Drawn out

I enjoyed the book well enough. I can't put my finger on exactly what wasn't my favorite but Scarlett had plenty of people telling her that she was worthy and yet she was always surprised. It was off-putting.

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Such a fantastic book!

I loved this book! The narration was spot on and the story was funny, and touching too. Scarlett is witty and so relatable, and Kane is a flawed but oh-so-swoony. Highly recommend!!

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middle school romance

i have consumed hundreds of audiobooks and rarely write reviews. I stick with what I start...and I "read" before bed to put me to sleep so this did the trick. Beyond that i did not very much enjoy this book. The writing and character development seemed juvenille (or maybe the narrator made it seem so by her sing-song-y voice). Themes rather sweet and innocent; would be approprieate for a younger reader. As other have mentioned, the way the narrator's male lead voice pronounced the name "Scarlet" was so cringy I assumed he was going to end uo a nefarious character.

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Listened non-stop!

I really enjoyed this book. Great story and characters, and I loved the growth of Scarlett’s confidence. Once I started this book, I listened non-stop. The only negative thing I found was the narrator’s male voice. She was a great narrator overall, but her male voice was kind of cringy and creepy.

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A Romcom Delight

What a delightful romantic comedy! The meet-cute in this story makes it in my top 5 all time favorites list. It was laugh out loud, cringe worthy, second hand embarrassment funny!

I think I'd categorize this as a second chance romance trope story except better because not only do we get the second chance romance, we get to read the first one too. This story is a lovers to not to lovers again.

I loved that Kane always saw Scarlet clearly and knew her almost better than she knew herself and I loved Scarlett's innocence and naivety at the beginning and seeing her growth throughout the story. I also thought the chemistry between the H&h was amazing. Plenty of Sizzle and snap ,crackle, pop while still keeping the door closed, thank you very much.

Naomi might just be my new favorite literary mother! Crappy moms are a dime a dozen in the world of books so I always love reading books that have good moms. And a good stepmom is just... perfection.

Reading Jennifer Peel is like eating the ultimate comfort food. It always leaves me satisfied and with a smile on my face.

I thought the narration was really good. She did a great job bringing Scarlett's voice to life and for the most part did a good job with all the other voices as well. Occasionally her tone of voice when Kane was saying Scarlett's name sounded more exasperated than tender (which I believe is what it was supposed to be) but overall I think she did a really good job.

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Another very entertaining novel by Jennifer Peel

I have mixed feelings about this book. The story, characters, and presentation were all top notch as are most of Jennifer Peels novels. She can make the most unappealing of subjects, entertaining and funny with compelling real characters. The questions I had about his book revolved around two characters, Cain and Auggie. Scarlet was a delightful character. The audacity of Cain and Auggie to decide Scarlet’s future based on their assessment of her lovable innocence was madding. Years lost just with their ignorance and arrogance. I guess it says a lot about Jennifer Peel’s talent to see her create characters that elicited such visceral reactions. An aside is the somewhat universal opinion in novels these days that long distance romances can never stand. Believe me, with the right person , they can.

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Totally worth the book hangover

This book gets more than 5 stars on the swoon factor alone, then add in all the yummy parts and this easily gets 10 stars. To be honest the ebook had been sitting in my TBR pile for almost a year because I can't say no to an ARC. When I found out the audiobook was available and the narrator was Stephanie Kay, who I loved from a previous Jennifer Peel book, I had to listen to it. I put aside all the books calling for my attention and started listening to this right away. I listened all day--working on the computer, doing housework, driving around...and into the night. I couldn't put it down!!

Scarlett is great! The only issue I had with her was she should've told her father she wanted to be a forensic pathologist a lot sooner than she did. I understood she wanted to make her father proud but there's no way I'd have gone to school that long for a job I truly didn't want. I loved how smart she was, her positive attitude and how she loved food. I loved her relationship with Naomi and when she finally got her dad to talk about her mom...let's just say if I was a crier I'd have needed some tissues.

Onto Kane. Oh. My. Goodness. You've heard of bias wreckers? That's definitely Kane. If you have a book boyfriend, Kane will definitely wreck that. He's handsome, smart, smooth, funny, charming beyond belief and SO supportive of Scarlett. The man is perfect! Well, except for those chapters where I wanted to Gibbs slap him upside the head numerous times for doing something stupid. I loved how he helped Scarlett see herself as he and others saw her.

