The Shameless Hour

Dios!

This is an emotional, real and sweet story about a girl who learns the hard way that behaviors have consequences and sometimes those consequences heavily outweigh the crime.

I had such a hard time listening to the trials that the main character, Bella, went through. The way she was treated was so painful for me to hear that I had to take a break a few times and just cry. I don't think it's sensationalized or extreme. I think college women go through similar things regularly and it broke my heart. But then in walks in Rafe and my heart was filled. His loyalty and patience and integrity overwhelmed me and sent me into sobs for entirely different reasons. This love story is unlike any other and completely worth the credit.

Saskia and Nick were shining stars as narrators. They completely brought this story to life and left me in awe with their character portrayals.

6 people found this helpful

A pretty good story

If you could sum up The Shameless Hour in three words, what would they be?

Loved Raf and at times I did like Bella but sometimes this book felt kinda white feminist-y. Because I listened to the audiobook I'm mostly judging my review based off the narration read to me. The narrators were pretty great aside from when they spoke words in spanish. I pretty much cringed every time they said words in spanish because they were spoken just like a person with 3rd grade knowledge of spanish. Speaking of the spanish, a lot of it was incorrectly written and since Raf was Dominican, I was sort of hoping for Dominican Spanish cuz I mean, they were from NYC, I can't imagine him speaking spanish all textbook like, but alas, the author didn't recruit any native spanish speakers otherwise she would have known that. Like I said, I loved Raf regardless of the lack of research she put in to make him authentically Dominicano. He was a virgin when he met Bella and he was so sweet and a nice change from the man-whores I read in books. He actually wanted a relationship and was there for Bella through the thick and thin.

I think my biggest disconnect was the fact that it took Bella and Raf so long to get together so it didn't really feel like a romance until the last 30%. They were literally just friends(not even friends with benefits) until the 70% mark. For that reason I put the book down several times because I was always waiting for something to happen between them and yet, nada! I will say that the book did a decent job at unveiling the ugliness of slut shaming but I think with Bella being a girl with few girlfriends, it sort of made her that type of girl who doesn't feel like she gets along with other girls. But I liked that Bella was a girl in charge of her own sexuality and wasn't a darn virgin like most girls in NA romances. I get so tired of the silly virgin. It was nice that the author switched the roles of the guy and the girl. The good boy and the bad girl. I wished I read more books with that combination.

So why a 3? Like I said the book was sort of white feminist-y at times. Here comes this working class Latin kid who is in awe of this pretty, blonde, rich white girl who pretty much has the world in her hands. And then she has a latina maid which Raf didn't even blink an eye at. It just made me uncomfortable to see all the PoC in this book aiding the white girl with her giving so little in return. Overall, I enjoyed it though. Not sure if I'd listen to the rest in the series though. I picked this one up because of the Latin hero and because there are no other PoC in the series, i'm not sure it would interest me.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

6 people found this helpful

Bella and Rafe are my favorite!

Any additional comments?

I started my love affair with Sarina Bowen with The Understatement of the Year. She won me over with Graham and Rikker. I found my love for MM romance with this series and I love her for it. And I loved her writing so much that I started this series from the beginning.

I found myself wanting Bella's story. I wanted to know this fierce girl who didn't care what others thought of her. I wanted to know this hockey-loving girl who fell for a man who hid his sexuality from her. I wanted to know Bella.

Sarina Bowen did not disappoint me with Bella's story. I hurt for the girl, I loved the girl, and I loved watching her love Rafe. And what a pleasant surprise Rafe is. OMG. If there has ever been a sweeter, better guy I haven't met him yet. I don't even know how to describe him without giving his entire personality away--and I don't want to be spoiler-y. Just know Rafe is AMAZING. And you're gonna love him.

You'll get to see some of your hockey favorites--including Graham and Rikker--and you'll meet some new characters too. New characters that you'll want to get to know a bit better. Here's to hoping this series continues beyond book 5!

3 people found this helpful

Great Series!

