Sam's Reading: A Work in Progress

For a more sophisticated and veteran JAL POV, see
Bubu's review Thanks for the BR, Bubu!

I can and have said a lot about this book. I believe it's a fairly solid 3, and could've been a four if it were not for a few major issues. Hiding the rest of the review under a spoiler, due to my buddy read, just in case...

In the beginning of this book, I thought, "whoa descriptive," which quickly shifted to "whoa, wordy" which quickly shifted to "whoa, rambling." Bubu made me aware that this author just shifted to CR, and some of her phrasing - and exposition for that matter - definitely felt more suitable to HR. Then around 60ish? % I felt like the contemporary came out. Some of that felt choppy and detached from the style earlier in the story, but it was much easier to read. Can I nest a spoiler? I can try... OW drama was generic and annoying, and fully body shaming. This was a disappointment since it was not relevant to establishing character and felt like a cheap way of being funny. And frankly, Britt, our heroine, was SUPER annoying and immature in this stage of the book. She was an asshole. Britt also suffered a history of abuse which didn't really help explain her motivations or lack thereof, except in a surface way. If that is the case, why bother? The Big Mis was super predictable... I think that takes care of the things that really grated on me....

So the good? Dialogue. Even in the beginning, where it was rambling, the dialogue was breathe of fresh and funny air. The supporting cast was a lot of fun. J.T. was also a great hero-considerate, sweet, and a fixer. The use of fixing up (or not giving up) and plants...wonderful. The end-about the last 10% or so felt particularly sweet and well-written. The heroine's relationship with her sister could've made me understand her more, so I wish we'd seen more of that.


I will absolutely continue the series, especially considering how the author seemed to fall into a more contemporary rhythm by the end. In addition, I truly enjoyed the characters...even though Britt grated on me for a portion of the book.