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j_the_bookworm's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book, I didn't want to put it down, i was smiling thru this book. Natalie is a in your face nyc girl who has confidence even when society says her size shouldn't, and it shines to all. She is sweet and tells it like it is. Oscar, hot broody dairy farmer. .....What else can I say! I loved the obvious chemistry from there small interactions. I loved how Oscar throws her off her confident game. Grab this and see what happens when Natalie goes to Bailey Falls and sees Oscar on home turf!
klippy's review against another edition
5.0
I love this series -- I think it is my very favorite series by Alice Clayton. And the heroine in this book is a size 18!!! Love it - not everyone is a size 2!!!
myriadreads's review against another edition
3.0
A really enjoyable read, perfect for relaxing after a stressful week. Clayton delivers on strong heroines, with a perfect mix of steamy and sweet.
luciearan's review against another edition
2.0
Ó ano, ANO!!! ....a mám to za sebou.
Co tohle bylo? Jak je možné, že první díl mi přišel vtipný a zábavný a tento na mě působil tak... nepovedeně, zoufale? A co teprve ten překlad, nebo takhle strašný je už originál? Já nevím, tohle se mi těžko bere i s nadhledem. Těšila jsem se na vtipnou jednohubku a místo ní jsem dostala něco nepopsatelného. Tak teď vůbec nevím, jestli riskovat se třetím dílem. Bude jako ten první - nebo druhý.
Co tohle bylo? Jak je možné, že první díl mi přišel vtipný a zábavný a tento na mě působil tak... nepovedeně, zoufale? A co teprve ten překlad, nebo takhle strašný je už originál? Já nevím, tohle se mi těžko bere i s nadhledem. Těšila jsem se na vtipnou jednohubku a místo ní jsem dostala něco nepopsatelného. Tak teď vůbec nevím, jestli riskovat se třetím dílem. Bude jako ten první - nebo druhý.
beckyrendon's review against another edition
4.0
My first foray into Alice Clayton's writing and I can say I will be playing catch up with all the others that have been sitting on my TBR.
She's the city girl with a secret obsession for the country.
He's the brooding, mysterious farmer that has her buying cheese weekly.
She lives for the smog, the over crowding, and the vibrant life.
He lives with cows.
Not saying that either is bad or wrong, but can they mix?
Natalie has learned to be very take charge. She is a powerful woman with a presence that gets noticed. Not for her size, but for her confidence. She is a ball busting, man eater who loves a challenge.
Except for him, one sight of the dairy man and she is a mumbling, tongue tied idiot. Always.
When chance puts them together, Natalie has learn to talk to him. Well, more than, oh yes.
It is a sweet story that brings you in and keeps you reading. You will fall for the town and characters so much, like me you'll be looking for real estate. Bailey Falls is on my list to visit. Looks like I'll be going back for Nuts and waiting for Clara's story and the hotel.
Book received in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed on behalf of Once Upon An Alpha
She's the city girl with a secret obsession for the country.
He's the brooding, mysterious farmer that has her buying cheese weekly.
She lives for the smog, the over crowding, and the vibrant life.
He lives with cows.
Not saying that either is bad or wrong, but can they mix?
Natalie has learned to be very take charge. She is a powerful woman with a presence that gets noticed. Not for her size, but for her confidence. She is a ball busting, man eater who loves a challenge.
Except for him, one sight of the dairy man and she is a mumbling, tongue tied idiot. Always.
When chance puts them together, Natalie has learn to talk to him. Well, more than, oh yes.
It is a sweet story that brings you in and keeps you reading. You will fall for the town and characters so much, like me you'll be looking for real estate. Bailey Falls is on my list to visit. Looks like I'll be going back for Nuts and waiting for Clara's story and the hotel.
Book received in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed on behalf of Once Upon An Alpha
bookhoarder74's review against another edition
funny
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
4.0
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
It's been awhile since I've read anything by Alice Clayton, but I remember [b:Wallbanger|15858248|Wallbanger (Cocktail, #1)|Alice Clayton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352205960s/15858248.jpg|21607771] quite fondly, and with the overtly funny and sexy cover I just couldn't resist giving this one a shot.
I haven't read the first book in this series ([b:Nuts|25056208|Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1)|Alice Clayton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445239638s/25056208.jpg|44737717]) but trust me when I say that if you missed the first one, like me, you won't feel lost reading this story.
