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mariyahhh's review against another edition
3.0
Okay so the book was good but I wasn’t expecting like so many things in the book!
So the few scenes we had with Cooper and Emma were cute and I understand Emma’s decision cause if my husband was in love with my sister and my sister in love with my husband I’d break up with him too.
And I am happy that Bridget and Cooper got their happy ending! But I wanted more romance in the book, you know?
The romance scenes we go were good but I needed and wanted more of them trying to actually get to know each other cause the scenes we had of them going on the dates felt rushed or something.
And the book spent a lot of time based on the sisters and don’t get me wrong I loved those scenes but if some of the scenes were switched with scenes with Emma and Cooper then I probably would’ve liked it more.
And I also most definitely wanted more scenes between Emma and Ben especially towards the end cause their scenes were also very cute!
But mostly I wanted more romance and I know I already said that before but I just wanted to say it again to tell you how much I wanted it!
I have a feeling that I was waffling through this review but you get my point :)
Also if Beth Moran wrote a book about Emma and Ben with a cute storyline and happy ending I would be forever grateful :)
So the few scenes we had with Cooper and Emma were cute and I understand Emma’s decision cause if my husband was in love with my sister and my sister in love with my husband I’d break up with him too.
And I am happy that Bridget and Cooper got their happy ending! But I wanted more romance in the book, you know?
The romance scenes we go were good but I needed and wanted more of them trying to actually get to know each other cause the scenes we had of them going on the dates felt rushed or something.
And the book spent a lot of time based on the sisters and don’t get me wrong I loved those scenes but if some of the scenes were switched with scenes with Emma and Cooper then I probably would’ve liked it more.
And I also most definitely wanted more scenes between Emma and Ben especially towards the end cause their scenes were also very cute!
But mostly I wanted more romance and I know I already said that before but I just wanted to say it again to tell you how much I wanted it!
I have a feeling that I was waffling through this review but you get my point :)
Also if Beth Moran wrote a book about Emma and Ben with a cute storyline and happy ending I would be forever grateful :)
jupiterlee's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I love a good cheesy romance and my guilty pleasure is fake-relationships, and this book was ticking those boxes, however, it unfortunately did not leave me feeling as uplifted as I thought.
My main issue with it is that I am not a fan of love triangles that play a meddling part in the story, especially when the triangle adds in more people.
Now I know that it is hinted in the blub, but you cannot go reading a chapter of Cooper without him saying something about his infatuation or love for Bridget and it was getting to a point I was just getting annoyed.
I really was routing for the idea of him and Emma as I feel that they could have made a good little couple considering everything he was doing for her and how cute they were being together but in the end it went the direction that became very obvious within a few chapters, we were not going to get a happy ending for the married couple.
Additionally, Emma becoming infatuated with Ben just added a layer of annoyance to it, and I found myself just wanting for them to break up since it felt that neither of them were really into the marriage and I felt myself saying "stop putting yourselves through this!", but they were giving each other very mix messages and even as a reader I was starting to wonder who actually truly liked each other.
I loved the sister bond and the fact that the family is so close, however I felt that the sisters really did know about Cooper loving Bridget and they did not tell Emma and acted like the did not know: not sure if im making this up but I believe at a point it was actually spoken about how he was infatuated with Bridget when he was younger. I also felt that, sisters or not, what happened should not have just been brushed over as it was. I felt like in the end Emma was like "cool yeah no problem you like each other just go for it" all due to her feeling guilty that she really liked Ben and not Cooper but then she forgoes dating him due to trying to find herself...and I found myself wondering what the whole point was.
I really do wish I was able to love it more as the premises of it was interesting but in the end I just started to not like the characters and that ruined it for me: Cooper should never have done what he done if he was that in love with Bridget, Emma forgave her sister way to easily in my opinion, Bridget should have never allowed the marriage but most importantly she should have been more mature and either owned up to her sisters or walked away, Ben should not have been as big a flirt to his friends wife... I am clearly not as decent as a person as these characters cause I would have not been happy with any of them.
colettepwr's review against another edition
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
lilasbooknook's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
drizcoll's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
3.0
It was a nice read but I didn't really warm to the characters for some reason.
trobinsonmorris's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
fannywiren's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
This book is so incredibly messy. The plot points and tropes are infuriating and stupid without being redeemed by other aspects of the book. The end is so frustrating and not satisfying in the least. I am not usually a fan of love triangles, but this was next level terrible. The characters are not likable at all — and they are presented to suggest they are. Especially the MMC, he is so cruel and such a douche but it is all romanticized.
I found myself counting down the pages, hoping for the book to end. I’d DNF it if I wasn’t so determined to finish it to be able to write this review. Don’t waste your time reading it.
bookanonjeff's review against another edition
5.0
Not What You Expected, But What You Need. As is often my norm when getting ready to write reviews, I had a look through the existing ones first. And so many were so critical of this book claiming it was effectively a bait and switch and had too many characters.
