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kfriend 's review for:
Be My Brayshaw
by Meagan Brandy
Overall: 3.5 stars
I love Meagan Brandy, and I love the Brayshaws, proudly consider myself a Brayshaw girl. Maddoc and Raven captivated me, and while it was a rock road, the soul-searing commitment these characters had to each other, this bizarre, unusual little family and the world that orbits around them grabbed me. So, it pains me to say that I would best classify my reaction to Captain’s long awaited book as LUKEWARM
I know it is hard to go from a trilogy architecture to a one-book story- we had three books to build this world and build the emotional depth and connection of Raven and Maddoc. Here we already “know” our characters- but we really didn’t. Victoria was a mystery, that’s the point of the whole tension in this book, and Captain we only saw one side of- we get to explore him more- both as a father and as a bully-ish love-hate love interest. The characters are consistent- we get the Victoria and Captain that we knew PLUS some- and they are incredibly interesting and nuanced- so I loved that part of this story. I loved BOTH of them…..eventually…..the slower burn emotionally and physically (see below) meant it took me a minute to connect to either of them or to actually believe in their chemistry/connection. But, once we got there- I REALLY loved them. Victoria is not at all what we think- more generous, kind, patient, and resilient than even Raven- she’s softer, more vulnerable, more damaged. Once we knew her, I respected and admired her. Captain is soulful and raw underneath his stoic, “calm one” persona- he’s far more emotional than the rational Captain we’ve seen. And him with Zoey- SWOON. That was the most interesting facet of this tale- exploring a Brayshaw as a parent.
What I didn’t love were some of the other parts- parts that felt slow, odd, or frustrating. The pacing felt off, the first 40% felt like so much redundant exposition, the same conversation (you kept secrets, I won't tell you until you ask, Victoria in but she’s out, we are brayshaw) paired with some more day-to-day stuff that just didn’t hook me- I kept wanting to get over that hill. Once we did, this felt less like a 2.5-3 star and more like a 4 star- we got more clarity about who these folks are and the “secrets”, the relationship started to progress, and the emotional connection was developed-finally SHOWN instead of told. The push-pull is more interesting when there is emotional underpinning and progression. We get there- but the whole “this is brayshaw”/stubbornness of our characters in the first 40% wasn’t just slow but frustrating. And, the secrets are confusing. I felt like that in the prior Brayshaw books- I think that is part of the style, and I get it- we are as disoriented as our characters, but the pace with feeling confused (so much isn’t said, it’s implied) just kept me from loving this. I honestly had to push myself to keep reading during the first 30-40% hoping it would click for me. And, I really wanted to love this- Captain was the most interesting to me.
The last 15% or so was INCREDIBLE- this is the Meagan I love and the Brayshaw I love. Crazy twists, huge shocks, actions paired with heart, tender and emotive and passionate steam paired with a sweet romanticism, emotional nuance and plot complexity, and authentic connections. The last few chapters were BEAUTIFUL- the love story, the connection I’d been desiring- I wanted to savor it, and it actually raised my rating and made me like the book more because it ended on a strong note. I wanted to read more about this couple- and I couldn’t say that up until about 80% in- and I wish we’d gotten more of THAT Victoria-Captain.
Overall, this is solid. Not my favorite of the series, parts that I loved, parts that were meh. Worth the read. Strong writing, amazing characters, just didn’t quite click for me until the end. That epilogue, though- HOLY CRAP, give me Royce now! <3
I love Meagan Brandy, and I love the Brayshaws, proudly consider myself a Brayshaw girl. Maddoc and Raven captivated me, and while it was a rock road, the soul-searing commitment these characters had to each other, this bizarre, unusual little family and the world that orbits around them grabbed me. So, it pains me to say that I would best classify my reaction to Captain’s long awaited book as LUKEWARM
I know it is hard to go from a trilogy architecture to a one-book story- we had three books to build this world and build the emotional depth and connection of Raven and Maddoc. Here we already “know” our characters- but we really didn’t. Victoria was a mystery, that’s the point of the whole tension in this book, and Captain we only saw one side of- we get to explore him more- both as a father and as a bully-ish love-hate love interest. The characters are consistent- we get the Victoria and Captain that we knew PLUS some- and they are incredibly interesting and nuanced- so I loved that part of this story. I loved BOTH of them…..eventually…..the slower burn emotionally and physically (see below) meant it took me a minute to connect to either of them or to actually believe in their chemistry/connection. But, once we got there- I REALLY loved them. Victoria is not at all what we think- more generous, kind, patient, and resilient than even Raven- she’s softer, more vulnerable, more damaged. Once we knew her, I respected and admired her. Captain is soulful and raw underneath his stoic, “calm one” persona- he’s far more emotional than the rational Captain we’ve seen. And him with Zoey- SWOON. That was the most interesting facet of this tale- exploring a Brayshaw as a parent.
What I didn’t love were some of the other parts- parts that felt slow, odd, or frustrating. The pacing felt off, the first 40% felt like so much redundant exposition, the same conversation (you kept secrets, I won't tell you until you ask, Victoria in but she’s out, we are brayshaw) paired with some more day-to-day stuff that just didn’t hook me- I kept wanting to get over that hill. Once we did, this felt less like a 2.5-3 star and more like a 4 star- we got more clarity about who these folks are and the “secrets”, the relationship started to progress, and the emotional connection was developed-finally SHOWN instead of told. The push-pull is more interesting when there is emotional underpinning and progression. We get there- but the whole “this is brayshaw”/stubbornness of our characters in the first 40% wasn’t just slow but frustrating. And, the secrets are confusing. I felt like that in the prior Brayshaw books- I think that is part of the style, and I get it- we are as disoriented as our characters, but the pace with feeling confused (so much isn’t said, it’s implied) just kept me from loving this. I honestly had to push myself to keep reading during the first 30-40% hoping it would click for me. And, I really wanted to love this- Captain was the most interesting to me.
The last 15% or so was INCREDIBLE- this is the Meagan I love and the Brayshaw I love. Crazy twists, huge shocks, actions paired with heart, tender and emotive and passionate steam paired with a sweet romanticism, emotional nuance and plot complexity, and authentic connections. The last few chapters were BEAUTIFUL- the love story, the connection I’d been desiring- I wanted to savor it, and it actually raised my rating and made me like the book more because it ended on a strong note. I wanted to read more about this couple- and I couldn’t say that up until about 80% in- and I wish we’d gotten more of THAT Victoria-Captain.
Overall, this is solid. Not my favorite of the series, parts that I loved, parts that were meh. Worth the read. Strong writing, amazing characters, just didn’t quite click for me until the end. That epilogue, though- HOLY CRAP, give me Royce now! <3