Reese

Mismatched characters/narration.

Revisado: 09-19-24

I really wanted to like this book! I’m a fan of the best friend’s sister to lovers trope, but this one just felt like a bunch of other romance novels smooshed into a mediocre new novel. I scoured my library multiple times because the sense of dejavú I kept getting was SO strong!

This was my first time reading this author and I found myself frustrated with the lukewarm (meh) vibes throughout the entire book. I felt like the chemistry fizzled out after the initial meeting between the love interests, and none of the characters were interesting enough to hold my attention.

Now for the narration… the narrators weren’t horrible on their own, but they didn’t match the characters in the book at all! The main characters are supposed to be around 30 years old but I kept getting teenager vibes. Jess’s life experiences (College grad who moved to New York and dated the same guy for 6 years) didn’t match her emotional (un)intelligence level, logic, or dialogue. It was all WAY too naive and immature for someone her age. Jess’s internal dialogue was so cringy I couldn’t finish the book. Which is RARE for me.

I read a ton of books and this one just wasn’t up to par from a literary standpoint.

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My new favorite!!!

Revisado: 04-06-24

Abby unfolds this beautiful story of friendship, family, trauma, healing, and of course, love, in such a thoughtful and vulnerable way. I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions and grabbing for tissues at others. I loved the unique storyline and appreciated the more realistic timeline of events.

I’ve always enjoyed Abby Jimenez books in an indulgent sort of way, but this one really felt like a level-up moment for her. I LOVED the character development, the banter, and emotional depth of this book, and the fact that the nuances that directed the storyline weren’t predictable.

Definitely worth a credit because I’ll positively be giving this one a re-read.

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Nice plot… a bit tedious.

Revisado: 07-19-23

I liked the premise of the story but found it slow at times. Sometimes the internal dialogue went on, and on, and on… to the point that I’d skip ahead like 2 minutes and the character would just be wrapping up their internal monologue.

Towards the end of the story it felt overly scripted, as if the author had a list of clichés required per novel and saved them all for the last few chapters.

Lastly, Jason’s “Boston” accent was executed so inconsistently that I wish the narrator would have just left it out. His accent was so annoying that I had a hard time thinking of him as a desirable male lead.

Despite all that…I finished it for some reason. Meh.

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Spoiler Alert… storyline was hijacked by message.

Revisado: 03-13-23

As a curvy girl myself, I really wanted to like this body positive love story. I was all on board for an unconventional love connection that goes against societal norms. Unfortunately I felt that the author focused SO much on the body positive message that it took over the entire book. Instead of a normal love story between a typical hot guy and a plus sized woman… it ended up being a body positive message with a romance thrown in.

The book starts with the female lead, April, stating that she has finally gained confidence in her appearance and no longer cares if people judge her for her size. Yet… she is constantly making assumptions about other people’s intentions and reacting to comments as if she were still insecure about her body. All the issues in her relationships surround her weight (including her issues with her mother) and she is irrational in her responses. At one point April gets offended when she gets invited to the gym by Marcus and assumes he is hinting at her weight… yet she DOESN’T get offended when Marcus invites her on a date to try all the best donut shops in town!?!? Plus sized people workout too… and don’t automatically eat a bunch donuts. If you’re going to try and tear down stereotypes, do it correctly!

What’s worse is that the author takes a (would-be) likable character like Marcus and completely emasculates him by turning him into this simpering guy who is guilted into feeling horrible for being himself. As if he should have to guess about her insecurities when they’ve barely known each other.

Sadly… I couldn’t even finish this story. And that is RARE for me. I felt like I was reading a poorly organized agenda under the guise of a romance novel. Now, give me a truly confident curvy girl and a story that can stand on it’s own two feet (without the agenda) and I’ll consider giving you another try Olivia Dade.

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Great series with one exception….

