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Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman #1
The Inn on Harmony Island
It's the moment that Harmony Island has been waiting for: the reading of Charlotte Cane's will.
After I returned to my small hometown six months ago to attend my estranged grandmother's funeral, I swore I would never go back. That is, until my grandmother's lawyer calls me up. If I don't return to Harmony Island and fulfill my grandmother's stipulations, the generationally owned family inn will be turned over to the state and sold off to the highest bidder--my grandmother's rival and mother to the man who broke my heart, Missy Willis.
I'm not sure I'm strong enough to return home, but I also know, I can't let Miss Willis win. So I pack up my belongings and head for North Carolina.
I'm determined to stay distant, living in the small cottage next to the inn, and keep my head down. But in a small town where everyone knows your name, that becomes difficult. Soon, my past catches up with me and I'm faced with the history I've buried for so long. Just when I reach my breaking point, Miles, the single dad living at the inn, swoops in to my life to rescue me. He was my protector in my childhood, my enemy in my teenage years, and now?
Now, I'm not so sure. Especially when his love for his daughter is contagious, or the way he looks at me when he doesn't know I see him. I'm so confused and I want to run away like I did in the past, but I can't. And when Miles touches me like that...I don't want to.
Luckily, I find a friend in Abigail, the local bookstore owner. She's one of the only residents who doesn't know about my past and seems to be looking for the same thing I am, a place to belong.
The Inn on Harmony Island is chock full of romance, redemption, and forgiveness. If you're looking for your next summer read, grab your copy today! It is the first book in the Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman series and ends on a cliff hanger.
After I returned to my small hometown six months ago to attend my estranged grandmother's funeral, I swore I would never go back. That is, until my grandmother's lawyer calls me up. If I don't return to Harmony Island and fulfill my grandmother's stipulations, the generationally owned family inn will be turned over to the state and sold off to the highest bidder--my grandmother's rival and mother to the man who broke my heart, Missy Willis.
I'm not sure I'm strong enough to return home, but I also know, I can't let Miss Willis win. So I pack up my belongings and head for North Carolina.
I'm determined to stay distant, living in the small cottage next to the inn, and keep my head down. But in a small town where everyone knows your name, that becomes difficult. Soon, my past catches up with me and I'm faced with the history I've buried for so long. Just when I reach my breaking point, Miles, the single dad living at the inn, swoops in to my life to rescue me. He was my protector in my childhood, my enemy in my teenage years, and now?
Now, I'm not so sure. Especially when his love for his daughter is contagious, or the way he looks at me when he doesn't know I see him. I'm so confused and I want to run away like I did in the past, but I can't. And when Miles touches me like that...I don't want to.
Luckily, I find a friend in Abigail, the local bookstore owner. She's one of the only residents who doesn't know about my past and seems to be looking for the same thing I am, a place to belong.
The Inn on Harmony Island is chock full of romance, redemption, and forgiveness. If you're looking for your next summer read, grab your copy today! It is the first book in the Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman series and ends on a cliff hanger.
288 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2022
5455 people are currently reading
38535 people want to read
About the author
Anne-Marie Meyer
113 books3,505 followersAnne-Marie Meyer is a USA Today Bestselling author who lives south of the Twin Cities in MN. She spends her days with her knight in shining armor, four princes, and a baby princess.
When she's not running after her kids, she's dreaming up romantic stories. She loves to take her favorite moments in the books and movies she loves and tries to figure out a way to make them new and fresh.
Join her newsletter at anne-mariemeyer.com
When she's not running after her kids, she's dreaming up romantic stories. She loves to take her favorite moments in the books and movies she loves and tries to figure out a way to make them new and fresh.
Join her newsletter at anne-mariemeyer.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,706 reviews
July 6, 2022
TikTok books are a trap. An absolute trap. I watched a few tiktoks that the author posted of scenes from this book. It sounded amazing, especially the scene where he says he needs to protect both of them in the same house. But ugh this book was so incredibly disappointing. Absolutely nothing that happened made sense. The entire book took place in about 5 days worth of time, yet somehow none of it made sense. There was zero character development, I felt absolutely no connection to either of the main characters. And we had POVs from a completely unrelated character. I typically don't bother finishing books that I can't stand the plotline or the timeline, but like I said, I was waiting for that one TikTok scene and it didn't happen until about 90% of the way through the book, and was honestly nothing compared to what the author's posts made it seem like it was going to be about.
She also made it seem like there was going to be this huge connection between Shelby and Belle, when she literally only babysat her like once, yet in the middle of the book she's saying she loves her more than anything and will do anything for her after knowing her for mere days.
So incredibly disasappointing. Really wish I didn't waste my time on it and just DNF'd it like I usually do. 2 stars for this book is generous, but I really don't like giving books 1 stars.
She also made it seem like there was going to be this huge connection between Shelby and Belle, when she literally only babysat her like once, yet in the middle of the book she's saying she loves her more than anything and will do anything for her after knowing her for mere days.
So incredibly disasappointing. Really wish I didn't waste my time on it and just DNF'd it like I usually do. 2 stars for this book is generous, but I really don't like giving books 1 stars.
July 1, 2022
As many here, I came from TikTok and am quite disappointed. I felt like a lot was said but we’ve learned nothing. So… no thank you, I won’t be continuing this journey. And that scene everyone came to read about? Not as meaningful or sweet as the videos were showing us. Also it did look slightly different
March 21, 2023
My biggest problem with this book is how difficult it is to relate to Shelby. I didn't get enough information about her to connect with her feelings and the situation she's in. She blames Miles for something that isn't his fault, like, the fact that her boyfriend left her, even if Miles talked to him and that's what made him leave her, is not Miles fault. Shelby is read as a victim but the book doesn't show us that she is one, which just ends up portraying her as whiny and resentful. And she goes from wanting to have nothing to do with Miles to wanting to be his wife in too little time. It becomes hard to see her as a consistent character. My other issue is that Belle feels like a prop instead of a real child. She is only ever referenced and is almost completely non verbal, apparently she's always giggling and that's the only trait to her. And if you're trying to portray Miles as an actual caring single father, the way his relationship with his daughter is written seems like an afterthought. She ended up feeling more like a tool to develop the story between Shelby and Miles.
The way Shelby immediately loves her and becomes doting and protective of her seems shallow.
Which brings me to my general feel of the book which is that, even though there are so many allusions to the fact that Shelby lived horrible things and is dealing with PTSD, none of that shows enough for the character to be consistent because we don't have a clear picture of what happened to her. So instead of feeling like a fully fledged backstory, it seems like a bunch of things were made up to make her interesting. Leaving her to be read as one dimensional.
Also, we don't get many descriptions of the physical appearance of the characters. I have just finished the book and have no idea what Shelby or Abigail look like at all. I don't remember what Belle looks like or even Miles. Their appearance is maybe hinted once throughout the book but overall I feel like the author needs to work on her character building.
The way Shelby immediately loves her and becomes doting and protective of her seems shallow.
Which brings me to my general feel of the book which is that, even though there are so many allusions to the fact that Shelby lived horrible things and is dealing with PTSD, none of that shows enough for the character to be consistent because we don't have a clear picture of what happened to her. So instead of feeling like a fully fledged backstory, it seems like a bunch of things were made up to make her interesting. Leaving her to be read as one dimensional.
Also, we don't get many descriptions of the physical appearance of the characters. I have just finished the book and have no idea what Shelby or Abigail look like at all. I don't remember what Belle looks like or even Miles. Their appearance is maybe hinted once throughout the book but overall I feel like the author needs to work on her character building.
July 12, 2022
So bad it doesn’t deserve a review. The only positive was the lack of grammatical errors. It takes a lot for me to dole out a one star and this book gets it.
The lack of cohesion in the story, the unrealistic and repetitive actions of the characters, descriptive words that don’t even make sense…yeah. It’s that bad. Every single page was a “wait, what?”, followed by a laugh of horror and disbelief at the sheer idiocy of this story.
Shelby’s character is just soooo damaged. She has major PTSD, crying, falling to the floor and losing her sense of hearing every time she’s triggered (which is at least twenty times a day). The events that caused it were never explained fully and leave you with a sense that they aren’t really all that extreme. Her boyfriend cheated on her and now she ducks every time she hears planes fly over. Geez Louise.
