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missbeccadawn's review against another edition
3.0
The blurb for this book seems deceiving; three friends buy a lottery ticket and win big. I suppose that's the backbone for the trilogy of stories, but in this first installment with MC Kit the lottery win comes up very few times. Like, shockingly few. Instead we focus on Kit and her desire to have a place to call home juxtaposed with travelling recruiter Ben who, surprise surprise, is trying to get Kit to uproot to a bigger, better (?) job with a huge compensation boost.
“Home was complicated, layered. Home was people you loved but also places you knew well and liked to go to, things you had around you that made you feel safe and comforted. Home was too much for one person to be to anyone.”
I loved the characters in this book, especially the secondary characters. It's certainly not a book that will leave you in awe or shocked at the twists. Instead, it's a comfortable read with a solid cast of characters that felt present and real in my mind. It does drag a little at times, though I was able to forgive those areas since the book strikes a strong balance between plot and humdrum daily life that pushes the plot along (albeit, sometimes too slowly). A great chick lit book when you need a light, easy read that won't have you shaking your head with stupid actions from the characters.
“Home was complicated, layered. Home was people you loved but also places you knew well and liked to go to, things you had around you that made you feel safe and comforted. Home was too much for one person to be to anyone.”
I loved the characters in this book, especially the secondary characters. It's certainly not a book that will leave you in awe or shocked at the twists. Instead, it's a comfortable read with a solid cast of characters that felt present and real in my mind. It does drag a little at times, though I was able to forgive those areas since the book strikes a strong balance between plot and humdrum daily life that pushes the plot along (albeit, sometimes too slowly). A great chick lit book when you need a light, easy read that won't have you shaking your head with stupid actions from the characters.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
4.0
Kit and Ben's relationship moved a bit too quickly for me to find it believable, but all the emotional beats hit at just the right places - I loved it.
piperclover's review against another edition
There's nothing wrong with this. I'm just a little bored with it so it feels like it's dragging. I enjoy everything else including the setting and characters and their dynamic so the problem really is just me falling out of it right now
megnut's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction and Grief
tessanne's review against another edition
3.0
The amount of everything that Clayborn manages to pack into her books is amazing.
I enjoyed this book well enough, though I think what keeps me coming back to Clayborn's offerings is her writing style. It flows so well and reads so quickly. The characters are engaging and you always see them doing their thing, having their personalities, being humans. That sounds weird, but there you have it. They're well developed, independent people who fall in love because of each other, not because that's all that's available, if that makes sense.
I think what is keeping me from giving more than 3 stars is the sex. Her books seem to have one big sex scene on the page, then refers to various other times the main characters have sex, and maybe another short intimate scene or two. I don't think that lots of sex on the page is important, but the way this is done actually seems to take away some of the advancement of the relationship, leaving out the trust and enjoyment involved in their explorations of each other.
I enjoyed this book well enough, though I think what keeps me coming back to Clayborn's offerings is her writing style. It flows so well and reads so quickly. The characters are engaging and you always see them doing their thing, having their personalities, being humans. That sounds weird, but there you have it. They're well developed, independent people who fall in love because of each other, not because that's all that's available, if that makes sense.
I think what is keeping me from giving more than 3 stars is the sex. Her books seem to have one big sex scene on the page, then refers to various other times the main characters have sex, and maybe another short intimate scene or two. I don't think that lots of sex on the page is important, but the way this is done actually seems to take away some of the advancement of the relationship, leaving out the trust and enjoyment involved in their explorations of each other.
jendoyleink's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED this book!
The heroine is total science geek in the most wonderful of ways. Although I am the daughter of a physicist, science has never been my strong suit, so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to relate. But that didn't end up being the case at all. Clayborn does such an amazing job at making us see the science through the (non-scientist) hero's eyes, that it was fascinating rather than eyes-glazing-over. And everything beyond the science, well, I fell in love with her as much as the hero did.
Speaking of the hero, however, he might have become my favorite book boyfriend of all time. Definitely top 5. I don't think I can even properly describe Ben, because the way he unfolds is just sublime, as far as I'm concerned. And the first time they do the deed? (Not the almost first time, in which they were interrupted, but the actual first time.) They said maybe a total of five words to each other in the beginning of the scene and I was pretty sure my Kindle was going to incinerate right there.
A few more things that just totally worked for me:
1) The humor. It was quirky and sweet and totally LOL in some places.
2) The friends and surrounding characters. Kit's friends are the perfect girlfriends. Sisters by choice if not blood. But *all* of the secondary characters are wonderful, even the ones who pull some majorly awful moves (yes, they are both men), are complex enough that what they've done is forgivable. Scratch that. What one of them does almost *isn't* forgivable, but the way Kit handles it makes me love her even more in the end.
