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3readingcircus's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Alcohol, and Death of parent
taliaalongi's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Chronic illness, and Sexual content
tenderbench's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, and Cancer
bookishval's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I came across this book in my fyp when a booktoker recommended it as her favorite age-gap romance, so I had to check it out.
Age-gap romances can be a bit tricky. It's a trope that I enjoy sometimes, but most of them are problematic. The gap is too serious, there's power imbalance and it's just not done well. However, in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up the age-gap is just perfect and the power imbalance is interesting. Mickey, our female lead is in her 30s and Diego's professor in a college class, while Diego is in his 40s and Mickey's boss in the bar she starts working at.
Isn't it just perfect? Both of them are full adults but the age-gap of almost a decade is still there to keep things interesting. I loved it!
Mickey and Diego's attraction can be felt from thee start. The tension and the banter were soo good. Grumpy-sunshine is also a trope that can be found here and I adore how it was done. Yes, Diego is a grumpy man, but he was always so open with his feelings for Mickey. And Mickey as well, she's such a sunshine character, but she never let anyone mess with her (which is common in this trope and smth I hate so much).
The communication between them was also sooo good, istg. There were moments where I expected one of them to just storm off, like it always happens in romance novels. But no, they were always open to talk their problems out and even take breaks when needed. They were just such a healthy couple, and with that I'm not saying they never had problems, because they did. But even though they made mistakes and messed up, they resolved things in such a healthy way. All couples should be like this, honestly.
Let's not forget the spice omggg. There were only two scenes, if I remember right, but they didn't disappoint. Diego Acosta has a dirty mouth and I was here for it! The things this man said were so sexy. There were some scenes where it was implied the characters had sex but the author didn't write further, but I wasn't bothered by that, cause the sexual tension was so well written from the start. That first scene where they kiss, oh! So so good.
Last but not least I have to mention the rep! Also great. As a latina woman, I loved how Diego's culture was present throughout the story with the food. How he talked about his family and traditions growing up, and regretted distancing himself from his family after his mother's death. Also it wasn't cringy when he talked in Spanish, which I appreciate a lot cause most authors don't get it right.
The disability rep was also good. Mickey's chronic illness was always present in the story and even played an important role when the characters had some conflicts. I really liked how Mickey didn't let anyone tell her what she could or couldn't because her chronic illness, not even Diego.
Age-gap romances can be a bit tricky. It's a trope that I enjoy sometimes, but most of them are problematic. The gap is too serious, there's power imbalance and it's just not done well. However, in Mickey Chambers Shakes It Up the age-gap is just perfect and the power imbalance is interesting. Mickey, our female lead is in her 30s and Diego's professor in a college class, while Diego is in his 40s and Mickey's boss in the bar she starts working at.
Isn't it just perfect? Both of them are full adults but the age-gap of almost a decade is still there to keep things interesting. I loved it!
Mickey and Diego's attraction can be felt from thee start. The tension and the banter were soo good. Grumpy-sunshine is also a trope that can be found here and I adore how it was done. Yes, Diego is a grumpy man, but he was always so open with his feelings for Mickey. And Mickey as well, she's such a sunshine character, but she never let anyone mess with her (which is common in this trope and smth I hate so much).
The communication between them was also sooo good, istg. There were moments where I expected one of them to just storm off, like it always happens in romance novels. But no, they were always open to talk their problems out and even take breaks when needed. They were just such a healthy couple, and with that I'm not saying they never had problems, because they did. But even though they made mistakes and messed up, they resolved things in such a healthy way. All couples should be like this, honestly.
Let's not forget the spice omggg. There were only two scenes, if I remember right, but they didn't disappoint. Diego Acosta has a dirty mouth and I was here for it! The things this man said were so sexy. There were some scenes where it was implied the characters had sex but the author didn't write further, but I wasn't bothered by that, cause the sexual tension was so well written from the start. That first scene where they kiss, oh! So so good.
Last but not least I have to mention the rep! Also great. As a latina woman, I loved how Diego's culture was present throughout the story with the food. How he talked about his family and traditions growing up, and regretted distancing himself from his family after his mother's death. Also it wasn't cringy when he talked in Spanish, which I appreciate a lot cause most authors don't get it right.
