Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle Book Review
“This surly giant buttoned up in ten thousand buttons, who likes plants more than people, is going to paint his house pink because a woman he’s only known for a month mistakenly thought Falling Stars was supposed to be that color.”
(pg. 164)
About
Author: Sarah Hogle
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
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Synopsis
Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.
Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn’t the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who’s as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has very different vision for the property’s future.
Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley’s scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one’s comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To the shy lovers,
If You Deserve Each Other was a fit of angsty tension and chaos, Twice Shy was the exact opposite. Twice Shy was tender, sweet, and humble. Honestly, Twice Shy was such a stark contrast to the last Sarah Hogle book, I was thoroughly surprised, but in a good way; It shows the range of her storytelling.
With that being said, I enjoyed Twice Shy because it had a cozy and sweet vibe that I feel like is relaxing and easy to read when you want a quick and cozy read. I felt like they played house a in this book where else in the other one, they broke house 😂. Anyways, my enemies-to-lovers nature liked You Deserve Each Other a lot more because it was dramatic and funny and witty and a mess of a good time. That’s just my preference, but again Twice Shy had it’s good parts, but there were also things that I would have liked more of to make the story stronger.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
Maybell Parrish is a dreamer or a visionist. An enneagram four, if you will. She imagines hopeful dreams/fantasies that she wishes were her life because she’s not exactly a confrontational or upfront person. As Maybell said:
“Maybell Parrish doesn’t make waves. She doesn’t even make ripples.”
(pg. 11)
What a great way to describe me as well 😅. I don’t judge Maybell because I’m more of a passive, non-confrontational type and there are people like that; there’s nothing wrong with that. But like Maybell, I’m also a dreamer or a fantasizer.
“Slipping away into the dream version of my life is sometimes a conscious decision.”
(pg. 11)
I think it’s because we don’t stick up for what we want, that we imagine a better world where we are the best or superior version of ourselves—-a dream version of ourselves that we wish to be. When we are our dream self, our life naturally becomes better in this fantasy because we have the dream job, the dream house, the dream partner, and so on. To some extent, I believe people all fantasize about a dream or perfect life where they have it all. It’s not wrong, and it gives us a semblance of hope.
“The more anxious or stressed or lonely I am in reality, the less time I’m inclined to spend in it.”
(pg. 11)
I feel that 😅.
That’s why I read books 😂.
Maybell called her dream world the Alternate Universe (AU) where she owned a quaint diner with a jukebox and she would always be behind the counter, serving coffee to this tall, dirty blonde who walked in all the time. I mean, who has never dreamed of a dream man in some location in our fantasies? No judgement here. The guy’s name was Jack, and he was the highlight of her fantasies because he was the guy Gemma “set her up with.” In Maybell’s mind, she always saw this guy as jack.
I wondered though, why she dreamed of a diner and if that was her real passion because her real job sucked buckets. Maybell sounded like she got taken advantage of in her last job because she constantly had to clean up everyone’s messes at the hotel she worked at, which was messed up. She also got promoted as an event or creative planner and no one took her seriously. Instead, they made her clean bathrooms and vomit, which wasn’t in her job description anymore. I felt bad for Maybell because I understand what it’s like to not stand up for yourself because you’re not the type of person to ask for what you want. It’s hard when you are not used to it because it feels wrong to. I know whenever I get told to do something and it’s not what I want to do, sometimes I just do it because I feel obligated to and comply or I do something to please others. I’ve been working on it, but I just wanted to say that being a non-confrontational person is not bad, but to recognize when people are taking advantage of you and to know when to speak up in a way that’s comfortable to you.
Anyway, one of the people that took advantage over Maybell was Gemma. Gemma could suck my rat patootie because she was a shiz friend ✌🏼. No friend would blatantly and knowingly catfish you with some random dude’s pictures she took at a golf course just because she was jealous that said friend interacted with a guy that she barely even liked. That was sooooo messed up, I don’t even know where to start with that. I wanted to tell Maybell to drop Gemma as a friend because she didn’t need to kiss butt with her to get somewhere in life. Gemma also sounded like the type of person who got everything she wanted because her daddy bought it for her or got rid of it for her. We don’t love 🙃.
