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A review by kerrygetsliterary
Steady Now by Liberty Stowe
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC.
This had so much potential that sadly just fell completely flat. The characters are one-dimensional, the emotional connection between Wren and Hud was nonexistent, and the only thing realistic about it was the corporate greed of VoltEdge.
The writing has inconsistencies, is clunky, and it fosters no emotion. The insta love is truly INSANT in this book and they never have a single deep conversation or truly know anything about each other before becoming completely infatuated with each other. Physical attraction? Lust? Sure. Falling for someone in 4 seconds without even knowing what she does for a living? No. Their connection that just felt so right was completely unbelievable.
One of my least favorite tropes was also over utilized: miscommunication. Except it wasn't even miscommunication, but a complete lack of it. Since they had no meaningful conversations, they barely had ANY dialogue at all, and when they did it was awkward. They made assumptions about each other without speaking. Just talk to each other! You're adults! Ugh.
The pacing was off as well. Everything between the MCs was kept hidden, but even the reader misses out on the characters' backstories. Things finally get revealed toward the end, but by then it's too late, and I was already bored long before they open up. There's no depth, and the story is underdeveloped. I was often confused about what the point was. The ending was also so abrupt after all that non build up to rush the end that I simultaneously thought "that's it?" and "finally."
And if Wren was described as sooo small one more time I felt like I was going to toss my kobo across the room. Her TINY hands. Her TINY waist. Her LITTLE hands around Hud's eggplant. "He's so big in my TINY hand." She's an adorable, TINY human. "She is so SMALL." Please stop, good god. How cliche.
Minor spoiler ahead: If that wasn't enough, I was turned off by how Hud kept referring to the mother of his child as a "bitch" and a "whore." This woman is actually the worst, but that was unnecessary. At least he didn't say it in front of his kid. I had more issues with the writing and diction, but I just cannot go back and look at it again, and I'm sure you get the point.
If this wasn't for Netgalley, I would have DNFed.
This had so much potential that sadly just fell completely flat. The characters are one-dimensional, the emotional connection between Wren and Hud was nonexistent, and the only thing realistic about it was the corporate greed of VoltEdge.
The writing has inconsistencies, is clunky, and it fosters no emotion. The insta love is truly INSANT in this book and they never have a single deep conversation or truly know anything about each other before becoming completely infatuated with each other. Physical attraction? Lust? Sure. Falling for someone in 4 seconds without even knowing what she does for a living? No. Their connection that just felt so right was completely unbelievable.
One of my least favorite tropes was also over utilized: miscommunication. Except it wasn't even miscommunication, but a complete lack of it. Since they had no meaningful conversations, they barely had ANY dialogue at all, and when they did it was awkward. They made assumptions about each other without speaking. Just talk to each other! You're adults! Ugh.
The pacing was off as well. Everything between the MCs was kept hidden, but even the reader misses out on the characters' backstories. Things finally get revealed toward the end, but by then it's too late, and I was already bored long before they open up. There's no depth, and the story is underdeveloped. I was often confused about what the point was. The ending was also so abrupt after all that non build up to rush the end that I simultaneously thought "that's it?" and "finally."
And if Wren was described as sooo small one more time I felt like I was going to toss my kobo across the room. Her TINY hands. Her TINY waist. Her LITTLE hands around Hud's eggplant. "He's so big in my TINY hand." She's an adorable, TINY human. "She is so SMALL." Please stop, good god. How cliche.
Minor spoiler ahead: If that wasn't enough, I was turned off by how Hud kept referring to the mother of his child as a "bitch" and a "whore." This woman is actually the worst, but that was unnecessary. At least he didn't say it in front of his kid. I had more issues with the writing and diction, but I just cannot go back and look at it again, and I'm sure you get the point.
If this wasn't for Netgalley, I would have DNFed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent