Book Notes: May 31, 2023 - Natalie Dean Romances

 Welcome! It's great to have you with me on the scenic route today. We've come to the final day of May 2023 and I can hardly believe how fast the springtime has flown by. Can you? 

If you're looking for something new to read, and you enjoy cowboys and romance, then I have a couple of reviews you might find useful. If you're creative and find yourself stuck for an idea, today's word prompt might be just what you need. Let's go see!

Book Review: Saving Her Cowboy (Brothers of Miller Ranch #2) by Natalie Dean

Saving Her Cowboy by Natalie Dean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An Interesting Story

I read this one with some reservations. Writing a character with PTSD has got to be challenging. I actually liked most of the things about the hero and felt like he and the heroine were people I could root for. I almost cried for them at a couple places in the story. I even liked how the heroine's caring heart, determination, and gentleness made her a good fit for this hero. The main reason this book didn't get five stars was because of a few misspellings that should've been caught and there was just something about the way this couple's romance came about. It's sweet, but not so believable. I also thought there'd be a bit more of the faith element showing up. If you're looking for a clean, somewhat spicy read, with a sweet storyline, this book might be a good choice.

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Book Review: Cowboys & Their Protective Ways (Baker Brothers of Copper Creek #1)

Cowboys & Protective Ways by Natalie Dean
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Untitled Review

I hate that a title is required for these reviews. Sometimes, it's really hard to nail that down. Anyway, this book gets three stars for being clean and interesting enough for me to keep reading until the end. Other than a somewhat interesting, though quite unbelievable, plot, and the fact there was nothing excessively graphic in this story, the only other thing I liked was one of the brothers who seemed to actually be teachable and have some common sense. The mom was an ok character, too.
The hero was so immature and while his motives were inspired by a desire to help, his methods were so opposite the original character portrait we're given. I don't care who you are. If your character turns almost a negative 180 because of an attraction to someone you don't even know, that'd be red-flag #1. As for the heroine, I just couldn't relate and couldn't believe someone growing up with self-professed street smarts could be so completely ignorant about the situation in this story. I didn't like either one of them, but by the time I'd realized they weren't really going to grow much, I was too far into the book (and too far behind on my yearly reading challenge) to stop in the middle.
If you're looking for a fairly easy-to-read book which is clean and reads like an almost-fairytale, this could be your next read. It just wasn't for me.

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Natalie Dean is not my favorite romance novel author. A big portion of that is because she writes juvenile characters. My own children, who are younger than most of the ones she creates, are not in the same situations as some of these characters and they'd still make better decisions because they actually think. I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh, but if this is the up-and-coming generation, I'm scared y'all. Literally. Some of the things which happened in these books would've been solved with some good ol' common sense. It was nowhere to be found, sadly. And equally of a sad nature, it looks as if Natalie Dean is quite happy with her writing style, and she has sold many books and gotten many five-star reviews. This means shallow thoughts and personalities are appealing to people out there. Why? Give me a character I can root for and believe in -- one I know could solve a problem in real life. Anyone else struggle with this?

Just Keep Writing: Wednesday Whimsy

If this is your first time participating in this kind of writing exercise, you're in for a treat. If you've done this with me before, just keep scrolling for the prompt.

Rules:

1. You can use any/all of the words and/or the photo in the prompt below to create a unique written work. Fiction or nonfiction, poetry or prose, even lyrics are acceptable.  
2. Please keep the material you write clean (ie. nothing R-rated or worse) if you wish to share the link to your work here, as well as if you link back to my site. I strive to keep my site free of such things. My readers know and expect this. I respect your right to write whatever you feel you need to write. And you're free to use my prompts. But if your material is graphic, I'd rather not view it, and most of my readers will not wish to. 
3. Have fun! This type of exercise is perfect for growing in the writing craft, or for helping through a rough patch in your current WIP. If you're looking to push your author limits and you normally write in nonfiction prose, try a whimsical collection of lyrics. If you normally write poems about real life events, try your hand at a fanfic. Give yourself some room to explore.

Don't forget to leave a link to your creation (unless you're writing graphic material) so my readers and I can check out your work. I'd appreciate a link back to this post to help me reach more readers, but it's not required. 

This ought to present an interesting challenge. What do you think?

Thanks so much for stopping at my blog today. Did you find something to add to your reading list? Or perhaps you found the word prompt helpful in some way. I'd love to hear from you in the comments below. 

Tomorrow, I'll have a word prompt ready to share with you as we start a new month. 

Until next time,
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