Reviews

Run Baby Run by Melissa Lenhardt

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lauraowen's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

allysonclark's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The pacing of the book seemed a bit off to me, but I can't lie and say that I didn't find it gripping or that I wasn't genuinely surprised by some of the plot twists. I think my main complaint was that

I wish Lenhardt hadn't made Michael out to be such an asshole-- I think a love triangle (or V or whatever) is more compelling when both choices are appealing; the stakes are quite low for Darcy after Michael betrays her, which for me undercut the meaningfulness of her choosing Chloe.

rachelholly3's review against another edition

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4.0

When this book popped up on NetGalley it immediately caught my eye as the cover is really good fun and the premise sounds like a cute, easy read. The book ended up being drastically different to what I expected, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

We enter the story with a hungover Darcy travelling to meet her mother, Marja, for a road trip to her wedding destination that she very reluctantly agreed to. Marja shows up accompanied by Helen, a mini golden retriever, who needs to pee every 2 hours and barks anytime anyone swears.
Darcy and her mother haven't spoken in years, since the latter seemingly randomly cut contact out of the blue. This is by no means the only source of drama in the book though, as it turns out that the night before the road trip, Darcy's best friend Chloe professed her love for her and they shared a kiss. Quite a problem when Darcy is due to marry Chloe's brother Michael in a weeks time!

So far this was all exactly the sort of book I expected to read, but it took a distinct turn when the

Spoiler

FBI got involved and it turned out Marja was on the run for money laundering!

I don't want to give too many spoilers but the rest of the book includes

Spoiler

hiding in shady motels, shoot outs, pregnancy tests, secret lives, and more than one dead body.

There are some incredibly profound moments, as well as a few where you have to suspend your disbelief as I'm not 100% sure they'd be plausible. The writing was fast paced and easy to follow, and the majority of the characters were well fleshed out and believable. I think the author could do with enhancing the descriptions of friends Jess and Ella though, as they largely became one person to me.

I enjoyed the development of Marja's love story alongside Darcy's, and the look into how your upbringing can influence your future mindset. Whilst some of the decisions both Marja and Darcy made were questionable, it was easy to see the love still held between them, and it was nice to see how the barriers between them eventually fell.

Overall it was definitely not the book I was expecting, but it's definitely worth a read! I think it would benefit from an updated blurb to include a better idea of what to expect, as well as some trigger warnings for readers.

Thanks to Mills & Boon for the ARC.