Buck up, Buttercup is a college, opposites attract romance that could not hold my attention for long. I unfortunately DNFed this book after trying to push through. Randi and Buck weren't my favorite and I also wasn't a big fan of all the relationships in the story, such as Randi and her relationship with her roommates. There were plenty of triggers in this book and I found them hard to swallow and look past. I feel like Buck up, Buttercup had lots of potential but fell short. Thank you NetGalley and Water's Edge Publishing for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

"Buck Up, Buttercup" follows Randi, a non-traditional student as she starts her senior year in college. Thinking she’s moving into a house filled with other studious individuals, her world is turned upside down when it turns out to be a bit of a party house. While she is ready to move out two seconds after moving in, she ends up staying, meeting her roommates and their friends. One of their friends, a graduate student named Buck, catches her eye from the start, though she’s determined nothing will happen between them.

This book was fun from start to finish and always kept me guessing. From Randi realizing she’s made a horrible mistake in her housing choices to the secrets Buck reveals in the final pages, I never quite knew how the story would reach its endpoint, though it was clear what was in store for the characters. Readers mostly get Randi’s point of view, but there are several scenes from Buck’s perspective that show just how mutual some feelings can be.

As someone that finished graduate school in the last year, it was like a throwback to the bubble college creates. From being interrupted by random events in the library to parties at the most inopportune times, "Buck Up, Buttercup" definitely captured the college experience. Randi felt like someone everyone knew (or was) in college: taking too many credits, not leaving time for self-care or relaxation, and determined to finish on the four-year timeline.

Randi’s “home” life is what made the novel what it was. It really helped me understand her character and motives, and why she was so hesitant to let herself have some freedom in her life. I will say, her YouTube channel is something I wish got a bit more in-depth attention. Much of how it was included in the story felt repetitive, and I would’ve liked to see it incorporated in different ways.

Fair warning: as it is a romance, there are some spicy scenes, but they’re tasteful and not too explicit. Like other romances, the timeline of their love story seems a bit fast, but that is part of the fun. As a romantic comedy, it definitely has moments that made me snort in the best way, usually from something either Randi or Buck says.

There are quite a few side characters to remember, but Alkire does a great job of giving them all distinct personalities so they all stand on their own. I never felt like I was confusing one for the other because it was super clear how each roommate or friend spoke and acted. There is one character in particular that feels over the top in a negative way. I won’t spoil who it is, but readers will probably know who I’m talking about when they encounter them. They usually took away from the story when they appeared, but it wasn’t often enough to ruin the book for me.

"Buck Up, Buttercup" is the perfect read for anyone looking for a college-based romance or those interested in reading about what happens when a city girl and a cowboy cross paths.

Friends, I really wanted to like this book because it’s set in a university with characters around my age and not supposed to be dark academia, deep, or a murder mystery. While it wasn’t any of those things, it was a book full of slut-shaming, off-color remarks, and pedestal thinking with a plot I would have eaten up if I could like more than the throwaway character who appears at the end of the book for a page (forever an Old Mack stan).

Starting with the plot, though, because it was fun and really likable in the standard romance way. Studious and uptight Randi gets thrown completely into the deep end when the house she rents turns out to be the opposite of what she was expecting. From the start, Buck’s the hero and they get closer throughout the book. They fight, have their big moment, and then end the book with a grand finale. And it was a grand finale. I LOVED the plot, all those events are good events… if they didn’t constantly happen while Randi shamed everybody and their dog—even her supposed best friend for drinking, having or wanting to have sex, and/or smoking. Her thoughts and characterization are pretty much just “For shame.”

Of course, Randi is not only so uptight she freaks out the minute she steps foot in the house, but then she never accepts that her treatment of others might be why other characters don’t like her. Angie is a two-dimensional villain who gets bits of backstory with the drama she has going on with her parents and housemates, but it doesn’t excuse the author from using her and awful language to introduce Trish. Trish is only part of about a quarter of the book and stops physically showing up at about 20 percent through, though she is used as a convenient plot device to explain other events and conversations later. And then, there’s poor misguided Sarah who drinks because she just doesn’t know any better now that she’s out of her parents’ house and has a little freedom. All of whom “tormented” Randi “for no reason”. A few of those reasons might just be that she came into their home and started dictating how much they could drink, what they could do, how they lived, and constantly threatened to call the cops.

But Sarah gets redeemed in Randi’s eyes because she “smartens up,” even though she and pretty much every other character still think Randi is weird because she doesn’t like to party since being an introvert or a homebody and caring about school is a character flaw. However, she’s not only redeemed in Randi’s eyes, but also Buck’s by this point.

