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Stonecut County #2
Against a Wall
My high school bully is now my fake boyfriend.
Cash Wall has been messing with me since junior high.
Nuisance stuff, mostly. Name calling. Pranks.
Honestly, he's nowhere near the worst of my problems. Back in school, I had bigger fish to fry, and now, I've got a "scarlet letter" situation going on. The whole town hates me.
For some reason, Cash offers himself up as my knight in shining armor.
So now my former bully is my fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?
Cash
Glenna Dobbs thinks I'm an idiot, and she's mostly right.
I hunt. Fish. Go mudding. I'm not a "brain" type. I'm not really a "thinker."
But I ain't stupid. When I see that Glenna needs a rescue, I'm in.
'Cause what Glenna doesn't know? I've been in this whole time, and once I've got her, I'm not letting her go.
Against a Wall is a small-town, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is the second book in the Stonecut County series, but it can be read as a standalone. Intended for adult readers.
HEA guaranteed.
Cash Wall has been messing with me since junior high.
Nuisance stuff, mostly. Name calling. Pranks.
Honestly, he's nowhere near the worst of my problems. Back in school, I had bigger fish to fry, and now, I've got a "scarlet letter" situation going on. The whole town hates me.
For some reason, Cash offers himself up as my knight in shining armor.
So now my former bully is my fake boyfriend. What could possibly go wrong?
Cash
Glenna Dobbs thinks I'm an idiot, and she's mostly right.
I hunt. Fish. Go mudding. I'm not a "brain" type. I'm not really a "thinker."
But I ain't stupid. When I see that Glenna needs a rescue, I'm in.
'Cause what Glenna doesn't know? I've been in this whole time, and once I've got her, I'm not letting her go.
Against a Wall is a small-town, enemies-to-lovers romance. It is the second book in the Stonecut County series, but it can be read as a standalone. Intended for adult readers.
HEA guaranteed.
348 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2022
959 people are currently reading
5,599 people want to read
About the author
Cate C. Wells
38 books2,542 followersCate C. Wells writes everything from motorcycle club to mafia to small town to paranormal romance. Whatever the subgenre, readers can expect character-driven stories that are raw, real, and emotionally satisfying. Cate's into messy love, flaws, long roads to redemption, grace, and happy ever after, in books and in life.
Along with stories, she’s collected a husband and children along the way. She lives in Baltimore when she’s not exploring the world with the family.
Want a heads up on new releases and bonus content? Sign up for my newsletter at catecwells.com
I love to hear from readers! Let’s chat.
Facebook: @catecwells
IG: @authorcatecwells
Bookbub: @catecwells
Along with stories, she’s collected a husband and children along the way. She lives in Baltimore when she’s not exploring the world with the family.
Want a heads up on new releases and bonus content? Sign up for my newsletter at catecwells.com
I love to hear from readers! Let’s chat.
Facebook: @catecwells
IG: @authorcatecwells
Bookbub: @catecwells
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,092 reviews
December 29, 2023
Oh my god, why did I like this?!?
This guy, this hero, was such a dumbass! He redeemed himself, and this was very funny and satisfying, but good grief, he was an idiot. But that ending, it’s the very definition of toxic masculinity, but I LOVED IT.
I’m pretty bummed though, because I do not like the looks of any of the other books for his siblings, so I will have to be content with this hilarious and satisfying book about a sunshine moron and his grumpy love.
This guy, this hero, was such a dumbass! He redeemed himself, and this was very funny and satisfying, but good grief, he was an idiot. But that ending, it’s the very definition of toxic masculinity, but I LOVED IT.
I’m pretty bummed though, because I do not like the looks of any of the other books for his siblings, so I will have to be content with this hilarious and satisfying book about a sunshine moron and his grumpy love.
March 28, 2024
4 The Joke Was Never On Me Stars ⭐
~Second Read because truck nuts are supposedly a thing!~
Cash Wall, highly popular and annoying; an all American Fuck Boy. To say I disliked him when we met him in prior books, is an understatement. Yet a few chapters into Against A Wall and I was already questioning my preconceptions. Because when you strip away the bravado, this boy is guarding some serious unrequited love.
I’ve never been able to figure out the phenomenon that is Cash Wall. Is he an insufferable asshole because everyone worships him? Or does everyone worship him because he’s an insufferable asshole?
Can you get a bigger grouch then our heroine Glenna? I switched between empathizing with her and wanting to shake her. Cash is a major part of her discontent since in a small town, there is no escaping his macho behavior and antagonism towards her. The more Glenna tries to avoid Cash, the more tenacious he is.
I’ve never been able to help myself around Glenna Dobbs. You breathe on her, and she gets flustered. She’s so awkward and grumpy. It’s freakin’ irresistible.
There is nothing spectacular about this storyline. Bully secretly loves the girl he torments, and the victim secretly wants him to like her. Except you get totally sucked in by the depth of the characters, the humour and especially the eroticism. This author has a knack for turning mundane situations into something totally readable and emotional.
And somehow you find yourself changing alliances. Cos by midway I really liked the douchebag which is Cash. Even after the grief Glenna has endured at his hands, the boy is simply tactless, and most importantly, remorseful. The minute there's an opening to win the girl over, he's pulling out all the stops...in a Cash Wall kind of way. God help us!!
BR with Cassandra. Thank you because ridiculous moments are better shared!
~Second Read because truck nuts are supposedly a thing!~
Cash Wall, highly popular and annoying; an all American Fuck Boy. To say I disliked him when we met him in prior books, is an understatement. Yet a few chapters into Against A Wall and I was already questioning my preconceptions. Because when you strip away the bravado, this boy is guarding some serious unrequited love.
I’ve never been able to figure out the phenomenon that is Cash Wall. Is he an insufferable asshole because everyone worships him? Or does everyone worship him because he’s an insufferable asshole?
Can you get a bigger grouch then our heroine Glenna? I switched between empathizing with her and wanting to shake her. Cash is a major part of her discontent since in a small town, there is no escaping his macho behavior and antagonism towards her. The more Glenna tries to avoid Cash, the more tenacious he is.
I’ve never been able to help myself around Glenna Dobbs. You breathe on her, and she gets flustered. She’s so awkward and grumpy. It’s freakin’ irresistible.
There is nothing spectacular about this storyline. Bully secretly loves the girl he torments, and the victim secretly wants him to like her. Except you get totally sucked in by the depth of the characters, the humour and especially the eroticism. This author has a knack for turning mundane situations into something totally readable and emotional.
And somehow you find yourself changing alliances. Cos by midway I really liked the douchebag which is Cash. Even after the grief Glenna has endured at his hands, the boy is simply tactless, and most importantly, remorseful. The minute there's an opening to win the girl over, he's pulling out all the stops...in a Cash Wall kind of way. God help us!!
BR with Cassandra. Thank you because ridiculous moments are better shared!
January 29, 2022
4 stars
Cate C Wells has become an author I’m always gonna read.
I just love how funny, witty and so well put together the writing is. You truly get a sense for the characters, the setting (small town and its quirks) the side characters, the social commentary which is neither in your face nor so subtle you can miss it - it was just perfect.
This book was not what I expected AT ALL. From my recollection - in the previous book, Cash was really someone I’d have gladly punched once or fifty times. Here, we don’t get a redemption as I was expecting but rather we get to know who he really is because - we were all wrong.
The trope is enemies to lovers but don’t expect it to be taken to the extreme - to better paint a picture I’d say that Cash worshiped the ground Glenna walked on (while inadvertently doing things which were construed as mean towards her by Glenna herself and others around them) and Glenna hated his guts for real.
Glenna was a bit of a tough nut to crack - she was very stubborn and set in her ways and did have plenty insecurities which although she acknowledged - made me feel like she needed to do some more growth.
I adored reading Cash’s POV because the man was just so infatuated and so freaking nice to her (even in a clumsy way at times) - he put her first in every instance. When it came to his loyalties be it either family or friends- he always sided with Glenna first. I freaking loved that.
Glenna came off as a bit self centred especially in the second half - but really, after the shitty relationship she just got out of - I get it.
The only part I hated in the story was Cash’s family and by family I mean his mom and his dad (who although didn’t have any dialogue- he also didn’t do anything good such as telling Kelly to shut it) I couldn’t stand that woman and the moral high horse she was siting on. Her wilful ignorance of anything that doesn’t fit with her picture perfect world - I disliked her with a passion.
Overall, this was a solid story. I had a good time with Cash and Glenna.
Cate C Wells has become an author I’m always gonna read.
I just love how funny, witty and so well put together the writing is. You truly get a sense for the characters, the setting (small town and its quirks) the side characters, the social commentary which is neither in your face nor so subtle you can miss it - it was just perfect.
This book was not what I expected AT ALL. From my recollection - in the previous book, Cash was really someone I’d have gladly punched once or fifty times. Here, we don’t get a redemption as I was expecting but rather we get to know who he really is because - we were all wrong.
The trope is enemies to lovers but don’t expect it to be taken to the extreme - to better paint a picture I’d say that Cash worshiped the ground Glenna walked on (while inadvertently doing things which were construed as mean towards her by Glenna herself and others around them) and Glenna hated his guts for real.
Glenna was a bit of a tough nut to crack - she was very stubborn and set in her ways and did have plenty insecurities which although she acknowledged - made me feel like she needed to do some more growth.
I adored reading Cash’s POV because the man was just so infatuated and so freaking nice to her (even in a clumsy way at times) - he put her first in every instance. When it came to his loyalties be it either family or friends- he always sided with Glenna first. I freaking loved that.
Glenna came off as a bit self centred especially in the second half - but really, after the shitty relationship she just got out of - I get it.
The only part I hated in the story was Cash’s family and by family I mean his mom and his dad (who although didn’t have any dialogue- he also didn’t do anything good such as telling Kelly to shut it) I couldn’t stand that woman and the moral high horse she was siting on. Her wilful ignorance of anything that doesn’t fit with her picture perfect world - I disliked her with a passion.
Overall, this was a solid story. I had a good time with Cash and Glenna.
January 25, 2022
⤅ THIS is a bully romance done right.
It genuinely surprises me that Cate C Wells isn't a better-known author.
So far I've read three of her books, and two have been four-star reads. Even the third had technical skill, despite its lacklustre plot and characters. I would ascribe her relative obscurity to the fact that the bulk of her output to date has been motorcycle romances - an EXTREMELY oversaturated genre - and that her most well-known book, Run Posy Run, is unfortunately the lacklustre one.
Still. She has the ability to write an engaging story, and we see it here.
23-year-old Glenna Dobbs has become the town outcast after her father wrote an article torpedoing the reputation of their beloved police chief. (She took the credit for it to protect her dad, so everyone thinks it was her). To make matters worse, her long-term boyfriend - and co-worker - has just broken up with her, she has no friends after abandoning the only girl she ever befriended in childhood, and she's still being bullied by 24-year-old Cashel Wall, the town golden boy who's been mean to her since secondary school.
Cash is the twin brother of Dina, the girl Glenna stopped being friends with. For his part, he bullies her because he thinks Dina's autism is what drove Glenna away. Also because she ignores him otherwise, and he never quite grew out of the 'say dumb things so she pays attention to you' phase. Can I just say how refreshing it was that the bullying was all NORMAL STUFF??? I've read a ton of bully romances, and it's like they compete to outdo each other on how stupidly OTT and unforgiveable the hero's actions are. I've read 'romances' where the hero throws rotten fish stew at the heroine, puts her in a cupboard for a week without food and water, arranges for her to be beaten up... Compared to that, saying a girl has 'itty-bitty titties' when you're only 13 is realistic and forgivable, especially since Cash works so hard to earn forgiveness. And Glenna is no pushover - she makes him work for it.
I also liked how things that come across as bullying from her perspective are shown in a completely different light from his perspective. Like, once he asks her to prom, and she runs away crying because she thinks it's a joke. He was serious, and his friends still make fun of the fact that a girl he liked ran away from his invitation! Incidents like that.
The ending feels a little unfinished - there are a couple of loose ends like how Glenna's relationship with Addison develops. Overall though, I'm seriously intrigued for the book of Cash's brother Jesse. He's a quiet, gentle pretty boy, but we're told horses aren't the only thing he has a firm hand for...
It genuinely surprises me that Cate C Wells isn't a better-known author.
So far I've read three of her books, and two have been four-star reads. Even the third had technical skill, despite its lacklustre plot and characters. I would ascribe her relative obscurity to the fact that the bulk of her output to date has been motorcycle romances - an EXTREMELY oversaturated genre - and that her most well-known book, Run Posy Run, is unfortunately the lacklustre one.
Still. She has the ability to write an engaging story, and we see it here.
23-year-old Glenna Dobbs has become the town outcast after her father wrote an article torpedoing the reputation of their beloved police chief. (She took the credit for it to protect her dad, so everyone thinks it was her). To make matters worse, her long-term boyfriend - and co-worker - has just broken up with her, she has no friends after abandoning the only girl she ever befriended in childhood, and she's still being bullied by 24-year-old Cashel Wall, the town golden boy who's been mean to her since secondary school.
Cash is the twin brother of Dina, the girl Glenna stopped being friends with. For his part, he bullies her because he thinks Dina's autism is what drove Glenna away. Also because she ignores him otherwise, and he never quite grew out of the 'say dumb things so she pays attention to you' phase. Can I just say how refreshing it was that the bullying was all NORMAL STUFF??? I've read a ton of bully romances, and it's like they compete to outdo each other on how stupidly OTT and unforgiveable the hero's actions are. I've read 'romances' where the hero throws rotten fish stew at the heroine, puts her in a cupboard for a week without food and water, arranges for her to be beaten up... Compared to that, saying a girl has 'itty-bitty titties' when you're only 13 is realistic and forgivable, especially since Cash works so hard to earn forgiveness. And Glenna is no pushover - she makes him work for it.
I also liked how things that come across as bullying from her perspective are shown in a completely different light from his perspective. Like, once he asks her to prom, and she runs away crying because she thinks it's a joke. He was serious, and his friends still make fun of the fact that a girl he liked ran away from his invitation! Incidents like that.
The ending feels a little unfinished - there are a couple of loose ends like how Glenna's relationship with Addison develops. Overall though, I'm seriously intrigued for the book of Cash's brother Jesse. He's a quiet, gentle pretty boy, but we're told horses aren't the only thing he has a firm hand for...
October 4, 2023
3.5 - 4 Smut Stars
Cate C. Wells has quickly become an auto-buy author for me ever since I read my first book by her in April of 2022. I just really like her obsessive male alpha leads and the over the top drama.
Cash was a little different from her normal male lead in that he was loquacious and charming as opposed to enigmatic and non-emotive. He was the typical flirty player. I am a diehard fan of the dark enigmatic mysterious dude, but the reformed flirty player is a close second favorite.
Iam also a sucker for the bully romance trope, so this was a super enjoyable read for me.
Cate C. Wells has quickly become an auto-buy author for me ever since I read my first book by her in April of 2022. I just really like her obsessive male alpha leads and the over the top drama.
Cash was a little different from her normal male lead in that he was loquacious and charming as opposed to enigmatic and non-emotive. He was the typical flirty player. I am a diehard fan of the dark enigmatic mysterious dude, but the reformed flirty player is a close second favorite.
Iam also a sucker for the bully romance trope, so this was a super enjoyable read for me.
January 28, 2022
✩ 𝟯.𝟳𝟱 - 𝟰
cate c. wells wrote against a wall and run posy run. it both explains so much and so little.
✩ plot.
against a wall features a heroine who is content observing life from behind her camera lens, and a hero that has always been observing her (in a non-creepy way, of course).
ever since her father wrote an expose on the town sheriff glenna dobbs has been feeling the wrath of stonecut county. surprisingly, help comes in the form of her high school bully, cash wall. he proposes they fake date in order to make glenna seem more likable by association. what glenna doesn't know is that cash is finally shooting his shot.
✩ my thoughts and feels.
✧ glenna as a heroine was … interesting.
i'm gonna be honest, i am not sure how to feel about our heroine, glenna. on the one hand, she was never afraid to call cash out, put him in his place, call him a dumbass, or stand up for herself in general, at least … when it came to cash.
on the other hand, the amount of shit she put up with when it came to toby (her ex) was borderline unbearable. what made it even worse was that she knew she was a doormat when it came to toby. which … ugh. i guess we love a self-aware queen?
idk … i think my main issue with i could never get a handle on where her head was at. personally i think it's a case of our our personalities not meshing (as i sit here acting like she's a real person). overall, she wasn't a bad heroine and she had some really great moments *cough* her taking the balls to cash's truck *cough* but there definitely something keeping me from fully connecting with her.
✧ meet my new book boyfriend, cash wall.
i fucking loved cash. he was not at all what i was expecting and i'm not mad about it. he entire vibe was, stupid-cute. he was … adorable in his dumbassery.
he was a dumbass with a heart of gold. even better, was the way he simped so fucking hard for glenna. i have no doubt in my mind that this man would do anything for glenna. he loved her that much. you could feel his devotion for her pouring off the pages.
and, yeah … it's hard for me to explain but if you read the book you'll understand the majesty that is, cash wall. he's one of those heroes who feel somewhat realistic. like - i feel like we've all met a toned down version of cash. plus, my mans enthusiastically goes to downtown and doesn't ask for anything in return. that's the sign of a true king, amirite?
✧ the romance was frustrating but still swoonworthy.
there's a reason i was (and still am) waffling a bit on my rating. on the one hand, i loved cash and he absolutely made the entire book for me. the way he so clearly loved and adored glenna in all her grumpy introverted glory was fantastic. if i was solely judging cash and the romance from just his perspective against a wall could have easily been a five star read.
alas, that's not the world we live in. see, what's truly holding me back from wholeheartedly loving this book is glenna's reaction to the romance. i just … i don't know. she was very wishy washy about the romance for almost the entire book. and at first i understood.
at first i liked that glenna forced cash to prove himself to her. glenna didn't allow cash to sweep his years of bullying under the rug. which, good for her. after a while, though … idk. she kept pushing cash away because, reasons?
a great example of this is towards the end. glenna and cash have just had some mInD-bLoWiNg sEx. she's finally let her guard down around him and it looks like she actually trusts him. except, oh no, she sees a bunch of her pictures (she's a photographer) in his house. she gets mad, assumes the worst, and even though it turns out he actually bought her photos off of other people she's still mad … because, well, i'm not really sure why.
eventually they settle everything and the iloveyou's are said, but … idk. glenna's reactions to some things really rubbed me the wrong way. idk, maybe it's because i loved cash so much that i wanted her to say "fuck the consequences," and hop on that dick.
again, i think i'm doing a really bad job explaining everything. i liked the romance, and when cashglenna were on the same page things were great. they had this adorable banter filled relationship. they both gave each other shit, but also really understood the other remarkably well. ultimately, i just wish glenna had let cash in a bit earlier.
✧ other random thoughts and feels.
❌ the side-plot felt very anti-climatic.
🆗 i wish the fake dating had played a bigger part in the story.
❌ glenna's dad was low-key kind of a dick for not telling glenna about the article earlier.
✅ the sex scenes were … good? i think …
✅ cash's dog was adorable and i love that he owned a bloodhound.
❓what state did this book take place in?
✅ i am now going to read dina and heavy's book (despite the fact that i HATE his name).
✅ glenna punching toby was a true highlight.
❌ speaking of toby, why was he so present? disrespectfully - he can choke on a dick.
✅ glenna getting shot and only being mildly annoyed was hilarious.
🆗 cash helping glenna pee was … a whole ass time.
✅ i'm excited to read jesse's book.
✅ cash.
✩ let's wrap this bish up.
✧ this was a weird wonderful book.
against a wall was such a weird and extremely fun time. cate c. wells is a very unique author, and i mean that in the best way possible. her books are super readable, her heroes are different from the norm, and her heroines are … interesting.
i - yeah. idk, this book was strange but in a (mostly) good way. just … read the book. you'll see.
❝hey. those are my truck nuts.❞
she blinks drowsily and looks in that direction. ❝oh. yeah.❞
❝you took my nuts.❞
she squints up at me. ❝sorry?❞
she’s not sorry at all. i laugh. ❝yeah. seems about right.❞ and then i roll my girl onto her back and make her tell me she loves me again.
cate c. wells wrote against a wall and run posy run. it both explains so much and so little.
✩ plot.
against a wall features a heroine who is content observing life from behind her camera lens, and a hero that has always been observing her (in a non-creepy way, of course).
ever since her father wrote an expose on the town sheriff glenna dobbs has been feeling the wrath of stonecut county. surprisingly, help comes in the form of her high school bully, cash wall. he proposes they fake date in order to make glenna seem more likable by association. what glenna doesn't know is that cash is finally shooting his shot.
✩ my thoughts and feels.
❝what’s the bright side?❞
she startles. her forehead furrows. ❝why’d you ask me that?❞
❝looks like you’re getting pretty invested in moping. seemed like a good question to ask. i like you grumpy, but not, like, sad grumpy.❞
✧ glenna as a heroine was … interesting.
i'm gonna be honest, i am not sure how to feel about our heroine, glenna. on the one hand, she was never afraid to call cash out, put him in his place, call him a dumbass, or stand up for herself in general, at least … when it came to cash.
❝we’re fake dating.❞
❝no, we’re not.❞ he says it like it’s obvious.
❝you can’t real date me without my consent.❞
he sniffs and then he barks a laugh. ❝i am incapable of arguing with that.❞
❝because I’m right.❞
❝you’re always right.❞ it’s not a jibe. he says it fondly. as if he means it.
❝heck yeah, i am.❞
on the other hand, the amount of shit she put up with when it came to toby (her ex) was borderline unbearable. what made it even worse was that she knew she was a doormat when it came to toby. which … ugh. i guess we love a self-aware queen?
idk … i think my main issue with i could never get a handle on where her head was at. personally i think it's a case of our our personalities not meshing (as i sit here acting like she's a real person). overall, she wasn't a bad heroine and she had some really great moments *cough* her taking the balls to cash's truck *cough* but there definitely something keeping me from fully connecting with her.
✧ meet my new book boyfriend, cash wall.
i fucking loved cash. he was not at all what i was expecting and i'm not mad about it. he entire vibe was, stupid-cute. he was … adorable in his dumbassery.
❝… you’re dumb, not malicious.❞
he was a dumbass with a heart of gold. even better, was the way he simped so fucking hard for glenna. i have no doubt in my mind that this man would do anything for glenna. he loved her that much. you could feel his devotion for her pouring off the pages.
❝did you know I’m a stage-five clinger?❞ i ask him.
cash snorts. ❝ain’t clinging if the dude wants you.❞ he lays a wet smack on my cheek. ❝cling to me anytime.❞
and, yeah … it's hard for me to explain but if you read the book you'll understand the majesty that is, cash wall. he's one of those heroes who feel somewhat realistic. like - i feel like we've all met a toned down version of cash. plus, my mans enthusiastically goes to downtown and doesn't ask for anything in return. that's the sign of a true king, amirite?
✧ the romance was frustrating but still swoonworthy.
there's a reason i was (and still am) waffling a bit on my rating. on the one hand, i loved cash and he absolutely made the entire book for me. the way he so clearly loved and adored glenna in all her grumpy introverted glory was fantastic. if i was solely judging cash and the romance from just his perspective against a wall could have easily been a five star read.
alas, that's not the world we live in. see, what's truly holding me back from wholeheartedly loving this book is glenna's reaction to the romance. i just … i don't know. she was very wishy washy about the romance for almost the entire book. and at first i understood.
❝no, Cash. i want you to go back in time, and i want you to make it so the girl whose mom just keeled over in the cereal aisle at the grocery store with a heart attack at forty-one, and whose father is so torn up about it that he avoids buying food, gets to eat the only sweet thing she’s gonna get in her whole damn day.❞
at first i liked that glenna forced cash to prove himself to her. glenna didn't allow cash to sweep his years of bullying under the rug. which, good for her. after a while, though … idk. she kept pushing cash away because, reasons?
a great example of this is towards the end. glenna and cash have just had some mInD-bLoWiNg sEx. she's finally let her guard down around him and it looks like she actually trusts him. except, oh no, she sees a bunch of her pictures (she's a photographer) in his house. she gets mad, assumes the worst, and even though it turns out he actually bought her photos off of other people she's still mad … because, well, i'm not really sure why.
eventually they settle everything and the iloveyou's are said, but … idk. glenna's reactions to some things really rubbed me the wrong way. idk, maybe it's because i loved cash so much that i wanted her to say "fuck the consequences," and hop on that dick.
… ❝to be honest, he has a really big dick.❞
again, i think i'm doing a really bad job explaining everything. i liked the romance, and when cashglenna were on the same page things were great. they had this adorable banter filled relationship. they both gave each other shit, but also really understood the other remarkably well. ultimately, i just wish glenna had let cash in a bit earlier.
✧ other random thoughts and feels.
❌ the side-plot felt very anti-climatic.
🆗 i wish the fake dating had played a bigger part in the story.
❌ glenna's dad was low-key kind of a dick for not telling glenna about the article earlier.
✅ the sex scenes were … good? i think …
✅ cash's dog was adorable and i love that he owned a bloodhound.
❓what state did this book take place in?
✅ i am now going to read dina and heavy's book (despite the fact that i HATE his name).
✅ glenna punching toby was a true highlight.
❌ speaking of toby, why was he so present? disrespectfully - he can choke on a dick.
✅ glenna getting shot and only being mildly annoyed was hilarious.
🆗 cash helping glenna pee was … a whole ass time.
✅ i'm excited to read jesse's book.
✅ cash.
✩ let's wrap this bish up.
❝i’m fake dating cash wall,❞ she mutters to herself.
❝you’re gonna fake love it.❞ i give her my most disarming grin.
