Obsessed hero and naive and IMO annoying heroine.The writing was really good but I couldn't anymore with all the disturbing things going on. When thatObsessed hero and naive and IMO annoying heroine.The writing was really good but I couldn't anymore with all the disturbing things going on. When that poor kid got put on the wheel I was out - dnf ...more
I couldn't finish this. I didn't like any of the characters but especially Henley. I usually love spicy/take me or leave me females but something abouI couldn't finish this. I didn't like any of the characters but especially Henley. I usually love spicy/take me or leave me females but something about Henley just rubbed me the wrong way. I did appreciate how she took down her stalker though. Others might appreciate her more than I ended up doing. ...more
I have to be honest - I was hoping for more drama especially from her model life style and her decision to leave him behind. Disappointed in that regaI have to be honest - I was hoping for more drama especially from her model life style and her decision to leave him behind. Disappointed in that regard. The writing was ok but not as much angst as I personally need. Or at least the kind of angst I like. ...more
This is one of those books where its hard to explain why you like it so much. It has a bunch of tropes I should hate but they all work in the context This is one of those books where its hard to explain why you like it so much. It has a bunch of tropes I should hate but they all work in the context of the story. The fact that the characters are so well flushed out definitely helps.
Camden has been living with Olivia's sister Claire when she kicks him out. Olivia has been in love with Camden since she met him and takes the opportunity to build a friendship with him. His talent and love of art is so different than her analytical managerial career but that doesn't stop her from fulling appreciating how special both he and his art work are.
They bond further over the fact that her job and his work job end up inter-twining in a way that makes her appreciate him even more. I really enjoyed reading about his artistic processes and the thoughts he put into them.
Camden has come from an abusive background as a child that impacts both his self-esteem and his ability to connect with other people beyond sex. Through both his and Olivia's POV we get to see how his view on this changes and how having Olivia in his life has really changed him. He sees her in colours and that was so effective in showing how their love grew. This one of those books where I truly could see the former sort of man whore being happy with just one woman for the rest of his life.
Her family and his ex the sister, are initially dismissive of the relationship. But they come around and in such a believable way. There was plenty of angst but it felt organic. Camden's ability to see things from an objective view also made these scenes so much more interesting.
Camden on paper would sound like a tough character to like but I ended up fully invested in his happiness. Reading about him and Olivia falling in love made this books so enjoyable.
The secondary characters are interesting but do not steal the book from the leads. They just add to the story.
The book is well written and overall one I would read again. Not your typical romance books but one that left an impact on me....more
I skimmed to the end. Another book where she is pining over a manwhore boss who through the years she has caught screwing dozens of women and of coursI skimmed to the end. Another book where she is pining over a manwhore boss who through the years she has caught screwing dozens of women and of course is clueless to her crush. Meanwhile, she of course has been with like three other guys this whole time.
Now that she has almost died in a car accident, she is ready to move on from him and her loser boyfriend who is apparently cheating on her. Eyeroll - yeah right/every freaking conversation revolves around the boss and how hot he is and the commitment phobic boss E.J now wants to commit to her after she says she is moving on. I was hoping for more angst being the drama loving queen I am.
I liked the MFC - most of the time - except for the fact that she like ghosted her family and best friend - but she can put up with antics of her boss. On the other hand you know what - I really don't care for her as much as I thought. The boss - I just found him so shallow I couldn't even care if he did grovel. Don't get me started on the comments on his sex stamina. These two deserve each other - and this is not high praise. Can you guess this is not my favourite couple?
The best part of the whole story was Stella reconnecting with her family. It's why I gave this two stars instead of one. I cackled when she was horrified at the thought of her parents being swingers. Isn't she supposed to be NY sophisticated now? Ok Ok I'll stop bitching.
Another book where we are told the woman is tough but good old body betraying syndrome rears its head and 'I am special unlike the other girls he fucks'. I do like a good supportive friend group but the convoluted side stories explaining other relationships also left me more confused than anything. Especially the old cliche of the patient woman waiting for her man to stop fucking around which seems like its probably a theme in this friend group.
