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halei_06's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mindfullibrarian's review
4.0
(free review copy) Okay, let's just state for the record that the cover model does NOT have a big enough mustache to do Zach's justice as described in the book. Besides that, this was a super cute romance with some really unique twists. I'm bumping up from a 3 due to the strong potential for a great series with all of the characters who I LOVED here, and a super strong sense of place.
Why originally a 3? Basically because of something another reviewer here stated too - because of E's memory loss, we didn't really *know* her for the majority of the book. She read fairly flat, which I get because of the situation, but it felt hard to really get invested in her. She was amazing at the beginning though, so I know Weatherspoon CAN write like crazy :-)
Bottom line? I don't really like cowboy romance and I usually don't love memory loss stories, but I devoured this one and am excited for more in the series.
Why originally a 3? Basically because of something another reviewer here stated too - because of E's memory loss, we didn't really *know* her for the majority of the book. She read fairly flat, which I get because of the situation, but it felt hard to really get invested in her. She was amazing at the beginning though, so I know Weatherspoon CAN write like crazy :-)
Bottom line? I don't really like cowboy romance and I usually don't love memory loss stories, but I devoured this one and am excited for more in the series.
torilovesheas's review
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I wanted to love this because the premise sounded right up my alley, but I really struggled with this one.
The most interesting part is the first 20%. Evie getting attacked. Evie losing her memory. The tension filled build up to Zach and Evie meeting again after ten years. And then….it slows to a grinding halt. This isn’t even a slowburn. It’s a singular coal burning in a rainstorm fixing to go out.
The plot is boring, the middle is plodding, there are SO MANY characters that I couldn’t keep up with who was who half the time (and some of them contributed nothing to the story).
And everything is just really anti-climactic? I mean for a story to drag for 250-ish pages, I at least wanted the bad guy to get their just desserts on page.
Evie and Zach really have no chemistry and the basis of their relationship relies on the reader knowing they have a shared history. But telling me that, giving me one or two small glimpses of younger Evie and Zach, and dancing around this BIG HUGE BLOW UP (which was actually kind of silly and not worth losing ten years over?) is not sufficient for a relationship to form. I didn’t feel like they even knew anything about each other. Just that they used to know each other and find each other attractive.
Normally I love RW. But I didn’t love this and almost DNFd several times. :/
The most interesting part is the first 20%. Evie getting attacked. Evie losing her memory. The tension filled build up to Zach and Evie meeting again after ten years. And then….it slows to a grinding halt. This isn’t even a slowburn. It’s a singular coal burning in a rainstorm fixing to go out.
The plot is boring, the middle is plodding, there are SO MANY characters that I couldn’t keep up with who was who half the time (and some of them contributed nothing to the story).
And everything is just really anti-climactic? I mean for a story to drag for 250-ish pages, I at least wanted the bad guy to get their just desserts on page.
Evie and Zach really have no chemistry and the basis of their relationship relies on the reader knowing they have a shared history. But telling me that, giving me one or two small glimpses of younger Evie and Zach, and dancing around this BIG HUGE BLOW UP (which was actually kind of silly and not worth losing ten years over?) is not sufficient for a relationship to form. I didn’t feel like they even knew anything about each other. Just that they used to know each other and find each other attractive.
Normally I love RW. But I didn’t love this and almost DNFd several times. :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual content, and Medical content
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, and Grief
pn_hinton's review against another edition
4.0
This is more like a 4.5 but since Goodreads (still) doesn't allow for half stars...
This book, much like a horse ride, came at a slow comfortable pace and second chance romance was sweet. We had to depend a lot on the history that we didn't get to see between Evie and Zach to stoke the fires of their current passions but it was still very believable.
I loved how successful and positive all the Black characters were and how they were mostly secure in their position. They were also very supportive of each other for the most part, with a dash of harsh truth delivered in a loving way that only family can do.
Highly recommend for easy reading, especially if you're like me and love cowboys.
This book, much like a horse ride, came at a slow comfortable pace and second chance romance was sweet. We had to depend a lot on the history that we didn't get to see between Evie and Zach to stoke the fires of their current passions but it was still very believable.
