Corey Durand is just getting over the fallout of her last relationship that ended in disaster. She loves her ranch and has her colleagues/friends, and she’s satisfied with no desire to date anyone. When Brin and her five-year old autistic niece move into a neighboring fixer upper, though, Corey can’t seem to stay away from them as Laken, Brin’s niece, loves Corey and is always escaping to hang out in her pumpkin patch. When a local man volunteers to do repairs for Brin after a storm and botches the job, Corey steps in to help, and as she and Brin grow closer, they’ll have to decide if they can overcome their individual baggage and try to make something work.

Look. I’ll read anything by Ronica Black, so I chose this book on the author alone, but it didn’t disappoint. I really enjoyed the story and the characters, and I loved the representation of sensory issues. As someone who has sensory processing issues, it’s always nice to see that represented in fiction. And I loved Laken and how much she loves Corey. The pacing was good, there were ample opportunities for annoyance that turns into romance, and it’s not quite enemies to lovers, but annoyed neighbors to lovers is a close enough troupe to get me interested. Definitely recommend.

On its whole it's an entertaining book with depth and angst. But the characters really tested my patience. Brin a single 'parent' who is now taking care of her niece who has Autism, is very stubborn en reluctant. It annoyed me to no end that she kept rebuffing any help, rudely, from her ranch neighbour Corey. But has trouble standing up for what she wants against some intruding townspeople.

Corey Durand is the kind of neighbour everybody could wish for. Her bond with Brit's niece Laken was funny.

Ronica never disappoints, I was so happy to see a story tackle sensory disorders and have references about autism and the struggles that parents go through raising a child when you do not know exactly how to get through to them!
Ronica did a great job of showing Brin doing her best, although prideful at first I was glad to see Brin take Corey up on her offer to help with the house and Laken. Listen call me crazy but I did not see Brin's job coming, I had a great cackle when it was revealed. One character I really adored was Ryan he was the sweetest and I wished he got more bonding time with Brin because I feel like they really would have hit off.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I found the relationship to be compelling. I struggled a little with what I saw as rough edges--it was difficult to follow why Brin was so reluctant and the conclusion of that issue didn't make a ton of sense. The rumor aspect of the book also fell a little flat for me, and I didn't feel like the juggling of some of the issues was a little flat-footed. That said, I was engaged and interested throughout the whole story and I enjoyed the characters.

The plot centers around an older lesbian ranch owner, Corey and her new neighbor, Brin, who has recently lost her sister to cancer and is now raising her niece, Laken, who is on the spectrum. Corey is a strong independent rancher who is ready to come to the aid of Brin, who is exhausted and overwhelmed with everything that life has recently thrown at her. Both have baggage and neither are quite sure of the other.

I really wanted to like this book, but it fell a flat for me. The plot was intriguing, the characters interesting, but things just didn’t seem to flow very smoothly. The transitions felt a abrupt and the dialogue between the main characters felt forced. I just expected a little more - a little more sexual tension and more chemistry between Corey and Brin.
This is the first novel I’ve read by Ronica Black - and I would read another, but this particular novel was just kind of ‘meh’ for me.

I'm such a big fan of Ronica Black and was very excited about this book because I'm a sucker for age gap romances and love when kids are involved. I really enjoyed this book but would give it 4 stars though because it simply wasn't my favorite book overall. The writing, as expected, was really wonderful but the storyline had me wishing for more. I loved the way Laken brought the two of them together and Corey ticked off all the boxes for a crush-worthy character but the conflict with Jimmy and Miley just seemed a little over the top and childish. It takes great skill to write characters which the reader wholeheartedly dislikes and the author delivered on that front! ;)
My favorite part was how Laken plays a big role in the story and how Brin and Corey handle her behaviors, Tara's therapy and having the topic of autism included in books. Brin's and Corey's love story is sweet, a little rocky at times due to realistic insecurities but gives a satisfactory happy ending. Also worth mentioning: we all love a farmer woman who is handy with tools...

This is a very sweet novel, with very nicely written interactions between MC. I love Ronica Black novels, but I but I have to say that this one is kind of "too sweet" for me.

A gentle read about a young woman who is raising her niece after her sister's death and the older butch lesbian, who she moves next door too. They live in a very small town, which not only means lots of gossip but interfering troublemakers too, no ideal rural life here. The story is engaging enough and the characters are introduced well, the relationship between the two main characters is mostly good with a couple of odd spats, where they both go from really calm to really angry. The relationship between the niece Laken and her aunt and the various animals she likes is cute.

All in all a light read perfect for summer days.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a read about friends, family, love and loss. Corey Durand rancher with a big heart. Brin and her niece, Laken dealing with the loss of Brin's sister and Laken's mother. The interaction between Corey and Laken was so very sweet. Brin was a character that was a challenge to understand. As a matter of fact, it would have been good to have more background information about all three of the main characters especially Brin. I liked the story premise but other than Laken, I was having a tough time leaning into Corey and Brin.

Realistic romance about finding yourself after a trauma.

Pro:
Realistic characters
Single parent
Finding yourself
Caring MCs

Con:
I sometimes found the pacing of the story a bit off.

This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

I love, love, loved this book! As an avid fan of Ronica Black, I've read all her books and this one does not disappoint. I loved both main characters and the story arc they work through. I also love a book that teaches me about things I was not aware of. The romance and ups and downs they go through were something I could personally connect to as well. Recommend this book!

Ah..this is not one my favourites I'm afraid. I really disliked the pairing between Brin and Corey, mainly because Brin is a rude woman, but as a dansel in distress she does accept Coreys help and then turns super rude again when somebody else helps out.
Corey was ok and Lakin was the most likeable character I think. This book had promise with its plot, but I couldn't get a connection to the characters and honestly hardly cared if they got together or not.