Anyway - this book was not for me. But its probably a fun, easy read for others. ...more
I liked this way more than I thought I would. Considering he's screwing other people the first quarter of the book and she gets gang-banged later. TheI liked this way more than I thought I would. Considering he's screwing other people the first quarter of the book and she gets gang-banged later. The family dynamics especially with the kids really helped overcome that. And the writing made it clear they really have loved each other forever. ...more
The beginning is brutal where we are introduced to a happy couple who have been together since childhood - Bailey and QuiI really, really liked this.
The beginning is brutal where we are introduced to a happy couple who have been together since childhood - Bailey and Quinn. Bailey is blissfully clueless that her life is about to implode when her husband Quinn falls instantly in lust with the new intern at work who is also the bosses niece. Reading about him screwing around with her was painful but made less so when the new man in Bailey's life - Kallan shows up with a new shop near her bookstore and becomes a good friend to her.
When she finally finds out about Quinn and Justine she falls apart in such a believe able way that it ticked all the boxes for an angst lover like me. It also helps that she basically wipes her hands of Quinn and slowly moves on with the hot guy who keeps showing up at her store. Quinn's equally heartless treatment of Justine means he ends up alone, fired and very very sad. As a former soap opera watcher this stuff is my figurative jam. He later moves away to be close to his daughter, heartbroken that Bailey has left their dreams of growing old together behind along with his cheating ass. His brother is also similarly disgusted with him. Bailey's piece of work mom gets similar treatment- the forever brush off. It such a pleasure to see a FMC grow a backbone, not that she was really a pushover before.
Big Spoiler
What truly makes this special for me is that Bailey emphatically states over and over how happy she is with how things turned out. Quinn not so much. He lives his life basically alone, forever pining away for Bailey and what he threw away and has always wanted back. He is sick and dying and wants to see her one last time. Kallan, who is now married to Bailey, and always puts her first, encourages her to go see him where she tells him she forgives him. I have to be honest - the scene of them together at the hospice/manor left me teary eyed. I actually felt for Quinn and his stupid, selfish ass. Bailey was less sympathetic and ends with saying she is happy she ended up with Kallan and their kids and only Quinn's fucking around allowed that to happen. I was immensely satisfied as a reader overall which honestly is rare in this genre. Why not five stars? I just was not feeling the Kallan love as strongly as Bailey was. But that is just me. ...more
I tried - but this is again one of those books where the MMC fucks everyone he wants too while the pathetic MFC waits patiently by and watches it. I cI tried - but this is again one of those books where the MMC fucks everyone he wants too while the pathetic MFC waits patiently by and watches it. I can handle that - but only if she's getting some too - which this chick is not. And when she does its not good - my eyes can't handle this shit from all the rolling they did.
Of course she sucks this parade of women up because that's what cool BFF chicks do. I get it - he was her hero when they were in foster care but good grief they are now mid-twenty something adults. But that doesn't excuse his selfishness or her pathetic doormat behaviour. And yeah the fact that he was head over heels in love with another chick in college ( Hello Tara!) and she broke his heart so he became a man slut doesn't add to the romance factor here. In fact it makes it worse. It never felt like Tenney was his main love. More like the old back up. Epic failure. And having hot sex didn't make me feel any different. Can I again say how much I hate BBS in this books. I want books about women with some fucking brains in their heads not controlled by their vaginas. If they were they would have been out there screwing around.
Add in another trope I hate - body betraying syndrome combined with the he doesn't want to be serious but chases other guys away trope and I start feeling rage worthy. Or how he touches her and her brain combusts. If I want MFC morons I can watch a horror movie. Add in he continues to sabotage her dates while still going on his own. I just can't. I hated this book but the writing wasn't terrible - I wanted to give it one star - but gave it two for this. But this shit stank....more
Typical mid 2010's sexist shit book where he fucks whoever he wants but they are skanks and she's a fucking celibate doormat waiting for him to realizTypical mid 2010's sexist shit book where he fucks whoever he wants but they are skanks and she's a fucking celibate doormat waiting for him to realize she's the one. Oh and he makes sure she stays celibate. I hate this fucking trope but I guess it kept a lot of author's in cash enough to keep writing. ...more
Ok first off - the blurb selling this is complete BS- nice try - celibate rock - eyeroll.
Second off - the man whore and his celibate second chance trOk first off - the blurb selling this is complete BS- nice try - celibate rock - eyeroll.
