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lighthearted
relaxing
medium-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:
Complicated
Found this on the "new books" shelf of the library. Premise was interesting but thought the execution was lackluster, to say the least.
I'll get my first big gripe out of the way first. I don't think the author took a single second to consider that her experiences cannot be mapped directly onto her characters. The two leads are in their mid-20s but text like your grandma. (I cannot stress enough how much they text like your grandma. Jonah ends a text to Lauren with, and this is a direct recreation, "Ha ha." Then he sends her a gif of a cat doing laundry.) They also constantly use text to speech, which is added to the book like so:
I'll get my first big gripe out of the way first. I don't think the author took a single second to consider that her experiences cannot be mapped directly onto her characters. The two leads are in their mid-20s but text like your grandma. (I cannot stress enough how much they text like your grandma. Jonah ends a text to Lauren with, and this is a direct recreation, "Ha ha." Then he sends her a gif of a cat doing laundry.) They also constantly use text to speech, which is added to the book like so:
As ideas and questions filled her head, she dictated them on her phone. "Check exterior stone base and roof shingles, period. What is flooring situation, question mark. Is structure sound, question mark."
I want to shake Ms. Denise by her shoulders and yell that NO ONE OF THIS AGE DOES THIS. Text to speech is for people who never bothered to learn to use a mobile keyboard - so, people who formed their habits decades before smartphones came around. Lauren's fresh out of college, putting her no older than 25 - so assuming the story is set the year the book was released (2024), the first iPhone came out when she was at most eight. Honestly, any vaguely young person could have told her this was out of character. No excuse.
And on to my other big gripe. Ever heard the old writing advice - "show, don't tell"? This book is a fantastic example of how not to do that. I considered putting the book down several times over it; too many paragraphs went, "Lauren felt x. She wanted y. She thought that z." I felt like I was being clobbered over the head with the characters' feelings when I wanted to feel along with them.
Not that the characters had too much depth to them anyway. Lauren, the female lead, is your stereotypical City Girl With Job. She loves her job and living in a populated area, and she's independent and strong-willed. Naturally, she must learn to change all those things before she can get her happy ending.
I'll give the author props for adding a sad backstory - really, it's the only thing that distinguishes Lauren from every other Hallmark movie female lead - but for the most part it's handled as gracefully and gently as a sandbag chucked off a truck bed. The author makes an attempt to foreshadow what happened when she was a kid -her mother abandoned her to the foster system, which treated her as the foster system does - but unfortunately this amounts to a number of clumsy "it reminded her of her BAD CHILDHOOD" sentences thrown into completely unrelated paragraphs. The way this storyline ends is sweet, but boy oh boy did I once again feel clobbered.
Then Jonah's your just-as-stereotypical Rural Nice Guy, who has no discernible personality besides liking Lauren and I guess having the minimum emotional maturity you'd expect from a full-grown adult. Lauren's best friend describes him as an unattainable "prince in the woods", an example of some high standard of man the friend couldn't find in the city, but when asked what made him special can only say he made Lauren laugh. Even though half the story is from his perspective, I never really felt like I got to know him; his entire world revolves around one girl that he met three months ago. So I guess it's a reverse Mary Sue situation? A reverse failed Bechdel test? #feminism
I'll end this review on a positive, which is that I thought the author did a surprisingly good job at making Jonah's family Christian without the book turning preachy. Seems like a hard thing to find these days, and I say that as someone who's enjoyed her share of (well-written) religious novels. There's a mention of characters meeting at church and a couple mentions of prayer, but they're all appropriately brief and make sense for the characters and situation. Religion isn't a central focus of the book and the author doesn't try to force it. Icon!
I'll give the author props for adding a sad backstory - really, it's the only thing that distinguishes Lauren from every other Hallmark movie female lead - but for the most part it's handled as gracefully and gently as a sandbag chucked off a truck bed. The author makes an attempt to foreshadow what happened when she was a kid -
Then Jonah's your just-as-stereotypical Rural Nice Guy, who has no discernible personality besides liking Lauren and I guess having the minimum emotional maturity you'd expect from a full-grown adult. Lauren's best friend describes him as an unattainable "prince in the woods", an example of some high standard of man the friend couldn't find in the city, but when asked what made him special can only say he made Lauren laugh. Even though half the story is from his perspective, I never really felt like I got to know him; his entire world revolves around one girl that he met three months ago. So I guess it's a reverse Mary Sue situation? A reverse failed Bechdel test? #feminism
I'll end this review on a positive, which is that I thought the author did a surprisingly good job at making Jonah's family Christian without the book turning preachy. Seems like a hard thing to find these days, and I say that as someone who's enjoyed her share of (well-written) religious novels. There's a mention of characters meeting at church and a couple mentions of prayer, but they're all appropriately brief and make sense for the characters and situation. Religion isn't a central focus of the book and the author doesn't try to force it. Icon!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Blood
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Blood
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Sexual harassment
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Happy Publishing Day! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of the audio.
Basic premise of the story is the FMC suffers a TBI and loses her memory. She doesn’t remember her boyfriend nor how she nice she was prior. It’s very Hallmark-ish. A good palate cleanser after reading a heavy novel. Easy to read. Charming and heartwarming. Definitely a sweet and relaxing book to read.
3 stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
Very cute small town romance! Reminded me of The Vow in the sense that she lost her memory of them. I loved how Jonah was not at all pushy for Lauren to get her memories back, and was so respectful of her space and feelings. I just wasn’t fully convinced with the ending. I needed a little bit more. However, I did listen to this in less than 24 hours so I call it a win.
Out 9/10/24, thank you to @netgalley, @thomasnelson, @zondervan, @zondervanbooks for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!
Out 9/10/24, thank you to @netgalley, @thomasnelson, @zondervan, @zondervanbooks for the early copy in exchange for my honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail