TBR Challenge: Maggie Osborne - Foxfire Bride

Fox is a woman as feisty as they come. Once the most sought-after scout west of the Rockies, she led folks through wild, unexplored terrain–until a gunshot wound ended her guiding career. She’s living a calmer life when a handsome stranger appears with an urgent request to take him to Denver immediately. The gold coins he offers catch Fox’s eye–and so do his sharp good looks. Fox can’t resist the chance to guide again, and can’t ignore the fire that burns in her body whenever she sees this oh-so tempting man.
Matthew Tanner has received a startling telegraph: His father is being held for ransom in Denver. With time running out, Matthew must find the best scout money can buy. When the best turns out to be a woman with gritty good looks and a wild mane of red hair, Matthew is both shocked and intrigued. Can Matthew and Fox’s mutual desire and growing love survive the perils of their journey, or will their secrets destroy each other?

Comment: This month the theme for the TBR Challenge post is "old school" which I always tend to link with books written in past decades, usually historicals, and focusing on romance stories that aren't as seen nowadays because they are often told in specific ways and featuring specific tropes too. I also tend to think these old school romances had to develop a certain way and these days even writers of historical novels are much more eager to change the rules or the tropes or just bet on quirky/out there plots.

In this book we meet Fox, an unconventional heroine but who deep down regrets her life has not followed a more traditional path.

The story begins when she and older friend/father figure Peaches are hired to be part of a team to guide a rich man to Denver, though secondary routes that might be dangerous, in order for him to carry a huge amount of gold part of a ransom mission.

Fox feels attracted to Tanner, the "boss", but although she feels like having an adventure, she also has a hidden goal in mind for she wants to reach Denver too, so she could find and kill the man she has always known to be responsible for how her life went.

With many adventures and some drama and even a road trip romance, will Fox be able to deal with her regrets and accept the apparent second chance in happiness she is given?

 This was a story filled with adventure. It's very fast paced, there is always something happening, something to deal with and, on one hand this is good because there's no time to waste on unnecessary things. The author has to rely on the characters' actions so that readers can grasp their personalities and positive aspects instead of being told every single thing.

I like this style because it can allow the reader to get the information between the lines but, on the other hand, it can make things sound a little simplistic and I assume this might be one reason why the style is considered "old school". It seems as if nowadays there's more eagerness to see fresh, innovative things and styles.

This aside, the story was a good one. The main characters have a mission, a goal and they face some adversity while the protagonists decide on a love affair until they end their journey.

As for the plot, nothing really to say, this is a simple story whose best feature is in the character's development and in the question on whether the characters will do what they say they will when the mission is over. There were some doubts regarding this but I confess I wasn't that worried or eager to find out the - let's call it - twist since I feel that was rather predictable.

What makes reading this genre a more interesting experience for me is to see how the romance develops. I must say that while it was different because the heroine also wanted it to happen, I wasn't as impressed by it and actually felt it brought my enjoyment of the story lower. I'm a little old fashioned, I suppose, and I much prefer romances where both partners go into it with some mystery, with some discovery to make. It wasn't as fun to watch if they discussed it like a business transaction! 

I would have preferred to slowly become aware of the other, of thinking, debating if the other might feel the same... I guess I would have liked a more well done tactic of "they couldn't help it but fall in love" and this love story didn't feel like that to me.

As a whole, there was nothing wrong with this story but I missed that something "extra" that all the books I liked the most need to have for me to put them in that level.

I think the fact there is some dragging in the middle with the journey taking over the whole book and the final resolutions being so easily and quickly summarized make things feel like they were rushed in the end.

While reading this I kept wondering that there is a reason why these books tend to be considered old school so they aren't as well received nowadays but at the same time, there is a reason too why old school can be a synonym of "established" and that is because the plots work.

I liked this book in general even though it wasn't as spectacular as I would have wanted.

