REVIEW: Between Me & You by Allison Winn Scotch

A feel good book!

**WARNING!!!!  May Contain Spoiler Alerts!!**

Book Title:  Between Me and You
Author:  Allison Winn Scotch
Format:  Kindle (e-book)
Page Count/Location:  353 pages
Book Genre(s):  Contemporary & Modern, Romance, Fiction, Adult, Women's

Categories for Rating
see post at my blog for rating system:
https://the-book-nest.blogspot.com/20...

A.  Characters:  7/8
B.  Cover Art & Design:  5/5
C.  Enjoyment:  6/8
D.  Plot (Storyline):  7/8
E.  Writing Style & Editing: 8/8
F.  Variable: Genre, Relating (Romance):  8/8

**Pros:  The book is easy to read, well written, the characters are likable and well developed.  The storyline is believable and, at times, you find that you are feeling right along with them. 

**Cons:   the only con I can come up with are the non-linear chapters as it can get a bit confusing and jarring bouncing back and forth. 

**Honorable Mentions:  I loved how *real* the characters felt.  The different life events that they went through, and how they reacted, were typical, normal, believable to how couples might act.  While it is a romance book, it isn't sickly sweet and cavity-inducing. 


**Memorable Quotes (not rated):

Q: She replied: “Don’t define yourself by that, sweetheart, don’t live a life marked by intangible achievements.”

Q: Being valued, being needed, being seen is an easy thing to underestimate. Like air. Like you don’t realize that it’s necessary to sustain you until it’s suddenly gone.

Q: Life is fucking hard, and life is fucking brutal—and maybe the most we can ask for is someone to get through it with us.

Q: She said she just needed some time to live on her own. I broke up with her and gave her that. Though it didn’t make it easier, of course. Didn’t mean that you stop loving someone just because you’ve split and said good-bye.

Q: I gaze up at the sky and wonder, for the first time in years, if perhaps I didn’t mistake isolation for safety, if I didn’t get confused and think that walls protected me, when what I learned at Tisch and a million times since then—in rebuilding my relationship with my dad, in sleeping in the open air under that Arizona sky—is that sometimes the only way to free yourself is to learn what you thought you couldn’t know. To knock everything down and start over


**Personal Like/Dislike:  While not an actual "dislike", more like constructive criticism:  I feel they could have done something ... more ... with the cover art.  The colors are pretty however doesn't really do much in regards to relaying the feel of the story, or it's characters.

**Does this book "fit in" to the genre(s) it's listed under?  Yes!  This is very much a romance and relationship and "women's fiction" kind of book! 


Final Notes/Review:  I had won this book in a GoodReads giveaway a couple of years ago, and have been reading it on and off. Not because I wasn't enjoying it - I was, I did! - however more because life got in the way (as well as other books) and I'm the kind of person that needs to be "in the mood" for a romance kind of book. This book however nicely and completely fills the need and desire for a well written romantic book. Without giving away *too* many spoilers, it follows the relationship between Bill and Tatum, from the day they meet until ....well, read the book to find out what the "until", is.

My only negative I can say about the book is that the chapters sort of bounce around, so that you go from current to the past and sometimes it can be a bit jarring, instead of reading about their lives in a more linear fashion. That being said, the author does a wonderful job on story telling and has a talent for pulling at those heart-strings.

I would definetly recommend the book to those who like romance books, especially contemporary, modern ones that have their share of twists and angst and ..."until".

In closing, I'd like to thank the author and publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this book via the giveaway. I understand that a review is/was not required, and I give honest review of my own accord.


Final Rating:  6 / 7.3  =  3 ⭐⭐⭐ / 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Note(s) on Rating:  Overall, I think a fair rating for an enjoyable book.

Review also on my GoodReads, here:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2212831702

Add this book to GoodReads by clicking on button:

Book Review Template 2021

Below is the (updated) template that I have designed for my book reviews for both here and elsewhere.  I am hoping that I will be able to provide a more in depth, helpful and proactive review for books with this template.

---- start of template ----

**WARNING!!!!  May Contain Spoiler Alerts!!**

Book Title:
Author:
Format:
Page Count/Location:
Book Genre(s):

Categories for Ratings are in alphabetical order and are my variation(s) on the CAWPILE rating system.  There will be 2 numbers (X/Y) .. first number will represent a constructive rating, the second number representing a personal rating.

Each topic rated 0-10

0-2 = extremely poor, DNF'd (or seriously considered it), difficult to complete
3-4 = somewhat poor although not as bad as "0-2", may have had *some* redeeming qualities
5-6 = mediocre, neutral
7-8 = really good
9-10 = outstanding, exceptional

Then you average the 5 individual ratings to get the overall x out of 10 rating for the book.  Once that is done, the overall rating is converted into the following star rating.

