catsandcliterature's reviews
486 reviews

I read Scrape the Barrel to catch up before Bite the Bullet releases on Jan 7th, and let me tell you, it felt like hanging out with friends. I loved how Callan accepted Avery, not as some sort of burden he had to bear to be able to be with Sage, but as just as much a part of the relationship as Sage was. It was never a question for him on if Avery would be included on dates, she just was. I also adored how un-toxically masculine he was. Girlfriend’s daughter wants him to wear a pink bow on his cowboy hat at the town parade? Sure thing! His horse needs a pink glitter mane too? Of course he does! Sage was also super realistic and easy to love. You could really feel how much she loved her daughter and how every single decision she made was with Avery in the forefront. Brandy & Reed did steal the show a bit at times but that just made me all the more excited for Bite the Bullet!

The last 20% of this book made no sense unfortunately.

To begin with, the banter in this was just as electric as I knew it would be. The last three books felt like we were reading this couple’s foreplay and I was happy to see that the banter stayed strong.

It was intriguing to see Brandy & Reed’s relationship with one another prior to present day - the secrets they held between them, the thoughts they had about each other, the buried-deep feelings. I thoroughly enjoyed the flashbacks. And the smut 🤭

But from about 60% on, it felt very rushed. The “I love you”s seemed to come from nowhere. Brandy’s mother’s sudden change in perspective didn’t feel gradual or believable, it felt convenient. By the end, I was rolling my eyes a bit and wanting it to end.

Can Honor be my best friend?

Starting off with our characters, I have to say I loved Honor from the get-go. Honestly, I loved her from more than the get-go because I loved her from teasers the author posted & from the previous book in this series, Chilled & Thrilled. Honor is a serial romantic who always sees the best in others - even when they don't deserve it. She makes a living as a charity event coordinator and lets her hurt sister move in with her and puts up with her father dating her best friend without a single (verbal) complaint. She's just so genuine and kind and I really felt for her at the beginning of the book.

Then there's Julian, who's this billionaire philanthropist who's realized that he's made all of this money and it essentially means nothing because he's lonely and his life is a bit empty. His kid only sees him as a bank account, his ex-wife only speaks to him when she's rubbing in his face how much their kid (wrongfully) hates him, just about everyone in his life uses him for his money.

Enter sad, equally lonely Honor who flew across the country to meet her girlfriend's father only to get a "hey girlie" text right as she arrived. Thanks to the very same storm that brought Sophie & Bram together, Honor has to stay at Julian's house for a bit and the two find happiness in one another that they've never been able to uncover elsewhere... Only for it to end after just a few days, leaving them both feeling bereft.

I adored Honor and Julian but most of all I adored how undramatic it was. Were there trials and tribulations? Yes. But they didn't come from hypocritical fathers, whiny daughters or revenge-seeking exes. The author didn't need any of those common plot devices to make the book interesting, she relies on the characters themselves to push the story forward. It's a very refreshing change of pace, because while I adore any sort of age gap romance, they can be quite predictable, especially within the constrains of "ex's dad" or "best friend's dad" (as Chilled & Thrilled is).

The only bad thing about ending this book is that I have to wait for the next one to release in May to see what's going on with Lenora!