Grade: 6/10

Maggie Osbourne - American Pie

Spirited Polish immigrant Lucie Kolska and Dublin native Jamie Kelly arrive on Ellis Island the same day. Lucie is instantly drawn to Jamie and his daring dreams of success. Lucie, too, has hopes of her own...tucked away in the corner of her suitcase. The family formula for beauty cream.
Work is scarce, the tenements teeming—and bitter family rivalries keep Lucie and Jamie apart...until Lucie's menial job in a Madison Avenue mansion connects her with New York's elite—and an opportunity to build a beauty empire. Now, more than ever, she needs Jamie's love—his passion—to make their American Dream come true.

Comment: This is a book that had been in the pile for a long time. Since it's not very big, I picked it to carry with me while in an outing so that it wouldn't take me too long had I the chance to dedicate to reading.

In this book we have the story of Lucie Kolska, a recently arrived emigrant from Poland who, like many others, sees in America the land of opportunities. The same day she arrives, while waiting for her brother to find her, she meets Jaime Kelly, also a brand new arrival from Ireland. They seem to connect briefly while waiting for her brother but soon lose track of one another.

While looking for work and dealing with the failed expectations of being in the country many have dreamed about, both Lucie and Jamie face their own problems and obstacles. However, it seems fate ha made it necessary for them to be together and they meet again but will the apparent connection between them enough to make them succeed?

This is an Harlequin publication, so the more obvious detail about it, when compared to other books by the author, is the smaller page count, which means more had to be inserted in a smaller story.

In a way this is very evident and made some things too repetitive and not as fluid. On the other hand, perhaps that wouldn't have mattered anyway since I think the story focused on the wrong elements.

This was not the first book by this author I've tried and I imagined a certain writing style, a certain "flavor" to this, as I found in the past in mrs Osbourne's work.

However, it's clear this is part of a set or a theme or something and, unlike most of the author's work, this is not a western. The story is pretty much focused on the way emigrants would arrive in America, thinking about the dream of finding things they couldn't in their countries. The hope and dreams is always there and the author managed to convey that but this means that for me the story is short for publishing demands and unfulfilled for plot reasons.

Lucie and Jamie are interesting enough characters for the time they lived in but, again unlike other books by the author where the characters would face adversity in a specific setting but their uniqueness or personality would make them special to try and overcome whatever challenge they faced, in this one I didn't feel that.

Lucie and Jamie are, individually speaking, too close to the accurate descriptions of people of those times: she is too focused on marriage and the place of a woman, even on the price of her dreams, and he is too worried about being a provider and a man who supports his family even if that means he wants a wife to stand by him and not support him instead.

In a way, this is the reason why I disliked this book. It's not a bad book and it does offer a realistic portrait of what life used to be like (and still is in a way for those who still go to another country) for those people, always poor and working to only pay rent in miserable places or not have work at all.

I did like the raw descriptions of difficulties and worries.

However, the whole book was focused on this. There's too much negativity, complications, disease, unfairness, tragedy and even a bit of chauvinistic behavior that bring the mood down. The book is too negative, overall. Yes, this was probably more realistic and often that the stories of success but this being a romance, I did expect more of it and a bit more positivity too.

In the end, something good happens and the characters seem to find hope. Not before more tragedy and loss, though. I think the good details didn't have to be exaggerated for the story to be realistic and interesting. In such few pages maybe less descriptions of all the difficulties and bit more "after success" would have made it a more balanced plot.

The way it is, between the depressing situations and the way women were treated by some and their own limited expectations that no matter how well done were still irritating, there wasn't a lot I liked in this. In the end, it was not a pleasant read nor a good experience to read this one as it was to read other things by her.

Grade: 4/10

Maggie Osbourne - Brides of Prairie Gold

The twelve women from Chastity, Missouri, meant trouble for Wagon Master Cody Snow. Snow was used to transporting guns and whiskey, not mail-order brides. Then Cody looked into the defiant eyes of Perrin Waverly, a woman who had a past as painful as his own. Snow discovered an even bigger problem - his own desire. When he yells "Wagons Ho!," they all begin a perilous odyssey. 
The spinsters and widows, a seventeen-year-old innocent, a Missouri belle, and the wagon train's handsome half-breed scout all have reasons for moving west, all of them carrying secrets. Now they will discover the dangers of the trail match the dangers in their souls.

