getting shipped – GoodeyReads

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 325 pages
Author: Savannah Scott
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can you keep a secret? … I’m in love with my best friend.

There are three things you should know about me.
I hate running. No, really. I only run when someone’s chasing me, and thankfully that’s never happened.
My ideal Friday night includes pizza, The Princess Bride, and dancing with abandon.
And, I’m madly in love with my best friend.
That right there, that’s my secret.

Trevor, and I grew up next door to one another. Yes. He’s the boy next door. Even now, we rent opposite sides of a duplex, and we work across the aisle from one another at the Corn Corners Tribune. Basically, there isn’t a part of my life Trevor hasn’t touched. I take that back. Me. He hasn’t touched me.

He’s made it clear we’re in the friend zone and whatever feelings he had for me were a passing thing for him, while mine keep growing like a Chia pet on a humid summer day in the midwest. Unruly, and apparently pointless.

So, now I’m resigned to get Trevor out of my system once and for all.

If only Trevor would see me as more than a friend … But, unless he shows me otherwise, I’m going to have to do what it takes to move on.

UHM.

I went with with some good hopes on this one. I know the series is overall well loved and I thought it was about time to give it a chance (thank you hoopla for having the audiobooks). Aaaand I’m really hoping the next book is better because I did not connect well with this one.

There was a rampant amount of miscommunication and theatrics that made everything seem a level more dramatic than necessary. I kept waiting to see some character arcs and the more I think about it the more I realize that I don’t think there was actually any. Just a lot of super cliched characters and dynamics that never felt new.

I also didn’t love the way dieting was spoken about. It was handled poorly and didn’t leave a good feeling with me.

I enjoyed the MMC Trevor and loved that it was dual POV. Always my favorite part of a contemporary romance book. There’s some sweet moments and I did like when Trevor and Lexi had quiet moments together. It’s a fast audio read and I will be trying book two.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: dieting and weight commentary

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 402 pages
Author: Savannah Scott
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 4th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I am finally over my crush on Duke. Completely done.

Duke’s always been like a big brother to me … a big brother with abs of steel, a heart of gold, and those dimples that make my heart rate double whenever he smiles.

As far as Duke’s concerned, I’ll always be his best friend Chris’ little sister—the little girl who dunked his Darth Vader action figure in Elmers glue and glitter.

Even if Duke noticed me, it wouldn’t matter. I’m so off limits, I may as well be wearing an outfit made entirely of caution tape. We both know Chris would enlist a special ops tactical team to hunt Duke down if he ever pursued anything beyond friendship with me.

Good thing I’m over Duke. One hundred percent attraction-free, that’s me. Well, mostly … until I accidentally send him one of my usual scrambled texts (thank you, autocorrect) … and he thinks I’m hitting on him.

I’m mortified enough to momentarily consider relocating someplace obscure like Greenland. I can never show my face around town again. I’ll buy a parka and an ice pick and learn to love fish. A lot.

But then Duke answers my text …
Am I dreaming? He’s not mad. He’s not even making fun of me.
In fact, it seems like he might be flirting back

I guess I might not be completely over this crush after all.

Just don’t tell my brother.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

SOME GOOD.

Oh y’all. I have tried, but I just don’t think this writing style is for me. There’s a handful of quirks that kept taking me out of the story.

I did like some of the tropes in this one. The forbidden romance was fun and the mutual pining was really sweet. I liked Duke a bunch. He was a swoony lead who was really trying to put his best foot forward into the future he wanted. The years of this tension worked well into many forced proximity moments.

The small town vibes are there and I love the strong connection between friends and others around them. There’s some humor and lightness. It’s flirty and pleasant and a great slow burn.

Overall audience notes: