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thewordslinger 's review for:
Her Greatest Mistake
by Hannah Cowan
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
God how I tried to enjoy this book. I really, honest to God did try.
The nicknames almost gave me an aneurysm. Curly Fry? For a plus-sized woman? 🤮Baby Girl? ICK. That's worse!
And she shortens his name to DOX. Fucking DOX!
Anyway, moving on.
The second-chance part of this romance made literally ZERO sense.
I can't understand how these two people behaved the way they did, said the things they did to each other, carved their initials into a tree in a heart!!!!! and still didn't manage to BE boyfriend and girlfriend when they were teenagers. In the flashbacks homeboy frequently, FREQUENTLY! monologues about how he's gonna marry this girl, how he has their futures planned out until they're 80. And yet doesn't make a move? How is that possible? WHY? Like COME ON.
And something else that didn't make any goddamned sense? The massive, huge, unforgivable BeTrAyAl Braxton apparently committed against Maddox.
I guess I just don't really think what Braxton did was all that bad? She gave him her opinion (gasp, shock-horror, consider my pearls clutched), urging him to make the wrong decision. Agreed with her father (who was at the time Maddox's agent) when she probably shouldn't have. Braxton in the present admitted it was selfish of her at the time, but she was A TEENAGER--one who was in love and didn't want to lose her BFF and would-be boyfriend.
Okay, fair enough, honestly? That's a totally 100% believable reason for doing what she did.
And yet, this terrible, awful, no good, very bad decision is what drove them away from each other for a DECADE. A decision, mind you, that HE MADE OF HIS OWN VOLITION. She didn't bribe him or pressure him or blackmail him. Nope. His dumb ass agreed with the decision against his better judgement all on his own. And then Daddy had to fix the problems he created.
So when he waltzes back into her life, she feels compelled to fake-date him in order to mend fences and this dude plays Katy Perry's Hot N Cold on fucking repeat for over 60% of the book. When she's openly admitted to still feeling things for him.
And the spice! Eugh. Listen. I was willing to glide past all of that crap up there until you told me the MMC was a whole ass virgin at 26, after being the FACE OF THE NHL for YEARS. Puh-lease. You mean to tell me homeboy fucks like a GOD the FIRST TIME he gets inside the woman he's been lusting after for a decade? You mean to tell me he finds her g-spot on the first try, KNOWS what to look for, when he's never felt one before?
He even throws in a "good girl" and a hand necklace for good measure.
Like did Maddox spend that decade apart reading smutty BookTok recommendations or something? Where'd he get all this knowledge if he's never been with a woman like this before?
Nah bro. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.
And the author takes the time to make the FMC feel SHAME for not waiting for him--for not being a virgin herself. THEY'RE IN THEIR MID TWENTIES! She had NO idea she'd ever even see homeboy again, so what should she honestly have waited around for? Give me a break.
Maybe I was supposed to believe this was sweet or something. That he's hung up on this woman--but all I could think was this dude's gotten tatted for her, won't date other women because of her, and yet CANNOT forgive her for being a stupid teenager who asked him to make a decision that went against his better interests. You can't have it both ways, home skillet. Either you're so in love with her you're saving yourself for her, or you hate her for her 'betrayal' and never want to see or hear from her again. Pick one.
Now let's talk for a minute about Braxton, shall we? Whip-smart. Kind hearted, animal-loving curvy girl.
Total bombshell.
Confidence of a flea. 🙄😒
Look, I get the representation--I'm all for a plus-sized FMC. I LIVE for that shit (I'm not a model, either, so a lot of these make regular gals like myself feel seen, ya know?). But this girl's confidence issues drove me <i>batshit bananas</b>.
It's not that it's not realistic--obviously this is a common issue in these sorts of stories. But she's CONSTANTLY going on about how she's too fat or too heavy or how her clothes cut into her skin. Constantly seeking validation and encouragement from Maddox. CONSTANTLY. He's told her in no uncertain terms, since they were KIDS! that she's gorgeous. That he'd love her at any weight. I kept waiting for the part where girl throws her shoulders back and owns her body like a badass--but it never fucking happens. The insecurities may be realistic, but they're also goddamned annoying when it's 70% of the character's personality and NOTHING changes.