So when a lawyer came to Maybell and told her she inherited Falling Stars, the home of her passing Aunt (Violet), Maybell was like PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUT ✌🏼😂. I would have screamed hallelujah with her. I genuinely also wanted her to RAGE THE HOUSE DOWN—–SHAKE THE HOUSE DOWN BOOTS—-on her idiot bosses and Gemma. I wanted her to flip the bird and say I’m out of this sucker! Wouldn’t that have been freaking iconic??? She was thinking about it, but I knew she wasn’t going to do it, but I would have laughed if she did. She deserved to rage at all of them for disrespecting her and treating her like gum on the bottom of their shoes. You know, as a quieter person, I do get those fantasies of wanting to rage down on people in some moments 🙈. Not like a mean rage, but a you-should-have-treated-me-better rage because it just feels fitting when you’re walking out of a situation that brought you down for so long to just want to rage. I don’t know, please tell me I’m not the only one who ever thought of having a grand exit.
One of the things that I wanted to know more about was Falling Stars and the Aunt. Maybell would stay at Falling Stars with her Aunt when she was younger, and it was the one place Maybell felt at home. It was also this magical place that she thought was pink like a Barbie house. I would have loved to live in a pink house, and I think that’s how Maybell gained her imagination. With the Aunt, I wanted to know about their relationship and their fall out because it seemed that Maybell didn’t visit her Aunt over the years because of the rift between the Aunt and the parents. But I think it really does hurt a lot when someone possesses and you wish you could have spent more time with them or reached out sooner. We just never know, so if you have someone in your life who you haven’t spoken to in a while, I highly encourage you to reach out to them today, see how they are doing.
” . . . begging my heart to pick up any station other than the numb detachment I’ve been tuned to.”
(pg. 65)
I would have liked to see Maybell process losing her Aunt a bit more. I guess she never really knew her Aunt well except her hazy memory, but I think it was kind of quick for her to go into her Aunt’s house and take it over without processing her loss. I know when Maybell inherited the house and was cleaning it up, she went through the boxes and would try to keep all these things that her Aunt would have loved or would have wanted her to keep. I thought it was funny when she layered her Aunt’s clothes to prove a point that she would wear them. That must have been surreal to her though, to know that her Aunt loved her so much and remember her enough to leave her Falling Stars.
Kind of circling back to the parents, I wanted to know more about her upbringing and why she moved house to house. I wanted to understand more about her passive and escapist ideas because those don’t just come out of nowhere—-I would know. I feel like there could have been more said about the parents or more contact with the parents so we could understand that relationship and hurt.
” . .. my brain is in perpetual repair mode and wants desperately to believe the best in people.”
(pg. 60)
I also felt like if Maybell had this kind of belief that she thought the best in people, she probably gives people that advantage because she knew the worst in people, which circles back to the question about what her parents were like. What was she trying to repair? Past hurt? This thought also connects to her people pleasing nature because she had all these toxic or unhealthy people in her life, but I could understand how when you feel so alone, you gravitate or keep anyone in your life because being truly alone feels more lonely. I felt that way a lot in the past year without connecting with anyone. I was surrounded by not the healthiest environment and I didn’t have many people to talk to, so I talked to people who I knew were not healthy for me, but I felt so alone, I didn’t know who else to talk to. So it’s difficult when you feel alone and you want people in your life, but don’t have those people because you have a quieter disposition. Also, not to over analyze Maybell, but I felt like she was very apologetic because of past hurt where people always made her feel like it was her fault. She would apologize if someone else stepped on her toes.
“I’ve only ever wanted to be liked, and I’ve only ever wanted to be liked by absolutely everyone I come in contact with, however temporarily and inconsequentially. . . The essence of Maybell Parrish is painfully sensitive, and if you touched it, it would retract and try to surrender. For better or worse (and I’ve certainly tried to be anyone but myself), I am a wobbly white flag.”
