Two Stars

This book was a little bit like a bad Hallmark movie for me, not a regular Hallmark movie (which, I happen to enjoy), but one that has all the right elements but just falls flat. The premise of a playboy cowboy and a movie dog trainer was giving me all the right feels at the beginning of the book. Based on the title and synopsis, I figured there would be an instant attraction and then the story would be two characters trying to navigate a new relationship and the complication of a pregnancy. That wasn’t quite the case with this book.

Let me start with what I did like. This was a fast read and the writing flowed well. I liked the cute small town in Wyoming and the fun/slightly kooky secondary characters. I also enjoyed the cute dog at the beginning of the book when Annie is actually training her pup on set.

Now for what didn’t work for me: the main characters. (I won’t get into the strange plotline that turned what could have been a fully realized emotional relationship into a double dose insta-love, as in, it happens twice in the book)

Annie was an unusual heroine but I really enjoyed that layer at the start of the story. She was a little bit prickly and antisocial but I related to her, especially in the first few chapters. Then, Annie got pregnant and weirdly insecure. Honestly, she turned from an independent, tough professional woman to a flighty, irrational, timid girl. It was a bizarre and abrupt change in characterization. I ended up actively disliking her at the end.

Dustin was a sweet, adorable doormat. The only time I really saw him as a real character was when he was finally getting frustrated with Annie’s actions. There was also a weird part towards the end of the book when it seemed like the author realized that Dustin had no depth and tried to give him a better backstory, then resolved years of hurt and betrayal in two pages.

Overall, I liked this book much better in theory. I think I am going to give Jessica Clare another chance, this one just missed the mark.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**

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