It’s a mini review! I’m clearing out my review queue of all the books I can’t seem to convince myself to finish, for one reason or another. That doesn’t mean these are negative reviews, it simply means that something isn’t compelling me to keep reading at the moment. Maybe I’ll go back to them another day, maybe I won’t!
DNF Details:
How far did I get? Technically, I finished it, but I started skimming about halfway through. I wanted to give the author the benefit of doubt, in case the issues were just with the ARC edition – they were not. I flipped through the finished version, and it was the same way.
Why did I stop? The writing was not living up to the potential of the premise. Other readers have described the writing as choppy, and that is 100% true. It jumps from one scene to the next with zero transition, so I spent a lot of time trying to get my bearings. By the time I’d figured out what was happening, it would shift to the next scene. So I spent a lot of time confused, and then the characters’ decisions didn’t always make sense. Like… our heroine buys half a house, even though she only plans to be in town temporarily? She knows her brother’s best friend can’t afford it on his own (neither can she), so I’m still not exactly sure what her game plan was there. The home-buying process is not particularly quick or easy, yet they still hadn’t communicated their plans before the paperwork was signed. And what she wanted in exchange was kinda ridiculous. Some of the other compelling elements were wildly underdeveloped. So there were a million things that had me scratching my head.
Was I enjoying it initially? I was! I’ve heard great things about this author’s work, the cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the premise is right up my alley. So I went into this with a whole lot of enthusiasm, and I initially really enjoyed that it jumped right into things. The hero is also such a sweetheart, and there was so much to love about the dynamic between them. There are also some fantastic, intimate moments and these little glimpses of greatness. Those kept me hooked for awhile, until the writing issues started overtaking the plot.
Would I finish this? I skimmed to the end, so I know how it all ends up. The romance still felt underdeveloped, with very strange pacing. I would definitely try the author again, but I’d wait until there were some solid reviews out first.
Who would I recommend this to? It gave me Tarah DeWitt/Hannah Bonam-Young vibes, which is a major plus and the biggest reason I’d revisit the author’s work in the future. So if you’re a fan of that kind of vibe, then McLean might be a good fit for you.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4262v8A
Blurb:
Welcome home.
Ever sent a drunk text to your ex and regretted it in the morning? Well, imagine pitching the debut novel you’ve been hiding to your agent, then waking up with a hangover and a deadline. Oh, and you have a debilitating fear of rejection.
Welcome to Bee Montgomery’s life.
The shy ghostwriter has always shied away from the limelight but may never get this opportunity again. So after five years away, Bee returns home with little more than a suitcase of secrets and a dream. What she really needs is someone confident to guide her.
Enter Sebastian Wolfe, her brother’s best friend. The older man spent his twenties avoiding commitment and his whole life trying to be the man his father never was, but the sexy ex-stripper secretly dreams of a white picket fence and a home of his own. He isn’t expecting to come up short on the deposit, or for the woman he shouldn’t want to offer the rest in exchange for his help to get over her stage fright. But if Bee can’t see how incredible she is, he’s more than happy to show her.
It’s not long before they’re stripping away more than her inhibitions, but as Bee’s deadline looms, she needs to decide if she’s going to keep playing house or return to her real life.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4262v8A
About the Author:
Dani McLean is an Australian Bi/NB author who writes shamelessly fun contemporary romance with an open-bedroom-door policy. She loves coffee, procrastinating, and not committing to a single genre of music.
You can find them on social media fan-girling over the CW show Supernatural, shipping every queer couple in canon (and most that aren’t), and if lost, they can be echo-located through their laugh (like a Kookaburra).
A millennial who grew up devouring every romantic comedy she could, Dani loves stories that make you kick your feet up in the air and take your heart on an adventure.
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