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A review by shivani_n
In a Jam by Kate Canterbary
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
call 911 i have been robbed bc tell me why i waited this ENTIRE book for them to say the words "in a jam" in some way shape or form and they NEVER DID. if i had a dollar for how many times JAM was mentioned in this book i would be rich because oh my god it feels they talk about jam like every other day like babes i get you're a farmer but seriously do you have ANY OTHER HOBBIES EXCEPT FOR MAKING JAM AND OBSESSING OVER YOUR WIFE??? i realise so far this review makes no sense so far so let's actually talk about why i gave this 3 stars.
1. the writing wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. there were some cute parts, but nothing super emotional or actually memorable for me. tbh it was kind of an enjoyable read because i read it at the beach and i wasn't really thinking too much, just vibing, plus it was really funny to make fun of the characters and the stuff they said (smalltown romance and whatnot). also something that just genuinely didn't make sense to me was why he is a farmer in the first place?? like in the book it is said multiple times that he went to yale for law but then just like?? didn't continue and you're just lead to believe that he ended up on a small town in rhode island called FRIENDSHIP?? i don't know if i just missed something or if this is an actual plot hole but yeah that didn't make any sense to me, i can't remember any part in the book where he actually explained it.
2. noah and shay's connection is kind of surface level, like i know they love each other a lot (especially since noah has loved her since high school), but i just don't really get WHY. their chemistry was not built up very well in my opinion, it was just kind of like she showed up at his farm after getting left at the altar and a couple pages later they're already having sex.. like no sorry i need the slow burn and the longing and the pining. i know it technically was there bc noah has been pining after her since high school but still i don't know, something about it just didn't connect with me very much and i didn't feel that feeling when you are really obsessed with a book couple and you ship them so hard. it was just kinda mid.
3. lots of parts felt cringey to me, like for example the smut was just animalistic and he keeped calling himself a "depraved beast" which REALLY icked me out.. and tbh the smut wasn't even that good because of the fact that it happened so quickly and there was hardly ANY build up. another thing i didn't like was how he kept calling her "wife". just constantly, "hello, wife", "what do you want for breakfast, wife?", "want to go sell some jam at a farmer's market, wife???". like sure it would have been cute and kinda funny if it was just a couple of times in certain contexts, but he just kept doing it pretty much the whole book and i was just like okay this is kinda boring and a bit strange. definitely the most cringey part was the last lines of the book. it's literally, "i love you so fucking much, wife" and then she says "and i love you so fucking much, husband". like i'm sorry but what is that. literally 0 emotional depth and it just SOUNDS cringey like can you hear that?? pls.
4. speaking of emotional depth, this book didn't have enough for me to love it like i love other romance books. i wasn't really obsessed with the main love interest, noah, he's nice and all but he's quite boring and i didn't feel the spark. also, i feel like the author was trying to make this very emotional kind of "it's always been you" trope, because he loved shay since high school, but you don't even get to see any of their past conversations in high school. you get no scenes of them actually being friends before so it just feels kind of empty to me.
5. however, i did like shay's character because she has always been the kind of person to give so much of herself to people who don't reciprocate it, and i can REALLY relate to that lmao. i like that she found a person who finally appreciates her and loves her for all she is after the many douchebags she encountered and people who didn't put in any effort with her. i hope i find someone like that one day (preferably NOT a jam maker/farmer who lives in rhode island).
6. sorry but the fact that they spelled the name jenny like "gennie" gave me an ick i can't explain why it annoys me but it does.
anyways kind of a fun read bc there isn't anything so terrible about it, but it wasn't amazing either so i'll settle with 3 ⭐️lolol
1. the writing wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. there were some cute parts, but nothing super emotional or actually memorable for me. tbh it was kind of an enjoyable read because i read it at the beach and i wasn't really thinking too much, just vibing, plus it was really funny to make fun of the characters and the stuff they said (smalltown romance and whatnot). also something that just genuinely didn't make sense to me was why he is a farmer in the first place?? like in the book it is said multiple times that he went to yale for law but then just like?? didn't continue and you're just lead to believe that he ended up on a small town in rhode island called FRIENDSHIP?? i don't know if i just missed something or if this is an actual plot hole but yeah that didn't make any sense to me, i can't remember any part in the book where he actually explained it.
2. noah and shay's connection is kind of surface level, like i know they love each other a lot (especially since noah has loved her since high school), but i just don't really get WHY. their chemistry was not built up very well in my opinion, it was just kind of like she showed up at his farm after getting left at the altar and a couple pages later they're already having sex.. like no sorry i need the slow burn and the longing and the pining. i know it technically was there bc noah has been pining after her since high school but still i don't know, something about it just didn't connect with me very much and i didn't feel that feeling when you are really obsessed with a book couple and you ship them so hard. it was just kinda mid.
3. lots of parts felt cringey to me, like for example the smut was just animalistic and he keeped calling himself a "depraved beast" which REALLY icked me out.. and tbh the smut wasn't even that good because of the fact that it happened so quickly and there was hardly ANY build up. another thing i didn't like was how he kept calling her "wife". just constantly, "hello, wife", "what do you want for breakfast, wife?", "want to go sell some jam at a farmer's market, wife???". like sure it would have been cute and kinda funny if it was just a couple of times in certain contexts, but he just kept doing it pretty much the whole book and i was just like okay this is kinda boring and a bit strange. definitely the most cringey part was the last lines of the book. it's literally, "i love you so fucking much, wife" and then she says "and i love you so fucking much, husband". like i'm sorry but what is that. literally 0 emotional depth and it just SOUNDS cringey like can you hear that?? pls.
4. speaking of emotional depth, this book didn't have enough for me to love it like i love other romance books. i wasn't really obsessed with the main love interest, noah, he's nice and all but he's quite boring and i didn't feel the spark. also, i feel like the author was trying to make this very emotional kind of "it's always been you" trope, because he loved shay since high school, but you don't even get to see any of their past conversations in high school. you get no scenes of them actually being friends before so it just feels kind of empty to me.
5. however, i did like shay's character because she has always been the kind of person to give so much of herself to people who don't reciprocate it, and i can REALLY relate to that lmao. i like that she found a person who finally appreciates her and loves her for all she is after the many douchebags she encountered and people who didn't put in any effort with her. i hope i find someone like that one day (preferably NOT a jam maker/farmer who lives in rhode island).
6. sorry but the fact that they spelled the name jenny like "gennie" gave me an ick i can't explain why it annoys me but it does.
anyways kind of a fun read bc there isn't anything so terrible about it, but it wasn't amazing either so i'll settle with 3 ⭐️lolol