I loved how successful and positive all the Black characters were and how they were mostly secure in their position. They were also very supportive of each other for the most part, with a dash of harsh truth delivered in a loving way that only family can do.
Highly recommend for easy reading, especially if you're like me and love cowboys.
nixbix_reads's review against another edition
3.0
This was such a charming read! I really liked Evie and her journey to rediscover herself. While her relationship with Zach was adorable, I loved the secondary relationships in this story - the friends & family they have around them were fantastic! They made the story so much richer for being in it and I’m looking forward to reading more about them.
I would have like to have seen more of Evie & Zach’s past, apart from the amnesia affected dreams that Evie has. I would have liked to see more about why Zach was warned off & how this affected him, especially since he apologises for ignoring her for 10 years.
I would have like to have seen more of Evie & Zach’s past, apart from the amnesia affected dreams that Evie has. I would have liked to see more about why Zach was warned off & how this affected him, especially since he apologises for ignoring her for 10 years.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
4.0
Rebekah Weatherspoon is writing a whole series about Black cowboys. What a gift to the world. I’ve never been particularly drawn to amnesia stories, but if she’s writing it, I’m in. Evie is a chef on a morning talk show who suffers a head injury at a star-studded event. When she wakes up, she doesn’t remember who she is or anything about her own life. Fortunately, she’s got a great group of friends to support her, and when it becomes clear Evie is going to need a place away from the spotlight to recover, they call in the big guns—Zach, her childhood friend/crush she hasn’t spoken to in years. Zach whisks Evie back to his family’s California ranch, excited at the prospect of mending fences after their falling out years ago. As adults, they get along great and the sparks are flying, but all of that is threatened by the fact that any day now, Evie might remember why she stopped talking to him all those years ago and their renewed relationship will crumble like a stale cookie. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: Weatherspoon is one of my favorite romance authors ever. Her books are supremely comforting, like wrapping yourself in a blanket fresh out of the dryer.
vibecalledjess's review against another edition
4.0
Book 1 and already hooked
I really enjoyed the first book of this series: Modern romance of very successful black people and I loved it. Although this series is about The Pleasants, a family who has found generational success in ranching and hospitality, it was refreshing to read about the love interest (Evie) a well-known celebrity chef falling for a her high school crush, Zach Pleasant. I did wish the pace was a bit quicker but this is a story of Evie losing her memory and we’re along for the ride. So many jokes. Quick fun read with a little bit of spice.
I really enjoyed the first book of this series: Modern romance of very successful black people and I loved it. Although this series is about The Pleasants, a family who has found generational success in ranching and hospitality, it was refreshing to read about the love interest (Evie) a well-known celebrity chef falling for a her high school crush, Zach Pleasant. I did wish the pace was a bit quicker but this is a story of Evie losing her memory and we’re along for the ride. So many jokes. Quick fun read with a little bit of spice.
emilyveryromance's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I loved how all of the characters in this story really came to life, but the romance felt like a bit of an afterthought. Which is a bummer because Zach Pleasant is such a hot hero. Ultimately, the fmc spends so much of the book in this amnesiac half-life state, the book would have to be much longer or vastly edited to create a deeper love story. The good news is the series is super duper set up now, and I’m really excited to read about the other Pleasant brothers.
tostita's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was not the right book for me. I wasn’t really in the mood for a contemporary but I read it anyway, and that part is on me. Beyond that, the pace felt plodding, and there was such an overwhelming number of side characters with full names and backstories that it was hard to keep track of them all, until I realized that almost none of them were actually relevant and they could be instantly forgotten with no loss. More fundamentally, the mmc was frankly not good enough for the fmc. He took advantage of her compromised cognitive capacity to push for the relationship he wanted, which is super sketchy (and everyone who raised objections was portrayed in the text as controlling and prudish, despite having the right of it, ethically speaking). He was arrogant, pushy, emotionally stingy and immature, and none of that was resolved early enough to be believable to me. By the end of the book he was just beginning his journey to thinking about relationships like a partner instead of a dictator. I could not see what was so compelling about him to the fmc, beyond that he was good looking and had been nearby when she was young and impressionable. He should have been a learning experience that she left in the rearview mirror while she moved on with people who were actually willing to be present in her life.