Scan barcode
A review by cae
Cow Girl by Kirsty Eyre
3.0
3.5
Loved the setting. Something new. Writing was neat and easy to follow. Ultimately this was a bit long and drawn out and the pay off didn't pay off for me.
I took issue with the romance. I thought the whole Joely thing was really interesting, I feel, from my experience with other books, that her actual willingness to be in a relationship took me so off guard, it was unnerving, foreboding, even, and I enjoyed that.
The Lorna-thing was pretty clear from the beginning - the person the MC used to hate, keeps popping up in her life for no good reason. BUt as the novel progressed, I set this thought aside, and when the two did kiss, I felt strange and uncomfortable. Because before that point, Billie had expressed zero interest or affectionate thought for Lorna. I think there was one occasion she calls her hot? And she does generally acknowledge that Lorna is a capable vet. But really, all it is is them going through a bit of an intense event, and Billie going, huh, I wanna kiss her. Feelings don't...seem to come into it?
So whilst the end is meant to be the kind of triumphant, look at these two romance options, and how much more appropriate Lorna is, I couldn't...get behind that at all? As naively head over heels Billie was for Joely (who was probably one of the more interesting characters to me), at least she seemed very sure of her attraction, asserting that they were right for each other. And sure, maybe no one else can see that, but at least she is expressing her interest. With Lorna, it seems like Billie isn't sure at all. I don't really know why they are together. I buy that Lorna has been harboring this crush for ever; but the reveal/plot twist doesn't work if only one of the two characters is romantically interested. Honestly, it felt a bit like a repeat of the Billie/Joely situation, where Billie idolizes Joely, Lorna idolizes Billie, and all of this makes for some strangely loveless relationships.
Another thing that completly broke Lorna and Billies relationship for me, was Lorna's completely radio silence for several weeks, after a simple enough misunderstanding. I can understand that in the moment it might be a bit much, but heavens, after that, bloody listen to the person you claim to care about. This lack of communication is not hot and I don't ship it.
Loved the setting. Something new. Writing was neat and easy to follow. Ultimately this was a bit long and drawn out and the pay off didn't pay off for me.
Spoiler
Probably would have enjoyed it more if the humor had agreed with me. It's not even that I sat there and thought, this is violently unfunny; I just read myself through these laboriously lengthy descriptions of certain scenes (eg. cow costume), wondering what the point of this was, where it was going, and then being slightly confused at the end because there was no apparently point, and I moved on. I realize now that these are meant to be humorous, and probably far more enjoyable for people who's sense of humor align with the authors'.I took issue with the romance. I thought the whole Joely thing was really interesting, I feel, from my experience with other books, that her actual willingness to be in a relationship took me so off guard, it was unnerving, foreboding, even, and I enjoyed that.
The Lorna-thing was pretty clear from the beginning - the person the MC used to hate, keeps popping up in her life for no good reason. BUt as the novel progressed, I set this thought aside, and when the two did kiss, I felt strange and uncomfortable. Because before that point, Billie had expressed zero interest or affectionate thought for Lorna. I think there was one occasion she calls her hot? And she does generally acknowledge that Lorna is a capable vet. But really, all it is is them going through a bit of an intense event, and Billie going, huh, I wanna kiss her. Feelings don't...seem to come into it?
So whilst the end is meant to be the kind of triumphant, look at these two romance options, and how much more appropriate Lorna is, I couldn't...get behind that at all? As naively head over heels Billie was for Joely (who was probably one of the more interesting characters to me), at least she seemed very sure of her attraction, asserting that they were right for each other. And sure, maybe no one else can see that, but at least she is expressing her interest. With Lorna, it seems like Billie isn't sure at all. I don't really know why they are together. I buy that Lorna has been harboring this crush for ever; but the reveal/plot twist doesn't work if only one of the two characters is romantically interested. Honestly, it felt a bit like a repeat of the Billie/Joely situation, where Billie idolizes Joely, Lorna idolizes Billie, and all of this makes for some strangely loveless relationships.
Another thing that completly broke Lorna and Billies relationship for me, was Lorna's completely radio silence for several weeks, after a simple enough misunderstanding. I can understand that in the moment it might be a bit much, but heavens, after that, bloody listen to the person you claim to care about. This lack of communication is not hot and I don't ship it.