Don’t even get me started on the nonverbal three year old who only eats cheerios, plays with toys, and takes four naps a day, never needing or interrupting adults.
Yeah, this is not something I could ever in good conscience recommend someone to read.
The lack of cohesion in the story, the unrealistic and repetitive actions of the characters, descriptive words that don’t even make sense…yeah. It’s that bad. Every single page was a “wait, what?”, followed by a laugh of horror and disbelief at the sheer idiocy of this story.
Shelby’s character is just soooo damaged. She has major PTSD, crying, falling to the floor and losing her sense of hearing every time she’s triggered (which is at least twenty times a day). The events that caused it were never explained fully and leave you with a sense that they aren’t really all that extreme. Her boyfriend cheated on her and now she ducks every time she hears planes fly over. Geez Louise.
Don’t even get me started on the nonverbal three year old who only eats cheerios, plays with toys, and takes four naps a day, never needing or interrupting adults.
Yeah, this is not something I could ever in good conscience recommend someone to read.
July 1, 2022
well, I regret buying that book…
I couldn’t get into the story, I didn’t care about the characters… Also, the not exactly incest but ambiguous and complicated thing (parents used to date/be married when they children so they grew up together) is really not to my taste
I couldn’t get into the story, I didn’t care about the characters… Also, the not exactly incest but ambiguous and complicated thing (parents used to date/be married when they children so they grew up together) is really not to my taste
June 30, 2022
Booktok gave me the biggest disappointment of 2022.
I'm sorry but this book just doesn't make any sense.
I'm sorry but this book just doesn't make any sense.
September 3, 2022
1🌟
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. The book has ended and I still don't know what happened between Shelby and Miles in the "past". How the romance even happened I couldn't tell you because one minute she hated him and the next she has feelings for him. There was barely any reasoning for their actions and I just couldn't enjoy it as I hoped. Not sure if I'll even read the second book.
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. The book has ended and I still don't know what happened between Shelby and Miles in the "past". How the romance even happened I couldn't tell you because one minute she hated him and the next she has feelings for him. There was barely any reasoning for their actions and I just couldn't enjoy it as I hoped. Not sure if I'll even read the second book.
June 29, 2022
Do not recommend this book. I thought it was going to be based off Shelby and Miles but then Abigail had her own chapters about her love life. I felt like it was hard to connect to the characters. Shelby was super annoying with her poor me attitude. It was a lot crammed into a small book and it was a cliffhanger and next book is may 2023. That’s such a long time especially since the book isn’t that memorable
February 16, 2024
This book…was not good. I saw it on tiktok and thought I’d give it a try.
Too much trauma without explanation and too many ends left untied. It’s like she forgot about her whole life before she headed back to her hometown.
I’m also so confused about why there are so many POVs rather than them having their own books(maybe they do but I’ll never find out).
And this mystery cliff hanger? It’s no surprise, especially since it had to do with a druggie. Of course she’s going to show up and ask for money.
Too much trauma without explanation and too many ends left untied. It’s like she forgot about her whole life before she headed back to her hometown.
I’m also so confused about why there are so many POVs rather than them having their own books(maybe they do but I’ll never find out).
And this mystery cliff hanger? It’s no surprise, especially since it had to do with a druggie. Of course she’s going to show up and ask for money.
July 3, 2022
Oh my god! I didn’t realized how good this book was going to be! It was a Tiktok find and let me tell you ! I freaking LOVED it! I felt the girls heartbreak! And the small town first love !. I can’t even describe how much I love this book! I’m dying that I have to wait a year for the second book 😞 . If u could give this book more then 5 stars I would!
I loved the fact the author wrote the story about About Miles an the love he has for his daughter, and the patients he has for the love of his life and made sure to tell her he will be there for her when she is ready to leave the bad in the pass and to finally be happy !.
The cliffhanger is a doozie! And don’t get me started on Abigail’s life an how it’s going to end! Or even begin ! I hope Abigail will find love in one of the two guys that she’s interested in and the Miles won’t give up on Shelby and choose her an show her what love is like and she can lean on her to heal and not be the broken girl who’s use to !
