Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
finished this at 5am after being woken up by a stomach virus and i enjoyed the said virus more than this book
My Kind of Trouble by L.A. Schwartz 3.5⭐️
Harmony Greene is an orphan turned conwoman who’s come to Brookville to get revenge on the man who drove her father to drink himself to death. There she meets Preston Jones,the world’s hottest librarian, and key part of her next con. Watching Harmony slowly win over dedicated but grumpy Preston was my favorite part of this book! I loved his relationship with his sister and thought the author did a good job of portraying neurodivergence without making it a huge burden. Harmony is effortlessly funny and extremely confident. It was a joy to watch her make a home for herself in Brookville. The side characters in this one really shown through and elevated everything. I’m always a sucker for a found family. I will say, I thought that Preston got over being deceived far too quickly, especially as someone who has been described to only think in black and white. Overall I enjoyed this fun read and the library scene will live rent free in my head for a while!!
My Kind of Trouble comes out 10/8!!
Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
Closed Door Mod: Chapter 16 (some parts), Chapter 19, Chapter 23 (some parts)
I would like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
A gender swap retelling of The Music Man, a conwoman, Harmony, tasks herself with taking down the man who ruined her father’s life, only to be swept up on the charm of the local librarian and his fight against book banning efforts by the wife of the man Harmony wants to destroy.
I absolutely LOVED this book! The character dynamics were great and I liked how Schwartz was able to breathe new life into this retelling while staying true to aspects of the original story. There’s great plus-size and autistic rep in this book, and I appreciated how nuance and multi-dimensional the main characters were. I also felt that the main characters had a really solid character development with exploring their similar pasts as well as how they try to move forward from said past. And you get such a swoon-worthy romance that you can’t help but root for!
If you read one grumpy x sunshine retelling this fall, let My Kind of Trouble be that book.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
A gender swap retelling of The Music Man, a conwoman, Harmony, tasks herself with taking down the man who ruined her father’s life, only to be swept up on the charm of the local librarian and his fight against book banning efforts by the wife of the man Harmony wants to destroy.
I absolutely LOVED this book! The character dynamics were great and I liked how Schwartz was able to breathe new life into this retelling while staying true to aspects of the original story. There’s great plus-size and autistic rep in this book, and I appreciated how nuance and multi-dimensional the main characters were. I also felt that the main characters had a really solid character development with exploring their similar pasts as well as how they try to move forward from said past. And you get such a swoon-worthy romance that you can’t help but root for!
If you read one grumpy x sunshine retelling this fall, let My Kind of Trouble be that book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Blood, Abandonment
A nice light read. I was dreading the "big reveal" of her con and how annoying the second half of the book would be, but it worked out pretty well which was nice. Not sure why he apologised though, when he got rightfully upset to find out she had be lying the entire time.
I was also expecting at least one person to recognise her since she grew up in that town. For some reason I thought that person would be Dani, and when they met for dinner Dani would have recognised her from her childhood. Whilst Noah appearing was a good way to do it too, I think I would've enjoyed that more as it would have made more sense. How can absolutely no one else remember her? If she was the same age as Preston, how did he not remember her? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the plot a little...
I was also expecting at least one person to recognise her since she grew up in that town. For some reason I thought that person would be Dani, and when they met for dinner Dani would have recognised her from her childhood. Whilst Noah appearing was a good way to do it too, I think I would've enjoyed that more as it would have made more sense. How can absolutely no one else remember her? If she was the same age as Preston, how did he not remember her? Maybe I'm misunderstanding the plot a little...
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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
This gender swapped and modernized retelling of The Music Man is a clever, fun to read, sweet romance. Harmony only ever cons people who deserve it, making sure that innocent bystanders don't get hurt. Preston is dedicated to his town, his library, and his younger sister. I loved how sweet they were together, as well as all the ways that Harmony stood up to bullies and helped the whole community. Whether you are a fan of The Music Man or not, this is a great feel good romance. Highly recommended.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
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
lighthearted
medium-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
Cute romcom featuring a fearless conartist and a neurodivergent librarian where love and lies are in the airs I liked the sweet banter, the sticky situations, and the quaint setting.
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.
I love how so many authors are making a point for their books to inclusive and showcase characters of all different kinds. In this book, there is plus-size rep, autism rep, LGBTQIA+ rep, and more. Outside of the love story (this is a romance story after all), the author speaks to the importance of libraries existing for EVERYONE and serving all races, genders, abilities, etc. This message seemed especially fitting as it's Banned Books Week.
I quite enjoyed this story. The love story was *chef's kiss*, the small town atmosphere was immaculate, and I loved the underlying con of the whole thing. Preston & Harmony were a great balance for each other. They see each other for exactly who they are and don't try to mask themselves in order to fit in better. Plus their chemistry was combustive.
This was a fun, quick read. The pacing was great, and I loved how the author wrote Harmony ingratiating herself into the small town. I would read more by this author.
I quite enjoyed this story. The love story was *chef's kiss*, the small town atmosphere was immaculate, and I loved the underlying con of the whole thing. Preston & Harmony were a great balance for each other. They see each other for exactly who they are and don't try to mask themselves in order to fit in better. Plus their chemistry was combustive.
This was a fun, quick read. The pacing was great, and I loved how the author wrote Harmony ingratiating herself into the small town. I would read more by this author.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
MY KIND OF TROUBLE is described as a modern, genderbent version of "the music man," about a con woman and the librarian she falls for while on the job. i absolutely loved harmony and preston and seeing them fall for each other had me giggling my feet, twirling my hair, the whole shebang. the banter was absolutely topnotch and seeing preston slowly give in to his feelings for harmony, tearing his walls down and letting her in was incredible. not to mention the small town setting, the autistic rep, preston being guardian to his younger sister... i loved all of it. give me five more books about harmony and preston, please.
read if you like:
- musical references
- polin vibes
- morally grey fmc (ish)
thanks to netgalley and alcove press for the advanced copy!
read if you like:
- musical references
- polin vibes
- morally grey fmc (ish)
thanks to netgalley and alcove press for the advanced copy!
emotional
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