Which brings us to Buck. I just don’t get Buck. He’s a flirty, super-handsome playboy who gets all the girls and has tons of money. The evil ex trope works here, but I still just don’t like him? He fetishizes Randi’s status as a virgin and needs someone to keep him in line or else he resorts to drinking and getting into suggestive situations. He can’t tell women “no” and it results in him getting drugged, which he then shrugs off “because Ang is having a hard time”. He’s supposed to be the sunshine in the grumpy/sunshine trope, but his character just doesn’t work for me. I constantly asked myself how he could be firm and upset with Randi, but still let other women walk all over him.

All of that aside, Daisy, Randi’s best friend, and Hugh, Buck’s best friend, may actually be the worst characters. Daisy just lost her father, and she’s throwing herself into some pretty intense situations to deal with the loss—or, at least, that’s what we’re supposed to assume from the one line and then Randi’s thoughts about it. But instead of understanding Daisy may be coping in her own way and just watching out for her, Randi tries to control every aspect of their outings together and then they just stops talking to her. Daisy and Randi would not pass the Bechdel test. Every conversation they have involves men or Daisy trying to force Randi to party and Randi judging Daisy for it.

Hugh himself seems to just be there to be Buck’s hype man whenever Randi feels like maybe this guy just isn’t right for her. However, Hugh never really develops.

The worst part of the whole thing is that the only time anyone learns anything is when something bad happens or almost happens to them. Some content warning might be needed for sensitive readers because Daisy almost gets sexually assaulted, and the author definitely doesn’t use any delicate language around it. Which, author’s choice if there’s a reason for it, but then Daisy herself even blows off the encounter as an “oops! Won’t do that again, haha” kind of deal.

So, overall, if the characters were overhauled to be less caricatures of the “ideals” they’re supposed to represent, I probably could have and would have liked this more because the plot was great! However, it was hard to feel sympathy for anyone, no matter their situation or background, because I couldn’t really bring myself to care for any of them. Loved the descriptions of Randi’s clothes, though. If Alkire ever gets tired of writing, she should definitely design womenswear.

This book starts with a basic enough plot line and diverges into so many different non-related plots that it feels like even the author got lost amongst them.

Randi wants a quiet off-campus room to study and build her yoga YouTube following—the 21 credits needed for her double major and a minor degree is mentioned in what is basically every breath she takes.

All of this begins well but very quickly becomes chaotic. Randi, an introvert, goes out of her way at times to purposely be rude to people because she’s “so busy with her 21 credits” that she doesn’t have time for even a basic polite level of conversation with a single soul. Her single friend, aside from her aunt, seems to be an inconvenience that Randi barely manages to tolerate. She spends a great deal of time assuming other people should be failed or kicked out of the college for their partying ways since unlike her, they aren’t taking college seriously. She voices that no man is “good enough” for her high standards, at one point mentally disqualifying a potential suitor because he’s in a band and hence, would be around party-goers for which, she states again: SHE IS NOT ONE.

We get it Randi. We get it.

Enter Buck who wants to stop being thought of as a lady’s man and focus on his degree. He decides that in order to do this he must pretend to be interested in Randi to ward off any potential attraction from others. In between actually looking out for her well-being (note: her attempting to ride her bike to campus over 2 miles away in a ‘torrential downpour’) and attempting to include in the roommates activities—to which of course she is too busy; he seems to like her and her “weird dresses” and large glasses”.

Consistently the characters mention that she dresses weirdly, that she behaves weirdly as if in this universe no one but Randi just wants to study and doesn’t drink. One character literally asks her if she dresses weird and feminine to get attention. *ROLLS EYES SO HARD IT HURTS MY HEAD*

The story never seems to find itself or to get back into it’s originally footing.

“Buck Up, Buttercup” is honestly the worst book I read this year so far. I really struggled to get into the story. There were too many poorly constructed plot twists. The majority of the characters were intolerable, especially the leads Buck and Randi. Buck is an awful “lady’s man”, and Randi is unlikeable due to being overly critical. Both characters were horrendous to each other as well, I didn’t see this as romance. This book also contains many offensive circumstances such as an offensive racial remark towards an Indigenous character which was totally redundant, and there are insensitive comments about mental health. Not to mention the jokes about sexual assault. I honestly, can’t believe the author thought this was okay.

Overall, I would not recommend this book, I did not find it to be enjoyable.

