I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.


Brin gets custody of her niece Laken after her sister pass away she at crossroads in her life decides to move to a small town to start anew. Laken doesn’t communicate well but she does take a liken to next door neighbor Corey who owns a ranch and they form a bond.

Corey and Brin do grow closer although Brin resisting to having help because she wants to do it on her own. I felt that Brin didn’t deserve Corey because Corey was trying help Brin and Laken become a family and Brin blowing things out of portion. Overall a good read.

This was my first book by Ronica Black and I found it to be an ok story. I liked both main characters, Corey is a rancher in Arizona and Brin and her niece are new comers to the small nearby town. Brin’s niece, Laken is having emotional issues and takes to Corey right away. It’s a cute story but I would have liked to see more character development and dialogue between the two MCs. Laken is a big part of this book, which is fine but it takes away from time from the two mains. Black did a good job in developing the side character Miley, the town gossip, who was a real pain.

“ARC received in exchange for a voluntary and honest review “

◦ Something to Talk About
◦ Author Ronica Black
◦ MC Corey Durand & Brin
◦ Laken Niece 5 years old


Brin is at a cross roads in her life. Her sister passed away and she is left to care for her niece, who is non verbal. She wants to give her a better life.

Laken takes right to Corey. There is a unspoken love Corey has for the lil one.

The story touched me in a special way. One of my
Godsons has autism. He was not able to speak, so we had to learn sign language to communicate. The story touched my heart in many ways.

It’s a beautiful story about love and family.
Brin was a brave woman. With Corey and
Laken they will have a family of their own.


I highly recommend this book. I would like to thank Bold strokes books and NetGalley !! 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This did not live up to expectations and I’m not sure my expectations were really that high to begin with. The blurb showed potential but almost everything mentioned in the blurb was underdeveloped in the novel. This ended up being on the shorter side for the genre so there definitely was room to develop things more.

After her sister dies, Brin moves to the small town of Utopia with her niece Laken. Laken, who is suspected of being autistic, is immediately drawn to Corey and the ranch she owns next door. The two immediately clash as Brin thinks she has to do everything on her own and Corey just wants to help. When a tree comes down on her house, Brin is forced to admit she needs help and Corey steps in.

It was hard to be invested in this one when even the characters weren’t invested in the conflict. The conflict felt artificial and resolved too easily. Some of this might stem from the characters and their backstory being underdeveloped. Other reviews describe this as a slow burn but it wasn’t really. Corey and Brin get together pretty easily to begin with and when they have a fight it resolves too quickly to be believable. Jimmy is persistent in his pursuit of Brin from the moment they first meet which makes it weird that he just seems to disappear from the novel. It says a lot that my favorite character was Laken and she only says about ten words in the entire novel.

While I was disappointed in this one overall, the writing itself wasn’t bad and there was a solid premise behind it. I think ultimately I expected more from the editor as much as the author.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story has been average in that it has had a correct approach but its development has been too hasty. The issues it touches on have been solved too quickly, some of them being quite complex. A pity.

The two protagonists have also not had time to be developed properly, so the owner of the ranch, Corey, has been a woman a little used by her previous relationships and the woman who arrives with her niece to occupy the house next to Corey's ranch, Brin is not shown completely either, only in her role as a protective aunt and little else, because the rest is a bit confusing.

The rural environment in which the two live has also been very cliché, without showing homophobia itself but with a lot of prejudice and gossip and perhaps little social evolution, no offense.

Everything has been resolved too quickly and without further ado, without much explanation or reasons for both the root of the problems that have been dealt with and their resolution. It ends well and that's it.

