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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
funny
hopeful
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:
Yes
This book was SO CUTE!!!
I had a bunch of quarrels with the first book in the series but I really loved this one. Growth from the author and the storytelling. It was a really believable progression of a love story and my friends to lovers heart was so happy.
Trevor and Tara had so much chemistry and I really loved the character growth from them both as they realized what it’s really like to love and be loved.
Can’t wait for Mel’s book!
I had a bunch of quarrels with the first book in the series but I really loved this one. Growth from the author and the storytelling. It was a really believable progression of a love story and my friends to lovers heart was so happy.
Trevor and Tara had so much chemistry and I really loved the character growth from them both as they realized what it’s really like to love and be loved.
Can’t wait for Mel’s book!
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
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
A sweet romance between a woman set on finding the epic love she sees in her favorite romance novels and a man who has a million walls around his heart but desperately wants to let her in. I could tell early on that Trevor was already developing feelings for Tara, despite his insistence he’s not into relationships. I loved how real and authentic their relationship was - as much as they liked each other from the first meeting, they truly got to know one another as people, slowly opening up about their pasts and talking through their issues and concerns.
My favorite thing about Tara (and apparently Trevor’s) is how unironically enthusiastic she is about everything. She loves with her whole heart and isn’t afraid to say it and demand what she wants out of a partner. I especially appreciated her pushback against the “crazy ex-girlfriend” idea and the “clingy” label - there’s nothing wrong with being vocal and demonstrative with the people you love, and if they don’t appreciate that, they’re probably not the right people for you. Tara’s main issues she had to overcome were her fear of change and holding onto things that weren’t right for her anymore. In reality, she and shark-face Seth should have broken up years earlier, when she first started seeing changes in his attitude and behavior, but she’s not one to give up on someone.
Trevor was the best grumpy cat hero we could ask for, listening to Tara, helping her whenever she asked, bringing her Cheetos unprompted. I don’t blame him for being guarded around people who he thinks have a legitimate chance of hurting him. With all the times he’s been abandoned, both by death and by someone’s bad choices, it’s not surprising that he’d be fearful of it happening again. I loved watching the process of Trevor opening up to Tara, and also seeing how much more open and happy it made him around everyone else. The scene where he came home tipsy from Scott’s bachelor party and all he wanted to do was cuddle with Tara and watch the Bachelor was so stinking adorable, and I honestly think it’s only her own fears and denial that kept her from realizing he was in love with her already.
One thing that I found a little frustrating was Tara’s constant self-doubt about her appearance - I couldn’t figure out if she actually looked “dowdy” as she put it and bad in photos or if she just had a bad self-image after years of being manipulated and verbally abused by Seth and other exes. Trevor obviously found her attractive, and many others did as well, so every time she talked about herself as not being good-looking, my brain did a big disconnect. Also, I’m still annoyed Trevor didn’t wake Tara up before his flight to California, like she asked. I feel like that 5 minutes of “are we ok? Text me every second you can” would have saved them a lot of angst and worries.
Honestly, the person I was most annoyed with during this book (other than shark-face Seth, Segway Jeff, and cheater Cody) was Crystal. I know she loves her sister and doesn’t want her to get hurt again, but her advice about Trevor was always wrong, to almost a catastrophic degree. Yes, Tara was already self-censoring her texts while Trevor was in California, but if she had done what Mel suggested with the selfie (send the photo and see what he says) instead of listening to Crystal’s bad advice (are you sure he actually likes you?), we could have avoided a day or two of sadness. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for Tara and Trevor to clear up all their miscommunication with some radical honestly: be yourself, no matter what, because I like who you are. 😍
I loved this one and I’m sure I’ll come back to it again. In terms of spicy levels, I’d say it’s probably a 2 🌶️ read. Also, Tara never identifies as demisexual, but the way her emotional connection plays such a big part in who she is attracted to sexual had be reading her that way.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Petty pet peeves:
You can’t have a KNIT garment that was crocheted. Two different crafts.
Too many “myriad of”
Got too meta a lot
Actual review:
Tara might not be crazy… but she’s certainly diagnosable. Idk if it’s the tism, ADHD, OCD, BPD, or regular old GAD, but the hyper focus on a single idea was overwhelming.
Sure the ex fiance is an ass AND he did gaslight her, but could someone write a MALE protagonist that follows MULTIPLE exes to work to stage “run ins” with them when they haven’t seen each other in years AND think they still deserve an HEA?
How many times can this woman refer to someone she hasn’t dated in 10+ years as “the only person who knows me” or “my one true love”?
And then basically a third act breakup + miscommunication trope … because the MMC DID WHAT SHE WANTED/SAID? It was unnecessary.
Anything between 30-80% was alright enough to keep from DNFing and there is an HEA but at what cost
You can’t have a KNIT garment that was crocheted. Two different crafts.
Too many “myriad of”
Got too meta a lot
Actual review:
Tara might not be crazy… but she’s certainly diagnosable. Idk if it’s the tism, ADHD, OCD, BPD, or regular old GAD, but the hyper focus on a single idea was overwhelming.
Sure the ex fiance is an ass AND he did gaslight her, but could someone write a MALE protagonist that follows MULTIPLE exes to work to stage “run ins” with them when they haven’t seen each other in years AND think they still deserve an HEA?
How many times can this woman refer to someone she hasn’t dated in 10+ years as “the only person who knows me” or “my one true love”?
And then basically a third act breakup + miscommunication trope … because the MMC DID WHAT SHE WANTED/SAID? It was unnecessary.
Anything between 30-80% was alright enough to keep from DNFing and there is an HEA but at what cost
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced