**Thank you to Water's Edge Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

TW: binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, abuse/violence, r word used, attempt of SA

Randi is a 24 year old in her last year of college. She finds herself in an unusual situation having to move to a house filled with other students who are not what she expected. To say that she is in a world of turbulence would not even cover it. When she first gets to the house she is confronted with a party of a lot of partying and drinking — which is the complete opposite of her who is a but anti-social. However, on her first day of arrival she meets one of her roommates’’ friend who catches her eye, Buck.

Buck is described as this cowboy who needs a spice to park his trailer. He ends up being Randi’s protector during her stay in the house. During their stay in the house, there is a friendship that starts between the two.

So, why did this book not work for me? Well, I was really excited to read a cowboy book which had one of my favourite tropes: grumpy/sunshine! I hate when there is drama from the get go but I felt like that drama never got a resolution and so it felt that it was just an unnecessary plot after half of the book and it just dragged on. There was a lot of slut-shaming, drink shaming, and also shaming Randi for being focused on her studies.

It was a bit messy.

Another plot that drove me insane is that Buck could get away with murder! He not only was possessive (and not in a cute way) but he enabled his friends behaviour, even after one of them had to be dragged to the hospital due to alcohol poison.

But the cherry on top was when Randi ended up being a virgin and then at one point also the r word was thrown in, which was unnecessary. Not to mention that in the first chapters there was derogatory language used against an indigenous character Also was it just me or did her relationship with Daisy and her Aunt seem more of a therapist and not really as a niece or friend?

Overall, I just did not like the mean girl energy from her roommates, the destructive energy that was portrayed and I feel like there were a few plot holes that were not given closure by the end of the book.

I'm writing this review without having finished the book. I couldn't bring myself to finish. This book feels like it was written in another version of reality. Buck is predatory toward Randi and does not respect her personal boundaries. All of the "extras" in this book are set up to look like terrible people--alcoholic, sexually promiscuous, etc. This is all seen through Randi's extremely meanspirited eyes or Buck's leering ones. Oh yeah, and there is a racial slur included. Terrible, terrible, terrible. I wish I could give it zero stars.

Oh, and it's not grumpy/sunshine. They're both grumpy and mean. I felt bad reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC of "Buck Up, Buttercup" by Anna Alkire, slated to release on June 30th, 2022!

This novel tells the story of Randi, who is working hard for her senior year of undergraduate school. She's taking a maxed out course load (21 credits) and has no room or time for distractions to arise. She is very studious and spends most of her time in the library, studying because things have gone very wrong with the house she's rented a room in - as it turns out, it's a "party house".

While the majority of this novel entertained me, I was not a fan of Buck at the beginning of the novel because he appeared to be pushing himself on Randi. And I was not a fan of Randi at the beginning because she struck a compromise with her housemates instead of putting her foot down and taking care of the problem (the house not being as advertised) I liked how Randi stood up for herself at the beginning of the novel in regards to Buck, however I did not enjoy when she gave in to him so easily and started dating him.

Overall, I would rate this book a 3.5/5 stars!

This just wasn’t what I was hoping for 😕😩 the cover and name really sucked me in. But it felt like the MMC was trying so hard to be country, I felt zero connection with the characters in the book. I love a bit of drama but throughout the entire book basically? It was a big no for me.

Ended up DNFing. The characters were flat, storyline was nothing original, and with the use of derogatory/inappropriate slurs and references, I really don't feel the need to finish it at all. It's 2022, we can do better.

I Received an ARC from NetGalley all opinions are my own
*TW*
Mention of rape, drinking, mental health

I am not one for leaving bad reviews of a book but this one simply was not for me. I didnt like the language/slurs used in the book and overall it was not an enjoyable reading experience for me.

I loved the cover of this book and was really hopeful that the book too would be a fun, enjoyable read.

I found it hard to find the positives in this book ultimately not being able to give it more than a single star. Besides the obvious, unnecessary "R" slur, I found the scenes of S.A. not really vital to the plot and seemed to be a poor attempt at a shock value to an otherwise bland story. The description sells the book so high to the reader, but I do not think it delivers. I personally would be open to trying again with the author or another book of this type as I was excited to try out this cowboy-esque trope. It did not turn me off forever, but I really did struggle to complete this.

I almost gave up on this book several times. Buck appeared drunk during the first half and Randi was neurotic and stressed all the time. I finished it and I liked the ending, but it took a long time to get there.

** spoiler alert ** First I would like to thank Net Galley and Water's Edge Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

I wanted to love it, but i almost dnf'd it.
It took me way longer to read this than I care to admit. I thought it would be a quick chick lit book easy summer read but gosh it dragged.

I have so many issues with this book it's not even funny. The bullying, the drinking the almost rape and all of that drama. Geex it was trying to get through a county soap opera episode. Also I know buck is a cowboy but every other word he says is darlin'. It's not endearing and it's hard to read. Can we just say he has a drawl and move on?

