I was gifted an arc of cock and bull for an honest review although I have waited til now to post as I didn’t want to detract away from release day sales with a negative review.
Unfortunately this book felt like a chore to read for me and took me way longer to finish then the typical easy-going light and fluffy romance that this book is portrayed to be.
My biggest issue with this book is that I think there are some really really harmful portrayals of the main character Phoebe. She is portrayed, in my opinion to be very weak, completely dependant on the comfort of the love interest - Clooney - and accepts some really damaging behaviour from him. He is a character with lots of secrets, yet every time Phoebe tries to get close to him, or asks any personal questions he snaps at her, gets angry and storms off. Then 9 times out of 10 Phoebe convinced herself its her fault and instantly forgives him the second he meekly apologises. There was multiple parts of the story I highlighted on my kindle as being really unhealthy relationship points and it’s just not what I enjoy reading about. I also don’t think it sets good examples to the more vulnerable people who may be reading these books.
Positives to the books are that the plot line is quite good - Phoebe and her sister Ella move to Ireland to try and sell the pub their Great Aunt Breda left them in her will. When they get there, they discover it’s an absolute tip so set about fixing it up.
It had some funny moments and a few good semi-steamy scenes between Clooney and Phoebe but the rest of the relationship was just not healthy and not a portrayal I wanted to see.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has read it and what their opinions are?
TW: gambling addiction, unfaithfulness, discussion of miscarriage, deaths and ghosts