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liblibby's Reviews (253)
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love the way that certain authors can write romances with heavy themes without losing the humor and heart. This was my first by Abby Jimenez and I’ll absolutely be reading more from her.
I kinda loved that the single sex scene was half a page long.
I kinda loved that the single sex scene was half a page long.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I don’t have any complaints about this book but there was absolutely nothing about it that blew me away.
It was a very sweet story about… not witches (which is what I expected) but the women in tuis family definitely have something special about them.
I feel like Weyward and The Unmaking of June Farrow did it better.
It was a very sweet story about… not witches (which is what I expected) but the women in tuis family definitely have something special about them.
I feel like Weyward and The Unmaking of June Farrow did it better.
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Alexa, play ‘All Your’n” by Tyler Childers.”
Ohhh this story is sweet. When M.A. Wardell sent out a request to his email list to see who’d be interested in reading an arc of his newest novella in exchange for a review, of course I immediately threw my name in the pot. I was shocked that I got selected though because at the time I had, like, 84 Instagram followers or something like that. 😆
But I was excited because I have loved everything I’ve ever read from M.A. Wardell. What I like about his books is that they’re often described as “low-angst” and, frankly, I’d give anything to have less angst in my life. I just want to hear about two cowboys finding love on an Oklahoma ranch—is that too much to ask?! No. It’s not.
So the story is the Boone lives on Rainbow Ranch—a horse ranch owned and operated by his family. In a world dominated by conservativeism, Rainbow Ranch is one of the only places in the cowboy community that is welcoming of all types of people. Boone is the cook at the ranch. He makes all his mama’s old recipes and even talks like her sometimes. He believes his whole life is right here on the ranch, scrounging up grub for the cowpokes that work on the ranch. And he’s happy with that! Until Wylie Anderson walks onto the ranch—tasked with breaking a tough, guarded horse, Noodles out of his shell.
I think you know where this is going.
I want to make sure I’m clear. A “low-angst” romance does not mean that it’s a closed door romance. The love scenes in this book leave the door (when there *is*a door 👀) wiiiide open. Low angst just means there’s not toooo much of the “will they, won’t they” and it’s a novella so there isn’t much room for that anyway.
If I had to come up with a complaint (the thing that knocked it down to a 4.5 for me)—it’s so minor that it’s probably not worth mentioning, but the way these siblings engage with one another is…
Look, it’s fine, maybe some siblings are very casual talking about one another’s sex lives while also smacking each other on the butt and kissing each other in greeting. Thats just not the relationship *I* have with *my* siblings and I found it very jarring. There’s one sibling wrestling scene that’s described in so much detail and with so much affection, it felt a lot like reading a love scene. That was a liiiiiittle much for me. But not enough to make me put the book down or anything.
Ohhh this story is sweet. When M.A. Wardell sent out a request to his email list to see who’d be interested in reading an arc of his newest novella in exchange for a review, of course I immediately threw my name in the pot. I was shocked that I got selected though because at the time I had, like, 84 Instagram followers or something like that. 😆
But I was excited because I have loved everything I’ve ever read from M.A. Wardell. What I like about his books is that they’re often described as “low-angst” and, frankly, I’d give anything to have less angst in my life. I just want to hear about two cowboys finding love on an Oklahoma ranch—is that too much to ask?! No. It’s not.
So the story is the Boone lives on Rainbow Ranch—a horse ranch owned and operated by his family. In a world dominated by conservativeism, Rainbow Ranch is one of the only places in the cowboy community that is welcoming of all types of people. Boone is the cook at the ranch. He makes all his mama’s old recipes and even talks like her sometimes. He believes his whole life is right here on the ranch, scrounging up grub for the cowpokes that work on the ranch. And he’s happy with that! Until Wylie Anderson walks onto the ranch—tasked with breaking a tough, guarded horse, Noodles out of his shell.
I think you know where this is going.
I want to make sure I’m clear. A “low-angst” romance does not mean that it’s a closed door romance. The love scenes in this book leave the door (when there *is*a door 👀) wiiiide open. Low angst just means there’s not toooo much of the “will they, won’t they” and it’s a novella so there isn’t much room for that anyway.
If I had to come up with a complaint (the thing that knocked it down to a 4.5 for me)—it’s so minor that it’s probably not worth mentioning, but the way these siblings engage with one another is…
Look, it’s fine, maybe some siblings are very casual talking about one another’s sex lives while also smacking each other on the butt and kissing each other in greeting. Thats just not the relationship *I* have with *my* siblings and I found it very jarring. There’s one sibling wrestling scene that’s described in so much detail and with so much affection, it felt a lot like reading a love scene. That was a liiiiiittle much for me. But not enough to make me put the book down or anything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Grief, Death of parent
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this was a great, funny, pallet cleanser of a book.
What I loved about this book:
-The setting, an Italian cruise with all your favorite authors? Sign me uuuup!
-So many pop culture references! The main character is always talking about books and music she loves. And while that will ultimately really date it down the road, I loved it today!
-This author is constantly breaking the 4th wall. Not only does she use footnotes (in fiction?!) but she includes sections of the book written specifically to the reader, making us a character in the story! That was a lot of fun.
There were a few things that didn’t work for me:
-The cast of characters felt enormous and I couldn’t distinguish most of them from one another.
-Main character is constantly talking about what an ugly, fuckup, good for nothing she is compared to everyone else in the book (primarily her sister) and I kept waiting for it to actually mean something. But as far as I could tell I think it was just the author’s stab at self deprecating humor? And in a world where so many people in power want us to believe these things to be true, despite all evidence to the contrary (this woman is a multi-bestselling author with two love interests), hearing people (real or imaginary) talk this way about themselves reeeeeally grates on my nerves.
