Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - In A Jam

this has the perfect ratio of pining + romantic interactions and that is why i would always disagree with the current discourse that contemporary romance novels shouldn’t be longer than 300 pages. i like to savor the slow burn; and characters are more fleshed out this way

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hollymileham's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.75

i feel confused about this. i really liked it but there are some weird things ive noticed that have lowkey given me the ick such as, why does she exclusively refer to her ex-fiancé as "the ex" for 350 pages?, why does noah call her "wife" every other sentence (cute at first but it got insufferable) and why is the town they live in called friendship. this stuff got on my nerves maybe a bit too much and took away from the reading experience.. but otherwise this was a really good and interesting story, and i really appreciated the body diversity of the fmc

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vj_thompson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional lighthearted sad slow-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? Yes

2.0

I’ve seen a lot of ⭐️⭐️ star reviews that point out similar things. I wasn’t a fan of the pacing of the book and how the story was stretched. Honestly this could have been 200 pages less and still had the same impact. There were also hints at plot or story that was never addressed or the author forgot about. Unpopular option was that I didn’t like the niece. The cussing got on my nerves…a 6 years old curing like a pirate. No ma’am. I wish Shay had more faith in herself instead of constantly belittling herself after something good happened. It was almost too depressing to read, and annoying. This is just my personal opinion as I know this is a highly rated book.

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cassidylee's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sdupont's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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

4.5

I enjoyed this book. It did not need to be quite as long as it was, I felt a slightly sped up timeline or some editing would’ve benefitted the book. Noah was the perfect mix of sweet and protective grump. I liked that both Noah and Shay were vulnerable and tried to support each other in confronting their insecurities. Gennie was a cute rambunctious kiddo that added a fun dynamic. This book is a bit of a slow burn but is quite spicy once you hit that point in the book. I would recommend this book!

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symonnereads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

marriage of connivence trope
friends to lovers
single parent

I absolutely adored this story! After being left on her wedding day, Shay packs up moves to the one place that she couldn't wait to get away from.
When a family member dies and leaves Shay a farm, a requirement to live on the farm for a year and show proof of a marriage before she can claim what was left to her, Shay decides that she must go back to the small town of friendship to figure out what she wants in her life. When she arrives she's almost immediately faced with someone from her past and an offer she can't refuse.

Things I loved: both characters in the couple, Gennie, the town, the chemistry between the couple.
Things i wish there was more of: communication on what they were thinking. I wish the characters would've said what they were thinking a bit earlier. I also wished for more flashbacks of them being friends in high school that really nailed in just how close they were. Another thing was I couldn't really necessarily pin down Gennie's age. Her personality and the things she did and said felt contradictory and confused me with her age.

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infjkiki's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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readers_together's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

When I saw the run-time of this book, my first thought was, wow, that’s a long book. I don’t know that a contemporary romance of that length will keep me engaged for the duration. I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. This grumpy-sunshine/ single dad/ second chance/small-town romance was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life. It was captivating and sweet. Funny and compelling. Emotional and uplifting. The whole package. If I could give this book more than five stars, I would.

Not only was the storytelling on point, but the narration too. I loved how Kate Canterbary wrote this story and these characters. The moments they shared. The positivity. Whether that be in how they handled Gennie. The way they compromised when Shay admitted to not liking a certain act (trying not to get banned here) or that the people around them supported them in a wonderful way. It was all so captivating.

Shay is vulnerable but still the sunshine in everyone’s lives. Even after she gets left on her wedding day, she pushes through and opens her heart to Noah and Gennie, even if she thinks it has an expiration date. Her willingness to open her heart, all while beating herself, was so endearing. I just loved her.
Noah is grumpy and shy and a dirty-talking alpha in the bedroom. His love knows no bounds. And let’s not get started on his term of endearment—wife. *swoon* He was playing for keeps. The way he is with Gennie will melt your heart. I just fell for him hard. No regrets.
Speaking of Gennie, yes, she is getting her own little write-up. This little pirate stole my heart. She has experienced so much trauma in her short years, and her coping mechanisms are unconventional but endearing, to say the least. She had me laughing throughout this story…and crying too.

Kit Swann and Jason Clarke were all the things in this dual narration. Both were so compelling as their respective characters. Add in their portal of Gennie, and I was done for. Single dad Jason may be my favourite type of Jason performance, but then we also get grumpy Jason too. What is not to like? His kid voice was on point. And, of course, he made me feel all the feels. There is one scene where he is voicing both Noah and Gennie that was extremely emotional, and I ended up crying with them on the school run. If any parents avoid me now, it’ll be because I’m the weird cryer on the way to school.
Kit Swann was perfection as Shay. The way she conveyed Shay’s vulnerability whilst still being the sunshine to Noah’s grumpy was just fantastic. How Kit voiced Shay when she was finally admitting her feelings had me in tears. Unfortunately, now my child knows I wasn’t actually watching Numberblocks with him and was listening to my audio. But it was worth it.
Jason and Kit’s voices really complement each other, and I would love to hear them paired up more frequently. Plus, they both have excellent opposite-sex voices.

And a friendly reminder, this is why we need human voices. They make the difference in these emotional scenes. It’s not just the words but the performance these voice actors bring to the production. Thank you, Kit and Jason, for bringing all the feels.

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