Meg Cabot is one of the authors who crosses YA and adult fiction just enough for me to love her. Thanks to the amazing Marilag (Story and Somnomancy), I got a signed galley of this book! I apologize for being slow in reviewing it — I definitely read it before it came out, but I read quicker than I can type.

No Judgments

Meg Cabot

Published Date: September 24, 2019
Read Date: September 23, 2019
Format: paperback galley
Genre: Romance, “Chick lit”
Rating: 3.5/5 Moose

Synopsis

A massive hurricane is headed towards Little Bridge Island, Florida, and Sabrina “Bree” Beckham is refusing to get off the island. Even if her ex-boyfriend is offering to charter an aircraft down to save her. Determined to ride out the hurricane, she also realizes how many islanders have left their pets, either expecting to get back quickly or because they were away before the hurricane hit. Taking it up on herself and with the help of her boss’s nephew Drew Hartwell, they set out to save all the animals that they can find.
Amidst the chaos, Bree finds herself falling for the notorious heart breaker, just as her ex-boyfriend shows up to save the day.

Rants, Raves, and Reviews

Sometimes you just need a good filler book during the week. Sometimes it is cold and rainy and you’ve read too many intense books in a row. I think this book serves the purpose there easily. There isn’t anything really new here, and I am not entirely sure it accomplishes what it wants to. I am of the mindset that if a hurricane is headed towards me, no matter how it makes me look, if I have the means to get out of there, I am doing it.

But then again, I also wouldn’t find myself living on an island that could be hit by a hurricane. Still, the intense desire to stay to prove something just rings weird in my head. And then there is all this build up for a hurricane that ….very quickly passes through, with not too much damage. I mean there is damage, but the entire island isn’t destroyed. This isn’t necessarily a book about a woman doing good in the hurricane, it’s about a woman doing good in the aftermath of the hurricane.

Cabot tries to use quite a few buzz worthy topics during this book, which has lead me to cringe at some of the newer contemporary fiction out today. I don’t need every story I read to make a statement or ride the coattails of the #metoo movement. And while I like the idea of someone using the DNA tests and finding out their mom isn’t their mom, I don’t really like how it is handled in this book?

That being said, Bree confronting her ex-boyfriend and his terrible friend, finding out what happened to her and how she handled it, I am down for that resolution. Even if it feels like Cabot kind of shoehorned everything in.

Final Thoughts

I didn’t love this book, and I am a bit hesitant to recommend it. The romance is fun, which is enough if you are looking for a quick light read and/or are a Cabot fan. Also CW for animal abuse and sexual abuse.