Second off - the man whore and his celibate second chance true love is a trope that I am glad to see was getting called out more and more even back in 2019. This sexist shit is insulting to women. He fucks around even though he only wants one woman and she can't fuck around because she only wants one - do these author even know how full of shit that sounds!! Don't get me started on he wants her to remain pure for him - talk about losing two stars for that shit the fucking hypocrite.
Third off- the premise - he signs up for a dating site to meet her - good lord how lame.
Fourth off - I felt like my maturity level dropped ten years just reading this.
Fifth off - I almost didn't care what happened because I didn't like the heroine. She's supposed to be a career woman but she blushes at the drop of a hat, can't date a guy for even fun (eyeroll) caves to a date after he ambushes her, with zero grovel and an oh well I was so wrong.
I had to skim because all of the above made this story hard to get through. Of course its her cruel best friend Luci who set this in motion (the only interesting character in the whole story) and is supposed to be the villain. Overall bored and couldn't give a shit about either main characters....more
What a waste of a few hours. One of those books who has to make the female lead a nagging, uptight bitch but with body betraying syndrome because how What a waste of a few hours. One of those books who has to make the female lead a nagging, uptight bitch but with body betraying syndrome because how else can we explain why the leads fuck so much? Its also so the man whore, we all know would be a dead beat dad, can look better. The dead mom is no saint. We are supposed to feel sad she killed herself driving drunk after fucking the married father of one of her son's classmates? And they get mad that kid is calling her a whore. Read the room author - your characters are fucking unsympathetic and downright unlikeable, at least to me, bitter, jaded reader.
And kill me with the romance of hearing about all the women he's fucked over the years. I am supposed to be happy he's ready to settle down with a one night stand's ex? Don't get me started on all the famous rock star name dropping especially the Foo Fighters. The kid is actually written like a lot of teenagers I know, which sadly means I am only enjoying when he calls these two out on their BS. My final complaint is it is too long - Ok enough bitching - as always the bitching is my own - others may feel differently. ...more
I wasn't sure going in I'd like this book and I was right. I wasn't a fan of Pope from the other books and after this I really am not one. He's good aI wasn't sure going in I'd like this book and I was right. I wasn't a fan of Pope from the other books and after this I really am not one. He's good at preaching at others, but at his heart he's more of a hypocrite than anyone. Helping to take down Delilah's father and breaking some perv's leg doesn't change that. I also personally am not a fan of age gap stories and this book just highlighted all the reasons why I don't like them. The highlight was when he told her he couldn't be monogamous and she was fine with it especially the part where she had to be :-
As for Delilah I felt she was someone that was written to be tougher than she was. Yes its great she gets an education and she's so sophisticated she can be offered a job working with the dominatrix goddess of New Orleans. Countering that she's obsessed with Pope and often blames herself for his lack of interest not that fact that he is just an obnoxious prick. How does she try to remedy this - of course by working at the sex club he frequents all the time and watching him in action! Her fooling around with a few guys did nothing to elevate my disdain at the fact that she saved her so called 'not-so-special' virginity for him. This is the third book now in this series where the female lead is a virgin or practically a virgin and the male lead has been fucking anything that makes his dick twist. I am over it and quite frankly it turned me off the whole story. I also hate when the female virgin never informs her partner of this before hand. It makes all the consent that is preached in this book sound like BS on top of the fact that Pope drags her all over said sex club with no one saying a word!
When you have story with two characters you don't really give a crap about, add in some tropes you generally hate, and not enough of the side characters you like you end up with one star. The writing is good as usual, with a few grammar errors as usual, this story just did not do it for me. ...more
I really, really liked this book. Which surprised me, because while I liked the first one, it wasn't going into my read again column. This one is. I aI really, really liked this book. Which surprised me, because while I liked the first one, it wasn't going into my read again column. This one is. I am not honestly sure why, but again I blame it on my soap opera past. I love a story with some redemption, some vengeance and a heroine that looks awful at first but has lots more beneath the surface. Adding in an adorable child helps.
