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A review by bekahlu
Steady Now by Liberty Stowe
1.0
This is a Maserati GranCabrio of a book. It will depreciate massively as soon as you drive away and be quickly forgotten. It may even be found on a free cart at a library. And just like a Maserati is a Stellantis product hidden under a thin Italian veneer, this book is equally lacking when you peel back the layers. Cheap, free of substance, and pretending to be something it’s not.
Wren Baldwin is running from her (wealthy, wretched family and ex-love interest) life. The front half of the novel tiptoes around the reasons why, and the reveal at the end falls flat, and honestly, it makes no sense. Wren's Maserati GranCabrio leaves her stranded in Vogel Springs, Texas. Hudson “Hud” Bass is the only mechanic in a small town who can fix it. Wren falls in love with the town, and her bestie Anderson swoops into town to hang out and magically start a bed and breakfast for seemingly no reason, other than the vibes. Wren and Hud are instantly infatuated with each other. Hud is emotionally unavailable in the most annoying way. Hud is dealing with multiple legal battles involving the custody of his child and a company vying for his privately owned land.
I will say that this book is readable (note: not the same thing as good), and the premise is cute. That's what drew me to reading it. I feel like the writing gets slightly better as the story progresses, but I may have just gotten used to the clunky prose. There are so many sentences that begin with I/she/her. Some repetitive phrasing and sentences got old very quickly, i.e. “That [insert noun.]” The language and phrasing used throughout the book just made me cringe and get secondhand embarrassment. If you like insta-lust love trope with a lot of spice and no substance or character development, you'll enjoy this easy read. It's a quick read because you can't finish reading this car wreck fast enough.
My critiques are numerous. There are spoilers below, so if you actually want to read the book, maybe don't read further. However, I don't recommend reading it unless the above applies to you.
I could believe that a rich, white woman thinks a Maserati GranCabrio is a good car. But a mechanic? Not so much. Towards the end, Wren pitches selling her "three hundred thousand dollar Maserati" to further the plot. You can buy a used Maserati for significantly less than a hundred grand, just look on Facebook Marketplace. The idea that she could sell a used Maserati for that amount is as unbelievable as Wren and Hud's romance.
I did read the trigger warnings of foul language, etc., however, I still think that men calling women "bitch" (and other profanities) happens so frequently in the story, it's annoying. This applies to all the men in this novel. I could believe that Hud is a good man if it weren't for how he throws this word around about the mother of his child. SPOILER: (I'm assuming the fact that he is caring for a child that isn’t biologically his, is supposed to be his big redeeming quality, but it does not do it for me) Even though the mother of the child is an antagonist character, a father should not be saying it so frequently, in my opinion. On a similar note, variations of the F-word are thrown frequently around to seemingly emphasize anger or irritation. To me, it just cheapens the writing. I'm not opposed to a few here and there, but it feels like every other page is sprinkled with an f-bomb. Furthermore, I'm supposed to swoon over a man who repeatedly voices thoughts about putting hands on and murdering a woman? Ahh, yes, nothing more romantic than getting assaulted. Hud's explosive anger and increasingly vulgar language is a big turn-off.
This is supposed to be a sexy, romance novel... well it's certainly one of those things. (spoiler alert: it's the former) The dialog feels forced and awkward. The spice is certainly there, and it's very descriptive, which is fine if you're into that— sure. Despite the fact that Wren and Hud keep insisting that their attraction feels natural and so right. I'm not convinced. The perspectives between Hud and Wren do not sound different enough to be believable. Both perspectives are using language that is too similar to describe things. I want to believe this romance, but I can't because the characters are interrupted anytime they have an interaction OR the interaction is just a short lustful embrace that (allegedly) feels so right. I'm supposed to believe these strangers are in love, but they can barely make it through a getting to know each other conversation. Wren and Hud are just in lust as far as I can tell. Their romance is surface level and uninteresting because neither character will open up to the other. In fact, they learn about each other’s past from their respective gay besties, because they themselves barely have any conversations. At one point, Hud lists off all their "memories" together, and it's just how many times they've done the deed. Nice. Also, there’s a photo at the end is supposed to be a big reveal moment but looks A.I. generated and is tacky.