***Thank you Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for the chance to read and review this book*

Ronica is one of my favorite authors. The story touched a very special place in my heart. My bestie son aka my nephew is autistic, I thought Black did an amazing job writing this story when it came to Lakin. However, I thought there was something lacking when it came to Brin and Corey. I found Brin to be a bit ungrateful. in the beginning. Regardless I recommend.

3.75stars


thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Usually Black‘s romances are something I look forward to reading. So this one came totally out of left field: I didn‘t like one of the main characters at all. Brin really got on my nerves from the first moment: totally rude, clueless. And it didn‘t get any better: just more clueless and even more rude - and falling into the honey-trap for clueless damsels. The other main character just was a willing accomplice to the damsel-in-distress and got increasingly on my nerves. The romance was too sudden as was the end.
Not my cup of tea.

Brin along with her young daughter Laken has moved her small family to a rundown ranch. Brin isn't a fountain of information when it comes to her own background. She’s happy (or as happy) with the progress she’s made in providing a home for Laken, who is non-verbal. What brought her to the ranch we don’t know. ( We’ll know later on).
Next door to the rundown house stood another ranch house owned by Corey Durand, who raises pygmy goats, boards some horses and has taken to gardening as a way to offset the cost that comes from running her operations. She was raised on the ranch and doesn’t see any use in moving away. Working alongside her is Grey and Ryan even when she was the talk of the town because of a relationship with another woman that didn’t end well.
When a storm comes their way Corey’s house stood but Brin’s was badly damaged. With no other choices Brin and Laken move in with Corey while work is being done at their home. Of course there is always some guy who thinks he’s all that and more, who wants to lend a helping hand to Brin.
Ms Black writes about ranches quite a lot lately. Strong characters with a fast paced story. Nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

First, thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Okay, "Something to Talk About" was pretty okay. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The pacing was a little inconsistent for me, and I just wasn't a huge fan of Brin or Corey. They were fine, but... Just that. It was all just pretty okay. Sometimes it seemed like the author was veering off into ableist territory with Laken as well which put me off entirely.

Nothing made me want to continue reading when I put the book down, nothing pulled me back into it, and I was always aware that I was sitting in a Scooby Doo shirt in the middle of my state reading a book. Great books have something that sucks you in, where the world falls away, piece by piece, and Bold Strokes Books puts out a few of them! This wasn't one of them, at least for me.

Maybe I'll give it another go again some time in the future, but for now, it was just okay.

2/5

I've read books by this author in the past and I enjoyed them. I did enjoy this one as well but there were just a couple things here or there that have me saying this is a 3/5 star read. It just felt as though it was lacking some depth. A little more description here and there to really set the scene. I'm a sucker for some scene setting. And character development, I like character development and I felt like that wasn't provided in this book. It's these missing things that, if had been addressed, could have bumped this up in stars for me. Overall, it was an easy read and the pacing was alright. Just too many little things missing for me to truly, truly enjoy it.

I love small town romances and the premise of this one really caught my attention.

Corey just wants some peace and quite and time to enjoy running her ranch. But that peace is shattered with the addition of her neighbor Brin who is as complicated as they come. But more than that, she has also has a sweet child has acquired a new neighbor Brin who has a lovely child Laken who is neurologically diverse but strangely attached and responsive to Corey.

The first two thirds of this book was fantastic. I loved how the relationship between Laken and Corey developed and how Brin slowly started trusting Corey. Miley as the town gossip and busybody offered the perfect slice of villainy threatening the blossoming relationship between Brin and Corey. I really liked the slow burn build up of their romance and Corey’s motto of killing them with kindness despite all the snarkiness she faced made her more like able as the story progressed.

The tempo and pace of the story was perfect till about the 70% mark and then after that things sort of sped up super fast. The angst and unspooling of multiple threads (not sure why Brin’s occupation was kept such a mystery till the end) seemed to open and get resolved way too quickly for me.
I really did enjoyed this book immensely, and if only the last third was a little slower, this would have been perfect.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ronica Blacks ‘Something to talk about.’

I enjoyed this story, it's simple, not too much angst, not too fastpaced. The main characters work well together, there is a small spark between the pair and are both very likable. Like Most romance stories we always have at least one character that we instantly dislike, in this story we have three.. Yes, three! The ex, she was bad enough, the wanna be ‘boyfriend’ and if that's not bad enough, we have the wanna be’s boyfriend meddling sister. But, it's a cute story, as I've said it's very simple, we also have the adorable Laken, who as her own struggles in the storyline, but it is lacking something, maybe description of the village, area etc, more depth needed. (My mother says I'm nosey, but I just need description, about a character or place, just so I can get a better understanding or feeling of a place and surroundings.)

All in all, good book, good storyline, but something missing, and is a a bit on the short side. It's an easy read, and perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

I've given Something to talk about a 3.3/5.

Corey Durand is a rancher/farmer in a Northern Arizona town called Utopia which is just outside Flagstaff. She was hurt in love by her last girlfriend, Dawn, and has made a conscious decision to not date. One day Brin and her niece, Laken, move into an old house near Corey’s property. Laken, who doesn’t talk and is later appropriately diagnosed with a sensory perception issue, comes wondering over to her pumpkin patch. That is how Corey and Brin first meet.

Corey tries to help Brin with house-related issues and Laken grows close to Corey. However, as typical to small town life, there is a lot of gossip and others become involved in their business. Secondary character, Miley, is that primary gossip and she pushes her brother Jimmy to woo Brin. Little do they know but Brin is attracted to woman and in this case, specifically to Corey. After a lot of back and forth, Corey and Brin finally get together, but not without plenty of drama.

Overall I’d recommend this book to other readers. It was a fast paced read for me that emphasized the value of communication. 3.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.