Cream of the Crop (2) (The Hudson Valley Series)

I really would have liked this book except for two things. The author never made the hero be accountable for his actions which was a real problem for me. There were at least two times where Natalie had legitimate complaints about Oscar and his ex wife and his behavior at an event. Ms. Clayton just made it Natalie's fault. The second was the way Natalie was falling back into old habits (not getting work competed) because of all the time she was spending with Oscar. I guess it would have been more believes me if all this confidence that Natalie possessed was actually evident outside of her and Oscar having sex. Smh at 96% I realized that Ms. Clayton was just going to wrap this all up as if these things didn't need to be addressed thoughtfully.

So disappointing! Some mild spoilers.I was waiting rather impatiently for this book. I've torn through all of Ms. Clayton's other books, most landing on my 4- or 5- star list. This one fell really flat. I love Natalie - her character is very well developed, has a fun, savvy and smart inner-monologue. Oscar. What can we say about Oscar? I was ready to love him based on the sneak peek we got of him in Nuts. "Tall dark and Game of Thrones", a quiet, mysterious guy. He's a boor! Poorly mannered, he PICKS HER UP several times in the book (really? are there women who like this?), is rude to her friends, pouts when he doesn't get his way. In the end, I feel like she settled. Because he's hot. And picks her up. I'll keep reading - hopeful that the Clara/Archie story is good. Don't lose me now, Ms. Clayton!

I stopped reading this book mid-way a while ago and I've been struggling with whether to write a review and what to say. Ultimately, I decided to add my thoughts. Oscar and his treatment of his ex-wife vs. Natalie was horrible. I don't care how hot a guy is, if he routinely and without thought puts either his mother or his ex before you (or really anyone other than his kid) he should be dumped immediately. The ex was quite clearly trying to stay the primary women in Oscar's life and making it seem like Natalie was overreacting was victim-blaming. On to Natalie and her depiction. She's tall (made her sound to be close to 6 ft) and at that height a size 18 is not that big. Enough with how fat she is. She's not a waif, but who cares. The thing that drove me crazy about her was that she refused to bend on her personal quirks (who wears $2,000 thigh high boots to a dairy farm) and she very clearly and completely obliviously fell right back into the passive victim patterns that ended up in her past abusive relationship -- missing work deadlines, missing family events, always putting his needs before hers. Yuck. Watching her go down the rabbit hole again was too much, so I put it down.

What I didn't like about this book:1) There was a lot of cussing. It was bad enough that the f bomb was used frequently, but I hate, hate, hate the c word. It's demeaning and makes me cringe whenever I hear or see it.2) I absolutely hated Thomas. He verbally abused Natalie and treated her horribly. The scene when Natalie tells Logan and Chase about Thomas was too long and when she finished, I felt awful for her. I hated to know that she went through something like that.3) I loved Oscar, but twice I disagreed with him--first with him being so friendly with Missy, his ex-wife. I don't blame Natalie for being jealous. Missy is a bi*** who needs to get a life and stop calling Oscar whenever her car breaks down, etc. Also when Natalie helped him make a connection with the woman who wanted to sell his cheese across the country. What's wrong with that?4) The cost--this was available at a discount, but I want to read the others and $7.99 each is way too much to pay for a Kindle book.What I liked about the book:1) Natalie--she was funny and nice and a curvy girl liked me. She went through an awful relationship with Thomas and survived to kick butt on her job and in her personal life. I love her sense of style.2) Oscar--his sense of humor reminded me a lot of my late husband's. I loved his nickname, Pinup, for Natalie. I loved his profession and I want to go buy some artisan cheese. I LOVE cheese!3) The descriptions of NYC and the country were beautiful--I felt like I was right there. I also loved the contrast between the big city and the country.4) Polly's curse jar--by now, she should be a millionaire--LOL!

I'm a big Alice Clayton fan and I enjoyed the previous book in this new Hudson Valley series. However, this one frustrated me slightly - I just didn't see the hero and heroine together as they seemed so, so different. Not sure what they could have in common? That said, its an easy book to read as long as you can suspend belief. Not as good as other Alice Clayton efforts - head to the Redhead series as the best of her previous work.

I loved the heroine, loved her back story and the romance but about 2/3's in, the conflict looked promising but it just didn't deliver. Basically everything was solved in three pages when it wouldn't have magically righted itself. It cheapened the entire story really, which was disappointing.

Just the book to curl up with while having a cup of coffee and biscuits. Easy storyline and good characterisation.

Funny read love it!

Love the books, each one surprises you with the plot line.