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A review by chelseausher
Unsteady by Nicole Northwood
3.0
Content Warning: physical partner abuse (the ex).
This was cute! A super quick 50 page read with two likable main characters. I don't typically read romance novels with first person point of view, and even more rare - alternating firsts point of view. That said, I think Northwood created two characters that create a sweet, albeit fast, relationship.
While reading, I was looking for something a little deeper to grasp onto with both of their characters. Lincoln has more backstory than MC gets, but I was still hoping for a little more. There were quite a few things attached to both their characters that went past trope and landed into cliche territory. There's 100% a place for cliche in romance (I mean that in a GREAT way), but some of the expected pieces in romance, in my opinion, just did't get fully developed.
There was a crazy ex, cheating, a bartender, a will they-won't they, a love at first sight line, a "are they even into me?", a "you can't go out in that storm", a text breakup, and drunken (maybe not) a one night stand. I absolutely love these tropes but in only 50 pages, they didn't get a whole lot of page time.
There was also repetition in the little details - "cranberry" is one that comes to mind immediately. "Gin" is another. There were a lot of reminders that both MCs liked gin, and that Lincoln smelled like the cranberry juice from the bar - where he made cranberry vodkas all night.
All that said, I honestly really enjoyed the slice of life style of a novella. The intimacy is sweet and nervous and full of cute banter. The hookup felt authentic, and it was just a fun read all the way around.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and am provided an honest review.
This was cute! A super quick 50 page read with two likable main characters. I don't typically read romance novels with first person point of view, and even more rare - alternating firsts point of view. That said, I think Northwood created two characters that create a sweet, albeit fast, relationship.
While reading, I was looking for something a little deeper to grasp onto with both of their characters. Lincoln has more backstory than MC gets, but I was still hoping for a little more. There were quite a few things attached to both their characters that went past trope and landed into cliche territory. There's 100% a place for cliche in romance (I mean that in a GREAT way), but some of the expected pieces in romance, in my opinion, just did't get fully developed.
There was a crazy ex, cheating, a bartender, a will they-won't they, a love at first sight line, a "are they even into me?", a "you can't go out in that storm", a text breakup, and drunken (maybe not) a one night stand. I absolutely love these tropes but in only 50 pages, they didn't get a whole lot of page time.
There was also repetition in the little details - "cranberry" is one that comes to mind immediately. "Gin" is another. There were a lot of reminders that both MCs liked gin, and that Lincoln smelled like the cranberry juice from the bar - where he made cranberry vodkas all night.
All that said, I honestly really enjoyed the slice of life style of a novella. The intimacy is sweet and nervous and full of cute banter. The hookup felt authentic, and it was just a fun read all the way around.
I received a free copy of this book from the author and am provided an honest review.