Comment: Although not always in the mood for a western, this month I just imagined a great adventure in the wild west and this author writes the kind of stories I usually tend to enjoy when it comes to the sub genre. I was once more proved right until the very last page, where a small detail was enough to make me not give this the five star grade I thought about through the whole book.

This is the story of a wagon trail journey from Missouri to Oregon, when wagon master Cody Snow, on his last trip across the west, takes merchandising and mail-order brides to their respective husbands-to-be. The journey is dangerous, long and filled with possible setbacks. Those who embark on it need to work as team, need to be resilient and prove they can endure the difficulties, the boredom and the lack of comfort. Cody knows his men are ready for it but when it comes to the brides it's another story.

This book is about the brides and how each one needs to face challenges, physical and emotional and the best reward, besides arriving, is to do so while becoming a better and stronger human being...

This book is a romance and I really liked how the two main romance sub plots were developed here. But, overall, this should be read more as a woman's fiction tale very centered on the woman's evolution. We also have a secondary situation related to the merchandising Cody and his men are also taking to Oregon, so they can profit from the journey but personally, I wasn't much interested in that because my focus were the women and their individual plights.

In fact, I really liked this aspect of the book: of course it's not possible to have everyone's POV in a way that would ensure a consistent and manageable plot but from details everywhere we get to know a lot about each bride and her evolution as a character. And the brides do make this book feel alive. I liked learning something about all of them even if three were more central than the others and took the role of protagonists, along with Cody and Webb, one of the men working with Cody.

The main protagonist we can say were Cody and Perrin. Perrin is one of the brides, she's beautiful but an outcast because she is reported to have been the mistress of a man back home. The other women don't talk to her except one or two. The society "rules" make her an outcast but things change when, by chance, she gets to be the spoke person for the group of women, representing them all with Cody, the master of the journey. Perrin fears this at first, she knows what it's like to be alone and dismissed but with time, her personality comes through and she becomes a true heroine. She fights her attraction to Cody but since this is a romance we know they will have to end up together somehow.

Another central couple is Mem and Webb. Their story is more subtle and takes longer to become defined. I liked Mem, she is adventurous, friendly, caring and she shows no prejudice nor hate towards others. We kind of want her to win Webb's love and that makes all the difference for her future.

Augusta is another bride, her story is the more complex I think. I kind of wanted her to be redeemed sooner but her story is quite addictive and I admit I wanted to see what next she would do when facing a new challenge. I suppose she was the one who evolved the most, emotionally speaking.

The other brides are secondary, but all have different fates and some don't get to arrive in Oregon. Obviously there's a moral lesson here, when it comes to second changes, of using the chance you have, of becoming a better person, of letting go of the things that brought you down, of proving to yourself you're more than the looks or the name, or the gender you have. The emotional complexity of each bride was quite alluring to read about and their relationship and interactions the best part of the novel for me.

As a romance novel, this was not the best ever, but it did fill all the required fields for it to be a good story. The plot was interesting,t he author did a good job in creating situations, scenes where we could see the development and the spirit of each character. It was amazing when the key characters managed to arrive in Oregon at last and out heroes found happiness and the brides married.

At this point, the very end, I was ready to give this a 5 star rating on GR. I had been amazed and while reading I found little to distract me away from these characters, always a plus in my appreciation of a book. But the author also included a sort of epilogue, where we discover the fate of each bride who arrived in Oregon. 

I must say that, for me, it was an overkill and the bitterness of those three or four lines about each character ruined the fascinating HEA read just a couple of pages before. 

The destiny of some brides was definitely something I wouldn't need to know about, no matter how much closure one can applaud the author for. 

