Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Sweethand

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Sweethand by N.G. Peltier

7 reviews

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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? Yes

3.5

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scarroll178's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

4.0

Enemies to FWB’s to lovers!!!

I love that we got a bi male lead 🩷💙🩷💙

The story kind of dragged at the end, and the third act conflict was super predictable, but overall I liked it!

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katharina90's review against another edition

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lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

What I liked:
'Own voices' story set in Trinidad.
Bisexual male representation.
Super cute cover.

What I didn't like:
The enemies-to-lovers trope wasn't convincing and I didn't feel the chemistry.
The book is longer than it needed to be which made for a slow pace.

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bluejayreads17's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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toffishay's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Enemies to lovers and the male MC falls first? Sign me up! It was a fun and quick read

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tayahmarie's review against another edition

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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

4.5

This is one of the many books that I planned on reading before 2022 is over and I’m happy to be able to cross this one off the list.

This book was so adorable, relatable, and on brand of being very sweet! Starting with Cherisse, her graceful introduction (lol) in Chapter 1 solidified her as one of my favorite characters. To me, her dialogue felt authentic, as if she were speaking like an actual person. I liked her unfiltered, no nonsense/BS attitude. I also thought her passion for baking and upholding her title as ‘Sugar Queen’ was fun to read about. I’m always a sucker for baking tropes in my romances so I knew that this book would be right up my alley. As for Kerian, I’m not going to lie, it took me a minute to root for his character because of all the messed up things he said to and about Cherisse! Not saying that Cherisse was 100% innocent, but he really messed up at one point in the story and it pissed me off, lmao. However, his redemption arc was solid and I felt his and Cherisse’s angsty chemistry and tension from the jump.

This story is also set in Trinidad, and I don’t read many books that are set there, so I loved reading about the island/the culture. I also wanted to note that Peltier included topics/discussions between the characters as it relates to LGBTQ+ representation, sexism, misogyny, harassment, and expecting women to live up to societal norms and expectations throughout this story. I enjoyed those parts especially, and always look forward to getting these types of themes in my romances from time to time.

The only thing that I would’ve liked is if the ending was a bit more tied up or if we were given an epilogue. It’s definitely left up to your imagination which tends to frustrate me in my romance books, lol.

Final Thoughts: Overall, I really enjoyed this one and definitely recommend! This is a series and book 2 is out but it looks like it’s only available on Kindle, (ugh!) so hopefully I’ll be able to get a physical copy soon because I liked reading about all of the characters.

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spearly's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook!

She’d never hated the nickname she’d been dubbed with by her fellow foodies on the island. Sugar Queen. She liked it. The print and online magazines she’d been featured in used it all the time. Hell, she’d rolled with it all the way and plastered the damn nickname all over her bio on her website and social media accounts.
Except when Keiran said it in that smirky, condescending tone—then she hated it.

Cherisse and Keiran are childhood nemeses. So when Cherisse's sister Ava gets engaged to Keiran's best friend, she should have known he's be involved in the wedding. But she never would have guessed he'd be the Best Man to her Maid of Honour. Now they have to plan all the pre-wedding activities together, and the tension from their childhood rivalry has morphed into something more... sexual.

WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU!! Okay, I loved the first, like, 80% of this book. It was sexy. It was fun. The chemistry was great, the island was atmospheric, the Caribbean culture was vibrant, and the side characters were fun.

But then the "big conflict" that tears everything apart comes around and it's so... boring. Like, the main point of contention was laughable. I won't spoil anything, because I really do feel like it's a sweet read (lol) but man, all that amazingness comes to a halt... for that. It was hardly even a big deal.

But let's talk about the good: That cover is GORGEOUS. Our MCs were fun. We got ✨pining✨. The smut was tame but still pretty hot. The characters were fleshed out, strong, and meshed so well together. That wedding slumber party seemed like a BLAST. The cast of characters is also so diverse, with not only queer rep, but a bi main character!

The narrator of the audiobook was SO GOOD (if a bit slow; I ended up listening in 1.5x speed just for the audiobook to sound normal. However, I don't think that's an issue with this reader, since I've noticed that ALL the audiobooks I've listened to sound really slow when it's on default speed). I've noticed narrators will try to change their voice for every character in a book, and I LOVED that Chrystal Bethell didn't do that. I had no problem following who was talking, and honestly it's always a bit off-putting when a narrator will change their voice to be more masculine or feminine based on the character speaking in the novel.

3.5 stars rounded down. It's listed as "Island Bites #1" and I definitely enjoyed the book enough to continue the series when it's out :)

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