Cute read, but not one I would read again. I enjoyed Corey and her strength of character -waiting for what she wants and standing up to people who will bring her down, but Brin was too martyr-ish for me. Her whole "I have to do it on my own" attitude seemed unnecessary when she does have parents who are available - it's not like she's literally alone in the world. Again, not a bad book at all, but not a favorite either.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Fun lesbian romance that is ultimately predicatable, per the genre, but has some creativity getting there. Farmer meets new next door neighbor, a writer with a non-verbal niece. Nosy neighborhood gossip pages her single male relative on writer but she isn’t interested. I would have appreciated the background characters being a little more nuanced—surely they have good sides and aren’t entirely manipulative—but the story moves along nicely and it’s all very sweet. I was frustrated with the portrayal of autism in the text as something that was so awful and also that there was medication that would fix it. It felt more like an easy trope than something the author knew deeply. Many families welcome an autism diagnosis because it makes for easier access to insurance coverage for therapies and also school accommodations , whereas unnamed sensory disorders don’t get those. Here insurance was just an afterthought and an “of course”—-but that’s not how it works. That was irritating but I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

Something To Talk About

This story is a slow- burn romance. You have Corey who’s a little afraid to trust her heart with love again after it was shattered before. Then there’s Brin who hides in the closet because it’s easier then dealing with what people think of her. Laken the cute little girl you fall in love with the minute you meet her.
Ronica Black knows how to tell a story and keep you wanting more. I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.

I don't know what to right for this one. I liked the kid and the story behind it. However I found Brin’s behavior very rude and most of the time I wanted to skip her parts. the story was weak in my opinion and super fast. I would've liked slow burn. Besides I have no Idea why the author described Corey many times as being dirty and smells bad. As a reader I don't need to know that much besides Its not a lot to go change to nice clothes and be presentable.

I've read a couple of books by Ronica Black and I think I have a similar feeling with all of them, this one is no exception. It's ok, might not click for everyone, like this one didn't for me, and the way the story evolves is a bit of hit and miss.

This story revolves around Corey and Brin, but mostly Brin's niece Laken. Laken is said to be on the autism spectrum, that is until Brin takes her to a sensory therapist who says her issues are sensory. I don't know what to think about all this, I just know it doesn't really sit right with me. I have no experience to draw from whatsoever, but it all just seems a bit too odd to me. Corey is super caring and attentive, seemingly still in love with her junky ex who may just appear out of nowhere. Corey is also taken with Brin, from the moment she laid eyes on her. Same goes for the other woman. I feel like they don't communicate at all, Brin is just being slightly mean to Corey, no actual conversation happens aside from discussion Laken. They don't get together until 75% mark or so, and we have some drama after. To say a lot happens on the final pages of the books is a bit of an understatement, especially compared to the first 3/4 of the books where nothing really seems to be happening.

This one just didn't work for me. It's a super quick read but something about it just wasn't for me.

I felt like there was something missing from this one which is why I’m giving it 3.5 stars. I was left not feeling super satisfied after finishing it and I wasn’t a huge fan of how Brin was treating Corey, especially in the beginning when there was no need for her to be so rude. I didn’t feel a strong sense of chemistry between them throughout the book and the small bit of steam was missing that connection for me. I did really enjoy Laken's character and how her character was woven into the storyline.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nice story about two women and a toddler who has sensory perception problems. Interesting information about SPD. Not something I had known anything about. The trials and tribulations of living in a small town where everyone knows your business. Worth a read. Quite like most of this authors books.

Brin moves with her five year old non-verbal niece Laken to a small town in northern Arizona. The house is a fixer-upper. Her next door neighbor Corey Durand runs a ranch with some goats and chickens. When Laken wanders into Corey’s pumpkin patch the trio meet. For some inexplicable reason Laken likes and interacts with Corey. Corey is older and hasn’t been looking for love for a while. Brin is content to focus her time and energy on Brin. But paths cross and Brin needs help with her property after a storm.

This is one of those books that when it ended I wasn’t convinced the two needed to be together. It is a nice gentle story that for drama throws in a town gossiping busybody and an ex looking for her next drug score. Corey motivations in particular are hard to understand. She wants to do things to be neighborly but gets upset and jealous when someone else is being neighborly. Brin literally has just moved in and Corey is upset because she lets the man fix something that he claims to know how to fix. How would Brin know? So in spite Corey leaves a tree standing that she knows will be a problem. Later after their first time together Laken calls for her Auntie. Instead of celebrating a monumental moment for Brin, she decides she can’t be a secret and leaves. Brin does nothing to bring on the emotional whiplash. I don’t think the book shows the relationship developing very well so you’re not invested in it. There are very few meaningful conversations anywhere.

