A review by joreadsromance
Ain't She Sweet by Whitney Dineen

3.0

Not the right book for me
3 stars

This is the second book in Dineen’s Seven Brides for Seven Mothers series. I love the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, as well as an enemies to lovers romance, so decided to give this book a go. I couldn’t see much correlation between the book and the film (not to say that there is one, or needs to be) but perhaps that will come out in the rest of the series. Or maybe not!

I hadn’t read the first in the series, and while this book does have a self-contained romance about a different couple than in the first story, I feel I was seriously missing out from not having met these characters previously.

While a lot of that was to do with the setting and the relationships at Willamette Valley Lodge, I’m also assuming that a lot of Tara and James’ animosity and dislike of each other started - and was most antagonistic - during the first book. As such, when we first meet our couple in this book, they’re not too fond of each other but they seem to get along just fine. Slightly disappointing.

The story is written primarily in first person present tense with both James and Tara’s point of view. However, every so often we get a mini-chapter written in third person, present tense with the focus being either Gwen or Ruby - our couple’s mothers. I found this really disjointed and even then, I’m not sure I cared about what either mother was up to. I’m here for the romance.

I liked both our main characters although I didn’t really feel much beyond like with them. There was a lot going on regarding the lodge, James’s house, Tara’s ex etc etc. It told me a lot but nothing that made me feel all that close to our pair.

The heat level of the book was, as the title would suggest, sweet.

As I was reading, I finished one chapter and was ready to turn to the next only to realise that I’d reached the end of the book. I’m not sure that’s ever happened to me before. It’s still something of a happy ending (our couple end with a kiss) but was it satisfying to me? Absolutely not.

This book has a really high rating by other reviewers but it just wasn’t the right match for me. Perhaps if I’d read the first book I might have felt differently, but this just wasn’t my thing and I can only give the book 3 stars.