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tatyanavogt's review against another edition
2.0
I LOVE Jennifer Cruise books but I wasn’t a big fan of this one. She did a really good job at making me hate the antagonist but I think some of the things that he did were more serious than the book made it out to be. I just couldn’t enjoy it overall, the writing was great, the characters were great and even the stuff happening was fine I just don’t think the reactions were believeable. I was physically angry while reading some of the parts and I don’t feel like I got a good enough solution/pay off for that anger.
And I also had issues with the romance portion, which was mediocre. It had a lot of potential but not the best setup/build up in my opinion which was even more disappointing since I had big issues with the stories conflict. I feel like she needed to care more about the seriousness of what was happening to her.
That all being said I feel like because of the parts that bother me I’m being harsher on the other parts more than I normally would be. I don’t think there is anything terrible about the book, I just didn’t personally like how the issue were being handled.
Okay to the spoilers:
So basically the story is: woman decides to get a dog and her boyfriend tells her no and takes the dog to the pound behind her back. This prompts her to leave said boyfriend who then over the course of the book gets crazier and crazier.
The relationship with her and her bestfriend/love interest seemed not fleshed out. It was rushed and “convenient”. They’ve been best friends for like 15 years or something and he has only thought of her romantically ONCE but as soon as she is single he can’t control himself.
Then you have the crazy ex-boyfriend who is constantly trying to sabotage her which leads to her getting hurt and even when she and her friends realize it, no one puts up much of a fuss. She is being stalked and “attacked” via booby traps in her house and you get a little bit of a “oh, lets get everyone to hang out and fix some stuff” not a big deal.
Then the ex-boyfriend abuses her dog and tries to get it killed multiple times and she doesn’t think to get a restraining order on this guy. NO, it’s not until he physically assaults her in a parking lot beating her hands against a wall and ripping her shirt off her back as she attempts to run away that she thinks of getting a restraining order. AND even then she convinces everyone to wait to do it later.
Oh yeah, and through all of this stalking and sabotage the young douche principal is semi threatening her to get back with said crazy ex-boyfriend even AFTER he finds out that the ex locked her in a storage closet at school and is breaking into her house during his breaks. At some point he even threatened her saying he would spread a rumor about her and one of her students. So imagine my surprise when in the heat of all of this her and her new flame decide to have sex at school in like a theater room or auditorium or something. And then they hear something but decided lets do it anyway.
Which admittedly made me unable to enjoy the steamy scene because I couldn’t get over how stupid they were being knowing that she is being stalked and threatened in different ways. Of course it turns out that it wasn’t really anyone even though it was set up for someone to be there. So no big deal. But after everyone stressing how she shouldn’t be left alone her love interest LEAVES her long enough for her to get assaulted.
And I wasn’t impressed by his reaction to the love of his life running frantically towards him with her shirt ripped off and god know what other physical signs of struggle while the crazy bastard ran after her pulling violently on her arm. They basically play tug of war with her in the car until the love interest convinces crazy ex to back off for now. But when he see’s the scrapes on her wrists from crazy banging them agains the wall he can’t control himself and wants to avenge her. I mean seriously, you don’t think seeing a frantic woman running away from someone with her shirt ripped off yelling for him to save her and never let her go wouldn’t do the trick.
All that being said, I liked her beating crazy ex in the lawn with the broken railing. I just feel like I was so annoyed with everything else that I couldn’t really enjoy the good parts. I wanted them to make a bigger deal over the fact that she was being stalked and assaulted. Even if no one else cared I fell like she should have been more frustrated and scared by her situation.. Ughh...
And I also had issues with the romance portion, which was mediocre. It had a lot of potential but not the best setup/build up in my opinion which was even more disappointing since I had big issues with the stories conflict. I feel like she needed to care more about the seriousness of what was happening to her.
That all being said I feel like because of the parts that bother me I’m being harsher on the other parts more than I normally would be. I don’t think there is anything terrible about the book, I just didn’t personally like how the issue were being handled.
Okay to the spoilers:
Spoiler
So basically the story is: woman decides to get a dog and her boyfriend tells her no and takes the dog to the pound behind her back. This prompts her to leave said boyfriend who then over the course of the book gets crazier and crazier.
The relationship with her and her bestfriend/love interest seemed not fleshed out. It was rushed and “convenient”. They’ve been best friends for like 15 years or something and he has only thought of her romantically ONCE but as soon as she is single he can’t control himself.
Then you have the crazy ex-boyfriend who is constantly trying to sabotage her which leads to her getting hurt and even when she and her friends realize it, no one puts up much of a fuss. She is being stalked and “attacked” via booby traps in her house and you get a little bit of a “oh, lets get everyone to hang out and fix some stuff” not a big deal.
Then the ex-boyfriend abuses her dog and tries to get it killed multiple times and she doesn’t think to get a restraining order on this guy. NO, it’s not until he physically assaults her in a parking lot beating her hands against a wall and ripping her shirt off her back as she attempts to run away that she thinks of getting a restraining order. AND even then she convinces everyone to wait to do it later.