✧ this was a weird wonderful book.
against a wall was such a weird and extremely fun time. cate c. wells is a very unique author, and i mean that in the best way possible. her books are super readable, her heroes are different from the norm, and her heroines are … interesting.
i - yeah. idk, this book was strange but in a (mostly) good way. just … read the book. you'll see.
April 10, 2024
Reread April 2024
Just to see if I loved it as much as the first time, after reading some negative thoughts about my Cash 🥹
Thankfully, he’s still the same dumbass, sweet and caring man that made laugh throughout the whole book for a second time. I love them both to bits.
First read June 2022
This book was HILARIOUS and sweet at the same time.
I wasn’t convinced with the first book of the series, it had a weak H and although the daughter was perfect, the plot didn’t get my attention and it was an average story.
But let me tell you… Cash 🤩
He was the perfect amount of dumbass and sweet. Probably the type of person I would hate to know in real life but made the perfect H for this story.
His reaction when she gets shot? That kiss on her forehead and helping her to pee? It was priceless.
And Glenn ♥️
Probably because we got insight on her mind and thoughts which made so much sense. And because of the glimpses of a backbone we got to see… I loved her. And she had a dry sense of humor, just how I like my heroines.
”Holy crap. This is bad. This is really bad, isn’t it?”
The plot to a dozen horror movies pop into my head all at once. “Don’t let them kill me to hide the evidence”.
As if he was going to let something bad happen to you babes
I finished it with a smile and I think it’s all that matters 🥹
Just to see if I loved it as much as the first time, after reading some negative thoughts about my Cash 🥹
Thankfully, he’s still the same dumbass, sweet and caring man that made laugh throughout the whole book for a second time. I love them both to bits.
First read June 2022
This book was HILARIOUS and sweet at the same time.
I wasn’t convinced with the first book of the series, it had a weak H and although the daughter was perfect, the plot didn’t get my attention and it was an average story.
But let me tell you… Cash 🤩
He was the perfect amount of dumbass and sweet. Probably the type of person I would hate to know in real life but made the perfect H for this story.
His reaction when she gets shot? That kiss on her forehead and helping her to pee? It was priceless.
And Glenn ♥️
Probably because we got insight on her mind and thoughts which made so much sense. And because of the glimpses of a backbone we got to see… I loved her. And she had a dry sense of humor, just how I like my heroines.
”Holy crap. This is bad. This is really bad, isn’t it?”
The plot to a dozen horror movies pop into my head all at once. “Don’t let them kill me to hide the evidence”.
As if he was going to let something bad happen to you babes
I finished it with a smile and I think it’s all that matters 🥹
Read
January 11, 2023Keep your eyes peeled for a Goodreads Giveaway in January!
June 23, 2023
Stonecut County hasn’t been working out for me. CCW tried to take on some big social justice issues in this series but the execution is lacking in both books. I tried to go in with low expectations because her writing tends to work well for me but there were too many issues to overlook. This was erroneously marketed as enemies to lovers in the blurb when it’s a bully romance, a completely different thing. It’s no wonder then this didn’t address the power dynamics or have Cash atone for his mistreatment of Glenna in order for this to be a believable, healthy relationship.
With the Wall brothers, CCW presents a version of alpha males who not only uphold toxic masculinity but preserve their white privilege, no matter the stakes around them. Cash is walking talking toxic masculinity, one more white man in this small town who gets away with everything and does whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences. He’s bullied Glenna for years and he never meaningfully apologizes for it. Because that’s right: he’s still doing that even in the opening chapters. He’s forgotten most of what he did to make her life hell in high school so all he has is words. We can “tell” he feels bad but that doesn’t make up for any of it, especially not when he still harasses her. All because he liked her and wanted her attention and didn’t know how to be emotionally mature about it.
Bully romance is a tall order for me and it’s that much harder if there’s still active bullying when the story begins but it can work if the bully in question shows they understand what they did wrong and do everything in their power to make up for it. Cash should have been groveling for YEARS but that didn’t happen. They never really address their issues or the fact that he continued to bully and harass her as an adult. He’s 24 years old. That’s more than old enough to know better. He doesn’t seem to bully anyone else and I couldn’t understand why the town thought this was acceptable in a grown man. It’s way too close to “boys pick on girls they like” and I’m not here for it. He may not have considered the power or his words or actions—which is suspect—but he also does nothing to demonstrate he’s changed or that he’ll try to start thinking before he speaks.
Nor was it fair for him to say that she contributed to their dynamic. He’s the town’s golden child! He’s always been the popular kid and she’s been ostracized, even to this day. Her reaction was always in response to what HE DID TO HER. He could have left her alone at any point or, here’s a concept, been nice to her. Glenna may have accepted the apology but I did not. Once they’re dating, he never really calls out his parents, who are the worst. He’s still protecting the family system above all else. I needed him to take them to task.
The town completely dropped the ball with Glenna after her mom died and her dad fell apart. She had no one in her corner. I can’t believe no one looked out for her and let Cash treat her that way as a kid, regardless of his status! The way grief factored in with her photography was moving. I felt so bad for her. She lost her mom and then her grandparents and then she basically had to parent herself. Even now she does more for her dad than he ever did for her. She doesn’t have any friends, because her emotionally abusive “nice guy” ex slowly controlled her interests. Toby made me so angry. I was glad she wasn’t with him anymore, even if I wished she’d been the one to break things off.
This story may have been trying for an empowerment arc but Glenna is basically settling/going along with what Cash wants, just like she’s done for every other man in her life. I wanted so much better for her. She deserved to start over somewhere new. This didn’t address the power imbalance between her and Cash. What happens to her if their fake relationship fails? Will the death threats increase? Will people boycott the coffeeshop again? She doesn’t know Cash really likes her and that reason doesn’t matter anyway. How is a grown man regularly harassing her at work and pretending like that’s okay? At the end of the day, Cash isn’t much better than Toby. They’re both horrible. They just go about it differently.
Despite all this, this was compulsively readable, as all of her books are. I couldn’t put it down and I was really hoping Cash would rise to the occasion and make true amends. But the emotional arc didn’t work for me at all. I thought it would be a two star read until the second to last chapter and then I hated every plot choice.
There were two other main issues. First, this includes the Magical Negro trope. Cash’s best friend Brice and his family are solely there to prop Cash up. They’re there to give him an oasis from his family but he has no idea about their own troubles, nor does he seem interested. The Carrolls are never identified by race. Cash thinks, “Brice is my brother, same as John, Kellum, and Jesse, just darker complected.” And Mr. Carroll is described as “dark-skinned” at 74%. Why not just say they’re Black? If the author is choosing to address racism in this small town, she needs to actually identify people by race or ethnicity, including the sea of white folks. Brice is being set up as a future MMC, which makes me real nervous based on how clunky her rep has been for the few characters of color in her other books thus far and the way racism/white privilege has been mishandled in this series. I can only hope she finds good sensitivity readers and that she listens to them.
The Carrolls seem to be the only POC in town. As this is contemporary romance, we can reasonably assume he has at least heard about the many Black people killed by police and the rise of white supremacy under 45’s presidency, even if what he heard would be conservative bias. (Glenna’s dad is apparently the only progressive/liberal voter in town.) Cash’s parents, uncle, and the sheriff Del absolutely voted for Trump. Cash probably did too because he doesn’t seem to have ever thought differently from his parents. So I guess this book refutes the “I have a Black friend so I can’t be racist” argument. But that’s also where it falls apart for me because why would the Carrolls let Cash be in their lives to the degree that he is without ever being honest about what they’ve experienced in Stonecut County? They rarely leave the mountain so it’s not like they couldn’t easily avoid him if they wanted. Why does dinner with Glenna make them decide to finally push back on his idealism of the sheriff? They share that Deja accidentally drove off the road during a bad storm. Del stopped but refused to help her, unlike how he always helps all the white people in town. Truly egregious. This clearcut example of racism is only trotted out for Cash to have a teachable moment. Except it doesn’t go anywhere! He’d still been defending Del up to that point, sure the corruption charges were a misunderstanding. In that sense, I get why the Carrolls wouldn’t have said anything to him before. But then I go back to not understanding why they would let him be an honorary family member. That doesn’t seem like a safe proposition for them, unless they’re using the proximity of the relationship to stay safe, in which case my hat is off to them. Although obviously not safe enough if the sheriff knew about the relationship and still didn’t help Deja during that storm. Anyway, Cash has a hell of a lot of listening and growing to do when it comes to his privilege and I really wish that had been the focus. He doesn’t change or grow at all and he still gets everything he wants, a major letdown across the board.
The other issue was the inclusion of the Magical Terminally Ill Person trope. (Why, CCW, why? Let these people have purpose beyond being plot devices!)
As curious as I am about what will happen in Jesse’s book, this may need to be the end of the road for me and this series. Such a disappointment all around.
Characters: Glenna is a 24 year old plump white photographer and coffee shop barista with a nose piercing. Cash is a 24 year old white hunting and fishing guide. He has a dog named Granger. This is set in Stonecut County, PA.
Content notes: bullying (MMC bullies FMC in the past and present), MMC sexually harasses FMC at her workplace, toxic masculinity (uncountered), Magical Negro trope, past racism (secondary character, , minor gunshot wound from hunting accident, FMC and her dad receive death threats , MMC is involved in a fistfight/brawl, FMC physically assaults her ex, misogyny, anxiety (FMC), emotionally abusive ex (together 10 years, he broke up with her and they still work together. He also cheated but she doesn’t seem to ever find out), insomnia, FMC’s father has angina (he’s fine), past death of FMC’s mom (heart attack), past parental depression after death of FMC’s mom, recent murder of MMC’s uncle, family friend is dying of cancer, Magical Terminally Ill Person trope, hunting/guns, taxidermy, autistic secondary characters, past ableism (autistic character’s mom didn’t want her to stim), sheriff corruption (sold armored vehicles to drug dealers and terrorists), vandalism, intent of HIPAA violation (hospital staff wants to spread word that FMC was shot but patients in waiting room beat them to it. Chalked up to “small town life.”), fatphobia, ex fatshamed FMC, secondary character going through divorce, past death of pet dog, condomless sex (), family planning discussion, dubious consent , on page sex, masturbation references, alcohol, inebriation, marijuana (secondary character), vaping (secondary character), cigar (secondary character), vomit (secondary character), STD stigma, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, Harry Potter reference, references to past death of grandparents, reference to secondary character who saved a baby from drowning
*Buddy read with Vicky!
With the Wall brothers, CCW presents a version of alpha males who not only uphold toxic masculinity but preserve their white privilege, no matter the stakes around them. Cash is walking talking toxic masculinity, one more white man in this small town who gets away with everything and does whatever he wants, regardless of the consequences. He’s bullied Glenna for years and he never meaningfully apologizes for it. Because that’s right: he’s still doing that even in the opening chapters. He’s forgotten most of what he did to make her life hell in high school so all he has is words. We can “tell” he feels bad but that doesn’t make up for any of it, especially not when he still harasses her. All because he liked her and wanted her attention and didn’t know how to be emotionally mature about it.
Bully romance is a tall order for me and it’s that much harder if there’s still active bullying when the story begins but it can work if the bully in question shows they understand what they did wrong and do everything in their power to make up for it. Cash should have been groveling for YEARS but that didn’t happen. They never really address their issues or the fact that he continued to bully and harass her as an adult. He’s 24 years old. That’s more than old enough to know better. He doesn’t seem to bully anyone else and I couldn’t understand why the town thought this was acceptable in a grown man. It’s way too close to “boys pick on girls they like” and I’m not here for it. He may not have considered the power or his words or actions—which is suspect—but he also does nothing to demonstrate he’s changed or that he’ll try to start thinking before he speaks.
Nor was it fair for him to say that she contributed to their dynamic. He’s the town’s golden child! He’s always been the popular kid and she’s been ostracized, even to this day. Her reaction was always in response to what HE DID TO HER. He could have left her alone at any point or, here’s a concept, been nice to her. Glenna may have accepted the apology but I did not. Once they’re dating, he never really calls out his parents, who are the worst. He’s still protecting the family system above all else. I needed him to take them to task.
The town completely dropped the ball with Glenna after her mom died and her dad fell apart. She had no one in her corner. I can’t believe no one looked out for her and let Cash treat her that way as a kid, regardless of his status! The way grief factored in with her photography was moving. I felt so bad for her. She lost her mom and then her grandparents and then she basically had to parent herself. Even now she does more for her dad than he ever did for her. She doesn’t have any friends, because her emotionally abusive “nice guy” ex slowly controlled her interests. Toby made me so angry. I was glad she wasn’t with him anymore, even if I wished she’d been the one to break things off.
This story may have been trying for an empowerment arc but Glenna is basically settling/going along with what Cash wants, just like she’s done for every other man in her life. I wanted so much better for her. She deserved to start over somewhere new. This didn’t address the power imbalance between her and Cash. What happens to her if their fake relationship fails? Will the death threats increase? Will people boycott the coffeeshop again? She doesn’t know Cash really likes her and that reason doesn’t matter anyway. How is a grown man regularly harassing her at work and pretending like that’s okay? At the end of the day, Cash isn’t much better than Toby. They’re both horrible. They just go about it differently.
