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michellereadatrix's review
4.0
Ah, sweet romance. Unconventionally attractive tomboy heroine who still manages to, stereotypes aside, have an aversion to blood. Chastity, middle name Virginia, has been in love with Trevor since she was ten-years-old, and they even had a brief fling, but he seems to see her as a little sister/one of the guys. The secondary characters, particularly Chastity's large family, are also well-written and with secondary storylines. I particularly like that another storyline paralleled some of what Chas was going through, but ended with a different (but equally valid) decision. I would have liked a slightly longer resolution scene, but enjoyed this book quite a lot.
tarheeltiff's review
2.0
This book had all the ingredients to be a book I'd love. Girl next door main character, in love with her long time friend, lots of romantic tension. But dear goodness, did it fall flat. Chastity was supposed to be a strong female, but it was mostly at the expense of other women, or building herself up because of male approval. There were so many characters and storylines that just caused nothing to be developed like it should. Every character, especially one of the love interests, was entirely one-dimensional. The most infuriating part of the book is that the main character, Chastity, she reveled in the blatant misogyny and inappropriate advances of all the men around her. Kristin Higgins promoted cat-calling and sexual harassment as cute and harmless. Just because a woman is not conventionally attractive doesn't mean you can use these cheap tricks to give her self worth because some men hit on her.
booksbrewsandbarks's review
3.0
I am a big fan of Kristan Higgins but I also prepared myself that I may run into some books by here that just weren't up to par when I decided to dive into her backlist. Unfortunately, while Just One of the Guys is charming in parts, I cant say the same for the main character of Chastity. I really tried to like her and bond with her as a main female character but failed. With constant needless flaunting of her junk food habit where her reasoning was her workouts, she is that girl that everyone secretly can't stand in real life. As Higgins' later work shows the importance of health and accepting of one's body, this is a great exhibit of how an author's work can change over the years.
On top of the reason above, Chastity was extremely immature. I am already someone who dislikes lack of communication in a novel used a major plot progressor and she is guilty of this with not one but two men! Multiple times she acts like a child when it comes to romantic relationships and feels as though she is deserving of love without actually putting work into herself. I would not say she grew at all emotionally throughout the entire novel.
In addition, Ryan Darling, the so called competition for the main guy, Trevor, is terrible! Right off the bat, he makes for a poor attempt at an alternative, with his extremely lackluster personality and dated attitude towards women, not to mention how he is viewed by literally everyone else around him. The fact that Chastity even enters into a relationship with him solely based on his looks and *SPOILER ALERT* even accepts his marriage proposal with absolutely no connection to go off of, further exemplifies how weak of a character Chastity is and how hard it is for a reader to sympathize with her.
The only redeeming quality with the book comes from the B-plot with Chastity's parents, with is much closer to the modern day works I am used to seeing from the author. It is both unique, surprising, and heartwarming, and I wished the whole novel focused on it. I also loved all of Chastity's brothers, they were really fun characters to read about.
There was another minor plot having to do with Chastity's coworker which was laughable at best and could've been eliminated entirely. Overall, there were way too many flaws in this novel to put it in even remotely the same realm as her more recent novels. It honestly didn't read like a Kristan Higgins book at all which was quite disappointing.
On top of the reason above, Chastity was extremely immature. I am already someone who dislikes lack of communication in a novel used a major plot progressor and she is guilty of this with not one but two men! Multiple times she acts like a child when it comes to romantic relationships and feels as though she is deserving of love without actually putting work into herself. I would not say she grew at all emotionally throughout the entire novel.
In addition, Ryan Darling, the so called competition for the main guy, Trevor, is terrible! Right off the bat, he makes for a poor attempt at an alternative, with his extremely lackluster personality and dated attitude towards women, not to mention how he is viewed by literally everyone else around him. The fact that Chastity even enters into a relationship with him solely based on his looks and *SPOILER ALERT* even accepts his marriage proposal with absolutely no connection to go off of, further exemplifies how weak of a character Chastity is and how hard it is for a reader to sympathize with her.
The only redeeming quality with the book comes from the B-plot with Chastity's parents, with is much closer to the modern day works I am used to seeing from the author. It is both unique, surprising, and heartwarming, and I wished the whole novel focused on it. I also loved all of Chastity's brothers, they were really fun characters to read about.
There was another minor plot having to do with Chastity's coworker which was laughable at best and could've been eliminated entirely. Overall, there were way too many flaws in this novel to put it in even remotely the same realm as her more recent novels. It honestly didn't read like a Kristan Higgins book at all which was quite disappointing.
introvertinterrupted's review
4.0
After binge watching all five seasons of Orphan Black and basically being engrossed in that dark and gruesome fictional (honestly it could be reality in the very near future) world, I need something light and sweet to read. This book was funny and the perfect palette cleanser after that show. It had its moments with the stereotyping of the Latinxa best friend doing what author called a "Latin head wiggle" and using random Spanish platitudes to comfort her Irish friend, but I enjoyed this book aside from this one hiccup.
rebleejen's review
4.0
I was in the mood for some Kristan Higgins, and as usual, she did not disappoint me.
hollaback77's review
4.0
Being one of the guys isn't all it's cracked up to be...So when journalist Chastity O'Neill returns to her hometown, she decides it's time to start working on some of those feminine wiles. Two tiny problems: #1--she's five feet eleven inches of rock-solid girl power, and #2--she's cursed with four alpha male older brothers.
While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over--although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.
Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys..
Let me just start by saying that I love Kristan Higgins. I read almost all her books as soon as they come out. Some I keep for when I'm in a book funk. Just One of the Guys is one of those books. It has been a reread of mine now for several years. I have loved Trevor each and every time I read about him and felt bad for Chastity for always being seen as one of the guys, but Trevor never saw her as that. She always thought he had. This book for me has always been a must-read. I tell everyone that this is one of those that I wasn't offered to read - I bought both the paperback and the ebook!!! One is signed and the other is not. I cherish them both.
While doing a story on local heroes, she meets a hunky doctor and things start to look up. Now there's only one problem: Trevor Meade, her first love and the one man she's never quite gotten over--although he seems to have gotten over her just fine.
Yet the more time she spends with Dr. Perfect, the better Trevor looks. But even with the in-your-face competition, the irresistible Trevor just can't seem to see Chastity as anything more than just one of the guys..
Let me just start by saying that I love Kristan Higgins. I read almost all her books as soon as they come out. Some I keep for when I'm in a book funk. Just One of the Guys is one of those books. It has been a reread of mine now for several years. I have loved Trevor each and every time I read about him and felt bad for Chastity for always being seen as one of the guys, but Trevor never saw her as that. She always thought he had. This book for me has always been a must-read. I tell everyone that this is one of those that I wasn't offered to read - I bought both the paperback and the ebook!!! One is signed and the other is not. I cherish them both.
rramona's review
2.0
This was pretty bad, honestly. The heroine had no backbone and the love interest was so wishy-washy. They also cheated on their partners and by the end, I just couldn’t care less what happened to them.