I like the idea of having an autistic child be part of the storyline. I have friends with autistic children and I’m not sure how they’d feel about how the autism is portrayed. Her behavior fits and is realistic as is Brin’s frustration and stress. Laken has sensory issues but I don’t it is clear how her therapy makes the leaps and bounds that it does. I was very curious about what they could do for sensory issues or how that differs from autism.

Overall this is an average story. It is a small town romance with two people who don’t seem to communicate well with each other. Brin has reasons for wanting her privacy but that is held until late in the story. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ranch owner Corey had an unusual visitor one day in the form of a young child who seemed fascinated with her pumpkins and her cap. While the child did not answer her questions, her Aunt Brin certainly did; albeit guardedly so.

Brin is attempting to leave her past behind by starting afresh together with her niece Laken, who was entrusted in her care by her deceased sister. Settling down in a small town with a child on the spectrum is not easy, especially when the house she bought is not holding up.

Although the pair experienced instant mutual attraction, starting anything in a small town where everyone has something to talk about is detrimental to Brin who has too much in her hands.

The bright spot in the book was the extremely likeable Laken who was lovely even when she was in her own world. With her taking a liking to Corey, she was the bridge for the pair when circumstances were not in their favour. The book has a happy ending and it was heartening and warming to see the development of Laken and the three of them taking strides as a whole.

I just reviewed Something To Talk About by Ronica Black. Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

TW: Ableism
Summary

Corey Durand is dealing with the emotional woes from her last relationship but the arrival of Brin and her 5-year-old "autistic" niece is just the distraction she needs from it. Reeling from the loss of her sister, Brin finds herself taking care of her 5-year-old niece, Laken. Laken is proving to be a handful and doesn't seem to like anyone. So imagine Brin's surprise when Laken immediately warms up to Corey. Imagine her surprise when she too finds herself warming up to the older women.

It's safe to say that this book wasn't for me...

Plot

The plot itself wasn't anything original or shocking. I'd never heard of this author before so my interest was peaked in what she could bring to an array of cliches. My assessment was.. not much. The story wasn't exciting and was one wlw book cliche after the other. Messy ex, rumour mill town, helpless mom, 'problem' child, untamable jealousy, town heartthrob making his move, self inserting the main character and much more discreet replicable storylines.

Writing

In terms of grammar, this book is fine, however in terms of plot execution not. It's one thing to say the sky is blue but it's another thing to describe it and that's what this author failed at for most of the book. When using such a simple plot there's a certain amount of depth and passion that should go into the story and I just could not grasp that from this writing, at times characters felt like names to actions. This book lacked compulsion, delivery and passion.

In chapter 3, Brin is sort of having a flirtatious moment with Corey which is then interrupted by Laken making a mess by pushing a baby's stroller into a table. This leads to the owner of the stroller yelling at Brin and Laken. This sets the stage for what is supposed to be a tense and stressful situation for Brin, so it's no surprise that she has a short fuse after the initial conflict. What happens is Corey tries to calm things down and help Brin only for Brin to burst out at her proclaiming "Just stop! You Can't help me! No one can!". Now as I said before this isn't a stretch for something like this to happen in real life. It's a stressful situation and with the further context of Brin being forced to be a new mother, it makes sense for her to have a freakout. However, all of this takes place in the book in a matter of 1 iPhone page, not even half the page of a regular book. Would it shock you to find out that this whole paragraph I've written here has a higher word count that the whole situation that took place?

This escalation holds no weight to its delivery. It makes Brin seem like some unhinged mood swing monger. It doesn't force the audience to consider how stressful her life is at that moment, there's no pressure or proper setting to the scene. Its only purpose is to make us feel bad for Corey and make Brin seem helpless.

Again this happens in one of the later chapters of the book. Laken finds herself in a dangerous position, Corey saves her, and Brin is grateful. What should have been an intense moment just fell short as it takes place in less than one page. My review again holds more words than this moment.

Characters

This is one of the first books that I've read that I do not like a single character. They're all overbearing individuals with saviour complexes.

