Marie > Recent Status Updates

Ok but why were these two wearing jean shorts/tshirts/jeans to a wedding rehearsal dinner??

Fanny price is insufferable. She is weak and meek and lets everyone walk all over her and then when she gets an inkling of courage it’s without any forethought or plan or manner to protect herself. It’s driving me bonkers!

Trying to remind myself the FMC is a teen and constantly yelling “that was dumb!” regarding some of her decision making is unnecessary

Much better narrator even if it’s a guy doing the full narration!

16% before the MMCs (or at least the FMC) came across as something slightly less than completely out of touch in their approach to obtaining faux children

So the first story is very sweet and also very light on steam (kisses only). Also never resolved the FMCs lack of financial resources that was proclaimed to be a necessity for the duke. But I’m happy the blonde got her comeuppance and with this pairing choice .

Narrator Susan Duerdon? Is good for the basic narration but makes the girls sound chirpy/goofy. I don't know how to explain it.

2nd chance romance and marriage of convenience and now only one bed?? Checking off the tropes left and right (but in a good way)

Fantastic narrator; quirky and fun and seems to hit the narrative beats really well. Only complaint is sometimes it feels like she slips into a pattern of tones for both of the characters where the inflections feel repetitive in the middle of a long internal thought process but its infrequent so I can mostly ignore it (also this may have made zero sense to someone reading it)

I was struggling with the FMC sorting out the time difference between Amsterdam and her family in LA, thinking the author had it totally wrong until I remembered that the US springs ahead a bit earlier than UK/EU and this book clearly starts before the start of DST. (So, like a week ago)

I very much enjoy the chapter headings

How can a coffee shop add absinth to a beverage and not have a warning and/or age notification (even in the UK - there is still age requirements for alcohol...

Good narrator but sometimes hard to follow along with the dialogue as it moves quickly with the British accent (for this American)

Ok but once they have the girl who created the hex in their presence why not ask her to undo it? She seems genuinely apologetic? And why is his brother insisting he follow thru with his feelings if his feelings are gonna result in the loss of his soul??

I’m all for goofy games and challenges but two 26 year olds should not be racing their grocery carts inside the store. Like save the stupidity where it won’t affect anyone else.

How does Dan not understand that wanting Harper to let him fight her battles undermines her the same way that the patient who doesn’t want a female dentist does??

This one's a little bit spicier than I'm used to!

This one's a little bit spicier than I'm used to!

Does anyone actually have carnations as their favorite flowers…?

“There are no bears in NH” Girl. Lucy! Who fed you this pack of lies! They are every where! Wait until she hears about the town of libertarians that nearly turned their town into a resort for bears.

Oh jackie and that "hinky" feeling

The narrators are great except for the narration of the FMC - just comes across as to squeaky? I can’t quite explain it but the woman narrators voice is so good on the reading bits and the side characters yet somehow not on the main character.

Also why is she apologizing for attempting to defend Maeve’s house in the opening scene? You’d think Vess? Ness? Would be grateful once he found out why she was there.

Also - the society page columnist lives in a high rise apartment by herself? Clearly not since 2016.

And a final aside - this book is firmly set around Thanksgiving with references to Christmas in the near future yet its marketed on the cover as a Christmasy novella.

If this wasn't a novella I'd have called it quits when the MMC is a woodsy-alpha-holey type. So many reminders from the FMC about how the MMC is real 'mans man'. Also the vague reference to their opposing political views... not in this day and age. Sorry.

It is completely reasonable for Greg to be pissed that the person who he’s doing a favor for is late, ungrateful for him waiting, and the delay results in him having to drive thru a snow storm. Or that he’d want to pick what he was listening to in his own car, particularly after being inconvenienced. Good grief Tasha!

I think Nora and her author forgot in at least 2 occasions that Owen is Sonya’s cousin (2nd, 3rd or something…) based on Owen’s weird comments about Sonya

Every now and then I realize Nora is human and capable of doing dumb things like giving the MMC and his grandfather and father nicknames like Ace, Deuce, and Tre(y) because they are a Sr, Jr, III. (insert facepalm)

Neither narrator feels right for this book. Both sound older than their characters. The woman narrator has a nasally accent, a bit NY-ish? And she makes the secondary woman characters sound annoying. The man narrators voice sounds deeper than I’d imagine. It’s giving late 40 something motorcycle bad boy than handsome but uptight 20something. He also makes his voice too low at times to hear what he’s saying

I almost never cry when reading but Christ on a crutch this sick bed scene is killing me. Like if I didn't know this was a romance and a safely reliable romance writer, I'd be pretty sure that the FMC is about to actually die.

The only part im truly struggling with is Mr. Brandon (ie Capt. Brandon?) basically falling in love with Marianne upon a single meeting where they barely talked and she was rather abrasive.