Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not sure how to untangled all my thoughts about this book. It’s hard to not compare it to its predecessor, Evvie Drake Starts Over, because the main reason I picked it up was because I’d liked Evvie a lot. And I liked this one okay! Just… not as much. Is it the curse of the second book?
I think fundamentally, I just personally wasn’t as much into the tropes and plot in this one as I was with the previous book, but I also think that this one lacked a bit of a spark. It was, at times, a bit bland. The love interest, Nick, certainly was bland for me. He was just… there. Fine, sometimes charming, but just… there. This is more women’s fiction than straight up romance so obviously while the romance was very present it wasn’t the only emotional thread through it and honestly, the book was infinitely more interesting to me when it focused on other things—the relationships between Laurie and Dot, Laurie and Junie, Laurie and her hometown, Laurie and her family, Laurie and herself etc All of those things felt more complex, layered, and more interesting than the romance (which still took a fair chunk of the novel (which was also perhaps a bit too long). And I’m still not sure I like how the author ended up, though I appreciate that she made some choices and stuck to them and went the more unusual route in many ways.
I don’t know, it was fine I guess. Nothing to write home about but I will definitely read her next book.
I think fundamentally, I just personally wasn’t as much into the tropes and plot in this one as I was with the previous book, but I also think that this one lacked a bit of a spark. It was, at times, a bit bland. The love interest, Nick, certainly was bland for me. He was just… there. Fine, sometimes charming, but just… there. This is more women’s fiction than straight up romance so obviously while the romance was very present it wasn’t the only emotional thread through it and honestly, the book was infinitely more interesting to me when it focused on other things—the relationships between Laurie and Dot, Laurie and Junie, Laurie and her hometown, Laurie and her family, Laurie and herself etc All of those things felt more complex, layered, and more interesting than the romance (which still took a fair chunk of the novel (which was also perhaps a bit too long). And I’m still not sure I like how the author ended up, though I appreciate that she made some choices and stuck to them and went the more unusual route in many ways.
I don’t know, it was fine I guess. Nothing to write home about but I will definitely read her next book.
I must confess this is most likely a 4 star book but for whatever reason it took me forever to read. I didn’t pick it up for days (probably more due to it being my birthday/thanksgiving) but I also wasn’t dying to pick it up. It was a super cute book though. 3.5 stars. Nobody asked for this explanation , but you’re welcome.
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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:
No
Enjoyable romance - nice that it was about characters close to 40 instead of 20s-early 30s. Not great literature, but enjoyable. The aunt who had passed away was probably my favorite character - would love a book about her! :)
I liked this novel but not as much as Holmes’ first one. While I was very anxious about the outcome of the duck (which I realized said a lot about my mental state) I didn’t find the romantic tension very compelling.
I did like all the characters a lot (except for the villain, of course) so they made the story enjoyable.
It was a nice read, with low-ish stakes, and that was a welcome change to escape the world.
I did like all the characters a lot (except for the villain, of course) so they made the story enjoyable.
It was a nice read, with low-ish stakes, and that was a welcome change to escape the world.
A fun read, with a refreshingly different take on the HEA. There were moments the writing was a bit less polished than I would have liked, and Holmes identifies all sorts of things I love as symbols of toxic masculinity (Breaking Bad, Fight Club {the movie}, Jonathan Franzen {this dig seemed gratuitous since the guy she assumes loves Franzen has said he doesn't read}, etc.) But this was a fun book about being a grownup, about defining what committed, respectful. feminist relationships look like. Everyone is white and financially blessed in unrealistic ways, the single freelance writer can take a month off work and still pay a mortgage in Seattle, the 30-something bit-part actor and his wardrobe design wife (actually she is BIPOC but also a VERY minor character) living in New York who are paying rent and doing IVF, and the head librarian at a small-town library that is constantly having funding slashed can pay his mortgage and go out for fancy dinners and fly back and forth across the country whenever he wants, and the librarians parents who were also librarians at the same library can retire and move to Florida. That is fine but obviously not realistic. It was all a fun read and where it was necessary to suspend disbelief it was for me easy and pleasurable to do so. Worthwhile reading if you like this sort of thing. Also, the audiobook was read by the wonderful Julia Whelan, and as usual she was a delight to listen to.
It will come as no surprise to anyone at all who knows me that I loved this.