small town librarian meets sheriff when a baby is left abandoned in the bathroom of the library. as they work together to solve the mystery (along with other various crimes committed in town), they, of course, fall for each other.

there’s not too much to say about this one- it was cute, but wasn’t really unique. was kinda expecting more from such a prominent YA author, but I’ll give her extra points for a baylor shoutout :)

thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for the e-arc!

A children's librarian and a sheriff living on a tourist-heavy Florida key come together after someone abandons a baby in the library bathroom. Romance ensues, aided with pie.

This was the fluff I needed on a difficult Friday, but it isn't quite as satisfying as it could be because there isn't enough conflict! The fights the two characters were rather unbelievable, but their chemistry was solid... unfortunately the mystery to solve wasn't strong enough to make up for the easy romance. I liked the setting of a renamed Key West, because that would be an interesting place to be a public librarian.

Meg Cabot remains one of my favorite authors, I will pick up anything from her and recommend them to everyone. "No Offense" is a lighthearted read with plenty of librarian love. I felt a kinship to the crazy debacles Molly found herself in, and I loved the relationship between John and his daughter. The snappettes were also one of my favorite storylines (along with Elijah). This is an easy read that takes very little brainpower, and I mean that it the best possible way because THESE QUIRKY CHARACTERS. Honorable Mention: Molly's room with the piles and piles of books...ON POINT.

Give me more Little Bridge Island, PLEASE!

This is a perfectly fine, cute, quick read. The chemistry between Molly and John is primarily driven by stereotypes of their professions (i.e., the quirky, nosy librarian and the gruff, protective sheriff), but it wasn't necessarily off-putting. I enjoyed the town in which this was set; Cabot does a nice job incorporating fun side-characters.

Molly, the new children’s librarian, finds a baby abandoned in the library. When the sheriff arrives, their relationships sparks. Although Molly and John are attracted to each other, they seem to constantly disagree. As a librarian who reads cozy mysteries, I thought I would love this. It’s okay, but I didn’t love it. I think Molly tries too hard to have people like her (except the sheriff) rather than doing her job.

Cabot creates the most intriguing characters and the main character in this one is a children's librarian, so, of course, this librarian had to read it! Did I mention that its set in the Florida Keys there's also a hot, single-Dad Sheriff in town? You know she's going to be checking him out! (sorry, librarian humor, can't help myself). Add in a small town full of well-meaning, albeit nosey residents, an abandoned newborn, and an upcoming mother-daughter dance that's about to have a major change in the lineup, and you have a hilarious and heartfelt romance that will delight readers. I couldn't put this one down!

A small town romance between a librarian and a sheriff. This was a cute read. Some laughable moments and a little mystery thrown in. It took me a little to get into it but once I did I enjoyed it fully.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a advanced copy of this book for my voluntary review. All thoughts and opinions are those of my own.**

Following a difficult breakup, Molly moves from her hometown of Denver to Little Bridge Island for a job as the new Children's Librarian. Everything is going smoothly in Molly's new life, until a newborn baby is found abandoned is the bathroom of the library. When the town's Sheriff shows up to investigate the crime, things start get heated, quickly. As the investigation intensifies, Molly finds herself torn between her desire and her believes.

I always get excited about rom-coms, especially Meg Cabot books! I loved her previous novel and No Offense was equally as cute and catchy. The characters were fun and enjoyable to get to know and the plot was entertaining. I don’t think it was a super memorable book but I had fun while reading it and definitely would recommend it for a solid weekend beach read. Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for a review copy.

Competent beach read for an afternoon. Perfect for fans of Nora Roberts. It is a pretty predictable story and the characters are stock images of their profession. It is was fine.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am really enjoying this new series set on a Key West-style small island—seeing characters come and go and make cameos is a delight. This latest installment is frothy and fun and light, and watching these characters fall in love despite initial misunderstandings was the perfect HEA story.

Librarian Molly Montgomery and Sheriff John Hartwell are both recent transplants to the island community of Little Bridge following relationship implosions. But despite the town’s small size, their paths haven’t crossed before a newborn baby is abandoned in a restroom stall at the library, and the police come to investigate.