I loved the fact the author wrote the story about About Miles an the love he has for his daughter, and the patients he has for the love of his life and made sure to tell her he will be there for her when she is ready to leave the bad in the pass and to finally be happy !.
The cliffhanger is a doozie! And don’t get me started on Abigail’s life an how it’s going to end! Or even begin ! I hope Abigail will find love in one of the two guys that she’s interested in and the Miles won’t give up on Shelby and choose her an show her what love is like and she can lean on her to heal and not be the broken girl who’s use to !
July 1, 2022
I need to take TikTok recommendations with a grain of salt, the scene the author showed was taken completely out of context and made to seem way more dramatic than it was.
It was a fun and quick read but I don’t feel like I finished the book. Character interactions are set up based on the past but we never got to see enough of it to make the interactions and personal mindsets truly make sense. So much is referenced without being explained fully. The book feels like the first half of one book. Hoping the next one answers more questions.
It was a fun and quick read but I don’t feel like I finished the book. Character interactions are set up based on the past but we never got to see enough of it to make the interactions and personal mindsets truly make sense. So much is referenced without being explained fully. The book feels like the first half of one book. Hoping the next one answers more questions.
July 10, 2022
i bought this book because i kept seeing that scene on tiktok and instagram where he’s like “don’t say you love my daughter like she’s your own” because i thought it would transition into some like really hot scene but it did not and i was genuinely so disappointed like this book is so not worth it.
i feel like every scene was the same but nothing actually happened in any of them. there was zero character development and we never learned anything substantial about any of the characters. then the romance was finally starting to pick up but the book ended. like what? i feel like the only thing i know about shelby is that she has feeling for miles but she really doesn’t even know how she actually feels. and don’t even get me started on abigail’s chapters… they added nothing to the book and were completely unnecessary… and she’s not even a big character like i get she’s supposed to be friends with shelby but that relationship never developed. and what happened to missy? and the rest of the drama from 10 years ago? it was briefly mentioned in the beginning and then they kept making vague references to it throughout the book but all the conversations about it were like “miles i-“ “shelby don’t” and “shelby i-“ “miles don’t” so…
i was initially going to give this book 3 stars and then i thought more about it and i was like why would i do that it was genuinely terrible so i gave it 2 stars. then i thought about how i spent $4 on this book on ibooks and that compelled me to give it 1 star because i only read free books or illegally downloaded epubs online.
i would not recommend this book. also would like to add that i wonder how authors feel if they read the reviews and they are all calling their book bad… like i feel bad for them but also you wrote a bad book and these are the consequences. lol sorry not sorry
i feel like every scene was the same but nothing actually happened in any of them. there was zero character development and we never learned anything substantial about any of the characters. then the romance was finally starting to pick up but the book ended. like what? i feel like the only thing i know about shelby is that she has feeling for miles but she really doesn’t even know how she actually feels. and don’t even get me started on abigail’s chapters… they added nothing to the book and were completely unnecessary… and she’s not even a big character like i get she’s supposed to be friends with shelby but that relationship never developed. and what happened to missy? and the rest of the drama from 10 years ago? it was briefly mentioned in the beginning and then they kept making vague references to it throughout the book but all the conversations about it were like “miles i-“ “shelby don’t” and “shelby i-“ “miles don’t” so…
i was initially going to give this book 3 stars and then i thought more about it and i was like why would i do that it was genuinely terrible so i gave it 2 stars. then i thought about how i spent $4 on this book on ibooks and that compelled me to give it 1 star because i only read free books or illegally downloaded epubs online.
i would not recommend this book. also would like to add that i wonder how authors feel if they read the reviews and they are all calling their book bad… like i feel bad for them but also you wrote a bad book and these are the consequences. lol sorry not sorry
July 29, 2022
Definitely liked the premise of this book but it’s very short and felt rushed. The development of the relationship doesn’t seem very realistic at all and the ending doesn’t feel like an end. It’s not even a cliffhanger the story just moves onto a second book that should just be a part of this one.☹️
August 11, 2022
Story is all over the place.
May 6, 2025
A cute small town romance. Shelby dreads returning home after a scandal drove her away. Her past comes back to haunt her and she has to relive the reasons she left. What she dreads most is having a reason to stay. The cliffhanger left me yearning to continue the series to find out what happens between Shelby and Miles.
