ccgwalt's review
4.0
An emotional read about a young pregnant widow taken in by her physically and emotionally scarred brother-in-law. Better than average writing and characterization. The author sets the scenes well and the dialog is smooth and natural. Both main characters are mistaken about the other one's motives, but the reasons behind the mistakes are believable (and not unkind), so the plot device works here. Although there was tension between Noah and Katherine, the author could have build more tension and given a greater emotional punch to the story.
taramisu's review
2.0
2.5 ⭐
There's nothing worse than starting a book with your favorite trope, that's well loved and highly rated...only to find it mediocre at best.
The Good:
1) I was able to finish it.
The Bad:
1) Poor writing.
2) The author rarely indicated who was speaking, making me go back multiple times to try and figure it out.
3) Prolonged misunderstanding that made me want to scream.
4) The emotional turn at the end felt hollow and forced. Maybe it's just that they both insisted the other one was only married out of obligation for way too long. Maybe it was just poor writing. Either way, the end did not give me feels. It just made me happy the book was at 99% and I could finally move onto something better.
5) The step-mother-in-law was OTT nasty. This made her emotional turn at the end completely unbelievable and not satisfying in the least.
There's nothing worse than starting a book with your favorite trope, that's well loved and highly rated...only to find it mediocre at best.
The Good:
1) I was able to finish it.
The Bad:
1) Poor writing.
2) The author rarely indicated who was speaking, making me go back multiple times to try and figure it out.
3) Prolonged misunderstanding that made me want to scream.
4) The emotional turn at the end felt hollow and forced. Maybe it's just that they both insisted the other one was only married out of obligation for way too long. Maybe it was just poor writing. Either way, the end did not give me feels. It just made me happy the book was at 99% and I could finally move onto something better.
5) The step-mother-in-law was OTT nasty. This made her emotional turn at the end completely unbelievable and not satisfying in the least.
taisie22's review
4.0
This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling in the old American West. Noah Cutter fetches the widow of his shiftless brother when he finds out about her and that she's pregnant. Kate was dazzled by Levi, but she's grateful for Noah's help as she has nowhere else to turn. Noah is scarred because of a childhood accident, but Kate doesn't mind, and eventually, they marry and fall in love. They still have to overcome some heartache, but it's a sweet story and well-told.
junna's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Questionable. A lot of "religious America", which is a thing that I wished was mentioned in the overview. The main characters were better off as friends, as they had zero romantic chemistry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming
spines's review
hopeful
relaxing
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
3.25
incredibly sweet, the miscommunication between the main characters is sad but not super contrived, very cliché side characters and plot but overall it's a nice story that feels very familiar
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming and Ableism
melissad75's review
3.0
A very sweet, simple story. I could've wished for it to be a little less of both those things, but it was okay.
laurla's review
"the woman reminded him of the serpent in the bible stories where personified evil spoke to man and put doubt in his head. she had always made him feel ashamed and unlovable. and though he was a grown man, her disdain still wounded."
"careful distance and not caring had always protected him."
"in my head i'm so sure of what you're thinking that i dont let you tell me."
"careful distance and not caring had always protected him."
"in my head i'm so sure of what you're thinking that i dont let you tell me."
elain's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
3.0
micki's review
4.0
Not technically a 4-star book (for me), but I was so thrilled at the lack of the favorite romantic trope of "the big misunderstanding" that I really enjoyed this sweet but simple story.
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