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crispycritter's Reviews (516)
Our friendly neighborhood ghost was pretty annoying. Our FMC’s relationship with her dad wasn’t really wrapped up well. The whole curse thing had some pretty heckin convenient parameters that made me side eye them a bit. And . . . well . . . the steamy scene in the grandpa sweater was a choice?
Once Upon a Broken Heart but make it a low-budget porno.
This book was so refreshing - featuring characters in their late 40s/early 50s who were fully grown adults who acted like it (except for that one “hold my earrings” moment - which was totally justified). I really enjoyed Cathy Yardley’s writing and loved watching our MMC and FMC get to know each other and fall in love.
Things were fine until they weren’t. We jammed in a nauseating amount of Taylor Swift references in the last 30%. Every description of our main characters kissing failed to mention their lips actually touching but always made sure we knew whose tongue was touching the others so I just imagined them tongue kissing sans lips 🤷♀️ Hyperbole everywhere. The use of the C word AND making love. Choose one or the other. They both make me want to vomit individually, I was just confused when they were together.
My younger self is so so happy that Romantasy has exploded in popularity. But alas, now we have the issue of sifting through an oversaturated market to find books with decent writing, plotting, and character development. This book is another low quality indie fast fashion Romantasy. Easy to read, easy to forget. Everyone is young, dumb, and full of powerful magic & cum.
Sometimes main characters are just a bit tooooo snarky and unpleasant for books to be enjoyable. Did not vibe with our MC in this one.
It's a grocery store mass market paperback romance and a criminal minds episode.
Still in awe of this book. This is going into my desert island collection.
I was initially going to rate this book much higher, but after marinating on this and reading some other reviews, I’m going to have to rate this much lower.
The good:
The good:
- Started off a bit slow, picked up quite a bit and I really got invested in Matt and Lane’s relationship.
- Writing was overall enjoyable
The bad:
- Introducing infertility in the epilogue with no warning. Why? You’re just going to claw back some of your characters’ happiness for no reason?
- Matt eventually becomes a soulless vessel for Lane’s wish fulfillment. I don’t understand the appeal of reading MMCs who are doormats.
- Lane’s mental health rep was . . . Inconsistent. Weird. Unsatisfying. Some other reviewers brought up her agoraphobia disappearing halfway through and I literally forgot it was even a thing. So yeah.
- Other reviewers brought this up, it’s something I side eyed a bit but didn’t think too critically about at first - Matt’s mom the mystical Samoan woman. She tells Lane about her alternative view on grief. Lane has a mental breakthrough. She talks to her dad who is speaking via a storm? Bam. Unaddressed grief solved.
- Lane’s hesitancy for not wanting to be in a romantic relationship- big side eye. The devaluing of other relationships. The hypocrisy.
- Dating your grief counselor: no. It wasn’t cool in HIMYM either.