She's also a veterinarian. Woo! Awesome! A fucking doctor! Except we don't get to see her do virtually ANY dog-doctoring at all throughout the book. Once she and Maddox meet up again, she might as well have been a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesperson for all the 'working' she gets done on page. I was really hoping we'd get to see way more of her job, of her being in her element than we did.
Now, let's take a moment to <s>breathe</s> say something positive about our girl, shall we? Braxton's got some serious daddy issues in this book.
I know that doesn't sound like a positive thing, but hear me out! Her father is a REAL peach--a well written terrible and manipulative character. I was glad to see Braxton stand up for herself against him multiple times. I was glad to know that in this at least, she's got a little bit of a spine. I was also glad to see Maddox confront him at her side.
This drama was probably the best part of the book for me. Actually that, and the drama that crops up at the 70% mark. The attack on Braxton comes out of left field, but at least it's a little action.
So obviously there's some big drama to wrap this story up, yeah? Someone planted a bug in Brax's car and catches her 'breaking the NDA' by talking about her 'fake' relationship. The twisted web of corrupt and cowardly people trying to ruin another's reputation to save their own...Best part of the whole story. And I'm honesty proud that the happy couple sticks together through all of it (even if Braxton tries to martyr herself). I'm glad that they COMMUNICATE with each other. And it was good to see Maddox refuse to let Braxton go, regardless of however this bullshit threatens to end his career.
It was even better to see the way Maddox's FAMILY steps up to defend and protect Braxton. Go Oakley go!
THAT was what I came into this book to read about. There is no 3rd act breakup. And I'll give Hannah Cowan her kudos for that.
I considered briefly giving the second book in this series a go. But we get to know the characters a bit in this book and ew.
Maddox's kid sister wants to travel the world. She's only 18 and has JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. Maddox's and Braxton's BFF Cooper goes with her. The 28 year old HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
I dunno if he was ever HER teacher, and I don't really care. He's closing in on 30, and she's just barely out of k-12 grade school. I don't think I could stomach a story like that. So this is gonna be a one and done for me.
The nicknames almost gave me an aneurysm. Curly Fry? For a plus-sized woman? 🤮Baby Girl? ICK. That's worse!
And she shortens his name to DOX. Fucking DOX!
Anyway, moving on.
The second-chance part of this romance made literally ZERO sense.
I can't understand how these two people behaved the way they did, said the things they did to each other, carved their initials into a tree in a heart!!!!! and still didn't manage to BE boyfriend and girlfriend when they were teenagers. In the flashbacks homeboy frequently, FREQUENTLY! monologues about how he's gonna marry this girl, how he has their futures planned out until they're 80. And yet doesn't make a move? How is that possible? WHY? Like COME ON.
And something else that didn't make any goddamned sense? The massive, huge, unforgivable BeTrAyAl Braxton apparently committed against Maddox.
I guess I just don't really think what Braxton did was all that bad? She gave him her opinion (gasp, shock-horror, consider my pearls clutched), urging him to make the wrong decision. Agreed with her father (who was at the time Maddox's agent) when she probably shouldn't have. Braxton in the present admitted it was selfish of her at the time, but she was A TEENAGER--one who was in love and didn't want to lose her BFF and would-be boyfriend.
Okay, fair enough, honestly? That's a totally 100% believable reason for doing what she did.
And yet, this terrible, awful, no good, very bad decision is what drove them away from each other for a DECADE. A decision, mind you, that HE MADE OF HIS OWN VOLITION. She didn't bribe him or pressure him or blackmail him. Nope. His dumb ass agreed with the decision against his better judgement all on his own. And then Daddy had to fix the problems he created.
So when he waltzes back into her life, she feels compelled to fake-date him in order to mend fences and this dude plays Katy Perry's Hot N Cold on fucking repeat for over 60% of the book. When she's openly admitted to still feeling things for him.
