This was my romance Book Drop book this month. I try really hard to read them as soon as I get them otherwise they start to feel like a waste! Besides, it was time to read something a little more lighthearted. I have hit genre burnout in the past, and I try really hard to avoid it now.
Lighter on the Romance
I thought this would be more of a romance as it was the romance pick of the month, but it more aligned with women’s fiction to me. For one, River, the male protagonist doesn’t show up until about 20-25% through the book and there’s a lot of story that doesn’t revolve around him.
This is more about Hannah starting over and finding herself again. Personally, I have no complaints about that as I prefer fresh start books anyway and women’s fiction used to be my favorite genre.
Hannah Isn’t a Complete Loss
Overall, this was a cute book! I loved that Hannah wasn’t stupid. She made a few dumb mistakes, but she was, overall not a damsel in distress kind of protagonist. I appreciated that about her as a character.
She catches on to things going on pretty quickly and she stands her ground most of the time, which I like. No, she doesn’t make all the right choices, but who does? She definitely has a petulant side, but it wasn’t over the top for me. I could roll with her flaws because I thought her growth was pretty continuous – maybe not always at the same rate, but she kept trying to improve. I also liked that she was a good mom and a good friend.
What Went Wrong
1 Star deducted – Hannah’s love interest. He’s a stick figure at best, a muscular one, but a stick figure nonetheless. He’s just flat. He’s nuanced and has quirks, but…it all just doesn’t matter because he’s not worth carrying about. Since this character should shoulder half the story, and he doesn’t, this is a big hit in the ratings for me.
Even with that said, this still isn’t a four-star read. As much as I do enjoy her best friends, they’re just not in it enough to keep it at four stars. The new friends Hannah makes are interesting too. But, they are also not in it enough to keep it at a four-star read.
That’s the fundamental problem, there’s potential, and some unique and fun characters, but they’re all just at surface level. There’s no depth to anyone – the closest we get to depth is Killian later on, her mom, and her stepdad. But, for the book to succeed and it needed more heart and more depth.
Rating
So, it’s a 3 ½ star book that I have to round down to 3 stars for Goodreads but it’s a fun and cute read. I did enjoy it, but it could have been so much more had we had more character depth.