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aaayeye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
msneon's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. This book was such a sweet read. This cover in no way captures the book.
risseandshine's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Five stars for this winner!!!
We got our heroine Grace who moves back to her small town after being cheated on by her husband. There she runs into Jackson, the town grump and pariah who hates her family with every fiber of his being. The two of them don't get off on a great start, but they eventually form a unique bond, which then turns into a 'friends' with benefits arrangement. Along the way, they realize that they're not that different after all, and their deep connection is more than just a mere summer fling.
This book put. Me. Through. It.
I felt so much pain, grief, anger, and love from start to finish. Grace and Jackson completely stole my heart with their story. Theirs was a rocky one, with many people in their lives who made their lives a living hell (and who I wanted to personally str/a/ngle) as well as their internal demons, but the ending made me go, "Yep, these two are soulmates for sure." I absolutely loved watching them fall in love with each other, heal together, and get their well-deserved happily ever after.
If anyone deserves all the good things in the world, it's Grace and Jackson, and I would like to believe that somewhere in another universe, they're living their best lives with each other and their fur babies.
So if you're in the mood to feel all the emotions in one read, this book is the way to go. And if I were to give you one piece of advice, once you feel the need to give up reading because certain characters are super annoying, don't do it (even though yes, they are annoying). You can take a break, but pick it back up. Everything will all be worth it for the last couple of chapters alone!
tw: infidelity (not between the MCs), miscarriages/infertility, panic attacks, death of a parent, death of an animal, grief, alcoholism, hospital/ICU scenes, drug use
We got our heroine Grace who moves back to her small town after being cheated on by her husband. There she runs into Jackson, the town grump and pariah who hates her family with every fiber of his being. The two of them don't get off on a great start, but they eventually form a unique bond, which then turns into a 'friends' with benefits arrangement. Along the way, they realize that they're not that different after all, and their deep connection is more than just a mere summer fling.
This book put. Me. Through. It.
I felt so much pain, grief, anger, and love from start to finish. Grace and Jackson completely stole my heart with their story. Theirs was a rocky one, with many people in their lives who made their lives a living hell (and who I wanted to personally str/a/ngle) as well as their internal demons, but the ending made me go, "Yep, these two are soulmates for sure." I absolutely loved watching them fall in love with each other, heal together, and get their well-deserved happily ever after.
If anyone deserves all the good things in the world, it's Grace and Jackson, and I would like to believe that somewhere in another universe, they're living their best lives with each other and their fur babies.
So if you're in the mood to feel all the emotions in one read, this book is the way to go. And if I were to give you one piece of advice, once you feel the need to give up reading because certain characters are super annoying, don't do it (even though yes, they are annoying). You can take a break, but pick it back up. Everything will all be worth it for the last couple of chapters alone!
tw: infidelity (not between the MCs), miscarriages/infertility, panic attacks, death of a parent, death of an animal, grief, alcoholism, hospital/ICU scenes, drug use
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Drug use and Death of parent
nikitanavalkar's review against another edition
4.0
Intensely emotional
4.5 stars
It’s amazing how many times this book has see-sawed between a 4 and 5 star read for me. Even now I feel like I could change the rating any minute. It has all of the beautiful angst that I love and is so crushing in parts that it made me tear up. There are so many heartbreaking, poignant moments in Jackson and Grace’s journey toward healing their broken souls, and finding their way to each other. I especially loved how they bonded over books and words. And no one told me there was a dog involved dammit 😍😭😭😭
But on the other hand, I picked this one up on the verge of a miniature book slump, when I’m feeling nit-picky and every tiny error is getting to me. Chief among those pet peeves was the incessant use of some verbiage, such as the chills that kept racing down everyone’s spine, especially Grace’s. I almost made it into a drinking game at one point. There were other editing issues too, which I probably would’ve overlooked on most other days.
Overall, there’s a lot to recommend in this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author.
4.5 stars
It’s amazing how many times this book has see-sawed between a 4 and 5 star read for me. Even now I feel like I could change the rating any minute. It has all of the beautiful angst that I love and is so crushing in parts that it made me tear up. There are so many heartbreaking, poignant moments in Jackson and Grace’s journey toward healing their broken souls, and finding their way to each other. I especially loved how they bonded over books and words. And no one told me there was a dog involved dammit 😍😭😭😭
But on the other hand, I picked this one up on the verge of a miniature book slump, when I’m feeling nit-picky and every tiny error is getting to me. Chief among those pet peeves was the incessant use of some verbiage, such as the chills that kept racing down everyone’s spine, especially Grace’s. I almost made it into a drinking game at one point. There were other editing issues too, which I probably would’ve overlooked on most other days.
Overall, there’s a lot to recommend in this book, and I look forward to reading more from the author.
anxietygirl74's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Was one of the lucky winners in an ARC contest on Facebook.
This is my 3rd book by BCC.