Angie, Randi, Buck and every other character in this book are horribly written. The story line itself/ plot is hard to believe like why is a grown ass man partying at a house with underage girls/ barely legal girls letting them drug him? Also if he cares so much about Randi why is he putting her in uncomfortable situations?

It was to much drama and not enough if a story. Not impressed.

📖 Buck Up Buttercup by Anna Alkire

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

--------------------------------------

An uptight, self-contained college girl, Randi Becker just needed one thing: a room. Somewhere she could study, and keep away from the things that most confuse and frighten her: people.

Unfortunately, the 'nice quiet place' she reserved turns out to be a room in the campus’ most raucous house. A place seemingly designed to make studying impossible, made even worse by the other girls’ non-stop drama.

But then Buck, a fun-loving cowboy whom all the ladies love, shows up…and everything gets much worse.

What you'll find:
👩🏻‍🎓 Randi: determined, workaholic introvert
🤠 Buck: fun-loving, partying cowboy
☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine
💭 Dual POV
👩🏻‍❤️‍👨🏼 Serious girl/Party boy
🔥 Slow burn
🌶 A nice amount of spice
🤕 Let me look after you but really, let's cuddle
❤️‍🔥 Lots of tension

TW:
Alcoholism
Sexual assault + harassment

I did like this story and I ended up reading it in one day. I liked the writing style and the development of the characters. It dealt with a lot of serious themes, such as sexual harassment and alcoholism. I really related to Randi's closed of nature and how she finds it hard to trust people. I think, taking into consideration her past and her trauma, the love story was well paced and realistic. Buck wasn't the greatest male character I've read. He's a bit problematic at times. Overall, it was a nice love story and I enjoyed the side characters, too. I would recommend this!

Thanks to #netgalley and #watersedgepublishing for this ARC and the opportunity to leave an honest review.

🏷
#bookstagram #buckupbuttercup #booktok #book #bookreview #romance #romancebooks #instabook #bookrecommendations #booknerd #booklover #advancedreaderscopy

Truthfully, this book felt like it needed more editing. There were elements and scenes that felt unnecessary to the plot progression and development and the inclusion of various slurs really left a bad taste in my mouth. I struggled to maintain interest after I noticed some of the lazy handling of sensitive words and topics.

Thank you NetGalley and Waters Edge Publishing for this ARC.



The cover and the plot of this book immediately caught my attention, but as soon as I started reading it was … not for me. 

I powered through in hopes of something happening but instead was greeted with slut shaming, alcoholism and alcohol shaming, assault, mild homophobia and poor choices of words (in particular the R word that had no need being used the way it was).



I found Randi insufferable. Yes I get it .. 21 credits … but she was so prudish to everyone. And I couldn’t understand how they let Angie stay living there - she was a horrific excuse of a person.



Buck, besides his overuse of the pet name Darlin, was boring. He seemed like an asshole masquerading as a nice guy and just felt like he was gaslighting Randi the whole time (as if he had no ability to stop a party before getting caught in the act). 



I couldn’t get into the story (which .. where even / what even was the plot in the end??) at all and after finishing it I felt more confused than ever. 

Can’t in good conscience suggest this one out, 1 ⭐️ seems more than generous imo.

I always find something good in every book, even if it doesn't hold my attention or doesn't have a plot for me
.
The synopsis tells about Randi, a girl who is very hard-working to the point of overworking herself, and her roommate Buck, a cowboy who lives in a trailer parked in the garden of the farm house where she lives with three other girls. Buck is a magnet for women and Randi with his seriousness is the perfect repellant to finish his last term in college un peace
.
And it's something like that, Randi has her fixed goals and goes straight towards them with a lot of firmness and seriousness. That is why she decides that she cannot return to her aunt's small house and rents an apartment attached to a house with three students, in search of peace to finish all her credits. But when she arrives, finds a party out of control and her totally drunk new roommates destroying the property. But when wanting to recover the money, the most responsible of the group proposes an agreement to behave and substantially lower the rent
.
Randi decides to stay and is forced to share her time with the girls and the new yard tenant Buck, a cowboy all the women seek to seduce. Gaining new friendships and feeling attracted to Buck, Randi begins to push her limits and explore the life of a college student for more than books
.
What didn't I like? Buck has feelings for her but I could not fall for them, he is always partying, there are always girls around him and although he says to put them in their place, he never does it nor does he defend Randi when some situations go beyond limits and with Randi lacks self-confidence with a past so painful it makes sense that she wants to protect her heart
.
Randi is always trapped between her roommates needing someone responsible to get them out of the parties or their apartment, cleaning the mess of others, a friend who doesn't listen to her and complains almost all the time and her aunt, all the characters demand a lot from her and I thought that in one point this was going to mark something for her but got nowhere
.
The ending seemed too much to me, and with too many elements for adults in their twenties starting their independent life
.
Bullying, out of control college parties, situations of alcohol abuse, drug abuse, anxiety, stress and two situations of harassment that did not end badly can be a trigger warning to take into account
.
I really wanted to like the book but on the other hand I felt the dialogues were disconnected and I couldn't get hooked on the characters even though they had potential
.
Thanks to Anna Alkire and Water's Edge Publishing for give me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion

I had requested this book cause the blurb sounded promising and I liked the cover but sadly, it was not my kind of book.
There were so good parts. I really liked Daisy and there was a lot to be said for some important and interesting parts to the story including the main characters, but it fell a little short for me.
Overall, a decent story.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC.