And the spice! Eugh. Listen. I was willing to glide past all of that crap up there until you told me the MMC was a whole ass virgin at 26, after being the FACE OF THE NHL for YEARS. Puh-lease. You mean to tell me homeboy fucks like a GOD the FIRST TIME he gets inside the woman he's been lusting after for a decade? You mean to tell me he finds her g-spot on the first try, KNOWS what to look for, when he's never felt one before?
He even throws in a "good girl" and a hand necklace for good measure.
Like did Maddox spend that decade apart reading smutty BookTok recommendations or something? Where'd he get all this knowledge if he's never been with a woman like this before?
Nah bro. I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday.
And the author takes the time to make the FMC feel SHAME for not waiting for him--for not being a virgin herself. THEY'RE IN THEIR MID TWENTIES! She had NO idea she'd ever even see homeboy again, so what should she honestly have waited around for? Give me a break.
Maybe I was supposed to believe this was sweet or something. That he's hung up on this woman--but all I could think was this dude's gotten tatted for her, won't date other women because of her, and yet CANNOT forgive her for being a stupid teenager who asked him to make a decision that went against his better interests. You can't have it both ways, home skillet. Either you're so in love with her you're saving yourself for her, or you hate her for her 'betrayal' and never want to see or hear from her again. Pick one.
Now let's talk for a minute about Braxton, shall we? Whip-smart. Kind hearted, animal-loving curvy girl.
Total bombshell.
Confidence of a flea. 🙄😒
Look, I get the representation--I'm all for a plus-sized FMC. I LIVE for that shit (I'm not a model, either, so a lot of these make regular gals like myself feel seen, ya know?). But this girl's confidence issues drove me <i>batshit bananas</b>.
It's not that it's not realistic--obviously this is a common issue in these sorts of stories. But she's CONSTANTLY going on about how she's too fat or too heavy or how her clothes cut into her skin. Constantly seeking validation and encouragement from Maddox. CONSTANTLY. He's told her in no uncertain terms, since they were KIDS! that she's gorgeous. That he'd love her at any weight. I kept waiting for the part where girl throws her shoulders back and owns her body like a badass--but it never fucking happens. The insecurities may be realistic, but they're also goddamned annoying when it's 70% of the character's personality and NOTHING changes.
She's also a veterinarian. Woo! Awesome! A fucking doctor! Except we don't get to see her do virtually ANY dog-doctoring at all throughout the book. Once she and Maddox meet up again, she might as well have been a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesperson for all the 'working' she gets done on page. I was really hoping we'd get to see way more of her job, of her being in her element than we did.
Now, let's take a moment to <s>breathe</s> say something positive about our girl, shall we? Braxton's got some serious daddy issues in this book.
I know that doesn't sound like a positive thing, but hear me out! Her father is a REAL peach--a well written terrible and manipulative character. I was glad to see Braxton stand up for herself against him multiple times. I was glad to know that in this at least, she's got a little bit of a spine. I was also glad to see Maddox confront him at her side.
This drama was probably the best part of the book for me. Actually that, and the drama that crops up at the 70% mark. The attack on Braxton comes out of left field, but at least it's a little action.
So obviously there's some big drama to wrap this story up, yeah? Someone planted a bug in Brax's car and catches her 'breaking the NDA' by talking about her 'fake' relationship. The twisted web of corrupt and cowardly people trying to ruin another's reputation to save their own...Best part of the whole story. And I'm honesty proud that the happy couple sticks together through all of it (even if Braxton tries to martyr herself). I'm glad that they COMMUNICATE with each other. And it was good to see Maddox refuse to let Braxton go, regardless of however this bullshit threatens to end his career.
It was even better to see the way Maddox's FAMILY steps up to defend and protect Braxton. Go Oakley go!
THAT was what I came into this book to read about. There is no 3rd act breakup. And I'll give Hannah Cowan her kudos for that.
I considered briefly giving the second book in this series a go. But we get to know the characters a bit in this book and ew.
Maddox's kid sister wants to travel the world. She's only 18 and has JUST GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. Maddox's and Braxton's BFF Cooper goes with her. The 28 year old HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER.
I dunno if he was ever HER teacher, and I don't really care. He's closing in on 30, and she's just barely out of k-12 grade school. I don't think I could stomach a story like that. So this is gonna be a one and done for me.