I was really enjoying this book and was leaning towards four stars, but about 75-80% of the way through the book Mackenna just got so annoying the way she kept trying to run away or escape and she wouldn't just trust Thomas after everything he had already done.  She just kept making everything unnecessarily worse.  And then the ending kind of just happened.  It wasn't a bad book, but it was really unsatisfying given how enjoyable the first half was.

I received an ARC from Netgalley.  I was a little worried in the first chapter that I might not love this book, the way I originally thought I would, but then I quickly fell into the story and the characters.  This felt like reading a cross between Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade (one of my favorite books, with a plus size FMC who ends up with a celebrity crush) and Ted Lasso (because Alfie immediately made me think of Roy Kent and I'm pretty sure Beck was Ted Lasso).  I love the grumpy sunshine trope, along with a bit of the fake dating trope.  I was worried about the pacing for a bit before I realized that actually the tension was building perfectly and I didn't even realize when I became so invested in the story.  I loved the way Alfie and Mabel fell for each other.  This is my first read from this author and will definitely check out more in the future!

I struggled to get through this book, but ultimately I think it was just a reading slump on my part.  I love this series and I was not expecting that ending to this book!  I think I've also learned that I either struggle with more than two POVs, or possibly because these books are all about the same length, it means I get less time with each individual in the relationship and ultimately end up a little less invested in each of the main characters.  I am so incredibly excited for the next few books, because I have so many questions about what happens next!

This was a fun quick read. I don’t read or review poetry much but I feel like something about this would be fun to read aloud around a campfire. 

I really loved this book.  At just 200 pages the will they wont they tension was perfect.  It wasn't overly dramatic, you fell in love with both characters, and the story was paced perfectly.  I really loved how they couldn't stay away from each other despite knowing they should.  I love that they weren't fooling themselves about their feelings or jumping to some overly romantic conclusion.  The enemies to lover bit felt more like star crossed lovers, but I was giggling and kicking my feet the whole time.  When I say this was perfect I mean, this got me out of a week's long reading slump and I am forever grateful.  I cannot wait for the second book in the series.  I also wish there was a third because I want to know what happens with Ewan.

If I could, this review would be an audio note with just one long scream. It’s been a long time since a romance has made me sob scream and squeal. I didn’t expect it but this it up there as one of my favorites on kindle unlimited. 

I really enjoyed this series. I loved Caitrin and Alasdair’s story. The pacing is also really well done, given the conflict and the nature of each of the characters. I will immediately be diving into the next series by this author set in the same world!

I really loved Adaira and Lachlann, and precious characters also grew on me even more in this book. I’m excited for the final book in the series. 

I can’t decide if I appreciate that this book felt different than others by the author or not. I REALLY LIKED tartan but I disliked Rhona for at least 50% of the book, if not more. But she did grow on me! And I think I’m really going to enjoy the rest of the series especially seeing all three of the sisters grow.  

I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really really wanted to like this book, but it took me months to get through because of how repetitive the writing was. This is in no way a judgment of Fatima Ali or her accomplishments, or the tragedy of her death from cancer. But this book is not well written. It easily could have been a hundred pages shorter and just as, if not more, meaningful. The majority of the book felt just like an info dump about her life without any significant reflection. The repetitive romanticizing of becoming a chef and food was so frequent and almost copy paste that it made the book feel even longer. There were so many parts of Ali’s identity or life that were important but any writing about it felt incredibly surface level. Often times it even felt like there were conflicting views within the book, but with out any kind of connection to piece together the change or growth. The two chapters out of almost fifty that actually stood out to me were actually written from her mother Farezah’s perspective. There were also heavy topics such as child abuse and sexual assault that should have been noted as content warnings.