I've delayed writing this review despite the fact I read and finished the book the day after it showed up in my email for two reasons... I'm not sure how to write the review without spoilers and I had to let the story (and the ending) simmer in my brain and see if I was still as disappointed as I was initially. Turns out I kinda was. Her Element 3 & 4 books were both solid 4 star reads for me so I went in with very high expectations. I liked both Jackson and Grace and really never had an issue with their characters or the way their story together played out...but the plot behind Grace and her husband....was infuriating from the beginning. I won't lie and say I didn't tear up more than once because there is some incredible sadness throughout this story and even with this hitting some of my major pet peeves it still clogged my tear ducts. I mistakenly assumed from how the story began divorce was going to be a major plot point since for some ridiculous reason (plot hole #1 for me) these two people were going back to the same town to live (in her case only for the summer) so they could break the news to their families that they had separated (because apparently in the months that he was living there without her didn't sound the alarms to any of them) and then things explode almost the minute they're in the same town together. Divorce, right? Huh, no....but you're not really going to go back are you???? Oh wait....MORE secrets revealed!!!! That's gotta bring out the lawyers now....what...wait......YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! Meanwhile Grace is getting slut shamed for banging the local bad boy and finding a little bit of happy in this nightmare she calls her life. And yes boys and girls there's one last deep dark secret to be revealed (and if you hadn't got a clue then you weren't paying attention) and... BAM! Another couple decimated...but even they didn't mention the D-word and I'd hate to assume since I was thwarted repeatedly with Grace. But then again we never lived Grace's divorce but unless she's a bigamist it had to have happened at some point. But we never finish Finn's story. You would think that after all he dragged Grace through and what he did we'd at least get some resolution....but no. The villain was never vanquished he just walked off-stage never to return. A disappointing finish for the catalyst of the entire story. This story was dark from the first page of the disintegrating marriage and continued to be so. I can deal with the darkness and the tears as long as there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel but I didn't find the light entirely worthy of the trip. Throughout the whole book there was one thing Grace wanted more than anything and it would have been nice to see her get it even if it was by less conventional methods...
I did find some minor mistakes but those could have been fixed prior to publication...and minor enough that most people probably wouldn't catch them.
Am I glad I read it? Yeah because BCC knows how to write an intriguing story even if you don't love it.
Would it make it on my re-read list? No, for the above mentioned reasons and I'll rarely re-read a book that makes me tear up this much.
Was one of the lucky winners in an ARC contest on Facebook.
This is my 3rd book by BCC.
I've delayed writing this review despite the fact I read and finished the book the day after it showed up in my email for two reasons... I'm not sure how to write the review without spoilers and I had to let the story (and the ending) simmer in my brain and see if I was still as disappointed as I was initially. Turns out I kinda was. Her Element 3 & 4 books were both solid 4 star reads for me so I went in with very high expectations. I liked both Jackson and Grace and really never had an issue with their characters or the way their story together played out...but the plot behind Grace and her husband....was infuriating from the beginning. I won't lie and say I didn't tear up more than once because there is some incredible sadness throughout this story and even with this hitting some of my major pet peeves it still clogged my tear ducts. I mistakenly assumed from how the story began divorce was going to be a major plot point since for some ridiculous reason (plot hole #1 for me) these two people were going back to the same town to live (in her case only for the summer) so they could break the news to their families that they had separated (because apparently in the months that he was living there without her didn't sound the alarms to any of them) and then things explode almost the minute they're in the same town together. Divorce, right? Huh, no....but you're not really going to go back are you???? Oh wait....MORE secrets revealed!!!! That's gotta bring out the lawyers now....what...wait......YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKIN' KIDDING ME! Meanwhile Grace is getting slut shamed for banging the local bad boy and finding a little bit of happy in this nightmare she calls her life. And yes boys and girls there's one last deep dark secret to be revealed (and if you hadn't got a clue then you weren't paying attention) and... BAM! Another couple decimated...but even they didn't mention the D-word and I'd hate to assume since I was thwarted repeatedly with Grace. But then again we never lived Grace's divorce but unless she's a bigamist it had to have happened at some point. But we never finish Finn's story. You would think that after all he dragged Grace through and what he did we'd at least get some resolution....but no. The villain was never vanquished he just walked off-stage never to return. A disappointing finish for the catalyst of the entire story. This story was dark from the first page of the disintegrating marriage and continued to be so. I can deal with the darkness and the tears as long as there is some kind of light at the end of the tunnel but I didn't find the light entirely worthy of the trip. Throughout the whole book there was one thing Grace wanted more than anything and it would have been nice to see her get it even if it was by less conventional methods...
I did find some minor mistakes but those could have been fixed prior to publication...and minor enough that most people probably wouldn't catch them.
Am I glad I read it? Yeah because BCC knows how to write an intriguing story even if you don't love it.
Would it make it on my re-read list? No, for the above mentioned reasons and I'll rarely re-read a book that makes me tear up this much.
nati013's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0