This ARC was provided to me by Water’s Edge Publishing and by #NetGalley. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

Genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, I don't believe Anna Alkire likes women. The relationship between Randi and her roommates was nightmarish to read. It felt like it was going for early 2000's quirky, but as this is 2022, it fell more than flat. Throughout this book there are comments of fat shaming, slut shaming, and casual discussion of sexual assault. The final point would be fine, but Alkire is attempting to present it as a joke and, you know what, rape isn't exactly funny.

For being such a short book, there were a shocking amount of slurs (yes, slurs). There's a slur used towards an Indigenous person and the r slur is used. I understand the literary use of slurs if it adds to the story or is used in a way that's compelling, but this wasn't. This was purely Alkire punching down and it reads as such. It makes an already weak novel even weaker.

And ultimately the relationship between Randi and Buck isn't even interesting. There's nothing to this that works and I really hope the negative reviews show Alkire that they need to reflect. It won't, but I hope that it does.

I really wanted to like this book based off the description, but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. It was really hard to get in to from the beginning. The relationship amongst the female roommates was really disappointing and just gave off a big ick factor, I didn’t like so many women pitted against each other over one attractive guy. I also thought Randi & Buck’s story was repetitive and took too long to get anywhere, when it finally did, it felt really manipulative and childish. Also, super turned off by all the use of “darlin’” and derogatory terminology throughout. Some y’all’s and might could’s would’ve given off much more of a southern/Texan vibe.

Thank you to NetGalley and Water’s Edge Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

It's a shame that this book isn't enjoyable, given the appealing cover and intriguing small-town/cowboy romance premise.

I really want to enjoy this, but everything else is just annoying and bland. The writing wasn't that great, and the characters were just plain annoying?

This was a letdown all around.

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒑𝒚.

Buck Up Buttercup follows Randi who rents a room but it is nothing like what she expected. She wanted a nice quite house to do her school work and make her youtube video's. But she falls into a party house with intresting roommate.s Buck is fun loving cowboy who all the ladies love. But he wants a break from all of that. So he decides to crush on Randi to keep his mind occupied. Who knows mabye oppsites do attract?

I really do not understand what this book was trying to be. I thought it was going to be a fake dating book ( which are my favorite kind of romance books). But no this book was basically Buck trying to get with Randi. And Randi being stuck up and complaining about everything. Half of this book was just Buck driving Randi to and from class. I did not really care for the characters. I think they needed a stronger relationship. The writing of this was a little coppy. I just felt like there was nothing to this story. And by the end I was just kind of like "well that was it". One good thing I will say about this book is, I did like the cover. But this overall book just did not seem finished to me. I feel like the author had some good ideas. But they were just not excuted well.

Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited to read a fun romance with a juicy cowboy love interest, but was a little let down with some of the themes in this book.

This story centers on Randi, who at the beginning of the book is really down on her luck. She’s trying to climb her way out of some rocky situations while maintaining school, which I thought really captures how overwhelming those college years can be. I really related to her struggle with allowing herself to just live organically. She’s stiff and judgmental when she meets love interest, Buck, who seems to be her polar opposite. It was fun getting to see him poke through Randi’s tough exterior.

I wasn’t a big fan of how Randi’s relationships with other women were represented. There were also some unnecessary comments about weight and sexual habits that I thought could have been left out of the story (they did not bring any value to the book other than to degrade).

I received an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
I don't think this book was for me, It was impossible to connect with Randi and Buck, this book has many plot holes.
At the end turns out that he's a millionaire from Texas, don't know why this is even relevant.

Randi is a college senior who is in her last year of college and desperate for a quiet place to sleep and study. Little does she know the cozy farmhouse she rented from an online ad is actually a party house with the loudest and rowdiest around. Buck Montgomery, the local cowboy around town, is at the party and they meet and their personalities clash.

I loved the cover on this book and it was what had immediately drawn me to reading the description. The theme of new adult with older characters in college pursuing their degree or getting their master’s degree was nice to see. New Adult is an age demographic that I am excited is being portrayed and published more readily.

Buck Up Buttercup was likened in the vein of Beth O’Leary and Sally Thorne but I would not compare them to this book at all. Strong trigger warnings for college campus drinking, alcohol poisoning, and attempted sexual assaults throughout multiple story lines. The sexual assault theme was casually brought up several times and felt flippant. There was also a great deal of slut shaming that occurred throughout that was hard to stomach. A few of the plot points were flimsy and not believable. Buck up Buttercup because it will take some effort getting through this read.

* I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.*

✅️ Neighbors
✅️ Opposites Attract
✅️ Duel POV
✅️ Contemporary Romance

⚠️ TW: mentions rape, derogatory word

Randi is working to complete her Bachelor's degree quickly and taking extra credits. She rents a room/cabin thinking it will be a nice quiet place to study but quickly finds out that it is actually a party house.