You could argue that this being my fourth contemporary romance in a row may have burned me out, and that's why I didn't enjoy it, but you could also argue that this book was too problematic to have made it past the first round of edits.

I really, really, really want to read and love a cowboy romance, and I love books with nerdy main characters. This was calling my name, but by following that call I was led off a cliff. This book receives a deep resounding no from me, dawg.

I had requested this book cause the blurb sounded promising and I liked the cover but sadly, it didn't live up. I didn't get the writing most of them and a lot of stuff was totally unnecessary. Some parts made no sense to me and it felt like a chunk was missing. There was no flow to the plot.

Buck up buttercup

In the beginning I had a really hard time with Randi. I didn’t really find her charming or interesting, I understand she was being projected as standoffish. But that’s what kept me really reserved about her.

There were points where I couldn’t understand, or it seemed maybe more intense then need be, or just extra & a little annoying. She threatened lawsuits a lot as well as calling the police. I feel like it just became an overplayed theme for her. Was to get angry and threaten to throw a lawsuit in there.

Her interactions with the boys in the beginning, I found very annoying as well. Luke, Cam and Buck were all pretty nice to her and she just cold shouldered them. I’m not sure. There’s just something about her being the grumpy one just didn’t work for me.

As the book progressed, I enjoyed it more. I grew more fond of Randi, I liked her better then. She was still sassy but not to a completely over the top degree.

I don’t think love third act break up tropes either. I just hate the running when you’re scared, and putting words in another’s mouth.

Overall, it was a good book, and a good rom com. There was a lot of subplot, kind of background plot, but the main plot line was enjoyable. The end was cheesy and cute, but also felt a little rushed and a little too perfect world for me. Given the chance I’d love to read more of Anna’s writing. And I’m intrigued to see how the relationships with the brothers progress. I do like series like that. That are like standalones but follow a series and crossover and intertwined characters.

⭐️💫
I was looking forward to this book, and I skipped ahead of other books waiting in line to go ahead and read it. The premise was entertaining, and I thought it would be a fun book. Sadly, it falls apart with the overly cutesy and corny cowboy love interest, Buck, and the very intellectual and strange dress-wearing girl, Randi, who has to live in this party house because there’s nowhere else on campus she can afford to rent. I felt the excessive drinking was over the top, with everybody taking turns going to the hospital regularly because they’re OD on alcohol. I didn’t buy it, and I didn’t see chemistry between the two leads. Sorry. #cowboy #prissygirl #alcoholabuse #romcom? #partyhouse #sharedrental @netgalley #dismal #watersedgepublishing Pub Date: 6/30/2022
🤠
#bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bookstagram #bookstagramer #bookshelf #booksbooksbooks #readersofinstagram #reader #booklove #bookreader #bookish #bookblogger

Okkk a lot to unpack here. First, the plot is great. Our heroine grump Randi is tricked into living in a party house as she finished up her degree at a college in rural Oregon. Buck, our sunshine cowboy love interest has been Van Wilder-ing (elder millennial reference for the win) his grad degree, and ends up also living at the party house. Great. The romantic set-up here was fine- cute even. The characterization of Buck was actually pretty spot on for PNW cowboys- they’re a thing. It’s just pretty niche and seems like he is lost on most readers. Then we have the other roommates and things go down hill from here. Trish could have been an awesome asset to the story! Sarah & Angie are frustrating beyond the author’s intention. Mostly because there was no redemption or resolution that satiated even having them get as much time as they did. We also have Daisy, Randi’s best friend, that absolutely would never be her friend in real life. There was no friendship comparability! It felt like everyone was on one side of the social spectrum and Randi was on the other. Even Buck has a buddy who should have had more story than he did. It felt like we had all the ingredients of a great story, full of interesting and quirky characters and stories, and unfortunately they weren’t developed enough to work.
I pushed through and found myself skimming it around the 40% mark when the romance still had not developed enough past basic interest. Randi never seemed to loosen up, and I lost interest. I really wanted more from this book, but overall it wasn’t the worst and had a cute setting.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

I would have loved to be a beta reader for this. I think the concept and main ideas are there but with a few tweaks and improvements it could go in a better direction. I also believe this is the author's first work, and I know how hard it can be. But especially the beginning, it feels very choppy and sentences are often two or three words. It definitely improves as the book progresses.
Something that I really enjoyed was the dual POV. 10/10 would recommend. Howeveeeer, I also felt like it was very hard to connect with the characters and I didn't feel drawn to them somehow.