(pg. 83)
Maybell also had a knack for hanging onto the sad moments, which I could understand too. When we don’t remember much about the past, oftentimes, our memory goes to the sad moments because those were the most transformative or traumatic, however you want to look at it. But I felt for Maybell because she didn’t seem to have many good memories with her parents and they didn’t seem like they cared for her. So, her feeling unloved was another reason why she was a people pleaser.
“It’s rough when you have a nature that begs you to avoid heartache at all costs but also makes you wear your heart on your sleeve.”
(pg. 62)
Maybell wanted to be loved, but a lot of times she got hurt when she did have people who loved her or thought she loved. So, she had a trusting nature, but also a very open one. It’s wild how the most caring and big-hearted people are the ones who get the most hurt with love.
“[My heart] has been dropped and broken a few too many times, held together with sheer, dumb, optimism, a few ribs, and maybe magic.”
(pg. 76)
Here’s the thing, I say all these things about Maybell because I am exactly like Maybell in many ways. Practically my whole life people called me shy, quiet, timid, sensitive—-all these things that I viewed so negatively. I always felt like something was wrong with me because I was shy or like people didn’t like me, so I did everything I could to fit in or make people like me—I let people step on my toes and apologize. It wasn’t even until last year when a professor told me that being shy wasn’t a bad thing that I truly felt like I have had the wrong perception based on what others made me feel. Nothing was wrong with me because I was shy; some people are just shy. They are quieter, they tend to think before they speak, they are great listeners, and all these amazing things that I never realized were amazing because I was so focused on everything I wasn’t to others. I wasn’t loud, confident, outgoing, talkative, or these idealized qualities that everyone hopes their child or person to be. I’m not loud, super confident, outgoing, or talkative. I can be around people who make me comfortable, but just because I’m shy doesn’t mean that’s all I am or that I should feel guilty for who I am. Also, being sensitive is not a bad thing. How wonderful it is to fully feel and understand the depth of human emotion to be sensitive to not only your feelings but others? I think that’s a beautiful thing and if more people were sensitive, we would have kinder people. Sensitivity is not just someone crying randomly or breaking down in a corner, it’s someone who is empathic and feels what someone else feels, and sometimes they take things personally because they feel the hurt others felt and it hurts them. That’s what it’s like being sensitive. Sure, are there extremes to being sensitive? Yea, like anything, but being sensitive—in tune with your emotions and sense—is beautiful.
And that took me twenty years to realize, all because a teacher saw me—truly saw me. I will never forget the insight she gifted me because it changed my life. I know I’m shy and I’m proud of it. I’m okay with it because that’s who I am. Some people are loud and that’s who they are. We shouldn’t have to change who we are to fit this mold of who people are because that’s the expectation. No. I am shy and that is okay. Maybell was shy and that was okay.
Wesley was shy, and that was okay.
Wesley, Wesley, Wesley, my shy little overthinking cupcake.
Wesley’s the epitome of looks like a cupcake and is a cupcake.
I have never met a character who was as shy as Wesley, and I loved it.
I have heard about different types of shy—-quiet shy and closed-off shy. Wesley gave off the closed-off shy vibes for sure because it seemed like he was angry or mean to Maybell, when he was just nervous and didn’t know how to react in an overwhelming social situation. I completely understand that. When I’m in a social situation, I do the opposite though, and I stick to myself and I process from the outside. Everyone has their way of handling a situation. Wesley also gave grumpy to sunshine vibes. I heard of this particular species 🤪 of character, but never read someone of the species before. Wesley was grumpy-sunshine, for sure—misunderstood grumpy sunshine.
Part of his grumpiness was because he also inherited half of Falling Stars from Maybell’s Aunt, so now he had to figure out how to live and communicate with Maybell, which was a lot for him. There was also the fact that the person in her fantasies, Jack, and the guy Gemma catfished her with was Wesley in the spitting form. I kind of saw that coming when we saw Wesley coming out of the gardening house he stayed in. I was like, this dude is going to be her dream guy. That must have been trippy for Maybell to see her dream come to life, but also awkward because she didn’t know how to coincide Jack and Wesley when they were entirely different people. Also, I would have felt even more apprehensive as Wesley if a random woman also inherited the house I thought I was getting and said random woman had a random photo of me on her phone. That’s not creepy at all.
