems to have is that she puts herself down and that she has to tell the kids that no, they can't have the gnome out even though that's what she was fighting for the whole time. But other than that? She's literally perfect and I don't think it's realistic by any sense.
I ended up bored. Thought I was going to love this and the book definitely had a strong start, but unfortunately, something fell flat for me. I feel like at some point we stopped focusing on the HOA fight and more so on the home issues and romance, which I do think needed to have some focus, but the HOA issue ended up basically forgotten for a large chunk of the book.
Not an enemy to lovers romance. Again, this was marketed as an enemy to lovers romance but they weren't enemies. Yes, there was some initial tension because the love interest is the president of the HOA, but he's not the one being a jerk and the main character realizes that. They aren't butting heads at all.
Now if this was a queer romance where the main character got together with another form of Carla? Maybe.
I don't think the kids were that realistic. Getting into fights? Yes. But writing kids is hard and I'm not sure if this hit the right note. You can definitely tell these are kids from an adult POV and completely fake.
This book wasn't very memorable. You know how I know that? I genuinely can't remember their names. I think the love interest was Kyle. I also couldn't tell you if they officially got together at the end but I'm assuming they did.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, and Vomit
Minor: Toxic relationship
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