Reviews

Glimmers of You by Catherine Cowles

bookbae96's review against another edition

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5.0

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I fall a little bit more in love with Catherine Cowles and her worlds with each new book. I sort of knew that I was going to love Grae's and Caden's story when Catherine introduced them. There was just this feistiness, this sassy strength to Grae, and the spark between her and Caden, even when they were dancing around each other, was bright and magnetic. Well, let me just say that Catherine does not disappoint, because GLIMMERS OF YOU was all that I was hoping for and more.

There's always been a deep connection between Grae and Caden, and even with the separation of time and distance, that connection is still alive. Buried deep, maybe, under layers of hurt and denial, but it's there. And once it's given a little bit of light and air, fueled by feelings that they can't keep hidden, it's bright and beautiful once more.

I can honestly say that Catherine has not written one character that I do not adore, but Grae is one of my favorites. She is strong, she is resilient, she loves deeply, and she takes no crap. And Caden, beautiful and broken, but still so full of love, needs Grae and everything that she is to remind him of who he is, and all that he has to offer.

GLIMMERS OF YOU had me from the first page, and is perfect combination of passion, suspense (because it would be a Catherine Cowles book without a healthy dose of suspense), and love rediscovered, and I cannot recommend it any more highly. And the fact that we get Roan's book next? Well that makes this book lover's heart happy indeed, because he's the epitome of the strong, silent, type, and I cannot wait to see what he's like when he opens up. In the meantime, if you haven't read GLIMMERS OF YOU, you simply must. Your romance loving heart will thank you for it. ❤️

aries_sun1419'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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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vickymacd's review against another edition

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5.0

What another beautiful story Catherine has created.
This third book of the series is about the only Hartley daughter – Grae and her brothers best friend Caden. I love how over protective the Hartley brothers are with Grae and the banter between them all feels so natural and unforced.
Fake relationship storylines are one of my favourites so I was extremely excited to read this one and it did not disappoint. It had just the perfect amount of angst to keep you invested in their relationship through the fake part.
It was great to see a heroine like Grae with diabetes that was realistic when reading it yet it never felt like it was being brought up to force a storyline.
My only issue is I need Catherine to stop writing such amazing heroes in her stories. Every time I read a new book by Catherine my favourite hero keeps changing

kkayreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

confidentlyintheclouds's review against another edition

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4.0

surprisingly cute

Type 1 rep is always a good Easter egg to find in books as it’s close to home for the last three years (my son)

Could have been 5 stars had the story building been a bit better in certain areas.

Spice left more to be desired but I love romance/mystery AND I didn’t see the end coming I thought it was someone else

All in all I’d recommend

lk23's review against another edition

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5.0

The best book in the series so far. I loved this so much, I couldn’t put it down once I started it.

lorienf26's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5!! so sweet & lovely

matelliii's review against another edition

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2.0

This book series seems kinda repetitive and one note. Once you see the pattern, or I would say the formula of the story structure, you can basically guess what would happen next. The first three books did that for me. The first book hooked me because of the mystery and suspense, the plot twist even surprised me. But after reading the second book and now the third book, its all predictable now because everything that happened is just the same as the book prior (With a character ended up being abducted and injured, yada yada yada).
I stayed because of the characters tbh. They grew into me.

kcmanley's review against another edition

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4.0

Another great book following the Hartley family, this time Grae and Caden. I loved their banter in the previous book and it was even better in this one. Love the fake dating trope and a little bit of enemies to lovers even though they were great friends as kids.

While in the previous books I felt like Holt and Nash’s reasonings for not giving in to love were shallow or quickly resolved, Caden’s was deep and you really saw him struggle with it. Grae is a force and I loved how strong she was. Having four older brothers made her tough and I’m glad she started to speak her mind more freely.

The only issue I had in this book was that if you read the others, the action/mystery/reveal is starting to be a bit formulaic. You think the problem is solved at 80% but wait, it wasn’t them and you are still in danger!! And the bad guy is never the one you thought it was or the one that was being set up. I didn’t get it 100% correct this time, but I did know which group the bad guy belonged to. I still really liked the book, but I wish each book ending was a little different.

bookmarkedquotes's review against another edition

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4.0

catherine’s books never fail to captivate me with her incredible plots and characters. this book had so many tropes that i love: fake dating + brother’s best friend!

grae and caden were childhood friends growing up. after an incident that involves grae, caden started to keep his distance and build up walls. a decade later, caden moves back into town for his family business. grae has harbored hatred toward him for pushing her away, however they both agree to fake date to get out of situations at hand. the more time they spend together, the more their feelings for each other begin to surface.

grae is such a lovable character. she’s tender hearted and headstrong. with four overprotective brothers, she doesn’t let anyone fight her battles for her. she kept her head held high and proved everyone wrong. ever since caden came back into grae's life, he has been nothing but supportive and understanding of her needs. despite his fears of losing her from her chronic illness, he was there by her side to fight those battles with her. grae reciprocates the support by helping caden heal from his past and the burdens of his dysfunctional family. their love and connection run deep and you can feel it emanate from the pages. i absolutely adore their family dynamics and the hartley siblings in their banter moments

i love seeing how the events unravel with the suspenseful plotline. it was so fun playing detective at guessing the culprit. one of the twists threw me for a loop, but i had to give myself a pat on the shoulder for figuring out a part of it. if you’re in for a small town romance with a hint of suspense, this book is for you!

thank you so much catherine for the arc and alc!!