I understand this is a debut novel. For that it wasn't too bad.
But did anyone else find it a little confusing? Why did I expect this to be a horror story? Guess my mind has a mind of its own.

I found the title alluring but the book in my opinion didn't match up to the title. I expected it to be all revealing.

But what I got was drama. This was not my normal type of book. I'm sure others loved it. But I think my expectation let me down.

This book shows a variety of relationships while under a stressful situation of a snow storm. And while that can be an obviously interesting situation to put your characters in, I found this story just okay. Some characters were definitely more likable than others, which really impacted my experience.

Even thought this book has interesting theme, sadly it wasn't enjoyable for me, and I decided to DNF. Thanks to Netgalley and published for sending me this review copy.

I wish I could have liked it: a story about six sapphic women, three couples, a story about different stages of relationship: friends who are attracted to each other, dating, married. But alas.

The biggest problem, for me, was the multiple pov narration. Some of the voices were too similar, it was hard to distinguish the character. And I guess it's the main reason why the book didn't work for me.
Not only that, sometimes the plot was Too frustrating. In a bad way. And sometimes you were like why is this even here.

The writing style itself was kinda weird, I'm not sure how to put a finger on it, maybe it's the phrasing, maybe it's some separate words, but it was really hard to follow.

2.5/5

One thing I can’t stand is when authors try to disguise their bad writing with a tangle of words in different patterns. It’s like trying to read through water. Anyway, this book was horrible for that. I couldn’t get through it.

This was an okay book. I couldn't really connect it as much as I'd hoped for, but it wasn't bad. Maybe if I had been in different mood, my review would be different.

I could not finish reading this. I got about 30% through. It was too hard to follow, mainly in keeping track of the numerous characters and who was who. I liked the writing but couldn't follow the plot.

This story has multiple character's POV and is interconnected. I found myself interested on one couple in the plot and one POV at that. The writing style was interesting and emotionally evocative, I just wasn't a big fan of 2/3 of the characters.

Good day! Before anything else, I would like to extend my deepest, sincerest gratitude for sending me a digital review copy of this book (via NetGalley). Thank you very much for the opportunity!

Unfortunately, I am sad to say that I have lost interest in this particular title, and consequently, I have decided against finishing it. Forcing myself to finish a book I am disinterested in (solely for the sake of finishing it) can only negatively impact the entirety of my reading experience, which, in turn, could result in me writing an unfairly negative review. That is a circumstance I hope to avoid. With that said, I believe that the best course of action is for me to simply not read it and to refrain from publicly posting any feedback regarding this book.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Again, thank you for the lovely opportunity!

too complex for my taste, I got mixed up by who the narrator is, it was an okay story, but just not my kind of book!

I was excited to read this book because I had heard a lot about it. The story revolves around three couples in various stages of couple-hood. Brie and Ryan got together too fast a year ago and Brie secretly can’t get over her first love, so they’re on the way out. Ella and Sam are celebrating their fifth anniversary. Jessie, the horndog of the group, realizes that she has a long-lived crush on her friend Hadley, who reciprocates the crush. It took me a few chapters to understand what was going on, but now that I’m finished I want to go back and reread it, knowing what it’s about. The story is told by chapter in first person by a different character, so we get to learn all six of them pretty well. Some of their stories are heartbreaking, but others are uplifting. I thought this book was really well-written and I look forward to the next one by C. Spencer.

This book is split into four different segments which is done by days between Thursday and Sunday and follows three different groups of couples who are at different stages in their relationships. First there is Hadley and Jessie who are friends who are both interested in each other, second is Ryan and Brie who are going through their break-up and finally there is Ella and Sam who are a happily married couple and still very much in love with each other and this weekend is their anniversary.

Thursday

During the first part of the book you are introduced to the main character's who you get to see the perspective of which starts with Jessie who has just broken up with her current girlfriend Alicia and so when her best friend Hadley can't get back to her house due to a snowstorm goes over to Jessie's house where we discover that she has feelings for Hadley as they reminisce about the past.

Next you meet Sam and Ella who are happily married after meeting at a wedding in which Brie was catering after having broken up with Jessie, forward to now and it is their five year wedding anniversary and although Ella seems to be in her own world it seems that Sam is still completely smitten by Ella.
Finally, we meet Brie and Ryan. This is a couple who have been together for a year and although Ryan still loves Brie she is no longer in love with Ryan and still has feelings for her ex-girlfriend Chris and starts to reply to a message in which Chris sent her weeks prior.

This segment of the book is really well done and keeps the reader interested as it is introducing you to the characters and finding out how they are all linked together and are all friends and are not just random couples.

Friday

With Brie not happy with Ryan she brakes up with her and are shown how Ryan and Brie ended up a couple which leads to the reader feeling slightly strange about the relationship however later that day Brie goes over to Jessie's house to speak to Hadley and ends up alone with Jessie and start to become friends. After they go out for a meal with Ryan and start talking about children and how Brie wants to be pregnant one day and have a child which Ryan does not want.

