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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Whelp, I am officially pretty obsessed with this series. Kallum was the most swoony dad-bod love interest ever. As a midwesterner who grew up sheltered and conservative, Winnie was pretty painfully relatable. I adored her.
These books are magic.
These books are magic.
You ever feel like a book gives you the old bait and switch? The first half was cute, similar to the first book, if lacking in character development. Then BAM! Genre switch!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Cute "kind of" enemies to lovers about two actors filming a spicy hallmark like type movie. The female MC has baggage from growing up in a purity culture and the male MC is a bit of a playboy and it is so fun seeing them come together through thick and thin. this was the 2nd of the series, but I didn't feel like I missed anything or learned too much by reading this prior to the 1st book. 4*
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I saw a lot of myself in both Kallum and Winnie and I think that's why this book just spoke to me more than book one. Like Winnie, I too was raised in a purity culture environment and therefore also deal with similar emotional hang-ups to this day. So throw that in a cute rom-com environment and I was invested.
Part one was incredible. Part two was not for me. My least favorite trope too.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a really cute book. It's better than some of the other "spicy" rom-coms. It was balanced as far as story and spice goes. So that was pleasant. The reason I did not give it a 4 star rating was because the MC gets "stupid" in that "dumb girl trope" type of way - which I cannot stand a female being a "dumb girl" as any part of a plot device to move the story along. Why does the MC have to be stupid?
Explanation of the "stupid" >>She meets a guy she likes. The have sex. She finds out she's pregnant. She decides, on her own, that she won't tell him. He confesses his love to her. She still doubts him and whether or not he wants her. She continues to make decisions and assumptions without talking to anyone or asking questions.
I get that the point of the "dumb girl" trope might be that she's "scared of her own feelings" but why can't a MC be scared and honest and misunderstand?
Anyway, despite that - the story was cute. It reminded me a little of Britney Spears getting together with Joey Fatone based on the whole premise of the book.
I am interested in the other books in the series and I will saythe introduction and ending chapters were solely put there to set up for another "stand alone" book. However, in the beginning, I was wondering what the first chapter had to do with the story - it felt so out of place.
TL/DR - cute story, balanced between spice and having a plot, ridiculously fast read.
Explanation of the "stupid" >>
I get that the point of the "dumb girl" trope might be that she's "scared of her own feelings" but why can't a MC be scared and honest and misunderstand?
Anyway, despite that - the story was cute. It reminded me a little of Britney Spears getting together with Joey Fatone based on the whole premise of the book.
I am interested in the other books in the series and I will say
TL/DR - cute story, balanced between spice and having a plot, ridiculously fast read.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a lot of fun. I picked it up at a seasonally perfect time. I liked the authors' emphasis on body size inclusivity. I didn't like the way both characters were famous and dealing with media/social media scrutiny, as I think that adds a lot of unneccessary drama, but that was the only negative aspect, really. I thought the trajectory the characters went on felt decently grounded and realistic, and that the place they end up in felt earned and emotionally honest. I'm still so new to romance books, so this was a good early one for me! I'm considering reading the first and third entry in the series now, but since they're set at Christmas in a Christmas village, I may not be drawn to them for the next eleven months...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Emotional abuse: the female MC grew up in a pretty horrendous version of Christian purity culture as a child actor, so she's working through unlearning a lot of that throughout.
So much better than A Merry Little Meet Cute. I thought the book was so cute and sexy! I love how the innocent gal trope was done in this. It was more unique and empowering than normal IMO. I enjoyed Winnie’s character a lot as a result.