dermkat's Reviews (2.11k)

I think this may be my least favorite of the Green Valley books so far, mostly because it's got more of a romantic suspense vibe since Simone is back in her hometown but also an undercover FBI agent and there's stuff going down with the biker gangs, etc. Roscoe, youngest Winston kid, goes back and forth between his job as a vet during the week in Nashville and then back home with the family for weekends. These two were best friends growing up but then parted ways in high school and have avoided each other ever since, but part of her assignment ends up needing to be close to him. But then they deal with the stuff slowly while getting to know each other now and fighting (until they don't) attraction. There were a couple things that bugged me too, one is that Simone is Black and a big part of her story has to do with police violence and racism, but I'm pretty sure the author is white. She thanked sensitivity readers for Simone's character but didn't address this specifically, and this was hanging over me while I read, especially because the author is such a champion for own voices books. I also thought Simone read as autistic coded but this wasn't addressed at all so I'm not sure what I was picking up on (though, not all autistic people, especially women, know they're autistic so some of those sensitive readers could have even about that, who knows). She did address Roscoe's eididic memory and I find that fascinating. Anyways, now I need to decide if I want to read Claire and Billy's tragic origin or go right to their second chance story. 

Well, I believe this is my third Penny Reid book (the first was quite a while ago, a standalone that was good but didn't make me rush to read more) and second in this series (third in the larger world of her creation that other authors now add to, if I understand correctly) and I may be hooked. I want to read more of this series to learn about the siblings, more from another series we've met characters from, and prob more will come to light as I continue. In this one, we get the back story on Beau and Shelly, which we'd seen past of in the last one without explanation. Shelly has OCD and it is explored so thoroughly in this book in a way that makes it easy to learn about, as the author herself has experience with the condition and also had many sensitive readers or other folks with OCD she spoke with to inform the vast array of experiences. She's dealing with new therapy and all that entails, attempting to finally learn how to manage her compulsions and obsessive irrational fear-based thoughts with help. She also has so much to her that people don't see because of what she needs to present to get through the day, but Beau notices and sees her and wants to take the time to understand, help, and love her. He has his own unexpected drama to deal with and has to learn to lean on others instead of always being the one they lean on. I enjoyed this one a lot and plan to continue on as long as I don't have any Libby books due right away. 

I loved this second chance romance between Wren and Ellis, a couple who were teenage parents and now in their early 30s have been divorced 5 years. In book one of this series, it was so clear to me that they weren't over and I was thrilled when this book was officially anounced. I am happy to announce that, for me, it was exactly what I wanted it to be!

Their son has graduated high school and they're moving him down the coast to California for college, and Ellis asks Wren to travel back with him and turn it into a road trip to enjoy. Over the last year's they have avoided each other as much as possible while still being civil with their kid and extended family, but then something happens that makes them both realize their feelings aren't fully gone. Even with Ellis putting everything on the table, Wren agrees reluctantly, saying she doesn't know if she thinks they have a chance again but maybe they'll at least be friends. But of course the trip happens, meddling happens, only one bed and then one tent happen. But most importantly, they actually are honest about everything (eventually) and talk through what bothered them, how they got to the point they did, what they want to do differently. The spice was spicing, there was humor (including a handful of genuine laughing out loud moments I needed to tell someone about) emotions (I didn't cry but I felt like I might on a couple occasions), and SO MUCH TENSION while they mutually pine and struggle with their feelings. There were so many moments I swooned or whatever the internal equivalent of squealing and kicking my feet is because the things this man thought and said about his woman at times were just so good. 
We didn't spend a ton of time in their small town of Spunes, but we still got to experience a good cast of characters, mostly from their extended family. To my knowledge, it hasn't been said that there will be more books in there series but I definitely caught some groundwork laid for at least two and I want a third. We shall see! 

Well, I loved yet another second chance romance. Are we surprised? No! Also, the cover? GORGEOUS. And the way the title is worked into the story? Somehow didn't see it coming and it's beautiful. 

Thank you to SMP for this arc! Out May 20/25

Well, this is the second of two additional Green Valley books I planned to read after the first one big now I want to read this one's entire series about the Winston family. This is book three and I think I'll wait and go back to the first two later if I still want to, but I'll definitely be reading forward to find out what happens for them all. The MCs in this one were Jenn and Cletus, who we'd met as side characters in the other two books, set further down the line from this one. I was totally surprised by Jenn's storyline of being isolated and under the control of her parents, baking at their bakery but not getting paid, still living at home and dressing and behaving as they told her to, etc. She blackmails Cletus into helping her "find a husband" aka figure out how to do life and be more herself and get out from under their thumbs. He's the middle brother, pretends to be grumpy, hides behind his wild beard and hair, and secretly had dirt on everyone in town and used it to enact revenge, etc. I enjoyed their story and look forward to seeing them as side characters again. 

This was good too! It's about Mags, one of the sisters of the girl from the last book, who comes to the small town from NYC to get away from a drug dealer who is after her because her boyfriend owes him money and skipped town to Japan to tour with his band. She's house-sitting for her sister and her fiance, and has some run ins with Cy Baxter, son of the notorious drug grower and dealer in town who died a year or so ago. He's back in town to fix up the house and his 15 year old niece is with him while her mom is in treatment for depression, like her brother also has dealt with before. Cy and Mags don't like each other at first in a very Pride and Prejudice style beginning where she's rudely assuming he's a hick and what that means about him, and he thinks she's a stuck up city girl. As she works at the bakery and gets to know people and makes friends, Cy starts to take care of her a bit and they develop feelings to go along with their immediate attraction. Her bf is eventually out of the picture and they can be together, but she still has her past to deal with. I thought the depression aspect was good based on my own experience with it, and while the story itself was good, I still liked the other one better. 