I really liked that Wesley had this tender softness about him, though, because most men are expected to be these strong, all-knowing people when it should be more normalized that men can be vulnerable and soft and not be thought as feminine. We love vulnerable men 💛.
“Most of the time, I feel like I live all the way down inside of myself, deep, deep down, so far away from my voice that I hardly hear it and certainly nobody else ever does.”
(pg. 166)
When Wesley said that, I was like GOSH I felt that 💛.
Sometimes being shy, we tend to be more introspective and introverted. Sometimes that comes across as quiet because we’re thinking about what to say next, and that may come across as us not talking, when we’re just deep inside ourselves and our minds. When we are processing what to say, many times, people speak over us because the mistake us as just quiet and not wanting to talk, but that makes us discouraged from wanting to talk and our voice gets lost because we think no one cares to hear what we have to say. I don’t speak for everyone, but I know as a quieter person I get lost in my thoughts and responses and I never really say much during a conversation because I feel like no one wants to hear what I have to say or I just never have an opening to say anything so I don’t. I don’t know, when people continue to talk, it always feels like someone jumps in right away and I don’t get to say what I want and then I just don’t go saying anything. Wes and I run on the same wavelength I think. But we also had many differences, which helped me to understand his form of shyness.
“I get nervous about communicating with them because they don’t know me yet, and they don’t know the issues I have. I’m putting all my energy into trying to present myself as normal, which I get into my head about. Whether it’s real or not, I can’t stop imagining that they’re judging me. Which makes it worse. My mind goes blank, and I just can’t find the words. I freeze up. It’s mortifying when the words won’t come. It’s so much easier to pretend I have a personality where I don’t have any words for anyone, that I don’t care to, rather than not being able to find them.”
(pg. 289)
Wesley also took the words right out my mouth with this one. I knew—resonated—with exactly what he meant.
I get flustered when I speak to people too because I get in my head about “What are they thinking about me?” “Do I have something in my teeth?” “Do I smell?” I can draw a blank too and it’s hard to get out of it because I think that if I don’t say something right away, they’re only judging me more. Unlike Wesley, I don’t pretend to not care to find words, I probably find a one-worded answer or I say nothing. But it’s so hard to know what to say and feel comfortable saying it. It’s just talking to some people, but to people like me, it’s something we’re not used to and the unfamiliar makes us nervous. I just wanted to hug Wesley or something because gosh, I get it.
As much as I understood Wesley’s reserved nature towards Maybell, I did think he came across kind of mean in a real way. They were very petty with how they separated the house. I mean, one person had upstairs and the other had downstairs? How was that going to work in the long run???? And don’t even get me started on how Wesley, sweet, humble Wesley wanted to open a farm on Violet’s property and Maybell wanted to open a hotel. I’m sorry, I didn’t see how her hotel could be just half a building 😂. You know, I said it in my notes when they mentioned their ideas for Violet’s house, but they should have just compromised like, I don’t know, mature adults, and opened a farm hotel or something?????!! Like they didn’t think of that at ALL until the end????? Gosh. They really were focused on peezing each other off. For a good portion of the book, they felt like two petulant kids trying to pull each other’s hair on the playground. When Wesley had a big piece of furniture to move, Maybell just watched and vice versa. Also, the whole thing with using the dumbwaiter to send notes was petty but funny. We love petty. I get that Wesley sent notes at first because he probably didn’t know how to communicate with her, but it was funny how it became an actual thing between them and how comfortable they were sending notes.
I laughed at the whole Magic Eraser debacle. Wesley lied about having Magic Erasers so she had to use wipes. PETTY. Or when they yelled at each other to send each other the links to the cleaning materials. I was laughing. My cousin told me she would send me a link to her Christmas present. She’s ten 😂.
When they opened up to each other, I felt like they could understand each other more, which built their relationship.
“And all along, you were just out here. Being. you. And I was over there, not even knowing.”