Despite all this, this was compulsively readable, as all of her books are. I couldn’t put it down and I was really hoping Cash would rise to the occasion and make true amends. But the emotional arc didn’t work for me at all. I thought it would be a two star read until the second to last chapter and then I hated every plot choice.
There were two other main issues. First, this includes the Magical Negro trope. Cash’s best friend Brice and his family are solely there to prop Cash up. They’re there to give him an oasis from his family but he has no idea about their own troubles, nor does he seem interested. The Carrolls are never identified by race. Cash thinks, “Brice is my brother, same as John, Kellum, and Jesse, just darker complected.” And Mr. Carroll is described as “dark-skinned” at 74%. Why not just say they’re Black? If the author is choosing to address racism in this small town, she needs to actually identify people by race or ethnicity, including the sea of white folks. Brice is being set up as a future MMC, which makes me real nervous based on how clunky her rep has been for the few characters of color in her other books thus far and the way racism/white privilege has been mishandled in this series. I can only hope she finds good sensitivity readers and that she listens to them.
The Carrolls seem to be the only POC in town. As this is contemporary romance, we can reasonably assume he has at least heard about the many Black people killed by police and the rise of white supremacy under 45’s presidency, even if what he heard would be conservative bias. (Glenna’s dad is apparently the only progressive/liberal voter in town.) Cash’s parents, uncle, and the sheriff Del absolutely voted for Trump. Cash probably did too because he doesn’t seem to have ever thought differently from his parents. So I guess this book refutes the “I have a Black friend so I can’t be racist” argument. But that’s also where it falls apart for me because why would the Carrolls let Cash be in their lives to the degree that he is without ever being honest about what they’ve experienced in Stonecut County? They rarely leave the mountain so it’s not like they couldn’t easily avoid him if they wanted. Why does dinner with Glenna make them decide to finally push back on his idealism of the sheriff? They share that Deja accidentally drove off the road during a bad storm. Del stopped but refused to help her, unlike how he always helps all the white people in town. Truly egregious. This clearcut example of racism is only trotted out for Cash to have a teachable moment. Except it doesn’t go anywhere! He’d still been defending Del up to that point, sure the corruption charges were a misunderstanding. In that sense, I get why the Carrolls wouldn’t have said anything to him before. But then I go back to not understanding why they would let him be an honorary family member. That doesn’t seem like a safe proposition for them, unless they’re using the proximity of the relationship to stay safe, in which case my hat is off to them. Although obviously not safe enough if the sheriff knew about the relationship and still didn’t help Deja during that storm. Anyway, Cash has a hell of a lot of listening and growing to do when it comes to his privilege and I really wish that had been the focus. He doesn’t change or grow at all and he still gets everything he wants, a major letdown across the board.
The other issue was the inclusion of the Magical Terminally Ill Person trope. (Why, CCW, why? Let these people have purpose beyond being plot devices!)
As curious as I am about what will happen in Jesse’s book, this may need to be the end of the road for me and this series. Such a disappointment all around.
Characters: Glenna is a 24 year old plump white photographer and coffee shop barista with a nose piercing. Cash is a 24 year old white hunting and fishing guide. He has a dog named Granger. This is set in Stonecut County, PA.
Content notes: bullying (MMC bullies FMC in the past and present), MMC sexually harasses FMC at her workplace, toxic masculinity (uncountered), Magical Negro trope, past racism (secondary character, , minor gunshot wound from hunting accident, FMC and her dad receive death threats , MMC is involved in a fistfight/brawl, FMC physically assaults her ex, misogyny, anxiety (FMC), emotionally abusive ex (together 10 years, he broke up with her and they still work together. He also cheated but she doesn’t seem to ever find out), insomnia, FMC’s father has angina (he’s fine), past death of FMC’s mom (heart attack), past parental depression after death of FMC’s mom, recent murder of MMC’s uncle, family friend is dying of cancer, Magical Terminally Ill Person trope, hunting/guns, taxidermy, autistic secondary characters, past ableism (autistic character’s mom didn’t want her to stim), sheriff corruption (sold armored vehicles to drug dealers and terrorists), vandalism, intent of HIPAA violation (hospital staff wants to spread word that FMC was shot but patients in waiting room beat them to it. Chalked up to “small town life.”), fatphobia, ex fatshamed FMC, secondary character going through divorce, past death of pet dog, condomless sex (), family planning discussion, dubious consent , on page sex, masturbation references, alcohol, inebriation, marijuana (secondary character), vaping (secondary character), cigar (secondary character), vomit (secondary character), STD stigma, gendered pejoratives, gender essentialism, ableist language, Harry Potter reference, references to past death of grandparents, reference to secondary character who saved a baby from drowning
*Buddy read with Vicky!
February 18, 2025
4.5 stars.
3rd read. Cash is an idiot. A lovable guy who doesn’t think too hard. He loves hard and is loyal to a fault.
This time around, I noticed how the author wrote this mediocre white man who happens to befriend some pretty spectacular people. He probably would describe himself as “color blind” since he makes friends wherever he goes and doesn’t have a lot of preconceptions that keep him from people of all types. His best friend is a black man and he’s pretty much adopted by their family.
Because HE doesn’t experience racism, he doesn’t even see it… until he’s finally ready and then hears about how his godfather is a bigoted, racist asshole who has been downright evil in many ways. Until he was ready, he just loved the guy and thought the best of him, even when there was evidence that he wasn’t a “good guy” if Cash had just opened his eyes. It felt real and why a lot of women I know don’t want to date mediocre white men. They don’t believe there is injustice in the world because they don’t personally experience it.
Even though it takes him a while to understand other people’s experiences (including Glenna’s), his love still makes him such a beautiful character. He adores Glenna. He doesn’t realize that his “joking around” comes off as completely insensitive and bully behavior, but once he is aware, he is remorseful. I’m not sure he completely grows up during this book, but Glenna starts to understand him more. Is that a good thing? Not sure.
Glenna on the other hand has such low self-esteem. Even when Cash has been completely open with her (like during the promposal), she thinks he is mocking her because no one like him could like someone like her. She’s pretty darn awesome, so it’s too bad. She doesn’t completely get over herself during this book, but she starts to believe Cash loves her. I wish she would love herself more.
I upped the stars on this third read because this is so so satisfying… from Glenna cutting his truck nuts off, to her sharing her truth and Cash realizing he was pretty darn awful, to Dena coming back into her life, to hearing the beautiful descriptions of nature… and so much more.
This is a lovely book, and the audiobook narrators do a great job at bringing the story to life.
---------
Second Read. 4 stars.
When this came out as an audiobook, I just had to re-read. The narrators do a pretty good job. And I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first time. This time around, I saw some things that bothered me and made me enjoy Cash a little less.
1. It sounds like he slept around with quite a few women while having a crush on Glenna. He says he's loved her "as long as [he's] known [her]". We know that he asked her out when he was in 10th grade. And yet... he's been with all sorts of other women. Yes, we don't hear many details, but I would have preferred he was pining for her.
2. He really did torment Glenna quite a bit. He's so mean... and really doesn't see that he's mean until it's shoved in his face. We hear "I don't believe in the 'boys pull girls' pigtails because them like them' bullshit"... but that's what this whole book supports.
3. What does Cash actually do to show Glenna that he likes/loves her? He keeps leaving her in unsafe situations, both emotionally and physically. He says he'll help her out at the coffee shop and then just hangs around talking to folks. The main thing is he likes her body and says so... and has great sex with her. It's good and all... but I want more from my heroes.
----
I still enjoyed it... but it wasn't as satisfying on the re-read as it was the first time.
----
First Read. 5 stars.
“Truck Nuts is here,” my ex-boyfriend Toby announces, pulling a shot for the latte.
——-
There’s something about this opening line that made me know I would love this book right away.
Another winner of a book recommended by a goodreads friend.
This was so good. Cash is not perfect. He’s done a lot of stupid, petty, and hurtful things. He’s young and it shows. But Glenna also was young and dumb and hurtful. Just in a different way.
I love that he pretty quickly lets her know that he wants a real relationship. He’s open and honest and so loving. He’s willing to learn and frankly, leads Glenna on being more open and repairing their relationship and her relationship with his sister.
This is one of those books where getting to see inside his brain is so important. He likes her so much but he’s an idiot.
Highly recommend. I know she sees him as her high school bully, but I wouldn’t even put this in the bully romance category.
3rd read. Cash is an idiot. A lovable guy who doesn’t think too hard. He loves hard and is loyal to a fault.
This time around, I noticed how the author wrote this mediocre white man who happens to befriend some pretty spectacular people. He probably would describe himself as “color blind” since he makes friends wherever he goes and doesn’t have a lot of preconceptions that keep him from people of all types. His best friend is a black man and he’s pretty much adopted by their family.
Because HE doesn’t experience racism, he doesn’t even see it… until he’s finally ready and then hears about how his godfather is a bigoted, racist asshole who has been downright evil in many ways. Until he was ready, he just loved the guy and thought the best of him, even when there was evidence that he wasn’t a “good guy” if Cash had just opened his eyes. It felt real and why a lot of women I know don’t want to date mediocre white men. They don’t believe there is injustice in the world because they don’t personally experience it.
Even though it takes him a while to understand other people’s experiences (including Glenna’s), his love still makes him such a beautiful character. He adores Glenna. He doesn’t realize that his “joking around” comes off as completely insensitive and bully behavior, but once he is aware, he is remorseful. I’m not sure he completely grows up during this book, but Glenna starts to understand him more. Is that a good thing? Not sure.
Glenna on the other hand has such low self-esteem. Even when Cash has been completely open with her (like during the promposal), she thinks he is mocking her because no one like him could like someone like her. She’s pretty darn awesome, so it’s too bad. She doesn’t completely get over herself during this book, but she starts to believe Cash loves her. I wish she would love herself more.
I upped the stars on this third read because this is so so satisfying… from Glenna cutting his truck nuts off, to her sharing her truth and Cash realizing he was pretty darn awful, to Dena coming back into her life, to hearing the beautiful descriptions of nature… and so much more.
This is a lovely book, and the audiobook narrators do a great job at bringing the story to life.
---------
Second Read. 4 stars.
When this came out as an audiobook, I just had to re-read. The narrators do a pretty good job. And I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first time. This time around, I saw some things that bothered me and made me enjoy Cash a little less.
1. It sounds like he slept around with quite a few women while having a crush on Glenna. He says he's loved her "as long as [he's] known [her]". We know that he asked her out when he was in 10th grade. And yet... he's been with all sorts of other women. Yes, we don't hear many details, but I would have preferred he was pining for her.
2. He really did torment Glenna quite a bit. He's so mean... and really doesn't see that he's mean until it's shoved in his face. We hear "I don't believe in the 'boys pull girls' pigtails because them like them' bullshit"... but that's what this whole book supports.
3. What does Cash actually do to show Glenna that he likes/loves her? He keeps leaving her in unsafe situations, both emotionally and physically. He says he'll help her out at the coffee shop and then just hangs around talking to folks. The main thing is he likes her body and says so... and has great sex with her. It's good and all... but I want more from my heroes.
----
I still enjoyed it... but it wasn't as satisfying on the re-read as it was the first time.
----
First Read. 5 stars.
“Truck Nuts is here,” my ex-boyfriend Toby announces, pulling a shot for the latte.
——-
There’s something about this opening line that made me know I would love this book right away.
Another winner of a book recommended by a goodreads friend.
This was so good. Cash is not perfect. He’s done a lot of stupid, petty, and hurtful things. He’s young and it shows. But Glenna also was young and dumb and hurtful. Just in a different way.
I love that he pretty quickly lets her know that he wants a real relationship. He’s open and honest and so loving. He’s willing to learn and frankly, leads Glenna on being more open and repairing their relationship and her relationship with his sister.
This is one of those books where getting to see inside his brain is so important. He likes her so much but he’s an idiot.
Highly recommend. I know she sees him as her high school bully, but I wouldn’t even put this in the bully romance category.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2023
Who would’ve thought a camo-wearing, hard-headed, mouth-running hunting and fishing guide would be one of the best book boyfriends to exist?
Cash Wall has characteristics that would usually sum to an insufferable person, but his golden-retriever adoration of Glenna and receptiveness of other points of view makes him one of the best male main characters.
Cash is a lovable moron. I’ve known plenty of people like him in my life, but unlike Cash, these people have none of the charm nor the open-mindedness Cash Wall has.
Long live Himbos, and may there be many more to grace the romance genre.
★★★★★
Cash Wall has characteristics that would usually sum to an insufferable person, but his golden-retriever adoration of Glenna and receptiveness of other points of view makes him one of the best male main characters.
Cash is a lovable moron. I’ve known plenty of people like him in my life, but unlike Cash, these people have none of the charm nor the open-mindedness Cash Wall has.