Well.. so much for imagination and dreaming about their happy futures... but for each their own and some readers certainly liked this last information detail. For me it's a definite no.

Grade: 8/10

Maggie Osborne - The Promise of Jenny Jones

A desperate mother takes Jenny Jones' place in front of a firing squad in exchange for Jenny's promise to see her daughter safely to California. Though she and the six-year-old Graciela get off to a rocky start, Jenny will do everything in her power to keep her promise, even with the child's cousins in hot pursuit. Then she is mysteriously drawn to the handsome cowboy Ty Sanders, and though neither know it yet, their purpose is the same.

Comment: Another book that has been in the pile for some time. So far, I've enjoyed the books I've read by this author, some more than others, so I was quite expectant about this one. This is a western historical and another take on the "strong heroine" characterization that we often see in the author's books.

Jenny Jones is a woman with nothing to lose. She was condemned to death but is asked for a favor and a promise by a desperate mother. The only thing Jenny has to be proud of is her honor and word, so when she does promise to honor the request of Marguerita, she escapes with her life and a 6 year old, who she is supposed to take to her father, from Mexico to California.

What she doesn't know is that the girl's uncle Ty is also looking for her and somehow they two meet at different times and immediately seem to not get along. But that changes when they both admit to feel attracted to the other. But with greedy cousins from the Mexican side of the family come for the little girl Jenny promised to protect and care for, can Jenny and Ty help each other?

The best thing about this author's style and stories is how the heroines, for the most part of course, always seem to maintain a certain vulnerability and are humble, even when they have men's jobs or weren't raised to be what we expect from proper or society ladies.

Jenny Jones is the focus of this book and she is very likable, she is the type of person we might not bet much on at first but after knowing her for a while, we start to like her more and understand her attitudes and personality.

Jenny had a bad childhood, this is not something explored much but the simplicity in which we become aware of it is enough to paint a picture. Obviously, this is what makes it so much sweeter when we finally get to the epilogue and see how Jenny is completely deserving of her HEA.

The plot has its moments, this is basically a romance on the journey type of story, I liked Jenny gave her word and she tried her best to honor her promises. Some scenes and moments are very funny because we not only smile when Jenny gets herself in situations she is not used to but we also smile sweetly when something really good happens and Jenny is not conceited and is surprised as much as we are. The author paced the different scenes well, I think. We learn things along Jenny and there aren't dull moments. Probably the last section of the story feels a bit different, simply because the focus changes and we are centered only on Jenny's doubts and not her interactions with Ty and that sort of made things seem slower. I can understand the purpose of pacing things slower at that point, the HEA seems so much passionate then, but... it could have been done slightly different.

The romance is very sweet at times but it's the sexual tension between the protagonists while they spend time together to take the child to her father that makes their relationship seem stronger. After several scenes with them battling against their attraction but every time it seemed stronger, it was expected and believable when we are told they love one another. The path from attraction to love seems to have taken time to develop and be realistic. I do like romances when things like this happens.

The secondary characters were interesting enough. The child, Graciela, has her moments but she was often a bit annoying for her age. There are cute moments when she and Jenny finally seem to bond.

Robert, Ty's brother and Graciela's father, never seem a strong character. What a waste of pages, the story could have been as strong if he were to be a solid character but was disappointing instead.

The HEA was very sweet and adorable. I mean, it's not over the top nor does it present people in a way totally different from the story, but I admit I really liked that side of Jenny. She is one of the best heroines out there.

I hope future books by the author - if I ever get to them - will be as great as this one.

Grade: 8/10

Maggie Osborne - The Wives of Bowie Stone

Rosie Mulvehey studied the prisoners with nooses around their necks. Because of Kansas law, she could save a condemned man if she married him. When she picked the tall ex-cavalry man named Bowie Stone to help her save the run-down farm she swore she'd make a success, she didn't know what secrets lay in his mysterious past, or that he'd prove to be more than she bar-gained for. Bowie Stone promised to marry her in name only for just one harvest, but his blue eyes soon saw that Rosie wasn't the hellion everyone called her. She was deter-mined to accomplish one goal, even if it meant marrying Bowie Stone. Was he a criminal or a good man to cherish and be cherished by? And would he be able to love her, not for one season--but for all time?

