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legallyhea's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I rarely give 1 stars, and I don't think I ever thought I'd give one to an SEP book, but the more I read and the more I sat on it, the more uncomfortable I grew with the book to the point that I couldn't bring myself to say it's "ok" with 2 stars.
Usually on a 1 star book from me its a combo of poorly written combined with bad plot/problematic plot/characters.
In this case the plot was ok in general but the choices the characters make along the way are so problematic, combined with a lack of chemistry between the MC's that I couldn't get past it.
What did I like? SEP is a good writer so even with all its faults its still a well-written book. It has that quirky charm that SEP books often have with an eclectic cast of characters. The female MC, Gracie has a lot of strong points - her work ethic, caring for others particularly senior citizens, her identifying Bobby Tom's issues in life and in dealing with others. I enjoyed parts of Bobby Tom's mother's secondary plot with Way, the enigmatic town businessman. I'm glad that when Bobby Tom f's up, Gracie gets support from people in town.
What didn't I like? First (and let me just say this does not go in order of importance bc #3 is the worst of all) I never felt like Bobby Tom actually loved Gracie - at any point. Not even the end when he has his epiphany. I think he felt some vague responsibility towards her for her losing her job and respect for her hard work for him and others. Maybe a bit of affection. That's as much as I could sort out. It's hard to root for a relationship where Gracie is just sacrificing herself and her life and happiness to temporarily make BT happy while working for him. I was glad when she finally put her foot down (but did not understand why that meant going back to wearing her awful clothes for the cocktail party scene - just an aside).
Second - I didn't like that Gracie fell in love so quickly when there was very little BT showed in terms of qualities that made him worthy of that besides his looks, and his sucker status for people in his life to milk him for money and commitments. Her love didn't feel genuine but rather strong attraction combined w/good sex and vague affection for someone she saw being walked over.
Third - **This is a big one** - BT sexually assaults her. I had to re-read the scene because my first read thru it read as though he ripped her clothes off but stopped short of anything else - but then I realized he did penetrate her with his finger or at least groped that part of her body while she was saying 'wait' or telling him she wasn't interested. He immediately stops and feels terrible but not until the assault happened. They discuss it, he apologizes, she tells him to leave and he does but then that's it. It's not addressed again. I'm still shocked that scene is in there for what is for all intents and purposes a "contemporary" - sometimes you see these problematic sexual scenes more often in a historical (also problematic but more common).
Fourth - To stop her from leaving him he chases her down in a cop car - putting her life in danger and nearly running her off the road or causing a car accident and then when she gets out of the car and runs he TACKLES her and hurts her. It's supposed to be a dramatic/humorous scene but she even mentions possibly hurting her ankle. This is basically domestic violence. And this is the big grovel scene where they resolve their relationship. Why?? Because the police chief tries to arrest BT. He SHOULD! BT stole a cop car after breaking out of jail and then nearly ran Gracie off the road! And somehow the police chief is the bad one? (He shouldn't have been so violent when putting on the cuffs - and clearly he was a dink out to get BT, but by this point I wanted BT arrested.)
Fifth - the side plot of Suzy - BT's mom who is grieving from the loss of her husband four years earlier and Way Sawyer, the town millionaire - started charming and became intriguing. But the fact he let her think he was manipulating her into being his "mistress" and for sexual favors in return for not DESTROYING the economy of the town by moving his company causing the loss of many jobs for local citizens, and still had sex with her when it was clear the sex was coerced and to me, not fully consensual due to the withholding of that pertinent info (he wasn't actually moving the company, she was clearly still deeply grieving her husband) damaged the relationship for me. I was happy it resolved but Suzy declaring she had been in love with Way for a long time made ZERO sense as there was nothing to cause that and it's not unreasonable to grieve your nearly life long relationship with your husband/HS sweet heart for 4 years.
Usually on a 1 star book from me its a combo of poorly written combined with bad plot/problematic plot/characters.
In this case the plot was ok in general but the choices the characters make along the way are so problematic, combined with a lack of chemistry between the MC's that I couldn't get past it.
What did I like? SEP is a good writer so even with all its faults its still a well-written book. It has that quirky charm that SEP books often have with an eclectic cast of characters. The female MC, Gracie has a lot of strong points - her work ethic, caring for others particularly senior citizens, her identifying Bobby Tom's issues in life and in dealing with others. I enjoyed parts of Bobby Tom's mother's secondary plot with Way, the enigmatic town businessman. I'm glad that when Bobby Tom f's up, Gracie gets support from people in town.
