Cover Image: No Offense

No Offense

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Member Reviews

Ok, I love books. I love reading. I love books about books, bookstores, and reading. I do not like books about libraries and librarians.
I don't know why. Probably because it's like I never escape work, and I spend the whole time comparing myself to the librarian in the book…. Yeah, that's probably it.
All that to say, I have a bit of a bias when it came to No Offense. I couldn't enjoy it, even though I love Meg Cabot books, because Molly was a librarian.
I think the best word to describe No Offense is bland. The relationship wasn't very compelling; the crime/mystery wasn't intriguing, not to mention one of the main characters is in law enforcement, and there's no discussion of serious issues.
The only time I laughed during the book is when Molly doesn't know what bags is, describes the game's setup, and admires John's skills at the game at length.
It wasn't good, but it wasn't terrible. Just bland.

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I wish these books had more romance. They definitely strike me more as YA, even though the characters are not. I was hoping for something more along the lines of Jasmine Guillory and this was not it.

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i feel like i could’ve went my whole without reading a romance between a librarian and a sheriff.

ngl this book comes off a bit misogynistic at times when it comes to the dad. i get hes a grump sheriff but i hate him. the librarian character was so quirky and her entire personality was that she reads and i hate when authors do that because i think it’s a lazy way to get readers to relate to the character instead of letting them organically relate. i don’t think the romance was convincing at all but i did like the detective part of the story and it was the only thing that kept me wanting to read the story.

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Meg Cabot has long been one of my favorite authors, and when I saw that she wrote a cozy mystery featuring a youth librarian who fancies the local sheriff? I COULDN’T DOWNLOAD IT FAST ENOUGH.

When Molly Montgomery discovers a baby abandoned in the library’s bathroom, she becomes very invested in the investigation, even more so after the handsome town sheriff folds himself into the tiny chair by her desk to get her statement. John and Molly initially don’t see eye-to-eye but as the crimes start stacking up, they can’t deny the chemistry between them. Mystery, romance and humor are the perfect ingredients for a fun summer read. And, ahem, the librarian info was SPOT ON, which this former youth librarian very much appreciated. This is the second in the Little Bridge Island series, and stands alone well if you haven’t read the first. (Advanced copy read courtesy of Netgalley and Harper-Collins).

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This was a well-written, entertaining book. Molly is new to town, working at her dream job. She meets the sheriff, John, and they are soon at odds, and also attracted to each other. There are mysteries in town, and they seem to keep crossing paths. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

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Cute and cozy. Meg Cabot delighted me with this charming small town tale. This is the second book in the Little Bridge Island series, but it can absolutely be read as a standalone. Molly is the new children’s librarian on Little Bridge Island. She is charmed by her new peaceful surroundings that is until she finds an abandoned baby in the library bathroom. John grew up in Little Bridge and after some time away he has now returned as town sheriff. Molly and John have an instant attraction to one another, but neither of them are looking to be in a relationship. What they don’t know is... there’s nothing like a small town Mystery to bring two people together.

This was an easy breezy read with some definite cozy mystery vibes. Love the setting of Little Bridge Island and the sense of community. Molly was sweet and caring and of course I loved her passion for books. John was a good guy and I adored his relationship with his daughter. There were lots of laugh out loud moments and plenty of adorable animals. This was just a sweet feel good story with a little romance... a little mystery... a little steam... a little humor... and a lot of charm. Piper Goodeve narrates the audiobook and gave the story the perfect tone. Loved the sweet sass she gave Molly and the gruff exterior she gave John.

This book in emojis 🐱 📚 🐶 📸 🐬 👶🏼 🐐 🕺 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

*** Big thank you to William Morrow and Harper Audio for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

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This is a fun and snappy read just like the first in the series. Very funny although John could be such a stick in the mud. I love that Molly was a librarian and she was so true to life. You can tell that Meg Cabot talked to real librarians.

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This was actually a disappointing read for me. I was expecting a fun, fluffy romance, but I think Cabot's book came out a little too formulaic. It felt like the two leads were cookie-cut-out people who reacted so weirdly to stuff, simply because there needed to be conflict. I was mostly bothered by Molly, who gets mad and self-righteous about so many things. She also seems to feel she's always right, even though she gets so many things wrong. I like amateur sleuths, but she sure seems to think she knows how to go about solving crime better than the people whose job it actually is. She just got on my nerves so much.