(pg. 257)
I just think it’s kind of wild how we can assume so much about people by maybe a first impression, but we never really know why a person is the way they are. I think of that image of how when you meet someone, you’re a dot on the timeline of where they are now, but there is a time before and after. We don’t know the before or after, and Maybell didn’t know Wesley before to understand why he was angry or a bit cranky to her. He was just being himself because that was his comfort. The more we know people or try to understand them, the better we can connect with someone to how they are comfortable with.
“Wesley just might be the most anxious, most relationship shy person I’ve ever met, but here he is putting himself out there anyway. Maybe it’s my turn to be brave.”
(pg. 234)
I started to like how their relationship blossomed. I didn’t love their relationship, but they sure had cute moments. I liked that he was a grump with manners and let Maybell take his bed in the House Keeper house because he didn’t want Maybell sleeping in the creepy mansion or her car. So, at least Wesley had the kindness to do that. I do think it was an invasion of his privacy to look at his art and go to his cubby closet at the top of the House Keeper house. Because she invaded his personal space, she told him about his AU, and I loved how he didn’t make her feel crazy or weird for having this alternate world. I would have also felt awkward telling the guy who was the guy I dreamed about that he was the guy I dreamed about—-the whole Jack was Wesley thing. That was aka-awkward but a funny joke later on. I actually loved that when she talked about the AU, he took the time to draw it—bring it to life—because he wanted to know all the details of it.
One of my favorite parts of the whole book was when he took Maybell on a date. It was actually really sweet. Who knew Wesley the grumpy-sunshine could be romantic? He created this cute little oasis diner in the greenhouse room Maybell promised him. I KNEW that when he asked her for all these descriptions about her dream diner, that he was up to something. But the fact that he brought her dream to life . . . 🥺💛. That was literally the sweetest thing ever. And I loved how he had a DIY moment with the clouds and everything. He really put in the effort, and I loved that. It was also super endearing how he gave up his room for something she loved, which made me think about how he must have liked her pretty early on if he knew that was what he wanted his Greenhouse room to be. Unless he thought about changing the room after he heard about her dream diner.
“I wanted to bring your happiness to life.”
(pg. 257)
HOW CUTE 🥺💛!!!
Where can I find a Wesley? Darn.
Honestly, get you someone who makes your literal dreams come true. And who wants you to be happy.
They also had some cute moments doing that whole list Violet left them. I knew they also had to do the list because why would there be a list if we weren’t doing it?! I thought the list would span the whole book, and it kind of did, but with other things interspersed between. I thought it was randomly funny that they hiked in the woods to find treasure like a bunch of kids on a pirate hunt. I also could not believe that they freaking played hide and seek in the mansion 🤪. I mean, adults can play hide and seek, but it was just funny because I don’t see it or read about it everyday. I felt like they played a lot of kiddy games in this book, and some of it was awkward, but it also was sort of cute. I liked how they baked together because we love a romantic baking scene.
I also really liked their whole mural joke they had going on. One of Violet’s wishes was that Maybell painted a mural in the ballroom, so Maybell painted this entire ocean-island mural. Wesley was more of the artist though, and he kept giving Maybell pointers at first about what to add. But then it became a running joke or thing they did where they added more to the mural or to what the other painted previously. I thought that was super cute because it reminded me of the game where people sit in a circle and say one word and create a story together, sort of like an ad lib but with art. I liked how they really got into it, and you could see Wesley warming up to Maybell. It was cute when he started to be sarcastic and have some sense of humor because I’m the same way where I’m slow to warm up when joking with someone. I don’t know, it feels like joking is reserved for people who I know or who get me and if I joke at first, I don’t want to offend anyone. It was also cute when he tried to scare her because gosh his personality was showing. But it also meant he was comfortable around Maybell because she didn’t make him feel weird for being socially awkward.
I think when you open up to people and they make you feel more welcome, it invites you into being your most authentic self. And I could see that with Wesley; what a beautiful thing to see him blossom before our eyes.