With Ella and Sam continue to celebrate their anniversary weekend in the snow and worry about their other anniversary plans not going ahead due to the snow which has covered the town. However, you are still able to see that this couple are completely in love with each other.

Jessie and Hadley are the final couple who you hear from and you discover how both of them want to be with each other however are scared to be together due to having known each other since they were children which you get to see in this segment of the book. You also see Brie start to flirt with a girl at the bar in which Hadley works so Jessie takes a walk with Ryan to try and not let her see what Brie is doing as she is unaware that they have broken up.

From this the reader is able to be more informed about how the couple's got to know each other and how they are coping with the current situations in which they are in giving the reader a lot more insight and keeps them wanting to read more and finding out what happens next between all of the couples now that they are all more connected.



Saturday

As Ryan and Brie are still newly broken up Ryan wants to talk to Brie and ask her to stay however finds out instead about Chris through letters that was written to Brie that she found in a cupboard, which starts an argument and makes Brie tell Ryan she will be out of the house within a week. Brie also decides to change how she looks as well by going to the hair dresser and cutting her hair different from how she usually has it. Ryan also offers to move with Brie to Portland to be closer to her family and help Brie find a job if this will keep them together.

Hadley contacts Jessie after having been to her house and tells Jessie to dress up which she does and end up cooking a meal together with Hadle showing Jessie what to do, after too many glasses of wine they end up playing Truth or Dare which leads to them both telling each other that they have feelings for each other and getting physical.

Finally, Sam and Ella go to the ballet for their anniversary as well as a fancy meal to celebrate and the reader ends up finding out that Sam doesn't like Jessie due to her having been the ex-girlfriend of Ella.
This part of the book is the most intense part of the book with things being at their most heated with Ryan and Brie and things possibly having fallen into place for Hadley and Jessie or could have just destroyed their friendship, however Ella and Sam are still the happily ever after which brings some light to the reader.



Sunday

After the game of Truth or Dare Hadley and Jessie go to a cafe to talk about what happened the night before and decide to start dating which leads to them having a snow day before getting ready to go to Sam and Ella's anniversary party together. Which leads to Hadley realising that her best friend is moving away and she probably won't see her again and finding out that she is the soul mate of Jessie and is why Jessie has never settled down with anyone before.

With Brie and Ryan spending almost no time together and barely talking they both decide to try and move on which at the anniversary party leaves Chris having phoned Brie and them both saying how they loved each other and still want to be together, however this does make Ryan realise that Brie is leaving and offers to help her pack her stuff for moving back to her parents in Portland and her future without Brie.

Finally, we see that Sam and Ella do have some arguments such as about Jessie and how she calls randomly because Sam doesn't appreciate that Ella's ex is still in her life. After everyone leaves their anniversary party they slow dance having had a good anniversary weekend together.

The end part of the book is so touching and does keep the book together well as ending the book well.



Overall

Overall, I did really enjoy this book and found it hard to put down. I did love how this was a book which was based on lesbian couples as well which is not something I tend to come across much and came off unique. I did however find that it was hard to really know what was happening at times as there was too many main characters and the last day of the book seemed to overlap too many people which made me confused and have to look back a page or so to even tell who was speaking. Overall, however a great book and one I would recommend.

The novel was less a traditional romance than an examination of three different phases in the cycle of the intimate relationship-the flirtatious women who are falling in love, the committed but differing couple and the married set. Changing point of views did not present an issue for me, rather it was the likability factor that several of the characters lacked that made the text annoying at a number of points and the dramas less meaningful. I think the author would have produced a more enjoyable product if she continued with the POV switches with fewer protagonists/plot turns. Ensembles interest me less, as the story details for each individual or pair are rarely fully developed, as happened in this instance.

This is a book about three different relationships and includes each of the 6 protagonists points of view. One couple is successful and totally committed and in love. The other couple is fallen out of love and it on the verge of a breakup. The final couple has been friends for years and finally begin to see each other in a new light. Cute, fun, a bit confusing at times but overall I enjoyed my time with it. I will definitely pick up what C. Spencer writes in the future.

Right off the bat I want to be clear that some people may love this book. The reason for me not rating it higher has nothing to do with the lack of a good story, decent characters, or editing problems. It was just one of those books that for some reason or another I didn't connect well to.

It could have been that there are so many main characters, six in total like the description states. They all get equal time and voices, and while other readers may find this an asset, I saw it more of a hinderance. Just when I was really feeling a character, you'd go to another three of them for the next 30 pages or so and I'd forget what part of their story I was looking forward to. It just lost the momentum.

I also found myself getting confused about who was with who, and who was breaking up with who at a certain point. And too many ex's showed up that I couldn't even remember who dated who...

Like I stated, it has a different writing perspective that makes it unique, but it just didn't gel with me.