To sum up - everything felt too forced, and people seemed really two-dimensional. There was diversity, but it felt shoved in, simply because Cabot was trying to seem with-it, I guess. I wouldn't really recommend the book. I had to force myself to finish it.

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Now this is the feel-good read I needed this summer!

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 Miss 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 romance was so sweet. I found myself rooting for Molly and John since their first encounter, and every issue along the way made their story that much better. Cabot intertwined the perfect amount of romance and crime solving, and the whole story was a delighting, light read. This is a must-read for any Meg Cabot fan, and a definite recommendation for anyone looking for a sweet romance this summer. No Offense features lovable characters, Cabot's best-selling writing style, and the feel-good romance we could all use a little more of in our lives.

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No Offense is a bit of comforting fluff. The book continues the Little Bridge Island series and follows Molly, the children's librarian, and John, the local sheriff. When someone abandons a baby in the library's bathroom, Molly and the Sheriff butt heads on how the situation should be handled. An abandoned baby story sounds angsty, but Meg Cabot handles it deftly. This book is not The Great American Novel, but it's a quick and comforting read. Little Bridge Island is a town of quirky, diverse characters. The dialogue is snappy and funny. As a librarian, I appreciated the nod to all the weird and mundane things that librarians deal with every day. And I love that the library has their own drag queen!

Overall, No Offense is a great read for the end of a tough day. 3.5 Stars.

(I was provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley, but the opinions here are my own.)

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Such a cute rom-com and a great romantic story. Loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

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This was a cute and entertaining romantic comedy about a librarian on a small island off of the coast of Florida and the new swoon worthy sheriff. Mixed in with the romance was a twist of a mystery about an abandoned baby left in the library and a string of robberies. In addition to the suspense of the mystery and the sweet romance, there are some tug at your heartstring moments between the sheriff and his daughter and the quirky cast of characters around the island added some comic relief. All in all, it was a light hearted cute book.

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Molly Montgomery relocated to Little Bridge Island after a broken engagement. Taking the job as the head children's librarian at the public library is Molly's dream and the idyllic setting of living on a tropical island doesn't hurt either. But then Molly discovers an abandoned baby in the bathroom at the library - and subsequently meets Sheriff John Hartwell who comes to investigate - she'll learn about a whole different side to the island.

John Hartwell moved back to Little Bridge Island with his daughter after his divorce. When the previous Sheriff got in some trouble, John stepped in, but he's finding it more difficult than he would like for people to take him seriously in the job, especially since he's been having problems with a group of transients that have been known to cause problems on the island only be have their wealthy parents step in and fix the problems for them.

John knows who is responsible for the baby, and he's loathe to let them get away with abandoning her. Both Molly and John become embroiled in the mystery, however, each have their own views on the right way to solve it that don't always match up.

First off, I enjoyed this second book in the series much more than I did the first one. I liked getting a different look at the island than what we saw in the first book, which was marred by an impending hurricane disaster.

I liked the idea of Molly and John being so at ends with each other. She's the newcomer in town he's the newly returned sheriff who was born and raised on the island. They both have such differing outlooks on life, that it's interesting to see them butt heads with one another, but still the unavoidable attraction they have for one another is palpable. As each of them staunchly defended their viewpoints, I understood where each was coming from and I liked that they were seemingly able to take this stance as well. To know when to apologize or concede that there were instances where one or the other was wrong. I just kept waiting for them to get on the same page, but decided that maybe it was truly all about showing that people can love and care for one another even if they don't totally agree on everything. They can still understand each other.

I also liked the different side to the quirky small town setting. Typically, you get this, as I said, kind of idyllic feeling about small towns (or islands as the case may be) they're perfect and too good to be true. All the residents know each other and they have fun celebrations. You wish you lived there. But Meg Cabot kind of gives us a reality check. That all places have their good qualities, but also the possible not-so-good qualities and trying to put a shiny veneer on and pretend that crime and conflict don't exist doesn't really help anyone out.

I thought No Offense was interesting in that it brings to the forefront perspectives that I wouldn't immediately think about in a contemporary romance.