September 22, 2022
the s in shelby stands for stupidandimmature and the only likeable part of this was miles and his daughter. i have, once again, been betrayed by booktok.
November 5, 2025
Small town drama
Oh I thought for sure it was going to be a type of happy ever after mushy hallmark feel- yay it didn’t but left in a cliffhanger! What!? Ok but still loved and it kept it real. Now invested in these characters and have to keep it going….
Oh I thought for sure it was going to be a type of happy ever after mushy hallmark feel- yay it didn’t but left in a cliffhanger! What!? Ok but still loved and it kept it real. Now invested in these characters and have to keep it going….
May 17, 2023
It’s a BIG no for me. I bought this book because of TikTok - do I need to say more? I REGRET IT! It was supposed to be a story about a girl that has a crush on the single dad next door. But what nobody tells you is that they are “ex”-step siblings (parents divorced). That’s the first ich about this book. Then there is the alternating POV that switches between Shelby (MC), Miles (single dad) and Abigail (supposedly new bff of MC) almost every chapter. I was hella confused and couldn’t follow along for the first third to first half of the book. Later I found out it wasn’t a stand alone, as I had thought, bist just part 1 of a series.
Shelby was just fired and wants to maintain this big, shining image of a successful woman (which she apparently is not because she needs to make a deal with a Ken-wannabe to be seen together in public and get publicity). Due to the will reading of her deceased grandma she ends up at Harmony Inn which is run by Miles. She just fucked me up. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to fuck her stepbrother or not. And then there is the repetitive mention of a miscarriage, an accident and an ex of hers. Somehow all those link back to Miles, which is a cause for her ‘undying’ hate for him. Fucking hypocrite gets drunk in the last chapter(s) and then almost jumps Miles…
The book ends here…
And don’t get me started on MILES. He is a walking RED FLAG. I mean the way he acts around Belle (his daughter) ist kinda cute but that’s where it ends. I’m his earlier days he supposedly had the attitude of a jock and changed since then. Little secret: he DID NOT!
Just to show you what I mean when I say this man gives me the ick: Somewhere in the story he wants to blow off some steam and gets in to his self-build ‘gym’. He notices that Shelby is watching and:
That realisation caused blood to pump through my veins. Suddenly, I needed to prove myself to this woman. Call it animalistic. Call it carnal. But I wanted her to see what I could do.
As well as
This garage. My wights. It was my connection to the man inside of me. (His response to the way he dresses his own daughter - in pink)
And one time Shelby helped making breakfast for the guest at the Inn and got some flour on her cheek:
“Taking care of people. Once a dad, always a dad.”
Her train of thoughts after that were:
He was a dad, and it was cute that being a dad wasn’t something he could compartmentalise. He was protective. And there was something about the way he insisted on being protective if me that made my whole body feel light. It was probably because I never had a dad in my life.
CALL HIM DADDY ALREADY. Why fuss around it????
I kinda liked Abigail but that’s it.
I can only repeat myself. I regret buying this book and I finished it after I put it back on my bookshelf for the last 1,5 years.
Shelby was just fired and wants to maintain this big, shining image of a successful woman (which she apparently is not because she needs to make a deal with a Ken-wannabe to be seen together in public and get publicity). Due to the will reading of her deceased grandma she ends up at Harmony Inn which is run by Miles. She just fucked me up. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to fuck her stepbrother or not. And then there is the repetitive mention of a miscarriage, an accident and an ex of hers. Somehow all those link back to Miles, which is a cause for her ‘undying’ hate for him. Fucking hypocrite gets drunk in the last chapter(s) and then almost jumps Miles…
The book ends here…
And don’t get me started on MILES. He is a walking RED FLAG. I mean the way he acts around Belle (his daughter) ist kinda cute but that’s where it ends. I’m his earlier days he supposedly had the attitude of a jock and changed since then. Little secret: he DID NOT!
Just to show you what I mean when I say this man gives me the ick: Somewhere in the story he wants to blow off some steam and gets in to his self-build ‘gym’. He notices that Shelby is watching and:
That realisation caused blood to pump through my veins. Suddenly, I needed to prove myself to this woman. Call it animalistic. Call it carnal. But I wanted her to see what I could do.
