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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Trafficking, Gaslighting
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thankful the ending turned it around for me, but I had a really hard time finishing this one because of main dude being **so** manipulative and coercive. All my instincts were flaring, telling Cass to run far, far away.
Billionaire
Instant love
Manipulation/coercion
Voyeurism
Love triangle (part 2)
Part 1 - single POV
Part 2 - Dual POV
Cass - successful wedding planner
Ant - billionaire banking dude
Gerwyn - Antβs right hand man
Wow.. this was intense to say the least. I knew going in that it being a Jade West book, I was going to be on mindfuck, and holy hell she delivered!! The emotions I went through reading this were across the spectrum literally
Instant love
Manipulation/coercion
Voyeurism
Love triangle (part 2)
Part 1 - single POV
Part 2 - Dual POV
Cass - successful wedding planner
Ant - billionaire banking dude
Gerwyn - Antβs right hand man
Wow.. this was intense to say the least. I knew going in that it being a Jade West book, I was going to be on mindfuck, and holy hell she delivered!! The emotions I went through reading this were across the spectrum literally
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
medium-paced
"π° πππππππ πππ, πͺπππ, π°'ππ ππππππ πππππ πππ."
"π»ππππ πππ πππ ππππππππ ππ."
Rating: βββ (or 3.5...I keep going back and forth)
Spice: π₯π₯.5 (it's probably spicier than this, but I was not into a lot of the spice, which is probably the point. I rated it lower spice wise for this reason)
Tropes: Age gap, dark romance, love triangle (kind of)
**Check triggers before reading**
Let me start by saying I LOVE Jade West. Teach Me Dirty is one of my favorite books (the spice with Helen and Mark is sooooo good and their love story is perfect) and I absolutely adore Sugar Daddies. I was so excited when she announced she had a new book coming out. I knew this book was twisted and dark, but I guess I didn't expect to be undecided when I finished it.
I don't want to give anything away, so this review is going to be on the vague side. I recommend going into this book without spoilers so you can get the full experience. Jade does a great job of writing a story that is intriguing and explores a complicated dynamic. You will be confused on your feelings for both characters throughout the book. This book is a great example how manipulation, desire, the need to be loved, and perceptions can play a role in a relationship.
Jade is the queen of spice in my book and this book has some of the most erotic scenes I've ever read. I have to say that there were quite a few scenes that were spicy, but simultaneously gave me the ick. It's not necessarily the kinks that were happening, but how the relationship dynamic played out that turned me off. I believe Jade wrote some of the scenes this way to highlight the problems in the relationship. It also showcased to me how important the relationship dynamic is with scenes like this and how it can chance how you feel. They're well done even if I didn't always enjoy them.
The concept is there for this story and it has major potential. It's written well and I kept turning the page in part one because I could just tell something was going to happen. However, this book fell flat for me because of the pacing and length. For me, the pacing was off at times. It felt like we got a lot of Cass and Ant's developing relationship, but then not enough as other things started to happen in part two. I understand that we needed to see Cass and Ant's relationship to see what was happening, but it felt dragged out at times. Part two introduced many different things, which was exciting, but it started to drag for me as we got scenes that felt unnecessary since we already established Cass and Ant's dynamic. I wish we would've gotten more the other things happening in part two and that the twists revealed would've happened sooner. I enjoyed the ending Cass got so much, but it felt rushed and we didn't get to see much of the build up.
I'm not sure how I feel about the last chapter. I kind of wanted to see that person get what was coming to them, but instead they're living life like it's no big deal. It makes me want more (I know this is a standalone) to see if they could redeem themselves or if they will finally be held accountable. Ultimately, I don't think we'll ever get more, but I feel like we need more.
Thank you to Jade and Social Butterfly PR for the ARC!
"π»ππππ πππ πππ ππππππππ ππ."
Rating: βββ (or 3.5...I keep going back and forth)
Spice: π₯π₯.5 (it's probably spicier than this, but I was not into a lot of the spice, which is probably the point. I rated it lower spice wise for this reason)
Tropes: Age gap, dark romance, love triangle (kind of)
**Check triggers before reading**
Let me start by saying I LOVE Jade West. Teach Me Dirty is one of my favorite books (the spice with Helen and Mark is sooooo good and their love story is perfect) and I absolutely adore Sugar Daddies. I was so excited when she announced she had a new book coming out. I knew this book was twisted and dark, but I guess I didn't expect to be undecided when I finished it.
I don't want to give anything away, so this review is going to be on the vague side. I recommend going into this book without spoilers so you can get the full experience. Jade does a great job of writing a story that is intriguing and explores a complicated dynamic. You will be confused on your feelings for both characters throughout the book. This book is a great example how manipulation, desire, the need to be loved, and perceptions can play a role in a relationship.
Jade is the queen of spice in my book and this book has some of the most erotic scenes I've ever read. I have to say that there were quite a few scenes that were spicy, but simultaneously gave me the ick. It's not necessarily the kinks that were happening, but how the relationship dynamic played out that turned me off. I believe Jade wrote some of the scenes this way to highlight the problems in the relationship. It also showcased to me how important the relationship dynamic is with scenes like this and how it can chance how you feel. They're well done even if I didn't always enjoy them.
The concept is there for this story and it has major potential. It's written well and I kept turning the page in part one because I could just tell something was going to happen. However, this book fell flat for me because of the pacing and length. For me, the pacing was off at times. It felt like we got a lot of Cass and Ant's developing relationship, but then not enough as other things started to happen in part two. I understand that we needed to see Cass and Ant's relationship to see what was happening, but it felt dragged out at times. Part two introduced many different things, which was exciting, but it started to drag for me as we got scenes that felt unnecessary since we already established Cass and Ant's dynamic. I wish we would've gotten more the other things happening in part two and that the twists revealed would've happened sooner. I enjoyed the ending Cass got so much, but it felt rushed and we didn't get to see much of the build up.
I'm not sure how I feel about the last chapter. I kind of wanted to see that person get what was coming to them, but instead they're living life like it's no big deal. It makes me want more (I know this is a standalone) to see if they could redeem themselves or if they will finally be held accountable. Ultimately, I don't think we'll ever get more, but I feel like we need more.
Thank you to Jade and Social Butterfly PR for the ARC!
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated