Title: Prose Before Bros
Author: Cathy Yardley
Series: Green Valley Library #3, SmartyPants Romance
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Contemporary, Contemporary romance
Pace: Medium
Format: eBook, Novel
Year: 2019
Drill is frequently mentioned throughout the Winston Brothers and other Smartypants Romance stories. He’s a fairly high up character in the Iron Wraiths. And, although I never found him scary, I certainly had no interest in liking him. And then I was introduced to Yardley’s writing. And I fell stupid in love. I mean, I know that many people who join gangs / find themselves in a criminal element are not necessarily doing it because of choice, but, more a lack of. But it was very different to read about someone with this history in such a cute romance.
Likewise, I never really got to feel overly involved in Old Man Blount. Just the knowledge of him as a supplier of some of Jen’s ingredients for her baking. I love how the Smartypants Romance world is so fully fleshed out with such a wide array of voices. I also love, that, again, there is a POC representation in this story. Thuy is of Vietnamese background, and although there are some darker moments throughout, it gives such a beautiful variety and flavour that left me smiling.
Thuy is quite potentially one of the toughest leads I’ve read in a while. She’s incredibly intimidating the more you get to know about her and her history in fact. And her loyalty… I have always felt loyal to my friends. But the level of Thuy’s loyalty is a whole other level. I’m not sure that I know many people who I would happily up the stakes of my whole life and just… start again. It all works out wonderfully in the end, but it’s still a bloody big leap.
There are so many aspects of this story that I absolutely loved. But I think, for me, my favourite was the way that Thuy was able to deal with the nonsense of strangers. For starters there’s the nosiness of the small-town-minded people. She has absolutely zero concerns about putting them in their place in a variety of ways. And, then, there’s the final confrontation with the Wraiths and Catfish. Again, Thuy is able to just take a whole load of nonsense, cut through it and deliver a fantastic ending. Definitely a book that I will be reading again and again.
Earth and Skye 
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