As well as
This garage. My wights. It was my connection to the man inside of me. (His response to the way he dresses his own daughter - in pink)
And one time Shelby helped making breakfast for the guest at the Inn and got some flour on her cheek:
“Taking care of people. Once a dad, always a dad.”
Her train of thoughts after that were:
He was a dad, and it was cute that being a dad wasn’t something he could compartmentalise. He was protective. And there was something about the way he insisted on being protective if me that made my whole body feel light. It was probably because I never had a dad in my life.
CALL HIM DADDY ALREADY. Why fuss around it????
I kinda liked Abigail but that’s it.
I can only repeat myself. I regret buying this book and I finished it after I put it back on my bookshelf for the last 1,5 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 19, 2024
No no no no no no no.
Rtc
Rtc
August 25, 2023
Shelby = Whiney; Miles = Whimpy; Abigail = Weak; Anders = Wild, and Bash = Wierd!
None of them speak their mind, yet they all want the others to do so. The constant tension between the various couples got annoying! And, for the longest time (90% of the book), the story felt like it went... nowhere. Then, just as we edged toward some resolution, it ended on a cliffhanger. Why?
The added drama felt both confusing and unnecessary. The core of this story has been so vague it doesn't warrant that ending. One would think that the second book would deal with another couple, but we haven't come to a checkpoint or resting point with the first.
It's frustrating. I want to know how couple #1's story plays out, but I don't know if I want to delve deeper into the others, at least not yet. It's a good enough ploy to get readers to continue the series unless they really hated this one.
I'm willing to give it a go, but I won't promise a third. It has to get better.
None of them speak their mind, yet they all want the others to do so. The constant tension between the various couples got annoying! And, for the longest time (90% of the book), the story felt like it went... nowhere. Then, just as we edged toward some resolution, it ended on a cliffhanger. Why?
The added drama felt both confusing and unnecessary. The core of this story has been so vague it doesn't warrant that ending. One would think that the second book would deal with another couple, but we haven't come to a checkpoint or resting point with the first.
It's frustrating. I want to know how couple #1's story plays out, but I don't know if I want to delve deeper into the others, at least not yet. It's a good enough ploy to get readers to continue the series unless they really hated this one.
I'm willing to give it a go, but I won't promise a third. It has to get better.
September 6, 2024
TikTok gaslit me into thinking this book was good. IT WAS NOT.
August 31, 2025
I didn't want to read too many reviews because I did fall for the advertising and bought a book box with the first 5 books. With that being said, I read a few reviews after I finished this first book. I have a couple of thoughts about some of the low reviews. Firstly, I agree with some of the reviews regarding character development and the lack of details about their physical appearance and personalities. Secondly, I feel that not every book that is written is meant to be award-winning. I purposefully bought this series as a light, easy interlude to some of the more heavy, serious books I have been reading. And I definitely feel it provides that easier, lighter feel to reading. Lastly, I did find myself wanting to get back into the book when I wasn't reading (working, etc) to insert myself back into the story. For this reason, I did give it 4 stars. Three stars didn't do it justice, but I am interested in seeing where the stories of each character go moving forward. I also don't love each chapter changing with each character's point of view, but the story is enough to keep me reading. I like the setting at the Inn, and the town seems to have both small-town charm and nosy citizens, which could use a bit more development also. We'll see where "The Shop Around the Corner" takes us next.
March 22, 2025
Classic trashy romance. Filled a gap. And will no doubt still read more of them in those reading "slumps"
September 18, 2024
All things aside, the fact that this was about a step sister-step brother “falling in love” is weird and gross. Other than that, it’s absolutely disappointing. I got pulled in from the Insta ads and fell for it. Mentioned in other reviews, the ad focused on one “intimate” scene from the book. I kept reading to find it but finally got to it near the end and was too determined to finish it hoping that it would be good. Just like the book starts, it ends flat. There is zero character development, some scenes are incomplete and lacking any evidence of research, and just feels like a mess of a storyline. Characters are introduced, very sloppily described, and then quickly ignored.
