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cmaree88 's review for:
Steady Now
by Liberty Stowe
funny
hopeful
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
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have a whole Goodreads shelf labeled "Small Town Romance" because I find it such a charming genre. But I also only add the exceptional books that create an engaging and lived-in fictional town full of side characters, town quirks, and delightful love stories.
Despite being a resident Texan myself, I wasn't fully charmed by this book. The author never drew a full and realized image of the town and it's heart for me. I've been through many small Texas towns and if one is worth writing about, you need more than a mechanic shop, diner, Dollar General, and nascent B&B.
As for our leads, we get dual third-person POV which was nice. But the pacing on revealing their personal issues and backstories was a so clunky and slow. What would normally be revealed in conversation with another character would instead be an internal dialogue. But not until 60% into the book! There was too much vagueness and innuendo, and not the spicy kind.
Yes, there is a decent amount of spice (some in outdoor semi-public) but the romance is purely physical for most of the book. The side plot of a single dad was meh, I've read much better with Melanie Harlow.
One thing that annoyed and hopefully is an ARC issue was the texting. These characters use a ridiculous amount of emoji and the font size is HUGE.
I have a whole Goodreads shelf labeled "Small Town Romance" because I find it such a charming genre. But I also only add the exceptional books that create an engaging and lived-in fictional town full of side characters, town quirks, and delightful love stories.
Despite being a resident Texan myself, I wasn't fully charmed by this book. The author never drew a full and realized image of the town and it's heart for me. I've been through many small Texas towns and if one is worth writing about, you need more than a mechanic shop, diner, Dollar General, and nascent B&B.
As for our leads, we get dual third-person POV which was nice. But the pacing on revealing their personal issues and backstories was a so clunky and slow. What would normally be revealed in conversation with another character would instead be an internal dialogue. But not until 60% into the book! There was too much vagueness and innuendo, and not the spicy kind.
Yes, there is a decent amount of spice (some in outdoor semi-public) but the romance is purely physical for most of the book. The side plot of a single dad was meh, I've read much better with Melanie Harlow.
One thing that annoyed and hopefully is an ARC issue was the texting. These characters use a ridiculous amount of emoji and the font size is HUGE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Death of parent