A review by lisibee815
Hard to Get by Laura Moher

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 Andi's work at the local women's shelter keeps her fulfilled, but with her close friends coupled up sometimes the need to let loose is overwhelming. Kevin, unceremoniously dumped by his fiancée for being too boring, has moved halfway across the country to start a new life but feels lonely away from his family. This book is the third in a series, I've actually read the first book and really enjoyed it but I haven't read the second book. The story jumps right in without a lot of explanation or exposition, but it wasn't hard to follow and I think this would work okay as a standalone. Characters from previous books play a heavy role but a lot is explained and I didn't feel lost. There are dual 1st-person POVs, which I always appreciate. Pay attention to content warnings, there are definitely deeper themes in this story. Nice messaging about venturing out of your comfort zone but also learning to trust yourself and accept who you are. Flawed but very likeable main characters and I enjoyed Andi and Kevin, both apart and together. The body positivity is very present in this book, which is always welcome. This is an open-door romance. 

I have some thoughts about a few iffy plot points that detracted from my overall enjoyment, but they're spoilers and are clearly marked at the end of this review. I did struggle with how to rate this one. Based on my feelings about the plot points I initially thought maybe I wasn't the right audience for this book, which I always try not to let impact a rating. But as the story went on I realized that it was actually some of the author's choices that were affecting my overall enjoyment. I really liked Andi and Kevin, but I just couldn't get past some of the plot devices used. I will read this author again, though: her characterizations are very good and she makes you care about the characters, and her writing style is engaging. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an eARC of this book, this has been my objective review. 

 




***SPOILERS*** 

As noted above, I had some issues with some plot points. I know I should be suspending disbelief, but I find it hard to believe that this very smart women who works at a domestic violence shelter and is otherwise ultra-cautious is willing to  get in some guy's car and go to his apartment with him, a guy she *just* met. Forget about the risk of having sex with this unknown person, my bigger issue is that she freely allowed herself to be transported to a second location, in his car. She knows all the ways this could end badly, right? Then she flip-flops for the bulk of the rest of the book, agonizing whether or not to trust him. And unfortunately, that event happening at the beginning of the book set a tone of mild frustration for me for the rest of the book. Also, the unexpected pregnancy felt like an unnecessary plot device. They both had enough insecurity to cause barriers to their happiness, as evidenced by the push-pull they just couldn't seem to help. But adding in a surprise baby felt like a cheatsy-doodle hack to get them together, baby as forced proximity I guess. And finally, while I understand why Andi is hesitant about trusting men, I'm not a huge fan of relationship tests and that one felt immature and unkind. Did I miss where anyone ever explained to Kevin what was going on and actually apologized to him? 

***END SPOILERS*** 

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