This is your classic attraction-at-first-sight romance novel with a cute set-up and characters that all fall somewhere on the spectrum from sweet to quirky. One of the strength is definitely Cabot’s skill in painting the town’s inhabitants with a colorful brush. Unfortunately, neither the relationship nor the plot’s driving drama (a series of non-violent home break-ins that may be related to the abandoned baby) has much of a hook for me. While there was nothing objectionable about the book, there was also little to keep me from wandering away and picking up something else.
NO OFFENSE contains moments of humor and could be the light-hearted summer read you’re looking for—especially if you’re vacationing on an island, or love the cop/librarian pairings. But it wasn’t quite what I was after in a romance right now.

No Offense is the second book in the Little Bridge Island series. The writing is light and predictable. I had high hopes since it was about a librarian and it sounded so cute, but she was very self righteous and not at all pleasant. For me, this book fell flat. The romance was almost non-existent. There was very little spark between the characters. This book just didn't do it for me.

An adorable book in a wonderful series. I loved Meg Cabot’s first book, “no judgements” so I was looking forward to the second in this series. I was not let don’t! It was easy and breezy and the perfect covid beach read. I hope she continues this series a further!

Meg Cabot once again impresses with her newest book "No Offense." As a librarian, I enjoyed reading her take on how libraries work and fell in love with Little Bridge again.

Meg Cabot has written another great book!

Molly Montgomery is the new children's librarian at Little Bridge Island Public Library, and she's quite content leading children's programming and watching her true crime shows. That is, until the crime is brought to her when she finds an abandoned newborn in the library's bathroom. Enter John Hartwell, the island's tall, handsome, and tidy Sheriff. As a single father, John doesn't have time for romance until Molly arrives on the scene. Now John must wrestle with his feelings for Molly, all while solving a crime that's years in the making.

This is a review of the advanced reader copy of No Offense by Meg Cabot. I was given an e-book copy from NetGalley for my honest review:

After breaking up with her ex-fiance, Molly Montgomery moves to the Florida Keys to become the head children’s librarian. Molly loves her job and community. So when she finds an abandoned baby in the library, she is invested in the mystery of who the parents are.

When Sheriff John Hartwell (a divorced single dad) shows up to investigate, sparks fly as the pair bump heads over the case and discover a powerful attraction to each other.

What I loved about this book was a strong community feel. While the town has its issues with crime and lots of gossip, Meg Cabot describes a welcoming and caring community. I thought John and his daughters’ relationship was a bunch of wholesome goodness with a cherry on top.

I loved the bookish vibe. Molly and all the primary characters have a love of books and a reverence towards the library. I appreciated how Molly describes the library as a safe place for various community members such as the homeless community.

Molly is passionate about the library being a haven. As a result, she questions John on his approach to finding the girl’s mom. She also subtly calls in to question policing culture around the treatment of oppressed people like the mentally ill. With the police brutality protests in mind, I enjoyed this part of Molly’s characterization. With that said, there is an element of romanticizing the police, especially since a principal character is an officer. For people not in the mood for police stories during the current climate, they might want to pass on this novel for the time being. This isn’t a criticism of the book for me since its description stated that one of the lead characters is a cop. So, I was prepared to separate fictional cop story from the reality of policing culture.

There were a few things that could have been better. The romance felt rushed. There wasn’t enough of a build-up with John and Molly’s romance. The “mystery” elements sidetracked the romance. If the book was longer, with the readers getting to see John and Molly spend more time together, separate from the crime subplot, this would have better romance novel with a cool mystery angle.

This is a sweet story with a happy ending. Even the crime somehow wasn’t too dark. But since I didn’t completely buy into the romance, I am giving No Offense by Meg Cabot a 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. I recommend this to those looking for a light, feel-delightful story with a bookish theme.

Author Meg Cabot is most famous for the Princess Diaries series. Last year Cabot started a new series, the Little Bridge Island series. The first in the series, No Judgements, received moderate reviews averaging between 3 and 4 stars.