3) The science. I can't believe I said that, but there is just enough of it to make everything feel authentic given the jobs Kit and Ben have, but not in a way that made me feel like I was being lectured to.
4) The ending. Was I sobbing? Yes. But happy, *happy* tears from the sheer perfection of it all.
For the first time in a long time, from the second I finished it, I wanted to go back and start the book all over again just for the joy of it. As you might guess from the above, I *highly* recommend this book.
The heroine is total science geek in the most wonderful of ways. Although I am the daughter of a physicist, science has never been my strong suit, so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to relate. But that didn't end up being the case at all. Clayborn does such an amazing job at making us see the science through the (non-scientist) hero's eyes, that it was fascinating rather than eyes-glazing-over. And everything beyond the science, well, I fell in love with her as much as the hero did.
Speaking of the hero, however, he might have become my favorite book boyfriend of all time. Definitely top 5. I don't think I can even properly describe Ben, because the way he unfolds is just sublime, as far as I'm concerned. And the first time they do the deed? (Not the almost first time, in which they were interrupted, but the actual first time.) They said maybe a total of five words to each other in the beginning of the scene and I was pretty sure my Kindle was going to incinerate right there.
A few more things that just totally worked for me:
1) The humor. It was quirky and sweet and totally LOL in some places.
2) The friends and surrounding characters. Kit's friends are the perfect girlfriends. Sisters by choice if not blood. But *all* of the secondary characters are wonderful, even the ones who pull some majorly awful moves (yes, they are both men), are complex enough that what they've done is forgivable. Scratch that. What one of them does almost *isn't* forgivable, but the way Kit handles it makes me love her even more in the end.
3) The science. I can't believe I said that, but there is just enough of it to make everything feel authentic given the jobs Kit and Ben have, but not in a way that made me feel like I was being lectured to.
4) The ending. Was I sobbing? Yes. But happy, *happy* tears from the sheer perfection of it all.
For the first time in a long time, from the second I finished it, I wanted to go back and start the book all over again just for the joy of it. As you might guess from the above, I *highly* recommend this book.
lin127's review against another edition
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
3.25
ruthnessly's review against another edition
4.0
I borrowed this from the library on a whim, because I kept borrowing books that I would read 10 - 20% of, hate, and then return in frustration. I liked this cover (yes I did deliberately go and select this one), I remember seeing good reviews for other books of the author, and it just so happened that the first book was able to be borrowed instantly so I thought eh why not! What's the worst that can happen! I read 10 - 20% and return it because it's shite and I've got better things to do?
Except I def didn't do that! I really enjoyed this. What I loved the most about it, I think, were the characters, who were literally all great? There's a pretty big cast of characters in here, which is actually one of my favourite things in books: a great supporting cast, who add texture and feeling to something that could be closed in. Also, a lot of this book is very explicitly about families, born and chosen, and I looove that as a central idea as well. It's one of my favourites and I thought it was really nicely dealt with here.
The central relationship between the two main characters was pretty great too. I frigging loved Kit!!! She's so smart and funny and also direct. She's sharp and both very willing to open up, while often being blunt and distant and very stubborn. I loved her a lot and I wanted her to get everything she wanted, which was good for me because it happened!!! Also I loved big doofus Ben. The third act complication was not my favourite, but also I got emosh at some parts and also I was so happy with the ending so I will give it a slide.
I did not cry four times, but I think I will give this 4 stars even though it's more like that nebulous 3.75 territory.
Except I def didn't do that! I really enjoyed this. What I loved the most about it, I think, were the characters, who were literally all great? There's a pretty big cast of characters in here, which is actually one of my favourite things in books: a great supporting cast, who add texture and feeling to something that could be closed in. Also, a lot of this book is very explicitly about families, born and chosen, and I looove that as a central idea as well. It's one of my favourites and I thought it was really nicely dealt with here.
The central relationship between the two main characters was pretty great too. I frigging loved Kit!!! She's so smart and funny and also direct. She's sharp and both very willing to open up, while often being blunt and distant and very stubborn. I loved her a lot and I wanted her to get everything she wanted, which was good for me because it happened!!! Also I loved big doofus Ben. The third act complication was not my favourite, but also I got emosh at some parts and also I was so happy with the ending so I will give it a slide.
I did not cry four times, but I think I will give this 4 stars even though it's more like that nebulous 3.75 territory.
jeet_the_maiden's review against another edition
4.0
I liked Ben whose issues were clear from the start, and Kit is a well developed character too, though I didn't like her so much at first. The premise of winning the lottery is interesting as it at least frees the lead character Kit to make decisions independently, which creates for more nuanced situations that make the book interesting.
jreaderr's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Clayborn can do no wrong for me, I love the way she creates her characters.