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A review by katemc7
In a Jam by Kate Canterbary
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this book! I loved the characters. The setting. The backdrop. The pacing. The witt and banter. It was just perfect- it was SUCH a good small town feel good book. We had two characters who had wanted to get out of this town when they were younger. They had even set a plan up to do that together. But plans change and time moves on. Now Shay is back in town after a disaster of a wedding and sees Noah. The boy she made said plans with. Noah is the literal definition of a grouch who happens to be a complete cinnamon roll on the inside. He can't seem to say no to like ANYONE. He has been thrown into an impossible situation with his niece and is now single parenting. The way these two wind themselves around each other is perfect. Noah had crushed on Shay back in the day and though he hates it, the crush has come roaring back. Neither of them say that they want anything but then they experience each other, and it's everything they ever wanted. Noah shows Shay how a relationship SHOULD work and how she SHOULD be made to feel all while supporting her and wanting her to chase her dreams. Shay is in AWE of EVERYTHING that Noah has accomplished with the hand he has been dealt. The chemistry between these two was great. I loved reading Noah's parts and seeing how much he was trying to hold back. It was obvious to everyone BUT Shay that the dude was CRUSHING on her. I also loved the reality of the challenges that both of these characters had faced. There were some hard topics discussed in this and Kate did a great job with those.
Shay has hit rock bottom. Her fiance didn't show up at their wedding. He left her to clean it all up. Now she gets the will of the woman who basically raised her, and to her shock she has left her her farm back home. She claims that Shay will know what to do. There are stipulations like she has to live there for a year and be married in order by the end of that time to truly inherit it. Which is how Shay finds herself back in Friendship. And how she runs into Noah Barden. Her best friend in high school. Who has grown into a HOTTIE. And become a successful businessman in the area. Who has become the full time guardian for his niece so is also a single parent. Oh and he is an EXTREME grump. The one that really catches Shay's attention is his niece, Gennie. She needs help before going to first grade and Shay offers to help because why not. The more time she spends with Gennie and Noah though the more she can envision a future here. This is how she comes up with a plan to fake marry Noah so that they can keep the farm. Of course there are no actual feelings involved. But it does feel like there is MORE going on between them. He doesn't seem to want to acknowledge it but Shay can't help but poke at it every now and again. And she really likes when she gets a reaction out of Noah. When things finally come to a head between them she realizes how much she has really been sacrificing of herself to make other people happy. He treats her like a queen. He is everything she could ever want in a REAL husband. The question is if this jaunt into small town life could become her forever for real.
Noah has worked hard to get to where he is now. He has had to make sacrifices and deal with some very painful things but that's ok because it has led him here. The guardian to his niece while his sister is in prison. The owner of a very famous farm. The man who puts everyone above himself. But all of that changes when Shay Zucconi moves back into town. HIS Shay. The woman who he was in love with in high school but she never reciprocated his feelings. Now she is here as his next door neighbor. As much as he doesn't want to help her, he finds himself saying yes constantly. Yes she can come over or dinner. Yes can she please help Gennie this summer so she doesn't fail kindergarten. Yes he will be her fake husband so that he can get more land. That one was harder to swallow because he feels things for this woman. Because she is a woman now. And she doesn't seem to understand how much her leaving back in the day affected him. So he leaves his walls up. For as long as he can. But the more she is around the more he wants this to be real. He wants to sleep with his wife. He wants to enjoy her and see where this could go. Does she want that too? He knows they could be so good together if she just gave into this feeling and could show him that she wanted to be here. And then they do what he has been dreaming about since he was 16 and it is more than he could have hoped for. And now he knows that he will actually beg her to stay because he can't imagine living another day without her as his actual wife.
NOAH!! OMG THIS MAN. We knew he had been pining for Shay from afar back in the day. But the way that he pampered her in the now and tried to shrug it off like all of these little gestures he did weren't a big deal. The way he kept her letters!! I am not going to say the big one but omg IYKYK. He was just such a softie and needed the space to be able to prove to Shay that they could be a sure thing. Watching these three become a family unit was so adorable. I laughed out loud at Gennie and all of her shenanigans! A lot of that was just so on point haha. I found myself smiling almost this whole book because I couldn't wait to see how everything would unfold. I can't WAIT to see more characters in this series. I also can't recommend it enough if you haven't read it yet!!
Shay has hit rock bottom. Her fiance didn't show up at their wedding. He left her to clean it all up. Now she gets the will of the woman who basically raised her, and to her shock she has left her her farm back home. She claims that Shay will know what to do. There are stipulations like she has to live there for a year and be married in order by the end of that time to truly inherit it. Which is how Shay finds herself back in Friendship. And how she runs into Noah Barden. Her best friend in high school. Who has grown into a HOTTIE. And become a successful businessman in the area. Who has become the full time guardian for his niece so is also a single parent. Oh and he is an EXTREME grump. The one that really catches Shay's attention is his niece, Gennie. She needs help before going to first grade and Shay offers to help because why not. The more time she spends with Gennie and Noah though the more she can envision a future here. This is how she comes up with a plan to fake marry Noah so that they can keep the farm. Of course there are no actual feelings involved. But it does feel like there is MORE going on between them. He doesn't seem to want to acknowledge it but Shay can't help but poke at it every now and again. And she really likes when she gets a reaction out of Noah. When things finally come to a head between them she realizes how much she has really been sacrificing of herself to make other people happy. He treats her like a queen. He is everything she could ever want in a REAL husband. The question is if this jaunt into small town life could become her forever for real.
Noah has worked hard to get to where he is now. He has had to make sacrifices and deal with some very painful things but that's ok because it has led him here. The guardian to his niece while his sister is in prison. The owner of a very famous farm. The man who puts everyone above himself. But all of that changes when Shay Zucconi moves back into town. HIS Shay. The woman who he was in love with in high school but she never reciprocated his feelings. Now she is here as his next door neighbor. As much as he doesn't want to help her, he finds himself saying yes constantly. Yes she can come over or dinner. Yes can she please help Gennie this summer so she doesn't fail kindergarten. Yes he will be her fake husband so that he can get more land. That one was harder to swallow because he feels things for this woman. Because she is a woman now. And she doesn't seem to understand how much her leaving back in the day affected him. So he leaves his walls up. For as long as he can. But the more she is around the more he wants this to be real. He wants to sleep with his wife. He wants to enjoy her and see where this could go. Does she want that too? He knows they could be so good together if she just gave into this feeling and could show him that she wanted to be here. And then they do what he has been dreaming about since he was 16 and it is more than he could have hoped for. And now he knows that he will actually beg her to stay because he can't imagine living another day without her as his actual wife.
NOAH!! OMG THIS MAN. We knew he had been pining for Shay from afar back in the day. But the way that he pampered her in the now and tried to shrug it off like all of these little gestures he did weren't a big deal. The way he kept her letters!! I am not going to say the big one but omg IYKYK. He was just such a softie and needed the space to be able to prove to Shay that they could be a sure thing. Watching these three become a family unit was so adorable. I laughed out loud at Gennie and all of her shenanigans! A lot of that was just so on point haha. I found myself smiling almost this whole book because I couldn't wait to see how everything would unfold. I can't WAIT to see more characters in this series. I also can't recommend it enough if you haven't read it yet!!