Revisado: 02-17-22

I loved this whole series overall! The characters, the mystery, magic and love were all enjoyable components of these books. The narrators did a great job and made the environment feel authentic. However, I didn’t care for the chapters from the villain’s perspective. They were too dark and perverse for my taste and didn’t add anything to the story. We already know he’s a sick and twisted character from his actions, but to have his thoughts so incorporated just made me feel icky. They also created a gap in the continuity of the story. His actions and intentions became more confusing because his motivations felt vague and disjointed, even for a sick sociopath. I just thought they were kind of pointless, confusing, and disgusting, so I skipped Horace’s chapters and didn’t miss anything important.

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Great series with one exception….

Revisado: 02-17-22

I loved this whole series overall! The characters, the mystery, magic and love were all enjoyable components of these books. The narrators did a great job and made the environment feel authentic. However, I didn’t care for the chapters from the villain’s perspective. They were too dark and perverse for my taste and didn’t add anything to the story. We already know he’s a sick and twisted character from his actions, but to have his thoughts so incorporated just made me feel icky. They also created a gap in the continuity of the story. His actions and intentions became more confusing because his motivations felt vague and disjointed, even for a sick sociopath. I just thought they were kind of pointless, confusing, and disgusting, so I skipped Horace’s chapters and didn’t miss anything important.

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What happens NOW? We’d all like to know… (***Spoilers included)

Revisado: 02-11-22

Lackluster storytelling, not enough character building, and too much insignificant filler. This was one of the most unsatisfactory books I’ve ever listened to. The main character (Lil) is extremely insecure and lacks deep emotional connections to those around her due to her unwillingness to be real and vulnerable with even her closest friends and family. There was absolutely no relatability to the character in this book. I finished listening to it only in the hope that the main characters would get their happily-ever-after and that there would be a real emotional connection in the end between Lil and Max… but no… not so much.

The “comedy” element to this romcom is more like one cringy incident after another. For a woman who ends up with an extremely attractive, famous person, the character writes nothing about the description of the female lead. This would be fine except that all you get is an impression of her poor judgement, poor choices, and her wishy-washy personality, which is lacking. Lil’s lack of confidence and blah personality, leave the reader with an overall impression of a lonely woman who is too insecure to let anyone in or commit to a relationship. No character growth… except the baby itself growing inside her. It ends with a confession of “liking” the father of her baby with a possible chance of a relationship, but “not a relationship”…. Maybe? I was confused and disappointed at the end of this book. There wasn’t even so much as an epilogue to tell the reader what happens.

I gave it 2 stars because I loved the premise and it had a few good moments throughout the book. It wasn’t torture to listen to … just meh, and lacking in romance and comedy.

I’d love to ask the author… What DOES happen now?? I’d really like to know Sophia Money-Coutts…. I wish you’d actually told us.

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Why the full cast?!

Revisado: 09-16-20

Cute short story idea, but the use of a full cast in such a short story made the scene changes feel really disjointed. You also lost the internal monologue aspect of a book which would have helped build the relationship between the two main characters. The chemistry just wasn’t super believable.

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Bittersweet journey... Happy ending.

Revisado: 03-14-20

I love how Josie Silver tells a story, bringing the reader alongside the lives of her characters and inviting you to be part of their intimate circle as they experience the joys and heartbreaks of life. Lydia’s journey is one of heartbreak and healing, but more important is her final acceptance of the woman she’s become through her loss.

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Great info...would have preferred the physical copy.

Revisado: 02-26-19

This was a great book that had a lot of good information. The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was due to the fact that listening to the content felt a bit tedious at times. If you have taken a nutrition course in the past decade, then a lot of this info will be redundant. However, I agree with everything he writes and believe in his methods. Additionally, there were some great nuggets of information in the book that I really liked which addresses why dieting doesn’t work in the long run and the information on intermittent fasting. It’s not a cure-all book, but gives great info and tools for anyone to implement lifestyle changes that are necessary to lose weight. This book is great for those of you that have tried all the fad diets or have been calorie counters in the past and want to know HOW our bodies process nutrients, what causes weight gain, and why dieting doesn’t work long-term. He also gives great practical advice in the last few chapters on what to eat/what not to eat, when to eat, etc. in order to lose weight.

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