Scan barcode
A review by ofbooksandromance
Up in Smoke by Annabeth Albert
5.0
5 learning how to be parents stars
You’re my family, Shane had said, and that exactly was what the song conveyed. They were a family, the three of them. They didn’t need T-shirts or some group chant. Just a string of memories, and this unexpected, unshakable bond. And the song so perfectly captured all of that. It was a wonder that Brandt’s heart didn’t leap out of his chest right then and there, present itself to Shane for the taking, because it was his now, and there was nothing Brandt could do about it.
I would like to make it clear that most people probably will not enjoy this book as much as I did. This is really low angst and almost nothing happens, and most people would probably find it really boring. But look, it’s 6 in the morning and I’ve been up all night to finish a term paper and I’m pretty sure that listening to the audiobook for this book is the only thing that kept me sane while writing that paper. It was the perfect read for this moment in my life and I absolutely loved everything about it. I only switched to the audiobook at 57%, the rest I read on my kindle, but damn was it perfect for the mood I’m in.
The good news in all this is that if you ever decide to start an important term paper on the last day possible, the audiobook for this book is the perfect thing to listen to while doing it. Well except for the fact that I cried for a lot of the last 20% of the book, which was not very productive to typing a paper, but hell, I still had a great time.
Brief summary: Brandt is a smokejumper, he had a one-night stand like 11 months ago and suddenly the girl’s brother, Shane, a country singer, shows up on his door step and tells him that the girl had a kid and that the kid is his. Together to learn how to take care of the kid, Jewel, and they become a family.
First, if you know me, you know that my absolute favourite type of books are low angst books, with a little conflict and people and situations that feel real and really good vibe. And this book had all of that, and it was all so well done.
Second, everything about Jewel and them learning how to be parents was perfect. I loved how important Jewel was to the story. I loved how they tried so badly to be good parents. I loved seeing them fumble and trying to get a hang of how parenting works. I loved how they both wanted to give Jewel what they never had as kids. I loved the moment that they both realized that they want to be each other’s family, it was so damn lovely.
Third, I absolutely adored the relationship build-up, I loved how it started as them taking care of the kid and how it slowly built into an attraction to the other and then they slowly fell in love and became a family. Everything about that part was so well done, I love it. The attraction they had for the other was so well portrayed. The longing was excellent in this book, you could feel just how much they wanted the other and you could see them clearly slowly falling in love, that was just perfectly done. I also loved how these two took care of each other.
Fourth, I loved how real this book felt. I liked that they both had worries and that they wondered how things could affect their lives and their family. I liked how they were both shaped by their pasts and how it coloured their actions, that was such a realistic portrayal. I loved how all of the small details of their personalities shown through their actions.
Fifth, the sex scenes were so damn hot in this. They both had never been with a man before (Shane was a virgin and Brandt is bi but never had sex with a man) and I loved seeing them share all of their first times, it was just so good.
Sixth, I loved the two main characters. I loved how well they complimented the other. They were the perfect balance for each other. Brandt and his impulsiveness and Shane that made him slow down was just so good. They were a really good team.
Seventh, I liked that the conflict in the book never felt over the top, it felt very realistic, and I could easily see it happening. And I liked that there was only a little conflict and not too much drama.
Eight, I just loved seeing them decide how they want their future lives to be and the declaration of love was so perfect to me. I also loved when they realized that they love the other, all of those scenes were just perfect to me. Also, I want to give an insane amount of bonus points for not including a big break-up at 80%, damn was I happy about that fact.
Ninth, I loved the vibes of the book, with all of the talks of music (all of the music descriptions were also damn lovely) and them taking care of Jewel, it just had such a nice vibe.
I would have liked them to communicate some more, it would have saved them some time, but it didn’t change my enjoyment of the book, at all.
I just had such a good time reading this book and it was exactly what I needed at this moment in time.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.
You’re my family, Shane had said, and that exactly was what the song conveyed. They were a family, the three of them. They didn’t need T-shirts or some group chant. Just a string of memories, and this unexpected, unshakable bond. And the song so perfectly captured all of that. It was a wonder that Brandt’s heart didn’t leap out of his chest right then and there, present itself to Shane for the taking, because it was his now, and there was nothing Brandt could do about it.
I would like to make it clear that most people probably will not enjoy this book as much as I did. This is really low angst and almost nothing happens, and most people would probably find it really boring. But look, it’s 6 in the morning and I’ve been up all night to finish a term paper and I’m pretty sure that listening to the audiobook for this book is the only thing that kept me sane while writing that paper. It was the perfect read for this moment in my life and I absolutely loved everything about it. I only switched to the audiobook at 57%, the rest I read on my kindle, but damn was it perfect for the mood I’m in.
The good news in all this is that if you ever decide to start an important term paper on the last day possible, the audiobook for this book is the perfect thing to listen to while doing it. Well except for the fact that I cried for a lot of the last 20% of the book, which was not very productive to typing a paper, but hell, I still had a great time.
Brief summary: Brandt is a smokejumper, he had a one-night stand like 11 months ago and suddenly the girl’s brother, Shane, a country singer, shows up on his door step and tells him that the girl had a kid and that the kid is his. Together to learn how to take care of the kid, Jewel, and they become a family.
First, if you know me, you know that my absolute favourite type of books are low angst books, with a little conflict and people and situations that feel real and really good vibe. And this book had all of that, and it was all so well done.
Second, everything about Jewel and them learning how to be parents was perfect. I loved how important Jewel was to the story. I loved how they tried so badly to be good parents. I loved seeing them fumble and trying to get a hang of how parenting works. I loved how they both wanted to give Jewel what they never had as kids. I loved the moment that they both realized that they want to be each other’s family, it was so damn lovely.
Third, I absolutely adored the relationship build-up, I loved how it started as them taking care of the kid and how it slowly built into an attraction to the other and then they slowly fell in love and became a family. Everything about that part was so well done, I love it. The attraction they had for the other was so well portrayed. The longing was excellent in this book, you could feel just how much they wanted the other and you could see them clearly slowly falling in love, that was just perfectly done. I also loved how these two took care of each other.
Fourth, I loved how real this book felt. I liked that they both had worries and that they wondered how things could affect their lives and their family. I liked how they were both shaped by their pasts and how it coloured their actions, that was such a realistic portrayal. I loved how all of the small details of their personalities shown through their actions.
Fifth, the sex scenes were so damn hot in this. They both had never been with a man before (Shane was a virgin and Brandt is bi but never had sex with a man) and I loved seeing them share all of their first times, it was just so good.
Sixth, I loved the two main characters. I loved how well they complimented the other. They were the perfect balance for each other. Brandt and his impulsiveness and Shane that made him slow down was just so good. They were a really good team.
Seventh, I liked that the conflict in the book never felt over the top, it felt very realistic, and I could easily see it happening. And I liked that there was only a little conflict and not too much drama.
Eight, I just loved seeing them decide how they want their future lives to be and the declaration of love was so perfect to me. I also loved when they realized that they love the other, all of those scenes were just perfect to me. Also, I want to give an insane amount of bonus points for not including a big break-up at 80%, damn was I happy about that fact.
Ninth, I loved the vibes of the book, with all of the talks of music (all of the music descriptions were also damn lovely) and them taking care of Jewel, it just had such a nice vibe.
I would have liked them to communicate some more, it would have saved them some time, but it didn’t change my enjoyment of the book, at all.
I just had such a good time reading this book and it was exactly what I needed at this moment in time.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.