Comment: This is one of the author's most known works and I had it in the pile for some time now. It's another title I've gotten out of a list of several and I decided to read it this month. This is a western historical and presents two stories in one.

 

This is the story of Bowie Stone and how he is rescued from hanging because there is a law in Kansas that allowed women to marry condemned man in case men were missing which surely was the case after the wars in America. Bowie is an ex officer that was accused of disrespect and murder but Rosie Mulvehey thinks he can be the man she needs to get her farm up again and then she'll finally get her revenge on someone she despises.

At the same time we see Bowie and Rosie deal with married life, we follow Susan Stone, a young woman back east who suddenly sees herself and her young son with only forty dollars to her name because her father in law died and didn't leave her a penny. Susan needs her husband's death certificate to inherit his personal estate but because that document isn't available and she needs to leave the house, she accepts a bride mail order and travels with her son to Wyoming.

The fates of Rosie and Susan are connected despite the distance between them but what they do certainly puts them in different directions...

 

Ok, so although we only get a confirmation well into the story, it's not necessary to be a genius to understand the connection between Rosie and Susan, the title is quite explicit - which is a surprise - considering how long it takes for the reader to actually know what happened.

Of course part of the interest if to find out what happened for things to be like this.

All in all, this story didn't win me over although it has so many elements I consider interesting, like the development between each woman and an important man in their lives, as well as the personal development they embark on.

 

Rosie and Bowie have a funny relationship in a way because Rosie is impulsive and she only knows how to deal with her disappointments, pain and anger by drinking. She thinks she will have revenge on her evil stepfather by growing crops where he never did and because he always told her she wasn't good enough or pretty or smart. Rosie lives up to people's low expectations by dressing badly, behaving even worse, drinking and scarce bathing. But Rosie is the one that has the most amazing evolution and all because of love. I liked her personality, her need to be brave and her fragility when it came to her self image. She is a drunk but she admits it at some point and she wants to get better because Bowie teaches her not all the believed in was true.

Bowie seems a god character, obviously he has honor and a good heart and I liked learning things about him and the dilemmas he must have faced were believable. Their relationship was cute.

 

Susan meets Grensham Harte in the train station after an awful journey. He doesn't want her because she didn't tell him she was widow and a mother. But while she tries to deal with the constant new challenges in her life, they keep meeting and with time Susan starts to believe in herself and finds something she wants to do with her life and he realizes she's the right woman for him. Their relationship was interesting, more polite and aloof than Rosie and Bowie's.

Susan is a sweet character and I understand her difficulty in being assertive, in fighting for herself, in being independent, but her whining in the beginning and her fear of making a decision was a bit too much. Her personality improved a lot and that helped me to like her as time went on.

 

This wasn't a perfect read, no. I was annoyed at the fact certain things had to happen for women to change themselves not because they really wanted but because they had a situation that would improve because of that. I also didn't like at all what happened in Susan's life, it was pointless and stupid and over the top and meaningless to the plot in my opinion.

The end was also very disappointing and rushed in a way. I can't understand what the author's aim was by doing things like that. These two things really ruined part of the story for me, therefore the lower grade than what I intended.

 

Nevertheless, an interesting historical and the author's trademark writing and voice are certainly here to be noticed. I still have other titles by her which I hope will turn out better than this one.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Maggie Osborne - I Do, I Do, I Do

A rich, proper spinster aching for a man's touch, Juliette March is an easy target for the seductive Jean Jacques Villette. When he disappears with her inheritance after their wedding, Juliette sets out to find the scoundrel. She never expects to meet Clara Klaus, who ran a boardinghouse until Jean Jacques swept her off her feet, then swept himself out of town.
While following the trail of their no-good husband, Clara and Juliette run into Zoe Wilder, another victim of the debonair Jean Jacques. Now Juliette's ready to put a bullet in his cheating heart. When these three vengeful ladies embark on a misbegotten quest to Alaska, things get downright dangerous--especially for the unsuspecting men they entice along the way. . . .

