I sadly couldn't give more than two stars to this book because of the romance that didn't do it for me. There was no tension between the two love interests, their dialogue did not feel natural, and their interest felt forced and fake. There was also a lot of repetition in this book; I feel like I've read the same 20 sentences/expressions over and over again.
On the positive side, found myself snickering a lot while reading. The author has a great sense of humor. I also did love the representation in this book. I loved that there was both disabled representation and body diversity. On that last point, though, I wish that the author wouldn't have tried to diminish every woman in the book who was thin. I would've preferred it if the main character was comfortable in her skin, but also did not disrespect the people who were skinnier than her...

“Her Turn” by Allison Jones, is the story of Addie, a 40-something, self-professed homebody, who hits the big time when the book she has written becomes an instant success. The story that ensues includes some down-on-their-luck relatives trying to skim money from her, a handsome publicist who fights his feelings for her and other somewhat predictable, albeit humorous, happenings. Although several of the characters are somewhat boring and flat, the characters of Owen, Addie’s brother who has Down’s syndrome, and George, her flamboyant stylist, hold their own. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced eCopy. I didn’t love it, but it did have some good qualities.

*ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I felt through the description that this book had the potential to be better, the writing style wasn’t good, hopefully someone else will enjoy this book and author.

Addie Synder's first novel is popular! Unfortunately, Addie was not ready for the overnight success and is having difficulty shielding her brother, Owen, who has Down Syndrome. Her publicist, Jameson Ford, has no compassion for Addie's situation, but together, they make it work.

Addie is shocked that her long-lost father comes out of the woodwork, threatening to take Owen, as well as random relatives who want their minute of fame.

The plot is cute, and I am glad the characters represent people. Addie is curvy; Owen has Down Syndrome. I felt there was too much backstory concerning other relative's thoughts, when Addie already shared her feelings on the character. There are a lot of short sentences, which I think takes away from the story itself. I did giggle that Addie called her lady business "hoo-ha!"

Thank you for sharing a copy with me, Net Galley.

I really wanted to like this book. The blurb sounded so good! Unfortunately this book did not do it for me. I made it less than 20% through before I knew I was going to hate it, but my need for completion drove me to finish the whole thing. As usual, I have thoughts. I will start with the main characters and move on to the writing/plot. Buckle up because this is going to be a long one.

I may have been all of five pages in before I said, out loud, "Oh, my gods. This lady needs to be in some intensive therapy." That overwhelming feeling did not go away throughout the book. Therapy is there for a reason. Addie is loaded. There's absolutely no reason she should not have a good therapist on speed dial. She needs to work through her issues. Pronto. Addie continuously refers to herself as "an extroverted introvert" and says "Its a thing. Look it up." It is not a thing. Being an introvert does not mean you are shy. There are many outgoing introverts. Being an introvert means that you recharge by being alone. Being an extrovert means that you recharge by being with people, usually specifically people you love. That may be a small thing for me to nit pick, but it was just one of the many things that got under my skin. Addie also breaks the fourth wall. When this is done well, it's a lovely literary tactic. (see C.S. Lewis in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe) Unfortunately this is not done well.

Addie has a stylist forced upon her (Enter the stereotypical gay.), which she complains about the entire time. The woman hates herself, hates the way she looks, and can't be bothered to put on a real pair of pants or a shirt without stains for television appearances without whining the whole time. Somehow, magically, after the first meeting with George (The gay stylist) they are best friends. The first meeting is awkward, but she likes him. That's it. There is no nuance to them becoming friends, it is just awkward first meeting to absolute best friends. She goes from not knowing him to relying on him for emotional support in every situation. As soon as the TV appearances are over, he is never mentioned again. Poof. No more gay best friend. Addie is also a size 12, but constantly down about being fat. First of all, enough with the fat shaming. Second of all, girl, a twelve isn't even fat! "A curvy twelve" is just about average sized. She isnt even the only one that does it, she has a date with a guy and he says he's "into chubby chicks" and thought she would be easy and he wouldn't have to compete for her attention because even though she's gorgeous, she's chubby. I literally cannot even. Addie was just not a heroine I could fall in love with. It's hard to read a book when the main characters are obnoxious. Addie is obnoxious.

Jameson is the name of the hero. It is hard for me to call him a hero, honestly. Toxic masculinity here is off the charts. When his buddy is checking in on him because he is suffering with PTSD, he says something along the lines of "What is this a lifetime movie? Enough about feelings!" And then later the same friend (obviously a better man than he is) asks again, how are you doing? - earnestly, over a pint in a pub- and this bitch straight up says "We're gonna grow vaginas if we don't stop talking about feelings. Lets talk about sports!" It was honestly like a caricature of how men talk. Again, people do not talk like that in real life. I live in the deep south. My husband is a grizzly, outdoorsy, manliest of manly, Appalachian man, but guess what? He's still a person! He would literally never talk this way. It was honestly just so unrealistic to me.

Jameson says at one point that he feels responsible for Addie. Addie is forty something years old. She is a (mostly) competent adult. She has been caring for her brother for most of her life. Assumedly she knows how to handle herself. She might be an insecure mess that needs therapy, but it got my hackles up when he said that. Responsible for her! Gtfo of here with that patriarchal bull crap. Speaking of patriarchal bull crap, here is another gem from Jameson. "Women are always attracted to me, but today the field holds no appeal." *vomit noises* One last reason to hate Jameson. He finds out some blockbuster information about Addie's family, but doesn't tell her. He's "protecting" her. Of course he is. How could a 40 year old woman possibly be expected to know what is good for herself and her brother. How could a 40 year old woman possibly process any negative information. Better save that from the little woman. No need to worry her pretty little head about it. *More vomit noises*.

The writing is very juvenile. Upon occasion I am willing to overlook this when the story is great and the characters are engaging. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it is often fun to sort of watch authors come into their own. (As an example, I thought the Suzanne Collins' writing in the first Hunger Games book was juvenile, but 1. That book's target audience is readers much younger than I. and 2. The story was awesome. Easy to overlook in that case. Not so in this case.) The dialogue is straight up inconceivable. People do not speak that way. It gets a bit smoother as the book goes on, but the beginning is unbearable.

A MAJOR issue I took with the writing is that the author made sure to make every villain call or refer to the brother as retarded. I absolutely cannot abide this. I know that the author knows better because according to her GoodReads profile, she has a son that was born with Down Syndrome. That just really made me furious. We already know they are bad people. Owen, the brother, is the best, most realistic character in the entire book. I have no complaints about him. I do want to point out that the author makes Addie say "Owen is my greatest teacher" at least 25 times throughout. We get it. I'm sure raising him has taught you a lot, but is it truly necessary to say it 25 times?

This book was just a terrible roller coaster and I wanted off the whole time. Not my cup of tea.
I have to go read a palette cleanser after that mess.

DNF
The cover and the blurb caught my interest but once I got into the writing style of the story I was disappointed, the story had potential and that was just that. The characters managed to be unlikable when they had all in the making to be great.
The
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book received from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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

When I read the synopsis of this book, I thought it had a lot of potential. It definitely sounded like a novel that would hold my interest and was right up my alley.

However, that’s about all of the positive feedback I have to say.

The writing style is incredibly juvenile and makes it difficult to progress through the novel. The sentences are choppy, phrases are repeated, making it confusing to continue your thoughts and attribute behaviors and characteristics to specific characters. I can’t find anyone remotely likeable, but I’m also having trouble nailing down what the actual plot is. While I appreciate diversity with the main characters being “plus-size” and one with Down’s Syndrome, other than knowing that, there isn’t much more to say about them.

This book ended up being a DNF for me, although I truly tried to keep pushing through.

I made it about 10% into this one and had to DNF it. It was just so repetitive and the story seemed to repeat the same story line within the first 10%. The main character did not seem to have anything really appealing to me. I like Owen’s attitude though. The cousin and his wife were just too much in my opinion. Not a great choice for me.

Started reading this book yesterday, despite the horrible reviews here.

I got to about 25% of the book and just had to not finished it.

Couldn’t get into the book at all. Addie is a 40 year old woman who acts like she is 19 in the way she dresses, talks, and acts.

I had hoped for the book but the writing was just not for me. Did not enjoy it. Still thankful for the opportunity to review this arc.

