First reviews over on blog: The Pufflekitteh Reads.
From the moment I heard about this book, I knew that it was right up my street. I’ve been on a little bit of a Romance kick lately, and then seeing this book features a story within the story, I was sold.
I’m not going to lie, I had a few issues getting into this book, but that could be due to my bad health, rather than the book itself. I did, however, feel like I’d been dropped into the middle of the story instead if at the beginning. After a while, though, that feeling went away.
I liked Kara. She is one of those flawed characters who is a little nervous, and yet, sure of herself at the same time. She’s very much aware of her flaws, but is making a clear effort to work through them.
Ryan felt like a ‘boy next door’ type of character, who makes mistakes but has a good heart.
Duke is, by far, my favourite character (but as some of you know, I have a huge soft spot for animal companions). I loved Maggie, she’s one of those kinds of people who I’d love to have as a friend. There’s a few other characters in the novel that we’re introduced too, but I didn’t feel anything for them, as we don’t see them that much. They felt more like plot devices, rather than characters. Everyone except Liam, that is. I appreciated that instead of forcing some misbegotten romance, he became the friend she needed in that moment.
As someone who has lost their dad, and doesn’t have the greatest relationship with their mother, there was a moment between Kara and her mum that I loved. Kara was able to put into words emotions that are really hard to put into words, especially in the heat if the moment. And I loved that her mum took some time to reflect on the pain she’d unintentionally caused, apologized and made an effort to work around her behaviour.
I didn’t know what it was about the plot, but I didn’t enjoy it as I thought I would. Maybe it just didn’t feel quite ‘high stakes’ enough? I’m honestly not sure. What I do know is that I liked it, but I didn’t love it. There were some really great moments that had me laughing. I think Kate has a lot of potential as a writer, so I look forward to reading more by her in the future, also, to future rereads of this book when I need a mood lift.
Overall, I think it was a nice, light fluffy read, and I am glad I had to chance to read it.
I gave this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.