Cream of the Crop is Natalie Grayson's story, as she is our spunky narrator. I immediately took to Natalie's brazen confidence with herself. We learn that this was hard won, but once achieved, she ran with it. It's great reading about characters like Natalie.
Of course, I can't forget, the very delectable Oscar Mendoza owner of Bailey Falls Creamery nad purveyor of Natalie's favorite cheese. Natalie has been eyeing Oscar up at the weekly farmers' market, but the chemistry is off the charts for these two at a chance encounter during a visit by Natalie to Bailey Falls.
Reading this, I realized how common I think it's become for authors to feature both the hero / heroine's points of view in stories - or at least it's common in the stories I've been reading lately. I was a tad bit disappointed that we didn't get any scenes told from Oscar's viewpoint (except, I'll amend, the Epilogue, which I loved). He was, as Natalie liked to point out, a man of few words, so when he does talk you want to listen (or read his dialogue as the case may be). I supposed having his own thoughts on paper would probably break a little of the mystery, or something.
Don't get me wrong, I loved Natalie. She's spunky and says, usually, the first thing that pops into her brain which made for quite a few wide-eyed re-read passages because I would be caught just as off guard by some of the things that came out of her mouth as other characters were. It was refreshing though to have this kind of character and Alice Clayton wrote her very well.
I loved reading a book that was big on the funny, while still having heart. The setting was wonderful and vivid. I could see the leaves changing on the trees, and feel the crisp air cooling down in fall. I wish this book would have come out a little closer to the changing of the seasons because it really put me in the mood of that time of year, and here we are in the summer with plenty of hot days left before us (at least in the Midwest).
I can clearly see where we're going to go with the next book and I'm excited to read it. I'm also looking forward to going back and filling in the spaces with the first book.
I haven't read the first book in this series ([b:Nuts|25056208|Nuts (Hudson Valley, #1)|Alice Clayton|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445239638s/25056208.jpg|44737717]) but trust me when I say that if you missed the first one, like me, you won't feel lost reading this story.
Cream of the Crop is Natalie Grayson's story, as she is our spunky narrator. I immediately took to Natalie's brazen confidence with herself. We learn that this was hard won, but once achieved, she ran with it. It's great reading about characters like Natalie.
Of course, I can't forget, the very delectable Oscar Mendoza owner of Bailey Falls Creamery nad purveyor of Natalie's favorite cheese. Natalie has been eyeing Oscar up at the weekly farmers' market, but the chemistry is off the charts for these two at a chance encounter during a visit by Natalie to Bailey Falls.
Reading this, I realized how common I think it's become for authors to feature both the hero / heroine's points of view in stories - or at least it's common in the stories I've been reading lately. I was a tad bit disappointed that we didn't get any scenes told from Oscar's viewpoint (except, I'll amend, the Epilogue, which I loved). He was, as Natalie liked to point out, a man of few words, so when he does talk you want to listen (or read his dialogue as the case may be). I supposed having his own thoughts on paper would probably break a little of the mystery, or something.
Don't get me wrong, I loved Natalie. She's spunky and says, usually, the first thing that pops into her brain which made for quite a few wide-eyed re-read passages because I would be caught just as off guard by some of the things that came out of her mouth as other characters were. It was refreshing though to have this kind of character and Alice Clayton wrote her very well.
I loved reading a book that was big on the funny, while still having heart. The setting was wonderful and vivid. I could see the leaves changing on the trees, and feel the crisp air cooling down in fall. I wish this book would have come out a little closer to the changing of the seasons because it really put me in the mood of that time of year, and here we are in the summer with plenty of hot days left before us (at least in the Midwest).
I can clearly see where we're going to go with the next book and I'm excited to read it. I'm also looking forward to going back and filling in the spaces with the first book.
caseroo7's review against another edition
3.0
Find this review and more at Ramblings From This Chick
I honestly don't know exactly how to feel after finishing Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton. On the one hand I genuinely enjoyed parts of this book, and there were some really great moments here. But I also had a few things that I didn't like and didn't work for me, and that left me with mixed feelings overall. One thing I can say though is that Alice Clayton definitely knows how to write a wonderful blend of humor and steam, giving you just the perfect amount of each to keep you flipping pages and not wanting to put her books down.