To start with, I think the author did a great job humanizing Lorelai (even though I still hate that name for some reason). She takes an on the surface, perfect looking woman and show's us the background that helps create someone who is still insecure and thus willing to do awful things, even to people she likes and admires. I thought the polygamist background was really helpful explaining why she was the way she was. Nothing that is on paper criminal in this book, but we all know is, but still horrific enough we totally understand how she was shaped into who she is. I would have liked more background on her time with her aunt because it felt like her athletic/scholarship self had to have come from that time. It sure as hell didn't come from her parents. I also have to admit that I am a person that loves Lorelai's personality type - sarcastic/tough yet not someone whose feelings are easily seen or displayed. I know that is a trait that others hate in their fictional characters, but its my jam (like Olivia in The Opportunist) so already I was here for it. I freely admit I like Lorelai way more than I liked June, and I did like June.
Noah on the other hand I had a hard time liking especially for the first half of the book. I did like him in Broken Play, to a certain extent, but here his vindictive and vengeful side comes out as soon as the book starts and it was hard to get over. I understood where he was coming from but it was so visceral that it took awhile before I was on his side. He screws multiple people that she meets and knows and she often literally hears him doing it or hears the stories after. He does this on purpose to hurt her and he often treats her like a piece of crap on his shoe for the first 1/4 of the book. We get why, but it makes his 180 later so much harder to let go of. As she says - his actions don't match his words. She isn't afforded the same - even though she is working with a hot Hollywood actor who offerst to be a FwB. At the same time, Noah demonstrates later how much he cares about her and her sister and its hard to stay mad at him. Asking his mom to teach her bread making, buying clothes, creating a bedroom just for Olivia. All of those things slowly won me over.
Finally, having Olivia as a prominent character really helped make this story work for me. She was Lorelai before she was saved and she helped humanize all the characters. She was also such a realistic child character that I found myself enjoying reading her scenes. Not something that happens all the time in romance books (and I say that as a teacher). Olivia was truly the glue that held this romance together. She was also a great catalyst to help Lorelai and Noah stay in touch when things really fell apart.
I would give this book five stars but I can't because the jilted ex becomes a manwhore and screws tons of people (men and women) while the female he secretly still loves basically stays celibate or only has a relationship with one loser (that would be Drew who I still loathe) bugs the ever loving shit out of me. I still rate this book higher than the first one because I like Lorelai and Noah and ton more than I liked June and Drew. I do feel for June though - Lorelai is getting what should be her life - a faithful husband and her own children. Another reason to like the first book less.
Overall I do like Alison's writing style and she seems to hit the right notes for me currently in terms of angst and payoff. I will have to see if I enjoy her other books as much....more
This is the type of book you read and then a week later can barely remember a thing about it. Alivia is down on her luck and desperate so she takes a This is the type of book you read and then a week later can barely remember a thing about it. Alivia is down on her luck and desperate so she takes a job promoting asshole owner Voss's sex club Luxe. Of course she does a great job in spite of the fact - that Vass repeatedly points out - she's quite vanilla and of course has never had an orgasm. Eye-roll cue. Since Vass doesn't believe shitting where you eat is a problem - Alivia quickly figures out if he screws you your gone and vows to never go there. Of course when she's offered a contract marriage with this manwhore (to fool his grandma) she jumps right on it due to being broke. He can't marry his regular fuck buddy cause grandma hates her and of course everyone loves the almost virginal Alivia. Fuck buddy keeps showing up to cause problems but is so hateful we yawn because she is no real threat.
Of course Vass the employee fucker and dumper/top attraction at the sex club/ having lots of sex since the age of 15/ charms both Alivia (eventually) and her parents. Before long she's on her knees and all she can think about is him. Alivia is no doormat but she's not exactly tough either. She's more a mix of sarcastic and soft which honestly just isn't how I prefer my female leads. Vass can be charming and of course he's the typical manwhore protagonist -honest to a point but commitment avoidant. Which leads to grandma saving the day. I just can't but help wonder what he will do when he gets bored with domestic life. Well actually I think we can all guess.
Overall writing wasn't bad/plot wasn't awful/ Most of the characters I didn't mind/ I just wasn't buying the HEA....more
The writing was good and I didn't hate the characters but this wasn't doing anything for me a quarter in. The writing was good and I didn't hate the characters but this wasn't doing anything for me a quarter in. ...more
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