What didn't I like? First (and let me just say this does not go in order of importance bc #3 is the worst of all) I never felt like Bobby Tom actually loved Gracie - at any point. Not even the end when he has his epiphany. I think he felt some vague responsibility towards her for her losing her job and respect for her hard work for him and others. Maybe a bit of affection. That's as much as I could sort out. It's hard to root for a relationship where Gracie is just sacrificing herself and her life and happiness to temporarily make BT happy while working for him. I was glad when she finally put her foot down (but did not understand why that meant going back to wearing her awful clothes for the cocktail party scene - just an aside).
Second - I didn't like that Gracie fell in love so quickly when there was very little BT showed in terms of qualities that made him worthy of that besides his looks, and his sucker status for people in his life to milk him for money and commitments. Her love didn't feel genuine but rather strong attraction combined w/good sex and vague affection for someone she saw being walked over.
Third - **This is a big one** - BT sexually assaults her. I had to re-read the scene because my first read thru it read as though he ripped her clothes off but stopped short of anything else - but then I realized he did penetrate her with his finger or at least groped that part of her body while she was saying 'wait' or telling him she wasn't interested. He immediately stops and feels terrible but not until the assault happened. They discuss it, he apologizes, she tells him to leave and he does but then that's it. It's not addressed again. I'm still shocked that scene is in there for what is for all intents and purposes a "contemporary" - sometimes you see these problematic sexual scenes more often in a historical (also problematic but more common).
Fourth - To stop her from leaving him he chases her down in a cop car - putting her life in danger and nearly running her off the road or causing a car accident and then when she gets out of the car and runs he TACKLES her and hurts her. It's supposed to be a dramatic/humorous scene but she even mentions possibly hurting her ankle. This is basically domestic violence. And this is the big grovel scene where they resolve their relationship. Why?? Because the police chief tries to arrest BT. He SHOULD! BT stole a cop car after breaking out of jail and then nearly ran Gracie off the road! And somehow the police chief is the bad one? (He shouldn't have been so violent when putting on the cuffs - and clearly he was a dink out to get BT, but by this point I wanted BT arrested.)
Fifth - the side plot of Suzy - BT's mom who is grieving from the loss of her husband four years earlier and Way Sawyer, the town millionaire - started charming and became intriguing. But the fact he let her think he was manipulating her into being his "mistress" and for sexual favors in return for not DESTROYING the economy of the town by moving his company causing the loss of many jobs for local citizens, and still had sex with her when it was clear the sex was coerced and to me, not fully consensual due to the withholding of that pertinent info (he wasn't actually moving the company, she was clearly still deeply grieving her husband) damaged the relationship for me. I was happy it resolved but Suzy declaring she had been in love with Way for a long time made ZERO sense as there was nothing to cause that and it's not unreasonable to grieve your nearly life long relationship with your husband/HS sweet heart for 4 years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
booking_along's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
After i read the first book in this series i was curious to see if this one would be better.
Oh boy was i wrong with that assumption.
EVERYTHING that i didn't like about the first one -the horrendous sexism, the over sexualization of the women in the book, the extreme "aren't i THE guy here?" male behavior- it all at least tripled in this book.
On top of that i had HUGE issues with the end of this book where a tiny woman literary runs away from the "love interest" in panic and a huge ex-football player guy at least twice her size literally tackles her to the ground by ramming into her while she runs from him. Excuse me?? How is that romance? Thats NOT romantic! If i am running away from a guy in panic because he behaved horrendously and committed crimes to get to me i do not want to be treated as the main woman in this book was treated!
Lets just say this book is chuck a block full of HUGE issues and that in my eyes it is not worth a read.
I am not sure if that is because it clearly is dated or simply because this entire series is just written in a way that while it compels me to finish the book i started makes me also at the same time want to rip all the hair i have left on my head out because it is so frustrating!
Oh boy was i wrong with that assumption.
EVERYTHING that i didn't like about the first one -the horrendous sexism, the over sexualization of the women in the book, the extreme "aren't i THE guy here?" male behavior- it all at least tripled in this book.
On top of that i had HUGE issues with the end of this book where a tiny woman literary runs away from the "love interest" in panic and a huge ex-football player guy at least twice her size literally tackles her to the ground by ramming into her while she runs from him. Excuse me?? How is that romance? Thats NOT romantic! If i am running away from a guy in panic because he behaved horrendously and committed crimes to get to me i do not want to be treated as the main woman in this book was treated!
Lets just say this book is chuck a block full of HUGE issues and that in my eyes it is not worth a read.
I am not sure if that is because it clearly is dated or simply because this entire series is just written in a way that while it compels me to finish the book i started makes me also at the same time want to rip all the hair i have left on my head out because it is so frustrating!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
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