This book was so good! It's the absolute best portrayal of living with ME (one of my conditions) I've ever read. There aren't a ton to begin with, but I could tell the author either had it herself or was close with someone who did, and the note at the end proved that was right since her husband has had the illness for over 15 years now. The FMC, Carla, experiences exactly what I do but at times better and at times worse. It's shown so well within the book that it's a spectrum with different levels of severity and how even one person can move between those depending on the day, or even the hour. Carla's experiences of never knowing what will affect it and cause a crash, how there's no known cure or really consistent treatment so you try everything you can, and how isolating it can be because you have little choice and also don't want to be a burden all relatable, a fact that made me simultaneously so happy to see it represented and sad that so many people experience it. Noah is incredible, fitting into her life and wanting to learn and help while not making things worse for her. He has his own mental and emotional trauma around why he continues to risks his body and life doing dangerous stunt work to deal with when he enjoys more artistic work like helping decorate items at the bakery or creating and painting custom car designs. I enjoyed their fake dating/deal story and the way they both fell in love without realizing, both convinced they wouldn't and that the other would be a problem. I hadn't realized there were so many books in this Green Valley universe by different authors and I think I'd like to read more now, at the very least the other two in this specific little series about the bakery. If you want to better understand some of what it's like to live with ME and like romance novels, you should absolutely read this one. 

I do this literally every time, but it's still true: I know I said book 2 was prob my fave of the series but I love this one so much too! I think the answer is that this is a series I genuinely can't pick a favorite for. The first one means a lot for its rep, the second one I just love the story and characters, and this third one is so gentle, sweet, and brilliant with its autism rep. Having two autistic characters shows very well how the spectrum is just that, a spectrum. Eve and Jacob clash at first but then discover that they understand each other so well. Reading this after I've been doing so much research on autism trying to figure out my own neurodivergence means I picked out so many more things I hadn't recognized before. Also, the audio is really great for this one and I'm glad they got the same narrator as the second one. Love it, and refuse to pick a fave because they all are for different reasons!

This was such a lovely easing into a new series from Cristina! Meeting the idillic town of Balsam Bay in Nova Scotia and watching one of its newest members fall for someone born and raised there was so enjoyable, and I just wanted to be there. 
Neve is an interior designer, something her family doesn't understand or seem to place much value in, but she's busy with multiple projects all while dealing with her endometriosis symptoms. One project is with Leo, a new-to-town carpenter with social anxiety that can be pretty debilitating at times, especially around Neve at first. They clash, she doesn't get him or like him very much, but when he's finally able to show her who he really is they grow to friendly and then more.
Their love story felt gentle. Not because they didn't each have baggage and trauma to deal with that affected their relationship (because they did and it did), and not because it wasn't spicy (it was). It's more that the falling wasn't dramatic, or quick, or jarring. Instead, they way they discovered their other half and cared for one another was comfortable and comforting, like when you stand at the edge of the water, close your eyes, and listen to the waves lap against the shore, feeling you're exactly where you're meant to be in that moment and trying to soak it all in. 
This first venture to Balsam Bay is soft and tender, embracing you and welcoming you in while you read it. I look forward to returning, with the next book set up perfectly (proud brag to say I wondered pretty early if those two characters would be the ones!) and the third hinted at as well. Well done, Cristina, and congrats on such a lovely fourth book! Thank you for the arc, it's always a pleasure to read your stories and get to share them with others. 
•Disability rep: social anxiety, endometriosis 
•Small town Nova Scotia
•Out May 5/25 on KU, Kindle, and in paperback (both the beautiful cover in the first slide and the amazing special edition available directly from Cristina on the second slide!)

This was very good! It's the end of this five book series but the author has said it won't be the end of this universe, which didn't surprise me since she has two other series linked to this one already and maybe more I'm not aware of. Jamie has always been the cocky, sunshiney cousin of the group and at the end of the last book we got a huge teaser that he was getting married right away. Here we learn it is a publicity stunt, one that his team GM and such have cooked up to get the team back in public favor. When he then meets Blakely (incredible meet cute, by the way), he's drawn to her immediately and asks her to be the woman he marries. She's been taking care of her 15 year old brother on her own for five years and is in a tight spot so she agrees, then slowly over the weeks discovers that she feels more comfort and trust with Jamie than she has maybe ever before. I loved their little family, the spice was good, the small amount of drama fit well (no third act breakup!), and I loved that the title said "their" when the rest of the series focused on "her" or "his" because this was so much about them being a team.  I appreciated the fat rep we got in Blakely, even though the words fat or plus sized were never used, because the descriptions and her reactions to things made sense and the character art released by the author confirmed it. There was at least one book related to this series teased and possibly another, so I look forward to what comes next and honestly want to start way back at the beginning with the parents' series again at some point. 

I was wary going into this because while the main character is fat, it's all about him getting dumped and then deciding to lose weight, so I was concerned it wouldn't be good fat rep. I even went past my 50 page rule to 90 because I was still unsure but I just hit a convo about "don't call yourself fat" and I'm out. Fat isn't a bad word with inherent negative connotations. Also it is from 2016 and there's a ton of Harry Potter references in it, which I'm just not here for these days.