I was initially drawn to this story after reading the description, mainly because the protagonist, Addie, has a brother with Down syndrome and she is primary caretaker. I can totally relate to that! I did really enjoy how the author portrayed Addie and Owen’s relationship, and Owen’s character felt so familiar to me (the attitude! The sass!). Addie’s love for her brother is fierce, and she would do anything for him.

The plot was different than I expected, though, and I did not particularly care for the supporting characters as much. Especially Dorothy, who we are supposed to dislike as she is the antagonist of course, but I feel like we could’ve still gotten that storyline without having her POV included for a few chapters. I also wasn’t completely sold by the love interest, and the whole plot of Dorothy’s to try and steal Addie’s money just seemed silly.

I think the main thing I’m taking away from the story is the inclusion of a character with Down syndrome central to the plot, and I appreciated how real his character was. I hope to see more of this in the future!

Her Turn is a fun romantic comedy where the male lead is a retired, damaged Navy SEAL turned big time publicist (?) who finds himself softening for an introverted, newly famous writer. It’s a quick read with some funny parts and a twist of an ending.
Character development was a bit lacking for me. The characters internal dialogue was over explanatory. It felt like the reader was being given the information as opposed to shown and I wasn’t a fan when the characters talked directly to the reader.
I feel the author must have first hand experience, or done a lot of amazing research for life with a family member with Down’s because the interactions and personalities were spot on for Owen and having a fiction book that highlights the joys of knowing someone with Down’s syndrome is refreshing. Overall a good weekend read.

I had trouble getting into the book. It didn’t draw me in. I liked the different POVs once I started getting into it. The funniest parts were when she talked about her lady parts. Other than that, it was okay. A little unrealistic, and I didn’t feel connected to the characters.

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

I went into the book really thinking I would enjoy it from the description, but had a hard time finishing it. Overall the storyline had potential, but I just couldn’t get over the writing. It was incredibly juvenile at times and cringey.

I did finish the book, but I found myself skimming through a lot of the pages to get through it.

I really liked the cover and the description of the book grabbed me. However, once I got into the book it felt like the writing was a bit immature. I really liked the main character at the big inning but once the dialogue turned more teen-ish I, unfortunately, pretty much lost interest. I had high hopes for the book and will definitely try others by this author, this one just wasn’t for me.
#HerTurn #NetGalley

]this book has nice elements to build on unluckily the result was mediocre
The plot was hiccuping
Her brother call retarded at least 12 time is awful
She is described as plus size so what everybody reading this one are supermodel in their twenties and he you are forty you are plus size ???
The hero was undeveloped and doormat
Sorry but war neither funny book
Her Turn by Allison Jones. #HerTurn #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I would like to bring y'all's attention to the gorgeous cover. I have been loving these illustrated covers and this one was no exception. This cover oozes a cutesy mood and I am here for it! Now let's get to the actual review.

I was extremely intrigued by the blurb of the book with Down Syndrome rep. Apart from that, there's a plus-size heroine, and a hero suffering PTSD. This book was filled with reps and I was hyped. I was hoping to love this book as much as I loved the cover and the blurb. But I was left very disappointed.

One of the biggest problems in this book was the writing style. The writing style felt very immature-ish for a 40-something-year-old character. From the starting 1%, I couldn't believe that Addie was 40-something or even 20 for that matter. Also, the way the story was told was cringy...it was as if the heroine was reciting us a story rather than us witnessing it. There was a lot of telling, not showing involved which got annoying quickly.

"Why do I continue to participate, you ask? I’m not sure."

"because I’m in the middle of my story and I need you sober."

"Like, several slices short of a full loaf of bread. Notice I always reference food. It’s my thing."

Even though we were told about Owen after 2 chapters in the book, we were introduced to him very late in the book. I mean I thought he was important enough to be somehow introduced within 2 chapters. The dialogues were very strange, to say the least. There wasn't a balance between the dialogue and the monologue.

"My inner dialogue is at war."

The characters in this book felt very unrelatable. Addie was a typical example of a Mary Sue. The author tried to make her a lot of things but ended up with her being nothing. I wish I could see her being what she told us she was. I didn't care even slightly about the hero, Jameson. Aside from being hot, he didn't show any other characteristics.

