Book Review: Exception by Mariah Dietz

Title: Exception
by: Mariah Dietz
Published: Jan 9, 2018
Source: Netgalley
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

He’s arrogant.
Loud.
Rude.
And to make matters worse, he looks good doing it—too good.

Joey DeLuca should have been nothing but a maddening memory, a blip on my radar during my three month sabbatical in my small hometown while I get back on my feet.

My time back home was supposed to be simple. Easy. Fast.

But he’s everywhere I go, invading my thoughts, and stealing my attention.

Is it possible to hate the same person I can’t get enough of?

Is there really an exception to every rule?

Book Rating:

My Thoughts:

You guys. Have you ever read a book where things touched you - but at the same time; things bugged you? This book was both fantastic and frustrating at the same time. I don't know if it was just because I thought things were going to go a certain way; but there were parts of this novel that touched my heart, rocked my socks and made me want to punt someone all at the same time.

I loved every single thing (okay, almost) about Kennedy. I mean even her name! She is head strong, she knows where she wants to end up in life - she has just hit a patch trying to get there. She seems to have spent a good part of her life settling just because she thought where she was is where she was meant to be. She is insanely loyal - which leads to most of the issues that seem to arise in her life. She has gotten herself into a situation she cannot seem to see any way out of and ultimately ends up back in her home town.. the one place she said she would never come back to once she left. The thing is, everyone there is happy to see her and asking her how long she plans to stay. The town has grown, the people have expanded and life has gone on in the little town she thought would never change.

Enter Joey Deluca. No one WANTS to end up hating the man who is suppose to win the girls heart. While hate is a strong bit of a word, I seriously disliked Deluca. There is a fine line between arrogant and alpha - and he crossed it just about every change he got. Over and over he showed us just why Kennedy shouldn't fall for him. While yes, he had his moments - to me they were not big enough to outshine all the insanity that seems to be just the person he is. He is rude, very arrogant, un-trusting and has the bad habit of blaming every single annoying habit of his on his job as a detective.

The story itself was a cute read and had some awesome parts. I loved the ends and out of the novel. I loved getting to know the characters and reading about how it all comes together. To me there just wasn't enough. I felt like some of the lines were overplayed, some of the issues were underplayed and some things just seemed to have been thrown in there to cause a little extra drama, but it just got slightly overwhelming with all the players in this novel.

The secondary characters were up there in my rating there. Joey's brother Coen, his fiancee and her little boy were awesome characters. I actually like Coen more than Joey. Kennedy's sister and parents were a big part of the novel as well, but I am still up in the air on her sister. That whole story lined bothered me just a little. I had such high hopes going into this novel and some if it just didn't do it for me. While this one might not have worked, I am very open to trying other novels from this author! Like I said - this is just my opinion so I def would want everyone to read it for themselves!

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What did YOU think of Exception?
Will you/have read this novel?
Have you read anything from Mariah Dietz?
If you do read this one - I'd love to hear about it!