Comment: Here we are in another TBR read, this time the theme is historical and like many of the readers that participate in the challenge, I had many historicals to choose from. I picked this one because the blurb seemed promising and I wanted to be positively entertained.

 

This is the story of three women that randomly meet and realize they are married to the same man. They decided to unite their efforts to find him and clues lead them to Alaska, where their husband is rumored to have gone in search of gold.

In the way, they have to deal with the fact they all were with the same man without really knowing him but believed the things he said. The journey to Alaska has many obstacles for them but they find help along the way as well a friendship and a kinship they never imagined.

Could it be that they could also find true love with men that loved them for real?

 

This book is my second attempt in reading something by the author. Precisely one year ago, in 2014, I've read Silver Lining and enjoyed it, so I had high hopes to read another book by the author and that it would be as special as the other one. I know no book is the same, even written by the same person, but I liked how my expectations were met even if, comparing the two of them, I still prefer the other one.

 

I liked the idea of this book. I liked that three women would be the protagonists and each one would find love on the journey to solve a situation that caused them embarrassment and anger. I imagined how angry and in need of revenge they must have be in, trying to find reasons for something not their fault but in which they ended up humiliated. I was very curious to know the story would end because I assumed they would learn their lesson and be in love with men that were right for them but still get some sort of revenge not only finding true love. I have to say that the end disappointed me a bit because not only was the plot crazy enough - although not impossible - but the way it was solved? Not buying it and it felt like a let down after all the effort and troubles the women went through.

 

The story focus on three women, Juliette, Clara and Zoe, each one with a different background and reason to have felt she was falling in love with Jacques, the French supposed husband. Of course each one had something to learn, some sort of morale to understand before getting a proper HEA. It was difficult not to think about it to simply enjoy the story... It also felt like the story had to lead to a personal path among all the common tribulations. I get this but it was so obvious I don't think this was the purpose but I can't help seeing it that way.

 

My favorite woman was Juliette because I empathize more with her. Her sheltered life and her fear of doing things on her own but still trying anyway spoke to me. I liked Zoe too because she's practical and very like myself in temperament and thoughts...Clara was more difficult to visualize, she's what I think most people would like to be, adventurous, practical and assured of herself.

The men they find and fall in love are convenient to each of their personalities and that's one of the things I struggled with. they're too perfect for them, I wanted a bit more contrast, I think. The HEAs make sense but are too picture perfect. This isn't a bad thing but everything seemed orchestred somehow, so this story doesn't have the depth I expected. In that aspect I much preferred the other book.

Some readers didn't like how the couples dealt with intimacy issues (yes, the sex part). I wasn't bothered by it considering their marital situations simply because I also felt this was just another thing to cross off the list of necessary scenes to include. Too handy and prepared that I didn't think those scenes were that important to the plot and could have been easily dismissed.

 

I enjoyed the friendship that developed between the women, I don't think they became best friends despite the professions of real care for each other but it was good to see the slow development of that while they were forced to be so close together in the journey and how much they endured. In a way, this was my favorite thing about the book.

At the same time, I think the author intended too many things for such a short story altogether. The friendship and relationships were done well enough but all personal development I felt was necessary wasn't exploited as deeply as I think it should. I understand why but it was something I anticipated.

 

If I think about the whole story, I can't say I didn't like it. I did like it and enjoyed reading it. But I admit I thought it would be more emotional, more heartfelt and epic. The story isn't bad, I do think it's readable and I would re-read again if I ever had the time, but it wasn't as memorable as that.

Still, if one compares to many other things out there, it's a good effort and story.