There’s the conflict of the ex-love interest, Phillip, that is barely touched on and only exists for being the reason that Wren ran away. The core issue is hardly explained at all. I could go on, honestly. There were just so many moments while reading this that I just thought, “What?” Just like you can't convince me a Maserati is an impressive car, I can not be convinced to believe in this romance. 1/5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and RupertBossier for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Wren Baldwin is running from her (wealthy, wretched family and ex-love interest) life. The front half of the novel tiptoes around the reasons why, and the reveal at the end falls flat, and honestly, it makes no sense. Wren's Maserati GranCabrio leaves her stranded in Vogel Springs, Texas. Hudson “Hud” Bass is the only mechanic in a small town who can fix it. Wren falls in love with the town, and her bestie Anderson swoops into town to hang out and magically start a bed and breakfast for seemingly no reason, other than the vibes. Wren and Hud are instantly infatuated with each other. Hud is emotionally unavailable in the most annoying way. Hud is dealing with multiple legal battles involving the custody of his child and a company vying for his privately owned land.
I will say that this book is readable (note: not the same thing as good), and the premise is cute. That's what drew me to reading it. I feel like the writing gets slightly better as the story progresses, but I may have just gotten used to the clunky prose. There are so many sentences that begin with I/she/her. Some repetitive phrasing and sentences got old very quickly, i.e. “That [insert noun.]” The language and phrasing used throughout the book just made me cringe and get secondhand embarrassment. If you like insta-lust love trope with a lot of spice and no substance or character development, you'll enjoy this easy read. It's a quick read because you can't finish reading this car wreck fast enough.
My critiques are numerous. There are spoilers below, so if you actually want to read the book, maybe don't read further. However, I don't recommend reading it unless the above applies to you.
I could believe that a rich, white woman thinks a Maserati GranCabrio is a good car. But a mechanic? Not so much. Towards the end, Wren pitches selling her "three hundred thousand dollar Maserati" to further the plot. You can buy a used Maserati for significantly less than a hundred grand, just look on Facebook Marketplace. The idea that she could sell a used Maserati for that amount is as unbelievable as Wren and Hud's romance.
I did read the trigger warnings of foul language, etc., however, I still think that men calling women "bitch" (and other profanities) happens so frequently in the story, it's annoying. This applies to all the men in this novel. I could believe that Hud is a good man if it weren't for how he throws this word around about the mother of his child. SPOILER: (I'm assuming the fact that he is caring for a child that isn’t biologically his, is supposed to be his big redeeming quality, but it does not do it for me) Even though the mother of the child is an antagonist character, a father should not be saying it so frequently, in my opinion. On a similar note, variations of the F-word are thrown frequently around to seemingly emphasize anger or irritation. To me, it just cheapens the writing. I'm not opposed to a few here and there, but it feels like every other page is sprinkled with an f-bomb. Furthermore, I'm supposed to swoon over a man who repeatedly voices thoughts about putting hands on and murdering a woman? Ahh, yes, nothing more romantic than getting assaulted. Hud's explosive anger and increasingly vulgar language is a big turn-off.
This is supposed to be a sexy, romance novel... well it's certainly one of those things. (spoiler alert: it's the former) The dialog feels forced and awkward. The spice is certainly there, and it's very descriptive, which is fine if you're into that— sure. Despite the fact that Wren and Hud keep insisting that their attraction feels natural and so right. I'm not convinced. The perspectives between Hud and Wren do not sound different enough to be believable. Both perspectives are using language that is too similar to describe things. I want to believe this romance, but I can't because the characters are interrupted anytime they have an interaction OR the interaction is just a short lustful embrace that (allegedly) feels so right. I'm supposed to believe these strangers are in love, but they can barely make it through a getting to know each other conversation. Wren and Hud are just in lust as far as I can tell. Their romance is surface level and uninteresting because neither character will open up to the other. In fact, they learn about each other’s past from their respective gay besties, because they themselves barely have any conversations. At one point, Hud lists off all their "memories" together, and it's just how many times they've done the deed. Nice. Also, there’s a photo at the end is supposed to be a big reveal moment but looks A.I. generated and is tacky.
There’s the conflict of the ex-love interest, Phillip, that is barely touched on and only exists for being the reason that Wren ran away. The core issue is hardly explained at all. I could go on, honestly. There were just so many moments while reading this that I just thought, “What?” Just like you can't convince me a Maserati is an impressive car, I can not be convinced to believe in this romance. 1/5 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and RupertBossier for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.