It’s understandable that as part of a series, you want some cliff hangers but it’s hard to create tension when you’re not invested into the web of half baked characters and stories. Serious review aside, the authors overuse of the word “startled” drove me nuts and ignoring everything else that I disliked about it, would be the sole cause for me to not read another book from her. Generously gave it two stars.
It’s understandable that as part of a series, you want some cliff hangers but it’s hard to create tension when you’re not invested into the web of half baked characters and stories. Serious review aside, the authors overuse of the word “startled” drove me nuts and ignoring everything else that I disliked about it, would be the sole cause for me to not read another book from her. Generously gave it two stars.
October 28, 2024
This is the worse romantic audiobook I have ever listened to. First, step siblings should never be romantically involved. Ick! Second, the dialogue is so sophomoric. The young woman act like simpering 13 y/o around any guy. And the older women are mean, nosy busy bodies. The story lines are so disjointed and unfinished. For instance, Shelby has to live at the inn to fulfill her grandmother’s will request, but she’s got an apartment in NYC. Who’s going to pay for that? What about Titan, the fake boyfriend? Is she still going to his sister’s wedding? Is Abigail so naive as to go to a man’s apartment before she’s gotten to know him? Please spare me! I had so many eye roll moments, I’m surprised they’re not stuck that way. Don’t bother reading this and the audiobook reader is not great either. Too whiney!
January 7, 2023
2.5 ⭐ if goodreads had a half star system.
This has all of the makings of a Hallmark movie in book form if you're into that. Don't get me wrong, I love romance novels but this one has no real plot to speak of besides the romance and the beginning which prompts the main female character to head back home
Half way through the book I was still confused as to who the main love interest was and it was unclear if Shelbly found him to be her ex-stepbrother or a potential romance partner.
There is also a secondary romance in the background concerning Abigail which seems to come out of nowhere and has no clear direction besides romance.
The ending is ubrupt and feels unresolved by the end.
This has all of the makings of a Hallmark movie in book form if you're into that. Don't get me wrong, I love romance novels but this one has no real plot to speak of besides the romance and the beginning which prompts the main female character to head back home
Half way through the book I was still confused as to who the main love interest was and it was unclear if Shelbly found him to be her ex-stepbrother or a potential romance partner.
There is also a secondary romance in the background concerning Abigail which seems to come out of nowhere and has no clear direction besides romance.
The ending is ubrupt and feels unresolved by the end.
July 2, 2022
underwhelming
This book had some hype so I was excited for this when I pre-ordered but the writing felt very Wattpad to me and the storyline… so much nothing happened for a 231 page book. Maybe it just didn’t resonate with me but I felt like the whole storyline was empty and just filler scenes with a little plot in there and I felt like the writing let the story down too. Also maybe it’s just me but even ex step siblings is weird for me.
This book had some hype so I was excited for this when I pre-ordered but the writing felt very Wattpad to me and the storyline… so much nothing happened for a 231 page book. Maybe it just didn’t resonate with me but I felt like the whole storyline was empty and just filler scenes with a little plot in there and I felt like the writing let the story down too. Also maybe it’s just me but even ex step siblings is weird for me.
April 22, 2025
DNF at 43%
I'm almost halfway through this audiobook and I am just so bored. Nothing has really happened. Nothing much has been explained. And I was very confused for awhile when the bookstore owner - sorry, I already forgot her name - started narrating, especially because there was no distinction between her and the supposed main character...Shelby, I think. And the narration for the male characters also didn't differ much, so yeah, I'm calling it.
I'm almost halfway through this audiobook and I am just so bored. Nothing has really happened. Nothing much has been explained. And I was very confused for awhile when the bookstore owner - sorry, I already forgot her name - started narrating, especially because there was no distinction between her and the supposed main character...Shelby, I think. And the narration for the male characters also didn't differ much, so yeah, I'm calling it.
September 20, 2022
I absolutely loved reading this book! The relationship between Miles and Shelby sent shivers up my spine. I was disappointed to see the book end on a cliffhanger, but at the same time I cannot wait to read the second book to see what happens between them! :) And oh, I cannot forget about Abigail and Anders & he's "creepy" roommate. I hope they have a cute ending as well.
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December 5, 2022RTC
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