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A review by bookishlyjae
In a Jam by Kate Canterbary
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
3.0
I have such mixed feelings for this book. Definitely torn between a 2.5 and 3 star rating. Still not sure I ended up with the right number.
The first half of this book, aka the super slow burn portion, was really good. I loved the character set up and the way they interacted. The chemistry was good. There were a couple fake dating scenes which were my favorite of the whole book. But the cherry on top was Noah's niece he adopted. She was such a cute kid. Loved her to pieces and was genuinely heartbroken when her past was revealed.
The second half of this book made me feel really uncomfortable. That's purely for the spice scenes (of which there were plenty). Not to yuck anyone's yum but the phrasing of what was happening and the dirty talk were just... not for me. And maybe it's because I've read so many other spicy books and a few dark romances, but calling the most vanilla stuff I've ever read "beastly" just didn't click. Some of these scenes had such good potential, great set up, but the language when things actually heated up was odd to me, at best. Let's just say as someone who really loves spicy scenes, I wish this book was fade to black. But then again, maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Also, I will say the pet name wife is an odd decision that made me cringe every time I heard it.
As for the more plot oriented aspects of the second half, those were great. I loved the way Shay discovered Noah's love for her. I thought it was very cute. And their actual confessions were great. HEA was also quite cute.
I'd still recommend this book but with huge spice related caveats. And because of the sheer length of these scenes, I kinda bumped my rating down a lot.
The Story: 4.5/5 ⭐
The Spice: 2/5 ⭐ and 2/5 🌶️
The first half of this book, aka the super slow burn portion, was really good. I loved the character set up and the way they interacted. The chemistry was good. There were a couple fake dating scenes which were my favorite of the whole book. But the cherry on top was Noah's niece he adopted. She was such a cute kid. Loved her to pieces and was genuinely heartbroken when her past was revealed.
The second half of this book made me feel really uncomfortable. That's purely for the spice scenes (of which there were plenty). Not to yuck anyone's yum but the phrasing of what was happening and the dirty talk were just... not for me. And maybe it's because I've read so many other spicy books and a few dark romances, but calling the most vanilla stuff I've ever read "beastly" just didn't click. Some of these scenes had such good potential, great set up, but the language when things actually heated up was odd to me, at best. Let's just say as someone who really loves spicy scenes, I wish this book was fade to black. But then again, maybe it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Also, I will say the pet name wife is an odd decision that made me cringe every time I heard it.
As for the more plot oriented aspects of the second half, those were great. I loved the way Shay discovered Noah's love for her. I thought it was very cute. And their actual confessions were great. HEA was also quite cute.
I'd still recommend this book but with huge spice related caveats. And because of the sheer length of these scenes, I kinda bumped my rating down a lot.
The Story: 4.5/5 ⭐
The Spice: 2/5 ⭐ and 2/5 🌶️