<![CDATA[Codex and Clover]]>https://codexandclover.substack.comhttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hZsQ!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2e2f02f1-3d03-47b7-8939-0ac714a10f01_768x768.pngCodex and Cloverhttps://codexandclover.substack.comSubstackFri, 26 Jun 2026 15:56:57 GMT<![CDATA[Two lost souls who find solace in one another]]>https://codexandclover.substack.com/p/two-lost-souls-who-find-solace-inhttps://codexandclover.substack.com/p/two-lost-souls-who-find-solace-inThu, 11 Jul 2024 19:31:06 GMTThese Hands is a beautiful, emotionally charged love story about two people who struggle to find their place in the world due to their emotional scars and their physical hindrances. Lucas and Kelsey are lost souls who find solace in one another and when they do, the chemistry between them is undeniable. It was so easy to get caught up in the love story of these two!

The book begins in present day, primarily following Lucas around in his daily activities. A traumatic event happens (I'll let you learn what on your own!) and then the story flashes back to childhood when he first meets Kelsey. I am not always a fan of flashbacks, as they can be somewhat jarring to the flow of a narrative, but this one worked well because of the timing. Traumatic event, then boom! I was following Lucas' own memories while he was navigating the trauma. These scenes from childhood were critical to the storyline and it was helpful to see them in "real time" as flashbacks instead of mere references in the present. (It would have been far too much emotional baggage to unpack otherwise.) I did feel this part ran a little long, but overall, the scenes contributed well to the story.

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After the flashback, the story picks back up in present day and continues to be told through primarily two points of view - Lucas and his childhood friend/love interest, Kelsey. Having the two perspectives deepened the story, so I could see the personal internal struggles they dealt with, but I found it a little odd that Lucas' chapters were narrated in first person, whereas Kelsey's chapters were narrated in third person omniscient (where we hear her thoughts). That was a little strange, but thankfully not too distracting from the story.

I was so wrapped up in the main characters' love story that I eagerly awaited for their joyous ending, especially after navigating through the painful struggles they endured in their childhood and as adults. I was disappointed, however, when I realized that Lucas and Kelsey do not get a happily ever after ending. (The ending is bittersweet instead.) Technically, this makes the book not a "contemporary romance" as it was originally classified when I read it, but it is nonetheless a memorable love story.

Two additional characters narrated the story: Bryce, Lucas' neighbor, and Georgia, his daughter. The chapters they narrated added important details to the story, but I felt these two characters were a bit flat. I struggled to care about either of them, because I could not grasp who they were as people.

While I did not get that happy ending I had craved for Lucas and Kelsey, the story was so thoughtfully developed. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking, so keep a few tissues nearby!

Originally reviewed on Reedsy.com: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/these-hands-darcy-daniel#review

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]]><![CDATA[A tough, fiery woman flees to frontier Wyoming for safety and adventure]]>https://codexandclover.substack.com/p/a-tough-fiery-woman-flees-to-frontierhttps://codexandclover.substack.com/p/a-tough-fiery-woman-flees-to-frontierWed, 05 Jun 2024 16:57:35 GMTIf you're looking for a feel-good Western frontier romance, this is definitely a book you don't want to miss! The leading lady, Stella, flees her home to escape a cruel man and ends up in Wyoming hoping to snag a job as a cook and housekeeper at a ranch. The ranch owner, Adam, realizing a beautiful, young, unmarried woman is the last person he should be employing, asks his friends who own a boarding house to look after her until she can make her way back to Missouri. She takes a liking to the family, however, and with no place to go they offer for her to stay with them indefinitely and help them. The realities of frontier life take their toll on them all, while Adam and Stella slowly start to fall in love (much to her dismay).

Stella's stern, no-nonsense fiery personality and Adam's "man of action and few words" personality, along with the dynamic personalities of the cowboys and the boardinghouse family members create a cozy tight-knit atmosphere filled with love, laughter, and support for one another. It's easy to get dragged right into the drama of this found family, wishing you were sitting at the dinner table with them.

One critique I will say (and why I couldn't give it 5 stars) pertains to the multiple points of view shared throughout the story. The narration primarily shared Stella's point of view, but several other voices were included. I enjoyed the different perspectives and they lent themselves to enriching the story, but they were not always parsed well, so it sometimes became difficult to differentiate whose perspective we were sharing.

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]]><![CDATA[Brother's best friend meets fake marriage trope in this fun little romcom book]]>https://codexandclover.substack.com/p/brothers-best-friend-meets-fake-marriagehttps://codexandclover.substack.com/p/brothers-best-friend-meets-fake-marriageMon, 03 Jun 2024 04:11:58 GMTI'm a sucker for a best friend's brother trope and this one certainly didn't disappoint. Ethan needs to stabilize his playboy image and Nelly (Ethan's best friend's little sister) needs to save her dying company. Enter the fake married scheme! They'll be married for a year and then go their separate ways. Only issue is that they're already in love with each other and have been for many years. Ethan, however, is too spooked to admit that to himself (or to Nelly) and Nelly, being burned by Ethan before, isn't going to be the first one to admit her feelings. But, things go from bad to worse and they find themselves needing to work together to untangle the lies and nefarious activities happening around them. They just need to trust each other first, which is no easy feat.

Overall, this was a fun, easy to read book that had me laughing out loud multiple times. The banter between the two leads was enjoyable and the situations, while a little overboard, provided solid tension for the story-line.

I did have a couple of small issues with the book, however, in that a few of the secondary characters seemed either too one-sided or didn't fully make sense. The strangest of these, I think, was Ethan's ex. She's shown as cold and calculating, yet somehow also caring and eventually becomes friends (or at least on friendly terms) with Ethan and Nelly at the end of the book. I just couldn't get a clear picture of who she actually was personality wise.

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]]><![CDATA[Coming soon]]>https://codexandclover.substack.com/p/coming-soonhttps://codexandclover.substack.com/p/coming-soonMon, 03 Jun 2024 03:55:02 GMTThis is Codex and Clover.

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