Buck happens to be one of the party go-ers and then becomes Randi's neighbor.

I wish I could say I really liked this book because at first glance I liked the cover & the book sounded cute! Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

I didn't feel the connection between any of the characters. (The main characters or the main/side characters.) Everyone was so rude/self absorbed and you really didn't see much bonding/feelings develop. They were just there suddenly because the author told you they were. 😬

I think this book could have used a few things tweeked before being sent out to readers.
1) The casual mention of "rape" is a it out there for a book that wants to fall into the comedy genre. (On multiple occasions. It didn't help the story in any way.)
2) The unnecessary drama between all of the girls immediately. (It makes it unbelievable when they all dislike her. Why wouldn't someone else have rented the room instead of her? They couldn't have been desperate for a person to rent. 🤷🏻‍♀️)
3) The word "retarded" is not appropriate. It could have been subbed out for a different word to still get the point across. Again, if this were a different genre of book, it might not be as 'stand-out-ish' but here- unacceptable.

Overall, I think this book needs a few things changed and I would consider changing m review, but as it is now, I didn't connect with the characters and was appalled with some of the word choices/situations.


Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.

No thank you. I went to add this book on Goodreads and saw that it has a 1.73 rating, so I decided to look at all the reviews. I'm glad I did because I do not want to read about slut shaming, racial slurs toward an indenginous person, the r slur and derogatory language toward mental illness. If you want to see more details about what makes this book so terrible, I recommend reading other reviews.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Water’s Edge Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I couldn’t get into this one. Racial slurs were extremely offensive. It’s 2022, right? I’d give zero stars if possible.

When uptight nose in the books Randi gets conned into living in her worst nightmare (a college party house) she can’t find a silver lining. Buck the parting cowboy cant stay away from her even though they can’t be further from opposite. After some serious trials and tribulations their connection builds and their romance and is a little spicy

Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Alkire, and Water’s Edge Publishing for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was super excited to read this book based on the summary. Cowboys are a hot topic right now, so I was looking to continue fulfilling that liking in my life. Unfortunately I really did not enjoy this book. The concept was there, but it was just not what I thought it was going to be. It was hard to follow and I felt like it was all over the place. I hate leaving negative reviews, but I just did not love this book.

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account @ginganinja333 upon publication on 6/30/2022.

Okay i tried reading this book and the writing was just not great. Very difficult to follow and just very all over the place. I tried my best to keep reading but it seemed to be an impossible task

This is a sweet and adorable little romance. An opposites attract, enemies to lovers type of book. This is the story of Randi who rented a room in a quiet little farm house full of other studious college goers. Or so she thought… turns out it was quite the party place and she wasn’t at all impressed with their poor house habits. Then a bossy cowboy, Buck, moves out back and adds to the chaos.

This was a sweet book and I loved the country charm. Thank you to Net Galley and Water’s Edge Publishing for my ARC. I received the ebook for my honest opinion and is set to release June 30, 2022!

I only request for this book because of the cover. Plus I wanted to read something with a cowboy… fucking never again. All I wanted was a good yeehaw feeling, but it didn’t happen. It’s just not good. The entire book just irritates me.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝: The cover.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞: Everything else.

This book is nothing short of a fuckshow. Drama started from the beginning and is pretty much the only plot in the entire book. Oh, and let's not forget about the drinking. This book is just about them getting drunk and getting into trouble. It's full of slut-shaming. It's a complete disaster.

It irritates me that they keep calling Randi weird since she is more concerned with her schoolwork than with getting drunk every night like everyone else. Or she's weird because of the clothes she wears. Yeah, wardrobes are never good in any book, but it's suddenly strange to only want to wear bizarre dresses because that's what you’re comfortable with? Not to mention the fact that she's weird because she's a virgin 🙄

Angie, one of her housemates, drugs Buck and then claims it was an accident (it wasn't), but he just ignores it and continues to approve of her behavior?? For God’s sake, He let Angie get away with fucking everything. The minute Randi decides to finally leave, he suddenly realizes that Angie has gone too far and that she needs to leave? Please where was this energy fucking months ago.

Why the hell would you use the r word?? There was not need to add the r word in here. Could have easily chosen a different word, but no.

What even was Buck and Randi’s relationship? Because it sure didn’t feel like a relationship to begin with. Randi is basically Bucks lap dog or chauffeur. Randi’s only personality is doing 21 credits and making yoga videos. Literally that’s it. Buck is either intoxicated or hurt. He was very boring, and he was trying way too hard to be a cowboy.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