0 - 2 = ⭐  (1 star)
3 - 4 = ⭐⭐  (2 stars)
5 - 6 = ⭐⭐⭐  (3 stars)
7 - 8 = ⭐⭐⭐⭐  (4 stars)
9 - 10 = ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  (5 stars)

A.  Characters:
B.  Cover Art & Design:
C.  Enjoyment:
D.  Plot (Storyline):
E.  Writing Style & Editing:
F.  Variable: Genre, Relating (optional):


***Additional Aspects of Book that I am reviewing (optional)***

**Pros:
**Cons:

**Honorable Mentions:

**Memorable Quotes:

**Personal Like/Dislike:

**Does this book "fit in" to the genre(s) it's listed under?  
If no, why not?

**Final Notes:

Final Rating:
Notes on Rating:

**Desscription of what I consider when rating each category**

A.  Characters:  Are they well developed? Is their progression in the story believable, understandable or do they make little to no progression at all? Does their progression (or non- progression), understandable and/or believable (makes sense)? Are they likable or not? If not, is it understandable, within the parameters of the book, that they not be likable? Do they "act their age" and if not, does it make sense, within the borders of the story,?  Are there aspects of their personality that doesn't "fit"? Are there characters that could have a bigger spot in the story, and thereby brought about a bigger/better understanding or progression (etc) to the ending of the book?  Is there a diversity with the characters ( 0 = no diversity, 5 = much diversity ) on "whatever" level ?

B.  Cover Art & Design:  Basically, does it relate to the book/story?  Does it represent the story well or not?  Does it tie in to the genre well or not?  Is it graphically and/or artfully well done or not? Does it leave the reader with a good feeling or bad, or chaotic or ... ? 

C.  Enjoyment:  Is this story enjoyable or not? Does it leave you feeling good? Does it make you think?  Does it stay with you even after you finished the book? If enjoyed, would you recommend it to others?  Were there aspects of book that some might consider "triggers" and, if so, what? 

D.  Plot (Storyline):  Is it written well? Is it believable?  Does it flow well, or is it choppy/chaotic? Does it keep the reader interested, or do you have to struggle to keep with it, to understand it, to stay interested?  Is the story line *original* or does it seem like a cookie cutter plot of various, other books?  If the story is set in the past, does the atmosphere (or setting) properly reflect that?  If this is a fantasy setting, are the characters and atmosphere and other aspects well defined and understandable?  Is there anything about the plot/storyline that seems "off"?  In other words, does the atmosphere/setting reflect the genre - or plot - of the book?

E.  Writing Style & Editing:  was it well written on a grammatical level?  Were there a lot of errors?  Was the level of writing on an amateur or higher level?  Do they have a good command of descriptions, of character and story progression(s)?  Is their writing style similar to other author(s) and, if so, who?  If this is an established author, have you noticed a progression or growth in their writing with this book (vs prior books)?   **(Please note: if the book is an ARC, items like errors and grammar might not be part of rating as ARCs tend to be rough drafts and not the final copy.)**

F.  Variable: Genre Relating:  Based on the main genres listed for the book, does it do a good job of meeting the parameters of that genre(s).  If not, why?

---- end of template ----

Input/Feedback is welcome.

When I do the actual review, I won't put the whole template in there - just the items to complete.  For example, the category descriptions at the bottom won't be in the review(s).

To get an idea, here is a book review using the template:

https://the-book-nest.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-between-me-you-by-allison-winn.html

Thanks and hope you enjoy my future reviews!!

Hello and welcome to my bookish blog!

Here you will find my reviews of the books I have read, which cover a *very* wide variety of genres and styles.  I try to keep an open mind when I start a book, and even if I didn't like it, I will try to find *some* positive aspect to it, and will relate that in my reviews.  I recently designed a rating system which I will be using for future reviews.  I will be putting the "template" in one of the upcoming posts, with explanations for each section.  I am wanting to give a synopsis that is more in depth, more pro-active.  I may not be a fast reader, however I *am* pretty thorough.

I have been doing reviews on GoodReads for approximately 3 years, give or take.  You can find me at GoodReads, here:

www.goodreads.com/willowraven1

I guess a little about me, a sort-of peek in to who is on the other side of the screen ... My name is Michelle however most call me either Chelle, or WillowRaven.  I am 56 years old, married to a wonderful man who is a great cook, mother to 4 (adult) children (from a previous relationship), video gamer (somewhere between casual and hardcore - we are a family of gamers), professional tarot reader, and currently living in Oklahoma City, OK although I am originally from Massachusetts (a town that is a little southeast of Boston).  I am a Cosmognostic Pagan Witch (hence, that's where the WillowRaven comes from) with a *lot* of interests - magical and not - and quite a few, though not all, of those are reflected in my reading choices.  I have enjoyed reading since I was young however when I was raising my children when they were younger, there really wasn't a whole lot of extra time for my own books.  It's only been in the last 8 years or so that I've really fallen back in to books and reading.

I guess that's it for now.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask.  I'll do my best to answer them.

Thank you again for stopping by!!