This is the first time I’ve read C Spencers work and I’m hoping it won’t be my last. It’s Brie and Lasley’s wedding Anniversary and all Lasleys wants is to enjoy the day with their friends. Hadley doesn’t know that Jessie has feelings for her. Spencer throws in a few twists making this story a very enjoyable read.

This is a great story for a debut novel. One that quite honestly, I wasn’t expecting.

The book is set around the love lives of 6 women. Two whom are married and are about to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary, two best friends who have what they think is unrequited feelings for each other and a couple on the brink of relationship collapse.

This is more than a romance novel. I think it’s a Lesbian Romance and Drama novel. It’s written from all six protagonists’ point of view and with every change of perspective the author headlines which character we are reading from at that time.

The dialogue is fast paced and witty which I really appreciated; there is no messing around with this book. Lots of internal thoughts and musings but at times I think that when the characters are in thought there is lots of unnecessary detail.

I really enjoyed when Jessie and Hadley took the spotlight, I think their story could have been a book on it’s own but the way Spencer wrote through their friendship to finding love was very well done. Jessie was 100% my favorite character and I hope we see more from her relationship with Hadley in future novels.

I think C. Spencer has really given herself a great opportunity at whetting the readers appetite for her future books. In turn she has also set up a great prequel if she wanted to look at each couple and write separate books for a series. Especially Ryan… Ryan needs her own story! She just does.

Great debut novel and I can’t wait for what’s next from C. Spencer.

4 stars

2.5 stars.

This book was just okay for me. It follows three pairs of women in different kinds of relationships. This meant 6 different points of view. It didn't really add to the story in my opinion - just made it confusing as there wasn't anything that made each woman distinctive. As the book went on you got to know a little better who's who, but that still didn't help with the fact so many of the characters were boring and/or unlikable. It was definitely more drama than romance though. And not the best one at that.

I honestly love how all the main characters in this novel are women. Gay women. It felt so refreshing to read a novel like this compared to all the books where there are mainly straight characters!

Jessie immediately got my attention though, since it's clear from the start she's the tomboy of the bunch and.. well.. No hard feelings, but those are the kind of women I like best myself, ha!

The writing had a sassy, sarcastic undertone throughout the entire novel. I enjoyed it but...

Unfortunately, that backfired a bit as well. There were six different points of view, six different women sharing their thoughts with us. At times, though, it didn't feel like that. I noticed how I sometimes couldn't figure out who's head I was in at that point since they all sounded the same.
Not to mention the fact that they're supposed to be... what? Forty year olds and they're behaving like teenagers at times? It felt wrong and... definitely weird.

The novel read quite fluently but after a while it started bothering me how detailed the descriptions were. Once I noticed it, I seriously couldn't un-notice it and that made reading a lot less fun. I really don't want to know you paid with your credit card before putting it back in your wallet and shoving it in your back pocket.

When I finished reading I also felt like the entire story pretty much revolved mainly around Jessie and Hadley. The other four POV's? I honestly don't think I would've missed much if they weren't present..

Overall it was a fun read, but there could definitely be some improvements.

2,5 / 5

Not bad for a debut, but the story didn’t really mesh well for my personal tastes. I would consider this more of a drama than romance, but it does have some romance in it.

The story is about three pairs of women. One couple is married, one couple is living together with relationship issues, and the other is a pair of best friends that are attracted to each other. This book is in first person, but the POV changes to all of these six main characters. I have heard some people say all the POV changes were confusing. I did not find that at all. Each chapter headlines which pair the chapter will be about. For example Chapter Six: Jessie and Hadley. Then the author actually put the name “Jessie” at the top if it is in her POV. And before switching to Hadley’s there is a clear break, than “Hadley’s” name. My point being, the author is telling use exactly whose headspace we are in. I’m not sure how she could be any clearer. For me the issue was I just don’t really care for books with so many main characters. And besides all the POV’s, the writing style was quite different. This is not easy to explain but Spencer uses words and phrasing that doesn’t seem correct. Not that it’s bad English, but that the word order is changed, or something is just odd about it. That is what confused me sometimes. I would wonder what a character really meant or why they said it. Part of me actually liked that odd way of writing Spencer has, part of me struggled with it. It does make me interested to see if she would continue this style in more of a normal two main character story.

The characters were up and down for me. Some are likeable, some are just not. I actually don’t think the married couple added anything to the book. You could basically skip their story and have it not matter. When it came to the couple with issues, well that’s where a lot of the bad feels of the book came from. I just found their story to be depressing. What saved this book for me was Jessie and Hadley, the BFF’s that secretly love each other but are too scared to admit it. I loved both of those characters. I ate up their story and loved how their relationship started to unfold. If this was more of a romance book starring just Jessie and Hadley, we’d be looking at a 4 stars plus book instead of this.

If you like a book with an ensemble cast that is more drama-romance, this book may be for you. The writing style is different and takes a little while to get used to. I can’t personally recommend this, but I won’t say stay away either. I would be willing to read Spencer’s next book. Hopefully that will be more to my liking.