Long live Himbos, and may there be many more to grace the romance genre.
★★★★★
August 9, 2022
August 9, 2022
Adjusting my review after reading Heavy, and rereading this one. My issue with a lack of comeuppance for the evil doer(s) is partly addressed in Heavy, and the current small town scandal makes more sense here. Plus, the H, while a jerk, is a besotted jerk and does everything he can to make things up to the heroine.
I find the small town politics both aggravating and very believable. Reading real news, there are pockets where old families and cliques can dominate the local area. Reading the real life murder/scandal of Alex Murdaugh in South Carolina is no less outrageous that some of the outrageous fiction we read. Cate Wells does a great job with the ins and outs of the power base, and I found that as interesting as if not more so than the romance.
Old review
After a rare 4 star (for me) read with Hitting the Wall, this was just flat. Yeah, yeah, there’s romance, but West totally dropped the ball on the suspense aspect that made the first book so good. Strong words are needed: What the heck?
PLOT: The heroine has had her pigtails pulled by the H metaphorically since they were in Middle School. She gets threatened. He protects her. HEA! The end.
Wells almost totally ditches the fate of one of the evil doers from the first book with an off page demise, and he was the worst (most interesting) one. The couple from HtW are mentioned only briefly which is fine to a point, but crickets….
I was vey disappointed. The first book was a strong multi-level story with suspenseful drama. This felt like Wells was under a writing timeline and did not have the opportunity to plot the story out as completely.
Adjusting my review after reading Heavy, and rereading this one. My issue with a lack of comeuppance for the evil doer(s) is partly addressed in Heavy, and the current small town scandal makes more sense here. Plus, the H, while a jerk, is a besotted jerk and does everything he can to make things up to the heroine.
I find the small town politics both aggravating and very believable. Reading real news, there are pockets where old families and cliques can dominate the local area. Reading the real life murder/scandal of Alex Murdaugh in South Carolina is no less outrageous that some of the outrageous fiction we read. Cate Wells does a great job with the ins and outs of the power base, and I found that as interesting as if not more so than the romance.
Old review
After a rare 4 star (for me) read with Hitting the Wall, this was just flat. Yeah, yeah, there’s romance, but West totally dropped the ball on the suspense aspect that made the first book so good. Strong words are needed: What the heck?
PLOT: The heroine has had her pigtails pulled by the H metaphorically since they were in Middle School. She gets threatened. He protects her. HEA! The end.
Wells almost totally ditches the fate of one of the evil doers from the first book with an off page demise, and he was the worst (most interesting) one. The couple from HtW are mentioned only briefly which is fine to a point, but crickets….
I was vey disappointed. The first book was a strong multi-level story with suspenseful drama. This felt like Wells was under a writing timeline and did not have the opportunity to plot the story out as completely.
May 31, 2022
I keep coming back to this story in my head and I really did enjoy it so much, despite Prickly Glenna's actions. I can't quit thinking about it, so I'm going to bump this baby up to 4 Stars.
This wasn't a bad story at all, in fact if Glenna hadn't been so freaking prickly through the entire story, this would have been a full 4 Star story for me. Pricky, bitchy, stubborn to the point of being annoying heroines are my pet peeve, and Glenna definitely annoyed the hell out of me. She wasn't a straight up bitch, but she wouldn't cut poor Cash any slack at all, and it crushed me.
Now Cash on the other hand, he was an absolute doll the entire story. I adored every second of him in this story. He's hot, sweet, protective, and so in love with Glenna that it hurts. He's spectacular.
I loved all the Toby parts of this story. He was such a douchy feminist, with a vagina twice the size of his ex-girlfriend's. I loved him getting dogged on in this story. It was fun seeing him get what he had coming to him in the end too. He was such an embarrassment to the male species.
This was a cute (zero angst-slow burn) story, despite Glenna's prickly reactions through most of the entire book. I adore this author's storytelling, so this pains me not to give this story 4 stars or more, like I normally do. That being said, I'm still excited to start this author's MC series next.
This wasn't a bad story at all, in fact if Glenna hadn't been so freaking prickly through the entire story, this would have been a full 4 Star story for me. Pricky, bitchy, stubborn to the point of being annoying heroines are my pet peeve, and Glenna definitely annoyed the hell out of me. She wasn't a straight up bitch, but she wouldn't cut poor Cash any slack at all, and it crushed me.
Now Cash on the other hand, he was an absolute doll the entire story. I adored every second of him in this story. He's hot, sweet, protective, and so in love with Glenna that it hurts. He's spectacular.
I loved all the Toby parts of this story. He was such a douchy feminist, with a vagina twice the size of his ex-girlfriend's. I loved him getting dogged on in this story. It was fun seeing him get what he had coming to him in the end too. He was such an embarrassment to the male species.
This was a cute (zero angst-slow burn) story, despite Glenna's prickly reactions through most of the entire book. I adore this author's storytelling, so this pains me not to give this story 4 stars or more, like I normally do. That being said, I'm still excited to start this author's MC series next.
January 16, 2025
This didn't work for me at all. The number of times I nearly DNF'd was too many. I probably should have but I've heard great things about this book and my goodreads friends love this so I kept going and dammit I'm trying to break this awful reading funk I've been in for 3 months now. 😭 The writing and dialogue in this is so choppy and childish with characters talking like they are still in grade school which really confused me. These are country white folks but good lord......
Like....did I get the same book as everyone else? The childish writing was insanely distracting. I went into this expecting a sweet fluffy feel good romance between a former bully hero and the girl he bullied in high school who he secretly has been crushing on since childhood. Everyone keeps raving about this hero being the epic HIMBO of all HIMBO heroes who grovels his way into forgiveness. Grovels? Where?.....Cause I barely saw it. Where was even the romance in this? Just awkward stilted conversations where the heroine wants to run away from him. That's not my idea of sexual tension. Cash wasn't awful and I have nothing against himbo heroes but he's dumb and clueless like he and everyone else keeps saying. I didn't understand how he thought pulling pranks on the heroine and making her the butt of his jokes 6 years after high school would get him anywhere when he likes her? Grow up dude. He doesn't mean to poke fun at her but he likes to "rile her up" is the excuse we keep getting for why he still does it. 🙄 Instant. turnoff. He's slow to react or pick up on things and takes a while to correct himself so his character fell flat for me. Like ok your hero is a doofus but he has the emotional depth of a napkin so it wasn't giving what it should have. The heroine Glenna wasn't any better. She's just...there. Emotionally stunted with the personality of a dishrag. Glenna is frumpy and an emotional downer. To be quite honest I didn't understand why Cash was so crazy about this girl for years who just mopes and grumps and just lets everyone walk all over her because it's easier. I oin get it. Glenna was giving a little too much of this:
She was so resigned to everything and just shoving all her feelings way down and I kept waiting for her to tell everyone to fuck off! and stand up for herself. But she never really does. Her throwing that punch in the end was great but it was in defense of the hero and not herself. I like my heroines more active and reactive not letting shit happen to them and just "oh welp'ing" to everything. She needs a therapist and self love IMO. The hero is a big ol puppy dog for her but it was clear this girl was lost and dissatisfied with life in general. I'm not convinced the hero made it better when she could barely tolerate him much less talk to him. I usually have a big soft spot for the outcast wallflower sensitive characters but Glenna frustrated me. The secondary characters were pretty awful too. I hated her father who seemed fine with throwing his own daughter under the bus for an expose piece he wrote in the town's newspaper about the beloved town hero Sheriff Del Willis who has been selling armored cars illegally. Her father is one of those righteous "for the good of the planet!" hippies who can't see past his own nose. Glenna tried to protect her father by putting her name on the article he wrote so now she's the town pariah where she gets treated like shit by everyone. But her dear father thinks it will all "blow over". RME. Cash's parents are awful too, snooty and racist and he does nothing about it. Glenna's insufferable ex-boyfriend Toby is the absolute worst. A patronizing dick who walked all over her and gaslight her at every turn for 10 years and took up too much mental page space with our heroine constantly questioning herself because of this manipulative asshole. And this is the part where I mention this dick was cheating on her before they broke up and the hero and whole town knew about it but nobody told Glenna. 😐 Cash just assumed she knew already and never tried to tell her. His lack of thought to anything was lame. You supposedly are crazy in love and obsessed with this girl and didn't think to tell her this?.......... *crickets blaring* I understand nothing. The only character I liked was the hero's dog Granger.
I guess I could deal with all the flat characters more if the writing was better? There's simplistic writing and there's just telling you things like you are listing off your grocery list. "I sit down. I’m hungry. Does this place have wings? I could eat some wings. The trees are green. I'm sweating. She bites her bottom lip. I pop wood..." (that last part was straight from the book btw) The staccato. short. choppy. style just feels so wooden and doesn't really help fill in gaps the author leaves you with.
Most of the conversations between the hero and heroine consist of one word answers which again made me feel like I was reading about two 7 year olds. There's no way these characters are adults with the way they acted. Your heroine doesn't like to talk or bring attention to herself fine, but all the "Um. No. Nope. Yeah. Okay" monosyllabic answers to pass off as conversations wasn't convincing. A heroine who is so guarded and standoffish and doesn't like to talk about her feelings cause it's hard but doesn't want to try at anything just made everything tiring. She lost her mom 9 years ago and it was very traumatic for her and she's still clearly grieving over it and I did feel for her on this because she has nobody to talk to about it. To me she clearly was still in the depths of depression which is a lot to carry on your own but if the author was trying to convince me this guy who has the emotional intelligence of a goat and scratches his butt in confusion is what she needed then good luck. I ain't buying it. She barely talks to the hero about it and I found that so sad and highlights the problem I had. The longest conversation these two have is over beef jerky and I wish I was kidding. The lack of chemistry and emotional connection of any kind just gave me nothing. It felt like more time was spent on telling us about their childhood memories growing up with goofy anecdotes and silly pranks. I'm sorry but I really don't want to reminisce about the times the hero farted in gym glass or how he drew mustaches on the heroine's photography or when she got her period at school and the pad stuck to her pubic hairs.
None of it was interesting or added anything to the story. I wanted the cute, where was the cute?! 😩
I already have Return to Monte Carlo by this author on my TBR which I've been wanting to read but it's safe to say I'm now really hesitant and nervous to try another book by her.
Her thighs are so thick, and so soft, and they quivered like little rabbits when I licked her clean.
Her face screws up like she smells a fart, and she zombie walks to the fridge.
My stomach does a barf flip.
They both have rainbow-shaped eyes and the kind of smile that quirks higher at one corner.
He leans back in his chair, both of us chewing like cows.
I don’t have the best balance on a good day. I have, on two occasions, sat straight down in the puddle made by my own wee when going to stand after a squat.
Mom’s mouth goes puckered like a cat’s butthole.
I drag in a deep breath and snort down the snot.
Like....did I get the same book as everyone else? The childish writing was insanely distracting. I went into this expecting a sweet fluffy feel good romance between a former bully hero and the girl he bullied in high school who he secretly has been crushing on since childhood. Everyone keeps raving about this hero being the epic HIMBO of all HIMBO heroes who grovels his way into forgiveness. Grovels? Where?.....Cause I barely saw it. Where was even the romance in this? Just awkward stilted conversations where the heroine wants to run away from him. That's not my idea of sexual tension. Cash wasn't awful and I have nothing against himbo heroes but he's dumb and clueless like he and everyone else keeps saying. I didn't understand how he thought pulling pranks on the heroine and making her the butt of his jokes 6 years after high school would get him anywhere when he likes her? Grow up dude. He doesn't mean to poke fun at her but he likes to "rile her up" is the excuse we keep getting for why he still does it. 🙄 Instant. turnoff. He's slow to react or pick up on things and takes a while to correct himself so his character fell flat for me. Like ok your hero is a doofus but he has the emotional depth of a napkin so it wasn't giving what it should have. The heroine Glenna wasn't any better. She's just...there. Emotionally stunted with the personality of a dishrag. Glenna is frumpy and an emotional downer. To be quite honest I didn't understand why Cash was so crazy about this girl for years who just mopes and grumps and just lets everyone walk all over her because it's easier. I oin get it. Glenna was giving a little too much of this:
I’m not good at losing and letting go. I’m not bouncy. I’m the kind of person who goes splat.
