Take a photo of a barcode or cover
chronicallybookish 's review for:
Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year
by Rochelle Bilow
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
<i>Quick Stats</i>
<b>Age Rating: 18+</b>
Over All: 2.25 stars
Plot: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 3.5/5
Writing: 2/5
<i>Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.</i>
So. This book… was a book.
The premise was interesting. Woman moves to Scotland to write a cookbook. Meets broody scotsman. Romance and found family and lots of yummy food. Yay!
And that was executed—especially the food descriptions. This book was very wordy when it came to describing the settings and the food. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it was something I noticed.
My main issue is that I was so, so bored. None of the characters had a personality. Ruby didn’t really have any motivations driving her. There was not even a hint of a plot until the 70% mark. The only thing driving the story forward was miscommunication and secret keeping. My gosh did Ruby keep making the stupidest decisions. Like, “oh, this lady I’ve spoken to once before wants me to keep this massive secret from the guy I’m about to start sleeping with? A secret that it makes absolutely no sense to keep, because keeping it would hurt 1. Said guy 2. The woman who opened her house to me and who I love and 3. Me, my livelihood. Well, she called me her friend and I pinky swore, so I can’t betray her confidence!” What the fuck was that. It made zero sense for her to keep that secret.
Every “plot twist” was evident from like, page one. Every single one. And it was annoying to keep having these “mysteries” hinted at when it was so obvious.
The first 30% of the book was honestly…fine. It was boring, the characters were flat, and there was no plot, but it was tolerable. Once we start to get those secrets and hints of plot twists and such it got painfully annoying to read.
At 70% we get a real plot and the pacing finally picks up. The plot we get here is interesting, in theory. If that aspect had been taken and woven into a real driving point for the whole book, I think the book would have been a lot more interesting. However, it really only becomes relevent and actively addressed at the 70% mark, where there’s no time to fully explore it. This leaves it feeling rushed. Not to mention this is also the point at which all the secrets and miscommunication come to a head, taking away from any enjoyment I may have had from the actual plot.
I didn’t enjoy this book. However I don’t think that means no one will. If you’re really into Scotland or food, those aspects of the book might well make up for the slow pace and lacking characters. I think this book has potential to be enjoyable to some, just not me.
<b>Age Rating: 18+</b>
Over All: 2.25 stars
Plot: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 3.5/5
Writing: 2/5
<i>Special thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.</i>
So. This book… was a book.
The premise was interesting. Woman moves to Scotland to write a cookbook. Meets broody scotsman. Romance and found family and lots of yummy food. Yay!
And that was executed—especially the food descriptions. This book was very wordy when it came to describing the settings and the food. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it was something I noticed.
My main issue is that I was so, so bored. None of the characters had a personality. Ruby didn’t really have any motivations driving her. There was not even a hint of a plot until the 70% mark. The only thing driving the story forward was miscommunication and secret keeping. My gosh did Ruby keep making the stupidest decisions. Like, “oh, this lady I’ve spoken to once before wants me to keep this massive secret from the guy I’m about to start sleeping with? A secret that it makes absolutely no sense to keep, because keeping it would hurt 1. Said guy 2. The woman who opened her house to me and who I love and 3. Me, my livelihood. Well, she called me her friend and I pinky swore, so I can’t betray her confidence!” What the fuck was that. It made zero sense for her to keep that secret.
Every “plot twist” was evident from like, page one. Every single one. And it was annoying to keep having these “mysteries” hinted at when it was so obvious.
The first 30% of the book was honestly…fine. It was boring, the characters were flat, and there was no plot, but it was tolerable. Once we start to get those secrets and hints of plot twists and such it got painfully annoying to read.
At 70% we get a real plot and the pacing finally picks up. The plot we get here is interesting, in theory. If that aspect had been taken and woven into a real driving point for the whole book, I think the book would have been a lot more interesting. However, it really only becomes relevent and actively addressed at the 70% mark, where there’s no time to fully explore it. This leaves it feeling rushed. Not to mention this is also the point at which all the secrets and miscommunication come to a head, taking away from any enjoyment I may have had from the actual plot.
I didn’t enjoy this book. However I don’t think that means no one will. If you’re really into Scotland or food, those aspects of the book might well make up for the slow pace and lacking characters. I think this book has potential to be enjoyable to some, just not me.