Colton Gentry's hit about his high school sweetheart is his first song in a decade to hit the charts when his best friend is shot and killed. He has a drunken tirade on stage about gun control and soon he is The Chicks level of wiped out of country music. He returns to his hometown with his tail tucked between his legs and begins working for his high school love. What will happen to these two?
This was fine. It was interesting to read a romance novel from a male point of view written by a man. But. Eh. It was fine. 4/5 stars
Footnotes of note: There are two footnotes in this book. Let me share them with you.
Petey [the old dog] will not die in this book. (page 124)
"What if Petey dies while we're gone?" Esme asks....
Colton takes them both into his arms. "No, no, hey: Petey's gonna be waiting when y'all get back, okay?" Lord help me if that proves false. 2
2 It won't.
You know what? I went up half a star because of these footnotes. I was really worried about it when he adopted a senior dog.
Hat mentions (why hats?):
...and a broad-brimmed black Stevie Ray Vaughan hat with a concho hatband. (page 15)
He pulled a U of Kentucky baseball hat over his bedhead...(page 35)
Luann's dad answered the door, wearing a Santa hat and a cable-knit sweater. (page 126)
...with a badge pinned on it and a police hat and aviators...(page 191)
...wearing a Santa hat someone had chucked at you...(page 246)
The waitress mocked my pawpaw, who's a veteran, for wearing his Navy hat in the restaurant! (page 260)
Colton grins and tips an invisible hat. (page 343)
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Has anyone else read a M/F romance novel written by a male author? Would you read one?
Mmmmm... no (to answer your question.) I don't read romances in general, but for some reason a romance written by a man has even less appeal to me. I would be interested to see what other people- people who actually do read romances- have to say about it though.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was an interesting experiment and I'm glad I read it. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't all that revealing about anything
DeleteI've never read a romance written by a man I don't think? But I'm not really into romance fiction (especially the older I get), so I just don't think it would come across my path. I wouldn't be inherently against trying it, but it just seems so unusual! I wonder how many men are out there penning romantic fiction. It almost seems like a time when it would be easier to get sales if they assumed a typically female pseudonym (where, so often, it's the reverse with a woman using a male name to avoid gender stigma).
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to see the double standard being applied to men here. It did make me sort of question myself that I questioned whether or not it was okay for a man to write a romance. Inherently sexist of me. And why not? Men have feelings about romance.
DeleteI read this one and liked it. It wasn't something I'd strongly recommend but it was entertaining. I'm surprised to see you gave it 4 star, though, since you said "it's fine" - that feels like a 3-star kind of description of a book!
ReplyDeleteIt is FINE. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate reading it or anything like that. I don't have a lot of negative things to say about the writing, he let me know the dog was going to be okay, and it was fine.
DeleteLike Lisa, I giggled that "meh" got this book 4 stars. But we all have our own rating systems, and that's cool! I would be interested in reading a romance novel from a male perspective by a male author. Perhaps I will have to check this one out.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested in a male author with a male perspective, this is a good one to try. The writing is good, the dog lives, and what more could someone ask for?
DeleteLol, probably not given my aversion to male authors in general!
ReplyDeleteRight, Nicole, this seems like the anti-Nicole book!
DeleteMany years ago, I worked at Barnes & Noble in NC, and a very popular romance writer there was Leigh Greenwood, who was a man. I don't think I ever read any of his books, though.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I've never even heard of Leigh Greenwood.
DeleteA lot of genre romance writers were traditionally men, supposedly. Leigh Greenwood, whom CCR mentions, was even the president of Romance Writers of America (RWA), if I remember right...
ReplyDeleteI don't read romance, but I was tickled by your "meh" accompanied by 4 stars :)!!
I mean, I can't justify lower than 4. The writing was fine, the plot was fine, the characters were fine, the dog lived. It didn't blow my mind, but I couldn't figure out a reason to take stars away other than it didn't WOW me.
DeleteI would like to read a bit more male written romance. Would it be different? I am sometimes so over the tropes and same old same old stories.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot of the same tropes. I guess this one did deal with some more difficult themes - gun control, the price of fame, online bullying - so maybe I am not giving it enough credit. It was a fine book; I just wasn't into it.
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