Oh yeah, and through all of this stalking and sabotage the young douche principal is semi threatening her to get back with said crazy ex-boyfriend even AFTER he finds out that the ex locked her in a storage closet at school and is breaking into her house during his breaks. At some point he even threatened her saying he would spread a rumor about her and one of her students. So imagine my surprise when in the heat of all of this her and her new flame decide to have sex at school in like a theater room or auditorium or something. And then they hear something but decided lets do it anyway.
Which admittedly made me unable to enjoy the steamy scene because I couldn’t get over how stupid they were being knowing that she is being stalked and threatened in different ways. Of course it turns out that it wasn’t really anyone even though it was set up for someone to be there. So no big deal. But after everyone stressing how she shouldn’t be left alone her love interest LEAVES her long enough for her to get assaulted.
And I wasn’t impressed by his reaction to the love of his life running frantically towards him with her shirt ripped off and god know what other physical signs of struggle while the crazy bastard ran after her pulling violently on her arm. They basically play tug of war with her in the car until the love interest convinces crazy ex to back off for now. But when he see’s the scrapes on her wrists from crazy banging them agains the wall he can’t control himself and wants to avenge her. I mean seriously, you don’t think seeing a frantic woman running away from someone with her shirt ripped off yelling for him to save her and never let her go wouldn’t do the trick.
All that being said, I liked her beating crazy ex in the lawn with the broken railing. I just feel like I was so annoyed with everything else that I couldn’t really enjoy the good parts. I wanted them to make a bigger deal over the fact that she was being stalked and assaulted. Even if no one else cared I fell like she should have been more frustrated and scared by her situation.. Ughh...
radicalespresso's review against another edition
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
peyto2443's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
4.0
leerinder's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoy Jennifer Crusie's writing quite a bit. It's romance wrapped in some real life, with not too much that's out there. In this one, the art teacher (Quinn) breaks up with the coach (Bill) in small town Ohio, acquires a dog (who hates the coach) and buys a house. Her best friend (Nick) is her sister's ex-husband ... and her best female friend is married to his brother. Oh, and her mother is inspired to push her father out of the house so her best friend Evie can move in: apparently her mom and Evie have been more than friends for a while, which is news to everyone.
Darla finds life with Max stale, and tired to rejuvenate her marriage, while Max is just perplexed and angry that she's disrupting their good life. Quinn finds it hard to distance herself from Bill, who has taken up her as he wants her back. Things escalate with Bill - as he loses his grip on reality and comes up with some truly frightening ways to "win" her back. Meanwhile, Quinn and Nick are working on their own relationship -
Good writing, not mushy, and occasionally funny - enjoyed it.
Darla finds life with Max stale, and tired to rejuvenate her marriage, while Max is just perplexed and angry that she's disrupting their good life. Quinn finds it hard to distance herself from Bill, who has taken up her as he wants her back. Things escalate with Bill - as he loses his grip on reality and comes up with some truly frightening ways to "win" her back. Meanwhile, Quinn and Nick are working on their own relationship -
Good writing, not mushy, and occasionally funny - enjoyed it.
cardinalgirl75's review against another edition
4.25
Quinn McKenzie is stuck in a rut, so she decides to make a small change by adopting a stray dog. A small change that spirals into major changes for almost everyone around her, including the man she’s always been in love with even if she never truly realized it until now. Even though there are several plot lines in this story, just as there were in the previous Crusie book I read, I enjoyed this story more because I didn’t feel like the main love story between Quinn and Nick was fighting for air with anyone else. There was really only one other story that got significant time, and that was Darla and Max, while the others were in the background—you heard about them and knew enough of what was going on for the endings to be believable, which was my knock against one of the background stories in Welcome to Temptation. I would probably say this is my favorite of Crusie’s novels, because it’s able to balance the romance, the zaniness of the background characters, and the villain of the piece is suitably creepy (and a little frightening since we hear stories all the time of men who seem to think that women don’t have the right to reject them, and we see one such story here as Bill’s complacency escalates to aggression, and sadly, Quinn’s belief that she fostered his thinking because she never objected to anything). Very good book.
debs4jc's review against another edition
quinn has had enough--when her boyfriend bill won't let her keep the stray dog she rescues she decides it is time to leave him. problem is bill just doesn't seem to get the idea and keeps acting like they are still together. in fact, he gets downright possessive. which is why having a good friend like nick is such a plus for quinn. in fact, nick might be good for more than just protecting her from bill...[return]this contemporary romance has plenty of sass and sex. if this is what you are looking for look no further.
rebroxannape's review against another edition
2.0
This light and funny romantic comedy is about a beloved and successful high school coach's descent into madness and hurting little puppies. Sigh. Jennifer Crusies' great writing skills are very much here: It kept me turning the pages although I had to start skipping a bit because it did get repetitive towards the end. I felt that there was really only enough material for a category romance, but I think she had to stretch it out because the serious nature of the content didn't fit the usual template of a category. The coach's character and that of his cohort, the principal of the school, was chilling. They were absolutely hateful. And the puppy was ok at the end. ***2 1/2 stars***.
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/
https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings.com/