No Judgements
By: Meg Cabot
Published Year: 2019
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Pages: 384
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): The storm of the century is about to hit Little Bridge Island, Florida—and it’s sending waves crashing through Sabrina “Bree” Beckham’s love life…
When a massive hurricane severs all power and cell service to Little Bridge Island—as well as its connection to the mainland—twenty-five-year-old Bree Beckham isn’t worried . . . at first. She’s already escaped one storm—her emotionally abusive ex—so a hurricane seems like it will be a piece of cake.
But animal-loving Bree does become alarmed when she realizes how many islanders have been cut off from their beloved pets. Now it’s up to her to save as many of Little Bridge’s cats and dogs as she can . . . but to do so, she’s going to need help—help she has no choice but to accept from her boss’s sexy nephew, Drew Hartwell, the Mermaid Café’s most notorious heartbreaker.
But when Bree starts falling for Drew, just as Little Bridge’s power is restored and her penitent ex shows up, she has to ask herself if her island fling was only a result of the stormy weather, or if it could last during clear skies too.
First Impressions
Meg Cabot is one of my favorite authors and I was so excited to see she was coming out with something new and for adults! The cover is cute and falls in line with the trend of cartoony romance covers that I enjoy. I couldn’t believe my luck when I got to review this book because it was one I was beyond excited to read.
What I thought
Bree moved to Little Bridge Island off the coast of Florida 3 months earlier to start over. Now there is a Category 5 hurricane coming straight for the island and Bree is refusing to evacuate. Luckily, she is looked after by her boss, his wife, and their nephew and town lady’s man, Drew.
Normally one of the things I love about Meg Cabot is her characters and these ones I didn’t quite connect with. Bree fell a little flat to me and it seemed like there was a bit of a cheap backstory meant to give her depth but it didn’t work for me. It wasn’t that I disliked the characters, I just didn’t find myself falling in love with them.
Other than the mediocre main characters, I enjoyed the story. I have never read a story about a hurricane and it was fun. I liked the hurricane party and I liked the aftermath of the hurricane too. I also really liked the secondary characters. Neveah, Drew’s niece, cracked me up. She loves animals and she’s a teenager, and I really appreciated her comments. Maybe part of the reason I liked her so much is because I’ve always enjoyed Cabot’s young adult novels.
I don’t have too much to say about this book, unfortunately. It was a quick read and I found myself enjoying it while I read it.
Overall this book was fine. It was a solid romance novel with decent characters, a cute connection, and a great setting. The writing was solid, as could be expected with Cabot, but it wasn’t anything special to me. It looks like this is going to be a series and I am curious to see what the next book is going to be about. I’m curious whether it is going to continue to follow Drew and Bree or whether it’s going to follow other characters. I think that Cabot’s previous adult novels were better, but again, this one is solid.