Ultimately I’d read the second book in this series! The things that were really well done were enough to overshadow my pet peeves.
What I loved about this book:
-The setting, an Italian cruise with all your favorite authors? Sign me uuuup!
-So many pop culture references! The main character is always talking about books and music she loves. And while that will ultimately really date it down the road, I loved it today!
-This author is constantly breaking the 4th wall. Not only does she use footnotes (in fiction?!) but she includes sections of the book written specifically to the reader, making us a character in the story! That was a lot of fun.
There were a few things that didn’t work for me:
-The cast of characters felt enormous and I couldn’t distinguish most of them from one another.
-Main character is constantly talking about what an ugly, fuckup, good for nothing she is compared to everyone else in the book (primarily her sister) and I kept waiting for it to actually mean something. But as far as I could tell I think it was just the author’s stab at self deprecating humor? And in a world where so many people in power want us to believe these things to be true, despite all evidence to the contrary (this woman is a multi-bestselling author with two love interests), hearing people (real or imaginary) talk this way about themselves reeeeeally grates on my nerves.
Ultimately I’d read the second book in this series! The things that were really well done were enough to overshadow my pet peeves.
Honestly this was so similar to the life I was set up for, I decided I actually don’t need to hear this story. I’m so glad it was written. I’m glad there are people out there telling the truth. But it was too triggering for me.
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ohhhhh I loved this. My first Rainbow Rowell book ever and I’m swoooooning.
As someone who married my high school crush who I pretended not to be in love with for 15 years… Rainbow NAILED IT. The teenage insecurities disguised as angst, the embarrassing hopefulness, the confusion of not knowing what’s ok to say or do when you’re wondering about how they feel. UGH. THE PININGGGGG!
As someone who married my high school crush who I pretended not to be in love with for 15 years… Rainbow NAILED IT. The teenage insecurities disguised as angst, the embarrassing hopefulness, the confusion of not knowing what’s ok to say or do when you’re wondering about how they feel. UGH. THE PININGGGGG!
I really love Craig Thompson’s artistry. But this was not the book for me. I don’t feel comfortable even giving it a rating.
One thing that bothered me the most was the excessive and gratuitous rape scenes—especially in contrast to the violence against men. When a man’s head is cut off, theres one or two panels devoted to it and not even blood. When a woman is brutally raped it spans pages and pages (multiple times). In addition to all of that, there’s just no humor or hope to lighten anything. It’s just horror after horror after horror and at the end, a very quick “and they lived happily ever after.”
In addition to all of that, it felt really inappropriate for a white man to have written this particular story in this particular way. It felt fetishizing and gross for most of it.
It felt like those men who think of themselves as progressive feminists because they know it can get them laid. Like, if you were really trying to showcase this heroine, why did you devote all of this time and energy to her brutal victimization and almost none to her power???
That being said, I know that this book was published way back in 2011 and so much has changed about publishing and storytelling since then. I’m curious as to how Mr Thompson would approach this subject now.
One thing that bothered me the most was the excessive and gratuitous rape scenes—especially in contrast to the violence against men. When a man’s head is cut off, theres one or two panels devoted to it and not even blood. When a woman is brutally raped it spans pages and pages (multiple times). In addition to all of that, there’s just no humor or hope to lighten anything. It’s just horror after horror after horror and at the end, a very quick “and they lived happily ever after.”
In addition to all of that, it felt really inappropriate for a white man to have written this particular story in this particular way. It felt fetishizing and gross for most of it.
It felt like those men who think of themselves as progressive feminists because they know it can get them laid. Like, if you were really trying to showcase this heroine, why did you devote all of this time and energy to her brutal victimization and almost none to her power???
That being said, I know that this book was published way back in 2011 and so much has changed about publishing and storytelling since then. I’m curious as to how Mr Thompson would approach this subject now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Transphobia, Cultural appropriation
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Every time I read a new Emily Henry book I think “No this one is my favorite.” But I really think I mean it with this one.
The storytelling techniques in this one are so inventive and fun but I never get lost within the story—which can be a har balance to strike.
I think that, ultimately, what I loved the most about this book is the way it demonstrates that we might think we aren’t hurting anyone but ourselves by closing ourselves off or telling half truths. But the reality is that we live in an interconnected world where we affect one another in big and small ways.
That’s what I love about romance in general. It’s like, sure, come for the easy to digest live story or appeals to you about it. But if there’s no heart or greater truth explored within it—I’m not interested! So the romance books I love are the ones that dig deep. I feel like Emily Henry has always done that pretty well but this one is different. It’s better. It’s so good.
(I’m so glad I’m not a bookseller anymore so that I’m no longer reading books from a “how could I sell this” perspective and instead from a place of “how is this speaking to me?”)
The storytelling techniques in this one are so inventive and fun but I never get lost within the story—which can be a har balance to strike.
I think that, ultimately, what I loved the most about this book is the way it demonstrates that we might think we aren’t hurting anyone but ourselves by closing ourselves off or telling half truths. But the reality is that we live in an interconnected world where we affect one another in big and small ways.
That’s what I love about romance in general. It’s like, sure, come for the easy to digest live story or appeals to you about it. But if there’s no heart or greater truth explored within it—I’m not interested! So the romance books I love are the ones that dig deep. I feel like Emily Henry has always done that pretty well but this one is different. It’s better. It’s so good.
(I’m so glad I’m not a bookseller anymore so that I’m no longer reading books from a “how could I sell this” perspective and instead from a place of “how is this speaking to me?”)
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I just think Claire Douglas deserves to be far and away more famous than she is. In my opinion, no one writes satisfying plot twists better than her. She’s so good at her work—better than a lot of other authors who have much wider audiences.