Also, for someone who was socially awkward, he had some pretty bomb lines. He should be a writer or a poet because gosh darn.
“I’m not that strong at all . . . but for you, I can be strong enough.”
(pg. 208)
He spit some hard fire truth with that one! I loved what he said though because sometimes we aren’t strong, but we can be strong enough. It’s the enough that I loved because all we can ever do is do our best and be enough for ourselves. Also, enough gives the wiggle room that you don’t have to be completely strong, but enough for what you are comfortable with.
“You say being close is a bad idea, but then you go and fall onto me.”
(pg. 225)
I mean, that was a BANGER 🤪. He said, let me say what I feel.
You know, I have to say, people who don’t say much, have the best things to say a lot of the time.
I would know.
They also had some really spicy moments. I loved how awkward and fresh their romance felt because it was true to who they were. They had tentative and sweet kisses. Gosh, when Wesley took off Maybell’s glasses when it was raining and they were going to kiss in the car, I was like WHAT A SWEETHEART!!! He not only took off her glasses, but cleaned them and then they kissed later on??? He probably thought to himself, well she should see this kiss 😂. I’m joking. But his tenderness with the glasses was unmatched. We love. I also loved how Wes was such a good sport when Maybell started talking about her fantasies with Jack again, and he tried to make the fantasy come true. I mean, I never knew Wesley also had this ravenous, flirty, fore-play side. It was so cute to see. Also, kind of hot for him because of his shy nature, so taking control like that was so cool for him. Good for our little cupcake grump. He’s such a good guy.
You know what else was so endearing about Wesley, our sweet Wesley? The fact that this was his first time doing it with a woman and how nervous he was. There’s a lot of pressure on men to know what to do during sex or for having done sex already, but again, we need to normalize that it’s perfectly okay for a guy to not know it all. I liked that Wesley didn’t know it all because that was so Wesley, he took things slow and he was still gentle. He was not less of a man because hadn’t had sex before, I think it was sweet that he wanted to share something special with someone special. I loved how Maybell also made him feel comfortable and less awkward about this being his first time. Humor does do wonders to dispel awkwardness. I FREAKING CACKLED THOUGH when Maybell was like:
“Teamwork makes the dream work.”
(pg. 267)
LITERALLY 😂. I was in HYSTERICS.
They were definitely brining this dream alive. Dreams do come true 🤪.
I’m so sorry, okay, okay, I’m done with the dream puns for now.
The ending was cute for what happened. Wesley and Maybell made promises to each other, one of which was that Maybell would go back to her old job and quit the way she wanted to.
“I am here to tell you that you hurt me. And that it wasn’t okay . . . You were supposed to be my friend. But you tricked me, played with my feelings, and after the truth came out, my hurt feelings still came second to yours. . . You wanted me to forgive you because you didn’t have to feel guilty anymore.”
(pg. 274-5)
That wasn’t the Rage ending Maybell envisioned, but I think being upfront with how Gemma hurt her was the ending she needed—-wants versus needs. It takes a lot to tell someone that they hurt you because it’s an uncomfortable conversation to hurt someone. The way Maybell went about the conversation was mature because she told Gemma how she felt, and we should tell people if they hurt us because it’s not okay. They will think they can continue to do or say things that aren’t okay. Gemma tried to cover up her meanness and fakeness with empty acts, but I do agree that just because you do nice things, it doesn’t cover up the meanness or hurt someone feels. I also liked what Maybell said about forgiveness because forgiveness isn’t something we do for others, it’s what we do for ourselves. But most times, we can feel obligated to forgive others because we don’t want them to feel bad. They should feel bad if they did something wrong, and you have every right to feel bad too because they hurt you. You are not obligated to ease someone’s hurt they caused you. But you can say your piece to protect your peace and move on. That’s what Maybell did, and that was so much better than rage quitting.
I also highly admired how Maybell finally appreciated herself for her.
“At thirty years old, I am finally accepting that I am simply nobody else but myself. I will always only be me. A little bit naïve, a lot idealistic. In the regard of many, understated to the point of forgettable, and easy prey because my heart is so large a taste. But those who deserve to be in my circle will like me as I am, and will create me the way I deserve to be treated.”
