Take a photo of a barcode or cover
indieandajean 's review for:
Give Me a Shot
by Gia de Cadenet
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Penguin Random House Audio for the free audio review copy of Give Me a Shot by Gia de Cadenet! My review is reflective of my unbiased opinions for this book.
This was an overall fun read! As a noted giant dork and Renaissance Faire fan, I always pick up any romance novel I can find where faire scenes are included, so I knew I had to give this one a shot. That being said, the renaissance faire wasn't exactly the main setting of the novel, so despite what the cover may lead you to believe, the sections with actual renaissance faire situations and settings are few.
I found, however, that I didn't mind this so much. Both Mo and Jess are loveable characters who I cheered for throughout the book, and seeing them through their unfortunate meeting to their happily ever after was a fun and positive journey to take as a reader.
I liked that this wasn't a grumpy/sunshine story, but rather that it took two people that others initially read as cold or grumpy and showed that once you get to know them they are as loving and kind as anyone else!
This is the first time that I have read a romance where the MMC was openly neurodivergent and I felt like the author handled it really well. I always appreciate a book that shows that loving someone with neurodivergence or a disability isn't any more difficult than loving someone who is neurotypical or able bodied, because it really isn't, it just means learning them and their needs like you do for anyone.
All of that said, there were a couple things that kept me from loving the book as much as I would have liked to. I feel as though sometimes scenes ended too abruptly, or a character was referring to something that happened in the past and it wasn't clear that they were doing so. This may be related to the fact that I was reading it in audio, not in ebook or physical format, but this is not an issue that I have had with other audiobooks. The situation surrounding Jess's sister and her death also threw me off a bit as I felt like she was so certain her sister had been murdered, but I don't recall there being anything about a police investigation or anything else. It seems like her character would have pushed for something like that, even from abroad, but I may be misremembering. I felt the relationship between her and her parents could have been better fleshed out as well. It just didn't seem to make sense to me that a sexist and abusive father would have encouraged her to participate in a sport at an elite level. It just doesn't seem to fit with his "you should marry a man who doesn't work with his hands and be a housewife" vibe.
Otherwise I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to readers of Jen DeLuca's Well Met Series, and to readers who are looking for positive neurodivergent rep in their romances.
This was an overall fun read! As a noted giant dork and Renaissance Faire fan, I always pick up any romance novel I can find where faire scenes are included, so I knew I had to give this one a shot. That being said, the renaissance faire wasn't exactly the main setting of the novel, so despite what the cover may lead you to believe, the sections with actual renaissance faire situations and settings are few.
I found, however, that I didn't mind this so much. Both Mo and Jess are loveable characters who I cheered for throughout the book, and seeing them through their unfortunate meeting to their happily ever after was a fun and positive journey to take as a reader.
I liked that this wasn't a grumpy/sunshine story, but rather that it took two people that others initially read as cold or grumpy and showed that once you get to know them they are as loving and kind as anyone else!
This is the first time that I have read a romance where the MMC was openly neurodivergent and I felt like the author handled it really well. I always appreciate a book that shows that loving someone with neurodivergence or a disability isn't any more difficult than loving someone who is neurotypical or able bodied, because it really isn't, it just means learning them and their needs like you do for anyone.
All of that said, there were a couple things that kept me from loving the book as much as I would have liked to. I feel as though sometimes scenes ended too abruptly, or a character was referring to something that happened in the past and it wasn't clear that they were doing so. This may be related to the fact that I was reading it in audio, not in ebook or physical format, but this is not an issue that I have had with other audiobooks. The situation surrounding Jess's sister and her death also threw me off a bit as I felt like she was so certain her sister had been murdered, but I don't recall there being anything about a police investigation or anything else. It seems like her character would have pushed for something like that, even from abroad, but I may be misremembering. I felt the relationship between her and her parents could have been better fleshed out as well. It just didn't seem to make sense to me that a sexist and abusive father would have encouraged her to participate in a sport at an elite level. It just doesn't seem to fit with his "you should marry a man who doesn't work with his hands and be a housewife" vibe.
Otherwise I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to readers of Jen DeLuca's Well Met Series, and to readers who are looking for positive neurodivergent rep in their romances.