She was so resigned to everything and just shoving all her feelings way down and I kept waiting for her to tell everyone to fuck off! and stand up for herself. But she never really does. Her throwing that punch in the end was great but it was in defense of the hero and not herself. I like my heroines more active and reactive not letting shit happen to them and just "oh welp'ing" to everything. She needs a therapist and self love IMO. The hero is a big ol puppy dog for her but it was clear this girl was lost and dissatisfied with life in general. I'm not convinced the hero made it better when she could barely tolerate him much less talk to him. I usually have a big soft spot for the outcast wallflower sensitive characters but Glenna frustrated me. The secondary characters were pretty awful too. I hated her father who seemed fine with throwing his own daughter under the bus for an expose piece he wrote in the town's newspaper about the beloved town hero Sheriff Del Willis who has been selling armored cars illegally. Her father is one of those righteous "for the good of the planet!" hippies who can't see past his own nose. Glenna tried to protect her father by putting her name on the article he wrote so now she's the town pariah where she gets treated like shit by everyone. But her dear father thinks it will all "blow over". RME. Cash's parents are awful too, snooty and racist and he does nothing about it. Glenna's insufferable ex-boyfriend Toby is the absolute worst. A patronizing dick who walked all over her and gaslight her at every turn for 10 years and took up too much mental page space with our heroine constantly questioning herself because of this manipulative asshole. And this is the part where I mention this dick was cheating on her before they broke up and the hero and whole town knew about it but nobody told Glenna. 😐 Cash just assumed she knew already and never tried to tell her. His lack of thought to anything was lame. You supposedly are crazy in love and obsessed with this girl and didn't think to tell her this?.......... *crickets blaring* I understand nothing. The only character I liked was the hero's dog Granger.
“You built this?”The hero is 24 years old by the way. 😶
“Yeah.”
“With your dad?”
“By myself.” He pauses a second and kicks the ground with the toe of his boot. “Bill the barn manager helped a little. Dad and Kell and John and Grandpa Price were busy building Dina’s. I got butthurt. Bill found me beating on a fence with a stick. He said why don’t you build your own. So I did.”
I guess I could deal with all the flat characters more if the writing was better? There's simplistic writing and there's just telling you things like you are listing off your grocery list. "I sit down. I’m hungry. Does this place have wings? I could eat some wings. The trees are green. I'm sweating. She bites her bottom lip. I pop wood..." (that last part was straight from the book btw) The staccato. short. choppy. style just feels so wooden and doesn't really help fill in gaps the author leaves you with.
My dad called. He wanted to know what’s wrong with me. Then he put my mom on so she could yell at me. Del rang to make sure it wasn’t some misguided attempt to show my support. He put Lil on the phone to make sure I feel like the world’s most incompetent and hapless jackass. Pam Bosko called. She’s a friend of my parents, and she’s also a defense attorney. She offered to represent me. She said don’t talk to anyone, especially Glenna Dobbs.
Butts waggle. You know what? This is the best song. It’s so bouncy. Everyone sings along, bottles and red Solo cups in the air. I don’t know the words, so I bop up and down. Matt seems happy. He bops up and down, too, just not on the beat. That’s okay. He’s a good guy. A great guy. He’s never gotten me shot. He bops closer.
Most of the conversations between the hero and heroine consist of one word answers which again made me feel like I was reading about two 7 year olds. There's no way these characters are adults with the way they acted. Your heroine doesn't like to talk or bring attention to herself fine, but all the "Um. No. Nope. Yeah. Okay" monosyllabic answers to pass off as conversations wasn't convincing. A heroine who is so guarded and standoffish and doesn't like to talk about her feelings cause it's hard but doesn't want to try at anything just made everything tiring. She lost her mom 9 years ago and it was very traumatic for her and she's still clearly grieving over it and I did feel for her on this because she has nobody to talk to about it. To me she clearly was still in the depths of depression which is a lot to carry on your own but if the author was trying to convince me this guy who has the emotional intelligence of a goat and scratches his butt in confusion is what she needed then good luck. I ain't buying it. She barely talks to the hero about it and I found that so sad and highlights the problem I had. The longest conversation these two have is over beef jerky and I wish I was kidding. The lack of chemistry and emotional connection of any kind just gave me nothing. It felt like more time was spent on telling us about their childhood memories growing up with goofy anecdotes and silly pranks. I'm sorry but I really don't want to reminisce about the times the hero farted in gym glass or how he drew mustaches on the heroine's photography or when she got her period at school and the pad stuck to her pubic hairs.
None of it was interesting or added anything to the story. I wanted the cute, where was the cute?! 😩
I already have Return to Monte Carlo by this author on my TBR which I've been wanting to read but it's safe to say I'm now really hesitant and nervous to try another book by her.
March 28, 2022
This was a lot more complex than I thought it would be, but ultimately it still didn't work for me. I'm not ordinarily a reader of bully romance; it takes too much for the bully to redeem themselves in my eyes, and I feel like authors don't usually pull it off. Wells... didn't really pull it off. The bullying was very much of the "little boy has a crush on a little girl so he's awful to her," but a lot of it took place in high school immediately following the heroine's mother's unexpected death and her father's complete breakdown, which the hero presumably knew about (small town), meaning that him e.g. stealing her desserts at lunch and making everyone laugh at her took on outsized importance as her home life and emotional equilibrium were both a complete disaster. And the heroine explicitly calls him on it after they start dating, and he apologizes, and it's enough for her - but it's not enough for me. Similarly, he keeps up this kind of juvenile behavior in adulthood and it's gross, e.g. routinely coming into the heroine's coffee shop to verbally harass her, then pulling "pranks" like unscrewing all the sugar lids so that every table has a mess the heroine has to immediately clean up, and complaining loudly about the quality of the food in such a way that she has to rush to appease him - because he enjoys the forced interaction with the heroine. If he enjoys forcing her to be nice to him, then how can he claim he doesn't know that he's harassing her in her workplace?
A secondary issue is that the small town is a realistically problematic small town. The heroine and her father published an expose of the beloved but corrupt town sheriff, and the entire town is out for blood (literally) to the point where people are applauding the hero when they think he shot the heroine. Like, publicly applauding him. And among the people backing all of this cruelty and hatred are the hero's parents - and at no point do they repent, apologize, or treat the heroine kindly. The hero is so privileged and protected that he could literally murder the heroine and he would receive public applause, while the heroine is so hated that people literally want her dead. (Can I also add that the heroine's childhood friendship with the hero's sister ended right after the heroine's mom unexpectedly died - and the hero's entire family immediately wrote the heroine off completely with the hero's mom treating her with seething hatred ever after? Not necessarily unrealistic but pretty loathsome behavior from adults, honestly. I guess I know where the hero gets it from.)
Is this unrealistic? No. But the power imbalance is so huge that it's wildly uncomfortable. The hero's harassment of the heroine is abusive, honestly - he uses the court of public opinion to force her to interact with him in their pre-relationship days, and then claims ignorance that this could be seriously problematic for her. He literally gave her a black eye in high school gym class. If he decides to revert to this kind of behavior in their relationship, what recourse is she going to have? None. Absolutely none whatsoever.
I guess what it boils down to is, to me, Cash's behavior was egregious enough that I didn't buy he "didn't know it wasn't okay." It's like the guy who ignores his girlfriend saying "I don't like it when you do X, stop doing X" for years and then is shocked when she leaves him for it: he 100% knew that it wasn't okay, he just also knew that he could keep doing it with impunity. And given that reading of the hero, he - and the people around them - did not even come close to apologizing, repenting, or redeeming themselves for their mistreatment of the heroine. As best I can tell, the only justification for what the hero did to the heroine is "he's too dumb to know that he was genuinely hurting her" and, like, I don't buy it. Somehow he managed not to be this cruel to other people in his life.
A secondary issue is that the small town is a realistically problematic small town. The heroine and her father published an expose of the beloved but corrupt town sheriff, and the entire town is out for blood (literally) to the point where people are applauding the hero when they think he shot the heroine. Like, publicly applauding him. And among the people backing all of this cruelty and hatred are the hero's parents - and at no point do they repent, apologize, or treat the heroine kindly. The hero is so privileged and protected that he could literally murder the heroine and he would receive public applause, while the heroine is so hated that people literally want her dead. (Can I also add that the heroine's childhood friendship with the hero's sister ended right after the heroine's mom unexpectedly died - and the hero's entire family immediately wrote the heroine off completely with the hero's mom treating her with seething hatred ever after? Not necessarily unrealistic but pretty loathsome behavior from adults, honestly. I guess I know where the hero gets it from.)
Is this unrealistic? No. But the power imbalance is so huge that it's wildly uncomfortable. The hero's harassment of the heroine is abusive, honestly - he uses the court of public opinion to force her to interact with him in their pre-relationship days, and then claims ignorance that this could be seriously problematic for her. He literally gave her a black eye in high school gym class. If he decides to revert to this kind of behavior in their relationship, what recourse is she going to have? None. Absolutely none whatsoever.
I guess what it boils down to is, to me, Cash's behavior was egregious enough that I didn't buy he "didn't know it wasn't okay." It's like the guy who ignores his girlfriend saying "I don't like it when you do X, stop doing X" for years and then is shocked when she leaves him for it: he 100% knew that it wasn't okay, he just also knew that he could keep doing it with impunity. And given that reading of the hero, he - and the people around them - did not even come close to apologizing, repenting, or redeeming themselves for their mistreatment of the heroine. As best I can tell, the only justification for what the hero did to the heroine is "he's too dumb to know that he was genuinely hurting her" and, like, I don't buy it. Somehow he managed not to be this cruel to other people in his life.
January 16, 2023
Cash is the King-of-the-Rednecks himbo of my dreams.
April 14, 2022
LOVED THIS. It’s going in my top reads of 2022, i can already tell. It made me belly laugh at 2am when I should’ve been sleeping, and sob at 9am when I should’ve been working.
Let me clarify that I normally hate, HATE bully romance. Still haven’t processed some shit that i went through from 2nd though 7th grade. Bullying is the main reason i started homeschooling in 8th grade.
But Cash wasn’t like my bullies. He didn’t physically harm Glenna (outside of a wild ball throw in high school) or constantly call her ugly. He was a big, dumb, loud, tone-deaf jackass who still defended her. And when he was called on his immaturity- he apologized and worked on himself.
Glenna had some issues as well. She settled for a crap relationship for years, even once she knew how damaging it was. Not victim blaming here, because she grew and assessed why she put up with Toby’s gaslighting for so long, but not Cash’s teasing. I liked that. She’s also loyal, takes care of her dad, reconnects with an old friend after being open about the reason.
Cash is one of the most unique romance book heroes I’ve ever read. I spent half my life in a small rural town like the one in the book, and the author friggin nailed his himbo-camo-truck nuts-fishing hat archetype so well that it felt like being in the same room. He’s so funny and dumb and loud, but he’s got hidden depths and dreams and loyalties, and when some of those loyalties are challenged, he backs the hell up and re-examines them.
And… he loves giving his girl pleasure while being all about consent. Can’t argue with that. He’s so gone for her that I’m not sure how she never saw it. He loves her blue hair and nose ring, her “fat ass” and “thighs that jiggle like little bunnies” 🤣
I enjoyed the setting- the mountain and woods, the feeling of the various characters’ homes, the wonky bar, the hound dog, the cloistered small town vibe. There’s a mystery/crime situation that apparently runs through the series, i wasn’t terribly invested in it, but the elements do play into character development.
All in all, it was a book worth the sleep deprivation. Steamy and funny, but not overly fluffy.
Let me clarify that I normally hate, HATE bully romance. Still haven’t processed some shit that i went through from 2nd though 7th grade. Bullying is the main reason i started homeschooling in 8th grade.
But Cash wasn’t like my bullies. He didn’t physically harm Glenna (outside of a wild ball throw in high school) or constantly call her ugly. He was a big, dumb, loud, tone-deaf jackass who still defended her. And when he was called on his immaturity- he apologized and worked on himself.
Glenna had some issues as well. She settled for a crap relationship for years, even once she knew how damaging it was. Not victim blaming here, because she grew and assessed why she put up with Toby’s gaslighting for so long, but not Cash’s teasing. I liked that. She’s also loyal, takes care of her dad, reconnects with an old friend after being open about the reason.
Cash is one of the most unique romance book heroes I’ve ever read. I spent half my life in a small rural town like the one in the book, and the author friggin nailed his himbo-camo-truck nuts-fishing hat archetype so well that it felt like being in the same room. He’s so funny and dumb and loud, but he’s got hidden depths and dreams and loyalties, and when some of those loyalties are challenged, he backs the hell up and re-examines them.
And… he loves giving his girl pleasure while being all about consent. Can’t argue with that. He’s so gone for her that I’m not sure how she never saw it. He loves her blue hair and nose ring, her “fat ass” and “thighs that jiggle like little bunnies” 🤣
I enjoyed the setting- the mountain and woods, the feeling of the various characters’ homes, the wonky bar, the hound dog, the cloistered small town vibe. There’s a mystery/crime situation that apparently runs through the series, i wasn’t terribly invested in it, but the elements do play into character development.
All in all, it was a book worth the sleep deprivation. Steamy and funny, but not overly fluffy.
November 6, 2022
I recommend reading all the awesome reviews on this book. I finally read Against a Wall and I went on a more heart-tugging ride than I expected. This was a character-driven romance with a touch of plot but the focus remained on the main characters moving from a past of negative feelings all the way back from middle school to a place of understanding and devoted love. The story was written in first person, dual POV. A blip of ow drama with one of H's friends being mean to h, small amount of om drama with h's ex trying to cause problems but not because he wanted her back, neither were virgins (h had been with her ex for 10 years and it's known H slept around but no details or scenes with ow).
