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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
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
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent depiction of OCD. An average romance. The FMC was too flighty and unorganized for my order-obsessed brain.
I loved the slower pacing of Raine and Jack’s romance. They both have a lot of baggage and I appreciate how open they were with each other. They were supportive couple goals!
I really appreciated the OCD and ADHD rep. It felt authentic and not stereotyped, and it made me love Jack and Raine even more since they felt like true three dimensional people.
I love a cat dad, so the scenes with Sebastian were so fun! The side characters were really lovely, and I definitely want to go back and read the first two books in this series!
I really appreciated the OCD and ADHD rep. It felt authentic and not stereotyped, and it made me love Jack and Raine even more since they felt like true three dimensional people.
I love a cat dad, so the scenes with Sebastian were so fun! The side characters were really lovely, and I definitely want to go back and read the first two books in this series!
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
hopeful
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Here we are, another stab at romance, another grasping at normalcy through a lens of marginalization: in other words, therapy on a much cheaper and more auto-didactic angle than is typically encouraged. The vast majority of my attempts thus far have been in the queer sphere of things, but when this with its ADHD and, more effectively, OCD showed, up, it seemed like yet another sign of good fortune that my place of work saw fit to acquire a copy based on the mass recommendations from other libraries. So, why only the three stars? Well, the writing was pretty good, but some flat characters here and some too speedily resolved issues there threw off my engagement a noticeable degree. Then there's the whole 'oh I have the OCD but I can always stand on the 'psychopaths' in order to tell myself I'm a good person :)' at one point, and suddenly I see this book as yet another rung tacked onto the hierarchy of acceptable dehumanization. All in all, yet another work I would've liked more if I could turn my brain off, but considering how my brain was what led me to this in the first place, I'll simply have to consider it a win that I didn't have to go out of my way in the slightest in order to read this. Also, my library is swarming with the kind of readers who need a firm knock on the bigoted head when it comes to neuroatypicality, so hopefully my checking this out will keep it on the shelves long enough to do some good in that regard.
Do your ears a favor and get the audio book bc SHEESH that Irish accent is *chefs kiss*.
SGR can really tug at the heartstrings while filling you with happiness and butterflies. I love Jack so deeply, especially his interruptive ocd intrusive thoughts… I love how SGR keeps that portion of him so realistic. That, mixed with our fmc having adhd that felt so much like my own in some scenes…
And this won’t spoil it, bc clearly you’re reading a romance for a reason, but they fall in love in such a way that works just for them…it’s so beautiful.
I loved it. You need it. Period.
SGR can really tug at the heartstrings while filling you with happiness and butterflies. I love Jack so deeply, especially his interruptive ocd intrusive thoughts… I love how SGR keeps that portion of him so realistic. That, mixed with our fmc having adhd that felt so much like my own in some scenes…
And this won’t spoil it, bc clearly you’re reading a romance for a reason, but they fall in love in such a way that works just for them…it’s so beautiful.
I loved it. You need it. Period.
Since there are a gazillion straight white romances out there getting by on being aggressively average, it takes a unique angle to catch my eye. When an American street musician with ADHD has her gear stolen in Ireland, she takes a temporary entertainment coordinator job to replace her equipment while helping a pub owner with OCD make some much-needed changes to his business.
There’s a conversation early on in this book about the difference between patronizing someone with a neurological disorder and accommodating them, and that’s at the heart of Raine and Jack’s love story. They’re compatible people with incompatible lifestyles, and they spend the story learning how to accommodate each other. She’s flighty and wants to travel; he’s planted roots and struggles with change. This doesn’t prevent them from meeting each other where they’re at and, on occasion, gently pushing one another outside their comfort zones. My favorite example is how they encourage and challenge each other to be brave about their art. Both Raine and Jack personalize the unique trials of being neurodivergent artists—I was particularly intrigued by the depiction of Jack’s intrusive thoughts. They champion each other, believe in each other’s talent, and take steps to help each other chase their artistic dreams. Even if theirs hadn’t been a romantic love story, I’d have stayed for that kind of love story alone.
Other highlights: Flirting (I need to go back and take notes because these two are charming without overdoing it.), adorable nicknames, pub family, positive therapy rep, enthusiastic consent, Irish accents (courtesy of the audiobook, I highly recommend), and a precocious black cat.