Love this book and this entire series! I wasn't expecting Bella's book to be so serious but it was perfect. Bella and Rafe make perfect sense to me. They are so opposite but that is what works for them. This book hot a lot of emotions for me. Sarina Bowen has moved up to a must buy author for me. If you haven't tried her books yet, you really should!

Really great narration too.

11 people found this helpful

Not as enjoyable...

Enjoyed the first couple books in the series. (I skipped the homosexual story.) However, I struggled to get through this one. I found it to be over the top in so many areas. I can live with not knowing how it ends just so I can stop yelling at my phone.

1 person found this helpful

So many mistakes!

I enjoyed the story but the mispronounced names was ridiculous. Maybe a production error but what author or vocal artist would not verify? The main male character's name is even pronounced 3 different ways. Disappointing.

1 person found this helpful

Whoa...

Okay, this one was rough for me. As an empath, I felt so bad for Bella. Although I can't relate, I know things like this really do happen. Luckily Bella had a happy ending, but wow she had to suffer, emotionally, publicly, and finally got the love she didn't know she wanted or needed. I've enjoyed all of the books in this series, and this one really jarred my heart. Raf was perfect, and it was nice that she finally bonded with her roommate, whose story I'm excited to read next. Graham and Ryker are the best friends for Bella and are so cute together. I really can live in a Sarina Bowen story.

1 person found this helpful

Best book in the series 💖

Love this series but especially this book. I'm Mexican so it's pretty amazing getting to see a Hispanic/Latinx main character. I loved that he spoke Spanish randomly like I do and listens to the same music. My family's business has never paid me for working through high school and college either. People don't realize how much it means to us to see representation that's real and not overly done or just thrown in to make things interesting. I love Sarina Bowen because she adds perspective without making it too obvious. We're regular people who just happen to be a part of two cultures. I am disappointed in Rafe's father since he gives Mexicans a bad rep but there's always that guy in every community so it can't be helped. Rafe would be my dream guy if he was real. Sweat, hard working, a cook, a dancer and a soccer player; the definition of my perfect man.
I also come from a very religious family and definitely don't know what it's like to have reputation like Bella's so it was super informative to see that perspective. It helps to know what a person can be going through so you can sympathize and treat them accordingly. Everyone deserves respect unless they're crap bags. I hate that Bella had to go through such a nasty situation. No ever realized how much slut shaming can affect a person.
Bella and Rafe are so cute. This book took me through the ringer but it's one of my favorite Sarina Bowen books.

1 person found this helpful

I’m a big fan of Sarina Bowen but...

I love Sarina Bowen. HIM (co-written with Elle Kennedy) is one of my all-time favorite books. I’ve read and listened to most of her books multiple times each. She’s fabulous.
This one was good, cute in places and pretty serious in others. The way she played with the traditional gender stereotypes was very clever and refreshing. I think the narration was what knocked it from 4 stars to 3 for me. Overall, it was good and I completed it because I wanted to listen to the entire series but I have no desire to listen again. It’d probably be better to read than listen to this one. I’m pretty anxious to listen to Leann’s story. Sarina is an outstanding author. I know I’ll enjoy the next book. :)

1 person found this helpful

Not the best, but still good...

This is probably my least favorite of the series, but it’s still pretty good. It’s slow at first, but there’s a lot to the story (maybe too much?). Bowen tackles some tough topics with a significant amount of authenticity.

My biggest problem is continuity issues with the recording. Saskia Maarleveld can’t seem to decide on a pronunciation for Rafe. Even in the same chapter she’ll alternate between “Ray-fe” (think UK pronunciation of Ralph) and “Rah-fay”. The second being the “correct” if going by the logical shortening of Raphael. Also, she pronounces Rikker as “Rye-ker” instead of “Rick-er” ~ which is incorrect based on previous book, the spelling, & Podehl’s pronunciation. It’s very distracting.

While I like Nick Podehl, it would have been really nice if they’d found a Latin narrator for Rafe. It felt cartoonish at times instead of authentic.

1 person found this helpful