Now, I'm a man that can have and has had a dozen different books going, and can easily track what is happening in all of them. I've compared my (Autistic) mind to an AEGIS threat detection and tracking system before - able to track *far* more things than most can even readily know is happening. I also happen to be the child of two people who each have more siblings than our lead female does here, so again, I'm used to large families and tracking everything. But yes, if your mind is smaller in scale and can't cope with a dozen ish important characters... you're going to struggle with this tale. For me, this was actually fairly normal and I thought the dynamics were very solidly portrayed, with no characters feeling unduly flat, other than perhaps the children that were only in a scene or two. (And even then, within those scenes the children in question felt quite alive.)
As to the "bait and switch" of "claiming to be a romance" and actually presenting a "women's fiction"... The timing for me was actually quite interesting, as in a prominent multi-author book group on Facebook, one of the founding authors asked *just yesterday* what kind of endings people preferred. Of 416 responses across 8 options, with multiple selections allowed per voter, over 2/3 of the respondents to this particular (18 hr old at the time of this writing) poll responded with some form of "surprise me (174) / give me something to think about (75) / messy endings are fine (17) / pull lots of threads together (15)". So at least in this particular group of readers, I honestly think most of them would be along the lines of how I personally felt about this: I personally thought it was a wonderful tale of life, love, and other mysteries. (Kudos if you get that reference, you're awesome! :D) YES, if you are an RWA purist, this book will NOT fit all of the RWA rules for "romance". If you argue (as I do) that Nicholas Sparks writes romances that are often *far* more emotional and loving than many RWA-pure romances and thus should be considered romances themselves... you'll be fine here. (Though note: This is NOT a tragedy ala Sparks, but that is as close as I get to revealing anything here.) Further, examining the description and even genres listed by the publisher on Amazon, I find no evidence of them claiming this is a romance novel. Instead, the marketing tagline is that you will get a "life-affirming and uplifting tale of love, family, friendship, and risking it all for happiness".
I would argue that the tagline given is *exactly* the book we ultimately get, and thus any claims of being led to expect one thing and being given something else (aka "bait and switch") are ultimately baseless and indeed utterly absurd.
For me, this book was a very solid, very fun tale with aspects not seen in many other places, including struggles with childlessness, fostering, different takes on what it means to be married/ have a happy marriage, and even, yes, its central premise and ultimate resolution thereof. For me, this was a book that completely worked from top to bottom, and enough that I personally will be on the look for future books from this author. Which means that, of course, this book is very much recommended.
Now, I'm a man that can have and has had a dozen different books going, and can easily track what is happening in all of them. I've compared my (Autistic) mind to an AEGIS threat detection and tracking system before - able to track *far* more things than most can even readily know is happening. I also happen to be the child of two people who each have more siblings than our lead female does here, so again, I'm used to large families and tracking everything. But yes, if your mind is smaller in scale and can't cope with a dozen ish important characters... you're going to struggle with this tale. For me, this was actually fairly normal and I thought the dynamics were very solidly portrayed, with no characters feeling unduly flat, other than perhaps the children that were only in a scene or two. (And even then, within those scenes the children in question felt quite alive.)
As to the "bait and switch" of "claiming to be a romance" and actually presenting a "women's fiction"... The timing for me was actually quite interesting, as in a prominent multi-author book group on Facebook, one of the founding authors asked *just yesterday* what kind of endings people preferred. Of 416 responses across 8 options, with multiple selections allowed per voter, over 2/3 of the respondents to this particular (18 hr old at the time of this writing) poll responded with some form of "surprise me (174) / give me something to think about (75) / messy endings are fine (17) / pull lots of threads together (15)". So at least in this particular group of readers, I honestly think most of them would be along the lines of how I personally felt about this: I personally thought it was a wonderful tale of life, love, and other mysteries. (Kudos if you get that reference, you're awesome! :D) YES, if you are an RWA purist, this book will NOT fit all of the RWA rules for "romance". If you argue (as I do) that Nicholas Sparks writes romances that are often *far* more emotional and loving than many RWA-pure romances and thus should be considered romances themselves... you'll be fine here. (Though note: This is NOT a tragedy ala Sparks, but that is as close as I get to revealing anything here.) Further, examining the description and even genres listed by the publisher on Amazon, I find no evidence of them claiming this is a romance novel. Instead, the marketing tagline is that you will get a "life-affirming and uplifting tale of love, family, friendship, and risking it all for happiness".
I would argue that the tagline given is *exactly* the book we ultimately get, and thus any claims of being led to expect one thing and being given something else (aka "bait and switch") are ultimately baseless and indeed utterly absurd.
For me, this book was a very solid, very fun tale with aspects not seen in many other places, including struggles with childlessness, fostering, different takes on what it means to be married/ have a happy marriage, and even, yes, its central premise and ultimate resolution thereof. For me, this was a book that completely worked from top to bottom, and enough that I personally will be on the look for future books from this author. Which means that, of course, this book is very much recommended.
katharineferriday's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0