bout Last Night
My Rating: 3
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Holiday
Format: eARC*
Publication Date: October 28, 2020
Author: A.S. Kelly
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About Last Night Blurb
Allow me to introduce myself.
My name is Tyler Hayes, and I’m a fireman.
Sorry to already disappoint you, but I’m not the person you think I am.
My charming uniform and seductive smile have caused nothing but trouble, and my not-so-honourable reputation, which I used to be so proud of, has kept me away from the one person I wanted to spend the rest of my life baking cookies for; my sweet, beautiful, slightly crazy Miss White.
I guess now I need to tell the whole story.
At forty years old, following years of self-sabotage, I’ve suddenly found myself admitting that I know absolutely nothing. Maybe my friend Niall was right when he told me to accept the process and just grow up. And now it’s too late; I’ll never be able to keep her close to me. All that’s left to do is watch helplessly – but deservedly – as my world comes tumbling down around me.
About Last Night Review
As a quick reminder, here is my rating structure:
- 1 star: Did not finish
- 2 Stars: Finished but I do not recommend
- 3 Stars: Liked but could use some improvements
- 4 Stars: Loved this book!
- 5 Stars: Rare. The unput-down-able, binge read obsession.
My star ratings are also based also genre based. I compare all books with books of the same genre. While I would love to believe that my love of books in general transcends all bias, there are genres I prefer over others.
I’m human.
Example: If I read a mystery novel and think it deserves a 5-star rating, then I have compared it to other mystery books, and determined it to be one of my absolute favorites. The unputdownable mystery.
This will hopefully keep me from comparing Outlander, a personal obsession of mine, with the experience of reading The Hate You Give. Both 5 star books for me, but completely and totally different. I couldn’t even try to rate them against each other, so I don’t. Makes my life easier. 🙂
My Thoughts
So, as I said above, About Last Night was a 3 star read, meaning that I liked the book, but I didn’t love it and thought there could have been some improvements. Let’s start with what I liked.
What I liked
I loved A.S. Kelly’s writing style. I never felt like the sentences were too long or short. The dialogue always felt so genuine and I loved the way she chose to set each scene. I always knew enough to picture the setting without the action being weighed down by lengthy descriptions. Given the beauty of the geographic location, Ireland, that is quite an accomplishment.
The holiday cheer permeated this book, so it was a perfect seasonal read.
I loved the premise of a hero that isn’t perfect, yet his redemption makes the story not only possible, but likable. Without that character arc, the romance wood have fallen flat, and that is one are I had no problem with.
The chemistry between Ms. White and Tyler sizzled off of the page. A.S. used her own unique version of slow-burn to build the tension exquisetly.
What didn’t work for me
I think my main problem starts with the initial meeting of the couple. Without giving away spoilers, I felt that Tyler crossed a major line with his behavior that made it hard to like him. In fact, I almost didn’t finish this book because of his initial behavior, but as he seemed to grow and learn throughout the novel, I’m ultimately glad I did.
I also felt that the middle of the book dragged a bit and the ending was a little rushed. Lots of things seem to happen and come together in the end, whereas the middle of the book was all devoted to essentially the same point: romance. With so many different storylines to pursue, I felt like there could have been a few less pages of eating cookies, and maybe a few more about Ms. Tyler’s personal issues.
Conclusion
This book ends up enjoyable because of the author even if the beginning can throw some readers off. Recommended for people who love slow burn and holiday romance novels.
~About the Author~
A. S. Kelly was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, two children and a cat named Oscar.
She’s passionate about English literature, she’s a music lover and addicted to coffee.
She spends her days in a small village North of Dublin, looking for inspiration for her next stories.
Rainy Days is her debut novel.
*Special thanks to A.S. Kelly and Rachel’s Random Resources providing a copy of About Last Night in exchange for an honest review.
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