Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Chick Magnet

Didn't know chicken influencers were a thing, but why would I be studied that they are? Enjoyable book that touches upon post quarantine life, and how it affects small businesses in small towns.

I enjoyed that this was a small town romance with a failing business, but it's not one that was saved by members of the community, or some rich relative, or some miserly neighbor that turns out to be a secret billionaire.

While I've not been in Will's situation, it feels very real experience based on what I've read in our local paper regarding small businesses. And what I've seen in some trades/specialties where pepper are leaving the small private business and signing on to be part of a group/chain.

Note that Will is a veterinarian, and there is animal related medical content. He also has situational depression, and financial instability

Anyways, really enjoyed, and I should probably read my backlist of Emma Barry books.

I received an ARC from the publisher (Montlake) via NetGalley, but I read the finished copy via my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

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romanceschmomance's review against another edition

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4.0

Not going to lie, the cover definitely pulled me in. And then I read the synopsis and was instantly intrigued. Even though I had the ARC, I grabbed audio, which I enjoyed immensely.

A couple things I was unsure about was the social media and COVID-19 elements. I've never really been a fan about social media in books, I loathe it. But what made it manageable for me is that the FMC was changing their direction with their content.

Chick Magnet is the first book that I read that heavily mentions COVID and I wasn't sure how to feel about it. I get where the author was trying to bring more attention on how it affected essential workers as well. But there were other details that could have been added in since COVID was a heavy mention. For the most part, I think the author handled it well.

Will was an absolute grump and I quite enjoyed him, but he was so, so sad. It just made want to curl into a ball and cry.

Nic was a ray of sunshine and I truly enjoyed her character. I was so here for the chicken content! But her ex was horrible and he could seriously go suck an egg. This was just me, but I would have dumped her best friend too.

Overall, really enjoyed this one. Topics were written really well especially around mental health. Definitely look forward to more from this author.

All the points for the narrators CJ Bloom and Aaron Shedlock. I thought they were perfect picks for Chick Magnet for bringing Nic and Will to life.

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meganpbennett's review

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Chick Magnet is a romance novel wrapped up in a love of backyard chickens. Is Nic always the best person? No, but she's learning and recovering from her relationship with her abusive ex-boyfriend. Is Will the nicest person to everyone? No, but he's very competent as a vet, even if he is a total jerk to Nic when they first meet.

It was a pretty cute novel of both of them learning how to ask for and accept help from people, and how to learn navigate small town life. Wasn't thrilled with how Will's half of the story ended (what with him

accepting the buyout offer, even if it does keep his practice afloat, as he doesn't like the company he sells to

, but it's very sweet.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the eARC!

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tiggerreads's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

CW: gaslighting, bullying, mental health, depression, grief

Romanceopoly 2023 square: Flirt's Corner

Nic moved clear across the country when her boyfriend broke up with her live on the internet. She found a house in the town where her Granny spent her younger years in. She meets Will, the town vet, when she has to catch when one of her chickens that gets loose after she moves in. Nic wanted to just be friends with Will because she doesn't trust herself after being with her ex and the mess he made of her life. There is a definite slow burn between Nic and Will. The sunshine is Nic and the grump is Will. I enjoyed watching them dance around each other. I liked how Nic relearned who she was from how she had seen herself within her previous relationship. I liked how Nic continued to extend friendship to Will even as he tried to isolate himself from everyone because he saw himself as a failure. I enjoyed this book a lot. I'm glad I picked it up because it shares a name with a chicken sandwich restaurant.

**ARC provided via NetGalley

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dododenise's review

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funny relaxing fast-paced

2.0

This book was not what I expected or hoped it would be.

Okay, it was somewhat. There was quite some chicken content and cute animals. However, I hoped for more chicken content and especially more chicken puns. The description of the book promised beautiful things and I didn’t get them. To be honest, from the description and cover I hoped it would be weirder.

So, the book itself: It was very mediocre. A mediocre romance, with mediocre characters and a mediocre relationship. I didn’t care about the characters or their relationship. I didn’t like Nic or Will and why either of them are supposed to be super hot and appealing is a mystery to me.

The development of the relationship didn’t really make sense to me and the book told me what the relationship looked like at that moment instead of making me feel it. Add to that a rushed and under-developed resolution and you get a poor plot for a romance.

The book also went into the effects of the pandemic. Aside from the fact that I really don’t want to read about the pandemic, it also such scratched the surface. It attempted to show Will’s depression and Nic’s fear of relationships after her abused past, but I have seen other books portray it a million times better.

The highlight of this book was Will covered in cats. Cats make everything better and I will treasure that moment. Other than that, I will probably forget about everything in this book very quickly.

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