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A review by sjhastoomanybooks
Cream of the Crop, Volume 2 by Alice Clayton
3.0
Ugh I have so many mixed feelings about this book. I'm such a fan of Alice Clayton and have given almost all of her books at least 4 stars, but this was a solid 3.5 for me. I really liked the first one in this series so had high hopes for this one, but it didn't stand up to others from her. That said, it's still Alice Clayton, so I still enjoyed it - but I just hold her to a ridiculous standard maybe :).
What I Liked:
- Trademark humor. When reading Alice Clayton, you expect to laugh out loud and the hijinks and antics and this is no exception. Between Natalie's conversations with Roxie, plus how much she gets wrong about football, there is a lot of lightness here.
- Natalie and her backstory. Despite the lightness, the author isn't afraid to go a little darker here when it comes to Natalie's past. I teared up when reading about her previous relationship and how it impacted her long term. It really broke my heart. It ultimately got her into a better, more confident place, which I appreciate.
- The FOOD. Like Nuts, the food and setting here is at the center and paints a wonderful world where the characters lived.
What I Didn't Like:
- Oscar. Beyond his physicality, I really didn't see what the fuss was about. There wasn't much to his personality, and so I didn't really get why someone as vivacious and awesome as Natalie was dropping everything to high-tail it up to see him every weekend. And in a book like this, if you don't like the hero, that will take the star count down a few notches.
- The conflict/ending. I won't give too much away, but basically, there's a moment where Oscar acts like a huge douche canoe, which infuriated me since up to that point everything had been on his turf. For those who want to know:
Overall:
I liked more than I disliked, but because the things I had issues with were bigger contributors to the book, that's why it gets the 3.5 from me. It's still Alice Clayton, though. She's just so awesome that I expect the sun, moon and stars from her, so am disappointed when I only get two out of the three.
What I Liked:
- Trademark humor. When reading Alice Clayton, you expect to laugh out loud and the hijinks and antics and this is no exception. Between Natalie's conversations with Roxie, plus how much she gets wrong about football, there is a lot of lightness here.
- Natalie and her backstory. Despite the lightness, the author isn't afraid to go a little darker here when it comes to Natalie's past. I teared up when reading about her previous relationship and how it impacted her long term. It really broke my heart. It ultimately got her into a better, more confident place, which I appreciate.
- The FOOD. Like Nuts, the food and setting here is at the center and paints a wonderful world where the characters lived.
What I Didn't Like:
- Oscar. Beyond his physicality, I really didn't see what the fuss was about. There wasn't much to his personality, and so I didn't really get why someone as vivacious and awesome as Natalie was dropping everything to high-tail it up to see him every weekend. And in a book like this, if you don't like the hero, that will take the star count down a few notches.
- The conflict/ending. I won't give too much away, but basically, there's a moment where Oscar acts like a huge douche canoe, which infuriated me since up to that point everything had been on his turf. For those who want to know:
Spoiler
I had a major issue with how Oscar acted at her mom's gallery. After Natalie made a real effort, spending time and energy in his world, learning to make cheese, moving things around to make events, the fact that Oscar couldn't at least try to show up for Natalie at the event pissed me off. If this was something that the characters addressed later, I would have felt better about it, but in the "apology" it was never discussed with that lens.Overall:
I liked more than I disliked, but because the things I had issues with were bigger contributors to the book, that's why it gets the 3.5 from me. It's still Alice Clayton, though. She's just so awesome that I expect the sun, moon and stars from her, so am disappointed when I only get two out of the three.