Book Review:
Claire has always been a normal, low-maintenance, nice girl. To Claire, those are her best qualities. She is easygoing and always rolls with the punches in life. Those who love her also constantly take advantage of and mistreat her. Claire suddenly finds her life spiraling in a tailspin. She finds a letter in her hot husband’s sock drawer, and it appears he has a secret love child. She always knew his being in love with her was too good to be true. Claire is freaking out and needs to get away. After checking herself into the expensive hotel in town that she can’t afford, she finds herself at the center of a series of unfortunate and unbelievable events. The hysterical tale that ensues is laugh-out-loud funny.
Cruel to Be Kind was a delightful read. This book spoke to me on so many levels. I found Claire’s character to be very realistic and relatable. The raw emotions pour off the pages. I felt what Claire was feeling. It evoked feelings of anger, sadness, grief, nostalgia, regret, self-awareness, love, and forgiveness. Olivia Jacques handled even the most delicate topics with sensitivity and care. This story made me laugh, and it made me cry.
The first two chapters were a jumbled mess of Claire’s rambling and chaotic mind. They were a little difficult to get through. It was hard to determine what direction the story was going in. The writing evened out and grew into an engrossing story. It sucked me in. Without the deep look into Claire’s mental state, the reader would miss a huge part of the story. Her state of mind needed to be revealed before the story could develop. The story progresses into sweet looks back at the past, alternating with the tale of the current crazy situation Claire finds herself in. We see Claire working toward healing from things that happened in the past. She is determined to change her life. Claire transforms from a pushover who puts everyone before herself to a woman who knows her worth and demands her due. She stops taking abuse from the selfish people around her. Watching Claire and Adam navigate the trials and tribulations of family life and marriage was heartbreaking and realistic. It hit very close to home. The conclusion was the perfect ending for Claire’s story. I am very excited that this is a series debut. I cannot wait to meet up with the crazy, dysfunctional Madison/Mason family and all the other wonderful characters again. This was a 5-star read for me! Olivia Jacques nailed it!
A special thank you to Booksprout and the author, Olivia Jacques, for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Okay, so I’m spinning.
Being nice has always been my superpower. I’m a Basic Normal in a big family full of even bigger personalities and nice is like, my thing.
And the point is, it works. Or it did until today. I had it all, from the cute house to the super hot husband to the fun job. Life was blissfully drama-free.
Was. Past tense.
Nice just … isn’t cutting it anymore.
Everything’s falling apart! My perfect husband’s got a love child (still having trouble believing this, tbh, but it sure seems like it), which means I’m probably going to end up homeless, so I’m staying at a fancy hotel I can’t afford, and I’m pretty sure my Russian esthetician just tried to recruit me into a cult.
Oh man. What is happening?
Cruel to be Kind is a laugh-out-loud, heartwarming romcom with a relatable good-girl-who’s-not-gonna-take-it-anymore main character, a cinnamon roll-to-grumpy-to-sunshine hero (which is he, really?) and a missing wedding ring that was most-likely stolen by a facialist named Hagatha (we think). Expect plenty of chemistry and a wacky good-time from this closed-door romance. And spoiler alert: It comes with no actual cheating and an HEA guarantee!