It's one thing to judge someone's parenting but it's another to be going around making decisions for them and that is what Corey and a few other characters do in this book. Talking like they have any right to any input on Laken when they've barely even known her or Brin for more than a week. The book also seemingly does not reprimand them as even though Brin is upset at this, it still goes their way.

There's a moment where Laken runs away to Corey's house and she's there for a good bit and instead of telling Brin immediately, Corey is depicted unbothered by the simple fact that Brin didn't give her her phone number. What right did she have to do that? Throughout the book, Corey just gives unasked advice and care to Laken.

I normally don't fuss over these things but it's 2022, when are authors gonna stop pushing this whole damsel in distress thing.

In chapter 13, despite only knowing each other for a few days Corey is mad that Brin didn't call her immediately when her house is damaged during a storm. Instead of expressing her worry, she's jealous that Brin seemingly called Jimmy. This cemented my dislike for Corey. What obligation did Brin, a virtual stranger, have to her?

In that same chapter, Brin takes Laken to Tara, Corey's friend and a psychologist. Immediately meeting Tara, Brin decided she doesn't like her just by her smiling when Brin brings up Corey. This is immature and so random. We the readers know through fleeting mention that Tara made a move on Corey, but Brin has no idea about this and has no reason to be jealous whatsoever.

Again, in that same chapter, when Tara says Laken doesn't have autism Brin is seen shouting "Oh! Thank god!". I get it, raising a child with autism is stressful and subjects them to a life of ableism but was this necessary? Did the author fail to consider how an autistic reader might feel reading this? This feeds a stigma that I don't even wanna get into right now because this review is already long enough. This also confused me because the synopsis of the book advertises Laken being autistic... why put that there if it's not the case??

Instead, Tara elaborated that Laken just has sensory processing issues. Tara insists that other doctors that Brin has seen probably didn't spend enough time or attention on Laken which I found interesting since Tara herself only spent under an hour with the nonverbal girl making her do some tests. Now, these tests, while I believe are used in this type of testing are inappropriate in the way this book introduces them. It's highly unlikely that Laken would be asked to do this in thirty minutes and it's highly unrealistic for Tara to come to that conclusion. Autistic people do have sensory issues and for tara to rule that out so quickly and for Brin to be so grateful... it's weird that's all I can say.

In my personal opinion. This was dealt with in an extremely rushed, slight offensive and unrealistic manner.

In regards to the offence, I'm sure that wasn't the author's intention, it really never is with these kinds of books. I'm not sure how educated she is on this topic, she could be very educated but that's not gonna change the fact that in my opinion, this was a horrible execution.

I didn't like this book, I didn't like the characters and I didn't like the writing.

Do I recommend it? I recommend that you read other reviews. Maybe mine is too harsh. Maybe your perception would differ from mine and that's fine.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publishers in return for an honest review.

Corey’s pumpkin patch gets an unusual visitor, a little girl who she follows back on the neighbouring home. She is greeted by Brin, the girl’s aunt, but Brin is rude and unwelcoming right off the bat. We then witness Corey’s struggle to get along with the hot new neighbour while fighting the gossip of a small town and its self proclaimed heart throb. While Brin struggled with accepting help, trust, raising her autistic niece and everything else in between, Laken bonded with Corey. In the end, love does conquer it all.

I enjoy romances that include the building of a family. Brin is in a panic when she realizes her niece, Laken, is not in the house. She finds her in Corey’s pumpkin patch with two small pumpkins in her hands. Let the romance begin.
Goodreads

Brin has moved into a house in a small town away from everything she knew. She now has her young niece to raise after the death of her sister. Her niece, Laken is autistic which also weighs on Brin.
Laken has wondered off to the neighbors ranch and found by Corey Durand a woman trying to make her place successful.
These two women are going to travel a rough road of misunderstandings while Brin tries to deny her attraction to this rancher.
Brin feels she must do everything herself without any help from anyone but that isn't going to stop Corey. She's going to help these two make their house a home and whatever she can to help Laken.
This has an intriguing story line with depth and romance that I really enjoyed.

Thank you #NetGalley #BoldStrokesBooks #SomethingToTalkAbout for this ARC