"There in front of me stands a man— not just any man, but a man who literally takes my breath away"

The only good character in this book was Owen, the light of the book. One can't help but adore Owen.

Even though there was a lot of character perspectives, this book couldn't produce a single likable narrator. We got Dorothy's POV heck we even got Mathew's POV while both were unnecessary.

The trope "not-like-other-girls" (or women in this case) was oozing all over this book.

"Unlike most women, I hate shopping and have cultivated a knack for buying online to avoid the unforgiving mirrors and lighting that taunt me."

Let's also talk about a small detail here about the age —

"I want to be like him when I grow up (but without the attitude)."

Addie is supposed to be older than Owen (she's “40-something" and he's 30). But I don't understand what this should mean. Isn't Addie a grown woman? How's she supposed to grow up and become like her brother?

Another thing —

"I felt my lady parts wake up from their long winter’s nap."

"My lady parts clap in agreement."

"The “girls” look like they’re waving “hello”"

"My ovaries cheer."

"I think my lady parts just rolled their eyes. Honestly, my lady parts aren’t sure what to do. They have been doing the Rip Van Winkle for so long; maybe they’re simply adjusting to the new hype."

"My lady bits are fist-bumping."

"My lady parts sigh in disbelief and ask me to return my woman card."

These are some strange ways for a 40-something-year-old to describe her body parts. This vocabulary does belong to teens (or maybe not?). I feel like the author tried to write from an adult women's perspective but instead ended up with a teen character as the lead.

The romance itself was sort of insta love. I didn't even understand why they liked each other when they haven’t even spent much time together. And I didn't understand how the leads fell in love afterward. There's also a tiny bit of cheating involved even though the leads weren't together at that time, still cheating in my book.

The book got relatively better after the initial 50% with the writing style and got alittle cute (me referring to the luggage part) still, some glaring factors made me want to DNF this book. I won't call this book a bookish romantic comedy and instead call this bookish drama. Too much family drama overshadowed the character development. I mean I am all here for the drama but I wish character development was done better first.

Overall,


"You’re giving humor and lightness to menopausal women. You’re giving them hope that their lives haven’t ended simply because a man left them or their bodies have changed the rules.”

The above was what I was hoping this book to be and I wanted to enjoy this book but obviously, the writing style isn't my cup of tea. The representations in the book were very important and so was the premise of the book. However, the romance and characters aren't very well developed.

At first it was funny, when it was mostly the main character. But then came the romantic interest, and it was just so fake. What they talked about, how they talked about everything; what they expressed they were feeling felt so mechanic and weird. The family members were unnecessary and added nothing.
But I did like how the main character was very relatable to how I would respond in stressful social situations. I liked how real she was and funny. I just didn't get the relationship with the guy. And since it's a romance book, it's the main focus, and it wasn't good.

The representation in this book was great. I appreciated the diversity and the fact that the characters were not the ones you typically see in a romcom novel. However, that is where the positives end for me. I simply could not get into this and considered not finishing. The plot didn't draw me in, I didn't deeply feel the romance, and truthfully I was a bit bored. 2 stars because I can appreciate what it was, however it was not for me.

Hard pass. I got a little over 20% in and I just couldn't. I felt no connection to the few characters that were displayed. There are hundreds of words but very little of them make sense to me.

Thank you Netgalley for a galley of this upcoming release for my honest opinions. Those opinions are strong.

Addie Snyder’s first novel is becoming an overnight sensation. Unprepared for being thrusted in the limelight, she is desperate to shelter her brother, Owen, who has Down syndrome. She must protect him from the harsh world, but how can she do that with public events coming up? An unlikely ally in her cold and emotionless publicist, Jameson Ford. As a former Navy Seal, Jameson has his own demons, but there is something about Addie that defrosts his icy wall. Together, they navigate the twists and turns as her book becomes a world-wide phenomenon.

I loved the premise of this book and had high hopes for Addie and Jameson. I was surprised by all the alternate points of view and wished we stayed with Addie the whole time. I felt pulled in a lot of different directions and while I enjoyed all the bookish fun and Addie and Jameson together and Owen is a literal cinnamon roll I didn't like the whole plot as much as I hoped. Garbage people acting like garbage people is no fun.