I'm definitely interested in exploring the island some more.

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No Offense is the second full length book in the contemporary romance Little Bridge Island series by Meg Cabot. The Little Bridge Island series is an adult contemporary romance series set on Little bridge Island...named for the little bridge that you have to cross to reach it. The island is located south of Miami, Florida and is a tiny town with a small population. Each of the books in this series are standalones that center around a difference set of main characters. You do see some character crossover because it is such a small town. So if you are fan of the series, you will get to visit old favorites, like Bree from No Judgments, but you do not need to read the books in order if you don't want to.

In No Offense we meet the new town children's librarian Molly and the town Sheriff, John. The story kicks off when Molly discovers an abandoned baby in the library bathroom. When Molly calls the police and John shows up, a comedy of offensive errors occurs. Mostly, John offending Molly, and John not wanting to offend Molly. I really enjoyed each of their interactions because John is just so darn nice and likable that it was kind of funny to me that Molly found him so offensive so many times.In addition to the budding romance (or bickering) of Molly and John there are also two mysteries present in No Offense. There is the mystery of who abandoned baby Aphrodite? (so dubbed as the goddess of the sea..err bathroom "sea"...on the Little Bridge Island community facebook gossip page) and second, the unsolved mystery of the high school bandit. Molly being a true crime aficionado tends to butt into John's actual police work, which means that their paths are continually crossing.

All in all, No Offense was a lot of fun. Some light mystery, some light flirting and a cute romance made this book a joy to read. There were times where I was hoping for more in terms of character connection and romance development. No Offense was more of a plot driven novel with the mysteries taking center stage and the romance sometimes taking a secondary plot role, but overall No Offense was a very enjoyable read. I loved seeing peeks of Bree in the book and I am ready for more from the inhabitants of Little Bridge Island, which is perfect timing because book 2 releases in a couple of weeks!

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While the romance aspect of this book was somewhat meh, I'm a sucker for a well portrayed librarian in fiction and this had that. Also, Molly is a true crime loving librarian so I enjoyed her even more. She's accurately concerned with patron privacy and equity. If you read this expecting a steamy, standard romance you may be disappointed, but for more of a contemporary women's fiction with a romance it's entertaining.

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I don't know if it has to do with my particular reading mood at present or if maybe this book just isn't for me, but I struggled to finish this one. Ordinarily I adore Meg Cabot's writing and I did enjoy the secondary characters and the community she created in this book. The main couple just didn't quite work for me this time. They lacked a little heat.

Of course, I will continue to read Meg Cobot in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

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I enjoyed No Judgements so much and have been so looking forward to No Offense. It's a light and fun story of a small town librarian and the local sheriff working together and against each other to solve the mystery behind an abandoned baby and some local thefts. It was just the right read for a weekend away when relaxing and "beach read" vibes mattered. Little Bridge Island is a place that I hope we get to see more of.

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No Offense reminded me a lot of a Hallmark movie, light and entertaining, but not a whole lot there. It takes place in a small town and the romance is between the new town librarian and the sheriff.
Let me first say I love Hallmark movies, I find them quaint and entertaining. My problem with this book was not the overall plot. Though admittedly it could have been a little better, but rather that I didn’t get the romance. This is the second book in a series, and I hadn’t read the first one. Though this can be read as a standalone, I have to admit I do feel like I was maybe missing out on a few things not having read the first book.
But back to the romance, John and Molly had no spark. By the end of the book, I still wasn’t quite sure what they saw in each other. Their romance felt quick and forced and I wish that had been more of a focus of the book, than the other parts of the story.
No Offense is a perfectly fine romantic comedy, but I really wanted more of the romance part.

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This was...kinda meh?
I mean, there was a somewhat interesting cast of characters, but it was maybe 60/40, or 70/30 Mystery to Romance? And despite their individual relationship baggage the real tension that threatens Molly and John’s relationship is her Librarian Code of Privacy vs. his obsessive focus on the leader of a bunch of teenage vandals? I haven’t read a ton of Meg Cabot’s stuff, so I don’t know how this rates with her other books, but I was underwhelmed.

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Cute, but not for me. I love Meg, but this book was such a struggle for me to get through. There’s no real chemistry between the characters, and the book just felt so typical.

What a bummer.

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