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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A sweet new neighbor romance with mature main characters and no unnecessary angst.
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not loving it and not interested in finishing it
This one was just not it for me. I have read other books with Lauren Blakely that I liked, but this one it took me a while to just finish the audiobook just because it was just not interesting to me in the slightest. I don’t know if it was just the audio it’s self or how they were speaking but it seemed like let’s just put this book together and get it out. I just didn’t find this book worth listening too… it’s a no for me.
How did we get here?
Budgeting. That's how.
I run out of Audible credits on the regular, so I troll the 'included with your membership' minefield and end up on a very bumpy ride (not in a fun way--I'm so sorry) in the romance genre.
Also, and I'm thoroughly ashamed of this, getting through LOTR was a slog and I kept running away to find more lighthearted listens. It only worked about 20% of the time. Now I'm trying to get through a required book for a work retreat and it's full of dude-bro corporate speak, so I find myself running away even more.
Alrighty then.
Looks like this book and the author are pretty popular, so I'll try to keep it brief.
1. Are all the author's books written like she just finished a Gilmore Girls binge watch? The peppy, 'not like other girls!' female lead, the coffee addiction, the buddy-buddy friendship with daughter (complete with silly banter), the Christopher-like ex, the mild conflict of more kids vs done with that, the Stars Hollow-esque small town that is somehow a nice place to live and not full of doomsday preppers and skinheads--that is also in convenient approximation to an IKEA. LOL. Quick, someone set a novel in my small town where there's nothing to do except drive into the next town over and do some axe throwing. The local singles groups have regular meet ups at a store called "Guns n' Gear," I kid you not.
2. Okay, so the guy (who somehow kept his British accent despite growing up in Boon Town USA) didn't find out he was a father until his kid was 7. Fine. Cool. Whatever. But are you telling me the kid’s mom, who presumably loved him and raised him on her own, who showed up on male character's doorstep when she was dying of cancer, didn't bring photo albums? Didn't pack her kid’s baby book? Didn't have family movies? Male character mopes around a lot because he missed everything and has no idea what his kid looked like as an infant, what he said for his first word, or when he crawled. REALLY?
2.5 Obligatory widow commentary: The book claims the dad got his kid some therapy for the tragic death of his mother, which I suppose is more grief awareness than this genre typically demonstrates, but it's still a huge eye roll from me. As usual, there is zero discussion about this woman's family, whether or not the kid’s grandparents helped or were involved (or are available to fill in the missing backstory of whether or not he liked strained peas as a toddler), nothing about the woman's funeral, burial, or whether or not the kid visits her grave, or commemorates her significant, albeit short, hand in his life. There are no photos of her and the whole thing just reeks of "I wanted the ex out of the way, so I killed her with cancer without any understanding whatsoever of what that would have looked like." As ever, it doesn't take much, guys. It doesn't have to turn a fluffy sex book into a depressing morgue draped in widows weeds. Just a few lines can flesh out a character in ways your tiny, tragedy-free brains could only ever dream of.
3. Did I say I'd keep this brief? I did. Okay. I'm done. Well, almost. The sex is explicit but didn't have me throwing my phone across the room. I don't know if that's because I'm slowly growing up, developing Stockholm Syndrome, or am now finally numb to all the grinding and shafts and so forth.
Budgeting. That's how.
I run out of Audible credits on the regular, so I troll the 'included with your membership' minefield and end up on a very bumpy ride (not in a fun way--I'm so sorry) in the romance genre.
Also, and I'm thoroughly ashamed of this, getting through LOTR was a slog and I kept running away to find more lighthearted listens. It only worked about 20% of the time. Now I'm trying to get through a required book for a work retreat and it's full of dude-bro corporate speak, so I find myself running away even more.
Alrighty then.
Looks like this book and the author are pretty popular, so I'll try to keep it brief.
1. Are all the author's books written like she just finished a Gilmore Girls binge watch? The peppy, 'not like other girls!' female lead, the coffee addiction, the buddy-buddy friendship with daughter (complete with silly banter), the Christopher-like ex, the mild conflict of more kids vs done with that, the Stars Hollow-esque small town that is somehow a nice place to live and not full of doomsday preppers and skinheads--that is also in convenient approximation to an IKEA. LOL. Quick, someone set a novel in my small town where there's nothing to do except drive into the next town over and do some axe throwing. The local singles groups have regular meet ups at a store called "Guns n' Gear," I kid you not.
2. Okay, so the guy (who somehow kept his British accent despite growing up in Boon Town USA) didn't find out he was a father until his kid was 7. Fine. Cool. Whatever. But are you telling me the kid’s mom, who presumably loved him and raised him on her own, who showed up on male character's doorstep when she was dying of cancer, didn't bring photo albums? Didn't pack her kid’s baby book? Didn't have family movies? Male character mopes around a lot because he missed everything and has no idea what his kid looked like as an infant, what he said for his first word, or when he crawled. REALLY?
2.5 Obligatory widow commentary: The book claims the dad got his kid some therapy for the tragic death of his mother, which I suppose is more grief awareness than this genre typically demonstrates, but it's still a huge eye roll from me. As usual, there is zero discussion about this woman's family, whether or not the kid’s grandparents helped or were involved (or are available to fill in the missing backstory of whether or not he liked strained peas as a toddler), nothing about the woman's funeral, burial, or whether or not the kid visits her grave, or commemorates her significant, albeit short, hand in his life. There are no photos of her and the whole thing just reeks of "I wanted the ex out of the way, so I killed her with cancer without any understanding whatsoever of what that would have looked like." As ever, it doesn't take much, guys. It doesn't have to turn a fluffy sex book into a depressing morgue draped in widows weeds. Just a few lines can flesh out a character in ways your tiny, tragedy-free brains could only ever dream of.
3. Did I say I'd keep this brief? I did. Okay. I'm done. Well, almost. The sex is explicit but didn't have me throwing my phone across the room. I don't know if that's because I'm slowly growing up, developing Stockholm Syndrome, or am now finally numb to all the grinding and shafts and so forth.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
lighthearted
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