The disability rep was also good. Mickey's chronic illness was always present in the story and even played an important role when the characters had some conflicts. I really liked how Mickey didn't let anyone tell her what she could or couldn't because her chronic illness, not even Diego.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Chronic illness
Moderate: Grief and Cancer
jillyfitz's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
This book is a super cute grumpy-sunshine. The FMC is in her early 30s and MMC is in his early 40s. There's chronic illness, the sorry state of adjunct instructors in academia, and love after loss. And characters who can't resist each other in the setting of a tight-knit bar near a college. I enjoyed the book in all its fluffy glory. My only complaint was some sentence structure stuff that had me going back to re-read sentences multiple times (more than once or twice). Lots of great characters, I would totally read a spin-off featuring several of them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Grief
tdotrenae's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
What a cute, fun, and quick story! It rare that I enjoy a character as much as I enjoyed Mickey and her sunshine. Maybe it’s because we’re so similar 🤷🏽♀️ ANYWAYS. This book is such a cute fun story. I’d imagine reading this on the beach would be lovely. Some of the characters outside of the main two, would be great to get to know, but I felt like we knew just enough to focus on Mickey and Diego. It’s easy to fall in love with Diego and Mickey for sure. Overall I enjoyed this sweet little romance book. 🥰
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death and Death of parent
sydapel's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'll admit to being a little disappointed by this one, partly as it was named a Fated Mates pick of the year AND Nisha Sharma shouted it out on TikTok. Maybe because it was mostly a background audio book for me as I ran errands or cleaned, but I didn't find the chemistry between Diego and Mickey to be all that exciting. I did love the cast of side characters and how they were included. In fact, if there isn't a second installment with her best friend falling for the rival work colleague, I'm rioting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness
30something_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Give me more romance with characters in their 30s and 40s because this was wonderful! This contemporary was so refreshing in that it never felt like the plot was reliant on popular tropes- everything just flowed naturally.
Mickey and Diego were real characters working through very real conflicts. Mickey with her chronic illness and financial instability w/ balancing working in academia and her medical care. And Diego going back to school and finally rediscovering himself years after the death of his wife. They were so sweet.
And I love this cast of side characters- I wonder if Cleo is going to get her own book because I would LOVE to see if there is something brewing with her and that potential new campaign manager she'll have to work with 😏
Also, this is one that I switched back and forth from physical to audio and I actually preferred the physical read. The narrator wasn't bad but they didn't emote very well and it made the dialogue fall a little flat.
Mickey and Diego were real characters working through very real conflicts. Mickey with her chronic illness and financial instability w/ balancing working in academia and her medical care. And Diego going back to school and finally rediscovering himself years after the death of his wife. They were so sweet.
And I love this cast of side characters- I wonder if Cleo is going to get her own book because I would LOVE to see if there is something brewing with her and that potential new campaign manager she'll have to work with 😏
Also, this is one that I switched back and forth from physical to audio and I actually preferred the physical read. The narrator wasn't bad but they didn't emote very well and it made the dialogue fall a little flat.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
sarahyjackson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
So, so much fun! And sentimental! And Diego’s dirty talk!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Cancer, and Alcohol
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was sweet!
Thyroid disease runs heavily in my family, so I appreciated the hyperthyroidism rep in this. The commentary on how Black women aren’t taken seriously by doctors—with their symptoms getting systematically dismissed and improperly treated—was also notable.
Overall this was a solid contemporary romcom that I would recommend to anyone. It has a grumpy/sunshine relationship dynamic if that’s your thing, and one of the protagonists is a widower, so the topic of grief and opening oneself back up to love after loss is also a key component of this story.
Thyroid disease runs heavily in my family, so I appreciated the hyperthyroidism rep in this. The commentary on how Black women aren’t taken seriously by doctors—with their symptoms getting systematically dismissed and improperly treated—was also notable.
Overall this was a solid contemporary romcom that I would recommend to anyone. It has a grumpy/sunshine relationship dynamic if that’s your thing, and one of the protagonists is a widower, so the topic of grief and opening oneself back up to love after loss is also a key component of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Cancer, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Violence