After a childhood of being known as the chubby girl, Natalie Grayson has it all. Embracing her curves and gaining some confidence, she now has a fantastic job that she is great at and can have any man she wants. But the sexy owner of Bailey Falls Creamery seems to be the one man that turns her into a pile of mush. Every Saturday morning she heads to the farmer's market to see him and each week she is only able to utter two words to him while buying some of his amazing Brie. But when her work sends her to Hudson Valley, she knows that now is her chance to make him see her as more than just the woman who buys his cheese every week.
I really liked Natalie most of the time. While she did have her moments of being a bit high maintenance, she was also strong and confident. I loved how she had overcome her feelings of not being enough and all that she had been through in her childhood and past relationships. She went after who and what she wanted, and made no apologies. Oscar I struggled a bit with if I am honest. He was sexy and had some great moments with Natalie. But there were also times that I hated how he treated her, and I wanted nothing more than to throttle him. He seemed surface deep to me for the most part, despite getting details on his past. While the chemistry was really strong between these two, I wasn't 100% sold on their emotional connection.
I think part of my problem buying into the relationship between these two was the fact that Oscar's ex was so prominent in his life still. It was way too much for my taste and Natalie had a problem with it for the majority of this book. But Oscar basically told her to suck it up and get over it, and Natalie was suddenly okay with it. That didn't work at all for me, and honestly didn't quite ring true for her character and all that she had grown into after her past. Frankly I got sick of Oscar's ex being around so much and seeming to never give up, and I was even more sick of Oscar shrugging it off and continuing on like her butting in and dropping by constantly was normal. He seemed more concerned with her feelings at times than Natalie's, and that was no okay with me. So while I liked parts of this story, I didn't love the book as a whole. Unfortunately some of those things just never left me able to really get behind Oscar and Natalie's relationship and I just didn't feel like they were as solid as they should have been. I know I will read more from Alice Clayton in the future, but honestly this one wasn't my favorite of hers.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
I honestly don't know exactly how to feel after finishing Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton. On the one hand I genuinely enjoyed parts of this book, and there were some really great moments here. But I also had a few things that I didn't like and didn't work for me, and that left me with mixed feelings overall. One thing I can say though is that Alice Clayton definitely knows how to write a wonderful blend of humor and steam, giving you just the perfect amount of each to keep you flipping pages and not wanting to put her books down.
After a childhood of being known as the chubby girl, Natalie Grayson has it all. Embracing her curves and gaining some confidence, she now has a fantastic job that she is great at and can have any man she wants. But the sexy owner of Bailey Falls Creamery seems to be the one man that turns her into a pile of mush. Every Saturday morning she heads to the farmer's market to see him and each week she is only able to utter two words to him while buying some of his amazing Brie. But when her work sends her to Hudson Valley, she knows that now is her chance to make him see her as more than just the woman who buys his cheese every week.
I really liked Natalie most of the time. While she did have her moments of being a bit high maintenance, she was also strong and confident. I loved how she had overcome her feelings of not being enough and all that she had been through in her childhood and past relationships. She went after who and what she wanted, and made no apologies. Oscar I struggled a bit with if I am honest. He was sexy and had some great moments with Natalie. But there were also times that I hated how he treated her, and I wanted nothing more than to throttle him. He seemed surface deep to me for the most part, despite getting details on his past. While the chemistry was really strong between these two, I wasn't 100% sold on their emotional connection.
I think part of my problem buying into the relationship between these two was the fact that Oscar's ex was so prominent in his life still. It was way too much for my taste and Natalie had a problem with it for the majority of this book. But Oscar basically told her to suck it up and get over it, and Natalie was suddenly okay with it. That didn't work at all for me, and honestly didn't quite ring true for her character and all that she had grown into after her past. Frankly I got sick of Oscar's ex being around so much and seeming to never give up, and I was even more sick of Oscar shrugging it off and continuing on like her butting in and dropping by constantly was normal. He seemed more concerned with her feelings at times than Natalie's, and that was no okay with me. So while I liked parts of this story, I didn't love the book as a whole. Unfortunately some of those things just never left me able to really get behind Oscar and Natalie's relationship and I just didn't feel like they were as solid as they should have been. I know I will read more from Alice Clayton in the future, but honestly this one wasn't my favorite of hers.
**ARC Provided by Publisher**
mycatismybookmark's review against another edition
3.0
Alice Clayton's books are always good for a fun, easy, light-hearted, romantic comedy read.