(pg. 277)
Ex-FREAKING-actly 👏🏼!!!!!!!
This is what I talked about earlier with my teacher story, but there comes a point where I feel like we all learn to accept ourselves because we know that that’s who we are. There is nothing wrong with who we are because everyone has different personalities that have shaped them, so we shouldn’t compare ourselves to anyone else because my baggage is different from their baggage so the way I carry myself is different. But you know what? The way I carry my baggage, the way we all carry our baggage, is beautiful. It’s amazing. It’s a feat. Be proud of who you are and how you carry yourself each day.
Also, surround yourself with people who love you and appreciate you and ACCEPT you for you. No less. Because I have spent so long like Maybell with people who have taken advantage of me or who haven’t treated me the best because I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, and that made me gosh darn miserable. Be alone rather than be with people who make you feel unaccepted, unloved, or unappreciated. It’s like that quote, be alone rather than with people who make you feel lonely. Because it’s miserable. Being with people who also make you feel bad for who you are is the worst—the actual worst. You question yourself, you compare, and then you start to get so down on yourself because you feel like you’re not good enough compared to someone else. It’s not healthy, and it’s not healthy that they made you feel like you had to change to be loved or accepted. There are people out there, trust me, that will love and accept you for you. Don’t stay with the first group of people or the first people you meet because you feel alone or you want to fit in. Do not. Stay with them only if they value every part of who you are. Trust me.
“Tell me everything that’s wrong with you. Give me your worst.”
(pg. 288)
When Maybell said this to Wesley on the plane to ease his nerves, I couldn’t help but love it. When you want to know the worst about someone, or what they think is the worst part about them, that just means someone sees you and wants to love you for your good and not-so-good. We all have not-so-good qualities, but it doesn’t make us unloveable.
“It’s just the way I am. I think that you are going to give up on me. that you are going to want someone easier.”
(pg. 289)
Wesley’s promise he made was to visit the Loch Ness monster because that was his dream. He wanted to draw and find the Loch Ness monster, and he also believed in things that people might not always see, which I completely agree. I believe in Atlantis, mermaids, the Loch Ness monster, and other things. I mean, who’s to say? Part of the promise is going to fly to where the Loch Ness monster is. I liked how Maybell supported Wesley in the airport because you could just feel how overwhelmed he was with all these people and being on a plane. I haven’t been on a plane for a decade, I don’t know how I would feel.
People who love you, know when you need the most love 💛.
What got me was when Wesley walked off the plane before take off. I was like BRO. You just left Maybell on a plane to see the Loch Ness monster by herself 😂. This was his dream, not hers!!!! I understood he was anxious about being on a plane, and he needed to get off to do what was right for him. At the same time, he just left her. She was flying all the way across the country to see a monster he wanted to see, he pretty much abandoned her in my eyes. I would have felt abandoned. I give Maybell credit for not being as angry as most people would have ben, I also respected that she still went to look for the Loch Ness in honor of Wesley. When Maybell was looking for the Loch Ness, she said something that was such a contrast to who Maybell was when we met her.
“Life is starting to look less like going with the flow and more like steering the boat.”
(pg. 294)
She still wasn’t making waves, but she had more control in her life.
She stood up for herself, she had a new home, she had a job she was passionate about, she found a sweet man, she loved herself. I was proud of how far she had come 💛.
But when Wesley showed up, I wanted to scream!!! He braved a plane to be with her because he knew he left her!!! He had the note Maybell wrote for him on the plane that said Maybell Parrish loved him, and that’s what got him through the plane ride. I could just imagine him shaking in his seat, but clutching the note like a life preserver. He was trying to be brave enough and I loved that for him.
Freak, my heart swelled when Wesley tied her shoes.
Forget a glass slipper moment, someone tie my shoes 😂.
They really did have al to of good moments.
“I can say no to a lot of things, but not to special experiences with you. I’ve decided that’s the line I’m drawing for myself.”