Other things I loved--Scarlett and Kane's meeting at the wedding reception. I'll probably think about it every time I eat wedding cake (IYKYK). The scorching chemistry between Scarlett and Kane. Holy smokes!! Scarlett's names for her stepmothers LOL. That amazing first kiss!! The bookhanger from this one was totally worth it. Another great book from the awesome Jennifer Peel.

I love Stephanie Kay as the narrator. She's fantastic and I don't think anyone else could've gotten Scarlett the way she did.

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It's OK

This was my first book by this author and while I thought it was good, it wasn't my favorite romcom. I trusted the other reviews and got super excited to have an awesome experience and was a little let down.

The good: A fun storyline. I laughed a bit. I even had a few tears leak out. I did like Scarlett's personality for the most part.

The bad: Kane wasn't a hero I cared for. In fact, I was hoping some other guy would come in and swoop her away from Kane. I hated the way the narrator said Scarlett's name in Kane's voice. It sounded creepy.

The ugly: There were some repeated things... a lot. I didn't need the constant reminder that she had cake crumbs caught in her bra. I also thought the french kissing scenes were all so much the same that it meant nothing to me. And seriously, how hard did he push his tongue in and she never puked? It just didn't make me think swoony. I was grossed out by the time he was pushing her against the car with his tongue down her throat.

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Y'all! I can't even with this book!

5+ Stars!

Y'all, I feel like this book should come with warnings. Lots and lots of warnings. Out of the goodness of my heart, I'll provide you with some of the warnings someone should have given me before I started this book.

*WARNING*

1. You may or may not need tissues before you dive into this book.
2. You may or may not want to have a tub of cookie dough waiting for you in your fridge so you can eat your feelings. (True story.)
3. You may or may not need to wrap your kindle in bubble wrap incase you decide you need to throw it across the room.
4. You may or may not be blown away with the emotional rollercoaster you're about to embark on.
5. You may or may not want to read this book at the same time as one of your bestest book buddies because you are probably going to need some emotional support along the way.
6. You may or may not have the mother of all book hangovers once you finish this book.

This book, right here, has ruined all other books for me for the unforeseeable future. I'm going to need to reread lots and lots of old favorites in order to give any new books a fighting chance of me loving them. Not sorry authors! I'm doing this for your own good! 😂

If you couldn't already guess, I absolutely LOVE this book! From the moment I picked it up, there was no putting it down! I skipped meals, stayed up way too late reading and pretty much ignored the world around me. No one existed except my new best friends, Scarlett and Kane. Oh how I adored these two!

Scarlett was such an amazing heroine! Y'all, I had real tears, both sad and happy ones, falling down my face for her. It didn't matter what life threw at her or that it was constantly knocking her down. She got right back up and kept pushing forward. She had every right in the world to be angry and bitter but she always, always took the higher road, even if she didn't want too. She has got to be the most selfless heroine ever and she makes me want to be a better person.

Kane was such a phenomenal hero! I think we all need a Kane in our lives. From the very beginning, and I mean VERY beginning, he was Team Scarlett. This man loves her fiercely, protects her with every fiber of his being, helps her to not only see herself but love herself, is willing to sacrifice his own happiness to make sure she is as happy as she can possibly be. He is the best of the best. It's no wonder they are perfect for each other!

And can we PLEASE take a moment to talk about the sizzling chemistry that was flying off the pages from the start?! It was hot, hot, hot! Oh holy Hannah! That first kiss! *dreamy sigh* Talk about a million butterflies and turning into a big ol' pile of goo. WOWZERS! This book has the BEST kissing scenes!

I am in awe of Ms. Peel's talent! I swear, it feels like every time I think I've found my new favorite book of hers, she turns to her next couple and says: "Hold my Dr. Pepper. I'm about to prove her wrong... again!" I will forever be grateful to one of my best bookish friends for introducing me to her books. I cannot WAIT to see what she has in store for us next!

Stefanie Kay is a fantastic narrator! She's quickly become a favorite. I love how she brings the characters to life and helps me feel all the feels even more than when reading my favorite books. I'm definitely looking forward to listening to more books narrated by her!

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The best!

I’ve read and listened to this book countless times. I love Kane and Scarlett’s love story! The narrator does a fantastic job. Highly recommend this book!

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