The next installment, No Offense, returns to the beautiful Florida Keys backdrop that is Little Bridge Island. This time, a newcomer enters the picture. Molly Montgomery, a transplant from the mountains of Colorado, is the new Little Bridge Island Public Library's head of the children's department. A dream job for Molly, she is eagerly settling in and find a place for herself within the islands inhabitants. Just as things start to normalize her world is turned upside down by an abandoned newborn she finds in the restroom and the handsome Sheriff that comes to investigate the discovery.

Molly and Sheriff John Hartwell get off on a rough start after the abandoned baby incident. And they seem to remain at odds moving forward. Does that mean Molly has set herself as an outsider by alienating the Sheriff? Or is there something else happening between them that has them butting heads?

No Offense explores the intimacies of a small town while also exploring the even closer knit circle of those in a small island town where tourists are constantly in circulation. Cabot creates the perfect setting and plot for a beach read: a beautiful setting, classic characters, a budding romance that takes its time with no shortage of slip ups, and a few quirky side characters that help nudge things into place along the way.

No Offense is the perfect guilty pleasure read. This book may be part of a series but it reads as a standalone novel. This book is best enjoyed with sunshine, witty humor, and a tall glass of sweet tea.

I adore this series: it’s fun, surprisingly deep with a summery island feel, full of friendship, beaches, laughter and small-town hiccups. In this story we are meeting newcomer and children’s librarian Molly. After leaving Denver for Little Bridge, she was excited for a new start – she just didn’t expect it to be quite so ‘adventurous. Finding a newborn infant in the bathroom at the library while trying to wrangle a library full of cookie-decorating children, their parents and a teenaged boy who is doing everything to impress – it's not quite the best day. And then she meets the Sherriff. John has returned to Little Bridge after years away and a divorce- and leaving Miami and homicide for a quieter life on the island is better for him and his teen daughter Katie.

Instant sparks between Molly and John set off the inner voices, and lead to plenty of moments where emotions and old insecurities are first to come forward in their conversations. Aside from the mystery newborn, the mother is a question, and there is the matter of the consistent and random break ins. Of course, Molly is instantly siding with the mother and the child, and wanting John to leave his ‘investigator’ side in the car while he single-mindedly (at least to her) is determined to punish someone and find the mystery thief.

When you add in John’s daughter Katie, a high school girl on a dance team with an absent (and very non-nurturing mother), Molly’s second job at the local B&B, her new friendship with town benefactress and her little dog, and a teen who is doing everything to be noticed while Molly trying to be ‘understanding’ yet not allow her worries about the mystery house burglar override her interactions with either John or the teen, the story has SO many possibilities! John and Molly are adorable together, the town is quirky and nosey, the people alternate between helpful and overbearing, the story is a great fit for the quirky place, and the chemistry (and personalities) all meld together to make it a place that you’d love to visit, perhaps stay for a bit, and make lots of friends. Far more complex and emotionally deep than one would expect, this series has hit the right balance of fun, laughs and plausible connections that makes it a favorite series of mine.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Review first appeared at <a href=” https://wp.me/p3OmRo-aLT /” > <a> I am, Indeed </a>

Loved this book!

We first fell in love with the residents of Little Bridge Florida in Meg Cabot's "No Judgments." Now we get to visit them again in the second standalone book in the series, "No Offense." While we do get to see a glimpse of the couple from the first book. This book follows the lives of the brand new children's librarian, Molly, and the town's Sheriff, John.

One of the things I love most about Molly and John together is that they are completely relatable. They couldn't be more different from each other , personality wise, and I love that they don't change who they are to be together, like most Rom-Coms out there are. John is completely Type A. He loves everything to be neat and tidy in his home, office and life. While Molly's home and work desk is complete organized chaos. Being complete opposites posses quite a few challenges for them throughout the book, but it also allows them to compliment each other perfectly.

If you are looking for a fun romantic comedy that is a perfect beach read, or wish you were at the beach read, then this is for you!