Glenna (h) was sympathetic with her grief and insecurities and how these shaped her in ways she didn't always see or like, but also challenging to like in the next instance with how she chose to react in situations. Cash (H) was oblivious and also baffled at how Glenna responded to him, but he needed her to respond to him because his focus was always on her. His reactions as his eyes were opened to Glenna's perspective of his actions and the realities of his town made for some lovely growth.
I really liked how the author handled the teasing/bullying elements from their past and what Cash continued to do to Glenna and how the characters moved forward. It's not sugar-coated or glossed over. I loved the ways that Cash showed up for Glenna, even when she was pushing him away and questioning why he was trying to be supportive. I definitely liked Cash more than Glenna, but I also enjoyed Glenna's grumpiness. I didn't think her character arc showed the development and growth that Cash's did though. I also appreciated that their relationship had a slow building change and that their physical intimacy was balanced with emotional intimacy. Although Cash was more willing to be vulnerable and intimate, leading to some conflict as Glenna struggled with this I felt.
The side characters were great and also complex. Glenna's father and Cash's family (including his biological and his best friend's adopted family) provided foils for our main characters while also being distinct characters on their own. The town as a whole acted as a sort of side character with how they were against Glenna and her father. I really didn't like Glenna's ex and I did think his part in the story played too large of a role, although her final interaction with him in the book was amazing. I was glad it came from her too, he deserved it and she earned it from putting up with him all those years.
The story ends with a HFN with an extended epilogue but it felt more like a HEA to me. It was a blend of funny and sweet and I had a big smile on my face when I closed my kindle.
Glenna (h) was sympathetic with her grief and insecurities and how these shaped her in ways she didn't always see or like, but also challenging to like in the next instance with how she chose to react in situations. Cash (H) was oblivious and also baffled at how Glenna responded to him, but he needed her to respond to him because his focus was always on her. His reactions as his eyes were opened to Glenna's perspective of his actions and the realities of his town made for some lovely growth.
I really liked how the author handled the teasing/bullying elements from their past and what Cash continued to do to Glenna and how the characters moved forward. It's not sugar-coated or glossed over. I loved the ways that Cash showed up for Glenna, even when she was pushing him away and questioning why he was trying to be supportive. I definitely liked Cash more than Glenna, but I also enjoyed Glenna's grumpiness. I didn't think her character arc showed the development and growth that Cash's did though. I also appreciated that their relationship had a slow building change and that their physical intimacy was balanced with emotional intimacy. Although Cash was more willing to be vulnerable and intimate, leading to some conflict as Glenna struggled with this I felt.
The side characters were great and also complex. Glenna's father and Cash's family (including his biological and his best friend's adopted family) provided foils for our main characters while also being distinct characters on their own. The town as a whole acted as a sort of side character with how they were against Glenna and her father. I really didn't like Glenna's ex and I did think his part in the story played too large of a role, although her final interaction with him in the book was amazing. I was glad it came from her too, he deserved it and she earned it from putting up with him all those years.
The story ends with a HFN with an extended epilogue but it felt more like a HEA to me. It was a blend of funny and sweet and I had a big smile on my face when I closed my kindle.
July 14, 2023
Patreon read for July 2023
January 19, 2022
I know it's an ARC and that sometimes colours reviews but I really, really liked this book.
Dual POV.
It's a sort of bully romance without the malice and dark side.
He's so sweet, totally all about her.
He was around when the heroine was friends with his sister, Dina, but he takes pulling her pigtails to a whole new level.
Ex drama in form of ex boyfriend, not wanting her back just around in her life, they work together.
HEA.
Epilogue.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
Bit slow burn.
Dual POV.
It's a sort of bully romance without the malice and dark side.
He's so sweet, totally all about her.
He was around when the heroine was friends with his sister, Dina, but he takes pulling her pigtails to a whole new level.
Ex drama in form of ex boyfriend, not wanting her back just around in her life, they work together.
HEA.
Epilogue.
No intimate scenes other than the Hero and heroine.
Bit slow burn.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 4, 2022
If you would have told me a week ago that I would--- not tolerate, not like, but
obsess over
a hero that had ✨testicles hanging off his truck✨I would have laughed in your face.
But good lord, Cashel Wall had me swoonin' like no other. This book was over-the-top good. It had no right to be this good. It's been days and I'm still thinking about it 24/7. I didn't think it was possible for an author to recreate the unique feeling of a red-neck, back country small town, but not only did Cate Wells capture that feeling perfectly... but she went so far as to make it seem charming?
I know this is set in PA, but take away the mountain and it could have been my hometown in back woods East Texas. In fact, this could have been my life had I made some different choices. Unfortunately, I took too long to get rid of my version of "Toby." (Who, by the way, is everything you could ever hate about gas lighting, manipulative men who call themselves feminists). Ugh. Thinking about him makes my blood boil. But anyway.. Cate Wells makes me reminisce about everything I thought I hated in small towns. She's just that fantastic a writer.
Aside from my bone-deep obsession with Cash, I also fell in love with Glenna. Glenna made me feel seen in a way that was almost uncomfortable. I'm not accustomed to romance books giving me this level of self reflection, and it may just be that I am eerily similar to her character. Maybe she's universally relatable? I don't know. But even with her flaws, Glenna was loveable. She went through some massive transformations and really acknowledged her insecurities and shortcomings while simultaneously building herself up. It was special to read.
And Cash. Oh, Cash. He was deeply flawed, but he was also quick to accept his mistakes, a great listener, and just an all-around good guy. He wasn't perfect. He was almost too realistically imperfect in fact. But jeez he was great. And he was head-over-heels for Glenna.
I have zero negative notes about this book. Zero. Nada. None. It was so great, I had to create a new Goodreads list that I called "putting this on a pedestal." So, yeah, way more than 5/5 stars for this one.
But good lord, Cashel Wall had me swoonin' like no other. This book was over-the-top good. It had no right to be this good. It's been days and I'm still thinking about it 24/7. I didn't think it was possible for an author to recreate the unique feeling of a red-neck, back country small town, but not only did Cate Wells capture that feeling perfectly... but she went so far as to make it seem charming?
I know this is set in PA, but take away the mountain and it could have been my hometown in back woods East Texas. In fact, this could have been my life had I made some different choices. Unfortunately, I took too long to get rid of my version of "Toby." (Who, by the way, is everything you could ever hate about gas lighting, manipulative men who call themselves feminists). Ugh. Thinking about him makes my blood boil. But anyway.. Cate Wells makes me reminisce about everything I thought I hated in small towns. She's just that fantastic a writer.
Aside from my bone-deep obsession with Cash, I also fell in love with Glenna. Glenna made me feel seen in a way that was almost uncomfortable. I'm not accustomed to romance books giving me this level of self reflection, and it may just be that I am eerily similar to her character. Maybe she's universally relatable? I don't know. But even with her flaws, Glenna was loveable. She went through some massive transformations and really acknowledged her insecurities and shortcomings while simultaneously building herself up. It was special to read.
And Cash. Oh, Cash. He was deeply flawed, but he was also quick to accept his mistakes, a great listener, and just an all-around good guy. He wasn't perfect. He was almost too realistically imperfect in fact. But jeez he was great. And he was head-over-heels for Glenna.
I have zero negative notes about this book. Zero. Nada. None. It was so great, I had to create a new Goodreads list that I called "putting this on a pedestal." So, yeah, way more than 5/5 stars for this one.
June 30, 2022
An unsatisfying, disappointing combo of problematic and lacklustre. As with any CCW I couldn’t put it down, at least at first, and there were some rare moments that I lapped up, but overall I felt the emotional and narrative balance of the romance and the wider story was all wrong. Some elements of it were truly objectionable.
Cashel Wall has bullied Glenna *all her life*, and while she’s been alone, mourning the death of her mother and grandparents, he’s been living it up as one of the town’s favourite sons. He should have a long way to travel to convince her that he’s loved her from the start and ensure their HEA, right? There’s going to be some epic grovelling and making up for lost time, right? Wrong! Apparently the Wall family’s entitlement to everything in this world means Cash can be passed off as ‘an idiot’ and a bit immature, without ever having to pay the price of his mistakes. While Glenna does resist him and punish him briefly, she’s quickly willing to accept that Cash didn’t really mean anything by his behaviours. It was his messed up way of showing he cared, to get her attention. Probably, the book heavily implies, because he’s so manly (vomit) that he doesn’t know how to express himself in any other way than lashing out, making a joke of his feelings and being possessive. Which certainly makes for an easier book to write, but didn’t even slightly convince me that Glenna and Cash were on solid ground by the end. Glenna might not get bullied by Cash anymore but he’s still a bully - the moral of the story is apparently ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’ The final chapter, just before the HEA, ends with both Cash and Glenna physically assaulting the people who stand in the way of their happiness. He’s now her protector and she’s completely thrown off the chains of her previous (also abusive) relationship to have babies in the cabin he built with his bare man manly man hands. Hooray I guess?
Except no, not hooray. Boooooo. It just reinforces the power dynamics and injustices that it’s apparently working against! Both this book and the previous Stonecut story, Hitting a Wall, have an underlying social justice storyline about police corruption and violence. The Wall family, who own the town in a literal and social sense, are being exposed to the rotten underbelly of their assumptions, power and privilege. The Wall sons have to come to terms with how they’ve benefited at the expense of others before they find their happy endings. Or this is what should be happening, if it wasn’t so royally fudged in the execution. In this book we see the theme play out further when Glenna and her father, who runs the local newspaper, are blamed for the downfall of the beloved police chief Del Willis after they run an expose on him. They receive threats of violence, verbal abuse and boycotts of their other business, the coffee shop where Glenna works. It should be an opportunity for Cash - who is completely oblivious to how his golden boy life is facilitated by the systems of oppression that Del is exploiting - to wake up and take action. But just as with the bullying storyline, all we get are some weak tea teachable moments where Cash catches a glimpse of how the world really works. And then. Nothing. He ignores it. He doesn’t change; he doesn’t confront the people in his life (like his horrible parents) who perpetuate the harm; and his only response to the neighbours who threaten Glenna for exposing the truth is to punch them. In other words, everyone gets away with it and privilege prevails; privilege gets its own HEA, to go on just like before.
The ‘teachable moments’ are the two most objectionable scenes in the book. First, Cash is told a story about Del’s racist treatment of the sister of his best friend Brice Carroll, who we have to assume is Black, from the description of him as ‘darker complected’. (Why not just say Black rather than being euphemistic??) The Carrolls have been like a second family to Cash, giving him the warmth and love he’s missed at home (because, as aforementioned, his parents are TERRIBLE PEOPLE). He’s shocked by what happened and sorry in the moment, but it goes nowhere. The narrative tiptoes around the racism like it’s an embarrassment, like BLM and police violence aren’t huge wider issues, just in the same way it can’t come out and say that the Carrolls are Black. It’s almost like CCW wanted to slip it in for observant readers but didn’t want to be too blatant so that some readers could just ignore it. In this way the Carrolls are used to question Cash’s worldview but never acknowledged as agents in their own right - does this sound familiar? Black characters used to help the white guy see his own clear path in the story without getting any of their own justice? It all feeds into reinforcing rather than questioning Cash’s centrality in the world, and it remarginalises people of colour. Yuck.
The second objectionable moment belongs to Lil, Del’s terminally ill wife, who shows up at the climax of the narrative to demonstrate to the Stonecut community that she doesn’t hold a grudge against Glenna and her father. She acts as a ‘magical dying person’ to resolve the conflict, with her perception and wisdom of how brief life is and acceptance of justice. This allows the community to move on, passing off Del’s crimes as his individual choice with Lil as a primary victim, without having to acknowledge the systemic issues. Ta-da! Thanks but I hate it.
As in the previous book, it feels like CCW has bitten off more than she can chew here and ends up with a half-baked attempt at tackling big societal issues, that actually reinforces the value systems being questioned. And the bullying romance trope doesn’t deliver either, so it’s an unfortunate mess all round.
Cashel Wall has bullied Glenna *all her life*, and while she’s been alone, mourning the death of her mother and grandparents, he’s been living it up as one of the town’s favourite sons. He should have a long way to travel to convince her that he’s loved her from the start and ensure their HEA, right? There’s going to be some epic grovelling and making up for lost time, right? Wrong! Apparently the Wall family’s entitlement to everything in this world means Cash can be passed off as ‘an idiot’ and a bit immature, without ever having to pay the price of his mistakes. While Glenna does resist him and punish him briefly, she’s quickly willing to accept that Cash didn’t really mean anything by his behaviours. It was his messed up way of showing he cared, to get her attention. Probably, the book heavily implies, because he’s so manly (vomit) that he doesn’t know how to express himself in any other way than lashing out, making a joke of his feelings and being possessive. Which certainly makes for an easier book to write, but didn’t even slightly convince me that Glenna and Cash were on solid ground by the end. Glenna might not get bullied by Cash anymore but he’s still a bully - the moral of the story is apparently ‘if you can’t beat them, join them.’ The final chapter, just before the HEA, ends with both Cash and Glenna physically assaulting the people who stand in the way of their happiness. He’s now her protector and she’s completely thrown off the chains of her previous (also abusive) relationship to have babies in the cabin he built with his bare man manly man hands. Hooray I guess?