(pg. 298)
I really loved that because he kept trying to show up and be there for her in the ways he could, and I think that’s more than enough. He was trying. He was doing great, sweetie 🤪. In all seriousness, though, it showed how much he loved her and how comfortable he was to be his true self with her. You know what they say, true love can bring out the best in you.
Overall, again, there were many sweet and endearing moments. Also there were many things I could relate to with Wesley and Maybell because they were both shy in their own way. I liked that though. To be honest, I was drawn to this book because I am a shy person, so it was nice to see two characters whose personality was more like me; most characters are outgoing or snarky, and I’m not always that way.
However, there were some things I did want to talk about that were not my favorite. That’s not to say I didn’t like the writing or the book, but just you know, some things. First, the beginning half of the book felt a bit slow with Wesley and Maybell barely talking and just playing Fixer Upper. Then it felt like they were a bit like children in spending all this time being petty with their arguing and then playing childhood games, again no judgment, but what were they doing? They had one good date and a few conversations. To be honest, I’m not sure if I buy their relationship completely because they were two people in close proximity to each other all of a sudden, it’s hard not to fall in love with someone who you’re near or with everyday. I also would have liked to know more about Maybell’s family and her upbringing to understand her passiveness or her shyness. The same with Wesley, I wanted to know more about his upbringing or his life before being a Housekeeper to understand why he was shy. I knew he was shy, but why? What happened to his brothers and who were they? Wesley talked about his brothers, but why was he distant from them and his family? What’s the story there?
Also, I would have liked more characters than just two people and Gemma. That’s just a personal preference because we only knew Wesley and Maybell from their interactions with each other. I kind of wondered what they would be like if they had friends. I also missed the interaction of other people. Imagine if we had a funny housekeeper or a cool maintenance guy or someone to add something else to the story. Also, the dream sequences felt somewhat confusing, more so in the beginning because I wasn’t sure what was going on because it felt like we were in a dream, but I wasn’t sure. Also, there were times we slipped into Au with Maybell, which was fine, but I would have liked more scenes rooted in the moment.
The ending was cute, if not random with no real resolution. This sounds kind of harsh, but I don’t mean this in a mean way, but there was no real conflict or drama or any much going on in the book. Maybell and Wesley just made house, played games, had a date, talked about their feelings, grew into themselves, and flew to the UK. I wanted drama, I wanted conflict, I wanted a more filling ending than them flying to the UK to find the Loch Ness monster because what the heck 😅. I don’t know, it just wasn’t the ending I was looking for. The story just didn’t go anywhere, and I wanted to go on a journey. We had a self-growth journey, which was great, but plot wise? Kind of stable. I wanted to be over the moon or in a well with my emotions. I also wanted to know what was next for them with the estate. I knew they reopened as a farm hotel and they honored Violet and Victor’s love and history, but I wanted to know how they would work out the estate? Was someone going to buy the estate out and give the other the estate because they wanted to have a joint share or . . . ? Or what? I don’t know. They were too busy looking for the Loch Ness to notice.
I liked Violet and Victor’s story, I must say. I thought it was super cute that they carved each other’s initials on a tree and that Victor created this whole treasure hunt for Violet to find and keep their love alive; it highlighted their love for all these years and beyond. It was supposed to be their new adventure. I loved that. We love true love 💛.
I also thought the book would be about more writing and notes because of the cover, but we did have cute note moments. I just wanted more from the story and characters. Again, not a bad story.
But if there’s one thing I want to leave this blog post on, it’s a good note 😉 (see what I did there).
But . . .
“Somebody out there cares. Somebody out there loves me, every part of me. Everything.”
(pg. 291)
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part?
What did you think of the book? Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
What was your favorite childhood game to play?
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.
And as always, with love,
Rating
3.67 Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: Wesley needs to protected at all costs 👏🏼
Writing: Sarah Hogle set the calm and cozy mood for a light read.
Plot: A very homey, cozy, nostalgic feel, but I would have liked the story to have gone somewhere with more conflict or drama.
Romance: I love Wesley and Maybell and they way they made each other feel comfortable and accepted, but did they love each other because of proximity or true love?