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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
DNF
I couldn't feel any of the emotions or even the sexual attraction between the main characters. Some developments were unbelievable and some scenes made me cringe. There was not enough in the story to keep me interested.
I couldn't feel any of the emotions or even the sexual attraction between the main characters. Some developments were unbelievable and some scenes made me cringe. There was not enough in the story to keep me interested.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2.75*
I don't know how to feel about this... I had high expectations for this but ended up being disappointed, as usual. The dialogue was too cringe and unrealistic, I never felt the romance because those two never talked (on page) about anything else than sex, and there was just so much telling and not showing... Right, the dude "runs a household" yet we never see that in action or how it affects his life. It could be that I feel this way because I didn't read book 1, yet if this is a standalone the book should stand on its own. I loved "Pucked" (according to my review because I can't remember a thing from that book) and got excited to continue with Alex and Violet's kids' stories, but I'm afraid H.H.'s writing isn't for me? Perhaps I've grown fond of darker and emotional devastating stories? We'll see if I give it another go.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just as I thought Little Lies was Lavender's story, I felt this was more Maverick's story, than Maverick and Clover's story. I don't feel like I got to really learn who Clover was. I didn't really connect with her. But that didn't mean that I didn't love Maverick's story. He too pulled at my heart strings and had me tearing up more than I thought I would. His struggles really hit me hard and my heart broke for him. I adored the man that he grew to be and how much he respected, protected and loved Clover. And the interactions between Lavender and Maverick . . . sobbing mess seeing how much she healed and wanted to help her brother. Gah. I adored these two books and I am glad that I read them back to back.
emotional
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:
Complicated
slow-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
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
To the outsider looking in, Maverick Waters lives a perfect life: the son of a hockey legend, amazing family and friends, a future career in the NHL... but he carries the weight of the world in his shoulders. He blames himself for something horrible that happened to his sister years ago and he has been silently and selflessly making up for it since. While on vacation at the lake with friends and family he has the most unexpected meet-cute: a beautiful young woman, who fell asleep on her paddle board, floats all the way to the dock where he's sitting. When he tries to wake her up she ends up pulling him into the water with her. They talk, he invites her to a party and they have an epic one-night-stand. Extremely taken with her but knowing nothing will come out of this, Maverick sneaks out, leaving her a note in one of his signature origami cranes. Summer is over, he's back in college and - oh crap - his professor at his Creative Writing Course is Clover Sweet, AKA paddle board girl.
Clover took this job at the university because she wants to save some money and move permanently to her cabin. She's been hiding from her mentally abusive, gaslighting husband of only six months who refuses to sign the divorce papers. To her surprise and chagrin, her unforgettable one-night-stand shows up in her class.
I really loved how this book overlaps in timeline with Little Lies and we get to see a lot of things that happened in that book though Mav's POV. The age gap is not icky (Clover is 29, Maverick is 21) and nothing happens while he's in her class.
We get to see how deeply the family was affected by what happened to his sister Lavender - the impact is deep in all their lives, especially Maverick's. Maverick is a gentle soul, who puts everyone else before himself. There are times when his conversations with Clover sound like therapy, but I understand that it's a way for us to get into his head.
As a teacher, I always have a hard time with student/teacher romances, but I was not weirded out by this one. I was cheering for them since he fell in the lake to help her. Great book!
Narration: Andi and Zach. Period. A million stars.
Rep and possible triggers: gay secondary character. Emotional abuse, gaslighting, harassment, extreme feelings of guilt, one scene of attempted SA
emotional