Except no, not hooray. Boooooo. It just reinforces the power dynamics and injustices that it’s apparently working against! Both this book and the previous Stonecut story, Hitting a Wall, have an underlying social justice storyline about police corruption and violence. The Wall family, who own the town in a literal and social sense, are being exposed to the rotten underbelly of their assumptions, power and privilege. The Wall sons have to come to terms with how they’ve benefited at the expense of others before they find their happy endings. Or this is what should be happening, if it wasn’t so royally fudged in the execution. In this book we see the theme play out further when Glenna and her father, who runs the local newspaper, are blamed for the downfall of the beloved police chief Del Willis after they run an expose on him. They receive threats of violence, verbal abuse and boycotts of their other business, the coffee shop where Glenna works. It should be an opportunity for Cash - who is completely oblivious to how his golden boy life is facilitated by the systems of oppression that Del is exploiting - to wake up and take action. But just as with the bullying storyline, all we get are some weak tea teachable moments where Cash catches a glimpse of how the world really works. And then. Nothing. He ignores it. He doesn’t change; he doesn’t confront the people in his life (like his horrible parents) who perpetuate the harm; and his only response to the neighbours who threaten Glenna for exposing the truth is to punch them. In other words, everyone gets away with it and privilege prevails; privilege gets its own HEA, to go on just like before.
The ‘teachable moments’ are the two most objectionable scenes in the book. First, Cash is told a story about Del’s racist treatment of the sister of his best friend Brice Carroll, who we have to assume is Black, from the description of him as ‘darker complected’. (Why not just say Black rather than being euphemistic??) The Carrolls have been like a second family to Cash, giving him the warmth and love he’s missed at home (because, as aforementioned, his parents are TERRIBLE PEOPLE). He’s shocked by what happened and sorry in the moment, but it goes nowhere. The narrative tiptoes around the racism like it’s an embarrassment, like BLM and police violence aren’t huge wider issues, just in the same way it can’t come out and say that the Carrolls are Black. It’s almost like CCW wanted to slip it in for observant readers but didn’t want to be too blatant so that some readers could just ignore it. In this way the Carrolls are used to question Cash’s worldview but never acknowledged as agents in their own right - does this sound familiar? Black characters used to help the white guy see his own clear path in the story without getting any of their own justice? It all feeds into reinforcing rather than questioning Cash’s centrality in the world, and it remarginalises people of colour. Yuck.
The second objectionable moment belongs to Lil, Del’s terminally ill wife, who shows up at the climax of the narrative to demonstrate to the Stonecut community that she doesn’t hold a grudge against Glenna and her father. She acts as a ‘magical dying person’ to resolve the conflict, with her perception and wisdom of how brief life is and acceptance of justice. This allows the community to move on, passing off Del’s crimes as his individual choice with Lil as a primary victim, without having to acknowledge the systemic issues. Ta-da! Thanks but I hate it.
As in the previous book, it feels like CCW has bitten off more than she can chew here and ends up with a half-baked attempt at tackling big societal issues, that actually reinforces the value systems being questioned. And the bullying romance trope doesn’t deliver either, so it’s an unfortunate mess all round.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2022
3.5 stars. IMO, this book is MUCH better than book 1 of this series.
Overall, I liked both of the MC’s, I enjoyed the storyline, and I still feel like this author is talented and has a great writing style.
However, there were a few parts that did make me roll my eyes a bit. The hero was definitely acting like a child with some of his antics towards the heroine. His bullying was mostly harmless but very immature. He absolutely acknowledged his immaturity and that lessened my irritation with his stupider moments.
Also, the heroine’s ex was too big a part of the story for me. I understood why she compared the hero to her ex frequently (she was with the idiot ex for 10 years) but it still became too much after a point. I wanted the ex out of the story much sooner than he was.
Finally, book 1 of this series ended without resolving some of the issues introduced. I expected the story to continue in this book. HOWEVER, It turned out that I missed a large part of this family’s story by skipping book 7 of her MC series called “Heavy”. That book featured this hero’s twin sister… and it wrapped up a storyline about the uncle who caused the majority of the problems in book 1 of this series. This book started out by just saying that the uncle was dead without explanation. It really confused me until I realized that there was a whole part of the family’s storyline I missed because I didn’t want to read “Heavy”. Idk why the author decided to do this, but it really seemed like a strange choice to intertwine these two series in this way.
I’m actually looking forward to some of the couples that were alluded to in this book. I do recommend this book, but not book 1 of this series… and I don’t think it makes the best standalone. 🥴🥴
Safe for the most part; MC’s have known each other since they were very young, hero liked the heroine but some things he said made her dislike him. He continued to have a thing for her without her knowing until the start of this book. Heroine was in a relationship with one man for 10 years, starting very young. Hero seemed to play the field quite a bit - not a lot of info about his hookups though. OM drama from the heroine’s ex boyfriend who broke up with her(he doesn’t want to get back together with her, but he does try to separate the MCs), OW drama from a friend of the hero, no scenes with OM/OW, no cheating.
Overall, I liked both of the MC’s, I enjoyed the storyline, and I still feel like this author is talented and has a great writing style.
However, there were a few parts that did make me roll my eyes a bit. The hero was definitely acting like a child with some of his antics towards the heroine. His bullying was mostly harmless but very immature. He absolutely acknowledged his immaturity and that lessened my irritation with his stupider moments.
Also, the heroine’s ex was too big a part of the story for me. I understood why she compared the hero to her ex frequently (she was with the idiot ex for 10 years) but it still became too much after a point. I wanted the ex out of the story much sooner than he was.
Finally, book 1 of this series ended without resolving some of the issues introduced. I expected the story to continue in this book. HOWEVER, It turned out that I missed a large part of this family’s story by skipping book 7 of her MC series called “Heavy”. That book featured this hero’s twin sister… and it wrapped up a storyline about the uncle who caused the majority of the problems in book 1 of this series. This book started out by just saying that the uncle was dead without explanation. It really confused me until I realized that there was a whole part of the family’s storyline I missed because I didn’t want to read “Heavy”. Idk why the author decided to do this, but it really seemed like a strange choice to intertwine these two series in this way.
I’m actually looking forward to some of the couples that were alluded to in this book. I do recommend this book, but not book 1 of this series… and I don’t think it makes the best standalone. 🥴🥴
Safe for the most part; MC’s have known each other since they were very young, hero liked the heroine but some things he said made her dislike him. He continued to have a thing for her without her knowing until the start of this book. Heroine was in a relationship with one man for 10 years, starting very young. Hero seemed to play the field quite a bit - not a lot of info about his hookups though. OM drama from the heroine’s ex boyfriend who broke up with her(he doesn’t want to get back together with her, but he does try to separate the MCs), OW drama from a friend of the hero, no scenes with OM/OW, no cheating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2022
Reread 2/25/2022
I didn’t review this initially as I couldn’t explain why the story worked for me.
I still can’t explain why. NA is not a sub genre I normally read, add in both characters are rather immature, I shouldn’t like this at all.
But from page one you realize this idiot (I mean that in the nicest of ways) has been in love with the girl since he was a boy and not to justify his bullying, for him in his not the brightest child way, is the only way he can think to get her attention.
She has spent years grieving the loss of her mother, and it’s rather sad the people around her couldn’t see that. She is over protective of her father for fear of losing him. She clung to a gaslighting boyfriend simply because he was there.
He convinces her to fake date in the hopes it will become real—and it does. And, somehow along the way, these two manage to fall in love and do some growing up along the way.
For those who haven’t read Heavy, Dina’s story really needs to be read between Hitting the Wall and this one. Heavy fills in the blanks of the overarching subplot and timeline.
4 you can’t help but root for the idiot stars.
I didn’t review this initially as I couldn’t explain why the story worked for me.
I still can’t explain why. NA is not a sub genre I normally read, add in both characters are rather immature, I shouldn’t like this at all.
But from page one you realize this idiot (I mean that in the nicest of ways) has been in love with the girl since he was a boy and not to justify his bullying, for him in his not the brightest child way, is the only way he can think to get her attention.
She has spent years grieving the loss of her mother, and it’s rather sad the people around her couldn’t see that. She is over protective of her father for fear of losing him. She clung to a gaslighting boyfriend simply because he was there.
He convinces her to fake date in the hopes it will become real—and it does. And, somehow along the way, these two manage to fall in love and do some growing up along the way.
For those who haven’t read Heavy, Dina’s story really needs to be read between Hitting the Wall and this one. Heavy fills in the blanks of the overarching subplot and timeline.
4 you can’t help but root for the idiot stars.
June 4, 2023
I love Cate C. Wells, I love how well she writes a good grovel, I love her heroes so much, and her heroines. She makes them so relatable and just so…right. I randomly picked up this book having no idea what it was about and it was amazing and so delightful. I’m not necessarily into bully romance, but this was brilliant. Not what you would expect, and with such great developments.
February 11, 2025
Annual Reread 2/11/25
Only Cate C Wells can make a camo wearing hero sexy. Sweet, hot slow burn.
Tropes
Bully
Small town
Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero
Himbo
CW: grief, mentions of cancer
Only Cate C Wells can make a camo wearing hero sexy. Sweet, hot slow burn.
Tropes
Bully
Small town
Grumpy heroine/sunshine hero
Himbo
CW: grief, mentions of cancer
December 31, 2022
This read isn’t for everybody and that’s okay. It’s a five star read for me. I’m not one to usually read bully romances, but this was a bully romance done right in my eyes. Cash Wall is an idiot, and he’s real open with that fact. He’s loud, obnoxious, talks out of his ass. He’s a hunter, a man that is building his home in the mountains with his own hands. He’s got truck nuts. He lives in camo. He’s emotionally stunted. But I love Cash Wall. He’s a fighter and protects what’s his. He’s been nursing a crush on Glenna since they were kids and messed with her just to get her attention. The way this man pines for Glenna… So good. He notices every little thing about her and wants her bad. And when he gets her oh lord that’s a man renewed. His entire being is focused on her; his whole life becomes her.
Glenna was an FMC that I really resonated with. She has gotten some real beat downs in life and her grief was raw and honest. She was in a toxic relationship for nearly a decade, and it was beautiful to watch her self esteem and confidence grow throughout the novel. She really wrestled with forgiving Cash for their past but when she did, they made so much sense together.
This was a bully romance: friends to enemies to lovers. The smut was perfect. So hot. Highly recommend if you’re willing to give Cash Wall a shot. I’m glad I did. Cash Wall weaseled his way into my heart and he’s there to stay.
Glenna was an FMC that I really resonated with. She has gotten some real beat downs in life and her grief was raw and honest. She was in a toxic relationship for nearly a decade, and it was beautiful to watch her self esteem and confidence grow throughout the novel. She really wrestled with forgiving Cash for their past but when she did, they made so much sense together.
This was a bully romance: friends to enemies to lovers. The smut was perfect. So hot. Highly recommend if you’re willing to give Cash Wall a shot. I’m glad I did. Cash Wall weaseled his way into my heart and he’s there to stay.
February 13, 2022
God- what a redneck Cash is. You had me at "truck nuts".
I wasn't sure how I would like Cash from the first few pages and seeing him thru Glenna's eyes, but man- sign me up for his honesty, vulnerability and pure devotion to Glenna. I love how she handled the "nuts" situation and even though there was a lot of baggage between them, she owned her own part in past hurts and they were able to move past and get their HEA.
I loved how Cash was self-made, motivated, unabashedly himself and undeniably sorry. It was a fun read and Cash will echo in my mind when I think of this story.
I wasn't sure how I would like Cash from the first few pages and seeing him thru Glenna's eyes, but man- sign me up for his honesty, vulnerability and pure devotion to Glenna. I love how she handled the "nuts" situation and even though there was a lot of baggage between them, she owned her own part in past hurts and they were able to move past and get their HEA.
I loved how Cash was self-made, motivated, unabashedly himself and undeniably sorry. It was a fun read and Cash will echo in my mind when I think of this story.
May 29, 2023
Reread: Love it so much. I want everyone else’s books.
Original Review:
This book made me so fucking happy. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. A bully who wasn’t intentionally a bully, a girl who was really going through it, fake dating, getting the girl of your dreams, and the exploration of how differently two people can see the same situation. I love this series so much. CW for a side character who is dying of cancer, a toxic ex boyfriend, and death of a parent in the past.
Original Review:
This book made me so fucking happy. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed it. A bully who wasn’t intentionally a bully, a girl who was really going through it, fake dating, getting the girl of your dreams, and the exploration of how differently two people can see the same situation. I love this series so much. CW for a side character who is dying of cancer, a toxic ex boyfriend, and death of a parent in the past.
August 16, 2022
What can I say that would do this book justice?
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