Grade: 7/10

Maggie Osborne - Silver Lining

Hailed as "one of the best writers in the business" by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, multi-award-winning author Maggie Osborne delivers hilarious and heartrending tales of resilient women full of grit, pride, and dignity who shine through hard times. Now meet the most irresistible and independent heroine of them all, a woman called Low Down, who never had anything good happen to her until the day she asked for the one thing that only a man could give her. . . .
As scruffy and rootless as the other prospectors searching for gold in the Rockies, Low Down wanted nothing in return for nursing a raggedy bunch through the pox. But when pressed to reveal her heart's wish, she admits, "I want a baby." Not a husband, not a forced marriage to the proud man who drew the scratched marble and became honor bound to marry her. To be sure, Max McCord was easy on the eyes, but he loved another woman and dreamed of a different life. Yet they agreed to a temporary marriage that could end only in disaster. But can this strange twist of fate lead to the silver lining that both have been searching for?

Comment: This book has been on my radar for a long time but it never seemed time to get to it, amazingly unbelievable as it might seem. This month I went for it because September is my birthday month and I like to reserve good books - or those I think might be good books - for this month, or if I can't, at least one or two I will. Anyway, I talked about this book to a friend and we decided to do a buddy reading just to compare notes at the end.

This is Low Down story, she's a hardworking woman trying to find gold just like the the men around her. The story starts with Low Down taking care of several men with the pox. She helps, cleans, feeds and encourages them to hang on and to fight to live. When the worst is over the men decide to offer a reward to Low Down and she can ask for whatever she wants. And what she wants the most is a baby. Of course, the town's reverend won't advocate any man to help her with that without marriage and the men decide to do it lucky way, meaning the man taking the different marble out of a bag will marry Low Down.
The lucky winner if Max McCord, someone already promised to marry another woman. But Max feels this is right and it's his duty because they did promise Low Don and one respects their promises. But how will things be when there's no love and nothing in common between them?

Before saying all the great things about the book, I'll say right now why this wasn't perfect, which for some can be just a minor thing, but for me at the time I read the book seemed rather lacking and could have been done in a different, better way.
In this book there aren't any villains who act badly just because they are evil. Most actions from the unlikable characters come from jealousy, boredom, superior behavior and arrogance. So, although no one is pure evil, we still like when they don't get rewards or are punished somehow, if not to just balance the super deserving HEA the main couple gets. In this book the villain, let's say so, isn't punished the most deserving way because there's a hint of forgiveness and second chance in the air and although we all should be human and preach for forgiveness, in romances we still want justice and believable repentance, which wasn't so here...

Ok, so the best parts were the relationship between Low Down and Max and the path they take from reluctant couple to beloved pair. I really liked how their relationship seemed to go further along step by step, and each step was filled with meaning and some sort of lesson which helped secure and strengthen the relationship. None of them acts with certainty but the little things accomplish a lot because they allow them to know the other better, I really liked the tone and pace of the development of their relationship and how things seemed too hard at first but Low Down is the perfect heroine, acting for what's best. I loved the scenes where she tries to do everything to make her life worth the time she has. And her reasons seem reasonable and suited for her personality. She is smart, objective and caring and she isn't afraid of hard work. Loved seeing her through others eyes because it added layers to her, which she wouldn't see herself.
Max took some more time to come to terms with the whole thing but he too started seeing what was in front of his eyes. I especially liked how much dignity and respect he had for others and how he tried to do the right thing, same as Low Down. It was also wonderful to see him respect and appreciate the little things that together shaped his new life and the new feelings for his wife. 

This story is very powerful and written with purpose where each word has a meaning. Loved the scenes with the little things and details which completed thoughts and actions. Really loved the end when Max recognized the deep meaning of two objects that are the key to his and Low Down's happiness.
This book left me feeling happy and in a good place. It's almost a grade up but still, any words would be too little because the best part is to read how two different people shouldn't find it in themselves to be happy, but they do it and it has meaning and feelings. Wonderful.
Grade: 8/10